great-warnovel Chapter 69 Welcome to the World of Mortals
Chapter 69 Welcome to the World of Mortals
The washbasin in the back kitchen is not spacious.
This small, stainless steel space has been transformed into a smoke-filled "post-war ruin" after the frenzy surrounding "Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork".
The mountain of white porcelain plates crammed into the narrow sink, covered in sauce, would give any dishwashing person a headache.
Chen Feng walked to the edge of the sink.
Looking at that pile of plates, he was about to roll up his sleeves and get to work himself.
But before he could even turn on the tap, a thin figure silently squeezed next to him.
Xingruo lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping a dishcloth, her eyes fixed on the dishes and chopsticks in the sink, looking just like a soldier guarding his territory.
She spent her entire morning in anxiety—watching Chen Feng sweating profusely, watching Zhang Qiang running around, and even little Mengmeng being able to stand on her own and serve dishes, while she could only hide in a corner doing odd jobs like preparing food.
In her sensitive and insecure heart, she was always afraid: If I don't contribute, if I can't help my master with more work, will I become a superfluous person again?
Chen Feng's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.
He understands children like that.
If he were to force Xingruo to obediently go and rest now, she would definitely feel anxious and uneasy because she felt "useless".
"Master... I'll do it." Xingruo's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but it carried a sense of determination.
Chen Feng sighed inwardly, then smiled with relief.
He knew he couldn't share everything with her.
Letting her find a sense of belonging through work might be more therapeutic than letting her rest.
"Okay." Chen Feng withdrew his hand and turned to look at Su Chen, who was awkwardly tying her apron to the side.
"Su Chen, the pool is narrow; only two people can stand there."
Your first lesson today will be learning how to wash dishes from Xingruo.
Su Chen paused for a moment, then let out a heavy breath, his face solemn.
"Okay, Brother Chen."
Su Chen and Xing Ruo stood side by side in front of the sink.
Su Chen stared blankly at the pool of oily bowls and chopsticks in front of him.
He has handled golf clubs, carved knives, and many other things in his life.
But he had never washed a dish, nor had he ever seriously observed how others washed dishes.
"Shall we...flush it first?"
Su Chen muttered to himself as he turned on the tap, and the water gushed onto the plate on top.
He tried to wipe off the bright red sauce with his fingers, mimicking scenes he occasionally saw in movies and TV shows.
However, reality gave this second young master of the Su family a resounding slap in the face.
The water flow did carry away some of the sauce, but the stubborn grease clung tightly to the porcelain surface.
As he smeared the grease with his fingertips, it didn't come off; instead, it spread even more, making the whole plate foggy and oily, so slippery that he almost couldn't hold it.
"This thing... why is it so slippery?" Su Chen muttered to himself somewhat awkwardly.
He rinsed himself for half a minute, splashing water all over his sleeve, but didn't know what to do next.
Su Chen knew he must have made a mistake.
He turned his head slightly and quietly observed Xingruo beside him.
Xingruo first squeezed some dish soap into the pool, then gently stirred it with a scouring pad in her right hand.
Clumps of snow-white, delicate foam quickly rose up.
She picked up a greasy plate, rolled it in the white foam, and with a gentle wipe of the dishcloth, the stubborn grease vanished without a trace.
Su Chen's eyes lit up immediately.
"So that's how it is..."
He imitated Xingruo and squeezed out the dish soap.
Watching the transparent liquid gradually turn into clusters of bubbles, Su Chen felt an extremely novel sense of accomplishment, as if he had discovered a new continent.
He started trying to pick up a plate, stuff it into the pile of foam, and make circles with it.
"Clang—Clang—"
That was the sound of a porcelain plate rubbing against a scouring pad.
Su Chen worked with great enthusiasm, although his movements were still stiff and clumsy.
But his focused and hardworking demeanor made the onlookers somewhat lost in thought.
Xingruo kept observing this "new colleague" out of the corner of her eye.
She watched as Su Chen clumsily groped through the grease, his face splattered with water from his excessive force, yet he remained silent as he struggled with the plate.
A subtle emotional fluctuation arose in Xingruo's heart.
In her mind, a well-dressed and refined older brother like Su Chen should be sitting in a high-rise building drinking tea, not here with her enduring the fumes.
But as she watched his clumsy dishwashing, Xingruo's shyness and fear of strangers were gradually overwhelmed by a sense of responsibility as a "professional."
She hesitated for a long time, her fingertips swirling in the foam a few times, before finally mustering her courage and speaking in an extremely soft voice:
"Um... Brother Su, you can't... you can't use so much force."
