1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 358 I am Xia Yao, Zhou Yan's girlfriend (6k-page compilation)

Human joys and sorrows are not shared. Yan Wen felt like a wandering ghost outside Zhou Erwa's restaurant, his heart icy cold.

Zhou Erwa Restaurant, which had only one storefront a month ago, suddenly became a restaurant with two storefronts, thirty tables, and an increased number of employees.

The restaurant can perfectly accommodate 28 tables of guests, and its food service efficiency is ridiculously high.

In comparison, the deserted state-run restaurants seem like a joke.

"Times have changed, Director..." A few people walked by, chatting and laughing, but their words were like thunderclaps in Yan Wen's mind.

Yes, times have changed.

The government encourages the development of the individual economy, and street vendors and self-employed individuals have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Zhou Erwa Restaurant is just the beginning. Seeing that Zhou Yan has made money, Su Ji may also see the emergence of Wang Erwa Restaurant and Liu Laoba Restaurant.

Yan Wen's gaze fell on the notice board to the side. He took out a pen from his breast pocket, took out a notebook, and quickly copied down the menu.

"What's that person doing at the door?" Li Lihua had just noticed someone sneaking around at the door, looking into the restaurant, and now he was taking out paper and pen to copy the menu.

"What's the use of copying the menu? Do you understand? It only matters if you can actually cook it." Zhao Hong walked to the door and looked at Yan Wen with a sneer.

"That's right, it only works if you can actually do it." Yan Wen put down his pen, smiled awkwardly, got on his bike, and rode away.

If this happened in their state-run restaurant, they'd probably rush out and beat someone up.

In contrast, the waiters at Tuesday's Waa restaurant were indeed much more polite.

Last week, the catering company held a meeting where the leaders emphasized the importance of establishing a service-oriented mindset. They even used a state-run restaurant in a certain county as an example to illustrate how improved service attitude led to increased revenue, with revenue increasing by 30% in just three months.

The Suji State-run Hotel has now reached a point where reform is imperative.

Zhou Yan took a shower, changed his clothes, and came out. Most of the customers in the shop had already left, leaving only three tables where people were still drinking and chatting.

Li Lihua and Zhao Hong were already clearing away the tables, with Zeng Anrong helping out.

"I'm going to take a cold shower too!" Ah Wei said as he saw Zhou Yan come out, carrying his clothes to the back yard.

Soon after, Ah Wei's wails came from the bathroom in the yard.

"Sigh... Cold cold cold—"

Everyone in the kitchen laughed uncontrollably.

"Ah Wei, would you like me to bring you two kettles of hot water?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile as he stood outside the door.

"Yes! Godfather, please! This well water is colder than people's hearts!" Ah Wei's voice trembled as he spoke.

"Okay, I've put it at the door for you." Zhou Yan brought over two kettles of hot water and greeted him.

Ten minutes later, Awei came out shivering as he finished dressing, looking at Zhou Yan with some resentment: "Teacher Zhou, do you take cold showers every day? Are you even human?"

“Superman,” Zhou Yan said calmly.

"That's insane!" Ah Wei dried his hair and warmed himself in front of the still-burning fire, steam rising from his head.

Aunt Zhao and Comrade Zhou have changed their clothes and come downstairs.

Aunt Zhao had a brown woolen coat made by tailor Jia, over which she wore a black woolen undershirt, black trousers, and leather shoes.

"Oh my, Fourth Aunt, your clothes are so stylish! Is this wool coat newly made?" Zhao Hong exclaimed in amazement.

"Yes, it looks good. It makes you look so smart." Li Lihua nodded in agreement.

"I had it custom-made by tailor Jia last month. It was a design I cut out from a newspaper. She's really skilled; she actually made it." Aunt Zhao twirled around, a smile spreading across her face.

"Fourth Aunt, you've even put on powder and lipstick? You're looking more and more like a boss lady." Zhao Hong leaned forward and looked at Aunt Zhao's face.

"We have to look presentable during the holidays, so I only applied a little bit," Zhao Tieying said with a smile.

"Fourth Uncle looks quite energetic today," Zhao Hong added.

Zhou Momo changed into the little leather jacket that Duan Yuyan had given her, and wore tiger-head shoes, looking festive and stylish.

Zhou Yan watched from the side, a smile playing on his lips.

