Chapter 407 [Extra: Bamboo Sheng] (2) Falling step by step
early morning.

Yan Zhusheng woke up from his sleep, raised his hand to turn off the alarm on his mobile phone, and then got up and washed up.

While brushing my teeth and washing my face, I glanced at the time.

Half past six in the morning.

After washing up, Yan Zhusheng changed into sportswear, went downstairs, and started running slowly around the community and the park next to it.

When passing by the bushes in the park, she saw a skinny orange cat jumping out from among them, opening its big, round eyes and looking up at her.

Yan Zhusheng took out the biscuits he brought from home from his pocket, broke them into pieces and threw them on the ground, giving some to the orange cat.

Then she continued jogging.

After returning home, Yan Zhusheng heated a cup of milk for himself, went to the bathroom on the second floor to take a shower, came out to eat two biscuits, drank the milk, and went to the balcony to warm up his throat.

It was not until the doorbell rang that Yan Zhusheng returned to the living room from the balcony. She walked all the way to the door, looked at the person through the peephole, and after confirming the other person's identity, she opened the door.

Li Luo was standing at the door and greeted politely: "Good morning, boss."

"No need to call me boss." Yan Zhusheng shook his head, "Come in."

"If not the boss, what should I call him?" Li Luo was stunned for a moment, then he walked into the door, changed into slippers, and couldn't help asking, "There must be a name for you."

"Hmm..." Yan Zhusheng was a little confused by this question.

It doesn't seem appropriate to call her by her name, after all, she is her employee.

It was also impossible for him to call me Zhusheng, as that would seem too intimate.

So Yan Zhusheng threw the question back to Li Luo: "Anyway, don't call me boss. I'm not old."

Li Luo: “…”

There are only two of us at home, so it doesn't matter whether we call each other's names or not. If there is anything, we can just talk about it directly.

After Li Luo followed Yan Zhusheng into the recording studio on the second floor, they started today's work.

"We won't rush the progress today, but will familiarize ourselves with the work process." Yan Zhusheng said, "I usually practice singing in the morning and piano in the afternoon. I'll take a break in between to read books or watch movies. When you practice singing and piano, that's when you record the video. The rest of the time you edit the video."

Li Luo nodded and began to work according to Yan Zhusheng's rhythm.

But he soon discovered that he had originally thought that this job was a bit too easy during the interview.

After actually trying it, Li Luo realized that this was not only too simple, it did not require any advanced skills at all.

It’s just a matter of setting up the camera when Yan Zhusheng is about to sing or play the piano.

When Yan Zhusheng got tired from practice and went to rest, Li Luo went to the study, uploaded the recorded materials and did some simple processing.

There's actually nothing to deal with...

Because Yan Zhusheng sang so well, he felt that there was no need to retouch it. He just cut out the essence and it became a perfect short video clip.

What's even more relaxing is that Yan Zhusheng did not set any corresponding performance and data indicator requirements for him.

For example, there were no requirements for the number of video views per episode, the promotion plan for the video, the specific requirements for the video content, or even the number of videos to be produced...

At noon, the cook came to cook. After Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng finished their meal, he returned to the study and started editing the video.

In the afternoon, after Li Luo finished editing a video, he stretched out on the chair in the study.

He had nothing to do, and Yan Zhusheng didn't call him upstairs to continue recording.

If it were in the past, he would probably just slack off.

But today was his first day at work after all. After finishing his work, Li Luo immediately stood up and walked towards the recording studio on the second floor.

As soon as I walked to the door of the recording studio, I vaguely heard the sound of a piano coming from inside.

Li Luo waited silently for a moment, listening to the unfamiliar piano tune inside. He raised his hand and knocked on the door only when the music stopped temporarily.

"Enter."

Hearing Yan Zhusheng's cold voice, Li Luo pushed open the door of the recording studio, walked in curiously, and asked doubtfully: "Don't we need to record the song just now?"

