He placed the sign on the table, and a waiter quickly came over to help them set up the grill.

Once he was done, he taught Qin Xiaoxia how to use the electric grill, tore the paper slip on the sign in half, said, "Please enjoy your meal," and left.

"So polite. Big restaurants really are professional."

Qin Xiaoxia looked at the neatly uniformed waiters, then at the restaurant’s exquisite decor.

Even though it was lunchtime, the all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant had clearly earned some good ratings recently. The place was packed, with nine out of every ten seats taken.

After muttering his approval, he called Gou Junbao to give him their table number. Then, the two of them headed toward the food stations, snickering to themselves.

The two rascals didn’t haul massive piles of food to their table all at once like they were moving house. Instead, they just made a whole lot of trips...

The stew pot and grill were kept at maximum heat, with a constant stream of new ingredients being added.

Less than twenty minutes later, Gou Junbao arrived at Han Feng Garden with a young man in tow. He gave Qin Xiaoxia’s name and table number to the host, who then let them in.

South Wind had thought he was being treated to a fancy dinner. ’So it’s just Korean barbecue,’ he mused. ’Guess he’s not some big shot.’

At table 66, a huge stack of empty plates had already formed. Qin Xiaoxia was still visible, but Doudou looked as if he were being buried alive by them.

The surrounding tables also had plenty of empty plates, so for now, they didn’t look too out of place.

As soon as he arrived, Gou Junbao started the introductions.

"Little Hero, Doudou, this is my distant cousin, South Wind. He’s been an artisan since college, knows a bit about Forged Gold and ceramics, and he just told me he understands clay sculpture too. All in all, he’s been at it for seven or eight years."

The two being introduced both grinned at South Wind, completely unconcerned about the food stuck in their teeth.

In their eyes, why would they need to be formal with Gou Junbao’s cousin?

So they didn’t even bother to stand, being busy either dipping food in sauce or adding more to the grill.

It wasn’t the first time Gou Junbao had seen the pair’s atrocious table manners, so he could only choose to ignore them.

"Ahem, South Wind, this is Qin Xiaoxia, and this is Doudou. Oh, right, their relationship is like ours—they’re cousins too. Little Hero here is the one looking to have some kind of statue made."

But his cousin didn’t respond, making Gou Junbao feel like he’d just been having an awkward conversation with himself.

It wasn’t that South Wind hadn’t heard his cousin; it was just that Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were too captivating to look away from.

One, a young man with gray hair; the other, a child with a bump on his forehead covered by two adhesive bandages.

They seemed to inhale the grilled beef and lamb without even chewing. This was especially true of the child, who plucked a meatball from the boiling stew pot and popped it straight into his mouth.

’Isn’t... isn’t that hot?’

"What are you standing there for? Sit down and eat!"

Qin Xiaoxia suddenly yelled at the two of them, making South Wind jump.

"Oh, right, right! South Wind, let’s sit and eat..."

Watching the pair eat was a rather horrifying spectacle; even Gou Junbao had been momentarily stunned.

...

Over the next ten-odd minutes, the pile of empty plates on their table grew by a third, creating a noticeable gap between them and the surrounding tables.

"Mr. Qin, what was that you just said? I’m not sure I heard you correctly."

South Wind thought he was hearing things and subconsciously asked again.

Qin Xiaoxia wiped his mouth with a napkin and took two long gulps of juice. SLURP, SLURP. Though it was only two mouthfuls, he drained more than half of the 300-400 milliliter cup.

"I was asking, how many people are on your ’team’? Can you work in three shifts? And are they brave?"

South Wind gave Qin Xiaoxia a very strange look.

"Three shifts... that can be arranged, provided the commission is sufficient. But what do you mean by ’are they brave’? Mr. Qin, uh, are you worried we won’t dare to work overtime at night?"

Doudou shoved two pieces of cake into his mouth and looked up.

"No. What my big cousin means is, can you avoid being scared to death while you’re making the statue?"

Qin Xiaoxia quickly jumped in to clarify.

"Hahaha, just joking, just joking! The main thing is, I’m planning to have you sculpt on-site... in an old house. The people from the nearby village all say the place is haunted."

"But! That house is definitely not haunted. I’ve been playing there since I was a kid. Your cousin can vouch for me."

Gou Junbao, currently wrestling with a large prawn, just grunted, "Mhm," without looking up.

He had known Qin Xiaoxia back when Old Qin was still alive, so he knew a little about the old house. In any case, there was no way it was haunted.

