dognovel Chapter 2016: The son doesn't treat money like money; it turns out he takes after his mother.
Chapter 2016: The son doesn't treat money like money; it turns out he takes after his mother.
Chapter 2016: The son doesn't treat money like money; it turns out he takes after his mother.
The Jiefang truck stopped in front of the Ruyi Hotel. Although the old lady Chu, who was squeezed into the passenger seat with Chu Xiaoxue, was old, her eyesight was not bad at all.
"This restaurant is closed today!" Old Mrs. Chu said, pointing out the window. There was a small blackboard at the entrance of the Ruyi Hotel that read: "Our restaurant is temporarily closed for the day. We apologize for any inconvenience."
"It's alright, Grandma," Xie Chen said with a smile. "He opened the door as soon as we arrived."
After saying that, Jie Chen pushed open the door and left.
"Huh?" This scene left Grandma Chu and Chu Xiaoxue bewildered. Just as the grandmother and granddaughter were wondering what was going on, Wang Meilan, who got out of the back of the car, came over and called out, "Auntie, Xiaoxue, let's go inside."
"Aunt Zhao," Chu Xiaoxue said to Wang Meilan as she opened the car door, "Shouldn't we write 'closed for business'?"
"Haha..." Wang Meilan laughed and said, "It's right to close down, it's for our sake."
After Wang Meilan left the day before yesterday, Qu Xiaohong put up a sign that the business would be closed for one day the day after tomorrow. Yesterday, she changed it to "tomorrow", and today she changed it to "today".
"What?" Just as Chu Xiaoxue was surprised, Li Tongyun came over and helped the old lady Chu get out of the car.
At this moment, the door of the Ruyi Hotel was pushed open from the inside, and the manager, Qu Xiaohong, came out with a smile.
Qu Xiaohong wasn't a particularly capable person, but Ruyi Hotel was the most prestigious restaurant in Shanhe County, and all the prominent figures in Shanhe County had dined there.
Chu Xiaoxue knew Qu Xiaohong, but Qu Xiaohong did not know Chu Xiaoxue.
Chu Xiaoxue watched as Qu Xiaohong strode up to Wang Meilan, bowed slightly, and said, "You've arrived! Please come inside. It's so hot today, we had someone make some popsicles. I'll have someone give you a couple of spoonfuls."
In Northeast China, "binggao" refers to ice cream without a stick.
These days, ice cream is mostly ice, but it's still quite a treat to be able to eat this.
During the hottest part of summer each year, the popsicle factory will churn out ice cream.
At this time, people would use bicycles to carry large tin buckets wrapped in cotton quilts to the popsicle factory to purchase goods, and then go from street to street to sell them.
When they sell popsicles, they use a metal spoon with a spring and a clamp.
Insert the spoon into the ice cream, squeeze the spring-loaded handles on both sides, and the front clamp will close, scooping up the ice cream.
After taking it out, press the trigger on the handle, the scoop splits open, and a scoop of ice cream falls into the bowl.
That's why Qu Xiaohong said she would give Wang Meilan two spoonfuls.
At this moment, Wang Meilan had reached the hotel entrance. As she turned back to help Old Lady Chu, she asked Qu Xiaohong, "Have the guests all eaten?"
"Eat, eat, everyone's eating." Qu Xiaohong followed Wang Meilan inside like a little maid.
When Wang Meilan came the day before yesterday, Qu Xiaohong wondered what kind of guests Wang Meilan could invite with such a grand display.
When the guests arrived at noon, Qu Xiaohong, with her keen eye, could naturally tell that they were no ordinary people.
Moreover, the Zhao family's convoy, plus the cars belonging to Zhang Yuejin and his family, including the Liberation trucks, consisted of ten cars.
These days, even county leaders don't necessarily put on this kind of show when they have a family event.
As soon as she entered, Wang Meilan saw the people of Xishantun sitting in the lobby on the first floor.
Eighty-two people at eighty-eight tables were eating popsicles from small plates.
