Bang, bang-bang!
The heavy iron vests struck the track with sharp clangs. Many people had already reached their limits the moment the bell rang to end class.
Many lay weakly on the ground, panting like half-dead salted fish.
This time, Zhou Yi was not so twisted as to continue "laying people off." Instead, she called over a man in white to heal them.
Seven Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet. Green leaves appeared in the sky like a torrential downpour, then gathered together.
In the blink of an eye, the green leaves grew wildly, and the man in white turned into a towering tree.
"That's a whole lot of green on his head," Cao Yu could not help muttering as he witnessed the scene firsthand.
Once everyone had recovered, the man in white did not linger and soon left.
Only after announcing a few things they needed to keep in mind did Zhou Yi dismiss everyone.
Cao Yu came to Luo Yan's side. Her face had yet to regain its rosy color and was still somewhat pale.
He could not help inwardly cursing that old hag a few times before helping Luo Yan up.
Luo Yan perked up a little and said, "Thank you, Brother Yu."
"Don't mention it. Come on, I'll take you back to the dorm."
"Mm." Luo Yan smiled and nodded at him.
Wang Dong followed closely behind. For some reason, the sight left him feeling a pang of sourness, and he blurted out as though possessed, "What about me?"
So he pretended to be weak, but even Huo Yuhao could not bear to watch that performance.
"Seriously, Wang Dong? You're even going to fight Luo Yan over Brother Yu?"
Cao Yu turned back and said, "Give it a rest, Wang Dong. I'm talking to Luo Yan."
Wang Dong gritted his teeth. "You forget your friends the moment you see a pretty face!"
Back at the dorm building, Cao Yu grabbed his clothes and prepared to take a shower.
The bathrooms were at either end of the corridor. As for Wang Dong, that fellow filled a basin with water every day and hid in the dorm room.
Cao Yu had long since grown used to it. Although he knew his true identity, he had never thought of exposing it. He would simply let things take their natural course.
"Are you Cao Yu?"
"Yes."
"These are the deeds to several shops outside the city. The total is five hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Take a look."
Before evening had even arrived, the person responsible for the shop transaction had come calling. It seemed Shrek was quite efficient at getting things done.
After calling Huo Yuhao along, they followed the man in charge out through Shrek's gates.
The vendors gathered outside the east gate had not dispersed despite the approaching darkness, their cries rising one after another.
Many Shrek Academy students came out to stroll around at this hour, and they would more or less bring something back with them.
The vendors could not have been happier to earn their money.
They had so much money in hand that they could not count it all, their smiling faces blooming as brightly as chrysanthemums.
They arrived at the chosen shop, which had already been cleaned and was brightly lit inside.
The man in charge said, "Everything you requested has been prepared here according to your requirements. Those costs have already been included."
Cao Yu went inside for a look. Pots, bowls, ladles, basins, tools for lighting fires and cooking, tables and chairs-nothing was missing.
After confirming that none of his requirements had been overlooked, Cao Yu took the deeds from the man's hand and readily paid the required sum.
The man in charge looked at him with a broad smile. "Then congratulations on your grand opening, Young Master Cao! I won't disturb you any further. Farewell!"
Only after he left did Cao Yu and Huo Yuhao begin putting things in order.
For now, these shops were all still empty shells. Although they had every tool they needed, training employees would take time.
A little over a week at the shortest, or more than half a month at the longest.
"Yuhao, hang this hiring sign outside the door in a bit. You'll have to work a little harder for the time being."
"Keep this money safe. Don't buy too many ingredients yet. Once you've taught these people, you won't have to work so hard."
"Leave the other shops alone for now. Focus on getting this one's business going first."
"We still have classes during this period, so we'll only open in the evenings for now and stay closed during the day. Once the employees know their jobs, we'll consider opening during the day."
Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, "Got it, Brother Yu."
By evening, none of them had eaten yet, so after buying a few fish outside, Huo Yuhao began showing off his specialty.
"Brother Yu, wait a little. It'll be ready soon."
"Yuhao, add more chili for me and go easy on the salt."
"Sure thing!"
Soon, the fragrance of fish drifted out of the kitchen. After only a short wait, Cao Yu was eating deliciously fragrant grilled fish.
Steam still rose from the grilled fish, and the chili powder on its surface mingled with a light coating of oil. One gentle bite sent flavors colliding across his taste buds.
"Wonderful!"
Cao Yu still loved Huo Yuhao's grilled fish just as much, and his cooking had become even more practiced.
"Come on, let's have a drink to celebrate our first day in business."
Their cups clinked together, and both Cao Yu and Huo Yuhao wore satisfied expressions.
Even though the day's only customers were the two of them.
On the street outside the east gate, everyone stopped in their tracks, and the vendors on either side stood up as well.
"What smells so good?"
They all sniffed hard, then closed their eyes with intoxicated expressions.
"It's fish! It's the smell of grilled fish!"
Someone shouted just then, and everyone's gazes converged on him.
Evening had only just arrived, and no one had had time to eat yet. The greedy worms in their bellies had been stirred, and they could not help drooling.
The man followed the scent until he finally arrived at the entrance to a shop.
He opened his closed eyes and shouted as though he had discovered a priceless treasure, "That's right, here it is! The smell is coming from here!"
Both Cao Yu and Huo Yuhao jumped at the shout. The grilled fish in their hands instantly lost its appeal.
"What the hell? Where did this lunatic pop out from?"
Cao Yu looked outside the door and saw more and more people gathering, all staring into the shop like hungry wolves, their eyes gleaming gold.
Huo Yuhao said in a panic, "Brother Yu, what do we do?"
"Don't panic. Hold steady!"
Cao Yu quietly watched the crowd outside, only to see them suddenly surge forward the next moment.
Before he could react, they had already comfortably seated themselves inside the shop.
Then everyone shouted, "Boss! One serving of grilled fish! No, two!"
"Boss, me too!"
"I want three!"
"Do you have any wine? Water works too."
Cao Yu and Huo Yuhao stared at them in bewilderment.
What was going on? He had never planned to take in so many customers today, and the ingredients they had prepared were only enough for the two of them.
Why were these people so practiced at this?
Cao Yu could only speak up. "Dear customers, since this is our first day in business, we haven't prepared enough ingredients..."
Someone urged him, "Not enough? Then hurry up and buy some, boss! We can wait!"
"That's right, that's right!"
"Hurry and buy some, boss!"
Everyone stared straight at him with wide eyes, their gazes brimming with anticipation and longing for grilled fish.
"Ah... I've got it so hard!"
They were all fated to toil!
Seeing that none of them would leave, Cao Yu felt too embarrassed to ask them to go. He could only shake his head and helplessly return to the market to buy more fish.
"Hurry up, boss!"
"O-okay!"
Cao Yu was on the verge of tears. Boohoo~
(End of chapter)