Chapter 167: Dining
Chapter 167
After safely taking Ji Gu and Little Gray back and applying more anti-inflammatory medicine to Little Gray, Xiao Qi went to take a shower.
Old Man Yu also disinfected the stable and was very happy to see the two horses return clean.
The young girl is very reliable in her work, which puts one's mind at ease.
In the past when he washed the horses himself, he would get soaked every time, with the horses not cooperating well, even neighing inexplicably as if he was abusing them.
The weather should also be good the day after tomorrow. Old Man Yu plans to have the young girl come over to wash the horses again.
There are still several horses that need washing.
Xiao Qi went to the club bathroom. The bathroom was empty. The facility was quite nice with separate glass doors, better than the gym bathroom in the Lvshan Sports Center. That bathroom only had partitions without doors.
The shower head in the bathroom was also good with ample hot water. The shower gel and shampoo were Hermes Le Jardin de Monsieur Li scented, smelling very nice and seeming better to use than Xiao Qi’s own bottle of Pantene.
After the shower, she changed into her favorite set of sweatpants and a pink baby elephant T-shirt, feeling very comfortable all over.
She doesn’t feel the part-time job is bad. She started because Wei Cheng invited her. Wei Cheng herself is very honest and unable to refuse people, always seeming to be taken advantage of. Xiao Qi has seen Chu Yu next door make Wei Cheng run errands for her several times, which made her very annoyed, yet Wei Cheng was still all smiles.
As a result, whatever Wei Cheng asks Xiao Qi to do, she is also reluctant to refuse her.
It’s probably the law of attraction. Xiao Qi actually has a lot of money now and doesn't need a part-time job.
Firstly, she agreed to Wei Cheng because she can’t say no to Wei Cheng. Secondly, Xiao Qi was also quite curious herself.
She now finds it to be pretty good, interacting with animals is especially relaxing. Ever since the end of the gaokao, Xiao Qi had been tightly wound up. After getting the progress system, it had been the same, constantly demanding herself to work hard and make progress, always feeling like she hasn’t done enough.
She is only seventeen after all.
But thinking of her parents and everything she has seen and heard, she feels anxious all the time, feeling like she hasn’t done enough, far from enough.
However, during that brief moment of blankness in her mind earlier, Xiao Qi suddenly felt that she had gained another kind of reward: emptiness and relaxation.
Effort and rest complement each other. With only effort and no rest, you will eventually snap.
With only rest and no effort, you become useless.
Such opportunities for relaxation and emptiness are rare. This doesn't refer to sleeping. Sometimes Xiao Qi even dreams about reciting English words and doing test papers when she sleeps. That is a physical kind of rest.
Mentally, Xiao Qi rarely relaxes.
Even when running, it is goal-oriented.
But interacting with Ji Gu and Little Gray earlier, Xiao Qi felt an extreme sense of relaxation and emptiness. She likes this feeling. Getting along with animals is really great, making her feel like she has been purified, as if she were a container, having thrown away a lot of miscellaneous things, and can now confidently forge ahead again with confidence.
Xiao Qi has short hair and didn't need to blow dry it. She just rubbed it with a towel and shook her hair.
After getting out of the shower, she was actually quite hungry. There were many desserts and drinks laid out. Xiao Qi is not someone with a sweet tooth. But her appetite has been very big recently. She took her cup and chugged down a whole cup of water, at least easing her hunger a little and even burping. As she burped, she ran into the boss.
After returning last night, she had been briefed by Mi'er on Xiao Shengzhou, the student council chairman this term. Mi'er regretfully stomped her feet, wishing she had come too so she could have added the chairman on WeChat.
But she was just talking big. As the second generation of a small town textile factory boss, she didn’t actually have much work experience.
Just hearing that she would have to shovel horse manure, she couldn't stand it.
Beside the chairman was another person. Xiao Qi was usually quite face blind and wasn’t sure if she had seen this person yesterday too. She remembered the chairman clearly from adding him on WeChat, him giving her money, and Mi'er repeatedly talking about him. It was really rare to see such an authoritative looking person with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a big face. He looked very much like a leader.
“Hello, boss.” Xiao Qi greeted him.
“You did very well. If you're hungry there is food here, meals available. You can eat before heading back.” Said Xiao Shengzhou.
Xiao Qi thought Old Man Yu must have reported to him and felt this boss was pretty good upon hearing she could eat here. If Wei Cheng knew about this, she would definitely be very happy, saving money again.
"Thank you, boss." Xiao Qi said and then prepared to slip away to eat.
After all, it was just an employment relationship now. Even if he was a senior student and student council chairman from the same school, there was no real connection.
Xiao Qi did not think to fawn over him. Key was, she did not have that function.
It was probably inherited from family. She remembered before in the village, when her dad wanted to ask the village chief to help with something. He had bashfully mumbled for a very long time before speaking. Before the chief could reply with his stern face, her dad was already shamefully running away. Xiao Qi had awkwardly run away with him too. Her dad had probably brought Xiao Qi along to alleviate the awkwardness. But Xiao Qi remembered this scene clearly. Asking people for favors was too difficult.
