From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Tao Mengran specially rented a minivan to accompany Luo Qing and her daughter to the airport to pick up their two grandfathers, second aunt, and aunt-in-law.

The two grandfathers sat in the car, looking at the scenery of the capital city outside the window, and were both very moved.

Grandpa Situ: "The changes in the capital are happening faster and faster."

Grandpa Feng: "It's been so many years since I've been to Beijing. I remember the last time I came was to attend my eldest son's wedding."

Feng Suying laughed: "Dad, my brother's wedding was more than ten years ago."

Grandpa Feng: "That's right, it's been almost twenty years."

Tao Mengran smiled and said, "Then Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ should have a good time this time."

Grandpa Feng looked at Luo Qing, who was sitting in the back row.

"I'm not playing anymore. The main reason I came here this time is to help take care of Zhengming's rear."

My second aunt and my maternal aunt spoke almost simultaneously: "But we're here for you."

The two exchanged a glance, and then the second aunt reassured them, "Dad, Uncle Situ, don't worry. With Aunt Qingqing and me here, you can go and have fun. We promise to take good care of Qingqing."

Aunt: "Yes, yes, we have experience, we definitely won't let anything happen to Qingqing."

Luo Qing couldn't help but speak up: "Grandpa, Second Aunt, Aunt, I'm not that precious, it's not like this is my first time being pregnant."

Feng Nuanyou sat next to her mother, listened to her mother's words, and gently touched her mother's belly.

"Mommy, is it a little brother or a little sister in your tummy?"

Luo Qing laughed: "Even this mother doesn't know."

The great-aunt turned to the little girl and asked, "Does our Youyou want a little brother or a little sister?"

When asked this question, Feng Nuanyou tilted her head against her mother and began to think.

Before the little girl could answer, her great-grandfather spoke first.

"How can you, as her great-aunt, ask a child like that? Whether it's a younger brother or a younger sister, it's not like she can just have one whenever she wants. Aren't you putting the child in a difficult position by asking that question?"

Upon hearing her great-grandfather's words, Feng Nuanyou immediately sat up and mimicked his words with a smile.

"Grandma, Great-Grandpa said that we don't get to decide whether Mom has a little brother or a little sister, so Youyou likes both little brothers and sisters."

The great-aunt laughed when she heard this: "This girl is really smart."

The great-aunt nodded: "The little girl travels all over the country with her parents all year round, so she has seen a lot and that's why she seems very smart, unlike my son who sits there and doesn't dare to say a word."

My aunt brought her son with her when she came to Beijing this time.

The little boy was about the same age as Feng Nuanyou.

Now, sitting next to Feng Nuanyou, he looks like a younger brother.

Feng Nuanyou turned her head to look at her uncle beside her.

She reached out and took her uncle's hand: "Hehehe, Uncle, don't be afraid. Dad has prepared a very, very big yard for us. When we get there, I'll take you to play."

Interestingly, the little boy became very obedient to Feng Nuanyou after she held his hand.

"Okay, I'll play with Youyou."

Seeing her son's state, the aunt didn't know what to say.

Even though her own son is the elder, he's the one being led around by Feng Nuanyou.

Luo Qing saw through her aunt's thoughts and comforted her with a smile.

"It's okay. Boys mature later. Besides, I think Dongdong is fine as he is. Unlike our Youyou, who is too naughty now. If you don't keep an eye on her, she'll really be climbing on the roof and tearing the tiles off the house."

Auntie was very pleased to hear this; "Girls should be a little fierce, otherwise they will suffer losses."

Grandpa immediately chuckled: "You, my dear aunt, are hoping your granddaughter will be just like you, aren't you?"

The second aunt immediately turned around: "Dad, look at you, can't you give your daughter any face in front of the younger generation?"

Grandpa Situ: "Yes, yes, your daughter is going to be a grandmother too. You should give her some face."

Grandpa Feng chuckled: "Good, good, let's save face for her."

The car entered the inner ring road of Beijing and drove into a hutong (alleyway).

Seeing the scene in the alley outside, the second aunt was somewhat surprised.

"These old hutongs in Beijing really look different; they have a real sense of history."

Luo Qing: "Originally, I was thinking of renting a place closer to our shop, but Zhengming looked around and ended up renting a small courtyard house in this alley."

Aunt: "Zhengming probably wanted us all to be more comfortable."

Second Aunt: "Yes, or could Zhengming let me bring both of the old men over?"

Hearing his daughter's words, Feng Zonggu couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Well, she's starting to look down on us two old men."

