Chapter 32: Fried Ice Cream
Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Old man Yang went fishing again. This time, instead of going on a Sunday or taking Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu with him, he went with Xiao Wan’s Grandma and a couple of familiar old buddies.
Just after giving the XiQin Restaurant to Lin ShuYi, Old man Yang was somewhat reluctant to let go and would always come and look around. But soon after, he was persuaded by Xiao Wan’s Grandma to practice Taichi or climb mountains with her. Everyone would even gather together to fish when there was nothing to do. Old man Yang’s life seemed to have been enriched all of a sudden and he no longer cared much about the affairs of the XiQin Restaurant. Life pa.s.sed as comfortable as he wanted, and he seemed to have understood the meaning of life all of a sudden. Thus, he felt that handing the restaurant over to Lin ShuYi had really been a great choice.
Although this restaurant had already been transferred to Lin ShuYi, Lin ShuYi always felt that this was always something that belonged to Old man Yang. So he had no intention to change anything. Lin ShuYi believed that as long as he managed the restaurant well, he would always have a place to stay.
Business was constantly booming at the XiQin Restaurant. The money was collected by Shen Fu and he would pa.s.s it all to Lin ShuYi at night. Lin ShuYi opened another bank account to deposit the money, preparing to hand it over to Old man Yang when the time came.
He used to have a vague concept about money. Although he knew that money could buy many things, he also did not have anything that he absolutely had to get. It was only after Shen Fu arrived that he realized that there were so many places to spend money here.
When he went to the bank this time, he not only deposited the majority of his money, but also consulted a nearby brokerage house and opened a brokerage account for himself. He learned about stocks from Shen Fu because he saw a flyer about investment and financial management in the bank last time. The flyer had later been thrown away by Old man Yang who treated it as a fraud. However, Lin ShuYi kept it in his mind and checked it on the Internet. The reception seemed to be mixed. In the end, he unintentionally mentioned it in front of Shen Fu. Shen Fu was somewhat surprised and even teasingly asked him why he suddenly knew how to make money and whether he wanted to earn money for marrying and raising his wife.
Lin ShuYi ignored Shen Fu’s teasing, yet he remembered what Shen Fu said very clearly.
“If you want to earn money, to be honest, learning stocks is better than investing in these ragtag financial products. Be it in the long-term or short-term, I promise that you won’t make a loss with my guidance.” Though he did not know what Shen Fu did before, he felt that Shen Fu actually understood this quite well. After that, Shen Fu eyed Lin ShuYi again, “You’re really smart. If you study finance, won’t these things be toys in the palm of your hands?”
Lin ShuYi squinted his eyes. He did not quite understand what Shen Fu meant. Then Shen Fu rubbed his head like he was petting some kind of canine and grinned to much that his eyes narrowed.
“But that’s all right. Although you’re smart, you also don’t need to be that smart.”
Lin ShuYi intuitively felt that this was not a sign of praise.
Lin ShuYi did not tell Shen Fu that he opened an account. Although Shen Fu had enlightened him to this, he did not really want to see Shen Fu acting proud in front of with his status as his senior. He felt that he should be able to get a pretty good understanding by himself too. He particularly wanted to see Shen Fu’s expression when he had done it.
Lin ShuYi pa.s.sed the ice-cream shop again when he returned. It was almost late autumn now, and the business of the ice-cream shop had greatly decreased. However, Lin ShuYi still bought it every time he pa.s.sed by. This was the first dessert he had ever eaten in this world and he liked it as much as Song Yan’s roast chicken that he had eaten for the first time in Da Yan.
It was only until now what he knew that he was in the camp: Sweets Over Life.
The clerk inside smiled at the sight of him walking into the ice cream shop. “It’s heading into the cold season soon. You still like ice cream so much?”
Lin ShuYi nodded and slightly raised the corner of his lips.
He had become a regular customer in this shop. The three clerks in this shop were all familiar with him. At first, they thought he was an indifferent and elegant person. Who could imagine that he was actually an adorable and foolish person? Once he saw something delicious, his eyes would shine.
Lin ShuYi had tried all the ice-cream flavors in this shop over the summer. The clerks were also very friendly with him and every time a new flavor came out, they would immediately tell him. Basically, as long as he liked it very much, the same flavor would also be very popular with other customers.
Even the owner of this shop knew Lin ShuYi. He had planned to pull Lin ShuYi over to work at his shop. After all, almost all the girls were unable to resist the combination of a handsome man with ice cream. However, he gave up the idea when he found out that Lin ShuYi worked in the XiQin Restaurant behind the alley.
Before Lin ShuYi could say what kind of ice cream he wanted, one of the girls working as a clerk said, “We got a new flavor of ice cream again. You’ve really came at the right time.”
Lin ShuYi’s eyes lit up with a whoosh.
“That’s right! It’s a strawberry-flavored fried ice cream, which is really perfect to eat during this season. Would you like to try it?”
Lin ShuYi nodded decisively.
The female clerk brought out a plate of the new type of ice-cream that the shop was carrying. Two golden and round b.a.l.l.s that were wrapped in a crisp layer of breadcrumbs was placed in front of Lin ShuYi.
This novel way of eating made Lin ShuYi feel a little helpless for a while. Finally, he took a spoon and poked the sphere. Cold vapor wafted off the pink ice cream that leaked out immediately.
