Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Lin Shengjin's face turned slightly red, and he gave Shen Siqin another nudge. "Stop it, I'm busy!"

So many people were watching!

Shen Siqin quickly composed himself.

"Yes, yes, it's my fault, my fault." Shen Siqin put away his playful demeanor and focused on helping Lin Shengjin make drinks.

Lin Shengjin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But his face still couldn't help but flush with embarrassment.

Everyone worked from half past eleven until half past two to sell everything.

Even after selling everything, they still had to clean up the mess.

Fortunately, there were enough hands this time; some washed while others packed, and within fifteen minutes, the stall was spotless.

Shen Siqin had already set aside lunch for everyone.

Since the place was small and there were many people, they couldn't stay to eat, but he could distribute the packed meals.

In addition to the meals, there were also leftover cakes and drinks.

Each person got a piece of cake, but they could choose any drink they wanted.

The future employees who came to help genuinely felt that Boss Xiao Shen and Sister Yan were generous.

Chai Jiancheng grinned widely, showing only teeth. The event lasted five days, which meant his son could try all five types of cakes.

Just thinking about it made him feel as sweet as if he had eaten honey himself.

Shen Sijian handed each person ten dollars.

"The food is a bit cold now. Everyone, take it home and reheat it before eating," Shen Siqin said as he distributed the meals.

The portions were quite generous, almost double the usual amount.

However, reheating might affect the taste a bit.

None of the helpers had any complaints.

"Thank you, Boss Xiao Shen!" Wu Chuanyang took her portion of food and payment, walking with a spring in her step.

"What drink do you want?" Lin Shengjin called out as she was about to leave. "We have drinks here too. Don't you want one?"

"I do, I do, I do! Hahaha, I forgot. I'll take all of them. Can we add all the toppings to the milk tea? I want all of them!" Wu Chuanyang laughed.

"Sure, actually, you can have five cups of milk tea, and I'll add five different toppings to each one," Lin Shengjin suggested with a smile.

This was something Shen Siqin had discussed with him beforehand.

"Really?! That's okay?" Wu Chuanyang blinked, feeling a bit embarrassed about asking for so much.

"It's fine. We'd waste them if we didn't finish them today," Shen Siqin called out.

With Shen Siqin's approval, Wu Chuanyang became excited. "Then Teacher Lin, I'll take five cups. Thank you, Teacher Lin!!"

Shen Sijian and Yan Jihan exchanged glances.

Their little brother, Boss Xiao Shen, seemed to be quite influential. Everyone seemed to trust him.

Today, they witnessed how strong their little brother's promotional skills were, and of course, the quality of the products played a big role too.

Wu Qianmei rubbed her shoulders. "Most of the time was spent choosing things. Tomorrow should be faster."

Wu Hengqi shook his head. "I don't think so. There are five types of cakes. If you like one, wouldn't you want to try the others? But then again, the first one was so good, you'd want to have it again. I'd be torn."

"Ah, I don't even know which cake to choose now," Wu Hengqi sighed.

Wu Qianmei hadn't thought about it before, but now she was torn too.

Yes, what should she choose?

Now Wu Qianmei understood the customers!

They kept working until three in the afternoon, when only their family remained in the small shop.

Yan Jihan smiled and took two portions of food and cake with drinks. "I'll go with your brother now. We'll come back tomorrow. Your brother's factory is running smoothly now, so he has time to help."

They left early to give Teacher Lin and their little brother more time together.

"Sure, Sister-in-law, let me see you off," Shen Siqin immediately understood Yan Jihan's intention.

"No need, no need. We're not children anymore. Why would you need to see us off?" Yan Jihan quickly refused, tugging at Shen Sijian's arm.

Shen Sijian glared at his cheeky little brother. "Alright, I'll go with your sister-in-law. You should go home too."

Once they left, the small shop fell silent.

"Where did Sanlin go today? I didn't see him," Lin Shengjin asked while cleaning up the milk tea tools, suddenly remembering something.

Shen Siqin thought for a moment. "It was too chaotic today with so many people, so my brother didn't let Sanlin come. He had lunch at school. I heard Chai Ge's son was also at school today."

Now that elementary school had started, Shen Libin could easily have lunch at school.

During the event, it was too chaotic. Even though Shen Libin was clever, he was still young, so it was safer for him to be at school.

"Oh, I see." Lin Shengjin nodded in understanding.

