1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 361 This is my sister, my own sister~ (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 855)

As the winner of the Best Program was announced, the venue erupted in cheers, and everyone's eyes turned to Xia Yao.

"Best program!"

Zhou Yan and Xia Yao stood up at the same time, both with joyful smiles on their faces.

Xia Yao let out a soft cry, feeling herself suddenly suspended in mid-air as Zhou Yan lifted her up. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhou Yan's neck, looking down at his face. His eyes were bright and sparkling, reflecting her image.

At that moment, the surrounding noise seemed to subside, as if only the two of them remained in the world, and she could hear her heart pounding faster and faster.

She has won many first prizes in arts and cultural performances since she was a child, and she won an award almost every time she participated.

But I haven't felt this excited in a long time.

The people around watched this scene with smiles on their faces.

"This is so sweet!" Huang Ying looked up at the scene, her eyes full of envy.

"Tsk, too flamboyant..." Ah Wei clicked his tongue, his envy written all over his face.

"Guoguo~~Guoguo~~" Zhou Momo was pacing anxiously beside her, trying to celebrate with her.

"Put me down, it's time to go collect the award." Xia Yao blushed and gently punched Zhou Yan on the back.

"Okay." Zhou Yan finally put her down, his head also buzzing a little.

Or perhaps the excitement of that moment got the better of them, and they couldn't resist the urge to celebrate.

Xia Yao straightened her clothes and walked towards the stage.

Factory Director Wang Hongliang personally presented Xia Yao with the Best Program trophy and the Best Program prize—a large box!

The host announced, "This year's prize for Best Program is a Panda brand radio cassette player!"

"Wow--"

A gasp of surprise erupted from the audience.

A radio cassette player is a real treasure; one costs over two hundred yuan!
The factory really went all out this year!
With the trophy in one hand, it wasn't so convenient for Xia Yao to grab the large box containing the tape recorder.

The host said with a smile, "Where's the guy who just lifted Comrade Xia Yao up high? Come up on stage and help carry the tape recorder down."

"Here I am!" Zhou Yan responded, striding onto the stage and standing next to Xia Yao, taking the tape recorder from Director Wang's hand.

"Congratulations, Comrade Xia Yao, you have won the Best Program of the Day." Zhou Yan turned his head and smiled at her.

"Congratulations, Comrade Zhou Yan, you've won the title of Best Boyfriend of the Day." Xia Yao held the trophy and looked up at him with a smile.

"Zhou Yan looks so handsome today! I never noticed before when he's wearing his chef's uniform, his legs are so long!"

"Right? Standing next to Xia Yao, they look like a perfect match!"

"Watching them date is so sweet! They seem to have nothing but each other in their hearts."

The female workers in the audience were already banging their heads against the wall.

"A radio cassette player! My goodness, the factory is being so generous this year!"

"The model team has lost a radio cassette player! Last month, the factory's propaganda officer was soliciting performers for the arts festival, and I filled in the radio cassette player. It's heartbreaking."

The model team, who had won Best Program for several consecutive years, lost the award today, and their feelings at this moment are quite complicated.

"Hmph, she's just a soloist, why should she win Best Performance! Our model team should win, it's definitely because she's Director Lin's niece." Sun Na gritted her teeth in anger as she looked at the two sweethearts on stage.

“Sun Na, don’t talk nonsense. I think Xia Yao deserves the award; she sang exceptionally well,” said Li Lan, the team leader. “The best performance was chosen because it was the workers’ favorite, as evidenced by the applause and the audience’s reaction.”

Our model team's outfits represent the culmination of our workers' year-long labor. Your vote for us is not only recognition of our work, but also recognition of your own efforts. Don't think it's just your own achievement.

"Although I also want a tape recorder, I feel it's right to give the best program to Xia Yao today!" another team member added.

Sun Na was speechless after being rebuked and could only sulk in silence.

