1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 119 An Eye-Opening Experience

Chen Nuo's sudden crying made everyone a little sad, and Zhao Yan's eyes also turned red, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Although she chose the path of teaching in rural areas, it was still a young girl going to live in a completely unfamiliar place.

As the moment draws near, the fear of the unknown gradually grows, and this anxiety inevitably affects one's mood.

Especially with the Lu Yuan family's outstanding achievements as a precedent, Chen Nuo knew that it would be very difficult for the place she wanted to go to surpass the atmosphere here.

The large-scale rural education support system, the "National Western Development Program," only started in 03. Most of the rural education support activities in the 90s were spontaneously carried out by private teachers.

Therefore, young teachers like Chen Nuo and Zhao Yan are typical idealists.

Especially in this era of rapid economic growth, while most people are thinking about creating wealth myths, they are going against the grain and rushing to the poorest regions.

Lu Yuan truly admired this behavior. Sometimes he would ask himself if he would have the same courage if he were in their shoes.

Wei Yinghong was also deeply moved. She held Chen Nuo and Zhao Yan's hands and comforted them, saying, "Girls, on behalf of the poor people in the north and other places, I thank you. Without the dedication of you volunteer teachers, many children would never have been able to leave this world."

This is absolutely Wei Yinghong's honest opinion. Many rural children's horizons are broadened thanks to the volunteer teachers.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan stuffed all the prepared bottles and jars into the jeep.

Upon seeing this, Chen Nuo went from crying to laughing, reverting to her carefree self: "Lu Yuan, you're so inconsiderate! If you had just given it to me earlier, would I have been so reluctant to leave?"

. . .

Not long after Zhao Yan and Chen Nuo left, Uncle Wei led the entire Wei family to the entrance of Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant.

Auntie was stunned when she saw the huge signs that connected on the rooftops of the row of shops along the national highway: "Hero, you're saying these are all shops opened by Xiao Yuan?"

"That's right!" Uncle pointed with his hand, a smug look on his face. "At first, there was only the first old shop, but thanks to the lambs I delivered every day, our nephew's shop expanded at lightning speed, like a rocket!"

My aunt said, somewhat speechless, "What's it to you?"

"How can it be okay?" The uncle was getting a little anxious. This past month had been the highlight of his life, and of course he wanted to protect his bragging rights.

"Do you know how ruthless my older sister is? She wouldn't pay me for the lambs I gave her, making Mom and Dad think I was taking them out to scam people!"

Grandpa suddenly said "Oh," and nodded, "That's right, Hero wasn't wrong. I thought he was using Yinghong as a cover, and I was even planning to come to Yinghong's house to ask him about it."

The uncle, his grievances finally released, said, "You have to say, my eldest nephew is really something. He's a very considerate person. He insisted that my older sister pay me the money and even asked me to go and collect the sheep from the village."

Uncle got carried away, smacking his lips and talking nonstop: "I think Xiao Yuan inherited his brother-in-law's kindness. If he only inherited his sister's domineering nature, then this whole Luwangtan Village would be doomed!"

My uncle was talking animatedly, completely unaware that my second aunt and youngest aunt were frantically giving him secret signals.

Suddenly, my uncle felt as if his ear was about to leave his body, and a sharp pain swept through his brain.

Wei Yinghong appeared from behind her uncle, grabbed his ear, and started twisting it 360 degrees from both sides.

The second aunt and the youngest aunt were terrified. This was the eldest sister they remembered. Having been married off for so long, they had almost forgotten how terrifying she was.

After the uncle was given a beating by the ear, the eldest sister finally invited her entire maternal family to her home.

It was almost lunchtime, but the older sister didn't let them sit in the front hall. Instead, she let them sit in the backyard to cool off, where they could still see how bustling the business was in the front hall.

As it approached 11 o'clock, Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant began to be served, mostly by groups of two or three diners, with very few people coming alone.

From the moment the first table of guests sat down, through the glass of the kitchen, everyone could see flames, like those of a planetary engine, erupting from the stove in front of Lu Yuan.

