Baguettes and Macarons

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"it's him."

Ms. Alley hesitated: "But that gentleman..."

Ms. Emily said first: "Just looking at the storefront, it's really hard to imagine."

Ms. Alley whispered, "Looking at his appearance, he really doesn't look like a senior chef."

"Oh, what kind of man is he?" asked Lady Emily.

Mrs. Alley said: "Although it is impolite to judge others behind the scenes, in my opinion, that gentleman is very sloppy, his clothes are worn out, and his beard is unshaven. He really doesn't look like a qualified chef."

"Is this true, Mr. Yu?"

"...Mr. Legrand, although a bit untidy, is very dedicated in matters related to dim sum, you can rest assured."

After getting his acknowledgment, Ms. Emily changed the subject inadvertently: "By the way, do you have any idea about the style of this wedding?"

Yu Chen laughed twice, and followed her words: "Yes. The style of this wedding is very Mediterranean, the venue is very warm and lively, and the dresses of the couple are also very simple. I think the master of ceremonies The dress should also be close to this style. Speaking of which, do you have a photo of the master of ceremonies?"

Louie kicked the garbage bag resentfully and went back to his bakery.

Anyway, there would be no customers coming in the afternoon, so he closed the shutter and went back to the back kitchen to prepare dinner.Since the chef is in a bad mood, I'll just have vinegar pickled vegetables and baguettes for dinner.

Bored, he chopped up the pickled carrots soaked yesterday with a knife until it was so dark before he knew it. Yu Chen ran down the stairs and complained: "Mr. Legrand, this time you are killing me The doors and balconies are not closed, they are all open."

"Who taught you that you refused to accept the keys and made it so troublesome."

Yu Chen said awkwardly: "I always feel that I have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities when accepting other people's keys."

Louis chopped the carrot into finer pieces: "Didn't you help your friends who are traveling to look at their homes?"

"I don't have friends who are close to this level for the time being."

"Isn't this gentleman or that lady who chatted with you all afternoon your friend?"

Yu Chen frowned and said, "They are customers."

Louis suddenly came to an unlikely conclusion: "You don't have friends of your own, do you?"

Yu Chen was taken aback, and after a long time he said softly: "If you don't consider me a friend, then you don't have any."

Louis asked with the mood of discovering a new world: "No way? You don't even have any friends?!"

Yu Chen frowned and said, "That's right, I feel that interacting with people is very tiring, so I don't have private social activities and interpersonal relationships outside of working hours—that is, I don't have friends who are not related to work."

"I really didn't see it. It looks like a member of the student council in my middle school. The whole class should revolve around you."

Yu Chen said: "That's right, I'm a student union in high school and university, and my relationship with my classmates can be regarded as Rongqiao. But I'm not good at interpersonal communication. , are you satisfied, Monsieur Legrand?"

"No wonder I see you surfing the Internet every day when I go to your house, and you don't go out except for work." Louis tutted.

Yu Chen glared at him: "Since Mr. Legrand is very talkative, I think we can talk about your problem. Is there any new customer coming to Legrand Bakery to buy some pastries this afternoon?"

Louie shut his mouth immediately and started poking the carrots on his plate with his fork.

"I see, no?"

Louis felt a little embarrassed, as if he didn't dare to show his parents a glance when he failed a grade when he was a child, so he quickly added: "But today Jean-Luke came to buy fried cakes."

Yu Chen asked: "So how much is the total turnover?"

Louis said vaguely: "Including your order, it will be about [-] Euros in total."

"My order is [-] Euros, so besides me, you only sold less than [-] Euros?" Yu Chen sighed, "Let me explain to you directly, Mrs. Ai Lei and today's New customers, Ms. Emily is still very interested in your desserts, but your attire and storefront make them unbelievable that you can make high-end desserts. And even if they believe it, in their capacity, I also disdain to set foot in dim sum shops that don’t look high-end.”

Louis hummed: "That's their superficiality."

"Wait a minute, please listen to me." Yu Chen raised his hand, "That's right, it's their own fault to buy snacks with low quality but high price even though they know there are better quality and cheaper products. But after all, this is a common problem of their social class, especially when two girlfriends with similar income travel together, neither of them will buy products with high cost performance and low price. Because at this time, their consumption tendency also shows their financial resources. "

Louis said: "Is it to buy expensive things to look rich?"

Yu Chen replied: "It can be said that. Because the two of them have business contacts in addition to their personal relationship, they must show equal financial ability in consumption. This is not just to satisfy vanity. Especially Ms. Emily, Engaged in high-end banquet planning, she wants a pastry chef who can serve the guests with a look that can guarantee the quality for the guests. After all, in occasions such as wedding dinners, the host of the banquet may not have the intention to judge the chef's ability through the dim sum. First impressions are judged. If the pastry chef doesn't look like a high-end restaurant worker, the customer may think that the planner cut corners and hired a cheap pastry chef to shove it, whether the final product is good or bad. Ms Emily's business reputation will be affected."