With the awards and prizes presented, today's cultural performance has come to a successful conclusion.

The audience began to leave in an orderly manner under the guidance of the host and security personnel.

Zhou Yan walked ahead carrying the tape recorder, while Xia Yao followed closely behind him, carrying the trophy.

As they came out of the auditorium, Xia Yao naturally took his arm, and the two waited by the roadside for the rest of the group to emerge.

As the audience walked by, they couldn't help but take another look at the two of them.

Some were looking at Xia Yao, some at Zhou Yan, and some at the tape recorder Zhou Yan was holding.

"That kid's got a lucky life! He's won both a beautiful woman and a tape recorder."

"You don't even see how handsome he is! He has sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and he's so tall. He and Xia Yao are such a perfect match."

"I'm so envious! I have a tape recorder, but where can I get a Teresa Teng record?"

"If they had a baby, it would definitely be very cute, right?"

"You mean, they want to have another one like Zhou Momo?!"

As the workers walked by, they couldn't help but mutter a few words.

Zhou Yan hugged the box, straightened his back, and couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

What defines a winner in life?

That's the feeling!
Xia Yao hugged Zhou Yan's arm, smiled with her lips pursed, and this winter didn't seem cold at all.

"Guoguo~ Guoguo~" Zhou Momo's voice rang out from behind.

The two turned around and saw Zhou Momo let go of Old Zhou's hand, ran over happily, and then, with a thud, performed a flat fall on flat ground in front of them.

Xia Yao's hand was still linked with Zhou Yan's arm, and she didn't react for a moment.

Zhou Yan was holding a box containing a tape recorder, and he didn't dare to let go of it, so he could only subconsciously lift his foot to brace himself.

I felt two little hands hugging his legs, and I felt a sense of relief.

"Hey! Honey, you caught me with your legs!"

Zhou Momo's happy voice came from under the box.

"Giggle, Momo, you're so cute!" Xia Yao bent down and scooped the little one up. "Slow down, you're going to roll around!" Aunt Zhao and the others came over and said with a smile.

Ah Wei stepped forward, looked at the box Zhou Yan was carrying, and exclaimed in amazement, "A radio cassette player! A Panda brand, how generous! Our Leming Hotel won first place in the performance last year, and the reward was a Zhang Xiaoquan kitchen knife. Compared to that, it's really too stingy!"

"Come on, let me hold you and let you feel it." Zhou Yan pushed the box forward and stuffed it into Awei's arms.

"No way? Is this how a tape recorder feels?" Awei hugged the box, looking bewildered. Something felt off, yet it also seemed quite reasonable.

"Congratulations, Yao Yao!"

"Yaoyao, you're amazing! This is the first time an intern at the textile factory has won the Best Solo Performance award."

Everyone offered their congratulations to Xia Yao.

"Thank you everyone," Xia Yao said with a smile.

"This girl is truly exceptional in both looks and talent. Not only is she beautiful, but she also sings so well. Yingying said that she's also an excellent painter," Zhao Shulan and Huang He remarked with some admiration as they walked behind Xia Yao.

"She looks like a young lady raised in a scholarly family. She reminds me of Mrs. Qiu from back then. She is elegant, composed, and poised."

"Look at the woman next to her, that's her aunt, the factory director's wife. They have the same air about them. A poor family like theirs couldn't raise a girl like that," Huang He whispered.

"Can Zhou Yan and her work out? Miss Qiu married the Duan family, the richest family in Jiaozhou back then," Zhao Shulan said.

Huang He smiled and said, "It's hard to say. With Zhou Yan's current momentum and drive, he might become the richest man in Jiaozhou in a few years."

Zhao Shulan was taken aback, then smiled after thinking for a moment.

Three months ago, she would have thought Huang He was joking, but after dinner tonight, she felt that if Zhou Yan were given some time, his future achievements would definitely be remarkable.

In a small town like Suji, next to a textile factory, he managed to make his business so successful.

