Chapter 57#
Yan Heqing learned about Lu Changcheng’s upcoming dinner party from his WeChat Moments.
Knowing that Lu Lin would attend, Lin Fengzhi was so excited that he posted over a dozen updates in a row.
This development was three years earlier than in the original story.
Lu Changcheng invited the Lin family to the banquet with the intention of giving Lin Fengzhi a wake-up call by announcing Lu Muchi’s engagement.
This was an unexpected gain outside of Yan Heqing’s hospital plan.
Lu Muchi had left the hospital for a day and a night, and Lu Changcheng mistakenly thought he had gone to see Lin Fengzhi, so he arranged this dinner party.
Yan Heqing stood against the wall. After 15 minutes, a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.
He went to the bathroom to wash his face, then returned to bed to rest.
He first booked a car to Songxian Market for 3:10 AM, then set an alarm for 3:00 AM, two hours earlier than his usual routine.
Before the 3:00 AM alarm even rang, Yan Heqing was already awake.
He finished washing up just as the alarm went off.
Yan Heqing didn’t cook breakfast; he changed his clothes and went out.
The booked car arrived a few minutes early, and Yan Heqing also went downstairs a few minutes early, so they set off a few minutes ahead of schedule.
Seeing that Yan Heqing didn’t look like someone buying groceries, nor like someone selling them, the driver started a conversation while driving, “Young man, going to the wholesale market so early?”
Yan Heqing replied politely, “I have work.”
The driver realized, “I see, helping out the family.” He sighed, “So early in the morning, truly filial!”
Yan Heqing smiled faintly and didn’t reply.
Songxian Market.
The place where the Lu family’s chef bought groceries.
Lu Changcheng had ten dishes per meal, and they couldn’t be repeated unless he specified a dish.
Vegetables only used the most tender leaves; usually, out of several catties of vegetables, only one or two taels were usable. The same went for meat; even the tenderest tenderloin, only the most tender slice or two were chosen for seasoning.
And it had to be fresh that day.
The Lu family had a vegetable garden in the suburbs, but it couldn’t meet Lu Changcheng’s high demands. Every morning, the Lu family’s head chef would personally go to Songxian Market to buy ingredients for the day.
Especially since Lu Changcheng was hosting a banquet, the ingredients needed today would require at least several trucks to be delivered to the Lu residence.
There were few cars on the road in the early morning, and the driver drove fast, arriving at Songxian Market more than 40 minutes earlier than expected.
The sky was still dark, but Songxian Market was already bustling with activity.
Truck after truck of fresh vegetables from all over the country were being delivered into the market.
Those coming to wholesale vegetables now, apart from some small vegetable vendors, were mostly vegetable purchasers for major hotels and restaurants.
Yan Heqing paid the fare, got out of the car, but didn’t enter the market. Instead, he went to the distribution department next door.
Large quantities of vegetables were all arranged for unified delivery by the distribution department.
The owner of the distribution department was a woman in her early thirties. She was arranging orders at the cashier counter.
“Hello.”
A clear and clean voice.
The woman looked up to see a smiling young man. She asked in surprise, “What’s the matter?”
“Are you hiring temporary workers?” Yan Heqing asked politely.
They were hiring. During the New Year period, they were extremely short-handed. Even offering triple wages couldn’t attract people. Yesterday, she had to do it herself, loading and unloading goods, and was dead tired, but…
The woman looked at Yan Heqing’s fair and translucent skin and his fresh and clean temperament.
A college student, right?
Could he do this kind of physical labor?
A basket of potatoes, a sack of cabbage, they weighed at least a hundred catties.
Yan Heqing smiled gently, “You can let me try first. If you’re not satisfied, I won’t take any money.”
Since there was nothing to lose, the woman agreed readily, “Okay.”
Two hours later, the woman was very satisfied. She paid Yan Heqing his wages, calculated by the day, meals not included, 1000 for the day at triple the rate.
The landline rang.
The woman picked up the phone, then put it down and made another call, arranging three small trucks. Then she said to Yan Heqing, “Xiao Yan, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Turn left when you enter the market, there are a few breakfast shops. The taste is good and affordable. Go eat quickly. Later, we need to load three trucks of vegetables, then follow the trucks into the city to unload.”
