Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 353 I Want to Give the Scripture to the County Magistrate

Shen Yu sighed inwardly: "The county magistrate is so lucky. He has his son and his advisor to help him. He doesn't have to worry about anything."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Chef Xu, I would like to see the county magistrate. I have something to give him. Can I follow you into the county government office?"

"Can you please tell the county magistrate for me? If he is free, please let me see him."

After hearing what Shen Yu said, Chef Xu couldn't help but stop and looked at Shen Yu with narrowed eyes.

He hesitated for a long time before saying, "What do you want from the county magistrate? I'm just a cook in the county government office. You have to explain clearly what's going on before I dare to help you."

When Ci'en delivered the scriptures yesterday, Chef Xu was watching beside him.

Shen Yu knew that although Chef Xu had a strange personality, he was a kind person.

She did not hide anything and spoke openly about her desire to give the scripture to the county magistrate, and also expressed her concerns about her family not being able to keep the scripture.

After listening to it, Chef Xu nodded, sighed and said, "The girl is right to do this."

"No matter how delicious the food is, or how much it suits the taste of the nobles, we are still ordinary people."

"No matter how much you like something this precious, there's no benefit in keeping it at home."

"Abbot Ci'en is a good man, but he is a monk, so he doesn't think things are that complicated."

"He sees that Huasu pastries are well made, and he feels happy in his heart, so he gives you something he thinks is good, but he doesn't consider whether doing so is really good for you."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Yes, Master Ci'en meant well, I can't just return it, so I thought of giving it to the county magistrate."

"Since you are devoted to Buddhism, you will be delighted to see this sutra."

"As for my family, even without the scriptures, we can still run a restaurant peacefully. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

Chef Xu showed an approving expression and continued walking forward with Shen Yu.

As they walked, he seemed to think of something and asked with a smile, "Master Ci'en's handwritten scriptures are worth a fortune. Don't you feel bad about giving them away like this?"

Shen Yu shook his head: "It's more secure to rely on the money earned from cooking. As long as this scripture is kept in my house, my family and I will be worried."

Chef Xu comforted her, "Don't worry, young lady. When we get to the county government office, I'll tell the county magistrate when I have dinner ready and deliver it to him."

"The food you cooked last time was very popular with the adults. He will definitely meet you."

Shen Yu felt relieved when he saw that Chef Xu agreed. He thought to himself that after delivering the scriptures today, he could go back and have dinner in peace.

The two chatted casually about their cooking experiences along the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the gate of the county government office.

Shen Yu followed Chef Xu into the side door. The gatekeeper seemed to recognize Shen Yu and let them in after asking a few questions.

The two were walking towards the small kitchen in the backyard when they suddenly heard someone shouting from a distance, "Hey, Miss Shen, why are you here at this time?"

Shen Yu turned his head and saw that it was Qi Xi who was walking towards him while talking and holding a large tea tray.

Shen Yu looked around and saw yamen runners passing by from time to time, so he smiled and said, "I want to discuss making flower cakes with Chef Xu, so I followed him here."

Qixi said hurriedly: "I thought the young lady would be in Guang'an Temple these few days."

"Wait a moment, young lady. I'll go get the tea and be back soon. I also need to go to the kitchen to see how the dinner is being prepared."

Shen Yu thought that he had to go to the kitchen and wait for Chef Xu to prepare dinner before he would have a chance to meet the county magistrate.

He smiled and nodded, and said to Chef Xu, "Chef Xu, please go and prepare dinner for the county magistrate first. I will wait for Qixi here and go to the kitchen with him later. I will find you then."

Before Chef Xu went to Guang'an Temple, he simmered a pot of thick soup on the stove. Now he was thinking about going to see how the fire was, so he agreed and left first.

Qixi carried the tea tray and quickly went to the master's room on the left side in front.

After a while, Shen Yu was counting the few remaining leaves on a small tree by the road out of boredom. He heard footsteps and turned around to see Lu Lang and Qi Xi coming out together.

When Shen Yu saw that it was Lu Lang coming over, he quickly knelt down and bowed: "Mr. Lu, how are you?"

Lu Lang bowed to Shen Yu and said, "Miss Shen, how are you?"

After the two of them exchanged greetings, Lu Lang got straight to the point and said, "I heard from Qi Xi that you were going to discuss making flower-shaped pastries with Chef Xu."

"Chef Xu came back yesterday and said that the patterns and quantities of the pastries had been decided. Could it be that something unexpected has happened? Why did you want to discuss this with Chef Xu?"

Shen Yu was a little embarrassed for a moment. She made up a reason casually, but she didn't expect Lu Lang to take it seriously.

She looked around and whispered, "I have other things to ask Chef Xu. I have already made arrangements with Master Wen Yuan about the Huasu cakes."

Lu Lang frowned, thought for a moment and said, "Come with me."

Having said that, he turned around and walked towards the lawyer's room next door.

Shen Yu didn't know what it meant, so he had to follow quickly.

When he arrived at the master's room, Lu Lang did not go in, but walked forward and entered a side room.

As it was already evening, the light in the room was a little dim, Qi Xi hurried over to light the candle on the table, and then stood aside.

Shen Yu stood in the room and looked around. This seemed to be a room used to handle official business. There were bookshelves on both sides and a large desk in the middle, which was filled with books, papers and the like.

Lu Lang signaled Qi Xi to close the door and let Shen Yu sit anywhere he wanted.

Seeing Shen Yu sitting down, he asked directly: "Miss Shen, have you encountered any trouble?"

"Why don't you come to me if you have any problems? Am I not as good as Chef Xu? Can he help you?"

Shen Yu raised his head when he heard that, with a surprised expression on his face, as if asking "How do you know I'm in trouble?", and looked at Lu Lang with his mouth slightly open, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Lu Lang saw that Shen Yu was surprised but didn't say anything. He was obviously wondering why he guessed it.

He sighed and said helplessly: "Chef Xu is only responsible for father's daily vegetarian dishes. You don't cook vegetarian dishes on weekdays. What can you ask him to do?"

"I guess you are in some trouble and want to ask him for advice or help to find your father?"

Shen Yu sighed in his heart: "It's really scary to be educated. He actually guessed it right away."

Seeing that Lu Lang was determined to get to the bottom of the matter, it seemed that he would not give up until Lu Lang explained clearly why he didn't look for him.

Shen Yu had no choice but to quickly explain: "I want to see the county magistrate for something, but it's not a big deal."

"Chef Xu said that the Master and his advisors have been busy preparing for the Wanshou Festival these days. They have been so busy that they haven't seen you in the mansion for several days. That's why they asked Chef Xu for help."

Then, Shen Yu briefly explained how he got the handwritten scriptures from the abbot and how he wanted to give the scriptures to the county magistrate.