Seeing Wang Meilan enter, the people of Xishantun quickly put down their plates. But before they could greet her, Wang Meilan waved her hand and said with a smile, "Eat less of this stuff, just cool off. We have so many good dishes to come later."
After saying this, Wang Meilan turned to Li Tongyun and said, "Take your Grandma Chu and the others upstairs, and then find a cool place."
Li Tongyun and Chu Xiaoxue helped Grandma Chu upstairs. Wang Meilan waved her hand, signaling Liang Dahai to follow with six supermarket employees.
At this moment, Wang Qiang, Li Dazhi, Zhang Yuanmin, and Zhou Jianjun each carried a steamed bun, while Xie Zhong and Ma Sheng carried bags of money, and Li Ruhai and Ma Yang carried boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes.
One carton of Zhonghua cigarettes contains ten packs, and fifty cartons make a case.
When Wang Meilan sent Jin Xiaomei to take over the entire department store, there were only 42 boxes left, so the sales clerk simply told Jin Xiaomei to move all the boxes away.
These 42 cartons of cigarettes alone cost 3,000 yuan.
"Come on, put the box down for me." Wang Meilan called out, and Li Ruhai and Ma Yang quickly lifted the box and placed it next to Wang Meilan's feet.
"Give me twelve packs, and take the rest upstairs," Wang Meilan said. Li Ruhai and Ma Yang hurriedly took out cigarettes.
Cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes were stacked on the empty table. Upon seeing this, a villager from Xishan Village said, "Village Chief, you're still giving us cigarettes? We didn't finish the ones you gave us at noon."
"Send them out!" Wang Meilan answered decisively, then she opened a pack of cigarettes and handed them out to everyone at each table.
At the hotel reception, Qu Xiaohong and two female staff members were already used to this scene.
Because at noon, Zhao Jun gave these people twenty yuan.
After distributing cigarettes to everyone, Wang Meilan turned around and saw Qu Xiaohong and two waiters standing there. Wang Meilan took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to them, saying, "Manager, thank you for your help today."
"It's no trouble at all." Qu Xiaohong was a little embarrassed and quickly declined, "Thank you, but I don't smoke."
"You don't know how? Aren't there people at home who do?" Wang Meilan said with a smile, stuffing cigarettes into Qu Xiaohong's hand, and then not forgetting the two waiters as well.
And so, Wang Meilan made her way to the kitchen.
At this moment, the kitchen was bustling with activity, with some people plating dishes, others arranging cold dishes, and still others chopping and stir-frying vegetables.
When Wang Meilan came in, Zhao Youcai was leading Lin Dongxu and a few others in setting up the Lin Hai Golden Rooster.
Seeing Wang Meilan come in, Zhao Youcai hurriedly asked, "How are you today?
“That’s good.” Wang Meilan smiled and nodded, then held up two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes to Lin Dongxu and said, “Master, here are two packs of cigarettes. You can share them in the kitchen so everyone can smoke.”
"No need..." Lin Dongxu was about to say a few polite words when he heard Wang Meilan say to Zhao Youcai, "Manager, you should go upstairs now. Your son and his entourage have arrived, and you have to go out and talk to them."
Wang Meilan's words made Zhao Youcai feel incredibly comfortable.
In Northeast China, the head of a household is called "manager." Wang Meilan's words were undoubtedly a huge compliment to Zhao Youcai.
Zhao Youcai couldn't stop smiling, and said to Lin Dongxu beside him, "Master Lin, I'm going up now, I'll leave this to you."
"Don't worry, Master Zhao," Lin Dongxu said with a smile, "I know how to set it up, you can go ahead and do your work."
After taking off his apron, Zhao Youcai, like a proud rooster, walked out of the kitchen with Wang Meilan, his hands behind his back.
The couple went up the stairs, and Wang Meilan whispered in Zhao Youcai's ear, "Our son feels sorry for you, so he specially asked me to call him out for you."
Hearing this, Zhao Youcai was even happier, his small eyes practically disappearing with laughter.
After Wang Meilan finished speaking, she took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off Zhao Youcai's neck.
In fact, Wang Meilan also felt sorry for Zhao Youcai. The couple sometimes quarreled and got angry with each other, but that didn't mean they didn't care about each other.
