Jiang Baiwan was startled by Ji Chen’s heroic eating and was just about to tell Ji Chen that he might choke, when she saw the person in front of her spit out the juicy beef ball with a “Pu”.

“……It’s very hot.” Jiang Baiwan sighed. “Be careful.”

She handed Ji Chen a glass of water and he drank a lot before he felt the burning pain in his mouth subside a little. Jiang Baiwan saw that Ji Chen’s forehead was starting to break out in cold sweat and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it really so good?”

Ji Chen’s expression remained unchanged. “It’s good.”

Jiang Baiwan looked at him suspiciously. She had this feeling that this person was lying, but considering that Ji Chen was such a big president, what’s there to lie to her about?

“Forget it, I’ll try it myself.” Jiang Baiwan got up and ran into the kitchen, bringing out another pair of chopsticks. Ji Chen’s hand holding the bowl froze, his eyes drooped and he didn’t speak.

Jiang Baiwan didn’t notice what was wrong with Ji Chen. She picked up a piece of fish tofu from Ji Chen’s bowl and put it into her mouth, after chewing twice, her whole face twisted.

Jiang Baiwan swallowed the piece of fish tofu with difficulty. She wrinkled her nose and said to Ji Chen after a long time, “Is your sense of taste…… different from normal people?”

Such unpalatable Malatang, how could he say it was good?

Ji Chen’s complexion didn’t change. “My taste is relatively lighter.”

Jiang Baiwan looked at Ji Chen, then at the bowl of Malatang that was so difficult to eat that she doubted her life, before finally sighing, “It’s okay, you don’t need to comfort me. I know this bowl of Malatang tastes bad. I didn’t add that much salt and MSG since I thought it would taste good if it was light, but now I see that…… the soup base is the most important thing.”

“I still need to find a cook.” Jiang Baiwan took the chopsticks in Ji Chen’s hand. “All right, don’t eat, it’s so unpalatable. Even if you think the taste is light, I’m afraid you’ll have a bad stomach.”

Ji Chen did as told and didn’t insist—— It’s indeed hard to swallow, so it’s better not to eat if he can.

Jiang Baiwan dumped the expensive and disgusting bowl of Malatang into the trash can, then sat back in front of Ji Chen with a deep sigh. “It seems that there’s no way to open the shop for the time being. I have to find a cook to study the soup base together. Although it’s just Malatang, it’s still something that people put in their mouths. We have to pay attention to this aspect……”

“It’s all right.” Ji Chen suddenly interrupted Jiang Baiwan’s words. With Jiang Baiwan’s puzzled eyes on him, he added, “I can help you find a cook.”

Jiang Baiwan: “……If you find me a Michelin three-star chef, I can’t afford it……”

Ji Chen’s lips hooked up. “I won’t. It’s just an ordinary cook.”

Jiang Baiwan looked at him questioningly. “You don’t have to force it. I know you feel sorry for me and want to help, but…… Ji Chen, we’ve called off our engagement after all. You don’t have to take any responsibility for me.”

Ji Chen nodded calmly. “I just want to help, not to take any responsibility.”

Jiang Baiwan thought for a moment, but still refused. “No, I know what I’m capable of. Ji Chen, I regard you as a friend. Do you also regard me as one?”

“……Of course.” Ji Chen only felt that when he said these words, his throat felt a little dry.

Jiang Baiwan heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. “That’s good. I don’t have many friends.”

Ji Chen looked at Jiang Baiwan’s smiling face, and after a while, he pulled out a forced smile.

When Ji Chen went out today, his mood was still very high, but when he returned, Assistant Xu keenly sensed the change in Ji Chen’s mood—— It was extremely poor, it couldn’t be worse.

Assistant Xu was a little terrified. He didn’t know what happened between President Ji and Miss Jiang this time. Could it be that he couldn’t help confessing to Miss Jiang and was rejected?

Ji Chen’s low mood lasted the whole afternoon until he was about to get off work. Ji Chen suddenly called Assistant Xu, “Go help me do something.”

Assistant Xu’s heart was in his throat. “Tell me.”

Ji Chen explained it to him. Assistant Xu glanced at Ji Chen with a slight surprise and Ji Chen happened to be looking at him too. “Is there any question?”

“No.” Assistant Xu quickly shook his head. “Then I’ll go first.”

Ji Chen nodded his head and Assistant Xu withdrew from the office. He closed the office door, looked down at the little piece of paper that Ji Chen had just written on, and couldn’t help sighing in his heart—— President Ji helps Miss Jiang so much. Why did he bother to cancel the engagement with her?

He doesn’t understand the world of the rich.

———

It didn’t take long for Jiang Baiwan to put Ji Chen at the back of her mind. She was now single-mindedly focused on her Malatang shop in order to make it a success when it opens.

It’s just that the Malatang she made herself was really bad. After several attempts, Jiang Baiwan realized that she had to find a proper cook. A bowl of Malatang^[1]Spicy hot pot that was neither spicy nor hot and there’s only the pot, what’s there to it?

