Chapter 213: She’s Unimpressed

What normal working person would dare eat like that?

He immediately shrank back and bowed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, so sorry! Sir, please don’t be angry! It’s just this waitress… she caused a bit of a situation, and I said a few words too many.”

Shen Zhenwu ignored his whole act, only glancing over at Yao Yuzhen.

Her head was bowed, her shoulders held ramrod straight.

Shen Zhenwu turned back.

“What did she say that was so wrong? Was it worth you spewing shit from your mouth?”

The supervisor bowed even lower.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Truly, I’m sorry…”

While forcing a smile, he quickly waved Yao Yuzhen away.

“Sister Yao! Get back to your post, get back to your post!”

Yao Yuzhen didn’t answer, nor did she look up. She just turned and walked away.

She didn’t argue, didn’t cause a scene, didn’t flip any tables.

Because she couldn’t afford to lose this job.

If she lost it, next month’s rent, utilities, and medical bills would all go down the drain.

She had tried to find other work.

She’d sent out over twenty resumes and interviewed at eight places, but the moment they heard her age, their expressions would sour.

Even knowing she might run into acquaintances—like today, with the entire Shen Family sitting in a private room on the second floor—she still came.

‘She had no choice but to work.’

The money Shen Zhenwu had given her had long since been nibbled away by the costs of living, leaving only dregs.

She was planning to save up enough to open a small shop, specializing in custom silver jewelry with a focus on hand-chased floral patterns.

No assembly lines, no wholesale orders.

Her skills were no worse than his; she just lacked an opportunity to get started.

As for Shen Zhenwu stepping in to defend her…

‘She saw it with perfect clarity.’

‘He meant well, but she had no use for his kindness.’

Yao Yuzhen’s back disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

Shen Zhenwu retracted his gaze and said coolly, “We’re all just out here trying to make a living. It’s not easy for anyone. You should know where to draw the line. Build up some good karma.”

The supervisor nodded hurriedly.

“Yes, yes, yes! Understood, understood!”

The words had barely left his mouth when Shen Rongdan came running over.

“Dad!”

The supervisor, as if granted a royal pardon, practically slipped away on greased soles.

So he didn’t hear Shen Rongdan’s next sentence at all.

“Where was my mom just now? Did you see her?”

Shen Zhenwu nodded.

“Mm.”

“Is she…”

“She’s fine.”

Shen Zhenwu cut him off.

“The supervisor was giving her a hard time, but I smoothed things over. Your mom went to help out in the front hall.”

Shen Rongdan breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t ask any more questions.

‘As long as she was safe, that was all that mattered.’

The supervisor turned his head, saw Yao Yuzhen standing there, and immediately broke into a sneering laugh.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sister Yao? I never would have guessed. You’re not exactly young anymore, but you still know how to attract a crowd. Just stand there in the main hall and you get some big shot to personally speak up for you?”

“The way I see it, you should strike while the iron is hot and get closer to him. Why are you still carrying plates here? What a waste!”

Yao Yuzhen’s eyes blazed, and she wished she could carve two chunks of flesh right off him on the spot.

“Alright, alright, alright. You won’t be working the front hall today. Go wash dishes in the back kitchen.”

Yao Yuzhen didn’t say a word and turned to leave.

She went back to the locker room, changed out of her uniform, and headed straight for the back kitchen.

In the back kitchen, there was a head chef with the surname Cao, named Cao Yu.

He was in his forties. His wife had passed away some years ago, and his two children were grown and had their own families.

He was living by himself and thinking about finding a new, considerate partner to share his life with.

But the moment Yao Yuzhen arrived, he took a liking to her instantly.

Even though Yao Yuzhen was actually a little older than him.

But when the two of them stood together, everyone else thought Cao Yu looked older.

Her skin was bright, her waist was slender, and she moved with agility.

She looked even more vibrant than a girl fresh out of college.

So, from Yao Yuzhen’s very first day of work, Cao Yu started secretly glancing at her and trying to strike up conversations.

Later, when he heard she wasn’t seeing anyone and had no ties, he grew even more restless, sidling up to her whenever he had a spare moment.

One day, her water cup was empty, and he rushed ahead of the server to fill it with hot water before putting it back in its place.

But Yao Yuzhen paid him no mind at all.

