Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

Inside the private room of the state-run restaurant, everyone was eating with great enthusiasm. Although Chen Zaiguang worked in the county town's water transport industry, he could only afford to eat out once a month. He used any spare money for household expenses or to send back to his hometown to subsidize his parents. Today, having seen so much meat, he could say he had eaten his fill.

Needless to say, Chen Zailong had never been to such a lavish meal before. The only "restaurant" he had ever been to was a roadside stall where he would order two bowls of soup noodles when he brought his second brother to the county hospital. Even the village's year-end pig-slaughtering feast wasn't this extravagant.

Chen Dong and Zhang Yi, the couple, felt that although these meat dishes were not as exquisite as those prepared by Michelin chefs, their taste was far superior. They found them novel and ate a little more.

Little Chen Hui was eating and playing at the same time. Whenever he picked up a piece of braised meat, he would keep asking, "Daddy, what kind of meat is this?"

He picked up a piece of ribbonfish and asked his mother, Zhang Yi, "Mommy, what kind of fish is this?"

Chen Dong patiently replied, "You eat first, and then Daddy will tell you what kind of meat this is."

Xiao Chenhui took a bite, and the aroma of the braised pork exploded on his tongue. He clapped his hands happily and exclaimed, "Delicious! Is it pork?"

"You got it right, Daddy will give you a piece of paper as a reward!"

Chen Zaiguang's personality was exactly like that of a Chinese person—thrifty and frugal. Seeing that Xiao Chenhui had made a mess of the table, he reached over and used his chopsticks to scoop the meat that Xiao Chenhui had left on the table, which he thought was dirty, into his own bowl.

"Uncle, it's dirty, you can't eat it, you'll get sick," Xiao Chenhui said anxiously to Chen Zaiguang, waving his hand.

"It's alright, this is all meat, we can't waste it," Chen Zaiguang smiled, picking up some and putting it in his mouth. "Uncle is in good health, he's not afraid."

"Jimmy, look how much your uncle cherishes food. You should know that food is hard-earned. You should learn from your uncle and not waste food carelessly in the future, okay?" Zhang Yi spoke up at the right time.

Little Chen Hui, his little head brimming with confusion, tilted his head and asked Zhang Yi, "But if you can buy food with money, why eat something you don't like?"

From childhood to adulthood, Xiao Chenhui has had everything he could want. His great-grandfather, Chen Shengyu, doted on him. He liked to go to amusement parks to ride bumper cars, so the old man cleared a plot of land on his estate, removed all the lawn, and built a small amusement park for his great-grandson.

Chen Hui thought it was too small, so the old man funded the purchase of the amusement park closest to his manor, just so that his beloved great-grandson could play safely at any time.

His maternal grandparents also doted on him. All of Xiao Chenhui's food, drink and daily necessities were taken care of by his maternal grandparents. Nothing that wasn't fresh could be brought into the kitchen.

In the morning, Xiao Chenhui said he wanted to eat Italian chocolate cake. At noon, a top Italian chef who specializes in making chocolate cakes would take a plane. When Xiao Chenhui woke up from his afternoon nap, he would see his favorite Italian chocolate cake on the dining table.

It's a bit of a luxury to tell a child who grew up in a pampered environment to cherish food.

Chen Zaiguang could also see that his little nephew had grown up in a carefree environment like America, unlike in China where resources were so scarce, so he chimed in, "Sister-in-law, it's alright, the child is still young and doesn't understand these things."

"Uncle, I'm not little anymore, I'm five years old!"

"Good, good, our little Jimmy is five years old now, and he's become sensible," Chen Zaiguang said with a smile, rubbing his head with his hand.

Everyone ate for almost an hour before they were full and satisfied. There was still quite a bit of food left on the table. Chen Zailong glanced at it and said, "There's still so much left. Dongzi, why don't you ask the waiter to bring some lunchboxes to take to the hospital?"

Chen Dong nodded, got up and went outside. By this time, most of the diners in the main hall had left, leaving only two or three tables still eating. Seeing Chen Dong come out of the private room, the manager hurriedly came over and asked, "Mr. Chen, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Manager, could you please get me a few lunchboxes and pack up the leftovers for me to take home?" Chen Dong asked tentatively.

Without a second thought, the manager nodded and said it was fine. He then turned to a few female waitresses who were chatting idly by the counter and said, "Two of you, take a few lunchboxes to the private room and pack up all the leftovers for Mr. Chen."

The waitresses who were called by the company manager all reluctantly got up, turned around, rolled their eyes and muttered to themselves as they went into the kitchen to get their lunch boxes.

"He's just an overseas Chinese who returned from abroad, but he's so happy that he's all over him."

"Say less, or the manager will hear you and you'll have a sour face again."

"You know, overseas Chinese are just a bit fairer-skinned, but they're not that different."

"That's because your eyesight is bad. Didn't you see the big gold badge on his wrist when he paid the bill? It was inlaid with gemstones and it was dazzling."

"Besides, the car they drove here is one you've never even seen before. Even city leaders probably couldn't afford to ride in that car."

Three waitresses walked and talked as they entered the private room. They knocked on the door and pushed it open. Inside, there were still quite a few dishes left on the table. At this time, Chen Dong and the others had already started getting dressed and preparing to leave. Zhang Yi tucked her hair back with her hand and fixed it with a hair clip inlaid with a ruby ​​before putting on a coat.

One of the waitresses nudged the person next to her with her elbow and gestured with her eyes, "Look at that hair clip she's wearing; it even has rubies on it."

The waitress who had been poked, whether from pain or surprise, clicked her tongue quietly, marveling at how different people from capitalist countries really were.

The leftovers were quickly packed up, and the four lunchboxes were carried by Chen Zaiguang and Chen Zailong. They followed behind Chen Dong and his wife out of the restaurant. The manager of the company smiled and saw them off at the door. When he saw Chen Dong unlock the Maybach, he couldn't help but move his feet again and followed them all the way to the Maybach.

Chen Dong shook the manager's hand again, said thank you, took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, took out two cigarettes and handed them over. The manager quickly accepted them with both hands, smiled and said, "You're too kind."

Seeing that everyone else had boarded the bus, Chen Dong waved goodbye to the manager, got into the bus, and drove off, leaving the manager with an envious look that lingered at the entrance of the state-run restaurant.

In the Maybach, Chen Dong handed the pack of Huazi cigarettes he had just opened to Chen Zaiguang. "Brother, you can have this. I don't smoke much. If you finish it, I have half a pack in the trunk. You can take it yourself."

Upon seeing the bright red packaging box and the words on it, Chen Zaiguang wanted to say no, but based on his experience with Chen Dong, he knew that Chen Dong was someone who never lacked food or drink and rarely took back what he had given or said. So he didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it with a smile.

The car drove along the narrow cement road in the county town, attracting the attention of passersby, all the way to the county people's hospital.