1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 209 You'll always be my best boyfriend!! (Bonus chapter 34 for Alliance Leader Yixiaotianqing)

Zhao Hong looked at the four brand-new ten-yuan bills in her hand and asked Zhou Yan in confusion, "Zhou Yan, isn't it supposed to be twenty? This is... forty! You took the wrong one."

“You didn’t get the wrong one. The shop was so busy last month. My sister-in-law came to the shop at six o’clock every day and worked from morning till night. She did more work than two people in a state-run restaurant.” Zhou Yan said with a smile, “So I gave you a 20-yuan raise. Next month it will be 40.”

“No way, we agreed on twenty, so it’s twenty. There’s no reason to give extra pay on short notice.” Zhao Hong shook her head, put down the lunchbox in her hand, took out two ten-yuan bills and handed them to Zhou Yan: “We’ll talk about next month then. I only want twenty this month, no more! I’m not that busy, and life is good every day. I’m still happy with my job.”

Zhou Yan took a step back, and Aunt Zhao automatically stepped in to put Zhao Hong's hand back in her pocket, smiling and saying, "Zhao Hong, don't worry about taking it. This is the boss's way of acknowledging your work. You definitely deserve this wage, which is why he gave you a raise."

"Keep this safe, I'll get myself a pair of leather shoes for the New Year, and make some clothes for the two kids too, that would be perfect."

"Fourth Aunt..." Zhao Hong wanted to decline.

Aunt Zhao's smile vanished, and she took a step back: "You know my temper. If I tell you to take it, then take it. Carry the ribs and cold chicken and go home happily to have dinner with the kids, so I don't have to make another trip to deliver it to your door."

"Sister-in-law, keep it. You deserve this salary for the work you've done," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

“Fourth Aunt, Zhou Yan…” Zhao Hong looked at the four ten-yuan bills in her hand, and her eyes immediately reddened.

Over the years, she has stayed at home doing housework and farm work, or helping to wash offal, and has never earned much money.

She worked for ten days last month and Zhou Yan gave her seven yuan, which made her extremely happy.

This is money she earned through her own skills and physical labor, cleanly and honestly.

Seven yuan is not a small amount. How many chickens would she have to raise to earn seven yuan by the end of the year?

Who would have thought that Zhou Yan would actually give her forty yuan this month!

The female worker who just started working in the textile factory only earned thirty-eight yuan a month. She was just carrying plates and washing dishes. Why should she get so much?

That must be because Zhou Yan and Fourth Aunt cherish their relationship, that's why they sent it to her.

"Alright, put the money away and take the groceries home. Zhou Fei has been waiting for you for ages." Aunt Zhao smiled and stuffed the lunchbox into her hand, saying gently, "From now on, stand up straight at home. You're a woman who earns money to support the family now."

Zhao Hong chuckled and carefully stuffed the money into her pocket. "Even if I don't make any money, I'm still very upright. Does Zhou Fei dare to rebel?"

“That’s right, Zhao Hong, you’re the head of the family too,” Aunt Zhao said with a smile.

"Then I'll head back first." Zhao Hong, carrying her lunchbox, looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Zhou Yan, don't worry, I'll do my job well."

"I trust you completely with your work," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

Zhao Hong carried the lunchbox out the door, greeted Old Zhou and Zhou Momo who were chatting with Zhou Fei at the door, and got into the back seat of Zhou Fei and left.

Once the bicycle was far from the restaurant, she suddenly hugged Zhou Fei from the back seat and burst into tears.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Zhou Yan and Fourth Aunt Tao, what happened? Or were they harassed by the guests?" Zhou Fei squeezed the brakes and turned around nervously.

“No…nothing at all…” Zhao Hong looked up at him. “Zhou Yan is so kind. He gave me forty yuan in wages.”

"Forty?! That's a lot! Wasn't it supposed to be twenty?" Zhou Fei was also surprised upon hearing this, and hesitated, "This... we can't accept it, can we?"

“I said I couldn’t accept it, but Zhou Yan and Fourth Aunt insisted that I take it. You know Fourth Aunt’s temper, if I didn’t accept it, she would bring it to our house in a little while. It was already dark, and Momo wanted to sleep, so I had no choice but to accept it.” Zhao Hong sniffled, her voice trembling with tears.
"Why are they so nice to me? I just carry plates, wash dishes, peel potatoes—jobs that any old lady in the countryside could do—and they pay me such a high salary."

Zhou Fei looked at her seriously and said, "Zhao Hong, that's definitely different. You're very efficient at your work. Two ordinary women combined can't do as much as you. That's why Zhou Yan paid you double wages. It's an affirmation of your abilities."

"My wife is the most capable woman in the world!"

Zhao Hong was amused by his words and punched him lightly. "What? You call yourself the most capable person in the world? Fourth Aunt is much more capable than me."

"However, Zhou Yan also said that I did more work than two waiters in the state-run restaurant."

"See, I told you so, didn't I?" Zhou Fei smiled smugly, then added with a touch of emotion, "That's just how Zhou Yan is. He always thinks about the people around him. You'll be fine working hard with him. You don't need to worry about things at home. I'll help feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs. We'll sell them after the New Year, and we won't raise them anymore next year, so as not to tire me out."

“Okay.” Zhao Hong nodded, patted his stomach with a smile, “Let’s go home. Zhou Yan made us a cold dish of the leftover chicken and a serving of ribs. The kids at home must be hungry.”

……

"Mom, this is your salary. The basic salary is thirty yuan, and the commission for the beef jerky is two hundred and ten yuan, which adds up to two hundred and forty yuan in total." Zhou Yan handed a stack of ten-yuan bills to Aunt Zhao.

