The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 63
In the evening, a sudden heavy rain poured down, driving away the heat of the day and cooling the air.The rain came and went quickly, and stopped at half past eight.

It was raining and there weren't many customers, and Lao Tan planned to go home early. When he was about to go out, the phone rang. Zhang Li called, and the people in Guandong were not busy, so they asked him to go out and have some skewers.

The two met and came to the big market, found a barbecue restaurant and went in, ordered a lot of meat skewers, and Zhang Li also ordered a bowl of Malatang.

Lao Tan recalled the scene when he was working in Seorak Mountain more than ten years ago. He was a chef and Zhang Li was a waiter. They often went to the big market to eat skewers after get off work.At that time there was a restaurant called "Lao Ba Chuan", and they always ate there.

Once the two came over after it rained, Zhang Li drank too much, he carried her upstairs, and when she was about to leave after settling down, Zhang Li grabbed him and said to him affectionately: "Dead people, I always do this. You still have to go."

The environment, occasion, and atmosphere at that time, no matter how you look at it, made a man's blood spurt, coupled with the woman's murmured words and ambiguous fragrance, who can control it?

Old Tan couldn't hold it back, it would be no longer a man to hold it at this time.

When preparing to kiss in the embrace like firewood, Zhang Li's blurred face instantly turned into that of Lin Yan, and Lao Tan woke up suddenly, even breaking out in a cold sweat.

He quickly let go of the hot woman in his arms, and ran away in a panic like a fugitive.

At that time, he and Lin Yan were not yet married, and they were renting a house in the [-] compound.If I knew Zhang Li before I knew Lin Yan, I would choose Zhang Li.But with Lin Yan first, it is impossible to do something sorry for Lin Yan.

After that, he tried to avoid Zhang Li as much as possible, not giving her a chance to be alone.

"Go for it if you have the opportunity, and go for it if you don't have the opportunity to create an opportunity." Zhang Li is a woman who dares to love and hate, and Lao Tan avoids her, so she tries to get close to him, and she is desperate to grab this man.

One seized the top of the mountain, the other stood firm, and finally Lao Tan and Lin Yan got married.

Zhang Li didn't attend Lao Tan's wedding, and later had a meal alone with Lao Tan. She drank too much that time, grabbed Lao Tan and pointed to her heart and said, "Old Tan, do you know? I'm in pain, this pain- -"

Looking at the woman who loved him so much, Old Tan's eyes filled with tears.

Afterwards, the two were still good friends, and they worked together on Laogen Villa and Linjiangxuan, both of which were very successful.

Zhang Li's love for Lao Tan has not changed, it is still wild and fierce, but buried deep in her heart, it has become a bitter and sweet memory.

Later, Lao Tan went to work in other places, and Zhang Li was still alone after two years of short and painful marriage.

More than ten years have passed, the real life has polished the edges and corners of the two people, lost their youth, and let time mercilessly send to middle age.The friendship between each other has experienced the baptism of life, slowly precipitated in the years, surpassed the love between men and women, and became true old friends.

Since the new year, the two have eaten together more than once. Zhang Li has been there twice since the opening of the dumpling restaurant, and Zhou Xiaomei and Wang Gang have also been there. Seeing the business of the dumpling restaurant, they all give thumbs up and admire Lao Tan's ability.

"Old Tan, how long do you plan to work in the dumpling restaurant?" Zhang Li asked.

"It seems like I have to work for a long time, and I won't be able to leave for a while. What's the matter, can you find me a good job?" Old Tan asked.

Zhang Li didn't answer directly, but said intentionally or unintentionally: "It's not your character to work in a small shop."

"Shops are divided into big and small, and there is no distinction between high and low people. Big stores are enough, and small stores are also very interesting." Old Tan said.

"How much will I pay you there?" Zhang Li asked.

"Six thousand."

"Too little."

"I'm not greedy, just give me some, and as a friend, I have to help even if I don't give money." Old Tan said.

Zhang Li picked up the wine glass and touched it with Lao Tan, drank it down in one gulp, and poured another glass.

"Did Xiaomei tell you? Get married on New Year's Day." Zhang Li asked.

Old Tan said: "Say it."

"They're living together now, and they're going to renovate the house next month."

"Good thing, it's time to drink the wedding wine."

Zhang Li glanced at Lao Tan and asked, "Old Tan, do you know what the biggest regret in my life is?"

"I don't know, what?"

"My biggest regret is that I didn't take you down." Zhang Li laughed after finishing talking.

"It's not too late to take it now, if not, I'll give it to you for nothing." Old Tan said.

"It's late, now I'm looking for a guy, whoever wants to be older."

Old Tan smiled and lit a cigarette casually.

Looking at Lao Tan's bald head, Zhang Li's bandit face inadvertently touched the string buried deep in her heart, and she couldn't help blushing slightly.She still loves this man, but not as crazy as when she was young, but has become deep.I no longer want to get it as much as I did when I was young, I just feel that I can see, or care about and miss.

Maybe this is fate, love deeply, but can't be together.

This is also a kind of love, but it is very tormenting, maybe it will be like this for a lifetime.

Not all two people who love each other will naturally come together and become husband and wife, so there is no such thing as a lover.

