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墨書 Inktalez
"Ye Chen, what's wrong with you? You look like a little widow!"
Before Ye Chen could approach the kitchen, he saw Lou Yu standing at the door with a playful grin, bits of food still stuck in the corners of his mouth.
"Move aside, let me in," Ye Chen said, rolling his eyes at him. He tried to sidestep Lou Yu to enter, but Lou Yu shifted his position to block the way again.
With no other choice, Ye Chen looked up and met his gaze. "Brother, I don't have as much free time as you do. You've been wandering around all day; someone has to do the work! Let me in!"
Ye Chen's expression was calm, his words reflecting the sentiments of a hardworking individual.
Lou Yu's smile faltered for a moment as he withdrew his long legs and stepped aside to let Ye Chen pass.
Once inside the kitchen, Ye Chen immediately got to work—adding firewood, scooping noodles, rinsing them, and preparing sauces. The speed of his hands was a stark contrast to how he had worked just half a month ago.
Lou Yu crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Ye Chen busy himself. His eyes occasionally drifted over Ye Chen before settling back on the dough in Ye Chen's hands.
Ye Chen's delicate and fair hands contrasted beautifully with the pure white dough, making them appear even more rosy. A beam of sunlight filtered through the curtain, casting a warm glow on Ye Chen's upper body. He stood bathed in sunlight, a few strands of hair falling over his forehead, and the light accentuated the contours of his jawline with an ethereal glow.
After just a glance, Lou Yu found himself unable to look away.
Though Ye Chen mechanically repeated his actions, it didn't mean he had forgotten about what had just happened. Doctor Pei's gaze had been oddly unsettling; even though he hadn't said anything wrong, that look made him feel uneasy.
As Ye Chen kneaded the dough, he noticed that it felt dry and crumbly; it wasn't coming together properly because he had added too little water.
Just as he turned to add a scoop of water from the tank, he realized Lou Yu had been watching him intently.
"What are you doing?" Ye Chen waved his flour-covered hands in front of him.
In an instant, Lou Yu snapped back to reality, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks.
"Ahem, nothing much... just feeling a bit bored," Lou Yu said casually as he turned his gaze toward the window.
Ye Chen ignored him and continued to busy himself. "By the way, you're still here. Submissive ldn't you be preparing for the transport of supplies? The fact that General He agreed to hand this task over to you shows he still has high hopes for you. Don't let him down. Stop lingering in the Firehead Camp and go to the infantry camp to mobilize a few troops and get them ready."
"I've already taken care of everything you mentioned. I have quite a few brothers with me, and I've selected three or four hundred men for this mission. That Submissive ld be enough. General He said that the lives of the people between Cangzhou and Lan Prefecture are stable, and there are troops stationed there, so we don't need to mobilize a large army to deal with bandits."
Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Oh, no wonder they gave this task to you; it sounds so easy."
Lou Yu jumped up in protest, "What kind of look is that? Are you looking down on me? Let me tell you, when I was on the battlefield before, I shot the leader of the Wolf Tribe and Sak Tribe from thirty or forty paces away! Don't underestimate me!"
Ye Chen pointed toward the door, "Got it, got it. You're the best. So, General Xiao Lou, can you go back to your Military Camp now? Our Kitchen is too small to accommodate you."
Lou Yu was left speechless.
Although it was meant as a compliment, he couldn't shake the feeling that Ye Chen was trying to kick him out.
After Lou Yu left, Ye Chen's dark eyes swept over his departing figure, gradually deepening with thought.
He had considered asking Lou Yu to help him deliver the seal. However, since he had promised Xiao Feng that he would deliver it personally, he couldn't go back on his word. Moreover, that seal was shaped like a four-clawed dragon; it was clearly not something a commoner would possess but rather looked like an official royal seal. If Lou Yu discovered its connection to such matters, would he still have a chance at survival?
Lou Yu was someone who could be described as loyal and righteous; on the flip side, he was also impulsive and hot-headed. Right now, he was a passionate youth eager to serve his country—a type not uncommon at his age. Reflecting on this made Ye Chen recall his own dreams of joining the military, which he had given up after failing an eye exam in high school.
