1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 366 You kid don't even understand what a genius is! (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 955)

"My son is so thoughtful." Zhou Yan ate the glutinous rice balls with a spoon. Half of them were filled with meat and the other half were sweet. They tasted pretty good.

After riding my bike for almost an hour to get here, I'm definitely a bit hungry.

Lu Chuan was wearing a suit today, which encased his round figure. He wore leather shoes, his hair was slicked back and shiny, and a plastic red flower was pinned to his chest. He did look quite energetic.

"How are you feeling on your wedding day?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.

"To be honest, I'm both excited and nervous." Lu Chuan took a step forward and lowered his voice a few degrees. "After today, I'll be a husband and soon an old man. But sometimes I feel like I'm still a child. When I go home, I immediately call her 'Mom.' I'm afraid I won't be able to shoulder this responsibility and be a good husband and father. I always feel like I'm not ready yet, and I'm afraid of disappointing Chen Rong."

“At twenty, how many people are ready to be an old man?” Zhou Yan looked at him and smiled, then patted him on the shoulder: “Brother, the fact that you can say those two sentences means you can definitely be a good husband and a good father.”

Lu Chuan smiled upon hearing this and patted Zhou Yan's arm, saying, "Good brother! Hearing you say that makes me feel much more at ease."

"How many groomsmen are there?" Zhou Yan finished eating the glutinous rice balls in a few bites.

“Two, one for you, and the other is my buddy, he works at the city supply and marketing cooperative.” Lu Chuan took the bowl and greeted the person next to him, “Ma Yongqiang! Get to know him, he’s our brother who’s going through thick and thin with us today.”

"Master Zhou, hello, I've heard so much about you." A young man, even fatter than Lu Chuan, walked over, shook Zhou Yan's hands with both of them, and smiled obsequiously: "I've heard Lu Chuan talk about you, your cooking skills are amazing! My name is Ma Yongqiang, you can just call me Xiaoqiang."

"Hello, Xiaoqiang." Zhou Yan smiled and shook hands with him. "We're all friends, you can just call me Zhou Yan. Master Zhou sounds like you're calling me to work anytime."

“Okay.” Ma Yongqiang smiled and looked at Zhou Yan with some envy, saying, “You’ve maintained your figure so well. Look at me and Lu Chuan, we’ve grown like we’ve been inflated since graduation.”

"That means you guys are living a good life. I eat very little, but I don't gain weight," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Ma Yongqiang was wearing a fluffy black coat today, looking like he weighed about 200 pounds, with a chubby face like a steamed bun.

Their wealth and strength are on full display.

He works at the municipal supply and marketing cooperative; his physique and capabilities speak for themselves.

Ma Yongqiang has a good personality; he's obviously a shrewd and capable person, and we quickly became acquainted.

"Zhou Yan is here." Lu Xiaoji was wearing a leather jacket today, and her slicked-back hair was neatly combed, making her look quite presentable.

"Uncle-Master Lu," Zhou Yan greeted him quickly.

As one of the few first-class chefs in Jiaozhou, Lu Xiaoji had attended a chef training course with his grandmaster and was quite familiar with his master, who was also Lu Chuan's master, so of course he had to be polite.

"I heard you were granted special permission to take this year's Level 3 chef exam? There are only five spots available in the entire province, you're quite impressive," Lu Xiaoji said, looking at him.

Lu Chuan, who had been chatting nearby, turned around upon hearing this and looked at Zhou Yan with some shock: "Zhou Yan, didn't you study cooking for two and a half years? How did you manage to pass the Level 3 chef exam?"

Lu Xiaoji rolled her eyes at him: "You kid don't understand what it means to be exceptional! It's a back door opened for geniuses, and it's done in a very open and aboveboard manner, with notices issued to all catering companies in the province."

“You kid don’t even know what a genius is,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"You're really something." Lu Chuan was genuinely impressed.

As the time approached, the aunties from Luchuan began loading the wedding favors onto the bicycles, followed by uncles carrying baskets on their backs.

