Long Yuan / Yuan Long (1)

"What's the reason for withholding my salary again? This is already the second time my salary has been delayed!" a middle-aged male complained to his superior. But from his superior's reaction, it seems everything went along as he planned.

"What's wrong with your attitude, Long Yuan? Are you trying to assume that I am doing this on purpose?" the supervisor retorted. Even a blind man could easily guess what he was thinking from his reply.

"That's not what I meant. But without the salary this month, everything would be diff..."

"Was that my problem? Borrow from someone if you need money, and not by pestering your superior. Do you think I am the one that handling everyone's salary here?" the supervisor continued. His reply was filled with thorns that could make someone bleed from hearing what he said.

"Chefs, table 13, four pax. Their order is a plate of pork ribs in salt and pepper, spicy deep-fried prawns, and marinated black fungus in five-spice broth." a waiter interrupted.

His interruption seems accidental, and it made the supervisor leave after grabbing that piece of order from his hand. All of this made Long Yuan unable to finish what he was going to say.

"Brother, I have some excess salary this time. If you need, just take half from me first to pay for your bills. You know that damn fart is trying to make things harder for you." said the waiter.

In the eyes of the outsider, he's was literally coming in at the wrong time. But to Long Yuan, he knew that his good friend here was trying to save Long Yuan from losing his job.

For Long Yuan, half of his life was accumulated in this restaurant.

He was working here from the age of fifteen, just after his family could not afford to pay for his tuition fee anymore. And right now, Long Yuan was thirty-five.

Twenty years ago, he was nothing but a brat that knew nothing about cooking. But thankfully, the head chef at that time took pity on him and accepted Long Yuan as his disciple. And even after he retired five years ago, all his teaching was still followed firmly by Long Yuan.

And this persistence was what pissed the current head chef, who was Long Yuan's senior brother.

He might be the senior brother, but that doesn't mean his culinary skills were above Long Yuan. Was it not because he's married to the owner's daughter, the position of the head chef might belong to Long Yuan.

But alas, fate just has to make fun of Long Yuan.

The senior brother that hated him eventually was appointed as the head chef of the restaurant after that. Furthermore, he just had to start picking up at this junior brother by going through his mistake one by one.

Long Yuan was harshly dissed in everything he did, from how inefficient he was preparing the dishes to how badly and traditionally seasoned they were. He was also the prime target to be scolded by the business owner, especially when the business was left for the married daughter.

Day by day, Long Yuan was severely treated by the pair of despicable husband and wife. He was subjected to their bullying and had no choice but to bear with their treatment as he knew nothing else except what he had learned over here.

As Long Yuan was about to politely reply to his friend, a basket of lettuce was thrown straight at his head.

"Pumpkin-head! Get the hell over here and start preparing the dishes. Have you got tired of working? If you do, just let me know. I'll tell our neighbor restaurant to reserve a slot for you to join their kitchen."

"But if you're not, then get the hell here and start cooking! We don't have all day to wait for you over there!" said the supervisor.

In fact, he was just a supervisor in the name. If they were to based on their culinary skills, this superior knows nothing about cooking at all. Furthermore, it was all thanks to Long Yuan's senior brother for landing on this position he barely qualified for.

Was it not because he was the senior brother's older cousin, he would likely be nothing more than a dishwasher right now.

Unsure what had gotten into Long Yuan's head today, the feeling of humiliation hits him two to three times harder than before.

Felt like he was not even treated respectfully, Long Yuan grabbed the lettuce back up and retaliated. Eventually, it ended up with a big fight between the kitchen workers.

And since the senior brother and his hideous wife were practically the tyrants of this restaurant, there's no question Long Yuan would be the one got picked by them.

The fact where the supervisor took action first was not even getting mentioned in the meeting.

"Long Yuan, I've been on your side since our first day, and this is how you return my kindness. Pack up your stuff and get the hell out of the restaurant tonight. We don't need you anymore." Long Yuan's senior brother said.

Without even clarifying which party was the one at fault, the announcement came straight at Long Yuan.

He was fired. And worst of all, he still had a month of salary on hold.

"Pay me what you owe me, and I'll leave this place for good." Long Yuan said. For the first time in twenty years, this was the first time he lost all the faith he had toward this senior brother he had known for twenty years.

This was his biggest disappointment and also regret.

But unfortunately...

"Who do you think you are? I've not even asked you to compensate for their medical fees, and you dare to ask for the salary? There's nothing left for you, so get the hell off from my restaurant!" Long Yuan's senior brother said.

His words were like a hammer that came straight at Long Yuan's heart and broke it into pieces.

Another hour later, Long Yuan opened his eyes, only to notice that he was no longer at the restaurant where he resided for twenty years. Instead, it was a simply built wooden hut with straws as the roofing and bricks assembled together as a bed.

It was torturous to his back as he quickly felt the stiffness of sleeping on top of the brick with nothing but a layer of the bamboo mat.

"Where... Where the hell is this?" Long Yuan still had no recollection of what had happened to him. But he was sure about one thing.

Yesterday, he left the restaurant with a luggage bag after being kicked out by the senior brother he had known for twenty years.

Knowing that he would get no answer if he stayed on the bed, Long Yuan decided to get off the bed and stepped outside for the answer he wanted. But he quickly noticed the scar on his chest, which tortured him immediately with nerve-wracking pain.

"A-Argh!" the pain is more intolerable than getting scalded by hot oil that got onto his arm and face. Unable to keep the pain inside him, Long Yuan screamed.

His scream caught the attention of the people outside.

"What did I tell you? You should get a rest before you really die from that injury!" a girl about fourteen to fifteen years old yelled the moment she came inside the house with a mortar and pestle in hand. From the look of it, she was grounding something outside of the house.

But Long Yuan had no idea that it was actually some medicine prepared especially to treat his injuries.

"Where is this place... And... Who are you?" Long Yuan finds it weird that the girl was dressed in a typical farmer's clothing with a traditional feeling. It was like he was back to the time his grandparents were still alive.

As both were farmers throughout their lives, Long Yuan grew up by accompanying his grandparents while he was younger. Their day-to-day attire was no different from what the girl was wearing right now.

"Big brother... Have you turned into an idiot after getting beaten by the boar demon?" the young girl covered her mouth with a shocking expression after putting down what was in her hands.

"This place is our house. Have you forgotten? Also, I am your younger sister, Yuan Ling..." the young girl said her name loudly inside the house. And based on her expression, she doesn't seem to be lying at all.

"This is my home? Where is this place then? And if you're Yuan Ling, then what is my name?" Long Yuan continued.

From what he remembered, he doesn't have a sister. And as the remark, it would be weird for someone as old as thirty-five to have a younger sister around fourteen to fifteen. That literally means his parents were trying for another child after he turned twenty.

As for why he was living with his grandparents... Naturally, it's because his parents passed away early, which made it further impossible to have a younger sibling.

"I'm really unsure if you're making fun of me or what... But listen here..."

"We're at Sproutling Village, where you and I grew up as a pair of orphans. This land itself was a county that belonged to the Count of Wu, titled the Crimson Spear of the south. And this continent we're in was known as the Shiyuan Continent." the young girl, Yuan Ling, said.

"What? Shiyuan Continent, land of Count of Wu, Sprouting Village?" everything Yuan Ling said doesn't make sense at all.

"And it's okay if you still want to play around. By the way, if you're asking what's your name again, it's Yuan Long. I'm sure you can't go around without remembering your name, correct?" Yuan Ling said and made her way closer to Long Yuan, who had no idea when his name was reversed.