Spiritual Chef (4)

Long Yuan could guess what was inside the teacher's mind with a simple glance. To someone with two lifetimes of experience, how could Long Yuan be unable to see through the teacher's thoughts?

Unfortunate for him, Long Yuan was similarly stubborn. It would be as challenging as moving a mountain to make him accept the money from the teacher.

"Just collect five coins like yesterday, Ling-Er." Long Yuan said to his sister before the lass proceeded to accept the seven copper coins offered by the teacher.

His insistence puzzled both Yuan Ling and the teacher. And before either of them said anything, Long Yuan quickly came up with a reason to mend this.

"It would be a breach of trust if I charge my customers anyhow I like. That's the rule in business one must follow." Long Yuan said. Evidently, he's trying to come up with a reason to let the teacher back down comfortably without offending anyone around them.

"How can I keep taking and not returning, young friend?" said the teacher. He finds it a little embarrassing to receive another favor from Long Yuan again. Although a single copper coin might be nothing in many people's eyes, it is still worth two pieces of steamed bun.

To people with money, a copper coin or two is worth nothing. But for the teacher and the sibling, this could buy them two buns to sate their hunger.

After hearing what the teacher said, an idea quickly popped up into Long Yuan's mind. Feeling that it was an excellent opportunity to mention this right now, Long Yuan decided to ask and see what the teacher thought.

"Would you mind teaching my sister calligraphy in return?" Long Yuan asked. This is precisely the best time to mention the calligraphy lesson before the second batch of hungry patrons comes into the food market.

If he tried to get an answer at that time, it would be too late as they'd get swarmed by the people until there's no time to even breathe.

Long Yuan's question made Yuan Ling pout.

Although she knew that Long Yuan was thinking on her behalf, it seemed that he unintentionally let others know that she had terrible handwriting.

"Bad-Gege... Stupid-Gege..." Yuan Ling gently poked Long Yuan's arm to express her unhappiness.

"Of course! Calligraphy is precisely what I am good with. I might be lacking or doing averagely in other subjects. Still, I'm the best in this Sprouting Village when it comes to calligraphy." the teacher said. He seemed different and confident when it was about calligraphy.

"If your sister is willing to learn from me, I can guarantee that she will significantly improve in just a week," he added.

"What do you think, Ling-Er? Do you want to learn some basics from the teacher?" Long Yuan looked at his sister and asked for her opinion. After all, she's the one attending the class, not Long Yuan.

It would be great if she's willing to go. But it's not like Long Yuan will get angry if she's unwilling.

"Long-Gege... We got no money to pay for additional classes. Furthermore, calligraphy is a pricey subject." Yuan Ling said. There's a hint of hesitation on her when it comes to the topic related to money.

But there was one thing Long Yuan was sure of, and its Yuan Ling's interest. To be worried about money means she somewhat wanted to attend the class. If Yuan Ling was unwilling to go, she would deliberately skip this topic and talk about something else.

Since Long Yuan already suggested, how can he simply give up because of the money issue?

But before Long Yuan convinced his sister to not worry about the problem with money, the teacher interrupted. His reply was a few seconds faster than Long Yuan.

"How can I ask for a payment from teaching a student how to write? Although I don't look like one, the village chief actually sponsored me to teach around the village. You don't have to worry about the cost or stationaries too. All you need is to show yourself in class and study diligently." the teacher said.

The reply made Yuan Ling feel at ease as she could save a few more copper coins for the family.

It seemed that Yuan Ling no longer had any objection to attending his calligraphy class.

"Then... This girl, Yuan Ling, will earnestly learn from the teacher." the young lass said and presented a curtsy to the teacher as a sign of respect.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll improve after attending the class for a week. Make yourself available for an hour in the afternoon, and I'll make sure to teach you." said the teacher.

"The class would be at the empty field at the back of village chief's house. If you have other friends interested in learning calligraphy, please bring them over. A class will only get more fun if more people are attending." he added.