"No need." Yan Zhusheng's fingers danced casually on the piano keys. "This is an order I received. I composed the song myself. I won't post it online."

"Ah?" Li Luo was stunned for a moment. "An order? Isn't it an advertisement?"

"No." Yan Zhusheng looked at Li Luo, "It's an order for a game, about the background music for a series of levels."

“…So you’re not a short video blogger?”

"It's my leisure time." Yan Zhusheng said, "My main job is composing music, and I write songs occasionally."

“Can I ask for the data of your short video account?”

"Data?" Yan Zhusheng tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“It’s the number of fans, the number of views, and so on.”

"I think he has tens of thousands of fans, and his videos usually only get a few thousand views."

Li Luo fell silent, recalling the decoration and area of ​​the house, and then looked at the recording studio which looked obviously very expensive.

If she only relied on the account with only tens of thousands of fans mentioned by Yan Zhusheng, it would be impossible for her to support herself.

From this point of view... could it be that the boss in front of me is actually a well-known composition teacher in the industry?

After all, to be able to afford his monthly salary of 8,000, my monthly income must be more than 30,000 to be able to barely afford it, right?
Is composing music so profitable these days?
Li Luo was a little unsure, but he didn't ask too much.

But the good news is that since short videos are a form of entertainment for this cheap boss in his spare time, it is normal that there are no specific requirements. Li Luo can rest assured and does not have to worry about any traps here.

But here's the bad news.

Since it is just the boss's entertainment in his spare time, it is very likely to be stopped at any time due to lack of interest.

In other words, Li Luo may lose this job at any time.

Thinking of this, Li Luo felt a little annoyed and couldn't help but ask Yan Zhusheng, "Um... Old... Ahem... I have a question."

"You ask."

"Is the creation of this short video part of your long-term personal plan, or is it just for fun in the short term?"

Hearing Li Luo ask this question, Yan Zhusheng glanced at him and then said, "Don't worry, I won't fire you suddenly. Just focus on your work."

"If the account is well managed and generates extra income, I can give you an additional commission."

"There will be no changes for at least a year."

After listening to what Yan Zhusheng said, Li Luo felt a little relieved.

Although verbal promises are useless, Yan Zhusheng doesn't look like the kind of person who would make promises casually.

And you can tell at first glance that he is not someone who is short of money.

After thinking this through, Li Luo continued to work honestly.

In the evening, when the cook came to cook dinner, Li Luo had another meal here, then said goodbye and went home.

To be honest, apart from this completely scattered and unplanned work style, Li Luo is already very satisfied with the salary of this job.

It should be rare to find such a job in the market, with a monthly salary of 8,000, casual work, simple tasks, free time to slack off, a good-looking boss, simple requirements, and free lunch and dinner.

Li Luo felt that if he lost this job, he would never be able to find such a good job again.

You have to cherish it.

My family is in urgent need of money, so I can't slack off.

Thinking of this, Li Luo started to think while walking towards the subway entrance.

When working during the day, recording and editing videos is very easy and probably won’t take much time.

Yan Zhusheng didn't care whether he was slacking off or not, so when he was free, he could try to take on some short play scripts.

Regardless of how much you earn, at least you can add some income. With the 8,000 salary, you can at least earn more than 10,000.

Then when I go home at night, I have to continue selling fried noodles at the stall. I don’t want to waste the precious evening time.

If you calculate it this way, I can earn at least 20,000 yuan a month, which can afford my mother's medicine.

After the house is sold, I can save enough money for the surgery, maybe I can be cured...

Li Luo pursed his lips, got on the subway, and took a deep breath.

Although the work this time was quite easy, the burden of life still made him mentally exhausted.

There were no seats available at this time of the day and the subway was packed with people. He could only lean against the wall, frowning and thinking.

Fortunately, there is finally a glimmer of hope in life. I hope my mother’s condition can be controlled.

