dognovel Chapter 34 Battle of Wits
Chapter 34 Battle of Wits
The family of three sat down, and Larry took the menu. The first thing he noticed was the neatly written Chinese menu and the crookedly written English names of the dishes.
"Stir-fried Offal Suey", "Egg Flour", "Chinese Sausage", "Seafood Fried Rice", "Deep-fried Mushrooms"...
At this time, the menu was very simple, and at first glance it looked like a densely written delivery slip copied on the dock.
Larry looked up at his parents, only to see them looking like they were ready to die with the other diners at any moment. He shook his head and, on his own initiative, ordered four dishes and a fish soup.
The waiter rarely saw white people come to this restaurant, and he was hiding in the distance, too afraid to come over. The menu was delivered by the owner himself.
Upon hearing Larry quickly order several dishes, the owner nodded in agreement and then went to the kitchen to personally instruct the chefs to cook the dishes.
The other diners stared at Larry and his family of three for a long time before cautiously resuming their meal.
While the food was being served, Larry began explaining the "bonus" to his parents.
"The branch plans to award extra bonuses to outstanding employees who excel in developing clients and maintaining client transaction volumes. This will incentivize other mediocre employees to also make exceptional contributions to the company. That's the bonus. And I am one of the first outstanding employees at Paine Weber Securities to receive this bonus."
Larry had been planning this all along, and by now he had woven this lie flawlessly. Furthermore, his words about developing clients and transaction volume were proper nouns in English, making them sound very sophisticated.
Larry made a discovery after his rebirth: English, unlike Chinese, is naturally hierarchical.
The average American has no access to certain professional circles, so naturally they wouldn't know what the related terms mean.
If it were Chinese from a previous life, and you said dividends, commissions, or wealth management, even ordinary people who don't understand the financial industry could guess the general meaning and understand it without major misunderstandings.
However, in the English-speaking world, these proper nouns can be daunting for ordinary people, as it's like being in a completely different field.
If you absolutely have to find a corresponding example in the Chinese context, it's like an ordinary person listening to bandits speaking slang—saying things like "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger" or "It's cold, so I'm applying wax"—completely unable to understand what they're saying.
At this moment, the special class and social segregation of English came into play. Larry's father and mother listened to Larry's explanation for a long time, nodding as if they understood, and felt that what their son meant was that the money was a "tip" from the company, and not obtained through any shady means.
"Alright, Mr. Livingston, I misunderstood you." The mother smiled, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and handed the stack of bills back to Larry.
Larry quickly waved his hand and whispered, "Mom, I have enough money. Here, take this money. You just bought the farm, so you don't have much money left."
Upon hearing this, the mother turned to look at the father, who shook his head seriously. "No, this is the money you earned. Save it; we have enough money for our expenses."
"dad……"
Larry was about to argue when his father stopped him with a stern look. He circled his fingers around his mouth, indicating that this was not the right place to discuss such matters.
Looking at the money his mother handed him, Larry could only accept it and put it away.
But Larry could tell that his mother kept smiling.
Before long, the restaurant owner personally brought out the four dishes and fish soup that Larry had ordered.
"Sir... It is an honor for our restaurant to have you dining here. Please enjoy your dinner."
The restaurant owner thoughtfully placed plates and cutlery in front of each of the three people, catering to the dining habits of white people.
Larry deliberately avoided using chopsticks, instead using a spoon and fork to help his parents serve the food. His parents took a couple of bites, then gave him strange looks.
"Is it good?" Larry asked with a smile.
"It doesn't taste good!" The mother shook her head. "These foods taste strange."
The father on the other side frowned deeply as he looked at the stir-fried mixed vegetables on his plate. He stirred the vegetables slightly with a spoon and asked in confusion, "What are these... I don't recognize what kind of meat this is."
"Uh..." Larry didn't know what to say.
He was overjoyed, thinking his parents would enjoy the delicious Chinese food. However, one cannot betray one's ancestral stomach. Clearly, a conservative white man who had spent his life eating bread, mashed potatoes, and oatmeal would not immediately get used to Chinese food.
Larry frowned and ate a few bites himself. He thought it was okay. Although it couldn't compare to the home-cooked food he ate at the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in his hometown in his previous life, it was much better than the Panda Express he ate after he came to America in his previous life.
Fortunately, all three family members were hungry. Although the father and mother were not used to Chinese food, they each chose a dish that was relatively easy to swallow and ate more of it.
Father chose seafood fried rice, and mother chose egg custard.
Larry, without any hesitation, took all the dishes they didn't like and ate them heartily. He was already hungry, and besides, this was the first time he had eaten Chinese food since his resurrection; it was so delicious.
When it came time to pay the bill, my mother was a little nervous.
At that time in the United States, eating out was a very expensive activity, often costing one or two weeks' salary, and the average person might not eat out even once a year.
But the final bill was only 90 cents. Larry just pulled out a one-dollar coin and paid the bill, saying that the change was not necessary.
Larry's mother asked curiously, "It seems a bit cheap... How much was that dish just now?" He pointed to the chop suey.
"Fifteen cents!" Larry said with a laugh, then pointed to the empty plate in front of his father, "That's the most expensive, twenty-five cents."
The father and mother exchanged a glance, thinking that for the price, the meal they had just eaten seemed quite delicious...
After we finished eating and left the Chinese restaurant, it was already 8:30 pm.
The father stood on the street and looked around, but found no trace of a carriage. After standing there for a moment, he turned around and sighed.
"The coachmen must have gone home because they were worried the horses would catch a cold or slip in the snow. We'll probably have to walk home..."
My mother nodded firmly, her expression as if to say, "I've thought so too."
But Larry clutched his stomach, his face contorted in pain. "No, ouch, my stomach hurts. Let's stay nearby..."
Upon hearing Larry's words, the father's eyes widened, and he turned to look at the Chinese restaurant. "Your stomach hurts? Is there something bad in the Chinese food? I'm going in right now and drag the owner and chef out!!"
Larry was shocked; this was blaming someone wrongly! He hurriedly stopped his father, his face turning into a smile.
"Mom and Dad, to be honest, it's so late, it's not safe for us to go back. I suggest we find a hotel to stay in. Um, I'll pay for the room..."
Seeing that Larry was alright, his mother breathed a sigh of relief, but when she heard that Larry was going to stay in a hotel, she frowned again.
"Larry, the hotel is too expensive... let's walk home."
"Have you forgotten my bonus?" Larry patted his pocket and said with a smile, "Mom and Dad, to celebrate your son earning money, please give me a chance to treat you to a hotel stay."
Larry's father and mother looked at each other again and reluctantly agreed to his request.
Larry sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that it was the same in this life and the last; if he wanted to spend some money on his parents, he would have to outsmart them...