"See you in the afternoon, teacher." Yuan Ling said. Since she was told to only collect five copper coins from the teacher, Yuan Ling returned the two additional coins to him along with the box with twelve steamed buns.

The teacher no longer tried to insist the siblings accept the payment this time.

Barely ten minutes after the teacher left, the second batch of hungry patrons finally arrived. They numbered a little over three hundred people. The moment they made their way into this food market, it was immediately filled to the brim.

Luckily, two rows of dividers separate the square into multiple smaller sections. Without the help of this thing, the food market would definitely be filled with accidents happening here and there.

Apparently, the sibling's business was doing much better than their first day. After the commotion yesterday, more people came to their stall for their delicious steamed buns. Some of them were also returned customers from yesterday.

But nothing caught the sibling's attention more than a pair of hunters waiting for their turn.

"Young friend, could you still do the same roasted buns for the two of us like yesterday?" asked the hunter who came later yesterday. The same hunter called Er-Chang was accompanying him over to the market again today.

A hint of eagerness can be seen in their eyes as that item was the first thing they asked for when it came to their turn.

"Of course. I've brought some extra of the Silvergrass Fruit Compote today to let more people try them. Should I make one order for each of you?" Long Yuan asked with a smile on him. He could feel that both of them were addicted to the sweetness after merely eating one yesterday.

"Can we have two orders per person, please?" Er-Chang asked. It seems when it comes to food, his stuttering and communication problem was gone.

"Also, please pack ten of the regular steamed buns for us. We'll be going to hunt tonight as well." the other hunter added.

"Of course," answered Long Yuan. Two or four roasted buns wouldn't be a problem to him as long he had excess Silvergrass Fruit Compote in hand. But with close to thirty buns sold so early in their business day, Long Yuan considered if he had to prepare more flour than before for tomorrow.

Since this was their second day operating the stall, the siblings already had a mutual understanding of their own responsibility.

After packing ten steamed buns aside and handling four to her Long-Gege, Yuan Ling attended to other customers. Meanwhile, Long Yuan maintained the same composure. He applied a generous layer of the fruit compote on the buns before roasting them on the gentle charcoal flame.

Their business was booming. With more and more people coming over to try the steamed buns they made, the siblings sold everything an hour earlier than yesterday and earned a little more than yesterday.

Putting aside the two steamed buns Long Yuan gave the teacher, 76 of the steamed buns were sold for 38 copper coins, and 12 of them were sold for 12 copper coins each. In total, the sibling's profit for today was 50 copper coins.

"Long-Gege! Our business got us 50 copper coins! If we can do as good as this for tomorrow, it would be enough for the academy fee!" Yuan Ling happily said while hopping around Long Yuan.

"En! Let's continue to do this until we get enough for your academy fee and also buy you a set of new clothes, shall we?" Long Yuan said. From the day he arrived in this world, Long Yuan noticed that Yuan Ling only had two dresses to change into.

He had a hunch that Yuan Ling would be happier if she could have one to two additional sets of clothing in her cabinet.

Long Yuan then turned the remaining flour into the dough before flattening it. The remaining Silvergrass Fruit Compote is added before Long Yuan kneads the dough into a bun.

This was the first time he made Yuan Ling a bun with a filling inside. After putting the bun into her meal box and sending the lass off, Long Yuan made his way to the Xiyang Pavilion's ground floor to settle his payment.

The fee for today ended up as 25 copper coins. Although it's just three coins more, they're still money.

Long Yuan left after exchanging a few words with Xiyang Yuwen before leaving. Again, he purchased something on his way home, and this time, it's some smoked backend meat from Obsidian Deer.

Although it was just a slab of meat nearly 100gm in weight, this amount is good enough for him to prepare something delicious for the lass when she comes back this evening. As for what he's going to do, Long Yuan is still considering that while heading back home.