A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

At 1:30 p.m., Fu Yan took a taxi straight to Donggang.

Donggang in Bincheng is an old port area. The Fisherman's Wharf area used to be full of fish markets and seafood stalls. In recent years, it has been upgraded and renovated, and many decent restaurants and eateries have been built. But in essence, it still has the spirit of fishermen - honest, rugged, and with large portions.

The taxi stopped on the main street of Fisherman's Wharf. Fu Yan got out of the car, and a cold wind carrying the smell of the sea hit her face.

He knows this street very well.

When he was a child, Fu Jianguo brought him here countless times. Every time he came, he would help carry fish, deliver ice, and carry boxes. Back then, this street was a dirt road, with stalls lined up one after another on both sides. The ground was covered with water and broken ice, making it slippery to walk.

Now the road is paved with asphalt, the stalls have been turned into storefronts, and the signs have been changed to neon lights, but the smell in the air hasn't changed—oysters, kelp, dried salted fish, and the roar of diesel engines from fishing boats.

Fu Yan walked along the street for about two hundred meters and then saw the sign—

Old Captain Seafood Restaurant.

The signboard wasn't large, but the calligraphy was impressive. Two stone lions stood at the entrance, and bright red lanterns hung high, creating a festive atmosphere for the Chinese New Year. The storefront occupied two rooms. Looking inside from the outside, there were about ten round tables in the main hall, and a row of booths against the wall.

At this time of afternoon, there weren't many customers in the restaurant, and a few waiters were wiping the tables.

Fu Yan pushed open the door and entered. A young girl in a red uniform greeted him: "Hello, sir, how many are in your party?"

"I'm not eating, I'm going to find your boss."

"Boss? Is this Boss Chen? He's in the kitchen, I'll call him for you..."

"No need to call him, I'll go in and find him."

Fu Yan walked around the front hall, pushed open a half-closed door, and went into the back kitchen.

Steam rose from the kitchen as three chefs prepared ingredients, and something simmered on the stove. Standing in front of the innermost stove was a burly young man, bald, his apron stained with grease, stirring a pot of spicy stir-fried clams with a large ladle.

That silhouette, that bald head, that wok-tossing posture—

Fu Yan stood at the door for three seconds, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

"Chen Jian!"

The bald young man suddenly turned around, almost dropping the large ladle.

He stared at the tall man in the black coat at the door for two seconds, his pupils suddenly dilating.

"Fu...fuyan?!"

The large ladle crashed onto the stove with a loud bang, scattering clams all over the floor.

Chen Jian rushed over in three strides, grabbed Fu Yan, and almost lifted him up.

"Holy crap! You little brat! What are you doing back?! Weren't you in America?!"

"I'm back in China. I came back before New Year's Day."

"You were back before New Year's Day? And you're only coming to see me now?!" Chen Jian punched him in the chest. "Do you have any conscience?!"

"Here I am, aren't I?" Fu Yan smiled and pushed him away. "You're doing quite well, aren't you? You even own a restaurant?"

"Hey, it's just a small business, enough to make a living." Chen Jian said modestly, but his smugness was impossible to hide. "Come on, come on, don't just stand in the kitchen, let's go upstairs and have a good chat!"

---

There was a small private room on the second floor. Chen Jian asked the waiter to bring a pot of tea and then took out two bottles of Tsingtao beer from the refrigerator.

"Want a drink in the middle of the day?" he asked.

"drink."

Chen Jian snapped the bottle cap open, poured a glass for each of them, and then raised his glass: "Welcome home!"

"Thank you for your blessing, brother." Fu Yan clinked glasses with him and took a big gulp.

The familiar bitterness of the ice-cold beer made him squint.

"Tell me, how have you been all these years?" Fu Yan put down his cup.

Chen Jian leaned back in his chair and began to recount his experiences over the past few years.

