Liu Ming half-squatted in front of Xiao Hina, he stroked Xiao Hina's hair, and whispered, "Uncle has to leave, I'll come back to pick you up tonight. Xiao Hina, you must be good and listen to the teacher, okay?"
Xiao Hina nodded her little head; although a bit reluctant, she was very obedient, "Xiao Hina understands."
"Goodbye, handsome Uncle," At this moment, Xiao Anzu and a few other children also came over, waving their little hands at Liu Ming.
Liu Ming's forehead furrowed, and he couldn't help but emphasize again, "Not Uncle, it's Big Brother, you should call me Big Brother."
"Ah? Goodbye, handsome Big Brother," Perhaps because Liu Ming had helped her, Xiao Mei obediently corrected herself.
"Mm, he's so young, he should be called Big Brother," Xiao Dong pulled out a pair of glasses from somewhere and looked at Liu Ming seriously.
"You two are truly cute little classmates, you should be friends with Xiao Hina," Liu Ming extended both hands and gently ruffled their heads.
Both of them were a little shy after being praised.
Xiao Anzu jumped out, asking petulantly, "What about me? What about me?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Xiao Anzu is also very cute," Liu Ming said perfunctorily.
....
After returning to the restaurant, Liu Ming suddenly found the restaurant a bit deserted.
He hadn't noticed it when there were many people, but after Sora and the others went to class, he realized that there were only three people left in the restaurant now.
They were Liu Ming, Tohru, and Elma.
Liu Ming waved, calling Tohru aside, and then asked,
"Don't you think we should hire more people? Evenings are fine, they come back after school and help out.
But during lunchtime, they're at school, and there's only Elma as a server here, which is clearly not enough."
"Then let's find some," Tohru said indifferently.
"Mm, I'll put up a 'help wanted' sign later."
"Oh, right, how about you teach Elma how to cook? Megumi is gone, and the kitchen is starting to be short-staffed."
Liu Ming wanted to continue fishing, so the more people in the kitchen, the better.
"Teach her?" Tohru was clearly a bit unwilling.
After all, the two had been enemies for tens of thousands of years, and their relationship wasn't so easy to mend.
"What does it matter? It's just cooking anyway, and your dragons' imitation abilities are so strong, you'll learn quickly.
Otherwise, if I have to leave, you'll have to stay, since besides me, you're the only one in the restaurant who can cook."
Tohru's expression immediately changed. She thought about it and finally agreed to teach Elma how to cook.
Actually, Liu Ming could have taught Elma himself, but Tohru's relationship with him was better, so he would definitely respect Tohru's wishes.
As for Elma's thoughts, there was no need to guess; with her foodie personality, she would definitely be willing to learn.
"Actually, I know some other friends, should I call them over too?" Tohru asked.
"Are the friends you're talking about also dragons?" Two figures involuntarily appeared in Liu Ming's mind.
"Yes," Tohru nodded.
"Mm, if they're willing, I don't mind. But are you sure they won't cause trouble? My little shop can't handle your brawling," Liu Ming thought for a moment, a little worried.
"Probably not, Lucoa's personality is very gentle. It's just Fafnir who might be a problem, but I'll convince him."
As Tohru spoke, she became a little less confident; Fafnir, like her in the past, disliked humans very much.
It's quite difficult to convince him.
Tohru took advantage of the free time to go to the kitchen and teach Elma.
Although Elma was a little displeased that Tohru was teaching her, she decided to learn how to cook from Tohru so she could eat delicious food more often in the future.
Liu Ming was bored, hiding on a chair. Xiao Hina and Kanna weren't around, so he could only pet Iko now.
"Iko, it's not good for you to live here for free, is it? Why don't you transform into a human and work as a waitress here?"
He suddenly thought of this idea.
"I'm a Mountain God, and you want me to be a waitress?" Iko immediately protested.
"I'll add a chicken leg for you every day," Liu Ming said calmly.
"Only one?" Iko's tone softened a bit.
"Two. No more than that."
"Alright, I'll give you this much face." Iko no longer insisted, as two chicken legs were quite tempting for it.
But then it suddenly remembered someone and asked worriedly, "What about Xiao Hina?"
Liu Ming also remembered that Iko was currently Xiao Hina's pet.
Xiao Hina played with it every day, and if it suddenly disappeared, she would probably be very sad, and he wouldn't be able to explain it to others.
Especially Xiao Lingyin. Iko came with her, and Xiao Lingyin was finally getting used to life here. Liu Ming didn't want her to overthink things.
"Never mind, you should just stay as you are," Liu Ming finally gave up on this tempting idea.
"Then what about my chicken legs?" Iko asked worriedly.
"You don't even have a job, you're living here for free every day, and you still want extra chicken legs?" Liu Ming gently patted it.
Iko immediately lowered its head in disappointment.
It wasn't business hours yet, so Liu Ming continued to lie around like a lazy fish, looking out through the transparent window.
Perhaps it was school time, as there were fewer pedestrians.
Suddenly, he saw a strange scene.
A group of adults were actually chasing a little girl in the street.
The main point was that they couldn't even catch her.
Liu Ming found it interesting and went out to take a look.
When he saw the girl's appearance clearly, his eyes immediately lit up.
Heaven was truly helping him; whatever he wished for, he got. He just needed a waitress, and one was sent to him.
Liu Ming's mood immediately improved. He gently patted Iko's head and said, "Remember that girl's scent, and lead me to find her."
Iko immediately retorted, "I'm a Mountain God, not a dog."
Liu Ming held up two fingers, his tone full of temptation, "I'll add two chicken legs for you at noon."
"Follow me, she's this way." Iko broke free from Liu Ming's embrace and ran in a certain direction.
"Tohru, I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back soon." After saying this, Liu Ming quickly followed Iko without waiting for Tohru to reply.
One person and one pet ran for about 10 minutes and arrived at a secluded alley.
Looking at the dirty and messy alley in front of him, Liu Ming couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"Are you sure she's here?"
"No mistake, it's full of her aura."
"Aura? Not scent?" Liu Ming asked curiously.
"I already said I'm a Mountain God, not a dog." Iko was a little angry.
"Alright, I was mistaken." Liu Ming didn't think much of it and walked straight in.
Iko, worried that something might happen to Liu Ming, also followed.