"You have so many thoughts."

Yu Chen smiled and said, "So sometimes I envy the relaxed atmosphere of Shepherd Street. Even if the residents quarrel with each other, it won't affect future interactions."

"After all, we have nothing to compete with, and we don't need to show our financial strength. They are all equally poor anyway. If they have money, they will come to me to buy bread today, and if they have no money, they will not buy it." Louis said, chewing on carrots, "But those who have opinions on me , the same as many."

"But you don't seem to care, that's enough." Yu Chen fiddled with the perch, then lowered his head and said, "I really want to be as carefree as you."

"Then don't put on that air all day long and keep smiling when you see everyone. I'm tired just looking at it."

Yu Chen smiled wryly, "But I'm afraid that others will hate my impolite behavior."

"If you hate you because you don't smile, you must have hated you for other things." Louis said firmly, "For example, the few people who used to buy baguettes at reduced prices from my bakery in the past, because I refused to give you The price of other breads has also been reduced, and I’m being rude behind my back.”

Yu Chen hesitated: "Sometimes your way of speaking is too direct..."

Louis raised his eyebrows: "Didn't you just say that it would be better to speak directly?"

"I think so, but not everyone thinks so." Yu Chen hesitated.

"Tsk, what a hassle."

Yu Chen didn't make any more noise, he finished eating the sea bass slowly and earnestly, and began to stare at the remaining pickled vegetables in a daze.Louis urged: "Hurry up, I'm done eating and I have to wash the dishes."

"This carrot is too sour."

Louis apologized without sincerity: "I'm sorry, I accidentally poured too much vinegar yesterday."

"Can I not eat it?"

"No, no picky eaters allowed."

Yu Chen chopped up the carrot with a sad face, and swallowed it with a frown, as if he was taking a bitter medicine.Louis couldn't help but sneered, and quickly hid behind the refrigerator.

Yu Chen finally swallowed the acetic acid carrot, put the empty plate into the dishwasher with a bitter face, straightened up and said, "Speaking of which, are you free today? Can I make an advance order for tomorrow's dessert?"

"Do you have guests tomorrow?"

Yu Chen shook his head: "Tomorrow, I have an appointment to match Ms. Mary's clothes, because I want to go to her shop, and I want to bring a gift there. Can you help bake a bag of fluffy Fei Nanxue?"

"Soft cake, no problem. Come get it from me before you leave."

Yu Chen smiled at him: "Thank you very much. Then, good night."

Because of an appointment with Grandma Mary, Yu Chen showed up at the Legrand Bakery the next day earlier than usual, with two patches of blue under his eyes.

Louis handed him the paper-wrapped Fei Nanxue: "Did you not sleep well last night?"

"I got up too early today and didn't get enough sleep." Seeing that there was no one else in the shop, Yu Chen covered his hands with his hands and yawned.

Louis shrugged: "You don't need to smear those piles of bottles and cans, it's good, you can save time and sleep for a while."

Yu Chen sighed: "When I lived in Nice, I slept until [-]:[-] in the morning, and when I got up, I finished applying skin care products and it was exactly [-]:[-], so I could prepare for work in the afternoon. I think I'm still the same as before, not working in the morning Better."

"It's okay for you not to work, but you can't skip breakfast." Louis turned on the radio, "Fenan Xue twelve euros."

Yu Chen handed him fifteen euros, and yawned again: "But it's been four hours since I finished grooming, and I can't go out for breakfast in between."

"By the way, you don't know how to cook." Louis gave him two coins, "When you come downstairs to my place for breakfast, you don't have to dress so neatly, anyway, it's not like I haven't seen you at home before."

"Speaking of which, can you stop using the spare key to get into my house? I can clean the room myself."

"You're welcome, this is the landlord's obligation." Louis picked up the key under the cash register, "Come on, go to Grandma Mary's house, and I'll show you the way."

"Is this also the landlord's obligation?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much."

Louis locked the bakery and walked with him to the middle of Shepherd Street.It was still early, and there was no one on the side of the road, except Dominique, the vegetable and fruit stall owner, who put the lettuce on the shelf in front of the door.When he saw Louis, he squeezed out a malicious smile: "Hey, this is what Grandma Mary said, your little lover? I didn't expect someone to like Louis."

Louis wanted to retort that this was not his lover, but his mouth changed: "I don't like the word lover, this is my partner."

"Your buddy?"

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Partner: copain, which can refer to a companion or a love object.

Small partner: petitcopain, specifically refers to boyfriend.