1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 37 Grandma, Love Me Again!
"Zhou Yan, are you not open today?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen you. I heard your restaurant is doing very well."

"You brought so many things to visit your grandma, that shows your filial piety."

Along the way, villagers greeted Zhou Yan. He would reply to those he recognized and simply say hello to those he couldn't remember.

Soon, an old house came into view, its rammed earth walls covered with brown moss, its green tile roof swaying with foxtail grass, and a persimmon tree by the door, laden with golden persimmons.

Under the tree was a reclining chair, where an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a dark blue diagonal-fronted blouse, was leaning against it, smiling at a thin young man squatting beside her, holding an enamel basin.

The young man was hunchbacked, his clothes were tattered, and his hair was messy and tangled with dirt. He finished the sweet potato porridge in the bowl before putting down the enamel bowl and spoon, grinning at the old lady, and getting up to leave.

As Zhou Yan rode by on his bicycle, Zhou Yan smiled at him as they passed each other.

Zhou Yan recognized this person; he was Mr. Tree from Zhoucun.

"Grandma!" Zhou Momo called out softly.

The old lady turned around, smiled, and stood up to reply, "Oh, Momo and Zhou Yan are here."

The old lady's name is Zhang Shufen. She is seventy-five years old this year. She is very healthy and has a straight back. Her short, silvery-white hair is neatly combed and tucked behind her ears. She has a lot of hair, more than many college students.

Her clothes had a few patches, but they were clean, and her smile was gentle.

Zhou Yan parked the car at the entrance and first picked up Zhou Momo and put her on the ground.

"Grandma!" Zhou Momo rushed to the old lady and hugged her leg.

"Good girl." The old lady reached out and patted her head, smiling as she said, "You've grown a little taller."

"Grandma," Zhou Yan said casually as she took something from the handlebars of her bicycle, "Was that Zhou Qi just now?"

"That's the brat, still so silly, his head's like a slumped chicken, he'd chase ants for miles if he saw them moving." The old lady nodded with a smile, "I saw he hadn't eaten, so I gave him the leftover sweet potato porridge in the pot."

"Grandma, what's wrong with him?" Zhou Momo asked curiously.

"He took the wrong medicine when he was two years old and became a rough child. When he was four, his father died. His mother couldn't survive with him, so she ran away. He scavenged for food in the village and town and worked as a beggar." The old woman shook her head, a look of pity on her face, and sighed, "He was a poor child."

“Then… I’ll give him a piece of candy next time.” Zhou Momo still couldn’t quite understand suffering.

"Okay." The old lady smiled again, looking at the fish and ribs Zhou Yan was carrying. "Why are you carrying so much stuff? Don't you two little ones have anything to eat?"

"I've brought you two jin of wine. I just learned how to make crucian carp with agastache, and I'll show you my skills today. I guarantee you'll be satisfied," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

“These past few days, all the gossipy old ladies in the village have been saying my grandson has struck it rich. Judging from his appearance today, it really does seem like it.” The old lady said humorously, bending down to pick up the enamel basin from the ground. “Come on in, let’s sit down.”

Zhou Yan carried his things in. The main room was spotless, and the square table and benches were polished to a shine.

On the wall next to it hung a black and white photograph of a middle-aged man in an old military uniform. On the small table below the photograph was a long-necked wine bottle with a wild chrysanthemum in it.

"Hello, Grandpa." Zhou Momo walked over, picked up a piece of candy, put it on the table, and greeted him warmly, "Grandpa, have some big bunny."

“He doesn’t like sweets, so I’ll eat it for him.” The old lady picked up the candy, peeled it, and fed it to him, smiling as she said, “Hmm, this White Rabbit candy is still quite sweet.”

"Then I'll bring Grandpa some cola next time," Zhou Momo said, looking at the old lady. "Cola is so delicious!"

"What is 'Kuoluo'?" the old lady asked Zhou Yan.

"It's a beverage invented by foreign devils," Zhou Yan explained with a smile.

"Your grandfather crossed the Yalu River to fight the foreign devils back then. He even wrote to me saying that the foreign devils' chocolates were delicious and that he wanted to bring me a box back." The old lady said with a smile, "If you give him some of the foreign devils' chocolates, he'll definitely be happy."

Zhou Yan smiled but didn't reply, looking at the man on the wall with a serious yet somewhat reserved expression.

This is his grandfather, Zhou Yi, a soldier in the Sichuan Army during the War of Resistance against Japan. He later volunteered to participate in the Korean War and never returned.

His father and his five brothers were raised by their grandmother alone. The youngest of them, the fifth uncle, was born in the year his grandfather sacrificed his life, and the grandmother named him Zhou Weiguo.

The old lady opened the cupboard and pulled out a bunch of snacks, placing them on the table. "Here, you two little ones, have some. Take whatever you want."

The fruit platter contained melon seeds, sugar, dried longan, and loose biscuits—a variety of items.

I made them some tea again.

Zhou Momo had already climbed onto the stool and was sitting at the table eating cookies.

"Where's my uncle? I haven't seen him." Zhou Yan put the two crucian carp in the wooden bucket in the kitchen and came out to ask the old lady.

"He went to weed early this morning and will be back for lunch. Don't worry about him," the old lady replied casually as she peeled sunflower seeds for Zhou Momo.

“Okay.” Zhou Yan pulled out a stool and sat down, taking out two oranges from the bag and handing them to the old lady. “These are fresh red oranges, they’re sweet.”