Shen Siqin wasn’t idle either; he started reheating the dishes and steaming fresh rice.

Neither of them had eaten lunch today.

"Professor Lin, will you come help tomorrow? If you have classes scheduled, don't bother coming; it's too busy," Shen Siqin said gently.

Although Shen Siqin wanted to spend more time with Lin Shengjin, he didn’t want Lin Shengjin to be too tired.

"It’s fine. This year, I’m teaching theoretical mechanics and structural mechanics to the freshmen. They haven’t arrived yet, and even if they do, classes won’t start immediately. They’ll have a couple of days to settle in, which is perfect for helping you finish the event."

Lin Shengjin had thought this through already.

Hearing about theoretical mechanics and structural mechanics, Shen Siqin subconsciously felt a headache coming on.

Ouch.

At the same time, he admired Lin Shengjin even more.

It seemed like Lin Shengjin could teach any professional course.

His expertise was impressive.

"But you still need to prepare your lessons in advance, right?" Shen Siqin’s admiration hadn’t clouded his judgment; he remembered that teaching wasn’t just showing up on the day. Preparation was necessary, especially since Lin Shengjin was a very responsible teacher.

"I never cram at the last minute. My lesson plans were written long ago."

Mentioning this, Lin Shengjin couldn’t help but raise his head slightly, revealing a hint of pride.

"Yes, I’ve even prepared some practice questions." Lin Shengjin added quietly.

Shen Siqin served the reheated dishes.

Suddenly, he felt so proud.

Proud that his future partner was so capable.

Cough, cough, cough.

Future partner.

"I’m going to make myself a cup of milk tea. Would you like one?" Lin Shengjin looked at the remaining ingredients.

Shen Siqin’s gaze was too intense.

"No, I’ll have fruit tea. Hmm, there’s quite a bit of fruit tea left today. We can make less tomorrow," Shen Siqin continued along the conversation.

"Indeed, there seems to be a lot left. What do you plan to do with it?"

Lin Shengjin made himself a cup of milk tea with the remaining ingredients.

There weren’t many ingredients left for milk tea.

"Well, later I’ll give some to the neighbors. If there’s still too much, I’ll have to throw it away. It’s hot outside, and it might spoil quickly." Shen Siqin silently noted the amount left and planned to be more mindful when making it tomorrow.

They had already distributed many drinks to those who came to help, yet there was still plenty left. All the cakes were gone, though; the few pieces given to helpers were ones he had set aside beforehand.

"That’s a good idea. It’s better to waste a little than to get sick from eating spoiled food." Lin Shengjin nodded in agreement.

Boss Xiao Shen indeed ran an honest business.

Even though he had only known Shen Siqin for a short time,

Shen Siqin’s character and actions really suited his taste!

In the bedroom, Shen Siqin set up a small table. Each of them had a bowl of rice and a portion of braised chicken, along with drinks and cake.

This would be their late lunch.

The cake consisted of five small pieces:

Black Forest cake, mousse cake, chestnut red bean cake, jam cake, and taro paste cake.

"Is this yellow one the chestnut red bean cake?" Lin Shengjin picked up a spoon and scooped some cake.

The surface was coated with chestnut sauce and cream, while inside were sweetened red beans.

With one bite, the sweetness of the chestnuts, the softness of the cake, and the sweetened red beans created a variety of textures and flavors in his mouth.

"Mmm, this is delicious!"

Lin Shengjin then tried the Black Forest cake, with its crunchy chocolate bits, unique cake base, and rich cream. It was surprisingly good too.

Usually, he didn’t like chocolate!

Shen Siqin watched as Lin Shengjin’s eyes lit up, trying each flavor one by one.

"I think they’re all delicious. No wonder people find it hard to choose." Lin Shengjin concluded.

After Lin Shengjin finished tasting, Shen Siqin pointed to the dishes and said, "Let’s eat the cake after we finish the meal."

Lin Shengjin blushed.

"I just wanted to taste them first."

He picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of chicken.

The tender and flavorful chicken was also very satisfying, and after eating something sweet, the savory dishes tasted even better!

Lin Shengjin ate silently, and his movements were very graceful, but the speed was anything but slow.

Just watching him eat made Shen Siqin finish an extra bowl of rice.

Only after they finished did Shen Siqin realize how much he had eaten too.

Lin Shengjin felt very satisfied after the meal.