After working at the restaurant for three months, Aunt Zhao's skin became several shades lighter. She ate well and gained some weight in her face, making her look much younger than before.

She's only thirty-nine years old, but with a little dressing up, she does look like a respectable business owner.

The saying that money can support people is absolutely true.

Judging from her fashion sense, she must have secretly learned it from Sister Meng. A simple inner layer paired with a stylish woolen coat. The town's fashion sense is currently trending towards floral shirts and floral jackets.

As for Comrade Lao Zhou...

Hmm... it's still that guy, right?

Zhou Momo hasn't changed much; even in a floral jacket, she's still incredibly cute.

Looking at the two women, Aunt Zhao said, "Lihua, Zhao Hong, you'll have to work hard today."

"It's alright, Fourth Aunt, you go watch the performance, we'll go back after we finish washing the dishes," Zhao Hong said with a smile.

"I rested for half a day this morning, so it's fine if I go back a little later tonight," Li Lihua added.

“I’m not going to the performance anyway. I’ll wipe the table so the two sisters can go home earlier.” Zeng Anrong, wearing an apron, carried a basin of hot water as she walked out.

“Little Zeng…”

Zhou Yan was about to speak when Aunt Zhao stopped him, shaking her head with a smile: "If it were you, you would lend a hand too. That's called human kindness."

Zhou Yan smiled upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Ah Wei dried his hair for a while, then ran upstairs to change into a denim jacket, wearing only a single layer of clothing underneath.

"Aren't you cold wearing such thin clothes?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at him.

"I'm not cold!" Awei shook his head, shivering. "Don't you know what a denim jacket is? It's called fashion!"

“I don’t understand fashion, but you look pretty cold,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"You brat! You're shivering and still say you're not cold! If you catch a cold, your mother will come and ask me if you should put on a woolen undershirt." Aunt Zhao kicked him.

"Okay! Okay!" Ah Wei turned and ran, went upstairs to put on a sweater, and when he came down, the trembling was noticeably less.

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch. It was seven o'clock. The last two tables of customers had finished eating and left. He said, "Let's go too. Let's go in and find a seat. The timing is just right."

"Let's go! Let's go see the show~~" Zhou Momo held up a straw dragonfly in her hand and ran happily toward the door.

"Hey? Did your sister Yao Yao give you this dragonfly?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

"Brother, this isn't a dragonfly, it's a little cat!" Zhou Momo pointed out earnestly, shaking the dragonfly.

“Look, literacy education isn’t quite up to par yet. Dingdingmao’s Mandarin name is Qingting,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Huh? Is that so?" Zhou Momo looked at the bamboo dragonfly in her hand, her little brows furrowing. "But... but I think Dingding Cat is cuter! Can I call him Dingding Cat?"

"Alright, alright, whatever you want." Zhou Yan laughed. Dingdingmao is Dingdingmao, it is indeed cuter than dragonfly.

Anyway, the little guy probably won't be able to leave Sichuan before he turns eighteen. If he stays in Sichuan to go to university, he'll be able to use Sichuan dialect for the rest of his life.

Zhou Yan grew up in Zhejiang in his previous life. There were three dialects in one county, which were incomprehensible to each other and as different as foreign languages.

But when I arrived in Sichuan, such a vast province, I felt like everyone was speaking Sichuan dialect, and there was no sense of distance at all.

And if you listen carefully, you can understand some of it.

Sichuan dialect is completely integrated into the lives of Sichuan people, a fact he deeply experienced during his four years of university life.

With their tickets in hand, the group went out to see the performance.

A ticket checkpoint was set up at the entrance.

Zhou Momo, perched on Zhou Yan's shoulders and waving her toy cat, greeted Luo Weidong, who was standing to the side, "Hello, Uncle Luo~~"

"Hey, Momo." Luo Weidong nodded with a smile.

When Zhou Momo was bored, she would often go to the security department and became very familiar with Luo Weidong and a group of security officers.

Recently, the security department has increased evening patrols, and breakfast is usually eaten at Zhou Erwa Restaurant, either steamed buns or noodles.

Their security department provides a meal allowance for overnight breakfast, and they have a choice: of course, they'd eat at Zhou Erwa's restaurant.

