Although he was tempted by this ready-made business opportunity, Nian-ger knew better. Now that he was in the same camp as his buddy Xiaoyu, he couldn’t do business with the “enemy.”

Besides, while outsiders might not know Yan Yonghe’s character, Nian-ger knew it all too well. Acting as a matchmaker for such a man—pushing a young woman into the fire—would go against the very purpose of his role as a matchmaker.

Nian-gerer stole a few glances, then went back to his work.

While working as a waiter, he kept an eye out for the right moment to strike up conversations with friendly-looking customers who seemed interested in small talk, hoping to uncover potential clients.

Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng were well aware of his tactics; as long as he exercised discretion and didn’t disrupt the guests’ meals, the two turned a blind eye and didn’t interfere.

Today, he had managed to charm a plump, round-faced woman, who was now pouring out her sorrows to him with a worried look on her face.

“My son is twenty-five this year, and his marriage prospects still haven’t materialized. His father and I are so worried our hair has turned white! But the boy is so shy—he can’t even speak when he sees gers or women. He doesn’t care about marriage at all; he just spends all day poring over those few books of his…”

After venting her grievances, the woman finally looked at Nian-ger hesitantly: “With a son like this, do you really have a solution?”

“Of course! I’m the most knowledgeable, experienced, and popular matchmaker in Xiling Village—I’m even known throughout the surrounding countryside! I’ve helped arrange marriages for the most difficult young men and the pickiest bachelors around here! Don’t let my young age fool you—I’m dedicated to my work. I’ve studied countless books and paintings and delved deep into my craft, which is why I’ve achieved what I have today!”

“Just look at our shopkeeper—he’s in his twenties now, but he used to be a real hard case. It was I who stepped in and helped him get married! Other matchmakers might not be so confident about a situation like yours, but I’m no ordinary matchmaker. Leave it to me, and there’s no doubt it’ll work out!”

“However, I don’t take on just anyone’s requests.” After pounding his chest to guarantee this, Nian-gerer lifted his chin and adopted a haughty air. “Matchmakers of my caliber have our own rules—ones we can’t break lightly. Take me, for instance: I won’t arrange marriages for men of poor character who’d mistreat their own wives.”

The round-faced woman had been completely charmed by his smooth talk, but at those words, she hurriedly replied, “Rest assured! My son is just a bit slow on the uptake—his character is fine. He’d never mistreat anyone!”

The two went back and forth, chatting for quite a while, until they finally reached an agreement.

After Nian-ger saw the round-faced woman off, he looked up and noticed a young woman at the table next to where they’d been talking, waving at him.

It was the very girl who had been standing with Yan Yonghe earlier.

Nian-gerer scanned the room to make sure Yan Yonghe wasn’t there before walking over.

The young woman was dressed in a water-red long tunic. She was slender, of ordinary appearance, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice, her face radiating kindness. “Did you just say you’re the top matchmaker in Xiling Village?”

Nian-ger nodded confidently: “Yes!”

The young woman pursed her lips, looking somewhat embarrassed. Finally, she gestured for Nian-ger to sit down, exchanged a few casual words with him, and then returned to the main topic.

“Mr. Yan is from your village, isn’t he? He’s quite a handsome man and a scholar—I imagine there are plenty of young men and women who’d like to marry him?”

“You bet.” Nian-ger’s expression wavered; he seemed to want to say something but held back. After hesitating for a long moment, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Only those heartless parents would want to marry their sons and daughters off to him!”

The young lady across from him was taken aback. “W-what do you mean by that?”

Nian-ger glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned close to the girl’s ear and whispered a few words.

After finishing, he warned her, “Whatever I’ve told you, don’t you dare spread it around. Otherwise, my father will beat me to death, and Scholar Yan won’t spare me! If you’re looking to arrange a marriage, you’d better come to me—I’ll definitely find you a good match!”

Nian-ger went to great lengths to promote himself. The young woman looked dazed at first, as if she hadn’t quite grasped the situation. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly thanked Nian-ger and left, leaving the dishes on the table completely untouched.

Taking advantage of the lull in traffic, Yan Xiaoyu came out to bring out the food and just happened to catch her leaving.