"I can't eat that many. You can take half of them back later. Your uncle doesn't eat any fruit," the old lady said, looking at the bag of oranges.

"it is good."

"How's your restaurant business?" the old lady asked gently.

"It's not bad," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Selling noodles and soup, I can make a hundred yuan a day."

"Selling a hundred yuan a day, you call that acceptable?" The old lady chuckled and said, "You're like a shrimp crossing a river, still clinging to its antennae."

"Then just think of it as your grandson getting rich and taking you to live a good life in the future." Zhou Yan peeled an orange for Zhou Momo.

The old lady said leisurely, "I'm living a very good life now. I have dried meat and wine every day, and I even play a little card game in the afternoon. I have no worries about food and clothing. My life is like that of an immortal. As long as I'm fat in life, who cares about smelling good or bad after death?" "Good attitude," Zhou Yan sincerely praised.

"Your shop is doing well, and you're making a lot of money, but don't go around telling everyone." The old lady looked at him and carefully advised, "Like a mute eating glutinous rice balls, you should keep it to yourself to avoid attracting unwanted attention."

"Yes, I've got it." Zhou Yan nodded, feeling a warm glow inside.

So this is what it feels like to have a sensible and loving elder in the family.

I feel somewhat happy.

Zhou Yan chatted with the old lady. She was very talkative, and her eyes lit up and her face lit up with a smile when she talked about her youth.

Especially when he mentioned his grandfather, his smile became even brighter, and his tone was full of pride: "Your grandfather was a soldier in the Sichuan Army. He left Sichuan to fight against the Japanese in 1938. Later, he was injured and came back to recuperate for a year before returning to the army to continue fighting. His body was covered with scars, which he said were badges."

After the Japanese were defeated, his family was allocated land, and he wanted to return to farm. But then the foreign devils advanced to the Yalu River. There were orders from above; he was a company commander, so he packed his things overnight and returned to his unit to fight the foreign devils. He even wrote me a letter while he was there, but he never sent it back. It was sent back with his belongings.

He said he wasn't a coward; he beat up seven or eight foreign devils and didn't bring shame to me and the children..."

The old lady spoke slowly, like water flowing gently.

Zhou Yan listened quietly.

Zhou Momo, on the other hand, buried herself in snacks, oblivious to everything else around her.

After the old lady finished speaking, Zhou Yan went to the kitchen to cook the ribs. The ribs had to be cooked until tender to taste good, and the heat had to be just right.

"Zhou Qing delivered beef intestines, beef tongue, and a pound of beef shank this morning. I braised them and soaked them in the pot this morning. We'll cut two plates for lunch. Let's order less food; the three of us plus the baby can't eat much."

The old lady lifted the lid of the pot next to her, and the aroma of braised food immediately wafted out. The pot was filled with bright red braising liquid, with a corner of beef shank peeking out and braised beef intestines floating on the surface.

"smell good!"

Zhou Yan couldn't help but swallow hard. This pot of old braising liquid had been kept by the old lady for more than ten years. She used it to braise beef offal, beef tongue, beef shank, as well as chicken feet, duck heads, and rabbit heads during the New Year and other holidays. Everything she braised was delicious.

The braised food was devoured as soon as it was served.

The old lady treasures this pot of old braising liquid; even her most beloved great-grandson is forbidden from touching it.

Two years ago, Fanwa accidentally tipped over the braising pot, spilling about a third of it. His father and grandfather beat him terribly with thin bamboo sticks. In the end, it was only after his grandmother intervened that the matter was settled.

Later, Zhou Yan learned that his uncle and Fei Ge had struck first because they were afraid that he would be beaten by the old lady.

Everyone in the family knows this pot of braising liquid is a treasure, but no one dares to touch it.

[Ding! A pot of high-quality old braising liquid has been detected, triggering a side quest: Pick up this braising liquid to obtain the initial old braising liquid, and begin your braised food cooking journey! Quest reward: Braised Food Encyclopedia. Accept: Yes/No]

Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched.

This system is really awful!

But selling braised food is a good business.

It can be served as a dish in restaurants, or customers can buy it to take home.

Once the braising is done, just assign someone to cut and weigh it; it won't take up any space in the kitchen.

Fortune and wealth are achieved through risk, so give it your all!

"Grandma, this pot of your old braising liquid tastes so good, can I take some back to the shop to use?" Zhou Yan asked cautiously.

"climb!"

"Magic Cloak!"

"You dare to covet my old brine? Don't make me slap you!"

The kind old lady disappeared.

The first generation of Sichuan-Chongqing Tyrannosaurus Rex cast a shadow.

Zhou Yan: ;“.

"Grandma, love me one more time..."

I'm holding onto a sliver of hope... This chapter was written too late; I just finished it.

Please don't stay up late tonight to wait, I'll feel really bad.

During the new book release period, I need to keep up with the readership data, so I'll post a new chapter after midnight. I spent four hours writing this chapter today, and it's finally finished.

Actually, the chapters in this book are quite long, many of them are over three thousand or even four thousand words. I only read two chapters a day, and it's already over 100,000 words in just half a month since it was published.

You can wait until you wake up in the morning to read it, so it doesn't affect your sleep.

I won't deliberately break up chapters to make it easier for everyone to read, but the effect of following along will be relatively worse.

So please give me a monthly pass and add this to your favorites.

During the new book period, I urge everyone to check out the new chapters every day. Following the story is very important. I'm counting on you all.

Once it's available for purchase, Whisper will definitely update it frequently!
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(End of this chapter)