Lu Chuan was riding the lead bike, a brand new 28-inch bicycle, with one of the three turns and one sound, and a big red flower tied to the front of the bike.

A pedicab was also prepared, which was for the bride and was also decorated with red flowers.

Zhou Yan had two red ribbons tied to his bicycle. Since he didn't have a carrying basket, he didn't load live chickens and pork onto his bicycle.

Ma Yongqiang parked the car next to Zhou Yan and said with a smile, "Zhou Yan, I heard from Lu Chuan that your restaurant is in Suji? Where is it? Next time I come to Suji, I'll eat at your restaurant. I have an aunt who married into a family in Suji, and our family goes there several times a year."

“At the main gate of the textile factory, next to Zhou Erwa’s restaurant, you’ll see it immediately if you come,” Zhou Yan said. “This might be a hidden banquet booking.”

“Okay, next time, I’ll invite them to eat at your restaurant together.” Ma Yongqiang nodded and made a note of it.

As firecrackers exploded, the wedding procession, consisting of twenty old-fashioned bicycles and a band, slowly made its way towards the bride's home. Each bicycle was also occupied by a strong man carrying a carrying pole.

The engagement gifts have already been delivered to the bride's family. The wedding procession didn't bring much, but they'll have to carry the dowry back later.

Zhou Yan had just heard them say that Chen Rong's family was well-off and she had a lot of dowry, including wardrobes, dining cabinets, dressing tables, and so on.

Of course, Lu Chuan's parents were both working-class, which meant they were quite well-off in those days.

The two houses were not far apart, only half an hour away. We were on time and arrived at the woman's house at 6:30.

The power supply bureau's staff quarters were brightly lit.

As soon as the wedding procession arrived, firecrackers crackled and popped.

The sound of gongs and drums also increased, making the atmosphere exceptionally lively.

The bicycles were parked in the yard, and the elders of both sides made contact.

Zhou Yan and the others followed Lu Chuan upstairs. He was worried that there might be some kind of drinking problem, but to his surprise, there was nothing, and they made it to the second floor without any problems.

The Chen family members were all focused on blocking the door. Fortunately, Lu Chuan had prepared plenty of red envelopes. With the red envelopes clearing the way, everyone shared in the joy and naturally parted ways, without making things too difficult for the young people, and they arrived at the Chen family's gate smoothly.

The first door opened naturally after enough red envelopes were stuffed through the crack, but it was only when they reached the bride's room that they were truly blocked.

I stuffed a handful of red envelopes into your hand, but they still couldn't get the door open.

"Lu Chuan! Don't bother with the red envelope. My sister Rong has prepared five questions. If you answer them all correctly, I'll let you in. If you answer them incorrectly... three red envelopes, and you can answer again!" A clear voice came from inside the door. "Bring it on!" Lu Chuan said confidently.

"First question, let's start with something simple: What is my sister Rong's birthday?"

"This is easy, it's the eighth day of the sixth lunar month!"

……

Zhou Yan stood by with his arms crossed, watching with a smile on his face, as if he were observing someone else's happiness.

Lu Chuan's wife is quite good. He was originally prepared to charge into battle and even had a plan for how to break down the door, but it seems he won't need to do it.

Lu Chuan used three red envelopes before finally answering all the questions correctly and knocking on the bride's door.

Zhou Yan followed her in and immediately saw the bride sitting on the bed, dressed in a red dress. She was slightly plump with a round face, and she and Lu Chuan looked quite like a married couple.

Two bridesmaids stood by the bed. Zhou Yan looked up and saw that the bridesmaid on the right was petite and had a pretty face. When he saw the bridesmaid on the left, his gaze paused.

Zhou Yan was surprised to run into an acquaintance. Wasn't this bridesmaid the same staff member from the Bank of China where she had deposited money before?

