Chapter 43 - 43 Second Level Recipes

Xu Ying didn’t come for nothing, as she fished out from Qiu Ye the requirements Accountant Xu had for his elder brother.

She then went back on her bicycle. When she was almost at the entrance of the village, Xu Ying heard the system’s voice, “Goodwill value +1, +1, congratulations host on unlocking a new recipe, a second level recipe for Mandarin Duck Chicken, randomly obtaining a bolt of bright red fabric, a set of sanitary napkins, five jin each of white and brown sugar, and a bottle of Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill from the apocalypse.”

What did she do to earn goodwill value?

The only possibility was that Mr. Gu had finished work and gone home.

Just as Xu Ying guessed, Mr. Gu had indeed returned home and had already tasted the food she cooked, his facial expression could only be described as ever-changing, “Did you guys go out for lunch?”

Gu’s mother shook her head, knitting in hand, “What restaurant? It’s all made by Yingying, tasty isn’t it?

I have decided to let that girl be in charge of the cooking at Eldest Son’s wedding banquet. It will definitely be a face-giving event.”

After saying that, Gu’s mother seemed hesitant, “I offered twenty yuan for one day’s work to that girl, is it a bit too little?”

If it weren’t for the life-saving favor, twenty yuan would definitely be enough, but this girl was her daughter’s lifesaver.

Mr. Gu’s expression changed, “It must have been Fuying who asked that girl to come, right? How is she?”

“I think she’s quite good, not lowly nor arrogant, quite favored at home. But compared to our Fuying, she’s definitely a formidable one, has methods, but no ill intentions,” praised Gu’s mother.

When the girl came over, she went straight to the kitchen and, upon returning, she noticed that the living room hadn’t been touched at all. It had rained the previous night, and in the morning, the roads were muddy.

She only saw those footprints in the kitchen path and nowhere else, which showed that she had good character.

Moreover, Gu’s mother was a teacher and had a soft spot for those who loved to study.

When talking about education, the girl spoke eloquently, saying that the country needs talents, that the development of the nation can not do without talents, and sooner or later college entrance exams would be restored. You must have a heart that loves to learn.

However, Gu’s mother had scolded the girl at the time, telling her to keep those words to herself and never to speak them to someone who was not very close.

With the current situation, anything could change dramatically, and a small slip could lead to a great disaster.

Xu Ying being able to say these things to her suggests that she must indeed be sincere towards her own Fuying.

In any case, Gu’s mother was completely captivated by the meal and thought highly of Xu Ying everywhere.

Mr. Gu laughed after hearing this, “Then let’s not raise the pay, there’s no need to make the girl uncomfortable.”

Since she is such a good girl and also Fuying’s lifesaver, he thought he’d introduce her to the State-owned Restaurant’s director when the time came. If she couldn’t become a head chef, it would be fine for her to be a kitchen helper.@@novelbin@@

Chef Ge will be retiring in a few years anyway, and that old fellow has neither children nor family; it wouldn’t be a problem for an astute Xu Ying to take his place.

Xu Ying was unaware that Mr. Gu had already set her future in motion; at this moment, her mind was full of the Mandarin Duck Chicken recipe—it was her very first time receiving a second level recipe, and she had no idea what was so special about it.

As she was riding her bike and just coming back to her senses, she suddenly saw someone standing in front of her, “Move, move aside.”

With only a meter left, there was absolutely no way to stop the bike. Upon seeing the person more clearly, Xu Ying didn’t hesitate to crash into her.

“Ah!” Chen Yanran’s scream startled the birds in the forest behind, sending them flying away, flapping their wings.

Huo Chen, carrying a big rack, watched the scene with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Chen Yanran sat on the road, her face streaming with tears, her accusing gaze upon Xu Ying, “Don’t you know how to ride a bike?”

Xu Ying, frustrated, rolled her eyes, “Why stand in the middle of the road for nothing? Do you think this is your own private road? If you weren’t standing there, would I have crashed into you? And here I fell, too. Pay up quickly.”

