Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots
Chapter 310: Meng Liangdong’s Return and Panpan’s Visit (3)_1

Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Meng Liangdong’s Return and Panpan’s Visit (3)_1

Meng Liangdong indeed breathed a sigh of relief and slowly settled back into the chair. However, upon sitting down, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he gently wiped the chair’s surface with his hand.

Lin Yuan frowned. Wasn’t this the very chair he just sat on? To stand up for merely a moment’s conversation, why brush the chair once more? But seeing him look as if a burden was lifted, it didn’t seem like a wipe, more like a check of some sort. What exactly was it?

"Mr. Meng, how was your time at the academy? It has been so long since we last met, Lin Yuan thought you must have been doing very well. It’s just..." Lin Yuan had too many questions to ask. The academy was Meng Liangdong’s long-cherished dream. Could it be that he only returned because he was unhappy there?

As soon as she mentioned the academy, Meng Liangdong’s shoulders shivered involuntarily, and his eyes became complicated. This man was straightforward, without deceitful thoughts, which Lin Yuan had noticed the first time she saw him.

Therefore, she was sure, Meng Liangdong would tell her all about his days at the academy.

Indeed, after a moment’s stunned silence, Meng Liangdong finally let out a heavy sigh, clasped his unruly hair in his hands, and dropped his head to his knees in utter distress.

Seeing him like this, Lin Yuan suddenly felt her previous question was too cruel. She quickly stood up, poured him a cup of hot tea, placed it on the small tea table beside him, and gently said, "Mr. Meng, it seems you’ve had a tough time. It’s alright if you don’t wish to talk about it. I’ve told you before, my Rice Flower Fragrance will always keep its doors open for you. The position of Mr. Accountant is yours whenever you want it."

To alleviate his pain, Lin Yuan pointed lightheartedly to the front counter where the ledgers, abacus, and writing brushes and inkstone were already laid out, and of course, a self-made safe that she had asked Old Iron Head to help construct.

"Mr. Meng, see? This counter has been kept for you."

Perhaps touched by Lin Yuan’s voice, Meng Liangdong rummaged through his messy hair and slowly lifted his head, following her pointing hand to look at the counter where he had worked for several years.

Upon seeing that counter, all the memories flooded back: as a child, he used to frolic around his parents there; when he grew older, he would sit and read and practice calligraphy; after his parents passed away, the counter was laden only with his books, while the abacus and other items had long been tossed aside carelessly.

Now, the counter was still there, but it would never again belong to him.

With a self-deprecating smile, Meng Liangdong looked up at Lin Yuan, asked her to take a seat, and then slowly began to speak.

"If Boss Lin asks, then I’ll share. At least talking to someone, my heart feels a bit better," Meng Liangdong said, with his hands tightly clasped as if pondering where to begin. "The day I left here, I headed straight to the academy. I found the Mr. Steward who had agreed to meet with me, and gave him the Silver Tael he had asked for. However, to my surprise, he then demanded an additional fifty Silver Taels. Despite my dissatisfaction, I gave him the fifty as well."

Lin Yuan shrugged. This academy was indeed corrupt.

What she didn’t know was that even darker tales were yet to come.

"After Mr. Steward took my silver, he took me to meet the head of the academy, who was not so bad. It’s just that he was very old, and a bit hard of hearing, so whatever Mr. Steward said, he would just nod and smile in agreement. Just like that, I stayed at the academy. I thought everything would turn out well, but that was just the beginning."

As if recalling unbearable memories, Meng Liangdong reached for the hot tea Lin Yuan had poured for him earlier. Feeling a bit warmed, he then continued, "I was arranged by Mr. Steward to share a room with another teacher who had also recently arrived. Only, his family was wealthier than mine, and his living standards were much better. Perhaps because of my too honest nature, after just a few days of living together, he dumped all his dirty clothes on me, asking me to wash them for him."