Lin ShuYi narrowed his eyes and savored the taste in enjoyment.
Since there was no one in the shop at the moment, the three girls working as clerks were no longer standing behind the counter and surrounded Lin ShuYi’s table instead, “How is it? How is it?”
It was a delight to watch Lin ShuYi eat even if they were not eating.
Hot and cold collided together as the crisp and warm wholemeal bread that made up the outer sh.e.l.l and the ice-cold and creamy strawberry ice cream that was the filling mixed, transforming into a unique delicacy.
Lin ShuYi nodded, “It’s delicious.”
The shopkeeper came in from another door, “He’s hooked, he’s hooked. Since he said that it’s delicious, we’ve definitely got this in the bag!”
Before Lin ShuYi left, not only did they shop not charge him for his ice cream, they even gave him two more packets of ice cream for free.
Shen Fu was frowning while he was speaking on the phone when Lin ShuYi returned to the XiQin Restaurant. Lin ShuYi did not listen to his conversation and just walked in to place the ice cream in front of Shen Fu. It was only after this that Shen Fu reacted. He spoke into the phone, “Alright, I’m hanging up.”
Then he really hung up. After hanging up, his expression did a turnabout as he beamed at Lin ShuYi, “You bought it for me?”
Lin ShuYi looked askance at him, “No, it was given to me. I couldn’t finish.”
Shen Fu: …
Old man Yang was not at home, so Lin ShuYi could only put the remaining packet into the freezer. Since it was not mealtime and there were no customers, he sat beside Shen Fu and looked at the bonds and stocks that had just been downloaded onto his mobile phone.
Shen Fu did not know what he was playing on his phone. He felt really sleepy while sitting and when he saw Lin ShuYi sitting straight as a ramrod, his mind suddenly came up with a crooked idea, “Lend me your thigh…”
Before he finished, he was interrupted by an even louder voice, Shen Fu indicated… he was rather irked.
With a head with disheveled hair, Zhao XueMei dragged Yang Xiao in. When she saw Shen Fu and Lin ShuYi, she actually did not cursed them. Instead, she looked around the restaurant before asking, “Where is he? Where?”
Shen Fu’s smile turned rigid, forming a strange curvature. Oh, she came again? It seemed that she did not take his words seriously at all.
Lin ShuYi stood up and asked expressionlessly, “Are you looking for Grandpa? Whatever for?”
Zhao XueMei had originally been ignoring the bad luck of encountering them, but she became angry and anxious when she heard Lin ShuYi’s tone, “What? Do I need to report to you if I want to find him? Who do you think you are?! Hurry up and tell me, where is he?” She was in such a hurry that she had no time to talk nonsense with them.
Lin ShuYi narrowed his eyes, “Then I don’t know.”
Shen Fu: … So straightforward, really doesn’t know how to lie.
Yang Xiao was the first to lose his temper before Zhao XueMei could. Unfortunately, he was scared back by Shen Fu, who had taken a step forward, before he could even walk over to Lin ShuYi.
However, he no longer felt afraid once he thought of that one million. He straightened his neck and bl.u.s.tered, “It’s none of your business. We just want to find my Grandpa and talk to him.”
Shen Fu folded his arms, “Your appearance suggests that you guys don’t want to sit down and have a good talk.”
Yang Xiao was about to cry, “I really didn’t come to pick a quarrel. I just want to know where my Grandpa is. I really have something to tell him.”
Yang JianGuo was gasping for breath as he arrived. When he saw the situation, he thought that something had happened and walked in while saying, “What’s the matter again?”
Yang Xiao grabbed his arm, “Dad, Grandpa is not here. Quickly go and look for him.”
Yang JianGuo could be considered as the only one who was a little reasonable in this family of three. Listening to Yang Xiao, he became certain that these two children knew where his father was, but did not want to tell them.
“We, we really have something urgent to tell my father. Do you know where he went? Could you tell us where he is?” He even needed to ask outsiders about his own dad’s whereabouts when looking for him. It was truly a marvel for him to be such an ‘accomplished’ son.
Shen Fu did not speak. He only looked at Lin ShuYi. Lin ShuYi looked at Yang JianGuo and replied, “Grandpa went fishing with the rest. I also don’t know which lake they went to.”
It looked like they had made a wasted trip today. All of Zhao XueMei’s hopes were dashed and she could not restrain her temper. She knew perfectly well that Old man Yang was not here, yet she was still full of mocking and ridicule, “He still has the mood to fish even at this time? He’s really living so comfortably!”
Lin ShuYi’s expression became ugly again.
Yang JianGuo also flared up, “Why can’t you keep your mouth shut?! It’s all your son’s handiwork! What does it have to do with my father?!”
“That’s right, it doesn’t have anything to do with your father. Anyway, if we can’t gather this one million, I also don’t want to live if an unforeseen disaster happens to Xiao Xiao. Since you’re siding with your dad, go over and join him! You can just watch us mother and son die!” Zhao XueMei began to sob as she spoke. Yang Xiao was originally very afraid and agitated. Now that his hopes were shattered, he was as white as a sheet.
Shen Fu and Lin ShuYi looked at each other. They finally believed that something disastrous had really happened to this family of three.