"City Lord, could you send someone else to watch Proprietor Lin?" Xu Longyun was reviewing official documents when Zhao Tong pushed the door open and walked in, his face ashen and both legs trembling as he stood there.
"What happened?" Xu Longyun was startled by Zhao Tong's state.
"City Lord, I really can't take it anymore. Shopkeeper Lin won't do a single decent thing!" Zhao Tong's tears flowed before he could get his words out. A Shadow Guard of the City Lord's Residence, a man forged of iron who wouldn't even blink if someone stabbed him, now felt as wronged as a child.
"..." Xu Longyun put down the document in her hand, her delicate brows knitting slightly. "Did he bully you?"
"He... he forced me to eat his cooking." Unpleasant memories welled up, and Zhao Tong's stomach churned. He instinctively clutched his belly.
Remembering the taste of Lin Bai's dishes, Xu Longyun inexplicably felt rather full. She looked sympathetically at her guard and asked, "Is he still stir-frying?"
"No." Zhao Tong shook his head and stammered, "He... Mr. Lin has started making flour-based foods now."
"Flour-based foods?" Xu Longyun looked up in surprise.
"Yes. Steamed buns, noodles, flatbreads, things like that. Hardly any repeats." As Zhao Tong spoke, he couldn't help letting out a full-bellied burp, his expression growing even uglier.
"That shouldn't be such a big deal!" Xu Longyun said. "Lin Bai's stir-fried dishes might taste a little bad, but that shouldn't be much of a problem for you people. Don't you even eat raw meat during survival training?"
"City Lord, at least raw meat can be swallowed! But the flatbreads Proprietor Lin makes are harder than bricks. When he steams buns, he throws in alkaline powder by the handful, and the buns come out bitter and astringent.