1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 84 The Pickle Jar Farts—The Sour Aroma Reaches the Heavens! (Fifth Update!)
Zhou Yan came home late today, just as the factory was closing up, and he hasn't had dinner yet.

The little one was so eager to go and hug the table that she refused even when offered to serve rice.

"Okay, let's see if there's any food left when we get back." Zhou Yan smiled and took out a brightly wrapped orange-flavored hard candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to Zhou Momo's mouth. "Have a candy to tide you over."

"Aww!" Zhou Momo opened her mouth wide and took the candy in one bite, immediately revealing a smile. Her eyes crinkled as she mumbled, "So sweet! Thank you, bro."

Aunt Zhao filled a lunchbox with leftover food, carried it in a net bag, and put it in the basket hanging on the back seat of the car along with three pairs of shoes.

Zhou Yan slung his cloth bag over his shoulder, which contained all his belongings, and pushed his bicycle out the door.

After locking the door, Aunt Zhao looked at Zhou Momo and asked, "Do you want to sit on the back or the front bar?"

“Sit in the front! I want to chat with Guoguo!” Zhou Momo moved closer to Zhou Yan.

"Come on." Zhou Yan bent down, lifted her up, and placed her on the front bumper.

The little guy expertly grabbed the handle and shouted happily, "Let's go! Let's go!"

Zhou Yan pedaled his bicycle along the riverbank, heading towards the setting sun.

The sky was ablaze with crimson clouds, merging seamlessly with the river, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

"Look, buddy! It's Yao Yao's painting!" Zhou Momo pointed to the sunset and exclaimed in surprise, her big eyes sparkling.

"Yes, she probably saw it too." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

……

At that moment, a girl sitting by the window in room 302 of the Sichuan University girls' dormitory, gazing blankly at the sunset, sneezed.

"Yaoyao, have you caught a cold? Put on a coat, it's still a bit chilly after the sun goes down." Deng Hong's concerned voice came from behind.

"No, I just sneezed suddenly," Xia Yao said with a smile, pulling her thoughts back from the horizon and scribbling a few lines on the paper with her pencil.

"Has Zhou Yan not replied to you yet?" Deng Hong asked, leaning closer with a gossipy look on her face.

Zhu Yuyu, who was braiding her hair, stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her with concern.

"Letters don't arrive that quickly. I don't even know if he's received them yet," Xia Yao said with a smile. "Besides, he's so busy; he'll probably only be able to reply to me when he has time."

“That’s true. The mountains are high and the roads are long. Even a letter would take many days to arrive.” Deng Hong nodded.

"Deng Hong! Deng Hong—"

A drawn-out sound came from outside the window.

Deng Hong's eyes lit up, and she immediately rushed to the window to look down.

Ma Xingye was holding three kettles above his head, grinning at her: "I've brought you hot water."

"Okay! I'll be right down!" Deng Hong replied with a bright smile, turning back to the two of them and saying, "I'll go get you a thermos."

"We'll go get it, so it won't stop you from holding hands and strolling around the playground," Zhu Yuyu and Xia Yao said with smiles.

"What? We didn't hold hands..." Deng Hong blushed and said shyly.

It takes ten minutes to walk from the girls' dormitory to the cafeteria, and hot water isn't always available. These days, thanks to Deng Hong, who's in the throes of new love, she's saved a lot of trouble getting hot water.

Ma Xingye went from being the captain of the college basketball team to becoming a well-known warm-hearted guy in the girls' dormitory of the Academy of Fine Arts, a super warm-hearted guy who carried three thermos flasks at a time.

……

A group of middle-aged women were still sitting under a tree at the entrance of Zhoucun village, chatting away.

Today, their crickets are mainly being caught at the Zhou family's house, which is preparing a feast. Sitting under the tree, you can see the steaming bamboo steamers at the entrance of the Zhou family's house, layer upon layer, stacked higher than a person, with four in a row, quite a grand display.