The two chatted casually while drinking.

"Mr. Xu came to me and Wang Gang today. He just came back from studying abroad and started to toss again." Zhang Li said.

"Is he going to learn Oriental cuisine this time?" Old Tan asked. Last month, Mr. Wu from Oriental cuisine called him and told him about the training and asked him to introduce some students there.

Zhang Li hummed and said: "It seems that this time I am going to be cruel and take care of myself."

"What's the matter? It's useless if you don't change your mind. The boss is willing to spend money." Old Tan said sharply.

"You say he is generous sometimes, but I think he spends money recklessly." Zhang Li said: "Take the money to study and be willing. If you have that money, it's better to call you over, and everything will be solved."

Old Tan smiled and asked, "Are you here to be a lobbyist?"

Zhang Li didn't hide it, and said: "It's kind of interesting. When the three of us were researching, Wang Gang mentioned you, and then we didn't continue to study. When Wang Gang left, Mr. Xu asked me how you are doing now. I guess I called you. It means to go back."

"Are you here with a mission?" Old Tan asked.

"That's not true. He knew what you were doing here. He told me that Lao Tan was a little inferior in working in a small shop, and a big shop is suitable for you. I guess he wanted you to go back, but he was embarrassed to say it, so he talked about it in front of me first. .”

Mr. Xu really wanted to ask Lao Tan to go back. He had conveyed his intention in the first lunar month. At that time, Lao Tan was renovating the dumpling restaurant and did not reply directly.Seeing Wang Gang mention Lao Tan this time, he had another idea, so he chatted with Zhang Li for a while after the meeting.Zhang Li heard what he meant, and agreed to test it out to see if Lao Tan had any intention of going back.

In all fairness, Zhang Li hopes that Lao Tan will go back. She thinks that the Guandong family is suitable for Lao Tan's development, and he is also capable of doing it.From a personal point of view, she is also willing to cooperate with Lao Tan.

Old Tan said: "It's impossible to go back, I can't go here."

"Then you can't just stay here all the time. I think Li Shuang and Huaqing are fine too. Don't worry about having them," Zhang Li said.

"No, I'm here and they can do it. If I'm not here, they don't dare to make decisions about some things. I have to get on the horse and see them off." Old Tan said.

"You have been back for more than a year, so you have to do something famous. You can't always work in a small shop, right? I mean, if Mr. Xu finds you, you will go back. The Kanto people have great potential and development. You have already made dumplings Once the museum is established, it is enough to leave it to them to manage and train them, by the way, does Huaqing want to worship you as a teacher?" Zhang Li asked.

"It means that."

"I wonder why you don't accept apprentices? Look at Wang Gang, nine apprentices."

Old Tan smiled and said, "What do you think is a good thing to have an apprentice? A teacher is one who preaches, receives karma, and solves doubts. If you are not qualified to be a master, accepting an apprentice is a mistake."

"Old Tan, you're not good at this, you're too modest, if you haven't reached Wang Gang, you haven't reached it. Do you think it's troublesome?"

"That's not true. Everyone has the characteristics of being a good teacher, but they have to be qualified. Forty, let's accept two apprentices at forty, and no more."

"If you charge a few more, you are guaranteed to be engaged in catering, and it is impossible to change careers. Wherever you go, you must have someone to follow you. You have to cultivate some people of your own." Zhang Li said.

"That's the thing, you're right, listen to you."

Zhang Li said seriously: "I'm not joking with you. Even if you don't go back to the Kanto people's house to work elsewhere, you have to have your own talent. It's easy to manage if you are following your apprentice, so don't worry."

Old Tan pondered for a while and said: "My own people are the most difficult to manage, and they are often the ones who do bad things. Those who understand things are okay, and those who don't understand things will give you eye drops. Apprentices don't just accept them if they want to. If you don’t have enough virtue, don’t pass it.”

"Huaqingxing, good character, qualified." Zhang Li said.

The young man from Huaqing is really good, and Lao Tan also likes it very much. He is going to take him for two years first, even if he is on an inspection tour. After two years, he will be [-]. At that time, if Huaqing still wants to be a teacher, he will accept it.

After the two of them finished drinking, they came out of the barbecue restaurant. Many small tables had already been set up outside, full of skewers.When they came, the rain had just stopped, and the table hadn't been set yet.Zhang Li said that she knew it was better to set up a table outside and eat outside, it was bright and bright.Old Tan said no to have another meal.

The two laughed together.

The rainy night was very cool, and the tempting smell of cumin chili noodles wafted in the air.

The whole street is full of barbecue shops, every family puts the table outside, the stove is propped on the curb, and the skewer master has a towel on his shoulder, flipping the meat skewers in his hands deftly, sprinkling seasonings on top from time to time .

Most of the skewers are young people, drinking beer while eating skewers, talking and laughing happily, happily, and unscrupulously, which adds a beautiful scenery to this summer.

When he was about to walk out of this street, Lao Tan found that Huaqing, Sun Haicheng, Wang Hong and Fang Jianjun were sitting at a table inside the second house on the street. The four of them were drinking skewers. It seemed that Wang Hong said something funny If the words are true, the three men are laughing up and down.

(End of this chapter)