Returning to '97, creating a new life

Eating a whole roasted lamb is definitely a luxury for ordinary families these days.

It was Huang Jian's birthday today, and her husband invited both sets of parents, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law's family, and a rather large family gathering, which is why they were willing to spend money on this meal.

Nothing else is needed. A whole roasted lamb, accompanied by four small cold dishes and a pot of lamb offal soup cooked on an alcohol stove. When it's just family eating, there's not much to be fussy about. It's delicious and has an unparalleled flavor. Everyone is cutting it with small knives and forks. Only after the first round of eating is almost over do we ask the waiter to come and unpack it.

With Termu and his son Jida around, disassembly doesn't need to be taken to the kitchen. Having lived on the grasslands since childhood, the skill of butchering an ox isn't a skill, but a basic survival method when facing similar ingredients every day.

Holding a knife, right in front of everyone, wearing disposable gloves, Jida was dressed in Mongolian attire. As she entered, she offered a blessing in her native language. She cut through the bone, disassembled the meat, and pried it apart with both hands, carefully removing pieces of meat until they were as tender as possible to be picked up with chopsticks.

After the dismantling, Jeddah opened the door, and a waiter came in carrying a small tray.

Business is booming right now, and the staff is a bit stretched, so Xu Kai didn't include the traditional grassland blessing ceremony, but there will still be corresponding etiquette.

After the Jeddah was dismantled, the waiter brought in two pots, one for salty milk tea and the other for mare's milk wine, so that the distinguished guests could taste the flavor of the grasslands, eat a bite of meat, and drink a sip of milk tea or wine.

The waiter poured milk tea for everyone and gestured for them to try it. It's okay if you don't like it. People always have to try things to understand the world. Even if you don't like it, at least you've tried it and experienced it.

Upon learning that someone was celebrating their birthday, the waiter mentioned that longevity noodles would be served as a complimentary dish. These are all commonplace items that are now almost a necessity in every household, but given the occasion, they still felt novel and made the guests feel valued.

"The service here is really good." As a teacher, Huang Jian has high standards for details. From the moment she arrived here until now, she has been very satisfied with the attitude of the service staff. Her profession means that she may be so meticulous about some things that she is nitpicky. To put it bluntly, many people may feel that there are too many things to do, but in reality, it is because she has high standards and is very rigorous.

Zhao Xusheng chimed in, "Yes, they even offer delivery services here. If you order enough, you can ask them to deliver it to your home within five kilometers. They'll even proactively inform you that some meals might taste bad if packaged and delivered. It's no wonder they make money when they run a business like this."

My sister-in-law, who is also a teacher, looked out the window and pointed to the backyard, saying, "Customers are coming in waves; business is really good."

My brother-in-law, a high-ranking manager at a road construction company, shared what he knew: "The boss here has a wide network of connections; many people from various organizations know about this place, and a lot of banquets are held here. I just wonder whose child this young boss is. He's so young and already running such a big business on his own; his family must have done a good job educating him."

The old man liked to drink soup, and the mutton offal soup was refilled several times, but the staff remained all smiles and showed no displeasure. With such excellent service, Huang Jian couldn't find any fault with it. Hearing what everyone was saying, he nodded in agreement.

Huang Jian went to the restroom, and when he came out, the waiter knocked on the door and came in to deliver birthday noodles.

Outside the door, Xu Kai was coming down from upstairs. Their private room faced the wide staircase in the old building, and their eyes met.

"Teacher Huang."

"Xu Kai, what are you doing here?" Huang Jian's aura immediately rose upon seeing the student.

Just then, a group of customers came up from downstairs. Upon seeing Xu Kai, the first person spoke up: "Xu Kai, Boss Xu..."

"Uncle Huang, please don't tease me. The private room has been arranged for you. I'll be there in a bit."

Seeing that Xu Kai had someone with him, Huang Guotao nodded and, led by a waiter, went with the guest to the private room he had reserved.