"When Zhou Lao Er (Old Zhou) is welcoming his daughter-in-law, this is quite a show! I heard that the original village cook, Liu Lao Ba (Old Liu the Eight), broke his hand, so he went and hired two more chefs, one is the head chef of the textile factory, and the other is the head chef of Rongcheng Restaurant."

"Their family connections are really extraordinary; they were able to hire such a skilled chef at the last minute! I heard that the head chef was hired by Zhou Yan, who said he was his mentor."

“Zhou Yan still owes a huge debt. Everyone says his restaurant business is good, but I haven’t seen him pay it off. I think he’s just bragging.”

"Gao Cuihua, don't talk nonsense. I just went to fetch water and my cousin-in-law told me that Zhou Yan just paid off everyone's debts today. He doesn't have a single penny of debt now. You just need to worry about your Zhou Liangliang."

A moment of silence fell under the tree, and the expressions of the old women became quite interesting.

"You've paid it all back? Didn't you say it would be eight or nine hundred? "

"Exactly! Didn't they say his restaurant business was terrible, and it only started to get better over the past two weeks?"

"Running a restaurant is that profitable? Zhou Yan is really something!"

Gao Cuihua's face darkened upon hearing this. She and Zhao Tieying had always been at odds, arguing frequently when they were young, but she had never won an argument, nor could she beat Zhao Tieying in a fight; Zhao Tieying always had the upper hand.

She was overjoyed when she heard that Zhou Yan had lost money opening a restaurant. She found her son agreeable no matter how she looked at him, at least he hadn't swindled her retirement money.

As it turns out, Zhou Liangliang had been bewitched a few days ago and insisted on setting up a stall to sell noodles and soup pots at the entrance of the textile factory. This caused him to lose over a hundred yuan, and he even asked her for eighty yuan back, which made her very upset.

Now that I hear that Zhou Yan has made money and paid off all his debts, and I think of Zhao Tieying's smug look, it's more painful than killing her.

Zhou Yan rode his bike back to the village entrance. Zhao Tieying glanced at the crowd under the tree, spotted Gao Cuihua, and quickly tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes, whispering, "Ride slowly."

"Huh?" Zhou Yan turned his head and saw Zhao Niangniang pull two pairs of leather shoes out of her basket and hug them to her chest. He immediately understood and slowed down the car.

"Zhou Yan is back! It's been so long since I've seen you." Someone greeted Zhou Yan.

Some sharp-eyed people noticed that Zhao Tieying was holding two oil paper bags in her arms and casually asked about them.

"What treasure is Tie Ying holding?"

Zhao Tieying sighed and said, "Zhou Yan bought a pair of leather shoes for me and my father. They're Shanghai brand, soft and breathable, and very comfortable to wear. This kid isn't frugal at all; he spends all the money he earns recklessly."

As Aunt Zhao spoke, she took the pair of women's leather shoes out of the bag and waved them around, their glittering buttons still dazzling even in the evening.

The old woman under the tree had her eyes light up. Leather shoes! Gold buckles! What a beautiful style!

There wasn't a trace of disdain, only blatant boasting.

Gao Cuihua, standing to the side, was so angry that her nose was crooked, and she turned her face away, refusing to look.

Zhao Tieying took in everyone's reactions, her mouth practically stretched to her ears, and then tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes again.

"Aunties, we'll head back now. We still need to help out at my second uncle's place," Zhou Yan said with a smile, then got on his bicycle and rode away.

"Goodbye, aunties." Zhou Momo waved her little hand at them.

Once the bike was far away, Zhao Tieying put the shoes back in her pocket and laughed heartily.

Today was truly a day of triumph!

Cool!
Seeing Gao Cuihua's dark face and her nose crooked with anger made him feel refreshed.

All the pent-up frustration I've been holding in lately has finally been released in one go!
Zhou Yan also had a smile on his face; making Aunt Zhao happy made him happy too.

"Mom, what are you laughing at?" Zhou Momo asked curiously.