Li Yanyan was also surprised to see Zhou Yan; she really didn't expect to run into him again here today.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment. Last time, Lu Chuan mentioned that Chen Rong had a cousin who worked at the Jiaozhou Post Office and promised to introduce her to him. So it should be the petite girl on the right, which reassured him a little.

He's not single now; he has a partner.

Zhou Yan and Li Yanyan nodded slightly, which was considered a greeting.

Chen Rong was also taken aback when she saw Zhou Yan, and then smiled and said, "Zhou Yan, you haven't changed much."

"Happy wedding," Zhou Yan said with a smile, recalling that Chen Rong also had a round face.

"The one on the left is my cousin, Zheng Yi." Despite being busy, Lu Chuan still made sure to introduce her to Zhou Yan and Ma Yongqiang in a low voice.

The process of finding the bride's shoes, serving tea and eggs, and the bride's weeping all went quite smoothly.

The bride was pregnant, and everyone tacitly agreed to the fact that the procedures were simplified.

By the time Zhou Yan and the others finished the ceremony and came downstairs, it was already 8:30.

Down in the courtyard, the dowry was laid out on the ground, already secured with ropes, ready to depart at any moment.

Lu Chuan carefully helped Chen Rong, whose eyes were red from crying, onto the tricycle. He gave the tricycle driver a few words of advice before getting on the vehicle himself, and then turned around and said, "The bridesmaid can choose her own vehicle!"

Chen Rong wiped away her tears, but didn't forget to look back once more.

"Can I ride in your car?" Li Yanyan stepped forward and asked Zhou Yan.

"Of course." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile; that's what a best man does.

Li Yanyan wore a ponytail today. She is actually quite tall, about 1.65 meters. She wore makeup and a pink and white cotton coat.

As the suona horns sounded, the wedding procession picked up the bride and began their return to the groom's house.

Just a short while after the convoy entered the courtyard, two large strings of firecrackers hanging on either side went off with a loud crackling sound, startling Zhou Yan.

Li Yanyan covered her ears and leaned closer to Zhou Yan, clearly frightened as well.

Once they reached the street, the sound of firecrackers gradually subsided, and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"What a coincidence, we've met here. Are you also Chen Rong's classmate?" Li Yanyan's voice came from behind.

“Yes, he was my classmate in junior high school, in the same class as Lu Chuan and the others.” Zhou Yan nodded.

“Chen Rong and I were high school classmates and roommates. We were very close,” Li Yanyan said.

“I could tell, that’s why I asked you to be her bridesmaid,” Zhou Yan replied.

"Won't it cause problems for the hotel if you come as a groomsman?"

"We're closed on Sundays, so it won't make a difference."

The two chatted intermittently, with Li Yan asking a question and Zhou Yan answering, maintaining a level of responsiveness without much emotional expression.

In the car behind, Ma Yongqiang and Zheng Yi were chatting happily, with laughter coming from time to time.

Back at the Lu family home, Zhou Yan had nothing to do. The bride and groom were busy with serving tea and changing their address to each other, with a group of aunties giving instructions. It all went quite smoothly.

Ma Yongqiang chatted with Zheng Yi, while Zhou Yan, bored, slipped out to the door to chat with Lu Xiaoji.

"I heard from Lu Chuan that you opened a restaurant in Suji. How's business? Have you ever thought about moving to a bigger restaurant?" Lu Xiaoji asked Zhou Yan.

"Business is alright, my family can make ends meet." Zhou Yan smiled at him and said, "Uncle Lu, do you have some kind of shortcut to success that you want to show me?"

“There’s no direct road to heaven, but there’s one you might want to consider.” Lu Xiaoji lit a cigarette. “The Wanxiu Restaurant where we had lunch today is owned by a friend of mine and someone else. They’re hiring right now. With your culinary skills, you could earn at least 300 yuan a month. If you have any special skills, you can talk to the owner about your salary directly.”

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. What his senior brother Guo Dong said was true. Wanxiu Restaurant was indeed poaching chefs everywhere, and they even came to him.

　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)