Chapter 5

Because February 16th was the tenth day of the first lunar month, and it was currently during the winter break, Guan Zhilin, who was not in school, had plenty of time to play.

Without a doubt, Guan Zhilin had always been a girl who loved to play and enjoy a high-quality life.

In the past, Yin Jun only knew that she was like this after growing up and becoming famous, but now, seeing her change clothes every day and spend dozens of dollars on outings with classmates and friends, he realized that this girl had been like this since childhood.

It should be noted that in 1978, the average salary in Hong Kong was only around 900 HKD, and when future film emperor Zheng Zeshi signed with TVB two years ago, his base salary was only 400 HKD.

Of course, daughters should be raised in luxury, a custom that has existed from ancient times to the present. Guan Zhilin was so beautiful and well-behaved that Guan Shan and Zhang Bingqian naturally spoiled her a lot.

Even though Guan Shan's career was on the decline and he needed to act and attend more social events to earn more money to support the family, he never frowned at his daughter's expenses.

Living in the Guan family, although the reason was that Guan Zhilin had knocked Yin Jun down, if he acted like they should take care of him, it would be annoying.

Therefore, starting from the third day, Yin Jun began to try cooking for them.

Yin Jun used to live alone, but he didn't like eating the food outside that was full of additives and old oil. Cooking at home was both hygienic and delicious, so he had developed excellent culinary skills.

The Guan family had two maids. One was Aunt Zhang, who was responsible for cleaning, tidying up, and picking up and dropping off Guan Zhilin and Guan Shihua from school. The other was Aunt Pan, who was responsible for buying groceries, cooking, and tending the garden.

Zhang Bingqian had long retired and was responsible for taking care of the children and their studies. When the children went to school, she often invited a few friends to sing opera or chat and have afternoon tea, living a leisurely life.

Aunt Pan's cooking skills were average. As a local Hong Kong resident, her dishes were generally mild, while young people and children naturally preferred more flavorful dishes.

In this aspect, no one could match the chefs from the southwestern regions.

The spicy and numbing flavors of Sichuan, the sour and spicy flavors of Yunnan and Guizhou, the fragrant and spicy flavors of northern Hunan, and the dry and spicy flavors of southern Hunan were all highly praised.

The orphanage where Yin Jun grew up was located at the intersection of Sichuan and Hunan. The chefs there were from these three places, which made him particularly fond of the cuisines of the two lakes and Sichuan. He had also tried the recipes in several cookbooks he bought, mastering them thoroughly.

However, because the Guan family was used to Hong Kong cuisine, Yin Jun initially chose not to make the dishes too spicy. He asked Aunt Pan to buy the ingredients and prepared five dishes: "Rural-style Braised Pork," "Pickled Pepper Chicken Offal," "Three Delicacies Tofu Rolls," "Mapo Tofu," and "Fish-flavored Eggplant." These dishes greatly impressed the Guan family.

Guan Shan, who often socialized outside and ate a lot of good food, didn't find them particularly delicious, but Zhang Bingqian, who had been taking care of the children at home for years, and the two children, praised them highly.

Especially Guan Zhilin, who usually preferred to eat cake all day, actually ate a full bowl of rice, which surprised Zhang Bingqian quite a bit.

"Hmm, you young man are really good," Guan Zhilin patted Yin Jun's shoulder after eating, "Keep it up, I see great potential in you!"

Yin Jun smiled but didn't say anything.

This girl might be a bit sharp-tongued, but she had a good heart.

Although she had been running around these past two days, she always found time to chat with Yin Jun, telling him about Hong Kong and inviting him to go out.

Guan Zhilin's villa was located in the Pijia Mountain villa area in Kowloon, a traditional luxury residential area surrounded by wealthy people.

More conveniently, from the rooftop of Guan Zhilin's villa, one could see the iconic TVB headquarters building a few hundred meters away on Broadcast Road.

Guan Zhilin had taken Yin Jun to the rooftop several times, pointing out the general layout of Hong Kong.

If Zhang Bingqian hadn't stopped her, she would have taken Yin Jun to ride the Star Ferry and visit Hong Kong Island.

Guan Zhilin wasn't in love with Yin Jun; she just wanted to help this boy from the mainland, who was about her age, quickly adapt to Hong Kong. Even though she hadn't worked outside, she knew that it wasn't easy for a 16-year-old boy to live and work alone outside.

"This kid is really not easy," Guan Shan said to his wife at night, "At such a young age, he knows so much and is so polite. He doesn't seem like an orphan at all, but rather like a child from a family like ours."

"Um," Zhang Bingqian thought the same.

