Chapter 1080, Talent Reserves

Translator: Silavin

 

Yan Hua hesitated for a moment, then picked up her chopsticks and ate.

 

That first bite was all it took. Her red eyes went wide.

 

She stopped talking entirely. Head down, eating steadily. Quickly too.

 

Sha Lan took one look and understood. She picked up her chopsticks and got started as well, equally unwilling to fall behind.

 

Yu Ying understood too. If she waited any longer it would all be gone. She quickly loaded half a bowl and started eating.

 

“Well then? Delicious, right?” Su Bai asked. He had tried a small mouthful just now. It was not quite the same as what he remembered from Earth, but the taste was genuinely exceptional. Good enough to reign supreme in the primitive era, at any rate. He doubted anyone would dislike it.

 

“Shaman, this noodle… the noodle is too delicious… I think it’s better than any noodle I’ve ever eaten.” Yan Hua said, words muffled.

 

Yan Hua still had a little tail of noodle dangling from the corner of her mouth, and her lips were thoroughly slicked with sauce. She looked completely like a happy, careless child.

 

“Shaman, I love the taste of these noodles. I could eat them every day.” Sha Lan’s cat tail was swishing steadily.

 

“I want to learn how to make them. Then I can make them for the Shaman next time.” Yu Ying said with earnest sweetness.

 

She had decided that since she was too frightened to make the crayfish themselves, learning to make the noodles was the next best thing.

 

“Ha. You would need to give up that idea. The noodles only work like this after the crayfish are already done. We would need to use the braising liquid and toss them in. Learn something else instead.” Su Bai fondly said.

 

“All right.” Yu Ying deflated a little.

 

“Don’t worry, Xiao Yu. I’ve learned it. Next time you and the Shaman want some, I’ll make it.” Min spoke up at once from where she stood nearby.

 

She had not dared to eat at all. Even when Su Bai invited her to have a little, she could not bring herself to.

 

Min felt that, given she was rescued by Qing Yan and brought to this Tribe, even being allowed to work at the Yong’an Building was already more than she could have hoped for. She truly did not dare to imagine sitting at the table and eating alongside everyone else.

 

She also felt that a person ought to know her place. Learning to cook the dish was enough. She should not push her luck.

 

Su Bai understood what she was thinking. He had portioned some out and asked her to eat it separately off to the side. She needed to taste it too, so she would know how to make it next time.

 

It was not that he did not want Min to eat with them. It was more that she was not yet comfortable around the others, and such things took time. Perhaps once they were all more familiar with one another she would naturally join in. Beyond that, there was also the matter of appearances. He could not let just anyone think that a place at his table came simply from working at the Yong’an Building.

 

If he let that impression form, every woman in the Tribe would start to think of it that way, and that would create its own problems. On balance, he decided to leave things as they were with Min.

 

“Then I’ll do my best to overcome this. I really will.” Yu Ying said with resolve.

 

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Have you forgotten what I told you before?” Su Bai tapped her nose lightly.

 

“The Shaman said to know your limits. A person must understand how small they are. Admitting defeat is not shameful. There are always those stronger, always those further ahead. Just do well with what is in front of you.” Yu Ying said quietly.

 

She had often in the past blamed herself for everything. Not being helpful enough. Not being able to do things she had not learned. Making small mistakes. Yu Ying had always walked on thin ice, and Su Bai had not wanted to see that in her, which was why he had spoken to her the way he had.

 

“Good. No more blaming yourself, understood?” Su Bai assumed a mock-serious expression.

 

“Yes, Shaman.” Yu Ying answered with full sincerity.

 

“I’d like to open a crayfish restaurant on the food street. Alcohol and crayfish as the signature. That would draw plenty of people in.” Su Bai said.

 

The idea had come to him the moment he first spotted the crayfish. Who could possibly resist crayfish and alcohol together?

 

“Yes. Food this good is bound to have people coming from everywhere.” Yan Hua nodded along enthusiastically.

 

“I can already picture what the crayfish restaurant would look like. There’d be a crowd outside the moment it opened.” Sha Lan flicked her cat ears.

 

“Min, you’ve got it all down, right? How to remove the veins and how to clean them and all the rest?” Su Bai turned to ask.

 

“Yes, Shaman. I’ve learned all of it. Every step is firmly in my memory.” Min straightened up immediately at the sudden question.

 

“Then I’d like you to be responsible for getting the restaurant started. Hiring people, training them, all of that will be in your hands. Can you manage this?” Su Bai asked.

 

He had no intention of simply ordering her to do it. For her, this was her first independent task.

 

If she felt it was too much or did not want to do it, he would find someone else.

 

“I can do it. If the Shaman believes in me, I will do it well. It’s just…” Min seemed to hesitate.

 

“Just what? If it’s too much, say so directly. I can arrange for someone else. No need to push yourself.” Su Bai said generously.

 

“No, no, no. It’s not too much at all. It’s just that if I go to manage the restaurant, there won’t be anyone left to cook at the Yong’an Building.” Min quickly shook her head.

 

She did not find it too much at all. On the contrary, she was more than willing. It was simply that she had taken on the responsibility for the three daily meals at the Yong’an Building.

 

If she were to go and manage the crayfish restaurant, she would clearly be extremely busy. She was the only one in the entire Tribe who had learned to make the crayfish. Once she had hired people, she would still need to teach them, and that would take a lot of time.

 

Managing a restaurant was no simple thing either. She had no experience in it at all. It would take an enormous amount of effort.

 

And once she was managing the restaurant, she would not have the capacity for anything else. She could hardly run back and forth between the restaurant and the Yong’an Building to make meals on the side.

 

“Don’t worry about that. Once you go to manage the restaurant, I’ll take over the three daily meals at the Yong’an Building.” Yu Ying said at once.

 

She had been responsible for it before. Now that the person who had taken it over from her was being reassigned, it was only natural she should take back the task.

 

“That’s right. Your work will be covered by Xiao Yu in the meantime. And once everything is settled, if you want to come back, the door will still be open.” Su Bai said warmly.

 

The reason he had kept Min at the Yong’an Building in the first place was precisely for a day like this.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe did not yet have many businesses. But many more were coming, and he needed to be building up talent now. Cooks, and people who could run establishments.

 

Min had spent a long time learning by his side, watching how meals were made, making them herself. She had the ability to stand on her own feet.

 

That was why Su Bai was sending her to manage the crayfish restaurant. There would be more restaurants to come, and more girls to send out to manage them.

 

“Understood, Shaman. I will not fail your trust.” Min felt something fierce and bright ignite in her chest.