Crossing Over to Yamada Love

The lunch prepared by the Mo family for the young master of the Xue family was ready. There was braised fish with wide rice noodles, braised pork with rice noodles, pickled cabbage with rice noodles, stir-fried mung bean curd, fried rice noodle balls, and a bowl of beef stew with thin rice noodles. There were also two rice noodle and pickled cabbage buns on the plate.

"Lanlan, is this the vermicelli you were talking about? It looks good, let me try it and see what it tastes like." The chubby boy looked at the new things on the table, which were of varying widths, and picked up the wide vermicelli from the fish dish to eat first.

"Not bad, very chewy, and it smells great stewed with fish. This pork stew is also delicious, it's fun to slurp it up." The chubby boy still had a bit of a childlike spirit, slurping the noodles into his mouth.

Mo Lan and Xue Lingfeng both smiled as they watched.

"Is this complicated to do?" Xue Lingfeng asked softly.

"Yes, it's quite troublesome. It takes seven or eight days from start to finish. It's a lot of work. If you want to eat it, I'll give Steward Xue a piece to take back later. As for the Xue family, if they want to make it, I'll write down the recipe. The Xue family can sell it anywhere except our town." Mo Lan looked at Xue Lingfeng and said generously.

Xue Lingfeng was genuinely astonished as he looked at Mo Lan. This young girl possessed a maturity beyond her years. Should he call her intelligent or simply a prodigy? She had actually guessed his thoughts. He himself had only thought of the possibility of the Xue family bringing vermicelli to the capital after seeing how many dishes it could be made. How had she guessed his intentions?

Mo Lan let Xue Lingfeng sized her up. Once she made the vermicelli, she knew it couldn't be an exclusive business. Rather than waiting for someone else to come to them with the method to make vermicelli, she would rather give the business to the Xue family. As long as they did this business well, it wouldn't conflict with the Xue family, and that way the Xue family could protect them.

"Alright, vermicelli, rice noodles, cold noodles, beef stew with bread, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). And all the new dishes you come up with, I want all the recipes. The Xue family will never open a shop in this town. How about we cancel the two hundred taels?" Xue Lingfeng stared at Mo Lan and stated his conditions.

Mo Lan raised an eyebrow. He spoke up so quickly? She thought he would have to wait until next year. But it was only a matter of time. As long as they could do business in this town, that was enough. Expanding to other towns or the capital was out of the question. It wasn't so easy to run a monopoly without power or influence.

"Alright. I can tell you all these recipes, but I have one condition: don't say that these recipes originated from us. If we can make them here, we have to say that the Xue family gave us the recipes. From now on, you can send us the vermicelli you make, enough for a year each time. Making it yourself is too tiring." Mo Lan agreed to his request, hoping to get some extra benefits in return. It would also make things easier for her own family.

"Okay." Xue Lingfeng looked at the cute little girl in front of him and nodded. He didn't know where this girl got so many expressions; her face was constantly changing.

"Then, Fifth Young Master, shouldn't you return the money and the jade pendant to me?" Mo Lan said, extending her hand to Xue Lingfeng.

"I can give you what you're short of money for, as for the jade pendant..." Xue Lingfeng paused here.

"What happened to the jade pendant? That was a family heirloom. You didn't break it, did you?" Mo Lan's face showed urgency.

"It's broken." Xue Lingfeng uttered two words calmly.

"Ah!" Mo Lan cried out in anguish.

"Haha, Lanlan, my fifth brother is lying to you. I saw the jade pendant in his room yesterday. I asked him to lend it to me for a few days, but he wouldn't. He's so stingy. Once he gives it to you, you have to lend it to me for a few days." Little Fatty Xue Linglei saw Mo Lan's big mouth and uncomfortable look, so he quickly jumped out and exposed Xue Lingfeng's lie.

"You can't just lie to people like that." Mo Lan let out a long sigh and glared at Xue Lingfeng. This ice-cold man actually joked with her; had he lost his mind?

Thinking of this, Mo Lan straightened her face, put her hands on her hips, and fiercely said to Xue Lingfeng, "The jade pendant! I want the jade pendant!"

"Haha, Lanlan, you're like a female king, haha, I'm dying of laughter! Fifth Brother, why don't you hurry up and give the jade pendant to her?" The chubby boy clutched his stomach and laughed as he looked at Molan. This girl was really too lively.

"No!" Xue Lingfeng replied coldly, completely unconcerned about Mo Lan's anger, though a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Are you going to give it to me or not?!" Mo Lan asked fiercely, then pouted and said with a droopy face, "Give it to me. If you don't, I'll cry for you."

Pfft, the chubby boy spat out the rice noodles in his mouth. "Cough cough." Xue Lingfeng coughed twice. He had been enjoying Mo Lan's fierce performance, picked up his tea and took a sip, but looking at Mo Lan's face changing faster than a book, and listening to her pitiful words, he choked on his tea.

"I'll keep the jade pendant for now. I'll give it to you when the Xue family earns back the two hundred taels of silver." Xue Lingfeng took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, then chose to ignore Mo Lan's pitiful appearance.

