Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

You should know that people from Fujian province like to stew chicken soup or fish soup, and when stewing chicken soup, they like to add some mushrooms or dried squid.

"Old Zhou, what do you think of the noodles?" Zhang Mo asked.

"Not bad, quite fresh."

After finishing their meal, the two elderly people rested for a while before preparing to leave the restaurant.

"Auntie, are you leaving?" Shi Ling asked.

"Let's go outside for a walk and come back later."

The two elders arrived quite early today, so there were still quite a few diners in the restaurant after they finished eating. They were worried that it wouldn't be good to occupy a table like this, so they wanted to go outside for a walk.

"Auntie, it's quite hot outside, but it's cooler inside the shop."

Zhang Mo gestured slightly with her hand: "We'll just walk to a shady spot. It'll be alright, Xiaoling."

Upon hearing this, Shi Ling stopped trying to persuade Zhang Mo and simply handed her umbrella to him.

Zhang Mo always referred to Shi Ling as "Little Shi."

But now that the restaurant has two staff members, it's impossible for them to call him that anymore.

However, perhaps feeling that this was unbalanced, they have now changed their address and are calling her Xiaoling.

As soon as Zhang Mo stepped out of the shop, she saw the rice balls next to her.

He immediately became interested: "Old Zhou, the restaurant has a new cat now."

Zhou Songyan glanced at it without saying anything, while Zhang Mo glanced at it a few more times.

……

When Zhou Wen came out, he found that the two elders were no longer there.

"Boss, Auntie said she wants to go out for a walk," Shi Ling told Zhou Wen truthfully.

Zhou Wen nodded, explaining that he had only come out to take a look.

The arrival of Zhang Mo and the other person relieved Zhou Wen of the pressure he had felt earlier.

After all, the restaurant had such a big incident last time, and the two elders knew nothing about it at the time.

Zhou Wen also planned to reopen the restaurant as if nothing had happened.

As a result, just a few days after reopening, the two of them came to check up on the business.

Fortunately, things were clarified at the time, and the restaurant is doing better and better now.

When the restaurant was about to close, Zhang Mo and her companion returned to the restaurant.

Because of the arrival of the two, Shi Ying and the others did not choose to eat at a restaurant for lunch, but instead took the food home in takeout.

After all, the boss's parents are here, so there must be something they want to say.

"Auntie, we'll be going now," Shi Ying said.

On the contrary, Shan Wei stood to the side, somewhat awkward, unsure whether he should greet them or not.

In the end, it was Zhang Mo who took the initiative to ask.

"Does this child also work at a restaurant?"

Zhou Wen nodded and replied, "I've been working at the restaurant for a while now. My name is Shan Wei."

Zhang Mo was a rather amiable person, and she smiled as she said, "This surname isn't very common."

Shan Wei greeted her somewhat awkwardly, "Auntie... hello."

Zhang Mo smiled and nodded.

After Shi Ying and the others left, only Zhou Wen and his two companions remained in the restaurant.

Zhou Wen poured a cup of hot water for each of his parents and then said, "Dad, Mom, what brings you here?"

"What? Not welcome?" When talking to Zhou Wen, Zhang Mo lost her peaceful demeanor and spoke with sarcasm.

In response to Zhang Mo's sarcasm, Zhou Wen gave a wry smile and said, "How could that be?"

Zhou Yansong remained true to his old ways, arms crossed, and remained silent.

"Alright, sit down first."

Zhang Mo took a small sip of hot water, adjusted her posture slightly, and was clearly thinking about how to start the conversation.

These past few months have felt like years.

Zhang Mo had many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn't know how to bring them up.

After much deliberation, the first thing I asked was, "How's the restaurant doing now?"

"Business is slowly getting better; overall it's not bad."

"Since things are gradually getting better, let's maintain this momentum."

Zhou Wen nodded.

He also told the two of them about the interesting things that had happened at the restaurant recently.

Zhang Mo would sometimes smile, sometimes frown slightly, and sometimes say a few words.

Old Zhou was no longer completely silent; he would occasionally chime in with a few words.

It was a fairly harmonious and pleasant time.

However, the tone of the conversation quickly changed.

"I'm asking you, how do you know how to cook dishes from other provinces?" Zhang Mo asked Zhou Wen with a serious expression.

When the restaurant reopened, Zhang Mo felt something was off – her son's cooking skills had improved so much.

At that time, the restaurant only served a few common dishes, so they just assumed that the restaurant had put in a lot of effort to research them.

But when I arrived today, I found that things didn't seem to be the case.

Zhou Wen chuckled and said, "I've read books, I learned everything from books."

Zhou Wen wasn't lying when he said that; there were many cooking books on the second floor, all of which the original owner had bought a long time ago.

Although I may have only glanced at it briefly after buying it and never really looked at it carefully, at least now I have a legitimate reason.

Zhang Mo wasn't sure if it was true or not, and had some doubts, but she managed to brush it off.

"Then remember to read more books, understand?"

Zhou Wen nodded and bowed, saying, "Understood."

Finally, Zhang Mo said with a hint of reproach, "You didn't even bother to call home."

In response, Zhou Wen pursed his lips slightly, trying to use the excuse that the restaurant was always busy.

But in the end, he didn't explain himself. How much time could a phone call possibly take?

Zhou Wen didn't know how to start the conversation, and could only hear the sound of the air conditioning running inside the restaurant.

Seeing that Zhou Wen remained silent, Zhang Mo spoke up, "Alright, I know the restaurant is busy. If you encounter any trouble, remember to call us back. Understand?"

"Mm." Zhou Wen nodded.

"And you? Do you have anything to say?" Zhang Mo asked Old Zhou.

Old Zhou naturally had nothing to say.

"Hey, could you tell me how to make shrimp and mushroom soup?"

Zhou Wen paused for a moment, but then smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send you a text message when I've finished organizing it."

Zhang Mo shook her head: "It's just a few words. Why waste money sending a text message? Just write it down on a piece of paper and tell me."

A short message doesn't cost much, and besides, it's easy to lose something written on paper.

However, Zhou Wen did not intend to refute. He was a bit stubborn on some things, and going against the grain might only earn him a lecture.

Zhou Wen also wrote down the recipe for shrimp and mushroom noodles on a piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Mo.

Zhang Mo first read through the contents of the note before folding it repeatedly and putting it in her pocket.

"We're going to take a walk around the neighborhood in a bit."

"Then I..."

"Don't worry about us. We might come back to the restaurant for dinner tonight," Zhang Mo interrupted.

"There's not much going on at the restaurant, so I might as well walk around with you guys and relax a bit."