"So many?" Aunt Zhao took the stack of ten-yuan notes and counted them with a smile.

"Old man, this is for you. Basic salary is thirty-eight, commission for braised meat and braised vegetables is eight hundred and ninety-nine, totaling nine hundred and thirty-seven yuan." Zhou Yan handed another thick stack of ten-yuan notes to Old Zhou.

"Wow! So much money!" Zhou Momo came over, her eyes shining.

"So much?!" Aunt Zhao stopped counting the money she was holding halfway through, staring wide-eyed at the thick stack of ten-yuan notes tied with a rubber band in Zhou Yan's hand. "So much?" Old Zhou was also a little surprised and didn't dare to reach out to take it.

"Here you go, it's all your hard-earned money." Zhou Yan stuffed the money into his hand and said with a smile, "Braised meat is our flagship product now, all thanks to your amazing skills in cutting meat and weighing it by hand. You managed to do the work of three people all by yourself. We're father and son, so we don't need to go through all that pushing and pulling, right?"

"Great!" Old Zhou smiled and took it, weighed it in his hand, and laughed, "This is the first time I've ever earned so much money at once! Unbelievable, truly incredible!"

"Incredible! Incredible! Old Zhou is almost making a thousand yuan a month! He didn't even make that much last year when he slaughtered cows all year!" Aunt Zhao couldn't stop smiling.

"Daddy is so amazing!" Zhou Momo clapped her hands and exclaimed.

"Save the money, and I'll buy you a leather jacket for the New Year. Wear it back to the village and everyone will be impressed." Aunt Zhao was already planning how to spend the money.

"The padded jacket you made for me is very nice. I'll buy you a leather jacket. I'll be even happier to see you wearing it," Old Zhou said with a simple smile. "The more beautiful you look, the more capable I seem."

"Sanshui, you really know how to talk."

"Brother, what about me?" Zhou Momo came closer, looking at her with expectant eyes.

"Here you go, top sales bonus, one dollar and eighty cents, may you prosper all the way!" Zhou Yan took out a stack of five-cent coins that he had prepared in advance and handed them to Zhou Momo with a smile. The little girl worked a day job, and only the top salesperson received a bonus.

"Wow! So much money!" Zhou Momo took it with both hands, her eyes shining, and jumped up happily, shouting to Zhou Yan, "Brother! I will always be loyal to you! You will always be my best brother! I love you!!!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Zhou Yan was overjoyed; this 1.8 yuan was far more emotionally valuable than the 18,000 yuan he would have spent on the female streamer.

Looking at his smiling parents and the happy, bouncing Zhou Momo, Zhou Yan felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

I never knew making money could be so joyful and fulfilling, and not just about cold, growing numbers in a bank account.

Zhou Yan looked at Old Zhou and said, "Old man, I'll be able to save up 10,000 yuan this week. I plan to go see Old Lady Qiu on Sunday. If I need more money to buy a house, I'll borrow it from you. I'll give you an IOU then."

"An IOU?" Old Zhou chuckled, pulling out three ten-yuan bills and the rest of the change from the stack of money. He slapped the remaining bill into Zhou Yan's hand. "Nine hundred. Take it and use it. After you buy the house, when you have the money, deduct the money you spent on the earrings for your mother last time and give it directly to her. You know, I'm too lazy to even manage money."

"Here's another two hundred and forty. You can give it to me again during the New Year." Aunt Zhao stuffed the still-warm money in her hand into Zhou Yan's hand and said with a smile, "Buying a house is the most important thing! If it's still not enough, we have some left over, and we can take it out anytime."

"That's enough. We agreed on ten thousand, and that's ten thousand. I believe Duan Yuyan and Grandma Qiu aren't the kind of people who would try to raise the price." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile, but his nose suddenly felt a little stuffy, and his heart felt warm.

"Hey, bro, I'll contribute money too! Let's buy a house!" Zhou Momo held up a wad of money and said in her childish voice, "You have to give me a big room, okay?"

Looking at the little girl's serious expression, Zhou Yan bent down and took the money from her hand, saying with the same serious expression, "Okay, then this means Momo is also investing in buying a house. I'll definitely save you the biggest room with the best view and a view of the Yangtze River."

"Yay!" Zhou Momo jumped up and down happily, overjoyed: "Big room! Look at the Yangtze River!"

Aunt Zhao and Comrade Zhou also had smiles on their faces.

Zhou Yan didn't go for a run today. After finishing her accounting, she went upstairs early.

He pulled out the book "Modern Chinese History" from the bedside table, and when he opened it to the part where a ginkgo leaf was visible, a dried golden ginkgo leaf fell into his palm. He carefully placed it on the box on the bedside table and continued reading.

Turning the pages of modern history, every page is filled with humiliation.

Behind every hero's name etched in history lies a moving story.

Unfortunately, history books are too thin to record the aspirations of all Chinese people.

Zhou Yan slowly savored the text, and his heart calmed down as well.

……

In the room at the other end of the second floor, Zhou Momo was already fast asleep, wrapped in her blanket and rolled to one side.

Aunt Zhao and Comrade Zhou were too excited to sleep.

"Ten thousand yuan! In just over a month, I've become a ten-thousand-yuan household! Sanshui, am I dreaming? Pinch me and see, it doesn't feel real at all."

"Tsk...where are you pinching me? Are you ready to hand over your 'labor' tonight?"

"Come on, who's afraid of who!"

"Ouch, be gentle..."

……

P.S.: Extra chapter needed! Please vote with your monthly tickets!
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(End of this chapter)