1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 140 Casual Chat in the Car

The person who booked the private banquet today is a silk business owner who travels frequently to coastal areas.

These days, business owners who are always traveling are the most active at the dinner table. Even if they only meet people from Shanghai, they can come back and brag about it as if they met foreigners.

Local delicacies are also one of their favorite things to boast about.

For example, after returning from the south, they would exaggerate and say, "Wow, other people's zongzi have meat in them, unlike ours, which can only contain a jujube."

The owner had just returned from Guangdong Province and highly praised Cantonese cuisine, especially the roast pigeon, roast goose, and fresh seafood. He was absolutely thrilled with the food.

Coincidentally, Lu Yuan served the dishes as if he were praising him.

He had just finished mentioning the crispy roast pigeon when Lu Yuan served a dish of crispy roast pigeon.

In addition, to highlight the value of these dishes, Lu Yuan now asks Zhenzhen to explain the origin of each dish, or the source of its prototype, and to briefly explain how to make it.

After Zhenzhen finished serving the dishes, she briefly explained the origin and preparation method of crispy roast pigeon, and the boss's head practically floated to the sky.

He looked like he was saying, "See? I wasn't bragging, that's what other restaurants say," and he was secretly thrilled.

After a few rounds of drinks, he was a little tipsy, but he still hadn't finished bragging.

Then, out of nowhere, he remembered something called "Old Radish Preserved Vegetables"; then he sang for a while longer.

Unexpectedly, the next dish served was fried rice with preserved radish.

He was completely dumbfounded, thinking to himself, "This boss is a mind reader!"

However, Lao Caipu was just bragging, because he had never actually eaten it.

He quickly filled a small bowl for himself, took a couple of spoonfuls, and his eyes immediately lit up.

too delicious!

Then he shouted, "That's the taste!"

The other diners finally couldn't take it anymore and angrily shouted, "You just looked at the menu beforehand, you bastard! This guy was completely wronged and couldn't explain himself. He could only quickly finish his fried rice, then fill up another bowl, thinking to himself, 'In this vast world, only the boss is my confidant!'"

At the same time, Lu Yuan also served Zhao Yan a plate of fried rice with preserved radish.

Zhao Yan has recovered her energy today. She's wearing a bun and is hunched over the table writing something.

After nearly a month of recuperation, Zhao Yan's wheat-colored skin gradually faded, and her fair skin returned to normal.

Zhao Yan looked at the fried rice in front of her, but instead of eating it, she stared at Lu Yuan for a while.

Then he mixed the fried rice well and pushed it towards Lu Yuandao: "You take a bite first!"

Looking at her actions, Lu Yuan said speechlessly, "I mean, is it really necessary? Let's put an end to our feud. When will this cycle of revenge end?"

Zhao Yan insisted, "I don't care, just take a bite first!"

Lu Yuan shook his head helplessly, picked up the fried rice, and scooped up a big mouthful to feed it to his mouth.

"Wait, don't swallow yet!"

Zhao Yan knew that Lu Yuan had a strong tolerance for jealousy, and he would get jealous easily.

But the most sensitive organ for taste is in the mouth, and even the most tolerant person cannot keep it in their mouth forever.

Zhao Yan looked at her watch, and after two minutes, she finally let him swallow his food.

Then, she happily scooped up a spoonful of rice and ate it, the incredibly fragrant aroma instantly filling her senses.

Zhao Yan was certain of one thing: this was absolutely the best fried rice she had ever eaten in her life!

However, after finishing that spoonful, she looked at Lu Yuan resentfully and said, "Who told you to take such a big bite? I barely have any left!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Lu Yuan didn't dare tell her that her portion was excessive, almost as much as the portion in the private room.

The next day, a new week began.

The landline installer finally came today.

Lu Yuan had Lu Hua apply for approval for these stores, and now each store has its own regular customers, making it easier for customers to order food by phone.

However, Zhao Yan was even happier than Lu Yuan about the telephone being installed.

Her old mobile phone was practically useless in the village; after a telephone was installed, she could finally contact her family.

However, Zhao Yan is very sensible and never hits anyone during the daytime when she is open for business.

She only managed to ask Lu Yuan for permission to make a phone call after 9 p.m.

Lu Yuan vaguely heard a woman's voice on the other end of the phone, probably Zhao Yan's mother.