Indeed there were meals available at the club. It looked similar to the breakfast offered at the hotel Xiao Qi was staying at, looking more delicate than the school cafeteria food, with Chinese and Western options separated.
Since she was going to stay to eat, Xiao Qi decided to order one Chinese and one Western meal.
For Chinese, she ordered a bowl of pork liver noodles, hand-pulled noodles cooked freshly with fresh pork liver, vegetables, shells, etc. On the side she ordered a steak, 70% cooked. She had gained some steak doneness knowledge when Teacher Zhou took her to a music concert in Fucheng and they ate steak.
By the time Xiao Qi's dishes arrived, she felt this meal was well worth the effort of coming here.
The noodles had green vegetable leaves floating on it, steaming hot, smelling of scallions. The green vegetables and pork liver looked extremely fresh. The noodles also looked slippery and chewy.
The steak also looked extravagant, a huge serving. The meat looked great, sizzling, with a vegetable salad side, a bowl of rich soup, and crispy toasted bread on the side.
Two very large servings of different cuisine were laid out before Xiao Qi now.
She felt she should eat the noodles first or they would get soggy.
Teacher Zhou said last time to not eat the steak right after it is fried, letting it rest a bit for the juices to redistribute made it taste better.
The club was rather exaggerated, even providing a white napkin with the cutlery.
Xiao Qi naturally neatly laid out the napkin, pressing one end under the plate and letting the other end drape over.
She started with the noodles first.
The noodle bowl was a huge blue and white ceramic bowl, looking very generous in portion and high quality.
In any case, the lip of the bowl was bigger than Xiao Qi's face.
Xiao Qi did not lack appetite. A large bowl of noodles was no issue at all, especially since there was a lot of broth in the noodles.
She calmly finished the entire bowl quickly.
She drank up all the broth too. Although it was a clear broth, the flavor was extremely savory, probably thanks to the shells and pork liver.
The pork liver was very tender. The shells were alright, nothing in them but the shell.
The vegetables were cooked just right, not overcooked, still retaining some sweetness.
The noodles were also particularly chewy, not dried noodles but handmade. There was a noticeable difference, you could taste the flour fragrance.
Having sensitive taste buds has downsides. It is easy to break down when eating terrible food. But there are more advantages. When eating delicious food, the enjoyment is something that can't be given by others. It's too wonderful, making you feel like life itself is wonderful.
Xiao Qi had a somewhat rippled expression.
After finishing the noodles, she had officially opened up her appetite.
Xiao Qi pushed away the bowl and started on the steak.
She first ate a piece of bread, dipping it in the rich soup. Yet another kind of delightful flavor.
In fact, Xiao Qi's cooking skills were better with Western food. But she didn't have the chance to make it.
At this moment, Xiao Shengzhou, who had just casually asked if there was food to eat earlier, saw how upon hearing there was food, the young girl had said a sentence to him and then eagerly went off to eat without even glancing at him again.
And from start to now, the watch, custom shoes, shirt, custom pants, belt, cufflinks, and other wares adding up to over a hundred thousand yuan on Xiao Yu had not even been glanced at once. He felt......
Normally when he stood together with his nephew, girls would look over several more times, after all his nephew was much better looking than him.
Uncle and nephew silently returned to the office. The office was fully enclosed with blast-proof floor-to-ceiling glass, so that you could see outside from the inside but not vice versa.
Then the two saw that greedy little girl had actually ordered two main dishes.
One was noodles, the other a steak, as if she had never eaten out before.
Xiao Yu looked down on this very much, thinking it wasteful.
The chef here was quite good, specially hired by the nephew at a high price, because he would occasionally bring friends here.
Then they saw that the little girl was not self-conscious at all when eating, not behaving like a thriftily hardworking student. She sat there enjoying the big meal, calmly finishing a whole large bowl of noodles, leaving them hungry just watching.
But seeing her casually wiping her mouth, it turned out to just be the appetizer. She then started on the steak.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would have thought they were watching an eating broadcast performance.
The little girl was quite slim, but after polishing off the large bowl of noodles without leaving a drop of soup, she went on to eat toast, creamy soup, and that huge platter of steak, thickly cut, which she elegantly sliced piece by piece, preserving the juices. Her forehead didn't have a drop of sweat as she enjoyed it with a carefree expression, even closing her eyes at times to relish a particularly tasty bite, looking very satisfied.
Not only were they watching, but the two idle chefs also watched the little girl eat.
Watching her enjoy the food gave them a great sense of accomplishment, feeling their cooking was delicious.
To have their food appreciated in this way was affirming.
Xiao Shengzhou and Xiao Yu watched as Xiao Qi finished the last sip of creamy soup, not even letting the vegetable salad escape its fate of being completely consumed.
Soon the table was covered in empty plates.
At this point, the office uncle and nephew's stomachs made a tacit long rumble...
Hungry.
Looked hungry.