"Why did you get family tickets? You should have received employee tickets, from the second canteen of our textile factory." Luo Weidong said with a smile as he looked at the tickets Zhou Yan handed him.

The workers queuing up to have their tickets checked behind them laughed when they heard this.

Zhou Erwa Restaurant has recently become very famous. Whether you've eaten there or not, the reputation of the No. 2 canteen of the textile factory has been established.

Zhou Yan worked in the factory canteen for two and a half years. After a fight with Wang Defa, he left to open his own restaurant. He was a factory worker who was laid off and re-employed.

Wang Defa's crimes have been exposed, and he and Sun Meili are now in jail singing "Tears Behind Bars."

Logically speaking, Zhou Yan and his apprentice Xiao Lei should have been punished by corrupt officials and their names should have been cleared long ago.

The workers know perfectly well who their good comrades are.

“Family tickets are the same, which means we’re still family,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Well said, we're still family." Luo Weidong nodded with a smile. This kid knows how to talk.

The group, holding four tickets, passed smoothly.

"Boss Zhou!"

"Aunt Zhao, you've come to watch the performance too?"

"MoMo! You look so cute today!"

"MoMo, your little leather jacket is so pretty!"

As they entered the factory gate, many workers greeted them on the way.

Of course, the most popular one is still the young star Zhou Momo.

Many young female workers greeted her, one touching her leather jacket, another touching her tiger-head shoes.

The little one seemed to enjoy being the center of attention. Zhou Yan felt like he'd been touched a few times for no reason, so he put Zhou Momo down from his shoulder to make it easier for the older girl to feed her.

It's a holiday today, and we're going to see a performance later, so everyone's carrying some snacks.

The little guy soon received a bunch of snacks, including candy, beef jerky, and several oranges.

"Guoguo~ Guoguo~~" the little guy called urgently, transferring the snacks into Zhou Yan's pocket.

In no time, it was a full handful again.

By the time they reached the workers' auditorium, all four adults had their pockets stuffed full.

Goodness, I left empty-handed, now I won't be able to finish all the snacks for the show.

With a candy in his mouth, Ah Wei said to Zhou Yan with an envious look, "Mo Mo is so popular! All the girls are young and beautiful. Is there any secret to how I can make so many girls fall in love with me?"

"There's nothing I can do, she's just so cute, even pouting is considered a form of coquetry," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Like this?" Ah Wei pouted, mimicking the gesture.

Zhou Yan glanced at him sideways, looking disgusted, and said, "Don't go crazy, it's giving me goosebumps."

"Look at you, treating people differently!" Awei continued chewing his milk candy, glancing at Zhou Yan with a hint of envy: "I see a lot of girls staring at you, Teacher Zhou, what's your secret?"

Zhou Yan smirked, "There's nothing I can do about it. I'm handsome, and even the way I walk is a show of style."

"Ugh, you're making me feel nauseous." Ah Wei chewed the milk candy viciously.

He only regretted that he had only inherited the upright and incorruptible square face of the Confucius family, and now he was a little flustered.

The textile factory is doing well. The factory area, which was newly built the year before last, has all the roads paved, a lot of greenery, and even a fountain sculpture.

The newly built workers' auditorium last year, with the addition of some benches, can now accommodate four to five thousand people at the same time to watch performances, making it one of the largest in the entire Suji area.

There were several performances in the city before, and they were specially arranged to be performed in the auditorium of the textile factory.

The factory area of ​​Jiaozhou Textile Factory was therefore known as the Garden Factory, which other sister factories envied.

To prevent fare evasion, tickets will be checked again at the auditorium entrance, and people will be informed how to find their seats.

Lin Zhiqiang gave them tickets in the third row from the middle, a very good seat right in front.

That's why we say Uncle Lin is one of our own; he's definitely one of us.

"Let's go, go through the middle, all the way to the front, the third row," Zhou Yan said, telling Aunt Zhao and the others to go ahead first, while Zhou Momo had already been carried away by Old Zhou.

Inside the auditorium, most seats were already occupied, and many more were still looking for their seats while holding their tickets.

The seats were labeled with numbers, so they were easy to find.

Zhou Yan followed the crowd slowly forward, his eyes searching for Xia Yao's figure in the front row. She was going to perform later, and he wondered if she would watch the performance.

"Zhou Yan!" A female voice suddenly rang out beside me as we approached the third row.