So she posted a red paper recruitment notice. During this period, several people came continuously but Jiang Baiwan wasn’t satisfied with none of them. The Malatang they made was also heavy in salt and MSG. Jiang Baiwan only took one sip of the soup and felt her tongue was numb.

She wanted to find a good cook, or else how would people deign to come to her small shop? Jiang Baiwan sits at home every day, playing games and waiting for the phone to ring, while worrying about when she would be able to find a suitable cook.

On this day, Jiang Baiwan wanted to open the game as usual, but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of her mobile phone. She picked it up and looked at the screen. It was an unknown number. Jiang Baiwan pressed the answer button. “Hello, good day.”

“Hello, is this Boss Jiang?” A slightly aged voice came from the other end of the phone. “Is your family still hiring a cook?”

Jiang Baiwan leapt up from the sofa. “Yes, yes, yes! Where are you now? Let’s make an appointment for an interview.”

“I’m right at the door of your Wuhuan…… Malatang.” The person on the opposite side obviously hesitated when reading the name of the shop. Jiang Baiwan was in urgent need of a cook, so she hurriedly said to the person, “Please wait for a while. I’ll be right there.”

The person on the other side agreed, and after the call was hung up, the person looked up at the name of the shop again with obvious doubt on his face, and then he was suddenly enlightened.

When Jiang Baiwan arrived on her electric bike, she saw an old man standing at the shop’s door. The old man was wearing a well-fitting blue cotton clothes, his temples were slightly white and he had big glasses on his face. He looked very ordinary.

Jiang Baiwan parked the bike and trotted up to the old man. “Hello, hello, I’m Jiang Baiwan, the owner of Wuhuan. Are you the one applying for the job as a cook?”

The old man nodded. Jiang Baiwan asked as she opened the door, “Excuse me, what should I call you?”

“My surname is Wei, and my full name is Wei Dao.” Elder Wei said slowly.

Jiang Baiwan was stunned for a moment, then returned to her usual demeanor, and casually said, “This name is really good. It’s very impressive when you hear it.”

“Old Wei, let me tell you about the recruitment conditions first. Although I’m recruiting a cook, this is just a small Malatang shop, so the salary is definitely not as high as that of a restaurant.” Jiang Baiwan led Wei Dao inside. “The salary is 4,000 a month, no board and lodging included, there’s five social insurances and one housing fund^[2]endowment, medical, unemployment, work-related injury and childbirth insurance, and housing accumulation funds, also double salary at the end of the year, and regular physical examination.”

Jiang Baiwan felt that what she offered was very generous. “However, these are after a successful application. We still have to do an interview. It’s not troublesome. Please make a bowl of Malatang now.”

Wei Dao followed behind Jiang Baiwan, squinting his eyes as he listened to Jiang Baiwan’s words. After Jiang Baiwan was done speaking, Wei Dao said, “All right. What ingredients do you have in the kitchen right now? I’ll make a…… bowl.”

Jiang Baiwan was all for it, and after introducing the kitchen to Wei Dao, Jiang Baiwan went out and waited.

Standing in the small kitchen, Wei Dao looked at the basic equipment around him and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart—— How did someone like him…… ended up here to make Malatang?

However, what had to be done still had to be done. Wei Dao took some ingredients out of the refrigerator, stared at the vat in front of him, and rolled up his sleeves.

Jiang Baiwan was originally sitting outside…… playing games, but at some point, an indescribable aroma lingered at the tip of her nose. The aroma wasn’t that strong but it was very attractive. Jiang Baiwan didn’t have the mind to play games anymore and kept sniffing the air.

It smells so good!

Jiang Baiwan haphazardly stuffed the phone into her pocket while she stood at the door of the kitchen. She watched Wei Dao busily working in the kitchen and wanted to go in, but she was afraid of offending any of his taboos.

It was Wei Dao who found Jiang Baiwan eagerly staring from the door. The old master felt a little funny for no reason. He coughed dryly and beckoned to Jiang Baiwan. “Come in, come in, have a taste.”

Jiang Baiwan couldn’t wait to run into the kitchen, and as soon as she entered, the alluring aroma became thicker. Wei Dao served Jiang Baiwan a bowl. She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and carefully picked up a piece of equally sized fish tofu, then gently bit into it.

Noticing Jiang Baiwan’s serious expression, Wei Dao became nervous for no reason. Seeing Jiang Baiwan swallowed the piece of fish tofu, Wei Dao couldn’t help asking, “How is it?”

“……Isn’t this too delicious?” Jiang Baiwan slowly let out a breath. “It’s really good.”

As she said that, Jiang Baiwan tried a piece of the shrimp cake and felt the mellow but not too heavy taste in her mouth. Jiang Baiwan looked at Wei Dao again as if she was looking at the sweeping monk^[3]refer to those who appear to be ordinary but are in fact the top elites in their industry or field.

Wei Dao touched his chin. “How is it?”

Jiang Baiwan put down the chopsticks. “Master, I’ll give you another five hundred. Would you consider signing with me for three years first?”

Wei Dao smiled. “Yes, but I have a condition. Don’t pay the five social insurances and one housing fund, just give it to me as cash.”

This wasn’t difficult. Jiang Baiwan readily nodded and the two immediately and happily signed a contract.