Yan Xiaoyu’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly turned to Nian-ger: “What did you just say to that girl?”

Nian-ger’s gaze shifted nervously, avoiding his eyes: “N-nothing… I didn’t say anything…”

Miss Fu’s expression as she left didn’t look like anything was wrong. Yan Xiaoyu gave Nian-ger a few suspicious glances, and a suspicion began to form in his mind.

Could it be that the marriage Yan Yonghe had gone to such great lengths to arrange is about to be ruined by Nian-ger?

That would truly be a cause for celebration—if it were to happen, he’d insist that Nian-ger host a banquet to mark the occasion!

When one is busy, the days fly by. In the blink of an eye, the summer harvest season arrived.

The county school had granted a farming leave so that scholar-farmers could return home to assist with the harvest. With so many students heading back to their villages, business at the Yuye Pavilion had slowed considerably. Yan Shaoxuan didn’t own any farmland, and since he studied under Master Luo, he didn’t need to take leave like everyone else—but he still took two days off.

Since He Qiuhua was returning to the village, Yan Xiaoyu was short a kitchen helper, so he volunteered to fill in.

For this summer harvest, Yan Xiaoyu’s family planned to hire workers to help with the entire harvest, but someone still needed to oversee the work on-site. With the vegetable harvesting to do as well, Yan Xingmao certainly wouldn’t be able to handle it all by himself.

After the three of them discussed it, Yan Xiaoyu asked He Qiuhua to return to the village to help Yan Xingmao, while he and Yan Xiaoyue stayed behind. Having spent over a month at Yuye Pavilion, He Qiuhua had made significant progress.

Don’t let the fact that the kitchen has little contact with customers fool you—He Qiuhua has plenty to say. While Yan Xiaoyu was busy cooking, He Qiuhua had to relay messages daily between Yan Xiaoyu and the waitstaff. She spoke quickly and frequently, and her mental arithmetic skills have now been honed.

Her stutter isn’t as bad as it used to be, and she’s a bit more efficient than before; she has no problem helping out in the kitchen.

With her gone, the kitchen was short-handed. Yan Xiaoyu figured that since there weren’t as many customers these days, she’d pull a quick-witted server from the front of the house to help wash vegetables and tend the stove.

A-Xi had previously worked as a kitchen helper at a restaurant; he was quick-witted, so Yan Xiaoyu decided to have him help out in the kitchen. Unexpectedly, Yan Shaoxuan volunteered, and he wasn’t happy when Yan Xiaoyu refused to let him join.

“Am I not as smart as A-Xi? Not as efficient at my work? Not as in sync with you as he is?”

A-Xi knew who Yan Shaoxuan’s brother was, and at those words, he froze in fear.

Yan Xiaoyu was indeed worried that Yan Shaoxuan wouldn’t work as efficiently as A-Xi, but under Yan Shaoxuan’s resentful gaze, he simply couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Yan Erlang was clingy; ever since they’d confirmed their feelings for each other, he’d taken advantage of his daily meals at the Yuye Pavilion to talk to him. Unfortunately, those were the busiest days of his life, and with He Qiuhua and Yan Xiaoyue in the kitchen, the two of them really couldn’t say much.

After a few such encounters, Yan Shaoxuan backed off. Now, he had the shop’s staff deliver his lunch and dinner to the county academy, and he focused his energy on his studies and no longer came down the mountain every day.

They hadn’t seen each other for over ten days, and now that he’d finally found an opportunity to get close to him, he wasn’t about to let it slip away. Though Yan Xiaoyu appeared carefree on the surface, he truly missed him, and in the end, he agreed.

Early that morning, after He Qiuhua had left, Yan Shaoxuan walked into the kitchen with Yan Xiaoyu, head held high and with complete confidence. His demeanor even left Yan Xiaoyue staring in astonishment.

“Does your brother really like the work my mother does?”

Yan Shaocheng laughed so hard his shoulders shook: “Ah, he’s loved doing this kind of work since he was a kid. He’s always envied you and Aunt Qiuhua for being able to help out in the kitchen.”

Yan Xiaoyue smiled, looking as though she’d found a kindred spirit: “I think this work is great—it’s not tiring at all, and there’s plenty of food to eat.” Most of the dishes Yan Xiaoyu had prepared ended up in her stomach.

