1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 259 Jin Hua, you make a move, I'll hold the door shut! (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 864)

As darkness fell, Zhou Ming, with a flashlight strapped to his bicycle handlebars, returned to the village.

"Zhou Ming, you bought a new car?"

"Wow, this car is really nice. They say you've got a girlfriend?"

"I heard you've already met the parents. Has the date been set? When is the wedding banquet?"

Along the way, the villagers and elders they encountered all asked questions with gossipy expressions.

"what?"

"Who?"

What kind of banquet are we having?

Zhou Ming returned home completely bewildered.

The car had just stopped outside the gate when the gate opened from the inside.

Ma Jinhua came out to greet him with a smile: "Mingming, what did Teacher Song say?"

Zhou Han, with a cigarette between his fingers, looked at him with equal concern.

"Teacher Song said... said that our family has a nice atmosphere and feels very warm," Zhou Ming said as he pushed the car into the yard.

"Oh, great, that's excellent feedback." Ma Jinhua's smile grew even brighter as she followed them in. "What else is there to say?"

Zhou Ming pushed the car into the main room, leaned against the wall to prop himself up on a footrest, and said, "She said that Grandma raised the old man and his five brothers all by herself and raised them so well. She's really amazing. She asked me to take her to see Grandma next time."

“Teacher Song is so thoughtful. Your grandma would be very happy if she heard this.” Ma Jinhua nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Han, who was standing to the side, couldn't stop smiling.

Today, they were eating at Zhou Yan's restaurant when Zhou Xin's wife saw them. She works at a textile factory and saw the four of them at a table when she was buying braised food.

The news had already spread before they even returned to the village.

Ma Jinhua said she hadn't decided yet, but she was secretly overjoyed.

She and Zhou Han had already discussed it and decided to pick a time next week to visit Teacher Song at her home, bringing some gifts.

If it's a good time, we'll settle on this. We can hold the wedding during the Chinese New Year period, and if all goes well, we'll be able to hold our grandson next year.

“Teacher Song is a good person.” Zhou Ming nodded in agreement.

"What else did she say?" Ma Jinhua asked again.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, "She asked me what our relationship is now."

Ma Jinhua and Zhou Han's eyes lit up. Once they asked that question, they were almost certain of success.

"How do you say that?" Ma Jinhua asked with a smile.

Without hesitation, Zhou Ming replied, "Colleague."

Ma Jinhua's smile vanished. Her fists clenched tightly, veins bulged on her forehead, and her eyes darted left and right.

"Here! Jinhua, you do it, I'll hold the door shut!" Zhou Han handed over a feather duster, then closed the door to the main room and held it shut with his shoulder.

"Huh? What's going on?" Zhou Ming looked completely bewildered.

"Colleague! I'm so sorry I gave birth to such a fool like you!" Ma Jinhua picked up a feather duster and lashed out, striking Zhou Ming's buttocks with it.

"Ouch! Claws? Mom?" Zhou Ming looked innocent, trying to awaken his maternal instincts.

He was greeted by yet another feather duster.

“The girl has already asked such a question, and you still say it’s a colleague! You have so many colleagues at school, which one is so nice to you? Which one lent you their bicycle for half a month? Which one complained that they had too much meat in their own bowl and wanted to give it to you?” Ma Jinhua looked at Zhou Ming with a look of exasperation, and hit him with a feather duster, her anger mixed with a bit of helplessness.

"Then... what should I say?" Zhou Ming, after being hit five or six times, dodged behind the table, scratched his head, and said, "I want to become her grandfather's apprentice and have her call me 'Master Uncle'?"

Ma Jinhua was stunned for a moment, then laughed angrily, and waved to Zhou Han: "You pin him down, today I'm going to teach him a lesson about why flowers are so red! And he calls himself a 'junior uncle'! If I don't beat him up today, you're sleeping in the cowshed!"

“Alright!” Zhou Han rolled up his sleeves and walked towards Zhou Ming. “Don’t run away, or I’ll pull out the valve cores from both of your tires.”

"Huh?!" Zhou Ming was shocked. How could his honest father say such vicious things?

In order to be able to ride his new bike to school tomorrow, he dared not run anymore and could only endure the mixed doubles beating.

"What should we say next time?!"

"friend?"

"This one seems better?"

"Fine! Is this the answer Teacher Song wanted to hear? Shut up, or I'll beat you up too!"

"Mom, what should we say then?"

"My boyfriend/girlfriend! My boyfriend/girlfriend!"
They've already brought it up, and the atmosphere's gotten this good, so why don't you just take the opportunity to confess your feelings?!
"Do you even know what it means for a girl to be willing to go out to dinner with you and meet your parents?" Ma Jinhua looked at him with her hands on her hips, her fury like a tyrannical dragon.

Zhou Ming was stunned. "This is too sudden! I'm not ready." "What are you ready for? Are you going to go back to Mount Emei and spend your whole life with those monkeys? Let me tell you, if you miss out on a girl as good to you as Teacher Song, you'll never meet another one like her in your life!" Ma Jinhua said.

“Yes!” Zhou Han echoed.

Zhou Ming paused for a moment, scratched his head and said, "I... let me think... Teacher Song is a really nice person."

……

"You still think of Grandpa when you go out to eat, so it's not like I've spoiled you for nothing." Song Changhe sipped his wine while eating braised pork intestines and braised pig's head, looking quite pleased with himself.

“This was brought to you by your apprentice.” Song Wanqing sat to the side and said with a smile, “Grandpa, their family atmosphere is so nice. It feels like the family is very harmonious and their relationship is very close.”

Song Changhe paused, his expression turning serious: "Really? You went to meet his parents?"

