Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 209 Wei Yun

When the car arrived at the gate of Hailian, Xiaowei glanced at Xia Maosheng and said, "I forgot to eat, I'm hungry."

Chen Hui said leisurely from the front, "I've already passed the point of being hungry."

It's already 1:30 PM, I was so busy I forgot.

Xiao Wei said, "Let's find a place to eat. There's no rush once we're here."

Chen Hui turned to look at Xiao Wei and said, "Why didn't you say so when we were in town? Where are we going to eat now? At someone else's house?"

Xia Maosheng looked out of the car and said, "There should be some, right? If there aren't any big ones, there aren't any small ones either. Let's look around."

And indeed there was one. Just a little way past Hailian, there was a market. It looked quite bustling, although it looked a bit dilapidated. People were coming and going, and it was very lively. There were old red brick buildings, and vendors and shopkeepers were shouting and hawking their wares. It was the center of the town.

The three of them parked the car and went into a restaurant that looked a bit nicer.

"Boss, let's eat!" Chen Hui shouted as soon as he entered the room.

The curtain was lifted at the back, and a young woman emerged. She had big eyes, a slender figure, short hair that reached her ears, and was about 1.6 meters tall. She greeted him with a smile, "Hello, bro? Just the three of you? What would you like to eat?"

Restaurants in Northeast China are open all day, unlike some areas in the south where they stop serving customers around 1:30 or 2:00 pm and ignore you even if you're lying there. In Northeast China, as long as they're not closed, you can come in anytime.

Chen Hui said, "I'm hungry, I forgot to eat. What's the rush? Just bring it up hot."

The girl casually set the table and poured hot water. Hearing Chen Hui's words, she laughed and said, "Haha, you can forget about food? What must you guys be so busy with? Well, I don't know what you eat or don't eat, but let's order. Everything's quick. It's just the three of you right now, no one else."

Chen Hui said, "The three of us aren't picky eaters, we'll eat anything, whatever's available, really, just hurry up, we're starving."

The girl said, "Then you guys sit down for a bit, have some water to warm up, I'll go ask my dad to prepare the dishes." She turned and went back to the back.

The three of them sat down and drank water from their cups. Chen Hui said, "I didn't expect this place to be so lively despite being so remote. The little girl is also very pretty; her smile is so sweet."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "It seems like this is a small family-run shop. That's good; they have enough to live on and it's not tiring. I guess it's a converted house they live in."

Xia Maosheng took a few sips of hot water and said, "This girl would be perfect as a waitress. She has a straightforward personality, a sweet smile, and she's good at this line of work."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "That's good enough. With some training, this kind of temperament will come in handy in the future."

Chen Hui said, "Well, we'll ask around, but they might not even be willing. They run their own little shop; why would they be interested in our meager, fixed salary?"

Xia Maosheng said, "This shop is just enough to make a living. A few hundred or a thousand yuan a month is the most I can earn. It should be fine." Back then, it was considered quite impressive if a privately owned snack bar or restaurant could reliably earn a thousand yuan a month. Most people only made four or five hundred yuan in net profit. You have to know that in recent years, the average wage of a worker was only three or four hundred yuan.

Chen Hui said, "We can ask him later. Xiao Wei will ask him."

Xiao Wei said, "Why should I ask you about your restaurant's hiring needs? We don't need any staff on our side."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Yes, we don't lack any, we have plenty."

Chen Hui said, "It's because Xiao Wei seems reliable. I was afraid people wouldn't believe me if I told them."

Xiao Wei glared at him and said, "Can't you improve at all? What are you going to do after you start operating this business?"

Xia Maosheng laughed and said, "He's supposed to be a big boss, how come he's so timid?"

Chen Hui stared wide-eyed and said, "Am I a coward? Am I a coward? It's just that I don't have as much experience talking to girls as you guys. My first love only lasted a little over a month."

The girl came out from behind with a plate of food, smiling, and said, "Have a bite to tide you over, the rest will be ready soon. My dad made you some pickled vegetable powder, spring greens, and dried tofu. We'll stew them until they're very soft. Is that enough?" She put the spring greens on the table. Spring greens are basically scrambled eggs, and this dish is quick to cook.

Xia Maosheng asked, "What's 'Lan Dun'?" At that time, Lan Dun was just becoming popular in Fengtian, but it wasn't a big hit yet. Moreover, no one could say for sure where this dish originated, but it must have come from a small restaurant; big hotels wouldn't dare to. Later, there was another dish called Suibian, but it didn't become popular either. It was stir-fried chives, bean sprouts, and wood ear mushrooms. It was truly casual; it was probably just grabbing whatever was available, stir-frying it, and that was it.

The young woman said, "It's just eggplant, potatoes, green beans, persimmons, green peppers, and other things stewed together with pork belly. It's delicious! You'll see once you try it. This dish is quick, so don't be too picky. If it's not good, I won't charge you."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yeah, this dish must be quick to make. You just throw everything into the pot, add some broth, and it'll be done when it's simmering."

Chen Hui asked the young woman, "Do you have any steamed buns?"

The little girl started laughing again and said, "There's one at Jiebi'er, I'll go get it for you." She then went out laughing.

Chen Hui was puzzled for a moment and asked Xiao Wei, "What is she laughing at?"

Xiao Wei said, "How would I know? I was just laughing at you."

The young woman ran in carrying a plastic bag and said, "Do you need a plate for this? It's fresh out of the pan."

Chen Hui said, "No need, no need, just leave it here, we'll eat it anyway." The young woman put the steamed buns, bag and all, on the table, and the group ate them with chopsticks. They were indeed fresh out of the steamer, and the heat was pleasantly hot.

The girl behind her taps the ladle, and then runs in to bring in the food. This is called "calling the ladle," which tells the person in front that the food is ready.

Pickled vegetable noodles and dried tofu were served, and the young woman refilled the thermos with hot water for everyone. Chen Hui ate half a steamed bun, felt better, and asked, "Girl? What were you laughing about? You laugh every time I talk, what's wrong with me?"

The little girl chuckled again, her face flushed, and said, "Didn't you want to ask me something? Are you going to ask again?"

Chen Hui was taken aback and said, "What did I ask you? What did I ask you?" He immediately realized, "Oh, right, what did I ask you? Um, do you want to go out and work?"

The young woman covered her mouth and laughed, placing the thermos against the wall and asking, "When does your restaurant open?"

The three of them looked at her together. She pointed to the curtain at the back of the room and said, "I was standing inside the curtain just now. I could hear you talking." Then she laughed.

Xiao Wei said, "It'll be after the New Year, maybe April or May, maybe even earlier. They're renovating now. Can you leave your place while they're doing this?"

The young woman said, "Sure, why not? This shop is originally run by my parents. I just help out occasionally when I'm in school."

Xia Maosheng asked, "What were you reciting? Are you not reciting them anymore?"

The young woman said, "I went to vocational high school and I'm graduating in September." Vocational high school is the last resort for junior high school graduates who didn't pass any exams. Actually, the classes aren't very serious, and the teaching is all over the place. After graduation, you're unemployed. You just get a high school diploma. They're all run by factories and mines, and they don't charge any fees. It's not a scam.

Chen Hui said, "You'll need to stay at my place, can you manage that?"

The young woman asked, "Aren't there any holidays?"

Chen Hui said, "We only have four days a month, so we can rest together."

(End of this chapter)