Zhou Yan turned his head and saw a tall girl in a pink sequined jacket standing behind him, smiling at him.

The girl was quite pretty, tall, with a small face, narrow almond-shaped eyes, and a charming smile.

"Miss, did you call me?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at her. The girl looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was. Maybe she had eaten at the restaurant before?
"Female comrade? That's a rather unusual way to address you. What, you're pretending not to know me? I'm Sun Na!" The girl looked at him and smiled, reaching out to punch Zhou Yan in the chest.

Zhou Yan took a step back, putting some distance between them.

The little girl's fists couldn't hurt anyone, but Zhou Yan didn't just take anyone's punches. Right now, only Xia Yao could hit him; no one else would do it.

Sun Na?

The name sounded familiar, and Zhou Yan's mind raced.

Sun Na's punch missed, her hand hovering in mid-air. A little embarrassed, she tossed her hair and looked at Zhou Yan, saying, "Still dodging? Playing hard to get with me? You gave me a love letter before, have you forgotten?"

Her words seemed to electrify Zhou Yan's mind, pulling out a memory from the corner of his head.

Sun Na! The textile factory accountant, a member of the factory's model team, with long legs, was Xiao Zhou's former crush. He sent her a love letter the summer before last, but Sun Na rejected him, saying it wasn't a good match.

A chorus of onlookers watched from all around, and even the whispers of conversation subsided.

Zhou Yan is now a prominent figure in the textile factory, the god-like figure in charge of the second canteen. With the restaurant business so good, Zhou Yan, as a self-employed individual, must be making a lot of money.

In the eyes of the female textile factory workers, Zhou Yan is now a handsome and dashing man who can cook and earn money, and countless young girls are thinking about him.

Sun Na is quite pretty. She's a member of the factory's model team, has a great figure, dresses fashionably, and often participates in the factory's cultural performances. She's considered one of the most beautiful women in the textile factory.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yan had actually given her a love letter.

When did this happen? Is it done?

Sun Na took the initiative to see Zhou Yan today; does this mean there's something going on?
At the back of the passage, Xia Yao and Wang Wei were walking forward chatting and laughing when they saw Zhou Yan and Sun Na standing face to face, and they stopped in their tracks.

"Isn't that Sun Na? What are she and Zhou Yan talking about? A love letter? No way!" Wang Wei looked shocked, her gaze shifting to Xia Yao beside her, and whispered, "Yao Yao..."

Xia Yao remained calm and smiled, saying, "I'm fine. Let's hear what they're saying."

Ahead, Aunt Zhao and the others had already found seats and sat down next to Lin Zhiqiang and Meng Anhe. As soon as they turned around, they were already eating Zhou Yan's melon.

"Oh! This girl is quite pretty, Master Zhou is so lucky! Why don't I have a face like that?" Awei looked at Sun Na, his eyes lit up, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face: "Then what should we do with the boss lady? This situation is not quite right."

"When did you incur this debt of affection?" Aunt Zhao muttered.

"It looks like it's been quite a while. Zhou Yan and she don't seem to know each other very well." Meng Anhe leaned over and stuffed a handful of melon seeds into Zhao Niangniang's hand, her face full of a maternal smile as she ate melon seeds.

"He had better explain himself clearly." Old Zhou sat with Lin Zhiqiang, looking at Zhou Yan with some pity. Men understand men best.

"Oh, Sun Na, I'm sorry, you've matured even more in the past two years, I didn't recognize you at first," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Long time no see, you're still as unpredictable as ever."

Sun Na found Zhou Yan's words a bit strange, but she didn't take it to heart. She looked up at him and smiled, saying, "Zhou Yan, after thinking about it seriously, I think we're quite compatible. I've decided to accept your confession and date you."

As he spoke, he took another step forward.

"Wow--"

This caused an uproar among the onlookers.

In a large auditorium with thousands of people present, will they confess their love and make it official on the spot?
Zhou Yan is the dream lover of so many girls, and now he's about to be snatched away by Sun Na?
"This girl is quite bold, daring to speak in front of so many people. If I were her age, I wouldn't dare," Meng Anhe clicked her tongue in amazement.

Aunt Zhao, cracking sunflower seeds, also shook her head: "I wouldn't dare, I have my pride."