"Mom is happy. Life is so good, it gets better every day," Zhao Tieying said with a smile, tilting her head back and holding back the tears welling up in her eyes.

She's supposed to be an iron lady, so why is she crying all the time today? How embarrassing!
"Tie Ying is so lucky! She's even wearing leather shoes now!"

"I saw them in the department store, and they cost more than 20 yuan a pair. I bought two pairs at a time!"

“Zhou Yan is such a filial son, he’s willing to spend money on his mother and father, but Tie Ying and Lao Si would never buy leather shoes for themselves.”

The crowd under the tree started chatting again, their words filled with envy for Zhao Tieying and praise for Zhou Yan.

"A pair of leather shoes, what's so special about that?" Gao Cuihua pursed her lips, got up and walked towards home, already planning in her mind to call her son and daughter-in-law over that evening for a lecture, and to make them buy her a pair of leather shoes too!
"Like a fart from a kimchi jar—the sour smell fills the air!" an auntie remarked after she had walked away.

A burst of laughter erupted under the tree, and the atmosphere became harmonious and cheerful again.

The old bicycle stopped in front of my second uncle's house.

The people who came to help today filled four tables and were having dinner when they saw Zhou Yan and his group arrive, and a whole bunch of them stood up.

Zhou Yan first lifted Zhou Momo and put her on the ground.

Zhou Momo looked at the group who had already eaten half of their meal, pouted, and said a little aggrievedly, "You guys...aren't you waiting for me? I haven't even eaten yet."

"Oh, Momo, we didn't know you were coming so late. I saved a bowl of meat dumplings for you."

"Come, come, Uncle has some candy here, specially saved for you."

"Here are some oranges, sweet."

"MoMo is so good, her little braids look so pretty today."

"Her little face is so chubby, it feels like a perfectly risen steamed bun when you pinch it."

Uncle, aunt, brother, and sister-in-law swarmed around, some touching the candy, others taking out oranges.

Zhou Momo's pockets were full. She pulled up the hem of her clothes with her two little hands, revealing pockets brimming with wedding candies, melon seeds, and oranges. In her childish voice, she exclaimed, "That's enough! That's enough! It's full!"

Zhou Yan laughed from the side. Is this the charm of being the group's favorite?

Zhou Momo is so lucky.

Zhou Momo, carrying a bag full of snacks and candies, smiled so broadly her eyes were almost closed. She also nodded politely to everyone, saying, "Thank you everyone, and I wish you all a happy marriage and many children."

Everyone laughed after hearing that.

"You should say that to your brother Hao; he's the groom," Zhao Tieying said with a helpless smile. She had spent the whole afternoon teaching her how to say auspicious words to the bride and groom tomorrow, but she was already eager to use them tonight.

Zhou Yan greeted everyone and then went to his master's table.

Zheng Qiang and Xiao Lei sat together, having drunk some alcohol. Zheng Qiang was clearly a little tipsy. He pulled Xiao Lei aside and started chatting: "Brother Xiao, your cooking skills are truly amazing! You're thorough and organized; I need to learn from you. But my master is also very skilled, a national first-class chef. I think you're a bit like him, which is why I felt an instant connection with you..."

"Come on, Teacher Zheng, let's have a toast to our instant connection." Xiao Lei smiled and raised his glass to clink with his.

"Let's... let's have one." Zheng Qiang picked up his glass, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in it. He swayed and then collapsed onto the table.

As soon as Zhou Yan arrived, he saw Zheng Qiang drunk and slumped on the table with a strange expression. He whispered, "Master, did you get Master Zheng drunk? Isn't he supposed to get up early to work tomorrow?"

"Drink his ass! He poured himself a small amount of alcohol, drank it, and then passed out here. That's called faking an accident." Xiao Lei shook his head with a smile and said, "You should ask your brother to put him to bed. With this little bit of alcohol, he can be woken up at any time tomorrow morning, no problem."

　Fifth update! There will be another update later!
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(End of this chapter)