She added with a smile, “These few days we’re only busy for these few hours in the morning. By noon, we basically close up shop. After this trip, you don’t need to come back, just get off work directly. I’ll pay you your wages first.”
If it were anyone else, the woman wouldn’t be so reassured. Usually, wages were settled after unloading, but with this young man, she felt at ease.
After receiving his wages, Yan Heqing wiped his sweat, washed his hands clean at the sink, and went into the market to find a breakfast shop.
A steamer of fresh meat soup dumplings and a bowl of plain porridge, totaling 8 yuan.
And at this moment, it was exactly eight o’clock.
After finishing breakfast, Yan Heqing received a call from the woman, telling him to go to a shop to load vegetables onto the truck.
Finishing the last mouthful of porridge, Yan Heqing got up and set off.
The vegetables were truly exceptionally fresh. The small truck driver said the average price was a few yuan higher than nearby shops. The driver also helped move the vegetables, but it was mainly Yan Heqing; the driver received them inside the truck while he moved them up.
Working non-stop for two hours, three trucks of fruits, vegetables, seafood, beef, lamb, and pork were sorted and loaded onto the vehicles.
Yan Heqing followed the lead truck to the Lu residence.
He kept looking at the retreating trees outside the window. Not long after entering the city, he finally moved, turning to ask the driver, “Can you pull over for a moment? I’ll buy a bottle of water, just a few minutes.”
The driver was also thirsty, “Get me a can of Red Bull!”
The car stopped by the roadside.
Yan Heqing got out. There was an optical shop by the road. He went in and bought a pair of black daily disposable contact lenses, then went to a convenience store to buy a bottle of water and a bottle of Red Bull.
Lu Lin was also there.
Just in case, he needed a small disguise.
Back in the car, he handed the Red Bull to the driver. The driver wanted to give him money, but he declined, “You let me hitch a ride without charging me.”
The driver grinned, “Oh, it’s a small matter, just on the way.” He pulled the tab, gulped down half the can, and set off again.
Arriving at the main gate of the Lu residence street, the guard called the internal line before opening the barrier to let the delivery trucks in.
The driver clicked his tongue, “This family is too rich. Do you know how many tables these three trucks of vegetables are for? 10 tables! And that’s not counting the separately purchased high-end seafood.”
“This villa, the area is almost half the size of my residential compound. It has a lake and a garden. Last time I came to deliver vegetables, I thought I had entered the wrong park!”
Entering from the back courtyard and passing the front gate, Yan Heqing glanced outside.
The appearance wasn’t ostentatious; from the outside, they looked like ordinary wealthy people.
The carved gate of the back courtyard was opened in advance. The truck went in and drove a short distance inside; the villa was just ahead.
The back door was open, and the head chef was already waiting.
While the driver got out to open the rear door of the truck, Yan Heqing put on the contact lenses.
Wearing them for the first time, he wasn’t used to it, and his eyes felt a strong foreign body sensation. After adapting for a few seconds, he put on a mask properly and got out of the car to move the vegetables.
Seeing that the worker this time took the initiative to wear a mask while moving vegetables, the head chef was very satisfied.
The vegetables would be cleaned and processed later, but last time she saw a worker coughing all over the vegetables while carrying them. Leaving aside Lu Changcheng’s high requirements, even she couldn’t accept such vegetables.
Although the ingredients were heavy, unloading was much easier than loading. The driver was also willing to lend a hand. The three trucks of ingredients were unloaded in about an hour.
In the passage entering the kitchen, a long table was temporarily set up, scattered with brand new chef uniforms, chef hats, and several boxes of masks.
During the time Yan Heqing was moving vegetables into the kitchen, he had observed the situation well.
Hosting a banquet today, the head chef had found outside help. The kitchen was particularly crowded, and there were many unfamiliar faces.
He didn’t leave with the driver. He took a set of chef uniform and hat, put them on, changed to a new mask, and calmly entered the kitchen to work.
His vegetable cutting and preparation were professional, so no one paid any attention to him.
The kitchen was bustling with activity.
Yan Heqing picked through the choy sum, sorting through the massive amount of original plot content in his mind.
Lu Muchi’s engagement partner was Qi Xuehong, the eldest daughter of the Qi Corporation.
Lu Muchi looked like a decent human being, and quite a few people in the book liked him; Qi Xuehong was one of them.