Second Aunt quickly explained, "No, we're only able to live in a courtyard house in Beijing because of you, Dad and Uncle Situ. Otherwise, how could we afford to live here?"

When the car pulled up in front of the courtyard gate, everyone got out of the car.

Feng Nuanyou led her uncle through the door first.

Luo Qing wanted to help, but her family wouldn't let her get involved.

After unloading the luggage from the car, everyone walked into the courtyard together.

The yard wasn't very big, but after some tidying up, it was quite spacious and bright.

The first and fourth rings are all individual houses.

Each room had been cleaned and tidied up beforehand.

Feng Nuanyou led her uncle around the courtyard, looking at each house one by one.

Finally, he even pulled his uncle to sit down under the grapevines in the yard.

"Uncle, don't you think this place is fun?"

The uncle nodded: "This place is so big, it's like a garden on TV."

Feng Nuanyou: "Hehehe, I came here with my parents and we also feel that this place is like a garden."

After everyone came in and settled into their rooms, and had just put their things down, Feng Zhengming called.

Luo Qing answered the phone and then had her two grandfathers, second aunt, and aunt-in-law each say a few words to Feng Zhengming.

Finally, Feng Nuanyou also called her father to talk to him.

Luo Qing handed the phone to her daughter, asking her to go over and talk to her father with her uncle.

Feng Zhengming heard the voices of his daughter and his uncle's son over the phone.

"Is this Dongdong? Hello, I didn't pick you up over there this time. Youyou will keep you company. Tell Youyou if you want anything, and she will tell your sister."

The boy replied into his phone, "Thank you, brother-in-law, I understand."

Feng Nuanyou then went on and on with her father for a long time.

She also asked her father all sorts of questions about what was going on in Shanghai.

When her great-aunt and great-uncle heard this, they both thought the little girl was very interesting.

"Luo Qing, your daughter is really interesting. She's like a little adult. She even knows to ask about her father's situation in Shanghai and shows concern for him. It really feels like she's the mother."

“Youyou is so smart. My Dongdong doesn’t know so much. He wants to tell your uncle when he goes out, but he just doesn’t know how.”

Luo Qing smiled: "Boys are definitely not as delicate and thoughtful as girls."

Then Luo Qing also introduced the cleaning lady she hired to her family.

Seeing that an aunt had been invited, Luo Qing's second aunt and aunt-in-law found it a bit strange. They pulled Luo Qing aside and asked her about it.

"Qingqing, what's going on here? Why did you hire a housekeeper?"

"Yes, wasn't it supposed to be me and your aunt who came?"

"We're already here, why are you hiring a housekeeper? Why don't you just fire her?"

"Yes, yes, your aunt and I will come over and take care of you."

Luo Qing smiled and explained to her second aunt and aunt-in-law.

"Second Aunt, Auntie, don't worry. Auntie is just doing some cleaning. We can eat at the restaurant, or we can have Fifth Brother from the restaurant arrange for someone to deliver the food."

But the house really needs cleaning. Second Aunt and Auntie, you both have to take care of Grandpa and your two children, and you also need to keep me company, so it wouldn't be right to ask you to clean the house again.

After listening to Luo Qing's explanation, her second aunt and aunt-in-law thought about it and also felt that it made sense.

Although the courtyard house is rented, the cleanliness of the courtyard and the house will definitely be maintained.

Especially now that Luo Qing is pregnant, there are two elderly people and two children to take care of.

It is indeed important to keep your home as clean and tidy as possible.

Luo Qing added, "Auntie only comes to clean every other day. She doesn't usually bother us, so please don't overthink it, Second Aunt and Auntie."

After hearing Luo Qing's explanation, her second aunt and aunt-in-law agreed.

After finishing her work, the aunt packed up her things and left.

Only one family remained in the courtyard.

Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ sat under the grape trellis in the yard, playing with the two children.

Luo Qing's second aunt and maternal aunt helped her with some company matters.

This was also the purpose of inviting my second aunt and maternal aunt to Beijing.

Feng Zhengming was worried that Luo Qing was taking too much work at the company, which would affect her health.

Therefore, some matters that need to be handled externally can be handled by my second aunt and maternal aunt.

My second aunt and my maternal aunt looked at all the things in the company.

Both of them were surprised by what Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing's company had done.

Originally, everyone thought that Feng Zhengming only had two branches in Beijing.

No one expected that Feng Zhengming would not only open a store, but also acquire so many old stores in one go.