Just like how Zhao Youcai would cater to Wang Meilan's tastes when cooking. It had become a habit over the past thirty years.
The couple went up to the second floor and saw that the doors to the private rooms were all open, and they could hear voices coming from inside.
A light breeze picked up in the evening, and with both the north and south windows open, the cross breeze was quite refreshing.
"Come on, Aunt and Uncle." Li Tongyun appeared at the door of a private room and called to Wang Meilan and Zhao Youcai.
The couple went over and saw two tables in the room.
A group of people were sitting: Liang Xuemei, Jin Xiaomei, Liu Mei, Liu Lanying, Li Tongyun, Chu Xiaoxue, and Old Lady Chu.
At the other table sat Zhao Jinhui, Wang Qiang, Li Dazhi, Lin Xiangshun, Zhang Yuanmin, and Zhou Jianjun.
The tables weren't even full. Wang Meilan came over and sat at the women's table, while Zhao Youcai sat at the men's table.
"Huh?" After sitting down, Wang Meilan remembered something and hurriedly asked Liang Xuemei, "Sister-in-law, where are Dahai and the others?"
The "they" that Wang Meilan mentioned refers to the supermarket staff.
“They’re all in the east room,” Liang Xuemei said with a smile. “Baoyu and Ruhai are both in that room.”
"Can we sit down?" Wang Meilan asked. Liang Xuemei replied, "Yes, there are two tables in that room, and they're not full."
"Two tables?" Wang Meilan was taken aback, then heard Zhao Youcai say, "We served fourteen tables at noon, and I've figured out the dishes for the extra table for dinner. We'll arrange sixteen tables in total, everyone go and eat."
"Oh, sure!" Wang Meilan laughed, "You knew I was going to treat you, haha..."
Zhao Youcai smiled, took the Zhonghua cigarettes Wang Qiang offered, and then picked up the Wuliangye liquor on the table, saying, "Drinking this today?"
“Let’s drink this.” Li Dazhi laughed: “Where is the root of Wuliangye? It’s the immortal wine that descended to Yibin. I’ve memorized it all.”
The slogan Li Dazhi was referring to was the one used in this year's Wuliangye radish-bottled liquor advertisement.
As soon as Li Dazhi finished speaking, the hotel waiters began serving the cold dishes.
According to Zhao Youcai's instructions, the first dish served must be a floral-patterned golden chicken from the forest.
Actually, the ingredients used to display this Forest Golden Rooster are no different from those used to display the Forest Peacock.
Both dishes use smoked pheasant meat as a base, topped with wild mountain vegetables and common side dishes. However, the side dishes used in the "Peacock of the Forest" dish are either blanched or raw.
The side dishes used for Lin Hai Golden Rooster are all coated with batter and fried in oil, plus fried egg scrambled eggs, making the rooster look golden all over.
The waiter continued serving the dishes, a total of four cold dishes. In addition to the Forest Golden Chicken, the other three were: shredded deer and cucumber, shredded ginger and daylily, and a platter of smoked pheasant and smoked rabbit.
Originally, there was supposed to be a platter of braised pork intestines, but Zhao Youcai felt that there were too many vegetarian cold dishes. Fortunately, the hotel had a few extra pheasants and rabbits that were still quite fresh, so Zhao Youcai asked the kitchen to braise and then smoke them.
According to the rules, you can start eating once the cold dishes are served.
Grandma Chu first picked up a piece of cucumber with batter coating; it was the first time she had ever eaten cucumber prepared this way.
Upon tasting it, Old Mrs. Chu's eyes lit up.
"Grandma." Chu Xiaoxue picked up a smoked wild rabbit leg and placed it in Grandma Chu's bowl. Just then, a familiar voice came from downstairs: "Old Chu, why is this restaurant still closed?"
"Granddaughter," Grandma Chu said to Chu Xiaoxue, picking up a rabbit leg, "I think I heard your mother speaking."
"That seems to be..." Chu Xiaoxue was a little confused. When Chu Anmin and his wife left home in the morning, they told Chu Xiaoxue and Grandma Chu to arrange their own dinner for the evening.
