Standing in front of a stall watching the owner make steamed buns, Jiang Chan couldn’t help but sniff. It was an instinctive reaction of this body; the original owner had never eaten steamed buns in her life. On the other hand, Jiang Chan’s elder brother, Jiang Miao, had relatively good meals.
The youngest, Jiang Xing, could sometimes get a little by acting cute, but the original owner, who worked tirelessly every day, became the hardest worker in the family, waking up earlier than the roosters and sleeping later than the dogs.
A cold smile appeared on Jiang Chan’s lips as she looked at the white meat buns. Without looking back, she left, leaving the stall owner calling out, “Steamed buns, freshly out of the steamer, one penny each.”
Ignoring the calls of the street vendors, Jiang Chan continued walking, quickly traversing the busiest street in the town.
Although it was described as the busiest, there was no comparison to modern times. After wandering around, seeing that there weren’t many people on the street at the moment, Jiang Chan stopped and leaned casually against a nearby wall.
With lowered eyes, lost in thought, she pondered on what to do next. She happened to be standing near the back door of a restaurant, and there were already some movements in the kitchen.
On one side of the back door, there were two wooden barrels, and several stray dogs were wandering around the back door. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a chubby man walked out, waving to the stray dogs. In the next second, he started feeding these stray dogs.
Furrowing her brows for a while, Jiang Chan gradually formed an idea. She circled around to the front entrance of the restaurant. By now, the sky was gradually getting brighter, and there were more pedestrians on the street.
The restaurant was already open, and a waiter was wiping tables and benches. Seeing Jiang Chan enter, the waiter greeted her with a smile, “Young sir, are you here for a meal or to stay?”
Jiang Chan was taken aback. Young sir? It was only then that she realized she had hurriedly left home, wearing a dusty short tunic, and she hadn’t styled her hair; she had just tied it into a ponytail.
Especially with her current petite figure lacking curves, it was understandable that the waiter mistook her for a young man.
Feeling a bit flustered, Jiang Chan’s face tensed, “I’m neither here for a meal nor to stay. I’m looking for your shopkeeper.”
The waiter, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, upon hearing this, immediately led Jiang Chan to the counter. Inside, there stood an old shopkeeper around fifty with a curly goatee, looking approachable, but the fleeting sharpness in his eyes couldn’t be concealed.
The shopkeeper saw Jiang Chan when she came in. He was a shrewd person. Unlike the young waiter who might mistake someone’s gender, he would not. However, he didn’t mention it when he saw her; the shopkeeper didn’t point it out.
As the waiter led Jiang Chan towards the counter, the shopkeeper pushed aside the abacus and looked at the girl who was just a head taller than the counter. “What brings you to this old man?”
As a seasoned worker, Jiang Chan kept a humble posture. Although her facial expressions were limited, her mouth worked just fine.
“I’m Jiang Chan. I’m good at cooking, and I’m here to request a job to earn a living,” she said.
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened. Although the current era didn’t forbid women from working, there were still few women working outside. What kind of wind blew into his restaurant today?
Seeing Jiang Chan in her dusty short tunic, the shopkeeper couldn’t help but stop. He didn’t say anything, just smiled and asked, “There are several restaurants in this town. Nearby, the Chunfeng Tower is the largest, and there’s also the Shuyu Pavilion, a famous restaurant. Why did you choose my small restaurant?”
Jiang Chan furrowed her brows, knowing she had to provide a reason today; otherwise, it would be unclear why they should keep her here.
“I came out early in the morning. I’ve been to both Chunfeng Tower and Shuyu Pavilion, walked around their back doors, and they indeed are very large. They look grand, but your place is different. It has a bit more of a human touch.”
This statement immediately piqued the shopkeeper’s interest. He leisurely looked at Jiang Chan. “How do you determine this human touch?”
“It’s evident,” Jiang Chan nodded, quickly organizing her words, “In your kitchen, there are two wooden barrels, presumably filled with leftover dishes from the previous day. I just saw an uncle feeding stray dogs.”
“I’ve also checked Chunfeng Tower and Shuyu Pavilion’s back doors; they also have barrels for leftover dishes but no stray dogs. What does that tell you?”
Jiang Chan’s words were incisive, and the shopkeeper suddenly became cheerful. He playfully tapped Jiang Chan’s head with his finger, “You’re quite insightful. Can you read?”
If it were the original owner, she definitely couldn’t read. But Jiang Chan could. Though some characters were different, she could still read and understand their meanings.
Not having a bold personality, Jiang Chan just nodded slightly, quoting a line from Sister Lin, “I know a few characters, that’s all.”
The shopkeeper found Jiang Chan more interesting the longer he looked at her. Folding his arms, he said, “You’re to my liking. This is a restaurant; if your skills are good, I won’t stop you.”
Jiang Chan knew that the most difficult part was over. The rest was a piece of cake. A smile finally appeared on her face, “If you don’t believe it, I can show you my hand.”
“Good!” The shopkeeper had been waiting for this. He called over the waiter, “Stop playing around, take Xiao Jiang to the kitchen to make two dishes.”
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