As Zhao Yan spoke on the phone, tears welled in her eyes. Her homesickness often surged up instantly when she came into contact with her loved ones.

Lu Yuan thought about it and felt it was quite remarkable; the young girl's family had come all this way and eaten all sorts of delicacies...?

Lu Yuan had initially thought she had suffered a lot, but something seemed off.

Where did she suffer? Not only did she take over her own room, but she also ate so much delicious food every day.

However, Zhao Yan looked beautiful as she lowered her head and twirled the telephone cord with her fingers. Her long, slender eyelashes fluttered, and her bright eyes sparkled.

Before making the call, Zhao Yan was organizing the photos she had taken so she could tell her family about her experience in the northern frontier.

The camera happened to be nearby, and Lu Yuan couldn't resist picking it up and peering at Zhao Yan through the lens.

Click!

Zhao Yan slightly raised her head, her face beaming with happiness, and Lu Yuan captured the moment in a photograph.

The clicking sound caught Zhao Yan's attention, and she immediately turned to look at Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan immediately put down the camera and turned his head to look at the wall.

At the end of the phone call, Zhao Yan heard her mother's voice: "Your father and I have only been away for two months, and what have you done? You've gone off to teach in some remote mountain village without permission. Come back right after you finish teaching this semester, or I'll have to come and get you myself!"

Zhao Yan shifted her gaze from Lu Yuan, who was picking at the wall plaster, to the phone in front of her, pouting and reluctantly saying, "Okay!"

. .

On September 16th, Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant will be closed for one day. After being collectively criticized by diners last time, Lu Yuan posted a notice a few days in advance this time.

This morning, when Zhao Yan went out to wash up, she suddenly noticed a man in a suit standing in the yard, combing his hair in front of the mirror. He didn't look like a good person.

But then she thought again, the backyard is blocked by the restaurant, so it would be quite difficult for ordinary people to find it.

So she moved slowly forward, close to the wall, trying to see the person's face clearly.

When she moved to a 45° angle behind the man in the suit, she saw Lu Yuan's face in the mirror.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Zhao Yan asked, "Lu Yuan, why are you wearing a suit in the yard so early in the morning?"

Lu Yuan tilted the mirror to reflect Zhao Yan's face, and said to the mirror, "Look at what you're saying! I'm in my own home, can't I wear a suit first thing in the morning? I can go naked, it's not illegal!"

"You..." Zhao Yan pouted, speechless. "You're being unreasonable!"

Lu Yuan was even more speechless: "You're the one who's being unreasonable!"

Today is the day Lu Yuan goes to receive his award: a provincial-level model individual business owner.

Director Liu had previously said that he should wear formal attire, but Lu Yuan turned the house upside down and the most formal attire he could find was the suit his father wore at his wedding.

Lu Yuan tried it on, and apart from the style being a bit old-fashioned, it actually fit him perfectly.

It has to be said that the Lu family has perfect genes; all the men are tall and have long legs.

Lu Yuan put the mirror away, turned around, and said to Zhao Yan, "How is my suit?"

Zhao Yan thought Lu Yuan looked very stylish from behind, but when she saw him from the front, she exclaimed in surprise.

"What are you doing? You're not even wearing a tie, and your shirt is all open. You look like a scoundrel."

Lu Yuan's way of wearing a suit is very common in later generations: unbuttoning one button and not wearing a tie, which makes him look very casual.

He retorted, "Don't you think this is very casual? Besides, I don't know how to wear a tie."

"How can a man not know how to tie a tie?" Zhao Yan was very unhappy with Lu Yuan's hooligan-like appearance.

She rushed forward, fastened Lu Yuan's unbuttoned shirt, then picked up a tie from the chair next to her and put it around Lu Yuan's neck.

The tie needed to be tucked under the collar, which Zhao Yan couldn't reach, so she stood on tiptoe to lift up Lu Yuan's collar.

From Lu Yuan's perspective, Zhao Yan had almost pressed her face against his just now, and he smelled a faint fragrance, causing his brain to feel a little oxygen-deprived for a moment.

Looking down, he saw Zhao Yan's pert nose and full lips; her fair face was flushed with a light pink, and her skin was so delicate it seemed like it could be broken with a touch.

Zhao Yan tied her tie in just a few minutes, then patted Lu Yuan's chest and said, "Hey, what are you daydreaming about? Look in the mirror again, don't you look much better?"