……

[Xixi]: How is it? How are they?
[Zhu Sheng]: It’s okay, no problem at work.

[Xixi]: He didn’t do anything bad, did he?

[Zhu Sheng]: What bad things do you mean?

[Xixi]: Don’t ask questions even though you already know the answer.

[Zhu Sheng]: Apart from the fact that he occasionally likes to look at my legs, there is no other problem.

[Xixi]: …

[Zhu Sheng]: I feel like he is just an ordinary person. I don’t understand why you like him. He is totally unworthy of you.

[Xixi]: I don’t like him now, so don’t talk nonsense.

[Zhu Sheng]: Oh, was he very outstanding before?
[Xixi]: Oh, you don’t understand. Like or not has nothing to do with whether a person is good enough.

[Zhu Sheng]: Anyway, I don’t see what’s so good about him that you like him.

[Xixi]: If you didn’t see it, then you didn’t see it. Anyway, I just asked you to give him a job, not to check it for me.

[Zhu Sheng]: I thought you would still be with him.

[Xixi]: That’s impossible. It’s all over. Who would still look for him?

[Zhu Sheng]: Then do you have to find a job for him?

[Xixi]: Just consider it as an explanation to my younger self.

[Zhu Sheng]: It’s up to you.

[Xixi]: When will he get his salary? Remember to tell me, and I will transfer the 8,000 to you.

[Zhu Sheng]: No, it’s not necessary. It’s not worth the money. I was planning to find someone to edit the video anyway.

[Xixi]: Okay...but can you find some reason to give him a little more bonus or commission when paying his salary?
[Xixi]: Or you can ask him if he wants to work overtime on weekends or something like that, and then give him more overtime pay. I will pay for this part of the money.

【竹生】：OK.

In the evening, after chatting with Ying Chanxi about Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng leaned against the head of the bed and was planning to find a movie to watch.

But Ying Chanxi on the other side obviously had no intention of ending the chat and sent her a photo.

The photo shows a living room with three people sitting on the sofa: a middle-aged couple and a tall and thin boy.

[Xixi]: I haven’t been here for a long time. I feel that Ying Xiangtao has grown a lot taller, and his eyes and eyebrows are quite similar to Aunt Yuan.

[Zhu Sheng]: If you don’t have anything else to say, I won’t talk about it anymore.

[Xixi]: Aunt Yuan said she misses you very much, are you really going to come and see her?
[Zhu Sheng]: It’s okay, I’m fine alone.

[Xixi]: She doesn’t plan to go on a blind date for you now, can’t you find a chance to reconcile?

[Zhu Sheng]: She wants to live a new life with your father. I am an adult and can support myself. I don’t think there is any need to force us to live together.

[Xixi]: Okay, okay, let’s not talk about this.

[Zhu Sheng]: Are you sure you don’t want to come to my place to meet Li Luo?

[Xixi]: No need, just keep it like this, it’s good enough.

[Zhu Sheng]: That’s it, let’s not talk about it anymore.

[Xixi]: Okay.

After turning off his cell phone, Yan Zhusheng flipped through the movies on the projection screen. When he didn't see the one he wanted to watch, he felt a little depressed, so he got out of bed and walked to the balcony to enjoy the night breeze.

But even with this, my mood didn't improve much. The photo that Ying Chanxi had just sent me kept circling in my mind, and my chest felt tight.

Yan Zhusheng frowned, touched his chest which felt a little uncomfortable, then turned back into the house, changed his clothes, went out and took a walk downstairs, intending to change his mood.

As a result, when they strolled to the intersection near Yintai City with a relatively heavy flow of people, Yan Zhusheng caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the mobile stall.

The man was still wearing the white shirt he wore to work during the day and an apron. He stood behind the electric tricycle and skillfully stir-fried portions of noodles.

Seeing him sweating profusely, Yan Zhusheng paused and frowned slightly when he thought of Ying Chanxi's insistence on providing the other party with a job.

