Chapter 653: 653

Chapter 653: Last-Minute Mission

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

A few days passed . The new year was getting nearer and nearer . Man Man hadn’t gone to the restaurant recently as she was preparing for her new restaurant .

Ten days before the New Year’s Eve .

At 5:00 am in the morning, Yuan Zhou opened his eyes .

“System, when I reached the top level, can I revive the dead?” Yuan Zhou solemnly asked .

Suddenly, it was as if the atmosphere around him grew silent . Yuan Zhou felt somewhat awkward, yet he still waited solemnly for the system’s answer . The system displayed, “Brother, I am a Master Chef System, not the Master Physician System . I won’t be able to do that . ”

The system used a cold flat tone . Even Yuan Zhou could feel the deep sense of helplessness hidden within those words . After all, the system got so panicked it was calling him brother . This was a first . After the system said no, Yuan Zhou did not speak anymore . He silently left the door and went jogging . The first thing he did after returning from his jog was to take out a sign . A row of words was written on the sign with vigorous strokes of a marker pen .

[No Bamboo Liquor is offered for today . Thank you for your understanding . ]

A short and concise sentence .

A “thud” rang out when Yuan Zhou put the sign away before returning the restaurant to start preparing breakfast .

“Good morning, boss,” Mu Xianyun greeted with a smile .

“Morning,” Yuan Zhou nodded and returned the greeting .

“Good morning, boss . ” Shortly after Mu Xiaoyun arrived, Zhou Jia arrived as well .

“Mhm . ” No additional emotion could be seen from Yuan Zhou’s face, as if everything was the same as usual .

After Mu Xiaoyun and Zhou Jia were done with their greetings, they picked up the cloths and started cleaning the restaurant . While doing that, Mu Xiaoyun cautiously raised her head to observe Yuan Zhou before pulling at Zhou Jia’s sleeve and started whispering .

“Sister Jia Jia, boss seems to be in a bad mood today?” Mu Xiaoyun whispered softly .

“Yeah, I noticed the same thing as well . What happened to him?” Zhou Jia heavily nodded and replied in agreement .

“I don’t know . But did you see the sign outside?” Mu Xiaoyun signaled her to look outside .

“Yeah, I saw that but hadn’t gotten the chance to ask about it,” Zhou Jia answered with a thoughtful frown .

“Let me try asking,” Mu Xiaoyun immediately said .

“Ok . ” Zhou Jia nodded .

“Boss, we won’t be selling Bamboo Liquor today?” Mu Xiaoyun probed cautiously .

“Yeah, we won’t . ” Yuan Zhou nodded .

“Are we going to sell BBQ food due to the rain instead?” Mu Xiaoyun guessed .

“No . ” Yuan Zhou shook his head .

“Did anything happen, boss?” Zhou Jia couldn’t wait anymore and directly asked .

“No . The restaurant will be opening soon,” Yuan Zhou said after pointing at the clock .

“Oh, ok . ” Zhou Jia nodded on instinct .

Breakfast time would normally be very lively . That was because apart from those queuing up for food, there would also be people arriving for the lucky draw just to obtain the Bamboo Liquor later in the evening . An example of such a person was Chen Wei who would come for the lottery draw anytime he was at Chengdu .

“What happened? Why is there no liquor today? I don’t recall hearing that it will rain today . ” Chen Wei raised his head and looked at the clear sky as he wondered .

“I checked the weather forecast . It’s not going to rain today . It will only be a cloudy day,” beside him, Fang Heng replied with a nod .

“We’ll know if we ask,” the novelist calmly said .

“True . ” Chen Wei nodded . Then, he stopped talking and silently stayed in the line waiting for the restaurant to open .

Fortunately for them, they weren’t kept waiting for long . Soon, the glass door of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant opened . Zhou Jia and Mu Xiaoyun each stood to one side of the door, welcoming the customers into the restaurant at the same time . At this time, Chen Wei and Fang Heng walked ahead of everyone to ask Yuan Zhou about the liquor .

“Boss Yuan, since there is no liquor today, is there going to be BBQ instead?” Fang Heng asked, already thinking of a liquor that would go well with BBQ .

