Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 47 Nosy
Ye Jiayao gritted her teeth and paid a hundred copper coins for a floor-level room.

Finally having her own room and no longer having to hang out with men, Ye Jiayao took off her clothes, untied her bra, and took a comfortable bath. For almost a month, she had been doing it secretly and just wiped herself casually. Ye Jiayao felt like she was going rotten.

After changing into clean clothes, Ye Jiayao went out to look for food.

When I walked into the lobby, I saw several guests arguing with the waiter.

"Such unpalatable food is so expensive, are you running a black shop?" One of the young men slammed the chopsticks on the table, and the dishes on the table shook.

The waiter seemed to be used to this kind of thing, and was not panicked at all. He said calmly: "I told you that the chef is not here today and can't make delicious food. It was you who insisted on eating here. Who can you blame?"

"You can't just fool people. Look for yourself, the vegetables are burnt, the beans are too salty, and this... is this braised pork? It's almost like lard..." The chubby guest was very angry.

"I'm sorry, no matter whether it tastes good or not, you have already eaten it, so you have to pay. Four dishes and a soup, a total of one or two taels of silver. Give it to me." The waiter stretched out his hand for money.

"We don't have any money, and we don't want to stay in this hotel anymore. Let's go." Several guests picked up their luggage and were about to leave.

"Hey...you can't leave. The room fee has not been paid yet. If you don't pay, I will report you to the police." The waiter stepped forward to stop them.

"Go ahead and report it. We are just looking for a place to talk it out! What a shabby shop! The bedding is dirty, the tea is cold, and the food is good enough to feed pigs. Pay the money, I'm your uncle." The customer was also very arrogant.

Ye Jiayao felt that these guests were deliberately trying to shirk their debts. It was true that the food was bad, but the room was clean and the tea was hot. Just now, when she wanted to take a shower, the waiter even brought her two pots of hot water. The service was quite thoughtful.

So he went to ask the cashier who was cowering behind the counter in fear.

"How long have they lived in the store, old man?"

The accountant said, "They have been living here for more than half a month. They asked for two rooms with a square-shaped door and only paid a deposit of two taels of silver. Now they still owe six taels of silver!"

"Where is your boss?" Ye Jiayao saw that there were only the accountant and the waiter in the store.

"The shopkeeper is not here. If he were here, they would have no way of denying their debts. They just took advantage of the shopkeeper's absence." The accountant said contemptuously.

Ye Jiayao nodded and sneered in her heart. She had seen people eating and free meals, but she had never seen people staying in a hotel that freed them.

There was a shoving and pushing over there, and it looked like a fight was about to break out. The other guests in the inn heard the noise and ran out to watch the fun, and people outside the inn also gathered around.

Ye Jiayao stepped forward to mediate the fight, smiling and saying, "Brothers, if you have anything to say, please talk in a nice way. Don't get angry. Anger hurts the liver and is bad for your health. Come on, let's talk inside."

The young man saw a handsome guy coming out to meddle in other people's business. They deliberately picked a quarrel just to leave. Who would want to go inside to talk, and talk nicely? He called you a fool. So he said fiercely: "Who are you? What does it have to do with you?"

Ye Jiayao said leisurely, "I'm staying here too. I just heard you guys say this is a shady place, so I wanted to ask for clarification. If it's a shady place, I don't dare stay here anymore."

The waiter was anxious: "Sir, don't listen to their nonsense. Although our inn is small, we have good service, clearly marked prices, and fair treatment for everyone. Neighbors can all testify to this."

"What a ridiculous service! You guys are running a black shop." The fat man muttered indignantly.

"It's a shady shop. It's a shady shop." Two guests who played supporting roles raised their arms in agreement.

The waiter was so angry that his face turned blue: "I think you want to default on your debt."

"What did you say? You said we want to default on our debt?" The young man grabbed the waiter by the collar, his eyes widened.

Ye Jiayao said leisurely, "You said this is a shady shop, so you have to give us an explanation so that we who stay here can know about it, so that we don't follow in your footsteps and suffer losses. Don't you agree?"

The people who were watching the fun responded to Ye Jiayao one after another.

The waiter was extremely angry. This young man looked handsome and well-mannered, but turned out to be a troublemaker. He really misjudged him.

The troublemakers were just looking for an excuse, and if you really ask them to give an explanation, they won't be able to do so and can only make up stories.

"I won't tell you how bad this hotel is. All the guests who have stayed here know it. The problem is, we lost something, and only the waiter has been in our room. Tell me, if this isn't embezzlement, what is it?" the fat man said angrily.

Ye Jiayao sneered slightly. Wow, he can even use idioms.

The waiter angrily asked, "Who stole your things? Which eye of yours saw me stealing your things?"

Ye Jiayao said, "What about the lost items? Without real evidence, we can't say anything. Even if we go to the government, we can't just convict someone without solid evidence, right? As for you saying this inn is bad, I'm confused. If you think it's so bad, how can you stay here for more than half a month? There are so many inns in Jinling City!"

The four guests looked at each other, unable to answer for a moment.

Everyone understood what was going on and started to smile.

"You've been able to stay here for so long, which means you still like this inn. As for me, I just moved in today. I'm staying in a No. 1 room, the lowest level, but the bedding is soft and clean, there's hot and cold tea, the waiter is warm and attentive, and the price... should be fair!"