"I think this kid will definitely have a bright future," Guan Shan mused, "Do you think I should find him a job? Maybe start with some odd jobs at my company, or work at Shaw Brothers or TVB? It would be better than him being aimless, right?"

"He hasn't asked for your help, and if you do this rashly, it might hurt his self-esteem," Zhang Bingqian shook her head, "Let's see how it goes. If he can't manage on his own, you can help him then."

Guan Shan thought about it and agreed with his wife.

He had also suffered, knowing that people from poor families were often more sensitive. Sometimes, well-intentioned help might not have the desired effect, so it was better to wait for him to ask.

Guan Shan didn't know that his wife was quite impressed with Yin Jun, but with such a beautiful daughter at home, she became a bit uneasy, fearing that her daughter might develop a liking for this young man. That would be a disaster! — What could a boy from the mainland give her daughter? If he took advantage of her, it would be a huge loss for her daughter.

Therefore, Zhang Bingqian tried to reduce the time Guan Zhilin spent with Yin Jun. Even the task of explaining Hong Kong to Yin Jun was quickly taken over by her.

Guan Zhilin, with her carefree personality, didn't mind and turned to play with her girlfriends.

Yin Jun, who understood Zhang Bingqian's thoughts, didn't intend to oppose her. Besides cooking delicious meals for them every few days, he spent the rest of his time in his room, writing down his future memories, TV and movie scripts, and planning variety shows, making his days busy and full of energy.

One afternoon, Zhang Bingqian took her son to visit a friend, and Yin Jun was writing a script in the house when Guan Zhilin knocked on the door and came in with a smile.

"Xiao Jun," she said with a mysterious smile, "I heard something!"

On the birth date Yin Jun provided, Guan Zhilin was younger than him, but she always acted like an older sister. This was partly because Yin Jun looked very young, and at 28, he looked like a recent college graduate, let alone at 16. If it weren't for his 165 cm height, he would look like a junior high school student.

"What did you hear?" Yin Jun closed the script and looked at her.

After about ten days in Hong Kong, Yin Jun could understand and speak Cantonese, even with a similar accent, which amazed Guan Shan and Zhang Bingqian. They didn't know that Yin Jun had been learning Cantonese for several years.

Guan Zhilin, dressed in a princess dress with a light pink bow on her head, looked very comfortable with her already charming face.

In her previous life, even in her forties and fifties, she could maintain her charm, let alone at this age of 16, when she was still a beautiful and innocent girl. Although she didn't have the allure of her twenties and thirties, the fresh and charming aura was something Yin Jun particularly liked.

Looking at Guan Zhilin now was like looking at a beautiful painting.

There was no need for any possessive thoughts; just appreciating her was enough.

"I heard you playing the guitar!" Guan Zhilin said directly, "Oh, you dared to secretly take my dad's guitar, what should be your punishment?"

"Little Miss, I did ask Uncle Guan," Yin Jun laughed, "What's your plan... are you going to learn magic again?"

Two days ago at lunch, Guan Zhilin was a bit gloomy. When Zhang Bingqian asked her, she said that one of her good friends had learned a very impressive magic trick but refused to teach her and showed it off everywhere, which made her very uncomfortable.

Zhang Bingqian scolded her daughter a bit, and Guan Zhilin started crying, sitting on the sofa in a sulk and refusing to eat.

She still had the temperament of a pampered young lady and couldn't stand being outshone by others, especially when they kept it to themselves, which made her even more upset.

Yin Jun didn't say anything at first, but after Guan Shan and Zhang Bingqian left, he called Guan Zhilin over and taught her two simple magic tricks.

One was the "Unbreakable Paper" trick, which was often seen on TV in the 1980s, and the other was the simpler "Remote Retrieval of a Handkerchief."

Both tricks were widely known, and once the secrets were revealed, they were easy to learn.

But in this era without the internet, many techniques were considered exclusive secrets. Even if many people knew them, they wouldn't reveal them, unlike in the internet age, where a TV performance could be cracked and fully explained in a few hours. — Therefore, the internet age was also called the era of the decline of craftsmen.

Guan Zhilin was amazed and quickly learned the tricks, then excitedly ran out the door.

When she came back that evening, she was so proud that it seemed like she had found a gold mine!

Thus, Guan Zhilin was very satisfied with Yin Jun, thinking that this boy from the mainland, besides being a good cook, was actually quite useful.

Today, she came to find Yin Jun not to learn more magic tricks, but for another reason.

(These past two days, the new book has just been uploaded. Among the supporters, I only know Rotsen. This shows that my previous book was quite successful, so everyone is supporting the new book... but it's still far from enough. I need more favorites, support, and recommendations! ^_^)

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