"Oh, oh!" Lu Yuan snapped out of his daze and quickly glanced at himself in the mirror.

Zhao Yan was very satisfied with her work and patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder, saying, "Accept the award confidently and don't be shy!"

Then Zhao Yan turned around and went back into the house. Lu Yuan patted his cheeks hard, still feeling that faint fragrance in his nose.

Lu Yuan took the earliest bus to the county town to meet Director Liu, and then took a car from Director Liu's workplace to the provincial capital.

As the award recipient from Wu County, Director Liu was required to accompany Lu Yuan to receive the award.

"Boss Lu, how's business lately?"

Director Liu and Lu Yuan sat in the back of the car, chatting casually.

Lu Yuan replied politely, "You can just call me Lu Yuan or Xiao Lu. Business has been pretty good lately."

"Well, Xiao Lu, have you encountered any problems in your operations recently?" Director Liu asked, then explained, "After all, you're on the front lines, so you probably feel many things more acutely than we do!"

Upon hearing Director Liu's concern, a worried look appeared on Lu Yuan's young face: "Director Liu, someone is engaging in malicious competition!"

Lu Yuan immediately told Director Liu about Tangguan Village copying his shop, but he did not name the person who copied it.

After all, Wang Facai's business was inextricably linked to him, and Lu Hua's recent investigation revealed that someone in Tangguan Village had taken over Wang Facai's shop and was currently tidying it up.

After listening, Director Liu also showed a worried expression. The term "business environment" is not very popular now, but sitting in this position, he knew that this was not a good sign.

The reason Lu Yuan wasn't worried about the people of Tangguan Village imitating him again after Lu Hua reported to him that day was because he was waiting.

Meeting with Director Liu.

To completely eliminate this phenomenon, one must have a powerful older brother to protect him, and Director Liu had previously made it clear that he wanted to develop the Lu Family Cuisine brand together with him.

As for the security department of Lu Hai, it is a force he must build up.

Sometimes, problems that Director Liu cannot solve need to be resolved by the villagers themselves in their own way.

"What do you think we should do to prevent this problem?" Director Liu asked Lu Yuan instead.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately felt that the matter was settled.

Director Liu's statement was tantamount to letting Lu Yuan make his own requests; as long as they weren't excessive, he would arrange them.

Lu Yuan thought about it briefly and put forward several reasonable suggestions, which were also policies that would be normally implemented in later generations.

"Director Liu, I have a few suggestions that may be premature, please listen to them."

"Xiao Lu, don't be so polite, we're just chatting!"

Lu Yuandao said, "First, we should put up nameplates for each village at its boundary."

Director Liu nodded and said, "Although this is not within our jurisdiction, I think it's a reasonable suggestion. Please continue."

Lu Yuan continued, "Secondly, I hope Director Liu can help us apply for the trademark for Lu Family Cuisine."

Upon hearing this, Director Liu immediately waved his hand and said, "We can help expedite the trademark application process, but we can't do that for Lu Family Cuisine. The description is not specific and lacks focus, so it will definitely be rejected."

Lu Yuan hadn't considered this factor. He originally thought that since he had applied early, his application would definitely be approved. It seems there are other rules as well.

Lu Yuan was at a loss for words, because nothing was more memorable than Lu Family Cuisine.

Director Liu noticed Lu Yuan's predicament and said with a smile, "Why not call it 'Lu Family Village Original Flavor'? As Lu Family Village develops in the future, the reputation of this brand will also rise!"

After hearing Director Liu's words, Lu Yuan was somewhat shocked because he used Lujia Village instead of Luwangtan Village.

So, his previous proposal to turn Luwangtan Village back into Lujia Village is likely to succeed!

Director Liu looked at him, smiled and nodded, without saying anything more.

Lu Yuan also tacitly refrained from asking, knowing that Director Liu must have done a lot of work beforehand to be able to say such a thing.

However, for Director Liu, this trademark registration is actually a good thing.

This way, Lu Yuan can be kept tied to Lu Family Village.

His previous offer of an olive branch was also a test.

After that, he specially invited several friends in the catering industry to eat at Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant.

They unanimously concluded that they should learn from Xiao Lu's farm-style cuisine and make improvements accordingly.

Whether it's the information displayed on the wall, the arrangement of the condiment boxes on the table, the quality of the dishes, or the professionalism of the staff, everything is a level above theirs.

