Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Zhang Mo knew that worrying too much was pointless, so in the end she just told Zhou Wen to be careful when he went there and to remember to call often to let her know he was safe.

Zhou Songyan remained the same as always, listening silently without making a sound.

After tidying himself up a bit, Zhou Wen offered a cigarette to Old Zhou and his uncle who had come to visit.

The group chatted casually for a while.

Because Zhou Wen was there, the conversation naturally turned to this younger man.

Everyone in the village knows that Old Zhou's son owns a restaurant in the city.

This is also a common topic of conversation after meals. After all, everyone lives in the countryside, and it's easy to find something to talk about when someone goes out to do something.

Guests often come to our house, and the conversations always revolve around Zhou Wen and his restaurant.

"Ah Wen, how's your restaurant doing these days?" the old man asked with a smile.

"It's alright, nothing special," Zhou Wen said with a smile.

"Now that you're back, shouldn't you show off a few of your skills to everyone?"

"Of course..."

Soon, the topic shifted away from the restaurant and naturally moved to the issue of marriage, which is something every elder tends to nag about.

"You're not getting any younger, haven't you had a boyfriend yet?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mo's expression also changed.

On weekdays, everyone's attention is focused on restaurants. When they are at home, Zhang Mo often worries about the restaurant with Lao Zhou.

But now, when I hear others mention it, I realize that this is no small matter.

Zhou Wen also noticed the change in his mother's mood.

"You're leaving tomorrow, right? Then I'll... "

Zhou Wen quickly interrupted, "Mom, I'm quite busy with the restaurant right now, I don't have time to date."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mo's expression changed, and she was very dissatisfied.

"When would you like to talk?"

Zhou Wen gave a wry smile and said, "There has to be time."

Zhang Mo had visited the restaurant once during the summer vacation and knew that the restaurant business was booming. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

The family's relatives also learned of Zhou Wen's return.

Naturally, they had to get together for a meal, which was eventually decided to be at my maternal grandfather's house.

Because he hadn't been back for a long time, Zhou Wen went to his maternal grandparents' house alone first, as a junior should go and say hello.

The journey isn't far, probably only a five-minute walk.

"grandmother."

As they approached, Zhou Wen saw his grandmother, who was watering the vegetables.

"Hey, Wen's back."

Most elderly people like this don't speak Mandarin very well, and when they do, it's often with an accent.

"You're back." Zhou Wen greeted him with a smile.

Because of farm work, he has difficulty walking and always drags one leg when he walks.

Zhou Wen quickly helped him up, and they drove all the way home.

Because the second floor of the house also needs some renovations recently, my grandfather is busy with this matter all by himself.

I just do a little bit whenever I have time each day, not too much.

"Awen."

"Yes, Grandpa," Zhou Wen replied, helping out with the tasks before it was mealtime.

However, since Zhou Wen was there, he couldn't stay for too long. In just over ten minutes, they brewed tea and started chatting.

……

At lunchtime, everyone who came was someone Zhou Wen knew, someone whose name he could recall.

The family sat together eating and chatting.

They chatted and laughed, and everyone was asking Zhou Wen about the restaurant.

Hearing his relatives and friends praising Zhou Wen, Old Zhou finally smiled again after a long time.

"Ah Wen, is your restaurant still hiring?"

Zhou Wen also recognized the speaker; he was an uncle.

When I was little, I often went to my uncle's house to play.

If I remember correctly, there was a girl, but she was probably still in school.

"My friend has a girl who just started working, and she happens to be living near you."

"I originally found a job in a factory, but the kids couldn't stand the assembly line work."

Seeing this, Zhou Wen's eyelids twitched, and he understood what his uncle meant.

The restaurant now has an extra floor, which definitely increases the workload.

However, Shi Ying and Shi Ling can manage the workload, and Shan Wei also helps out after each delivery, so there's really no shortage of manpower.

At first, Zhou Wen also felt that having an extra layer might make things a bit too complicated.

However, because there were many more dishes to go with rice, everyone ate for a long time.

Finally, we only left when the restaurant was about to close, so that cleaning in one go wasn't too tiring.

It's a choice between hiring and not hiring; hiring or not hiring is fine either way.

It would be best if relatives and friends could help.

However, what made things difficult for Zhou Wen was that the girl seemed to be a recent graduate.

Even though Shi Ying and Shi Ling could help out at the restaurant, Zhou Wen wasn't sure if the girl could adapt.

If we don't handle it well, it might be difficult to deal with later, since they are relatives and we see each other all the time.

Besides, we're all family, so if we can help each other out, we should.

So Zhang Mo asked, "Which friend are you referring to?"

The uncle said, "It's that Xu family at the intersection. They've eaten here together before."

Zhang Mo didn't remember for a moment, but Lao Zhou reminded her.

Zhang Mo also looked at Zhou Wen and said, "Does your restaurant need any more staff? If so, why don't you take some young girls with you? I guess you've seen them before."

As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look.

Zhou Wen could read Zhang Mo's eyes; she clearly wanted Zhou Wen to do her a favor.

Zhang Mo's idea was also very simple.

She was just happy that her son was successful and could help others.

That's why Zhou Wen had this idea.

Finally, Zhou Wen nodded and said, "Okay."

The meal lasted for more than two hours, and Zhou Wen also drank some alcohol. It lasted from 11 a.m. to about 1 p.m.

After finishing his meal and drinking some alcohol, Zhou Wen went back to his room and went straight to sleep.

Zhou Wen also woke up around 2:30 pm.

Everyone was going to have another meal together in the evening, so after waking up and having a few cups of tea outside, Zhou Wen went to town to buy groceries.

Having finally come back, I naturally have to show off my skills.

Zhou Wen bought a lot of vegetables, spending over two hundred yuan on them.

When evening came, Zhou Wen began to cook.

Zhang Mo also wanted to help Zhou Wen, but Zhou Wen refused.

"Really, you don't need to. You can just sit down."