The other people in the kitchen also spontaneously started to get busy, some chopping mutton, others mixing cold dishes.

Waiters also began frequently going back and forth between the kitchen and the front of the house, bringing one exquisite dish after another from the kitchen to the tables in the front of the house.

Before long, the front hall was packed with people, and the flames in front of Lu Yuan in the kitchen never stopped, constantly bursting and gushing out.

"Dad, we were here when it opened, right?" Auntie Er couldn't believe her eyes, then turned to Auntie Xiao and asked, "There weren't this many people when it first opened! This is unbelievable!"

There's an old saying that a newly opened toilet will be popular for three days, which means that business is usually better when it first opens.

Because everyone is drawn to the excitement, once the excitement is over, the store's business will return to normal.

As Lu Yuan's closest relatives, Wei's family members all came to support the opening of the business.

But even with the deafening firecrackers back then, the store didn't have such an exaggerated flow of customers.

My curious second aunt secretly went to the window and peeked out. She found that almost everyone had stir-fried lamb on their tables, along with other dishes, usually at least two plates each.

Last night, my uncle told everyone about the current price at Lu Yuan's store: 25 yuan per jin (500g). Who can afford that?

Just as she was about to come back and tell everyone about her discovery, she suddenly saw the corridor connecting the backyard and the small courtyard.

She took a couple of steps forward and glanced over, only to discover that there was something else going on there.

"Dad, come quick! Come see!"

My second aunt was the first to run to the connection of the corridor and wave frantically to everyone in the backyard.

Not knowing what had happened, everyone immediately crowded around, crouching down next to their aunt and peeking out.

You wouldn't believe it until you look, and what a surprise it was! There was actually a small courtyard next to it, and in front of that courtyard was another front hall.

The difference is that not only was the front hall next door full of people, but the small courtyard next door was also full of people!

Everyone watched this scene, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.

This is absolutely stunning!

In their memory, only when someone in the countryside held a large feast would so many people sit together.

The banquet is mandatory; everyone must give a gift, and people bring their families along just to attend.

But no one is forcing them here. Does that mean Lu Yuan is pointing a gun at them and forcing them to eat?

Uncle did not step forward with the crowd; he was used to this kind of scene.

Seeing everyone's reaction, he felt they were overreacting; it was just a small matter!

"Dad, Second Sister, don't block the way, or the waiters won't be able to serve the food."

Uncle strolled along behind with his hands behind his back, seemingly unconcerned. He pointed to the back door of the front hall and said, "Come with me. Eldest sister and Xiaoyuan are busy. I'll show you around."

"9

My aunt asked, "Haven't we seen everything already? Where else do we want to go?"

My uncle pointed north again and said, "There are three more shops over there, have you forgotten? Didn't I tell you about them at the entrance?"

"No, what are you so smug about?" After coming to her senses, Auntie found Uncle's smug look annoying and kicked him.

"What does Xiao Yuan's business have to do with you? Judging by your playing style, I'd think you were the big boss!"

Although his second aunt was also fierce towards him, she wasn't as intimidating as Wei Yinghong. His uncle, who was also the type to treat people differently based on their status, retorted defiantly, "Although I didn't own it, I supplied all the goods to this row of restaurants!"

"So what if you're supplying goods? Doesn't Xiao Yuan pay you? You're dressed like a scoundrel, lead the way!" Auntie scolded Uncle in annoyance.

Seeing how thriving her older sister's business is and how much money she makes, it would be impossible for her not to feel envious.

My aunt was the same; her eyes were full of envy. The place where she and my second aunt married was also quite ordinary.

Life wasn't too hard, but it was definitely not comfortable; we didn't even have any spare cash.

Her mother-in-law kept urging her to have another child because she only had one daughter, and her husband's family wanted a grandson.

But she knew that with the current situation, having another child would definitely make life even more difficult.

With so many emotions piled up, her envy was even stronger than that of her second aunt.

The grandfather sighed a little. They were all his children, and he was naturally happy to see one of them doing so well.

But he also noticed the disparity in the performance of the other children.