Whoever talks more, wins.

Chen Yanran was choke up, unable to speak. She had thought Xu Ying surely wouldn’t dare to crash, so she had simply stood there. She originally intended to frighten Xu Ying and make her fall, not expecting to get knocked down herself.

“What’s going on here?” The first onlooker, Zhang Dacao, arrived at the scene, cracking seeds with interest as she asked.

Chen Yanran, upon seeing her, looked somewhat embarrassed, but still drew from her past experiences, crying as though pear blossoms bathed in rain, “I was just walking along the road when Xu Ying rode her bike straight at me.

My leg still can’t move, and she is demanding that I pay her money, wuwuwuwu~”

Zhang Dacao, hearing this sob story, thought, ‘My goodness, if I were a man, I might be swayed by such tears, but it’s a pity I’m not.

Moreover, I despise Chen Yanran, how does the saying go? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, exactly right.’

Zhang Dacao spat on the ground and said, “Chen Zhiqing, you mustn’t lie. Do you have any witnesses?

Otherwise, there’s no one I can help.”

Mention of witnesses made Xu Ying look around. “Him, Huo Chen saw it all. It was Chen Yanran who ran into the middle of the road to frame me.”

Huo Chen, hiding in the corner behind a big tree, was spotted by Xu Ying. Pointed out by her, he strode forward, looked at Xu Ying’s pleading eyes, and reluctantly nodded, “It was Chen Yanran who suddenly ran out.”

With those words, everyone’s expression changed, looking at Chen Yanran with extreme distaste.

Chen Yanran didn’t expect him to side with Xu Ying and burst out in anger, “You wolf cub, you must like Xu Ying, that’s why you’re providing false testimony.

You’re defaming me, no wonder others call you a wolf cub, and you still…”

Before she could finish, Xu Ying threw her bike aside and stormed towards Chen Yanran, old grudges and new combined.

“Slap, slap, slap,” Xu Ying landed several hard slaps on her cheeks.

Chen Yanran’s head buzzed from the hits.

“Apologize, apologize to Huo Chen,” Xu Ying demanded, her face dark with anger.

Huo Chen, having unexpectedly defended her, was not something she had anticipated; now that he had helped her, she couldn’t let him suffer repercussions because of her.

She was brave enough to call him a wolf cub, perhaps the one in question seemed fine on the surface, but must feel awful behind closed doors—who would want to be called a ‘wolf cub’ by others?

Startled, Chen Yanran felt that if she didn’t apologize now, Xu Ying might just kill her.

Huo Chen was about to leave when he stopped after hearing Xu Ying demand an apology after the assault.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you a wolf cub, I apologize,” Chen Yanran cried out, prostrated on the ground.

“Call him Huo Chen, he has a name,” Xu Ying called out, and everyone suddenly remembered he had a name, Huo Chen.

Huo Chen’s eyes widened with surprise and emotion; this was the first time someone had defended him like this, and a woman to boot.

He stood under the tree, repeating with the sunset behind her, “His name is Huo Chen.”

His eyes immediately reddened.

“I’m sorry, Huo Chen.”

“Mhm,” Huo Chen nodded and said no more, but his heart was slowly set ablaze.

“Sun Zhiqing, you help Chen Yanran back. Chen Yanran, next time, don’t be so careless; luckily, you encountered me. We are from the same village, so I won’t hold it against you.

If a bicycle came by, you could’ve been killed. Such a waste of a pretty face, so foolish,” Xu Ying couldn’t help but scold her one last time before leaving.

Chen Yanran’s steps faltered, and with a ‘plop,’ she fell over again.

Lying on the ground, Chen Yanran’s face was twisted in rage, her fists clenched, hating Xu Ying to death.

“Ouch, how could you fall on such a flat road?”

Thank you to Fragrant Float for the Monthly Ticket, and thank you ^ω^ to Zhu Zhu for the Monthly Ticket. I was born with a cold constitution & sent a Xiao Xiang Ticket, love you all!