The other customers in the store nodded, thinking that what Ye Jiayao said made sense.

"However, I also saw it just now. The food is indeed unsatisfactory. But the waiter also explained in advance that the cook was not here today, so it is understandable that the food is bad. In fact, it's all a misunderstanding. Let me put it this way! I'll make a new portion for you. It's my treat. After you guys finish eating, you can pay the remaining room fee before leaving. How do you think?" Ye Jiayao knew when to stop and gave them a way out.

"Manager Du is a very good person. He has been running the inn for many years and has a good reputation."

"It's not easy for them to run a small business. If there are any misunderstandings, just let's talk it out."

Neighbors came out to speak for justice. "Forget it, let it go. Harmony brings wealth." Someone advised.

The four guests saw that if the situation continued, they would be in the wrong. They were already feeling guilty, so they took advantage of the situation. Although they hated Ye Jiayao, they could only say, "For your sake, we'll let this matter go, but we're definitely not staying in this restaurant anymore."

Ye Jiayao said: "Okay, then you guys pay the rent first, and I'll go cook for you."

Then he rolled up his sleeves and asked the waiter, "Where is the kitchen?"

The waiter pointed to the back hall and said, "It's on the left side of the small courtyard at the back."

The dispute just disappeared without a trace. After the four guests left, Ye Jiayao took out a tael of silver and handed it to the accountant. The waiter said awkwardly, "How can this be so embarrassing?"

Before, he had misunderstood the young man as a troublemaker.

Ye Jiayao said: "It was agreed that I would treat you."

He put the silver on the counter and went back into the house.

One tael of silver was not a small sum for her, but Ye Jiayao never did business at a loss. Sometimes, suffering a loss was a blessing. Just wait and see, one tael of silver was spent, but more than one tael came back.

The next day, Ye Jiayao got up very early because she had an important task to do today, which was to find a job.

Just as he was about to open the door, there was a knock on the door, and the waiter said outside: "Young man, are you up?"

Ye Jiayao opened the door: "Little Brother, do you want to talk to me about something?"

The waiter laughed and said, "Young man, our boss wants to see you!"

"Is your shopkeeper back?"

"Yes, I returned last night, but I didn't dare to disturb you because I returned so late."

Ye Jiayao followed the waiter to meet the shopkeeper, who was a middle-aged man in his forties, short and fat, and looked like Maitreya Buddha when he smiled.

When he saw Ye Jiayao, he smiled so hard that his eyes could not be seen.

"Brother Li, thanks to you for what happened yesterday. Thank you so much." Shopkeeper Du bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Ye Jiayao returned the greeting and said with a smile: "It's just a small favor, you are too polite, shopkeeper."

"I had long seen that there was something wrong with those guests from Huizhou. As a result, they really took advantage of my absence yesterday to find trouble and try to slip away. Xiao Yang told me that it was my brother who silenced those guests with a few words and made them pay the room fee obediently. I, Old Du, am a person who will repay a favor. Brother Li, take the two silver coins back. I can't let you spend money after helping me." Shopkeeper Du returned the silver to Ye Jiayao.

Ye Jiayao refused to take it, but Manager Du forced it into her hands.

"Take it, take it. Otherwise, you won't be allowed to stay in our hotel." Shopkeeper Du threatened with a smile.

Only then did Ye Jiayao accept the money.

Shopkeeper Du asked, "What is the business of Li Xiaoge coming to Jinling?"

"I used to be a cook in Shandong. I wanted to find a job in Nanjing. I just arrived yesterday and now I'm about to go out to look for a job." Ye Jiayao said truthfully.

When Shopkeeper Du heard this, he asked in surprise, "Are you a cook?"

"Yes, I learned it for a few years and I can cook a few dishes."

Shopkeeper Du became interested: "Can you cook Huaiyang cuisine?"

"Yes! Huaiyang cuisine is my specialty." Ye Jiayao was secretly happy. Shopkeeper Du asked this because he wanted to hire her as a chef.

Shopkeeper Du slapped the counter, laughed loudly, and shouted with his neck straightened: "Second Mother, Second Mother..."

A woman lifted the bamboo curtain and came out: "What's the matter?"

Shopkeeper Du said, "Second Madam, what a coincidence! My brother-in-law's restaurant is in need of a cook, so a cook came to our store. This is Brother Li who helped our inn out yesterday. He is a cook and specializes in Huaiyang cuisine."

The woman looked at Ye Jiayao with a hint of suspicion: "Such a young cook?"

Seeing that the woman still had fish scales on her hands, Ye Jiayao guessed that she was the proprietress and cook of the inn. She couldn't be modest when the opportunity came. Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "If you don't trust me, you can test me."

Seeing that she was full of confidence, the woman thought she must be quite capable.

Manager Du said, "Aren't you going to help out at the restaurant at noon? Bring him over and let your brother take a look. If he's satisfied, there's no need to look for someone else."

Shopkeeper Du was a warm-hearted person, and Ye Jiayao had helped him before, so he naturally tried his best to bring the matter together.

The woman hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll take him over, but you know my brother. Ordinary cooks don't like him. Brother Li, it's up to you whether it succeeds or not."

Ye Jiayao thanked him quickly. So, it is always right to do more good deeds, and good deeds will be rewarded, right? The opportunity has come.

(End of this chapter)