I Am A Chef In The Modern Era

Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

The next day, after breakfast, Old Master Shen and company prepared to go home. After all, Shen Fu’s father and Shen Yan both had things to do and Lin ShuYi was busy with the restaurant as well. This time, Shen Fu’s mother wasn’t so reluctant to leave because she had realized that S City and H City were very close. If she wanted to come, it was just a few hours journey. Plus, Shen Fu said that they would renovate the house. After that, his mother would be able to stay for however long she wanted. Hearing this, Shen Fu’s mother was delighted, but Shen Fu’s father most certainly wasn’t.

Just after Shen Fu’s parents and the others left, Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu moved into Old Man Yang’s house. The earlier they started renovations the better. They’d still need a month or so to air the place out afterwards. If they started now, they could probably move in by Chinese New Year.

That’s right. There was only less than three months to go until the New Year.

This was the first New Years Lin ShuYi would experience since coming here. It had been over half a year already. Time really did pass quickly. However, when he considered how it only took half a year to get to this point with Shen Fu, he wondered if they might’ve been too rushed. But honestly, who cared if it was rushed? Being a bit reckless was better than living in regret of not acting. Love had little to do with time.

With their lives getting on track, time passed quickly. Especially when life was so fulfilling yet peaceful. Shen Fu thought that this kind of life was heaven.

Lin ShuYi’s house renovations hadn’t been going on for long, just half a month at the moment, but it was about finished. XiQin Restaurant was managed by Lin ShuYi, so Shen Fu took on the responsibility of supervising the renovations to their house. This house was very special to them both, so they were both very concerned and careful when it came to the renovations. After all, this house would be their first home.

Shen Fu poured his heart into this house. From the structure to the choice in materials, all of it he participated in personally, like how Lin ShuYi had when renovating XiQin Restaurant.

Since this house was a small courtyard house, it did take up quite some land, but since most of that was occupied by the courtyard, the house was small. Shen Fu’s plan was to reallocate some of the courtyard to actual housing, so that they had more room. They were going to turn it into a sort of American villa style house and build the structure up taller so that there was more room without having to take up more land.

Though it was going to be in the style of those American villas, Shen Fu didn’t make the house stand out too much from its surroundings. After all, your home wasn’t like a restaurant, you didn’t need it to stand out or show off. Apart from the massive glass window on the second floor that stood out, the entire place just looked a little newer, a little more carefully decorated. But in reality, Shen Fu really had poured everything into this house, and it was obvious from the interior.

None of the rooms were particularly huge, with five bedrooms and two common areas. The rooms seemed to all be done in similar styles, but there were unique aspects to each room. The massive glass window on the second floor spanned the length of the living room. If you opened up the curtains, you could see all the sights around them. The floors were done with tatami and several couches were placed there. There was a bar with a very different style, that surprisingly didn’t clash. Then behind that was a mosaic display case. It was a tradition of the Shen Family’s to collect different kinds of alcohol, it seemed. Not only for Old Master Shen and Shen Fu’s father, but even Shen Fu had a cupboard of good alcohol. He could bring it over and let Lin ShuYi, with his amazingly high alcohol tolerance, try some.

Apart from these five rooms, there was also a loft with a skylight. It was the treasure of the building, and even Lin ShuYi hadn’t seen it yet. When the curtains were opened under the night sky, it would be like bathing in the light of the stars. It sounded very poetic, but Shen Fu would never tell anyone that his original intentions were much dirtier.

If they did the deed with the curtains open, wouldn’t it be a bit like having sex outside?

While renovating the other rooms, Shen Fu thought of how Lin ShuYi said he wanted a child for some reason and then, like he was possessed, ended up turning one of them into a child’s room.

Shen Fu: …..

Though he soon regretted it, the room was already decked out in tender, mild colors, and it made Shen Fu feel rather warm and fuzzy inside, thinking of having a kid with Lin ShuYi. He really was possessed!!

Actually, compared to adopting a child, he’d rather have Lin ShuYi give birth to his child. Shen Fu couldn’t help but think of what that soft narrow waist of Lin ShuYi’s would look, belly swollen with his child. He didn’t find it funny at all, instead almost getting a nosebleed. It was probably better for him to wipe these unrealistic thoughts from his head. Compared to that, there was a better way of getting a kid of their own blood.

However, just the thought of Lin ShuYi’s sperm fertilizing a woman’s egg made irritation rise. If they did choose to get a surrogate, they wouldn’t even have to see the surrogate mother, but Shen Fu still felt annoyed at the idea. Plus, they were still young. There was no rush to wanting children. They could think of this in the future. As for the child’s room, Shen Fu didn’t mind having it here, so he left it how it was.

By the time the house was fully done, it was already mid December. Lin ShuYi hadn’t participated much in the renovation of the house because Lin ShuYi didn’t know the first thing about modern interior design. However, this didn’t stop him from falling in love with the place. It was nothing compared to the Shen Family Estate, but it was cosy, a true home.

Recently, they had been staying over at Old Man Yang’s. Not only did Old Man Yang not find it trouble, he was absolutely delighted at it, smiling all the time.

They hired three more people to help out in the restaurant, and Tang Shuang, having gained Lin ShuYi’s full trust, had gone from a simple prep cook to sous chef. Since Tang Shuang was very smart and truly did love cooking, Lin ShuYi had been putting him in charge of many of the simpler dishes. Tang Shuang valued this opportunity greatly and did his best to make the most of it, learning with dedication and slowly managing to make these dishes taste exactly like Lin ShuYi’s own handiwork. Slowly, most of these simpler dishes became Tang Shuang’s responsibility.