Without a doubt, Lu Yuan is a genius in the catering industry.

It's a miracle that such a restaurant was born in the northern border region.

If Lu Yuan had started in a more developed city, his rise would have been several times faster than in the northern frontier.

With this conclusion in mind, Director Liu finally decided to tackle the difficult problem that Lu Yuan had given him.

Lu Yuan naturally understood what the original meaning of Lu Family Village was. As his business aspired to expand, he also wanted to make Lu Family Village bigger and stronger.

Lujia Village is like the foundation; the outcome of outward development depends entirely on the size of Lujia Village.

However, this coincided with Lu Yuan's thoughts, so he readily agreed.

Lu Yuan then continued, "Third, we will add some guidelines for restaurants in Lujia Village."

"That's only right!" Director Liu agreed readily.

This is actually the same as the signposts for some famous landmarks in later generations. Lu Yuan's request was not excessive.

"Fourth, I hope that our relevant departments will increase enforcement efforts. After all, the higher the overall standard of individual businesses in Wuxian County, the more willing diners will be to come and spend money here!"

Director Liu pointed at Lu Yuan and laughed, "Little Lu, you really don't seem like a young man. Don't worry about these things, we will naturally increase our efforts."

Lu Yuan chuckled, indicating that he had finished giving his opinion.

His idea was to have Director Liu take direct action against those restaurants that maliciously imitated him.

It's impossible for only one company to develop while everyone else is holding us back!

After agreeing to Lu Yuan's request, Director Liu said, "Little Lu, there's a provincial mutton cooking competition in October. I hope you can represent our county and get a good ranking so it will be easier to promote us!"

Participating in more of these competitions would greatly benefit the expansion of Xiao Lu's farm-style cuisine's reputation, so he readily agreed.

The award ceremony was quick, but Lu Yuan was kept behind by his secretary afterward, who wanted him to organize some materials from the gathering so that they could be published in a newspaper later.

This is good news for Lu Yuan.

These days, newspapers have a very strong propaganda effect, unlike in later generations when their main function was simply to wipe windows.

After receiving the award, Lu Yuan did not go back with Director Liu, but stayed behind alone to visit Dan Dan in the hospital after her surgery.

Lu Yuan bought some fruit and milk candy at the hospital entrance, then walked through the perpetually crowded street in front of the hospital and headed straight for the inpatient building.

The hospital building was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Based on the information given by Lu Hua, Lu Yuan searched for a long time before finally finding the ward.

Dandan lay on the hospital bed, looking very small, with an IV drip in the back of her hand, fast asleep.

However, her lips were much rosier, clearly indicating that her heart had recovered and she had regained her color.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan approach, Sha Xiaojuan immediately stood up to offer him her seat.

Lu Yuan waved his hand, telling her to slow down and not wake Dan Dan.

After he put the things down, he gestured for Sha Xiaojuan to come outside to talk.

Sitting on a bench in the corridor, Lu Yuan asked, "How did the surgery go?"

Sha Xiaojuan replied gratefully, "The doctor said it was a great success. Once Dandan recovers, she'll be just like any other child."

Lu Yuan nodded and asked, "How much longer will I need to stay in the hospital?"

"The doctor said I need to stay for two weeks," Sha Xiaojuan replied.

These days, hospital stays are indeed ten days to half a month, which is very grueling, unlike in later generations when patients can be discharged in two or three days. It's so long that patients may even doubt whether they are truly recovered.

Lu Yuan then asked, "After Lu Hua goes back, will you be able to manage?"

Sha Xiaojuan nodded vigorously and said, "Boss, I can do it. Please don't trouble anyone else. I would really feel bad if I delayed the business."

After understanding the situation, Lu Yuan took out 500 yuan from his pocket and handed it to her.

Seeing that Sha Xiaojuan instinctively wanted to refuse, Lu Yuan immediately said seriously, "Don't refuse yet. That jar of pickled radishes you brought is called 'Old Pickled Radish,' and it's very valuable. This is for the child's nutrition. The child just had surgery, so don't be stingy and reluctant to buy meat for the child."

"Boss, no, I can't take your money anymore." Sha Xiaojuan was most afraid of Lu Yuan taking money now. She knew the boss was a good person, but she still felt bad about it.

Lu Yuancai didn't waste any more words with her, stuffed the money into her hand, and left.