South Wind nodded, only half-convinced. He wasn’t an atheist by any means, but he trusted his cousin wouldn’t lead him into a trap.

At a nearby table, a customer was arguing with a waiter.

"You guys only put out a tiny bit of seafood at a time! How can you be so stingy right after opening? I only brought my friends here because I heard good things, and now there’s not even any shrimp..."

"I do apologize, sir. We restock ingredients based on consumption. It seems we haven’t had a chance to replenish that yet, and you’ve unfortunately come during a lull. If you could please wait just a moment, it should be restocked shortly."

The waiter’s response was polite and appropriate. At the coolers in the distance, a stocker immediately began to refill the seafood section from the main pantry.

"You see, sir? The seafood is being replenished as we speak. You can go get some now. Please, enjoy your meal!"

Just as Qin Xiaoxia’s table was chatting, they saw the seafood had been restocked.

"*WHISTLE* Doudou, move out!"

Doudou shot back a look that said "I’m on it!" and immediately scrambled out from under the table, making a beeline for the seafood cooler.

"Get me some scallops, Doudou~"

Gou Junbao quickly shouted after him.

South Wind watched Doudou return with several plates of seafood. Then he watched as Qin Xiaoxia immediately tagged in, relay-race style, bringing back several more plates of shrimp and shellfish. He saw them arrange the food on the grill or toss it into the stew pot, and before a minute had even passed, Doudou was off again for another round.

In Qin Xiaoxia’s words, if you didn’t grab more now, it would all be gone in a minute.

"Uh, so, Mr. Qin... we’ve been talking for a while. Shouldn’t we discuss the price? Heh~"

South Wind, who considered himself more of an artist than a businessman, felt a bit awkward bringing it up. But since Qin Xiaoxia hadn’t mentioned money at all, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Sure! Do you guys want to be paid by the day or by the hour?"

Qin Xiaoxia’s question stunned South Wind yet again. He’d lost count of how many times it had happened.

’Daily wage? Hourly wage?’

’Aren’t projects like this priced by the piece?’

"Well... Mr. Qin, for sculptures, we normally charge based on the size and difficulty of the piece..."

He wasn’t finished speaking when Qin Xiaoxia held up a hand to stop him.

"Hold on a second, Nan. Let me ask you a few questions."

"How well-known is your team? Are you guys any good?"

That was a difficult question to answer.

"Our reputation... well, we’ll make a name for ourselves sooner or later. But our skill level... it should be... it is... it’s decent!"

South Wind’s face felt hot.

"Oh."

Qin Xiaoxia nodded.

"So, I’m providing the venue, the materials, your lodging, and your food for the duration of the project. That’s what we agreed on, right?"

"Y-yes, that’s right."

"In that case, you’re only providing the technical skill. That makes you basically a construction crew. You should just charge an installation fee."

South Wind was starting to feel a little hot under the collar. Then, something dawned on him.

"Mr. Qin, you can’t put it that way! Those were all your requirements... We could provide our own materials and work at our own studio..."

"But that’s not what we’re doing, is it? Besides, you can’t even provide the materials I plan on using. And how could I rest easy if I’m not there to supervise? If it weren’t for Brother Gou’s recommendation, I’d have found a more reputable team."

That one sentence from Qin Xiaoxia shut South Wind up.

"So, let’s just talk daily wages for now. If I’m satisfied with the results, I’ll give you a bonus. Don’t worry, I’m not very demanding."

...

As Qin Xiaoxia chattered on, South Wind was only able to get a word in edgewise every now and then.

Gou Junbao really wanted to help his cousin—their "negotiation skills" were clearly on different levels. But he saw Qin Xiaoxia all the time and felt, in a way, closer to him than to the cousin he saw maybe twice a year. So, he felt too awkward to intervene.

While the group was talking business, the staff and management of Han Feng Garden were finally, belatedly, starting to notice table 66.

The cart used for clearing empty plates had already passed through their section multiple times. Their table had been cleared repeatedly, yet each time the cart returned, it was piled high with plates again.

The floor manager, pretending to be casual, had already walked past their table at least three times, looking for an opportunity to remind them that excessive waste would incur a fine.

But a quick glance revealed that they were, incredibly, eating more cleanly than any other table in the restaurant...

PS: Thanks to reader lShadow7l for the 1,000-coin donation! Thanks to reader 20171004184644426 for the 500-coin donation! And thanks to readers Red Copper Metal and The Back at the Fingertips for the 100-coin donations~~

The next Chapter will be out either late tonight or tomorrow morning. Uh, or it might be delayed until noon.