Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 1553 - 348, The Sucker is Here! (First Update)

Lin Yuan tugged at Xia Zheng’s sleeve, with a note of fault in their voice. They shouldn’t have used someone else’s spoon without telling Xia Hen first, and previously Xia Zheng had even joked, asking if she liked it and offered to give it to her if she did.

Though she never asked for it, it still felt wrong.

But wait, didn’t she tell Xia Zheng to return the spoon? Could it be that Xia Zheng didn’t return it?

Looking up at Xia Zheng, Lin Yuan narrowed her eyes.

Xia Zheng touched his nose sheepishly and chuckled awkwardly, "Uh, I was so caught up in eating and chatting that I totally forgot."

Pfft!

Lin Yuan shook her head and was rendered speechless. What could she say? The fault was Xia Zheng’s!

"Uncle, that spoon... it should still be in the kitchen, why don’t you go take another look!"

Hearing Lin Yuan’s words, Xia Hen became even more anxious: "It’s not there, I’ve looked everywhere! That Vajra Ruyi Spoon was something I managed to acquire from Dongling, ah, it’s the only one in the whole world! I’ve only used it once!"

Xia Hen felt as if he was bleeding inside when he thought about his Vajra Ruyi Spoon.

It turned out that he had won that spoon from a drinking buddy! To prevent his buddy from sneaking it back, he even slept in a tree hugging the spoon for three days!

Those three days had bonded him with the spoon as if they became one. In his eyes, the spoon was no longer just a tool, it was a part of his life.

And now, Xia Zheng had stolen a part of his life; how could he not be distressed?

"How could it be? That spoon..." Lin Yuan blinked her eyes at Xia Zheng, suspecting that this guy might have played a trick on Xia Hen, hiding his spoon somewhere else.

Seeing Lin Yuan’s dubious look, Xia Zheng immediately exclaimed, "I’m not lying! After we finished eating, I left that spoon in the back kitchen. To keep the kitchen ladies from touching it, I specifically instructed them not to touch it! If nobody moved it, the spoon must still be in the back kitchen."

The implication was, unless someone did move it!

But who would dare to move things that Xia Zheng had said not to touch? This Little Tyrant, in the General Mansion, was not someone to be trifed with!

Surely the kitchen ladies wouldn’t dare, and nobody else would wander into the back kitchen. The only possible person left...

"Lao Fan!"

"Lao Fan!"

They both blurted out at once. Back when they were in the Lin family hollow, Lao Fan and Xiao Linshuang would often sneak into the kitchen. And in Fuman Building, whenever the chefs made something delicious, there would always be something missing—nabbed by these two rascals.

Recently Xiao Linshuang had been busy with the Frost Pavilion and had no time to visit the General Mansion, so if something was missing from the kitchen, it had to be Lao Fan’s doing!

"It has to be him! He was eavesdropping at the door when we cooked, I bet he took the spoon to make shrimp and eggs himself!"

Xia Zheng said with certainty, and when they turned back, where was Xia Hen’s figure by the window?

Lin Yuan shook her head, chuckling, "Your uncle, despite being in his thirties, still carries on like a teenager. Oh right, but speaking of which, your uncle really does look young! If you didn’t know any better, you would think he was your brother!"

Not just Lin Yuan, Lady Liu also thought that Xia Hen’s looks didn’t match his age when she saw him—it was as if he wasn’t Xia Yuan’s brother at all; people would believe it if you said he was Xia Yuan and Princess Anle’s eldest son.

"Him?"

Xia Zheng curled his lips, wrapped Lin Yuan’s cloak tighter around her, and led her to an elegant room. As they walked, he said, "Of course he looks young; he has been carefree since he was a child. But the reason for his youthful appearance might also have something to do with a pill he ate as a child."

"Pill?" Lin Yuan looked at him curiously, wondering if it was some kind of elixir of eternal youth.

Seeing Lin Yuan’s gleaming curiosity, Xia Zheng poked her forehead with a laugh and said, "Of course it’s not some miraculous medicine. Actually, my uncle’s childhood was quite pitiable. Back then, our grandfather met with a mishap while on campaign in Dongling, and our grandmother, who was pregnant at the time, almost miscarried. Fortunately, with Lao Fan’s excellent skills, he managed to save both grandmother and uncle."

No wonder Lao Fan was said to owe a life debt to Xia Zheng’s grandfather—there was indeed such a story.

Xia Zheng nodded and continued, "Not only did Lao Fan save grandmother and uncle, but he also provided grandfather with life-extending spiritual medicine ahead of time; otherwise, grandfather would have passed away early due to an arrow through his heart. However, although grandmother’s pregnancy was saved, uncle was born weak and sickly. It was Lao Fan who formulated a good medicine for him, which he took continuously until he was eighteen."