A salary of 8,000 is not low, but he still has to sell fried noodles at night. Are he so short of money?
In the past, when Yan Zhusheng saw such stalls, he would walk away from them, thinking they were somewhat unclean.

But this time, with a hint of curiosity, she walked silently to the stall and observed it closely for a while.

Perhaps it was because she stood for too long. After Li Luo finished making a plate of fried noodles and there were no more customers, she turned her head to look at the figure next to her with a warm smile on her face. She said to her, "Would you like a plate of fried noodles? It's... um..."

It was late at night and Yan Zhusheng was still standing to the side. Li Luo only caught a glimpse of someone standing there from the corner of his eye but didn't see clearly who it was.

Turning his head at this moment, when he was halfway through greeting, Li Luo saw clearly that the other party was actually his boss. His face suddenly froze.

Yan Zhusheng realized that he had been discovered, so he walked forward, stood in front of the stall and took a look. In the end, he decided not to place an order as he felt that the food was still a bit dirty.

So she shook her head at Li Luo and said, "I'm not eating. I just happened to be out for a walk and saw you."

"Oh, it's okay." Li Luo responded and nodded repeatedly, "I just... um... I have nothing to do at night, so I came out to make some money. It won't interfere with my work during the day."

"It doesn't matter." Yan Zhusheng shook his head, sniffed the fragrance emanating from the stall, and felt a little saliva in his mouth.

But she still held back, and looked at Li Luo twice more, then she remembered Ying Chanxi's request, so she asked Li Luo: "You have two days of weekend, do you have anything to do during the day?" "Nothing, what's wrong?" Li Luo was stunned for a moment, wondering why she asked this?
"Then do you want to come to work on weekends as well?" Yan Zhusheng asked, "I can give you overtime pay."

When Li Luo heard this, he thought there was such a good thing, so he immediately nodded and agreed: "No problem."

"That's it." Yan Zhusheng nodded and didn't stay any longer. After talking about this, he said goodbye and left.

Watching Yan Zhusheng's gradually receding back, Li Luo subconsciously glanced at Yan Zhusheng's long legs twice. Thinking of the overtime pay that Yan Zhusheng suddenly proposed, he immediately pursed his lips.

This boss...although he looks quite cold, he seems to be a kind-hearted person?
You could see that he was short of money, so you offered to pay him overtime?

Thinking of this, Li Luo took a deep breath, shook his head, and continued to sell fried noodles.

……

On Sunday, according to Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo still came to work on time at 8 o'clock in the morning.

But today was a little different from the previous week. By noon, the cook didn't come to cook.

Instead, someone knocked on the door.

Li Luo went to open the door, took a large bag of takeout from the delivery boy, carried it to the dining table in the living room, and fell into deep thought for a moment.

Yan Zhusheng had obviously also received the news that the takeaway had been delivered. He walked down from the second floor and saw that Li Luo had already put the takeaway on the table, so he said, "Let's have lunch."

Li Luo opened the takeout boxes one by one. There were four dishes and a soup, which were pretty normal home-cooked dishes.

But the taste is not even as good as the one cooked by the auntie, it tastes like pre-prepared food.

As a veteran in the kitchen, Li Luo can basically tell the difference after just one bite.

Either the chef is terrible or the food is pre-prepared, there is no other possibility.

However, Yan Zhusheng was not a picky eater and just ate quietly.

Li Luo was sitting at the side. Although he was not picky, he couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the cooking lady coming today?"

"Today is Sunday." Yan Zhusheng glanced at him and said, "Auntie is resting, so I ordered takeout."

"You don't cook for yourself?"

"I won't."

"Well..." Li Luo thought about it for a while. In order to leave a good impression on his boss, he decided to show off his cooking skills. "How about I cook dinner tonight?"

"You?" Yan Zhusheng blinked and was stunned for a moment before reacting, "You want to make fried noodles?"