"Fifth Brother, you're being cheeky. Why don't you let me keep the jade pendant? I'll return it to Lanlan after I've earned enough money." The chubby boy grinned greedily at Xue Lingfeng.

"No." Xue Lingfeng ignored him and continued eating.

"Wait till you earn two hundred taels and see what excuse you have for not returning my jade pendant," Mo Lan said through gritted teeth, then turned and left.

She felt like she'd suffocate if she didn't get some fresh air; that damned Xue Lingfeng was completely unyielding. She really had no way to deal with him; Xue Lingyun and the little fat boy were the best.

"Fifth Brother, why don't you return Lanlan's jade pendant? Don't tell me you'll give it back after you earn two hundred taels. You're not short of two hundred taels of silver." After Molan left, Xue Linglei asked Xue Lingfeng curiously.

"Let's talk outside," Xue Lingfeng said expressionlessly, then got up and left.

"Do you recognize that jade pendant? No way. Lanlan said it's a family heirloom. Our family has no connection with them. Does Fifth Brother like that jade pendant? No way, Fifth Brother has better jade pendants than this. Could it be? Could it be that Fifth Brother has taken a fancy to that girl Lanlan and wants to take her as a concubine when she grows up? No way! That won't do! Don't let Lanlan's usual cheerful demeanor fool you, she definitely wouldn't want to be taken as a concubine. Look, she wouldn't even agree to be my head maid. Fifth Brother, you can't do this!" The chubby boy in the carriage had already grabbed Xue Lingfeng's collar by the end.

"You've taken a liking to her?" Xue Lingfeng didn't answer the chubby boy's question, but asked casually instead.

"I don't know either. I just like looking at her little face. I think she's different from everyone else in the manor. Her smile is beautiful and genuine. She says what she thinks and even dares to go against me. I like the food at her house, just like her. It makes me feel comfortable. As for anything else, I haven't thought that far ahead or that much about it." The chubby boy muttered his thoughts.

"You can't marry her," Xue Lingfeng said casually.

"Yes, our marriages aren't up to us. I can't bear to see Lanlan suffer. Seeing how happy she is here in the village, I wonder what she'll be like if she enters the manor?" The chubby boy was a little downcast; the gap between the two families was too great. His parents would definitely not let him marry a country girl.

"She's still young, and your thoughts aren't accurate right now. Let's talk about it again in a few years," Xue Lingfeng said, gently stroking his younger brother's hair.

"Hmm." Xue Linglei nodded, then shouted, "Fifth Brother is cheating! I already told you, you still haven't said whether you like Lanlan or not!"

"She's not even ten years old yet, still so young, I have no such thoughts." Xue Lingfeng rolled his eyes at the chubby boy after saying that.

"Haha, that's true. I'm three years older than Lanlan. Fifth Brother, you're already eighteen, much older than Lanlan. You probably don't have any thoughts about it. By the way, why didn't you accept the marriage proposal your uncle made for you last time?" The chubby boy was happy at first, then asked Xue Lingfeng with a puzzled look.

"I will decide my own marriage, and no one can interfere!" Xue Lingfeng said coldly when the chubby boy mentioned this, and then fell silent.

The chubby boy knew that Fifth Brother had something on his mind, so he stopped bothering him.

Xue Lingfeng stared at the carriage frame, pondering whether he liked that clever and generous little girl. No! Was she really still so young? Her mind was probably quite mature! He only admired her intelligence and frankness; nothing more!

Time flies, and it was already mid-October. The craftsmen had stopped working for half a month, and the Mo family hadn't done much business during that time.

That day, the Mo family had just warmed up the kang (a heated brick bed) in one of the rooms when they heard someone shouting outside. Qiu Dajun hurriedly ran out and soon returned with a group of people.

Mo Lan looked up and saw that the leader was Xue Lingyun, the seventh young master of the Xue family, followed by five or six young men dressed similarly to him.

After the young men sat down, one of them, dressed in a blue robe and of fairly handsome appearance, said, "Seventh Young Master, I told you to treat everyone to a meal at Julai Pavilion in town, but instead you dragged us to this remote mountain valley. I know your family is building a villa here, but construction has stopped now. You don't need to eat here, do you? What good food can you possibly have here?"

"Yeah, look, they don't even have tea, just plain water. What kind of decent food could they possibly give us!"

"Yes, I don't know if this little shop will give you a stomachache."

Many people echoed this sentiment, seemingly looking down on the Mo family's small shop.

"We get tired of the same old dishes at those fancy restaurants in town, no matter how refined they are. This place is different. The food here may not be as fancy as the restaurants, but the flavors are unique. Many of the dishes are not available in the restaurants in town, so I guarantee you'll be satisfied. As for cleanliness, just look at their plates. They wash them and then scald them with hot water. They're cleaner than those fancy restaurants in town, so you can eat with peace of mind," Xue Lingyun explained with a smile.

"What? What could I not have eaten here? I don't believe it! Bring it up quickly, let me see!" a young master shouted defiantly.

"Lanlan, bring out your local specialties for these young masters to try," Xue Lingyun said with a smile to Mo Lan.

"Alright, gentlemen, please wait a moment, we'll get it right away," Mo Lan replied, turning to get to work.