Chu Xiaoxue originally planned to wait until after get off work to buy some dry food and cooked food on the first floor of the department store across the street. However, she ran into Wang Meilan, who was treating everyone, and ended up bringing her grandmother along as well.
But while the grandmother and granddaughter were seated at the table, the couple were kept outside.
Just then, Li Tongyun, who was sitting next to Chu Xiaoxue, heard the conversation between the grandfather and granddaughter and called out to Li Dazhi at another table, "Dad, it seems that Director Chu is downstairs."
"Who?" Li Dazhi, who was raising his glass to drink, was taken aback. Chu Xiaoxue replied, "My... my dad."
"Where is it?" Li Dazhi asked. Chu Xiaoxue replied, "It seems to be downstairs."
As soon as Chu Xiaoxue finished speaking, Qu Xiaohong's voice came from downstairs: "Director Chu, I'm so sorry, the restaurant is fully booked upstairs and downstairs today."
"Xiaoxue, quickly call your dad from the window, don't let him leave." These were Zhao Youcai's words to Chu Xiaoxue. Then Zhao Youcai got up, patted Li Dazhi on the shoulder, and called Zhou Jianjun, "Jianjun."
After saying that, Zhao Youcai walked out, and Li Dazhi and Zhou Jianjun quickly followed.
Outside the private room, Zhao Youcai followed his son's voice and called out to the room where Zhao Jun was: "Son."
"Hey, Dad." Zhao Jun looked up and called to Zhao Youcai, "Why are you so late? I saved a seat for you."
Zhao Youcai didn't want to sit at the same table with those outsiders at all; he felt more comfortable sitting with his own family.
Moreover, Zhao Youcai understood that the business was now entirely dependent on Zhao Jun; whether he was there or not made no difference. His presence would only make Zhao Jun feel constrained.
But Chu Anmin was an old friend, so Zhao Youcai had to step in.
"Son, Director Chu is downstairs." As soon as Zhao Youcai said this, they heard Chu Xiaoxue calling for her parents from the next private room.
After a brief moment of surprise, Zhao Jun apologized to the guests at the table, then quickly left the private room and followed Zhao Youcai and the other two downstairs.
After taking only two steps, Li Dazhi suddenly stopped and said to Zhao Jun in a panic, "Jun, what should we say if Director Chu asks why we're not at work?"
Although it was already past six o'clock, Zhao Jun and the others certainly didn't come down the mountain after get off work.
"It's alright, Sixth Uncle," Zhao Jun said. "I know what to say."
Zhao Jun had already prepared his explanation when he first met Chu Xiaoxue. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a problem if Chu Anmin went home and asked Chu Xiaoxue what she had for dinner?
When the four of them went down to the first floor, Qu Xiaohong had already ushered Chu Anmin and his companions into the house.
"Brother Chu!" Zhao Youcai was the first to greet him. Last year, Chu Anmin and Tao Dabao had a gathering at the Zhao family home, and they got along very well with Zhao Youcai.
At work, Zhao Youcai addressed him as Director Chu. But outside and at home, Zhao Youcai and Chu Anmin were like brothers.
"Youcai, what's going on here?" Chu Anmin grasped Zhao Youcai's hand and looked at Zhao Jun and the other two.
"Director Chu," Zhao Jun hurriedly said, "Our forest farm asked me to organize militia training. These past few days have been quite tough, and several people have collapsed from heatstroke."
Seeing the temperature today, I didn't dare to train anymore, so I led them down the mountain to eat and drink something to boost their morale.
A few friends happened to be visiting from out of town, so we all gathered here.
"Oh my!" Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Chu Anmin said, "Well, you're quite particular about your methods."
At this point, Chu Anmin turned back to look at the people from Xishantun who had already started eating them, and said, "These are all militiamen from our forest area... huh?"
As they were talking, Chu Anmin suddenly noticed that there were boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes in front of and next to the bowls of those "militiamen".
Why are all the Zhonghua cigarettes, which are not even available in department stores, coming here?