Yan Shaocheng: “……”

He thought for a moment, then said gently, “It’s rare for Shaoxuan to help out. Let him take the lead. If they don’t call for you later, don’t go in.”

Yan Xiaoyue looked understanding: “Alright.”

Meanwhile, Yan Shaoxuan, who had entered the kitchen, couldn’t wait to show off his skills.

“Is this eggplant washed? Should I cut it into strips or slices? I can do either.”

Yan Xiaoyu saw the corner of his mouth turn up, and his eyes gleamed; his expression clearly waiting for praise. He chuckled inwardly but teased him, “Cut it into chunks.” 

“……” Yan Shaoxuan withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened. “I know how to cut it into chunks.”

Yan Xiaoyu suppressed a smile, continuing with his own work while stealing sidelong glances at him.

Yan Shaoxuan wasn’t as skilled at chopping vegetables as Yan Xiaoyue or He Qiuhua, but he was meticulous and took it very seriously. Though he was a bit slow, the final result looked quite good.

Later, when stoking the fire, he approached the two stoves with the precision of a writer, carefully measuring the thickness and length of each piece of firewood before placing it inside.

The orange glow of the fire illuminated his face, making his handsome features even more striking. Yan Xiaoyu caught a glimpse of him and couldn’t help but gasp; his heart began to race, and any thought of teasing him vanished.

Sure enough, a man focused on his work is the most charming!

He’d been a bit flustered at first, but by the end of the morning, Yan Shaoxuan was already handling things with confidence. Whenever he had a moment to spare, he’d stay put, standing beside Yan Xiaoyu to watch, occasionally asking a question or two.

“At what stage of stewing should the spices be added? Is there a specific order for which ingredients go in first and which go in later?”

“Why do we steam the eggplant before stir-frying it? Is it to remove the bitterness?”

“……”

The shop assistants all stared in amazement.

Their shop, Yuye Pavilion, primarily catered to scholars, and they’d seen plenty of them, many of whom would unconsciously adopt an air of aloofness. But none had ever been like Yan Shaoxuan, vying to do the menial tasks others deemed beneath them, taking such care, and doing them so well.

Yan Xiaoyu was a bit taken aback. “You’re taking this so seriously—are you trying to steal my job?”

“I’m being this serious so that in the future, when you come back to the restaurant, you’ll have a hot meal waiting for you.”

As Yan Shaoxuan spoke, he didn’t even look up, still tending the fire in the stove. He didn’t seem to think there was anything unusual about what he’d said, but Yan Xiaoyu’s heart skipped a beat.

Several years ago, when he was still running a stall outside the school, the wife of the vendor next door had said those words to her husband. At the time, a fleeting pang of envy had crossed Yan Xiaoyu’s mind, but he quickly pushed it out of his thoughts.

Back then, he was barely scraping by—he had no time to think about such things. He never imagined that now, someone would be thinking of him like this.

He wondered what their relationship would be like if they actually got married. Judging by the way things were going, Yan Erlang was likely to be quite clingy—and he’d be in for a rough time then.

Yan Xiaoyu was in a hurry to leave, but Yan Shaoxuan was still chattering away.

“You should’ve hired two people to help you ages ago. Now you’re circling the stove all day, too busy to do anything else. You said you wanted to spend more time with me, but now you can’t even spare the time for a single meal.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them. Realizing his behavior was damaging his image, Yan Shaoxuan quickly tried to cover up: “It’s not that I’m trying to cling to you—it’s just that you said you wanted to pursue me, so I’m not going to let this opportunity slip away.”

Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. His crescent-shaped eyes sparkled as he fixed them on Yan Shaoxuan: “We can have dinner together today.”

Yan Shaoxuan felt his face grow warm, and he smiled involuntarily: “Okay.”

The two exchanged a glance, then turned away, only to find themselves looking at each other again moments later, both wearing expressions of joy mixed with shyness. The air grew thick with tension, and A-Xi, who had come in to fetch their food, wished he could turn invisible.

Yan Xiaoyue, however, looked worried. “You seem distracted today. Don’t let the vegetables burn.”