The group chatted and laughed as they left the textile factory. Zhou Yan took the tape recorder from Awei and said to Xia Yao, "I'll take you back and carry the tape recorder back to your dormitory."

"Okay." Xia Yao nodded, said goodbye to Aunt Zhao and Zhou Momo, and walked towards the dormitory with Zhou Yan's arm.

"That's wonderful. I think they'll definitely stay together for a long time," Huang Ying said with some emotion as she watched their retreating figures.

"How did you figure that out?" Awei asked curiously.

"You wouldn't understand, I can't explain it to you." Huang Ying turned and walked away, then jogged to catch up with Huang Bing: "Brother, I want to ride your motorcycle~~"

"Get out of there! Speak normally!"

"Huang Bing! I want to ride your motorcycle!"

"One yuan per trip, delivered to your door."

"You little bastard, you're so heartless! Old man! Old man~~"

"Fine, don't take it! You've always charged me for bringing you groceries, you know. This is a motorcycle taxi, take it or leave it."

"star anise?"

"make a deal!"

The oriole family also left.

"You sing so well." Zhou Yan turned his head to look at Xia Yao, who was holding his arm. Her profile was still so beautiful.

"I told you, I'm the art and literature representative in our class." Xia Yao's lips curled up, with a hint of smugness.

"Impressive, Committee Member Xia."

"You too, Comrade Zhou Yan!"

The two stopped downstairs at the dormitory building, looked at each other, and couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm so happy today." Xia Yao looked up at him with a bright smile.

Zhou Yan nodded: "Yes, I can feel it. You surprised me today. I didn't expect that besides painting, you also have a Teresa Teng voice and can sing so beautifully."

"Actually, it's not just Teresa Teng, I can sing so many songs too, like Su Rui and Jenny Tseng..."

"Then, will you sing it just for me next time?"

"Okay, I'll sing it just for you next time." Xia Yao nodded with a smile and looked at him, saying, "Then I'll go upstairs first."

"Okay." Zhou Yan watched Xia Yao carry the tape recorder and trophy upstairs and couldn't help but laugh. She could have easily carried the trophy and prize herself.

Back at the hotel, Zhou Momo was taking stock of her spoils from the night.

Arrange the oranges in a row.

Arrange the fruit hard candies in a row.

Arrange the chocolates in a row according to their shape and size.

The sunflower seeds were all neatly arranged according to size, and they were arranged very carefully.

"What's going on here? A snack parade?" Zhou Yan came over and picked out a large sunflower seed to crack open.

"Hey! What are you doing! It took so much effort to sort them by size and arrange them properly!" Ah Wei, who was watching from the side, got anxious.

"It's okay, it's okay, don't be impatient~~" Zhou Momo held Awei down, looked up at Zhou Yan with her little face, and pointed to the sunflower seeds on the table, saying, "Brother, start eating from here, eat the big ones first, then the small ones, the big ones are tastier~~"

Ah Wei: "..."

"Okay, then I'll sit down and eat slowly." Zhou Yan sat down with a smile, looking at Awei with a smug expression: "See that? This is my sister, my own sister~"

"Teacher Zhou, you disgust me!" Awei gritted his teeth and walked away, but halfway there he turned back and took the gold coin chocolate from the table.

"Wei, do you like gold coin chocolates? I have another one, do you want it?" Zhou Momo asked in a childish voice as she watched his back.

Ah Wei turned around, looked at the little guy with a big smile on his face, waving the gold coin chocolate in his hand, went back to the table, and put the gold coin chocolate down: "I don't like to eat it, I just picked it up to look at it. You eat it, Momo, you eat it."

Turning around, Awei slapped himself in the face: "You deserve to die! How could you do such a thing!"

"Brother, if Awei doesn't like it, then you can eat it."

"it is good."

"Huh???" Ah Wei's eyes widened a few times.

　I'll add an extra chapter first~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)