Su Chen was struggling with a bowl covered in rice grains when he heard this faint, mosquito-like sound and quickly stopped what he was doing.
He turned his head, his eyes very sincere.
"Xingruo, did I do something wrong?"
Seeing how approachable Su Chen was, Xingruo felt much more at ease.
She pursed her lips and explained in a low voice:
"You need to wipe the plate along the edge first, so that the oil won't run outside."
Also, you need to use your thumb to support the bottom of the bowl so it won't slip.
The water temperature... needs to be a little hot so it removes the oil faster.
As she spoke, Xingruo demonstrated it herself.
Her movements were light and rhythmic.
A plate can often be restored to its original state in no time in her hands.
Su Chen tried it out following the technique Xing Ruo had taught him.
Sure enough, the grease that I had initially found difficult to work with suddenly became compliant.
Wow! It really works!
Su Chen looked at Xing Ruo with shining eyes, "Xing Ruo, you are really amazing!"
This is the first time I've ever heard of this technique.
Thank you so much, you've really helped me a lot!
Xingruo was taken aback by the sincere praise, and her face instantly turned bright red.
She smiled shyly and quickly lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth remained upturned.
Chen Feng stood at the kitchen door, holding the glass of water he hadn't finished drinking.
He watched the two figures, one tall and one short, diligently preparing the dishes, and his worried mind relaxed.
His biggest worry was that Su Chen's identity would make the atmosphere in the store stiff, and he was also worried that Xing Ruo would feel ostracized because of the newcomer's arrival.
But now it seems that things are going very well.
Zhang Qiang was also leaning against the door frame, his neck tilted to the side, his gaze lingering on Su Chen's shirt, which was soaked with sweat.
To be honest, Zhang Qiang had thought until just now that Su Chen wouldn't last more than ten minutes.
But now twenty minutes have passed.
Su Chen showed no disgust or impatience; on the contrary, she became more and more adept at washing.
That kind of drive surprised Zhang Qiang.
"Fengzi, you know what, this Second Young Master Su is really a freak."
Zhang Qiang lowered his voice, and most of the initial doubt in his tone had dissipated.
"What do you think he's after?"
Why would you leave your big villa and come here to play in the water with us?
However, judging from his tenacity, he does seem like someone I can work with.
Chen Feng smiled but didn't say anything.
Mengmeng curiously lay down beside Chen Feng's legs, her two rabbit ears swaying as she peeked out.
"Daddy, Brother Su is washing so carefully!" Mengmeng whispered in her ear.
"Won't his hands hurt? When Mengmeng washed her handkerchief for the first time, her hands were all wrinkled."
"That's a badge of honor for growing up, Mengmeng." Chen Feng patted his daughter's head.
Lin Muyuan, standing in the corner of the store, was furtively holding up his phone.
"Click, click."
He secretly took several photos of Su Chen with his sleeves rolled up, covered in sweat, grinning foolishly at a porcelain plate.
"Su Er, Su Er, I've finally got the most valuable dirt on you in my life."
As Lin Muyuan saved the photos, he couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both emotion and reflection).
"But honestly, you look much more handsome like this than at the party."
A full thirty minutes.
When Su Chen carefully placed the last plate on the drying rack.
Su Chen let out a long breath and tried to raise his hand to wipe his sweat, only to find that both hands were covered in white foam.
His hand was very uncomfortable at the moment.
His palms were red from being soaked in water and detergent for a long time, and the backs of his hands were white and wrinkled.
This was the first time he had experienced this feeling of swelling, which was undoubtedly an unbearable torment for someone who had never done any rough work before.
But he didn't utter a sound, not even a frown.
He simply turned his head, looked at Xingruo, his eyes filled with a relieved joy: "Xingruo, we're done!"
"Hmm, they're very clean." Xingruo carefully inspected the dishes that Su Chen had washed.
Su Chen walked to the tap and carefully washed the foam off his hands.
Chen Feng looked at Su Chen's hands, which had turned white from running, and then at his tired but bright eyes.
Chen Feng reached out and patted Su Chen on the shoulder.
"It was washed well."
Chen Feng glanced around at everyone—Zhang Qiang, rubbing his nose; Mengmeng, looking at him with eyes full of admiration; and Lin Muyuan, who had already put away his phone and looked serious.
"Welcome to the world of everyday life, Su Chen."
Upon hearing this, Su Chen's shoulders, which had been ramrod straight, suddenly slumped.
He felt a sense of relief.
"call--"
He breathed a deep sigh of relief, a childlike smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you, Brother Chen. Please guide me in the future."