After finishing the last sip of his milk tea, he said with lingering desire, "If only we could have this every day. Let's open a beverage shop!"

Shen Siqin: "…"

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Siqin said, "Opening a beverage shop isn't a problem, but the sugar content is too high. Drinking it every day wouldn't be good."

When you're young, you should take better care of your health. He was a living example of what not to do.

"Sigh, I know. After eating like this, I need to exercise for two more hours. Luckily, I have a material test this afternoon that I can work on," Lin Shengjin thought for a moment and said.

He knew drinking so much wasn't ideal, but it really was delicious.

Next time, he would be more careful!

"Material test? Can I ask what kind of test it is?" Shen Siqin asked curiously while cleaning up the dishes.

Lin Shengjin got up to help clean as well. "There's nothing secretive about it. A factory produced a new batch of cement, and I'm going to test its properties and write a report."

It's a basic experiment.

"Oh." Shen Siqin realized it was related to cement.

Although he knew he and Lin Shengjin were in similar fields in their previous lives, Shen Siqin still couldn't quite picture Lin Shengjin working with cement.

The two chatted casually while washing the dishes.

Shen Siqin felt a sense of being an old married couple.

Yes, it was quite nice.

This gave him a sense of peace.

"I'll be going now. I'll come back tomorrow," Lin Shengjin said, feeling it wasn't appropriate to stay any longer.

Shen Siqin said somewhat reluctantly, "Let me see you off."

"I came by bicycle. You should rest a bit; there's no need to see me off," Lin Shengjin waved his hand in refusal.

He felt that Shen Siqin had been the busiest today, preparing ingredients for the milk tea, baking cakes, and making the seasoning for the yellow-braised chicken from early morning until now.

Lin Shengjin wanted him to rest and not bother seeing him off.

Shen Siqin didn't insist and nodded, saying, "Alright, be careful on your way."

"It's a familiar route, and it's still light outside. There's nothing to worry about," Lin Shengjin smiled.

As Lin Shengjin turned to leave, Shen Siqin suddenly asked, "Wait, Professor Lin, when you mentioned opening a beverage shop, were you serious or just joking?"

Hearing Shen Siqin's question, Lin Shengjin lowered his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, he replied honestly, "I was serious, but... it seems like you don't want to get involved in such things."

Lin Shengjin felt he understood Shen Siqin well enough.

In terms of ability, whether it was craftsmanship or organizational skills, Shen Siqin was very capable.

But making him work hard wasn't something Shen Siqin seemed eager to do.

If it was for him, Shen Siqin would probably be willing.

However, Lin Shengjin didn't want Shen Siqin to force himself to do something he didn't want to do.

"If we do open one, we can hire someone to manage the shop and collaborate with food factories to make the ingredients. If I want to open a shop, I can't keep making everything myself. Although others might copy us later, having a time advantage and collaborating with food factories means I don't have to do everything personally. Let's wait until the new restaurant is running smoothly before opening the shop; otherwise, it might be too tight on time."

Shen Siqin smiled.

For him, opening a shop wasn't difficult. In his past life, he had overworked himself by doing everything himself, which had damaged his health. Now, he had many ways to be more efficient, so the main thing was what Lin Shengjin thought.

From the looks of it, Lin Shengjin also cared about his thoughts.

That was enough.

"Besides..." Shen Siqin changed the subject, "I actually really want to share some business with you."

He had never been in a relationship before and always felt a bit uneasy.

Sometimes sharing common interests and businesses could give him more peace of mind.

Even if they eventually broke up or Professor Lin had to leave the school, at least he would have another option.

Of course, the future big shot should have the ability and connections to succeed on his own, but when you care, you can't help but think more and want to make things easier for the other person. These feelings were hard to suppress.

Lin Shengjin nodded firmly and said straightforwardly, "Sure, I happen to have a friend who runs a food factory. I can introduce you two when I have time."

He agreed!

Shen Siqin was willing to do this for him—no, for their future. Why shouldn't he agree?

He would treat Shen Siqin even better.

Lin Shengjin suddenly felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Apart from his teacher, no one had ever cared for him so much.

He turned his head away, pretending nothing had happened, to hide his current fluster.

Shen Siqin reached out his hand, but in the end, he only restrainedly held open the convenience store door for him: "I won't see you off then. Walk slowly, see you tomorrow."

Lin Shengjin stepped out of the convenience store: "Alright, see you tomorrow."