Now, those old shops have been reorganized by Feng Zhengming and are gradually resuming business.

However, because the company has more stores, it also has more things to deal with.

Second Aunt: "I really didn't expect that you would acquire all these old shops? You've really done something amazing."

Aunt: "Although these are all small shops, they really represent many traditional crafts in Beijing. You have done a great thing by reorganizing them and passing on these old crafts."

Luo Qing, on the contrary, gave a bitter smile.

"We were forced into this situation. We didn't want these snack shops to disappear like this, so we wanted to help them and preserve these old shops."

However, with the acquisition, the number of things we need to deal with has suddenly increased.

The second aunt immediately said, "Then leave it to me from now on. I'll help you deal with it. I'm a former soldier, after all. I'm not afraid of those people if they try to use force."

Luo Qing smiled: "Auntie is fine, they won't dare to use force now."

Aunt: "Are the stores now managed by each store themselves?"

Luo Qing nodded: "Yes, now it's basically the store manager who's in charge."

Aunt: "Then there's no need to interfere too much. The store manager should be the one you chose, and should be the most suitable."

Luo Qing: "Auntie, you're right. We won't interfere too much with the business. I'll stay in Beijing more to supervise and coordinate some manpower and procurement issues."

Second Aunt: "There are indeed a lot of things to do, but that's not surprising. Since you've made the acquisition, you should be the ones to handle these things."

Luo Qing smiled: "This time, Zhengming asked my second aunt and aunt to come so that you could accompany me to officially start the company in Beijing, and also to recruit some staff."

The second aunt and the maternal aunt exchanged a glance, and then the maternal aunt spoke first.

"I think it's not necessarily necessary to recruit any staff; management should be promoted from the bottom up."

Second Aunt nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's certain that we'll open a company in the capital, but instead of hiring management, it would be better to promote the store managers to take charge of management."

Aunt: "And Zhengming's fifth senior brother and the others can also be directly appointed as management members, which would be more convincing."

Luo Qing nodded: "My second aunt and aunt are right, but the company still needs some people, not to be in charge of management, but to be responsible for coordinating various personnel, overall procurement and allocation, and most importantly, accounting."

My second aunt and my maternal aunt agreed with this.

As they were chatting, Feng Nuanyou ran in with her phone in hand.

After putting the phone on the table, the little girl quickly ran out again.

Luo Qing glanced at the phone on the table.

"This girl must have used up her phone battery while talking to her dad again."

These words immediately amused both the second aunt and the aunt-in-law.

The second aunt picked up the phone and helped Luo Qing change the battery.

"Your daughter is so clever; she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve at such a young age."

Luo Qing: "She's just too cunning, which sometimes gives me a headache."

Aunt: "It's alright. Girls are more shrewd, they'll suffer losses in the future."

My second aunt agreed: "Yes, girls should be shrewd and know how to protect themselves."

Luo Qing: "Your great-aunts and great-uncles spoil her so much, and now there are two great-grandfathers. I'm really afraid that she'll turn on us and we won't be able to control her."

These words stunned both the second aunt and the aunt-in-law.

Then the second aunt and the aunt-in-law smiled at each other.

Aunt: "Don't worry, as long as the child is of good character, there's no need to worry."

Second Aunt: "Children don't need to be managed. Let them develop freely. As long as they are of good character, they can try anything. Don't think that girls have to be obedient."

Luo Qing thought about it and realized that her aunt and second aunt were right.

Next, they continued to sort out the affairs of the Kyoto Company.

With the help of her aunt and second aunt, Luo Qing's life became much easier.

Busy until evening, Luo Qing stopped and decided to go out with her second aunt, aunt-in-law, two grandfathers and children.

"Grandpa, Grandpa Situ, what would you like to eat tonight? Would you like to sit at Fifth Senior Brother's shop?"

Grandpa Situ spoke up: "We heard from Youyou that there's a small shop called 'Boiled Sheep's Head'. Shall we go try it tonight? I heard about it before I went abroad when I was young, but I've never actually eaten there."

Luo Qing nodded: "Okay, then let's go to Baishui Yangtou Restaurant for dinner."

Feng Nuanyou came to her mother's side with a smile: "Mom, can I have roasted lamb skewers with my uncle tonight?"

Luo Qing smiled and agreed, "Okay."

But before her daughter could cheer, Luo Qing added, "No chili peppers."

This request made Feng Nuanyou pout immediately.

Seeing this, the two grandfathers, the second aunt, and the aunt-in-law couldn't help but burst into laughter. (End of Chapter)