‘A mere chef who worked by the stove—was he even in her league?’

Today, she had been forced into this, so she had no choice but to brace herself and come.

The guests in Private Room Three had added three dishes and were getting impatient.

The supervisor, so anxious he was slapping his thigh, grabbed the walkie-talkie and roared.

“Yao Yuzhen! You go to the back kitchen yourself! Tell them Green Pepper Beef, Dry Pot Tea Tree Mushrooms, and Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes—out in three minutes!”

She clutched the walkie-talkie, took a breath outside the kitchen door, and then raised her hand to push it open.

But just as she reached the kitchen entrance, a young chef suddenly popped out from the side, nudged Cao Yu with his elbow, and yelled with a laugh.

“Master! The master’s wife has arrived!”

The young man was named Cheng Tian. He was seventeen, his face still holding a trace of baby fat.

He was loud and had a slight lisp, and when he spoke, the entire hallway could hear him clearly.

As he shouted, he tilted his head and winked at Yao Yuzhen.

Yao Yuzhen’s face instantly grew longer than a noodle board.

She didn’t look at Cheng Tian, nor did she look at Cao Yu. Her gaze was fixed on a small grease stain in the crack of a terrazzo floor tile.

Cao Yu turned around, and seeing her ashen face, immediately roared at his apprentice.

“What are you spouting nonsense for? Shut your mouth!”

He took a large stride forward, shouldering Cheng Tian aside, and wiped his hands fiercely on his apron twice.

Then he turned back around, plastered on a smile, and rubbed his hands together as he approached her.

“Yuzhen, you’re here? Is one of the private rooms rushing an order?”

After saying this, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he added another sentence.

“I just finished a pot of Maoxuewang. If they’re in a hurry, I can have the line prioritize the order for you.”

Yao Yuzhen’s voice was icy.

“No. The supervisor sent me to wash dishes.”

She clipped the walkie-talkie back onto her waist, reached her right hand into her work uniform’s pocket, pulled out a pair of light blue rubber gloves, and slowly put them on.

“Wash… wash dishes?”

Cao Yu waved his hands in a panic.

“Oh, no, no, no! There are people specifically for that job!”

He subconsciously reached for his apron pocket to get a cigarette, but his hand stopped halfway and he slapped his own thigh instead.

“Really, you don’t have to! I’ll call someone right now!”

He turned his head and shouted, “Cheng Tian! Go get a chair! Quickly!”

Cheng Tian answered and sprinted towards the staff break room.

He ducked into the break room and came jogging back out, carrying a chair.

But Yao Yuzhen, without another word, rolled up her sleeves.

“I’m not sitting.”

She didn’t look at Cao Yu or Cheng Tian. Her eyes went straight to the sink area.

With that, she walked directly to the sinks.

A middle-aged woman was squatting there, panting with effort as she scrubbed a mountain of plates.

The woman was in her early forties, with very short hair and a few wisps of gray peeking out behind her ears.

Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her temples were soaked, the hair plastered to her skin.

Cao Yu, however, was still pacing anxiously beside her, trying his best to stop her.

“This work really isn’t for you! When the chair gets here, you can just sit and watch. No one will say you’re slacking off! Trust me!”

He opened his mouth, then swallowed his words, only repeating one thing.

“It’s really not right… It’s really not right…”

As Cao Yu spoke, his eyes drifted over to the woman scrubbing plates by the sink.

She was the new dishwasher who had started last month. Her name was He Yuqin.

On her first day in the kitchen, Cao Yu had announced in front of everyone that she wiped tables too slowly and couldn’t wring out her rag properly.

He was the head chef of the back kitchen; his word was law here.

Who worked efficiently and who was slacking off—it was all up to him to say.

How could she dare to talk back?

But Yao Yuzhen ignored him completely, turning and grabbing a brush.

SCRUB, SCRUB. She began fiercely scrubbing the mountain of bowls and plates in the sink.

Seeing that she was ignoring him, Cao Yu wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he chuckled and added,

“Don’t work too hard, ‘kay? I’ll save a couple of good dishes for you later!”

Yao Yuzhen didn’t even lift her eyelids.

Cao Yu rubbed his nose and slunk away.

His apprentice, Cheng Tian, brought over a plastic stool.