Song Wanqing nodded: "Zhou Ming bought a bicycle today, so he invited his parents to have dinner at Zhou Yan's restaurant. I met his parents."

"What do you think of them?" Song Changhe took a sip of his drink.

Song Wanqing thought for a moment and said, "His father seems to be a very honest and kind person. He also likes to drink a little wine, about two ounces per meal, just enough to get slightly tipsy but not drunk. He is straightforward and outspoken, just like Zhou Ming. I even made an appointment for you to have some drinks next time."

"His mother has a straightforward personality and doesn't seem like a difficult person to get along with. She's quite down-to-earth and hardworking. When her husband slaughters a cow, she helps him with the task."

After listening, Song Changhe nodded slightly, put down his wine glass, looked at Song Wanqing and said, "So you've already decided on Zhou Ming?"

Song Wanqing was taken aback for a moment, her face flushed slightly, but she nodded very firmly: "Yes, I think Zhou Ming has a kind of youthful chivalry that attracts me. He is honest but upright, slow-witted but gentle."

"Actually, I knew him before. One weekend when I was going home, I was ambushed by a few thugs in an alley."

They robbed me of my money and tried to bully me. Everyone else ran away when they saw this, but Zhou Ming grabbed a mop and rushed over.

At that moment, the light in the alley fell on him, and he looked like a hero.

He got into a fight with the group of thugs, beat them off, and got a cut on his arm; he still has a scar from it.

"He's a bit simple-minded, but that's okay. If he weren't so straightforward, why would he risk his life for a complete stranger, a female student? He even left without leaving his name."

"So that's why you took the initiative to learn martial arts from me from then on." Song Changhe sat up straight, looking at Song Wanqing with eyes full of heartache and self-blame.

“I wanted to have the ability to protect myself and others, just like him. I also wanted to follow in his footsteps, but later I found that the martial arts you taught were quite different from the martial arts they used in competitions, so I gave up.” Song Wanqing spread her hands and said with a smile:
"Actually, I hadn't seen him for almost six years. I didn't expect that when I saw him again, he was still the same. He's done many things like subduing a ruthless criminal on a bus since he was a child, and he didn't even recognize me. Do you think someone like Zhou Ming is someone I can entrust my life to?"

Upon hearing this, Song Changhe fell silent, tapping his fingers lightly on the rattan chair. After a long while, he said, "I won't get too involved in your affairs as young people. Just be mindful of etiquette and don't overstep boundaries. When it comes to marriage, I'll talk to your parents and make the decision for you."

“I know, he doesn’t have the guts to overstep the bounds,” Song Wanqing said happily, getting up to pour him a drink.

"Didn't you say you could only drink two ounces a day?" Song Changhe teased.

"I'm in a good mood today, so you're allowed an extra drink!"

"Are you two officially dating?" Song Changhe asked, looking at her.

Song Wanqing's hand trembled, spilling the wine outside. She bit her lip and said resentfully, "This guy said we're colleagues! Which female colleague would want to meet his parents!"

"You chose it," Song Changhe said with a smile.

"Then don't drink it!"

"Drink, drink, drink! It's a waste to pour it away..."

……

"How was your day?" Zhou Yan turned his head to look at Xia Yao, who was jogging slowly beside him, and asked gently.

"It felt like a long but fulfilling day. I sat in the design department office all day, with six teachers giving me lessons in turn. I finally got a general understanding of the fashion design process." Xia Yao nodded, her smile revealing a hint of fatigue, but her voice remained gentle.

Zhou Yan slowed his pace and looked at her, saying, "Fashion design shouldn't be part of your job, right? Aren't you working too hard?"

"It's tiring, but I find it quite interesting. I asked to learn it myself." Xia Yao's eyes shone brightly, and her tone was light: "Although I had no prior experience in fashion design, I've been drawing for over ten years. With my understanding of the human body and my basic skills, I picked it up quite quickly. My mentors all praised my drawing skills."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "That's great. You can become a fashion designer in the future."

"Here's what I'm thinking: since I'm interning at the textile factory, I should take this opportunity to learn as much as possible so that I'll be better prepared when I look for a job next year." Xia Yao said with a smile, "By the way, my aunt is back. I'll ask her about the design drawings for you later."

"Okay, I'll help you."

"This is nothing. When are you planning to serve your bean sprout buns? I saw that you've finished building the new stove. After we ate them last time, Jingxing and Bingwen have been craving them. I want to eat them too." Xia Yao looked at him.

"We'll start selling it the day after tomorrow. The stove needs to be left to dry for another day. I'll go buy the flour and other ingredients tomorrow," Zhou Yan said. He had originally planned to start selling it next week, but since they wanted to eat it, he decided to try selling it for two days this week.

“Okay, then I’ll have steamed buns for breakfast the day after tomorrow.” Xia Yao nodded with a bright smile. “Today I received letters from Deng Hong and Yu Yu. They know I eat at your restaurant every day and there are so many delicious new dishes. They’re already starting to regret it and are so envious of me.”

Zhou Yan's lips curled up slightly. As a chef, it was quite nice to be praised.

"By the way, how are things between your roommate and Ma Xingye? Are they still together?" Zhou Yan suddenly remembered the boy and asked casually.

"Hmm~~ They're so lovey-dovey. Yu Yu said in her letter that the factory where they did their internships was five kilometers away, and Ma Xingye would run over every day to have dinner with Deng Hong. She's had enough of being a third wheel." Xia Yao nodded and said with a smile, "When we were at school, Ma Xingye would even fetch hot water for our dorm..."

……

　I'll add an extra chapter first~ Please vote with monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)