After learning that Lu Muchi liked men, she still took the initiative to approach Lu Muchi, hoping to move him with her sincerity, and even vigorously helped Lu Muchi’s company develop.
Lu Muchi’s career flourished from then on.
Under Lu Changcheng’s arrangement, Lu Muchi and Qi Xuehong held an engagement banquet, but on the wedding day, he abandoned the bride in public to chase Lin Fengzhi back at the airport.
In just a few hours, Lu Changcheng would publicly announce the engagement of Lu Muchi and Qi Xuehong.
According to the original timeline, Lin Fengzhi had already given up on Lu Lin by then and was in an ambiguous relationship with Lu Muchi. Hearing about the engagement, he left the banquet in anger, was intercepted by Lu Muchi, and pulled into a room.
Downstairs, glasses clinked and guests mingled; upstairs, the two were making love frantically.
That room was Lu Lin’s bedroom.
The incredibly tender choy sum snapped suddenly. Yan Heqing looked down, didn’t throw it away, and calmly placed it in the vegetable basket.
A few minutes later, he dried his fingertips and walked out of the kitchen.
Around four in the afternoon, cars began to arrive one after another.
A line of luxury cars.
The Lin family also arrived.
Mother Lin didn’t like social engagements. Except for her, the four men of the Lin family all came.
Lin Fengzhi checked himself several times before finally getting out of the car in his suit and leather shoes.
He rarely wore suits, preferring casual wear, but for today’s formal occasion, he wanted to leave a good impression on Lu Lin and Lu Changcheng.
Not far ahead, a beautiful woman was holding Lu Muchi’s arm. Lu Muchi talked and laughed freely, making the woman laugh frequently.
Lin Fengzhi’s expression changed slightly.
He couldn’t face Lu Muchi for the time being.
When he first learned that Lu Muchi wanted Yan Heqing to be his substitute, he was shocked.
In front of him, Lu Muchi had always been a gentle and considerate big brother. He didn’t expect that in private, he would do such things…
But…
At the same time, he felt very despicably that he had at least won against Yan Heqing once.
This was wrong, he told himself in his heart, but he couldn’t stop that dark thought.
Yan Heqing was too outstanding, so outstanding that he felt ashamed of his own inferiority. Even if it was just a little bit, a tiny bit, winning against Yan Heqing was good enough.
Now he just hoped Yan Heqing hadn’t agreed.
This was the best outcome he could imagine.
Suddenly, sounds of “President Lu” rose one after another from behind.
In the slightly cool breeze, a faint scent of cedar drifted over.
Lin Fengzhi’s breathing became tense.
It was Uncle Lu!
Lu Muchi also looked over at this moment. Catching a glimpse of Lin Fengzhi, he frowned slightly.
Lin Fengzhi held his breath. The footsteps got closer. He turned around, excited and bright, “Uncle Lu—”
Lu Lin walked straight past.
Several people were following Lu Lin talking. One of them didn’t pay attention and bumped into Lin Fengzhi, turned back to say “Sorry, sorry,” and hurriedly walked away.
Lin Fengzhi was bumped to the side, his gaze still fixed on Lu Lin.
A deep sense of frustration and grievance.
Uncle Lu… still didn’t have an impression of him?!
Lin Fengyi was almost at the villa entrance. Seeing Lin Fengzhi hadn’t caught up, he looked back and saw Lin Fengzhi staring fixedly behind him.
He glanced casually, not finding it strange.
For the banquet celebrating Old Man Lu’s discharge from the hospital, Lu Lin would naturally attend.
At this moment, Lu Lin looked at Lin Fengyi.
Their eyes met, and Lin Fengyi muttered in his heart. He had only met Lu Lin once at Xie Yunjie’s bachelor party. A busy man high above the clouds like Lu Lin wouldn’t have time to remember him, right?
Thinking of that party, Lin Fengyi unconsciously thought of Yan Heqing again.
Damn.
Why did he keep thinking of that arrogant Yan Heqing these past few days?
What right did Yan Heqing have to look down on him?!
He should be the one looking down on him!
Collecting his thoughts, Lin Fengyi squeezed out a smile on his face, “Hello President Lu, I am Lin Fengyi.”
Lu Lin nodded, withdrew his gaze, and entered the villa.