“No . We are not offering Bamboo Liquor today, but we are not offering BBQ as well,” Yuan Zhou shook his head and answered with a serious tone .

“But…” Chen Wei wanted to say something else but he was stopped with a pull by the novelist behind him .

“Why are you pulling me?” Chen Wei asked in confusion .

“No reason . I just don’t want to hear your question,” the novelist spoke earnestly .

“Are you trying to get a beating?” Chen Wei felt somewhat angry .

“Mhm, let’s speak outside . ” The novelist nodded at Yuan Zhou before turning around to leave .

“That was random,” Chen Wei said and turned around . Just as he was about to ask his question, he was stopped by Fang Heng .

“What’s going on?” Chen Wei was utterly confused . Why were so many people trying to stop him from speaking?

“See for yourself,” Fang Heng said as he stepped to the side, giving Chen Wei a clear view of Yuan Zhou’s face .

This time, Chen Wei no longer tried asking . He obediently followed the novelist out the door .

“Ok . If there is no liquor today, we will come again tomorrow . Goodbye . ” Fang Heng waved his hand and excused himself .

They did not even try to ask the reason for there being no liquor . This was a rare occurrence . Even if this was the first time Yuan Zhou had refused to offer both liquor and BBQ without providing any reason, they still decided to not ask him why . Even Wu Hai, the foodie, who normally had the most to say kept his silence this time .

Noon arrived .

“Boss Yuan seems to be in a bad mood . For some reason, his entire person looks rather bad,” Mu Xiaoyun seriously explained to their frequent customers at the door .

“But the food is still so good it makes one feel like swallowing one’s own tongue,” at the side, Wu Hai chipped in .

“The only thing you know is to eat . ” Man Man who was catching a breather from her busy work looked at Wu Hai in disdain .

“Of course that’s the only thing I know . But that’s better than being someone who does not dare to eat in fear of getting fat . Someone like you,” Wu Hai shot back .

“Don’t you care about Boss Yuan?” Man Man asked curiously .

“Nope . Boss Yuan never mentioned that he needed my help anyway . If he says that, I will naturally help . Since he hadn’t mentioned anything and nothing seemed to have happened, it’s clear that it is his personal issue . There is no need to ask about that” Wu Hai righteously voiced his skewed line of reasoning .

He was speaking so incoherently . He first claimed he wouldn’t help, then he claimed he wouldn’t ask . Man Man was speechless when she heard him .

“From the looks of it, Boss Yuan does not seem to want anyone to know about that matter,” Ling Hong voiced his agreement on Wu Hai’s opinion .

“Actually, I saw Boss Yuan buying flowers and fruits,” Zhou Jia spoke with some hesitation .

“White chrysanthemums and a white tiny flower which I think is the windflower,” Zhou Jia added .

“Enough, stop guessing,” as a bossy person by nature, Jiang Changxi stopped everyone’s discussion .

In fact, after Zhou Jia said what she saw, everyone already knew the reason . They had merely reached a tacit mutual understanding to not bring it out . After all, since Yuan Zhou hadn’t spoken about it, it could only mean that he did not want to speak about it . If that was the case, there was no point to their discussion . In any case, there would still be liquor tomorrow . So long as the restaurant was still around, everything would be fine .

For the entire day, Yuan Zhou maintained a solemn expression on his face . He also spoke fewer words than he usually would . Of course, his mannerism and respect towards his customers were still there . Yuan Zhou’s skill was also still there . The food he cooked was as high quality as ever . After serving dinner, the restaurant closed for the day . Once again, Yuan Zhou asked the system .

“Can I take the fruits out of the restaurant?” Yuan Zhou’s question was direct and concise .

It was already clear what’s going on . Since Yuan Zhou was going to visit his parents’ tomb, he naturally wished to bring the best he could . Today was the death anniversary of his parents .

The system displayed, “The ingredients of the restaurant can’t be brought out . ”

The system directly rejected as always .

“But I need to take them out . Is there any way around it?” An intense emotion was contained within Yuan Zhou’s words, something which was rarely seen .

The restaurant sank into a long silence — a silence resembling the peaceful mornings of the restaurant — before answering again .

The system displayed, “A last-minute mission has been issued . Do you accept?”