"After you left, I didn't get into university after graduating from high school, you know. I originally wanted to continue selling fish with my dad, but the fish market wasn't doing well for those years, and I didn't make much money. Later, I thought, the seafood in Bincheng is so good, why not build a decent place for people to sit down and enjoy their food? Anyway, those food stalls are dirty and messy, I can do a better job than them."

"And then you opened this restaurant?"

"It's not that easy. I started by opening a seafood stall, worked there for two years to save some money, and then took out a loan from the bank to open this restaurant. When it first opened, I almost went bankrupt. There were only three tables of customers every day, and I was so anxious that I got blisters on my lips. Later, word of mouth gradually improved, and with the renovation of Fisherman's Wharf, there were more tourists, and the business finally stabilized."

"How are things now?"

"It's alright. In peak season, I can earn 30,000 to 40,000 a month, and in off-season, only 10,000 to 20,000. It's not much, but it's better than selling fish." Chen Jian took a sip of beer. "It's just tiring. I have to keep an eye on everything myself, and I even have to be the cook."

Fu Yan looked at the grease and soot on his bald head, and the hands under his apron that were wrinkled from being soaked in water—different from Fu Jianguo's hands, but just as rough.

"How is your father's health?"

"It's alright, it's the same old problem, a herniated disc in my lumbar spine, so I can't do heavy work anymore. Now I just stay at home, occasionally coming to the restaurant to sit for a while and help me with the accounts."

"Where is my sister-in-law?"

Chen Jian blushed: "Not yet, I'm too busy to do it."

"You're thirty and still single? Doesn't your mom pressure you?"

"They keep nagging! They nag me every single day! It's worse than nagging my life!" Chen Jian said with a pained expression. "But how am I supposed to find a girlfriend when I'm just tossing food in the kitchen all day? I can't exactly expect customers to introduce me to someone, can I?"

Fu Yan laughed out loud.

This guy is just like his dad; he has feelings in his heart but can't express them. He's a person who keeps his head down and works hard, and feelings always come after work.

"Alright, don't worry." Fu Yan patted his shoulder. "I'm opening a bar in Yanjing after the New Year. If you're interested, you can consider opening a branch there. I'll help you find a location."

Chen Jian paused for a moment, then laughed: "You kid, you're still the same as when you were a kid, always making empty promises."

"This time it's not just empty promises." Fu Yan looked at him seriously. "I bought a shop in Houhai, Yanjing, to open a bar. You know Houhai, lots of tourists, high prices, there's definitely a market for seafood restaurants there. You bring the seafood from Bincheng there, the quality will crush all the frozen goods in Yanjing."

Chen Jian held his beer glass without saying a word, but Fu Yan could tell that he was tempted.

"Think about it again, no rush." ​​Fu Yan didn't press him. "What about Liu Yuan? Do you know how to contact him?"

"Liu Yuan, I have his phone number. Let me look it up..." Chen Jian took out his phone, scrolled through it for a while, and then read out a string of numbers to Fu Yan.

Fu Yan saved the number and chatted with Chen Jian for another half hour, talking about the changes in Bincheng, embarrassing stories from the past, and Zhang Hao's time in the army. Chen Jian was still as impulsive as ever, with a loud voice, and he would slam his fist on the table at the drop of a hat, but Fu Yan knew that he was a loyal and affectionate person at heart—you don't need to say much to this kind of person, he will definitely be there when it matters.

When they left the restaurant, Chen Jian saw them all the way to the door.

"Where do you live? I'd like to invite you for drinks tonight!"

"I went back to my hometown and lived in my dad's house."

"Okay, I'll invite Liu Yuan over tonight, the three of us will have a good drink!"

"it is good."

It was already dark when Fu Yan walked out of Fisherman's Wharf.

In winter, darkness falls early in the coastal city; the sun sets around 4 p.m., leaving only a hazy twilight over the sea. But the lanterns along the streets are lit, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year grows stronger.

He stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi, took out his phone, saved Liu Yuan's number, and then looked up the text message Chen Jian had just sent him—Liu Yuan's number lay quietly on the screen.

He hesitated for two seconds before making the call.