"... I'm not the only one who can make fried noodles." Li Luo's mouth twitched, "Of course, if you want to eat it, fried noodles are also fine."

"I don't eat that." Yan Zhusheng shook his head. "Just a normal stir-fry. Can you make it?"

"Yes." Li Luo nodded, "I have a chef's license."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng blinked, recalling the night before when he saw Li Luo standing on the street, sweating profusely and waving an iron pot and a shovel, so he nodded and said, "Then you do it."

"Then I'll go buy some groceries this afternoon."

"No problem." Yan Zhusheng nodded and took out his cell phone.

The next second, Li Luo felt his cell phone vibrate.

When he took it out and took a look, he found that Yan Zhusheng had transferred 500 yuan to him on WeChat.

"What are you..."

“Money for groceries.”

"It won't take that much."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded, "The rest is the labor fee for cooking."

Hearing this, Li Luo fell silent for a moment.

By the way, the cook is not young anymore, why not let her retire early?

Li Luo suddenly became interested in the position of chef in Yan Zhusheng's family.

But Li Luo just thought about it. After getting the money, he started to plan what to do in the evening.

"Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"should not."

"Row."

……

evening.

Yan Zhusheng heard some noise coming from the door and knew that Li Luo had returned from buying groceries.

She came down from the second floor and glanced at the kitchen.

At this time, Li Luo had already started washing vegetables in the kitchen. He put on an apron and was cutting vegetables. Listening to the "dong dong dong" sound of chopping vegetables, he looked serious and professional.

Yan Zhusheng had nothing to do, so he sat at the dining table facing the kitchen, flipping through his phone while watching Li Luo working in the kitchen.

In the middle of the process, she suddenly had an idea and pointed her mobile phone camera at Li Luo's back as he was cutting vegetables. She took a photo and sent it to Ying Chanxi.

【Bamboo Fungus】：（Photo）
[Xixi]:?

[Zhu Sheng]: The one you like.

[Xixi]: I know. I can see it without you telling me.

[Zhu Sheng]: Haven’t you two seen each other for a long time? Can you tell from your back?
[Xixi]: The only man who can enter and leave your house now is him. I can guess it.

[Zhu Sheng]: So you guessed it, not saw it?

【Xixi】: I can see it.

[Zhu Sheng]: Then why did you say so much above?

[Xixi]: It’s just an intuition, but why is he in your kitchen, wearing an apron?

[Zhu Sheng]: He is cooking for me.

[Xixi]:?

[Zhu Sheng]: The cook had a day off on Sunday, and she said she could cook dinner, so I let her.

[Xixi]: Is this considered extra labor?
[Zhu Sheng]: I paid the labor fee.

[Xixi]: That’s pretty close.

[Zhu Sheng]: Do you want to eat? If you want to eat, you can come over and eat now.

[Xixi]: Don’t seduce me casually. I won’t go over when he is with you.

[Zhu Sheng]: Did you know that he would go to the street to sell fried noodles at night?

[Xixi]: I know. Did he tell you?

[Zhu Sheng]: No, I just happened to meet him when I was out for a walk a few nights ago.

[Xixi]: He is short of money now.

[Zhu Sheng]: I can see that.

[Xixi]: Anyway, thank you anyway.

[Zhu Sheng]: You’re welcome. I hope the food he cooks isn’t too bad.

[Xixi]: The food will be served later. Take another picture for me.

[Zhu Sheng]: Quench your thirst by looking at plum blossoms?

【Xixi】: To meddle in other people’s business.

……

At 6:30 in the evening, Li Luo's four dishes and one soup were served.

Yan Zhusheng picked up his phone, took a picture of the steaming dishes on the table, sent it to Ying Chanxi, and then put down the phone.

Seeing this, Li Luo didn't think much about it and just thought that Yan Zhusheng was taking a photo as a souvenir.

He served a bowl of rice to each of them, handed chopsticks to Yan Zhusheng, and then sat down.

