Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

"Mom... I'm back. Look what I brought you?" Kang Yu shouted to his mother who was waiting for him and hadn't gone to bed yet as soon as he entered the room.

In order to supplement the family income, my mother often took some sewing and mending jobs on the street.

Although it was already very late, he still huddled beside a very dim light, squinting his eyes as he mended his clothes.

The wrinkles on her forehead make my mother, who is in her forties, look at least fifty years old.

When she heard her son Kang Yu's voice, the old lady put down the needlework she had not finished and started to get busy.

Open the bottom cover of the coal stove and let the coal fire inside burn as vigorously as possible to warm up the room. By the way, boil the hot water on the coal stove so that I can soak my son's feet.

Although my son is a leader in the hotel, he manages dozens of employees.

But she had already learned from her son what her job content was. Even as a leader, she had to stand and work for at least five hours a day.

When the restaurant business is good, it is very common to stand for six hours a day.

At first, the old lady didn't pay much attention to it, and Kang Yu didn't take it seriously.

As a result, after just a few days of work, my calves were sore and my feet were covered with blisters from the rubbing of my shoes.

Since then, the old lady has prepared hot water for her son every night.

Let my son soak his feet in hot water when he comes home from get off work to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Kang Yu is very satisfied with his current life. Looking at the busy old lady, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

But when he saw the leftovers on the table, his good mood disappeared immediately, and he frowned and asked, "Mom..."

"Why are you eating boiled cabbage and cornmeal steamed bread again?"

"The doctor said that you have a bad stomach and can't eat cornmeal steamed bread often..."

"Didn't I buy a lot of white flour for my family? Why don't you eat white flour buns?"

"Boiled cabbage doesn't have any oil or water in it. You don't need a ticket to buy meat in the market now... Even if you can't bear to part with it, you can just buy 50 cents worth of meat in two days..."

"The doctor said that your body needs a long period of recuperation before it can slowly get better. The food you eat must be nutritious. You must not eat like this tomorrow."

After saying that, he put the lunch box in his hand on the table and spoke again: "Please stop working..."

"I guessed you wouldn't want to buy meat when I was at the restaurant, so I packed a portion of braised pork for you in the kitchen. It's made by the chef himself, and I guarantee it's delicious..."

"Come over and have something delicious first, then get busy."

"I also brought back some white flour buns, enough for you to eat all day tomorrow, hurry up..."

After saying that, he opened the two lunch boxes one by one. One of the lunch boxes was filled with greasy braised pork.

The big pieces of pork are wrapped in red oil, which looks very tempting at first glance.

The potatoes stewed with the braised pork are also covered with oil and water. The soup is particularly thick, and you can smell a very strong meaty aroma as soon as you open the lid.

I opened another lunch box, and saw five large white flour buns neatly placed inside, emitting a very strong and refreshing fragrance, which looked very tempting.

The old lady couldn't help swallowing her saliva, but she didn't move. Instead, she frowned and complained, "It's such a waste to bring such good food back for me to eat."

"Xiao Yu, how much are these two boxes of food..."

"We are all honest people. We finally found a job in a hotel. You must not do anything sneaky or take advantage of the hotel."

"I don't want to eat it. You should pack it up quickly. Just steamed bread and cabbage will be enough."

Kang Yu quickly explained: "Mom...don't worry, I paid for all these dishes."

"We, the hotel staff, can enjoy a 10% discount on meals and special orders. The meals originally cost two yuan and twenty cents in total, but the boss only charged me two yuan after the 10% discount."

"I didn't steal it from the restaurant, nor did I take advantage of the restaurant..." "The braised pork is still hot, come and have some."

"Tomorrow, take the leftover braised pork and make a stew. It will be enough for you to have three meals a day."

Hearing that her son spent two yuan on the food in the lunch box, the old lady was even more reluctant to eat it. She shook her head like a drum and refused again: "So much money..."

“Can this dish be returned?”

"Son, take it back to the hotel tomorrow morning and check in..."

"Two dollars is enough for me to eat for several days at home. If I really spend it all in one day, it would be such a waste."

"I will not eat……"

Kang Yu knew that the old lady was reluctant to spend the money.

She could understand it in her heart. She hadn't earned a penny in the restaurant yet, and no one knew whether this job was stable or not. Both mother and son were now living off their savings.

Every penny spent means a penny less of the family's savings. No matter how frugal the mother and son are, as long as they have no income, the little savings will be used up sooner or later.

Before I see the money coming back, I’ll save as much as I can.

Without any further ado, he took out the 125 yuan salary he had received today, put it on the table, and explained with a smile on his face.

"mom……"

"The hotel paid us wages today."

"I'm the deputy manager of the front office. My basic salary is 75 yuan a month. Now I'm in the internship period and can only get 65 yuan."

"But the restaurant was very successful in the first half month after opening, and I even received a 60-yuan bonus... a total of 125 yuan."

"Our boss said that from now on, the hotel will pay everyone their salary on this day every month..."

"Our family will no longer be short of money."

"Even if I bring you braised pork every day, my salary is enough for me to spend, and I can also save a lot of money."

"The restaurant has only been open for half a month since the salary was paid this time."

“Starting next month, the restaurant will be open every day.”

"As long as business doesn't get worse, my bonus next month will be at least 120 yuan, plus my salary, that's more than 180 yuan."

“I eat at restaurants every day without spending a penny.”

"Even if I bring you braised pork and steamed buns every day, I can save more than a hundred yuan a month."

Looking at the handful of ginger on the table, the old lady was frightened.

He grabbed the hundred yuan on the table and counted it three times before he recovered from his shock. He stared at Kang Yu's shocked face and asked, "Son..."

"This is really your salary for this month. You didn't steal it from outside."

Kang Yu smiled and continued: "Mom..."

"Don't you know what kind of person your son is? Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to go out and rob money."

"This money is indeed my salary. After deducting the two dollars for the packed meal, there is still one hundred and twenty-three dollars left. I will give it all to you today."

After getting her son's affirmative answer, the old lady continued to ask: "Can your salary really increase to more than 180 yuan next month?"

Kang Yu answered confidently: "As long as the restaurant business continues to be so good, my son's monthly income will only increase, and will never decrease."

"If my son can be favored by the boss and become a front office manager, he can earn at least 300 yuan a month, which is considered a lot." (End of this chapter)