“Sister Ying, that’s your son.” Meng Anhe was overjoyed.

“If he dares to pursue Yao Yao while simultaneously writing love letters to someone else, then I won’t have such an unfilial son,” Aunt Zhao said.

Zhou Yan took another step back, keeping his distance from Sun Na. He looked down at her face, his phoenix eyes full of calculation, like a blooming white lotus. A smile involuntarily appeared on his face as he said, "Sun Na, don't rush to agree. Writing you a love letter was two years ago, in the summer of 1983. I had just come from the village to work as an apprentice in the textile factory canteen. I was young and naive, and I did write you a letter expressing my feelings, but you clearly rejected me at the time, and that was the end of it."

"It's 1985 already, and you suddenly tell me you agree, but I don't agree. Sincere feelings are worthless, and I'm not that kind of person. I'm all grown up now, and I understand what true love is and what lust at first sight means."

"I have someone."

"I'm sorry, Comrade Sun Na, please have some self-respect."

Zhou Yan's voice was loud enough for the surrounding onlookers to hear clearly.

He was quite disgusted by Sun Na's "pure and innocent" attitude. In the past two years, there had been rumors about her with no fewer than four men, but none of them had ever been officially recognized.

He's still a pure and innocent young man; he can't let this kind of bad woman ruin his reputation.

Back then, Xiao Zhou was rejected on the spot and went home crying for two days in a fit of pique. Today, he's finally getting his revenge.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of clarity.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding workers erupted in exclamations of surprise, their expressions quite fascinating.

"You rejected me two years ago, and now you're trying to go back to me?"

"Two years ago, Zhou Yan was just an apprentice in the factory canteen. Sun Na definitely looked down on him. Back then, she was probably having an affair with Zhang, the deputy director of the second workshop, right? Now Zhou Yan is the boss. His restaurant business is booming. He must be making over a thousand yuan a month."

"But Zhou Yan still has a girlfriend! It hurts! But his girlfriend must be quite happy. What an honest man he is. He would never be ambiguous with someone he has a girlfriend."

The female workers were buzzing with gossip, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

"Oh, I see. A love letter I sent two years ago, and it didn't work out. Oh well, Xia Yao wasn't even involved back then." Meng Anhe laughed and reached out to squeeze Zhao Tieying's shoulder. "Sister Ying, don't be so tense. You look really tense."

"I was even thinking of putting the greater good before family ties." Zhao Tieying breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to eat sunflower seeds.

"How...how could you say that!" Sun Na's face turned red instantly upon hearing this, and she stomped her feet in anger, her eyes slightly red: "You're lying, you don't have a girlfriend at all, I've already inquired about it."

Zhou Yan frowned; this woman seemed to have no sense of boundaries.

Just as he was thinking about how to retort, footsteps sounded, a fragrant breeze wafted over, and an arm was linked with his. The person was already close to him. "Zhou Yan, I just went to put on makeup and change clothes. Why don't you sit down?"

"You're here." Zhou Yan looked at Xia Yao. Her long black hair was tied up, revealing her beautiful face. She wore pearl earrings, and every strand of her hair was exquisite. She was wearing a gray wool coat, exuding a powerful aura.

The onlookers, who thought the matter was over, immediately craned their necks again.

"Xia Yao! It's Xia Yao, the intern in the marketing department!"

"Is that the gluttonous girl?"

"How can you talk like that? The newly crowned factory beauty! She's Zhou Yan's girlfriend?! My god, they look so good together!"

"They came up and immediately linked arms; this is a declaration of sovereignty."

"She's so beautiful! She has that kind of graceful and elegant beauty, and her presence completely surpasses Sun Na's!"

"I object to this marriage!"

"Come on you."

Xia Yao's arrival ignited the atmosphere, and the female workers were as excited as wild boars jumping around in a melon field.

"You...you are Xia Yao?!" Sun Na looked at Xia Yao, who was holding Zhou Yan's arm, her voice trembling slightly.

Xia Yao looked at Sun Na with a smile on her face, her voice firm and strong:

"Yes, I am Xia Yao, Zhou Yan's girlfriend."

　Happy Winter Solstice! Remember to eat well, everyone!
　　There will be another update later, but it will be quite late, probably after 1 a.m. You can read it tomorrow.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)