"I made something simple. Try it." Li Luo said, "See if it suits your taste."

"Hmm." Yan Zhusheng sniffed the aroma of the food on the table and felt that it was indeed different from the takeout, and even a little different from what the cook had cooked.

But she couldn't quite tell what the difference was.

Yan Zhusheng tentatively picked up a piece of pork belly fried with chili peppers, put it in his mouth, savored it carefully, and then took a big mouthful of rice.

I have to say that the dishes cooked by Li Luo are indeed delicious.

Yan Zhusheng thought about this and tried several other dishes one by one, including cola chicken wings, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and minced meat and eggplant...

Mm, they are all delicious.

It tastes much better than what the cook makes.

Yan Zhusheng thought so in his heart, but there was no expression on his face.

She was used to having facial paralysis and she didn't interact with many people in normal times. Living alone for a long time resulted in her rarely showing any expression.

In Li Luo's eyes, he thought that she had a picky taste. She was probably a rich person who had eaten all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, so her home-cooked meal was indeed just so-so.

But it should be much better than takeout, right?

Li Luo thought so while secretly observing Yan Zhusheng's expression while eating.

As a result, after the meal, Yan Zhusheng did not express any opinions. As usual, he put down his bowl and chopsticks after the meal, got up and went back to his room.

Seeing this, Li Luo didn't say much. He just finished his meal in silence and planned to clean up the table.

But Yan Zhusheng turned around and said, "Leave it there, and let Auntie clean it tomorrow."

"Then I'll put the plates in the sink." Li Luo was happy not to wash the dishes. He poured the leftovers on the plates into the garbage bag, put the plates in the sink to soak, and left them to the cook.

Yan Zhusheng ignored him and went straight back to his room.

After finishing his work, Li Luo picked up the garbage bag of kitchen waste, went downstairs to throw away the garbage, and continued to sell his fried noodles.

……

[Xixi]: Did he do all this?

[Zhu Sheng]: Yeah, what’s wrong.

[Xixi]: How does it taste?
【Bamboo Fungus】: It’s quite delicious.

[Xixi]: These are my favorite dishes.

[Zhu Sheng]: If you want to eat, just come over next time.

[Xixi]: No, I’m just talking.

[Zhu Sheng]: I can leave some food on purpose, and then you can come over after he leaves.

[Xixi]: ...Let’s talk about it next time.

……

Another weekend.

On Sunday morning, Yan Zhusheng looked at Li Luo from time to time, which made Li Luo feel a little strange.

But what he didn't know was that Yan Zhusheng had been enduring it for a week.

Yan Zhusheng had never eaten Li Luo's food before, and he felt that the dishes cooked by the cook were quite delicious.

But ever since he had tasted Li Luo’s dishes, Yan Zhusheng always felt that the cook’s dishes these days tasted mediocre and tasted like chewing wax.

So subconsciously, she began to look forward to the Sundays when the cook was resting.

But on that day, Li Luo did not take the initiative to offer to cook like he did last time.

So much so that Yan Zhusheng would look at him from time to time, hoping that this employee could be more proactive.

But as lunch time approached, Yan Zhusheng couldn't help it and transferred another 500 yuan to Li Luo.

Feeling his cell phone vibrate, Li Luo took it out and was stunned. He looked up at Yan Zhusheng who was sitting on the piano.

Yan Zhusheng noticed his gaze, but turned his head away and looked out the window, then said, "The cooking auntie is also resting today."

……

After meal.

Yan Zhusheng secretly licked his lips, looked at Li Luo who was cleaning the table, and said softly, "Li Luo."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"The cook's contract will expire in half a month."

"Um...what do you mean?"

"Be my full-time chef. In addition to editing videos every day, you will also be responsible for cooking." Yan Zhusheng looked at Li Luo and said seriously, "I will give you a salary of 15,000 yuan per month. How about it?"

this moment.

have to say.

Li Luo was moved.

(End of this chapter)