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Lin Yuan felt a ticklish sensation from the hot breath he exhaled, and her body involuntarily wriggled as she chuckled, "I wouldn’t know about that."

"You don’t know?" Xia Zheng raised his eyebrows, "Just look at Lan Hua when she sees the man of her heart, then look at yourself, huh, when will you look at me that way?"

So this guy was actually jealous!

Now that Lin Yuan knew the reason, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time while giving him a sideways glance and teased, "So, what you like is a girl like Lan Hua, is it? That’s easy, just look at Su Qiuyu. If you fancy her, you could always go back to the Capital city!"

Xia Zheng internally cried "ouch" and quickly explained, "Yuanyuan, that’s not what I meant, I don’t like that kind of thing, what I mean is, could you, um, maybe, blush a little bit? Right now when you see me, it’s like you’re meeting a business partner, it doesn’t make one feel good inside."

Lin Yuan was taken aback and felt as though she was not considered a woman, but did she act like that? Every time she saw Xia Zheng, her heart would be exceptionally happy and joyous!

"All right, all right, then next time I see you, I’ll also act like this, this way, okay?" While speaking, Lin Yuan made a shy and demure pose, looking down, but she couldn’t keep it up and burst into laughter after only a moment.

Xia Zheng feigned a sigh and could not hold back his laughter any longer.

"Okay, let’s talk business." Wiping away the tears of laughter from Lin Yuan’s eyes, Xia Zheng held her hand seriously and asked, "Yuanyuan, the matter Ah Zheng discussed with you before he returned to the Capital, have you decided?"

Zhao Hongde had repeatedly invited her to the Capital before he left, not just Zhao Hongde; Princess Anle had mentioned it many times when she left Zhuma Town earlier in the year and would have surely visited Lin Yuan sooner if it weren’t for her many affairs in the Capital.

Looking into Xia Zheng’s bright glowing eyes, Lin Yuan knew that this matter had been on his mind for quite some time.

He hadn’t brought it up before for fear she would be reluctant to leave her hometown and suffer in the Capital.

But now things were different. Lin Yuan’s capabilities had grown, and people in the Capital were thinking of her.

In Xia Zheng’s view, for Lin Yuan to stay in a small place like Zhuma Town was truly beneath her.

"About that." Seeing the hopeful gaze that gripped her, Lin Yuan felt a warmth in her heart and couldn’t bear to disappoint him, "I’ve actually thought about it for a while now. From the beginning, I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant.

It’s just that afterward, I met you and got an unexpected advantage.

Even though I’m settled now, I don’t want to give up on my dream.

Ah Zheng, I will go to the Capital, and I’m going to open a restaurant of my own there, to give full rein to all my culinary skills. "

Hearing Lin Yuan’s decision, Xia Zheng was both excited and delighted, "Yuanyuan, your dream is my dream."

Although there were no further promises, Lin Yuan knew that this had become the most important thing in Xia Zheng’s heart.

Xia Zheng massaged Lin Yuan’s soft palms and chucklingly said, "So when do you plan to go to the Capital? I mean no offense, Xiao Bai did give you a residence, didn’t he? I need to send someone in advance to help you set it up!"

And he had to prepare the shop he had extorted from his elder brother.

This question stumped Lin Yuan; there were still some things to finish up in Zhuma Town, and she probably couldn’t make it this year.

"Probably next year, I guess!"

Xia Zheng suddenly leaned in closer, his voice so tender it was almost dripping with sweetness, "Next March, elder brother is getting married. We’ll go together, okay?"

This meant he hoped she could reach the Capital before March.

Smoothing Xia Zheng’s neatly tied topknot, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Okay, we’ll go together."

...

The weather was getting hotter, and more and more visitors to the restaurant were requesting that their dishes be chilled with ice before serving. Even Aunt Guizhi’s House had stopped selling their heated Liangpi noodles.

True to Lin Yuan’s usual style, this should be the time for introducing new dishes.

Even some regulars of Fuman Building had inquired with Shopkeeper Wu more than once about when new dishes would be available.

When Lin Yuan heard Shopkeeper Wu mention this, she couldn’t help but smile ruefully, "It seems it’s time to make use of those ice blocks I had you prepare."

In fact, there were many dishes suitable for summer; as long as they were refreshing and tasty, chilling most ordinary dishes before eating was fine, and even rice wine could be enjoyed chilled.

For the edible ice blocks, Lin Yuan had used them to make cold drinks. She would shave the ice into flakes with a sharp knife, then top it with freshly squeezed juice from fruits and add various fruit and dried nut toppings to create a richly flavored cup of shave ice.

Beyond that, she could shave the ice even finer, then mix it with sweetened red bean paste, adding sugar-preserved cherries or raisins to create a cold and sweet red bean ice. This red bean ice became highly popular among young ladies as soon as it hit the market and sold incredibly well.

In addition to this, Lin Yuan had come up with many other fresh cold drink varieties. One day, while discussing with Shopkeeper Wu, a worker from the front of the store suddenly came over to report that Liang Dong, the teacher from South City School, had arrived.