Yu Zi stood on the balcony for about two or three minutes before returning.

When he came back, his face showed no abnormalities, but he turned to Xie Dongcheng and said he was very tired before laying down to sleep. Xie Dongcheng saw him with his back turned, hugging himself into a ball. He wanted to ask something, but seeing him like this, he could only swallow his words.

Until the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, when they reopened the shop, Xie Dongcheng still didn’t know what was said in that phone call.

After the New Year, the roadblock in front of the shop remained, with construction vehicles parked inside, showing no signs of resuming work. The reopening of this road seemed indefinitely delayed.

But on the evening of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, finally, a turning point arrived.

That day, as usual, there was little business, and Yu Zi was preparing to close early. As he was locking the door, his phone suddenly rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, it was the short-haired woman he had conversed with at the party before the New Year. She was the administrative manager of a large home appliance company nearby. Although their conversation had been pleasant at the time, when Yu Zi handed her his business card and expressed interest in cooperation, she refused, saying their New Year’s suppliers had already been finalized last year.

Since then, Yu Zi had thought there was no hope, but he saved her number just in case. Yet, on this day, she called him out of the blue.

Yu Zi quickly wiped his hands and answered the phone.

Xiao Liu and Xie Dongcheng stood behind him, initially chatting until they heard the phone ring, immediately falling silent.

The two held their breath, listening intently as Yu Zi responded a few times before asking for a time and then hanging up.

“What happened, boss Yu?” Xiao Liu eagerly approached to ask.

Yu Zi organized his thoughts before speaking, “Their company is hosting an industry salon and needs catering for all attendees’ meals and afternoon tea. The original supplier backed out before the New Year. They just said they want us to do it.”

Xiao Liu’s eyes lit up, “How many orders?”

“Three hundred high-quality meals, including drinks, plus party favors and afternoon tea desserts. The total budget is sixty thousand.”

“How much?!” chef Zhao also rushed over, with the three people behind him echoing the question.

“Sixty thousand. They’ll pay a deposit tomorrow morning, and the final payment will be made a week after the goods are delivered.” Yu Zi gestured with his fingers, emphasizing, “And if this order goes smoothly, they’ll entrust all their future events to us, including birthdays and salons.”

It had been a long time since the shop had received such a large sum of money. Xiao Liu jumped up with joy, exclaiming, “We’re striking gold!”

“When do they need it?” Xie Dongcheng asked.

“The day after tomorrow morning.”

Chef Zhao furrowed his brow, “Isn’t that only one day left? It’s too rushed!”

With only four of them as laborers, they still had to deal with the customers coming to the shop the next day. Several hundred meal items were almost impossible to complete in just one day and night. Even if they could manage it physically, the kitchen’s ovens might not be able to handle the workload.

“We’ll close the shop for a day tomorrow. In the morning, Xie Dongcheng and I will go shopping, and we’ll come back at noon to help.”

The three nodded, realizing there was no other choice. They could only do their best and leave the rest to fate.

Yu Zi and chef Zhao stayed up late to finalize the shopping list, purchasing semi-finished products to reduce cooking time. Chef Zhao even borrowed a small oven from the neighboring shop late at night.

The next morning, before six o’clock, while it was still foggy outside, the two of them got up and drove the borrowed van to go shopping. Yu Zi sat in the passenger seat, checking off all the required ingredients. The items required were quite complex, including baked goods, fruit salads, hot drinks, various sandwiches, and desserts.

Not only was it necessary to procure every ingredient, but there was also a great deal of emphasis on the order of preparation. For example, baking items could only be made in the afternoon and evening. Making them too early and leaving them out for a day would undoubtedly affect their taste.

This was their first big order, and nobody wanted to tarnish the shop’s reputation.

Yu Zi wasn’t very confident, so he called chef Zhao early. Chef Zhao had already arrived at the shop and started preparing the ingredients.

The countdown of twenty-four hours began.

Halfway through the journey, it started snowing again. The small van navigated through the snow, and the conditions on the road were extremely difficult, causing concern.

Now Yu Zi understood why their original supplier had backed out. It was just after the New Year, and many food suppliers hadn’t resumed business yet. They had to visit several different places to procure all the necessary items.

With strong winds and heavy snowfall, Yu Zi followed Xie Dongcheng through the snow, their steps faltering, and even their eyelashes covered in snowflakes.

By the time they rushed back to the shop, it was almost noon, and chef Zhao had been waiting in the kitchen for some time.

Xiao Liu helped unload all the goods from the van, and the four immediately began their hectic work.

The kitchen was small and couldn’t accommodate so many people, so Yu Zi and Xie Dongcheng moved the items to the dining hall to work.