Shen Fu was happy to see this because this meant that Lin ShuYi wouldn’t be as busy, so naturally Shen Fu would be happy.

During this time, Shen Fu’s parents visited again. They didn’t stay for long though, just took a look at the progress of the house. Seeing it close to completion, Shen Fu’s mother was excited beyond belief, saying directly that the house looked so warm and cosy, and that she’d come to stay often.

Shen Fu’s father’s face darkened like thunderclouds, secretly deciding that whenever Shen Fu’s mother came here to stay, he would go on strike!

Later on, Shen Yan and Chen Fang each visited once. When XiQin Restaurant first reopened, Chen Fang was out of the country on pressing business and felt guilty for not being there. Shen Fu didn’t really mind though, after all, while Chen Fang didn’t come personally, he still subsidised them plenty. That was enough.

Shen Yan’s intentions were much simpler: if Lin ShuYi wasn’t his little brother’s wife, then Shen Yan would try and steal him, just because of his culinary abilities. Compared to that, who cared if it was gay or whatever. Plus, being forced to watch this PDA every day, Shen Yan didn’t know if it was because spring was coming or what, but his desire to find someone for himself was growing by the day.

The fifth day the house was done was also the last day of the Gregorian Calendar, New Year’s Eve.

Lin ShuYi closed up shop at noon the previous day and gave his employees a holiday before going back to Old Man Yang’s place. Originally, they were going to go and celebrate the New Year at the Shen Family home. After all, their house here wasn’t ready yet, and Old Man Yang’s place didn’t have enough space. Plus, on a special day like this, they had to go home to celebrate, not force their elders to come to them.

However, Lin ShuYi was a little hesitant. If they left, Old Man Yang would be alone.

“No need to worry. Grandpa said that we should bring Grandpa Yang over as well, then problem solved.”

Lin ShuYi thought this was a good idea as well.

Yet, when they relayed their idea to Old Man Yang, the other refused, saying he already had plans for the New Year and that they didn’t need to worry.

Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu exchanged a look. Old Man Yang’s somewhat embarrassed expression wiped any suspicions of him just saying this to comfort them. Considering Old Man Yang’s rather uncharacteristic behavior and constant smiling, Lin ShuYi felt like something had happened without his knowledge.

Meanwhile, Shen Fu immediately understood.

As expected, after refusing, Old Man Yang then continued, acting like he didn’t think they would realize anything. “Xiao Wan’s grandmother said I should come over for New Year’s Eve. You guys go ahead to Old Shen-ge’s place. I won’t be going. Don’t worry.”

Lin ShuYi finally understood. New Year’s Eve was a time for family. If Xiao Wan’s grandmother was inviting Old Man Yang over at such a time, then was it not obvious?

Lin ShuYi was shocked. “You and grandma?”

Old Man Yang hadn’t expected Lin ShuYi to realize so quickly, going a little red in the face and saying with embarrassment, “Y-you guys know?”

Shen Fu actually knew a while ago, but Lin ShuYi only just realized. After recovering, Lin ShuYi was truly happy for them. He didn’t know how they got together, but Lin ShuYi was delighted that Old Man Yang had someone to be with. He had always thought that Old Man Yang’s life had really been hard on him, and now he was still all alone in his older age. But now, he was no longer alone!

“Do Xiao Wan and her parents know?”

Old Man Yang was still a little embarrassed, but knowing that he’d eventually have to tell everyone, he didn’t bother beating around the bush. “Yeah, they knew a short while before you did. You know how Xiao Wan’s grandmother is. She told them awhile ago.”

Lin ShuYi’s smile widened, joy filling him. “How did they react?”

Old Man Yang also smiled, clearly having recalled something. “Xiao Wan said that I’m her true grandpa now.”

Lin ShuYi couldn’t help but pull Old Man Yang into a hug, thinking that Xiao Wan truly was a great kid. No matter how Xiao Wan’s parents reacted, so long as Xiao Wan’s grandmother was willing and Xiao Wan wasn’t against it, then that was eighty percent done. Plus, with Old Man Yang’s personality, Xiao Wan parents definitely wouldn’t be against it anyways. He really was overjoyed for Old Man Yang.

Thus, on this New Year’s Eve, everyone received some surprising, but good news.

With that, Lin ShuYi left with Shen Fu without worry, heading to H City. As usual, they brought a bag packed to the brim with them, the truck of car similarly jam packed. Amongst these items, the most special was a small, sealed container. Inside the container was a famous dish, both famous and valuable. Because the dish inside the container was one that Lin ShuYi had spent the entire night working on: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

The reason it was so valuable was because there were tens of different kinds of ingredients involved, including abalone, shark fin, deer sinew among others. It wasn’t just valuable in the ingredients either. It took a huge amount of time and effort to make, and the steps were very complicated, so usually you could only get authentic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from restaurants in those high end hotels, because not only was the methodology complicated, there were just so many ingredients.

So, Lin ShuYi obviously hadn’t made it on a whim. In reality, it was because of Shen Fu’s older brother. Specifically, well, do you still remember the Fruit Wood Roast Duck Shen Fu owed Shen Yan?

Shen Fu’s older brother had a very interesting personality trait: when it came to food, he was extremely stingy. Shen Fu had been expecting it but still felt tears streaming down his face. One jar of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in exchange for three Fruit Wood Roast Ducks… Was he really his brother in blood?