"The medicine contained rare treasures, many of which were bestowed by the Old Emperor, and some were acquired by Lao Fan during his travels in his youth. It’s probably because of these medicines that my uncle not only recovered in health, but also maintained such a youthful appearance. It’s just that..."

Xia Zheng sighed and shook his head, "It’s just that when he was young, he couldn’t bear the pain of his body and always drank secretly to alleviate the suffering. Later, he became addicted, and this addiction to alcohol is something he can never give up."

Lin Yuan always knew that Xia Zheng had an uncle who loved to drink, but she wasn’t clear about why he loved to drink. She never expected that behind his glamorous appearance, there was such a heartbreaking past.

Born with an illness, taking medicine at such a young age as if it were as common as eating—who could endure it?

Lin Yuan heaved a soft sigh, feeling deeply that for Xia Hen to grow up with a cheerful disposition was truly remarkable.

Xia Hen broke in through a window, and it wasn’t long before Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly took some young attendants to fix the window in the room.

What a day full of turmoil it had been; Lin Yuan went home to rest well for the day. Xia Zheng, on the other hand, returned early to the General Mansion to watch Xia Hen and Lao Fan fight.

It was quite a fierce fight, just as Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng had guessed—the Vajra Ruyi Spoon had indeed been stealthily swiped by Lao Fan.

When Xia Hen found him, he was hiding in a small corner of the backyard, sneakily making shrimp and eggs!

Despite being a glutton, this fellow was really terrible at cooking; he actually produced a huge plume of black smoke from a perfectly good stove.

It was this plume of black smoke that revealed his hiding spot.

Seeing the Vajra Ruyi Spoon, blackened and grimy in Lao Fan’s hand, Xia Hen felt so exasperated he could die. He immediately burst into tears, hugging the spoon and crying so pitifully that even Lao Fan felt embarrassed, repeatedly offering to give him a new spoon.

Listening to Xia Zheng recount the story of Xia Hen and Lao Fan, Lin Yuan found it both funny and helpless. With those two characters, the General Mansion had indeed become much livelier.

The day of the competition with Drunken Immortal Tower was approaching, and those twenty coveted judging invitations were being sold at sky-high prices.

However, even at astronomical prices, no one could buy them, because the competition between the two taverns was considered the grandest event in the Capital city in nearly a decade, and no one wanted to miss it.

Invitations were limited, but the number of people wanting to attend the competition was endless. Thus, when news spread that Xia Zheng held the last invitation, many people inquired about the price.

The more people inquired, the higher the price naturally went, especially for this last priceless invitation, which made people even more anxious.

To avoid exposing himself, Xia Zheng didn’t reveal his identity, so no one in the Capital city knew that the last invitation was actually in Xia Zheng’s hands.

Still, some people found out, especially Su Tianrui who knew Xia Zheng best.

Though Su Tianrui was the younger son of Su Zhe, he didn’t hold any official position, so he was considered an ordinary citizen. But whether it was Heaven’s dislike for him or Xia Zheng’s sly maneuvers behind the scenes, he just couldn’t buy an invitation.

"Tell me, is that invitation in your hands? Ah, how much silver do you want? I’ll give it all to you!"

Su Tianrui pestered Xia Zheng all the way from the General Mansion to Dong Tian, talking the whole way, but the guy was just like a stone in a latrine, not opening his mouth, driving Su Tianrui to the brink of blowing his top.

"Ah, please help me persuade him; I can give you ten times the price, okay?"

Seeing Lin Yuan sipping tea with interest on the side, Su Tianrui’s eyes turned red with urgency. He had pleaded to this extent, yet these two could still treat him like air. No wonder these two monsters were able to come together!

Lin Yuan took a sip of her tea, looked up with a slight smile, and said, "It’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that his invitation already has an owner."

It already has an owner?

Su Tianrui frowned. Who in the Capital city could Xia Zheng save an invitation for without making Lin Yuan jealous?

Lin Yuan glanced mysteriously at Xia Zheng, then smiled without saying a word, and continued to sip her tea. This tea had been transported from Tea Tree Town; she was selecting the first batch of quality tea for Idle Tea House.

Lin Yuan stopped talking, and Xia Zheng was even more stubborn than a duck, which made Su Tianrui frantic.

Just as he was getting anxious like an ant on a hot pan, the door to the elegant room opened.

Shopkeeper Liu appeared with a complex expression, a mix of excitement and caution, and a bit of thrill: "Young Master, Miss, that weirdo is here again, and he specifically asked to see both of you."

Lin Yuan put down her tea, Xia Zheng also stopped playing riddles with Su Tianrui, both exchanged a smile with raised eyebrows.

The sucker has arrived!

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