Now that he had crossed over into this era, every step felt arduous. He had to be cautious in everything he did, just trying to earn a little money for a safety net and dreamt of opening a shop to get by—why was it so difficult?
First as Kun Ze and now in the Military Camp surrounded by wolves—he didn't know what might happen next. If one day his identity as Kun Ze were exposed in the Military Camp, would he be executed publicly?
No, when passing by Ruined Mountain Temple this time, he had to find a way to inform Xiao Feng that he wouldn't be taking part in this business anymore and urged him to find a way to get him out of the Military Camp soon.
Two heads were better than one.
"Ye Chen! What are you doing? You added too much water; didn't you notice?"
The thought was abruptly interrupted by Chef Wang's scolding voice.
Ye Chen looked down and saw that the flour in the bowl was completely submerged in water.
Ye Chen: "…"
Chef Wang approached, gave Ye Chen a smack on the back of his head, and couldn't help but berate him, "Do you have any idea how much flour this is? It could feed dozens of soldiers! Wasting it like this, do you want to be punished?"
Ye Chen was stunned: "Huh?"
"Well, Chef Wang, I think there's still a chance to salvage it. We can just add more flour," he suggested.
Wang Xiangzi suppressed his rising anger, pulled Ye Chen aside, and pointed at him while scolding, "Add more flour? If you add too much flour, are you going to add more water too?"
Ye Chen bit his lip and cautiously looked at Wang Xiangzi, nodding slightly: "Is that okay?"
Wang Xiangzi couldn't hold back any longer. He shouted at Ye Chen so fiercely that it blew the hair around his ears: "Of course not! Do you think this is playing with mud?"
Ye Chen felt a chill in his heart. It was just flour; the temperature difference here was significant, and leaving it overnight wouldn’t spoil it. He could even get away with being lazy tomorrow and avoid kneading the dough.
If Wang Xiangzi knew that Ye Chen was thinking these little calculations, he would surely want to give him a good beating.
This kid really had no idea how precious food was when you're not the one paying for it.
"All of this is public food meant for the soldiers. It's not just about how much water or flour you add," Wang Xiangzi continued. Just as he was about to berate Ye Chen further, Fu Gui appeared and pulled him behind himself, blocking Wang Xiangzi's path. "Chef Wang, please don’t be angry. Ye Chen is young; making mistakes is normal. Besides, the dough he made before was quite good, right? Maybe he’s just having an off day and wasn’t paying attention. And really, why get upset with a child? Look at how old he is compared to you."
"But look at what he did today! So much flour—enough for twenty or thirty people’s rations—just wasted like that!" Wang Xiangzi pointed at the bowl of flour soaking in water, pounding his chest in distress.
Following Wang Xiangzi's gaze, Fu Gui immediately looked over and saw that the dough soaking in the basin had become indistinguishable from the water.
Fu Gui's eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to Ye Chen. "You did this?"
Ye Chen, with his hands covered in dough, rubbed his nose sheepishly and admitted, "Yes, I made it."
Fu Gui couldn't help but feel frustrated. So much dough wasted! In a poor household, it might take ten days or half a month just to have a chance to eat noodles, and here this kid was wasting it all.
"You brat, do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get a bowl of noodles when I was your age? And now you’re just throwing all this away! I must have spoiled you too much, letting you develop such bad habits."
As he spoke, Fu Gui's usually gentle face twisted into a fierce expression. He picked up a thick firewood stick from beside the stove and threatened Ye Chen, "You little rascal, today I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
Wang Xiangzi had been dumbfounded since Fu Gui started speaking. Fu Gui was known for having the best temper in their canteen; in all these years, he had never seen anyone provoke him to this extent.
Wang Xiangzi had completely forgotten about continuing to scold Ye Chen. With Fu Gui already on a roll, he couldn't find a way to interject. As he watched Fu Gui prepare to strike Ye Chen with the firewood stick, he hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping an arm around Fu Gui. "What are you doing getting angry at a child? He’s so young; it was probably just an accident. There's no need to lose your temper like this."
As he spoke, Wang Xiangzi subtly reached for the firewood stick in Fu Gui's hand. With little effort, he managed to take it away.
Ye Chen observed all of this and thought to himself: "What terrible acting."
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