Yu Zi couldn’t handle the baking, so he focused on preparing the fruit. Many of the out-of-season fruits had been transported in insulated boxes with ice packs, causing some of them to become half-frozen or damaged, with icy water seeping into the boxes.

Yu Zi’s hands were submerged in icy water almost the entire time. At first, he could bear it, but after half an hour, he began to feel some pain.

He had never done this kind of rough work before, but at this point, there was no other way. Soon, his fingers were swollen and painful from the cold.

Yu Zi could only soak his hands in hot water to relieve the pain. Alternating between cold and hot, his fingers quickly lost most of their sensation, feeling as if countless ants were crawling on his skin.

For several hours, he repeated these actions, hoping to finish everything as soon as possible. However, as the cold wind poured in, he found it increasingly difficult to stand. From his fingers to his arms, everything ached unbearably.

Xie Dongcheng finished his tasks and turned around to see Yu Zi holding his forearm and covering his eyes, standing silently with his shoulders trembling slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Dongcheng hurried over to ask him.

Yu Zi didn’t speak, he just took a deep breath. After he put his arms down, Xie Dongcheng could see that Yu Zi was actually shedding tears.

He noticed Yu Zi’s hands, which were frozen and unable to move, so he quickly grabbed them with his large hands to warm them.

“Feeling cold?”

Yu Zi just nodded lightly, not saying anything.

“Stop doing this, give it to me.” Xie Dongcheng reached out to take over.

“No, there’s no time.” Yu Zi’s tears still flowed uncontrollably, but his hands didn’t stop moving.

Xie Dongcheng couldn’t force him, so he went to the kitchen to look for rubber gloves but couldn’t find any. He had to brave the snow and wind to go outside to buy them from a convenience store.

When he returned, Yu Zi had already finished most of the work. His fingers were red like carrots, and the normally slender joints were now stiff and swollen. He endured the pain and continued unpacking the boxes, his hands still immersed in icy water.

Xie Dongcheng went over and pulled his hand out of the water, carefully drying it with a tissue.

Yu Zi looked up at him, his eyes seeming to well up with tears again. But Xie Dongcheng didn’t look into his eyes, instead, he gazed at the snowflakes falling outside the window.

The four of them worked tirelessly until after one in the morning, finally completing all the tasks. Each of them was dizzy and stiff.

“Finally done!” Xiao Liu emerged from the kitchen, stretching lazily and sighing heavily.

Yu Zi sat on a high stool behind the counter, silent for a long time, just rubbing his eyelids with the back of his hand.

Chef Zhao and Xie Dongcheng carefully packed all the meals into boxes and then stuffed them into the trunk of the van, ready for delivery the next day.

When Yu Zi got off the stool, he felt like his shoulders and back were no longer his own, everything was sore.

Xie Dongcheng called a taxi to take them back. Yu Zi didn’t even have the energy to take a shower, so he quickly rinsed off with hot water and went to bed.

He lay facing the wall, his eyelids gradually unable to support themselves.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a voice behind him.

“Give me your hand.” It was Xie Dongcheng’s voice.

Yu Zi turned over, poking his head out from under the covers. He saw Xie Dongcheng sitting under the dim light, reaching out his hand towards him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Xie Dongcheng held a piece of peeled ginger in his hand, “Let me massage it for you, otherwise, you’ll get frostbite.”

This was the first time Yu Zi had heard that ginger could prevent frostbite. He handed his right hand out from under the blanket to Xie Dongcheng. Then he watched as Xie Dongcheng gently grasped his palm.

Xie Dongcheng’s palm was wide and warm, covering his skin. With his other hand holding the piece of ginger, he carefully massaged Yu Zi’s stiffened and swollen fingers.

The room was much warmer than the restaurant, and Yu Zi wrapped himself in the blanket, feeling his fingers gradually relaxing under the massage.

He looked up and saw Xie Dongcheng’s lowered eyelids, his rough eyelashes casting a small shadow under the light.

Perhaps there was really such a thing as “ten fingers connected to the heart”. Each of Yu Zi’s fingers was carefully nurtured by him, and a wave of emotions seemed to rise in his heart, making it difficult to calm down for a moment.

“This hand.” Xie Dongcheng motioned for him to extend his other hand.

For about three seconds, Yu Zi didn’t move, but the next second, he reached out and directly held Xie Dongcheng’s hand.

This grasp obviously had a deeper meaning, and he looked up at Xie Dongcheng.

It was an instinctive impulse he couldn’t control.

In an instant, Xie Dongcheng’s hand trembled twice, then he raised his eyes to meet Yu Zi’s gaze, and their eyes locked.

After a few seconds, Xie Dongcheng withdrew his hand. His backhand slowly left Yu Zi’s palm, and after a slight friction, it seemed to also slowly take away the surging tide in Yu Zi’s heart.