"This restaurant is yours?" Huang Jian looked at Xu Kai with shock in his eyes, based on the way he had just addressed him.

"Yes, Teacher Huang..."

Before Xu Kai could finish speaking, Zhao Xusheng, who was inside, saw his wife come out and followed her out.

"this?"

In response to Zhao Xusheng's question, Huang Jian introduced them: "Xu Kai, my student. This is my wife, Zhao Xusheng."

Perhaps because of Huang Guotao's relationship with him, or perhaps because everyone had been discussing the restaurant owner, Huang Jian introduced Xu Kai to both parties very formally, not simply treating him as a student.

"Master, hello. I am a student currently being taught by Teacher Huang..."

The term is rather vague, and could mean either a clerk or the female teacher's husband. Xu Kai extended his hand warmly, shaking hands in a completely adult social manner.

People come and go, and always greet Xu Kai. They see he has guests, so they don't disturb him, but they still exchange a greeting or two.

"You're the boss here?" Zhao Xusheng was no less shocked than Huang Jian, but she didn't know as much as Huang Jian did.

Previously, it was said that this was someone's second generation, starting a business ahead of time. Huang Jian knew about Xu Kai's family situation; he came from a single-parent family, and his mother was laid off.

The information in the student files was so out of place with everything before.

"Master, Grandmaster, we're all family, I must go in and offer a toast..."

Xu Kai's enthusiasm was genuine and unpretentious. Upon learning it was his teacher's birthday, a waiter brought in a bottle of Moutai shortly after. Being young, he addressed Huang Jian's parents and in-laws as "Grandpa" and "Grandma" with great affection. He was also good-looking and didn't have the strange appearances of many young people these days, such as long or dyed hair, which made them like him. Xu Kai's charm made them laugh continuously.

Xu Kai poured wine for the elderly people, giving each of them a small cup. They all raised their glasses and drank together, and Xu Kai solemnly wished the teacher a happy birthday.

After switching to a Motorola Pocket Edition, Xu Kai finally reluctantly agreed to carry it with him. In the restaurant, he casually put it in his pocket, choosing to keep a low profile by not using the ringtone but opting for vibrate mode. He chatted with the table for a while, and the phone rang several times.

The buzzing vibration still drew attention. Xu Kai smiled and apologized, then stood up: "Grandpa, Grandma, Teacher, Grandmaster, Uncle, Aunt... please take your time eating. If you need anything from the people outside, please let them know."

"Go ahead and do your work, we don't need to keep you company here." Zhao Xusheng saw the precious toy that Xu Kai had taken out of his pocket, politely gestured for him to get back to work, and got up to see him off. Only after seeing him answer the phone did he return to the house.

The room suddenly fell silent.

All eyes were on Huang Jian.

"Is this really your student?" That was the question on everyone's mind.

Huang Jian also gave a wry smile: "Yes, he enrolled last year, he's only a first-year high school student. He's not some rich kid, he comes from a single-parent family and his mother was laid off. He was specially recruited through sports. I talked to Mr. Pu from the sports department. His family was quite poor before, and this kid set up a stall at the school gate to sell some school supplies and trinkets..."

Hearing Huang Jian's words, everyone's faces showed varying degrees of surprise. Her eldest brother's daughter, who was in junior high school, exclaimed, "Ah, Auntie, is he that Xu Kai? The national champion?"

I thought he was so handsome before, but when I chatted with my parents and grandparents, there was a bit of an age gap. But when I heard that he was actually a legendary figure in Songcheng's junior and senior high schools, I immediately became excited.

She had just won the championship and asked her aunt to confirm that she was from her aunt's class. She was very excited and wanted her aunt to take her to meet her when she had time, but her parents suppressed her. She never expected to meet her here today.

"It's said that at least two CBA basketball teams offered him contracts, but he rejected them all, unwilling to play professionally. I always thought he was just running a small business, I never imagined it would grow this big. No wonder he doesn't want to play professionally. He told me once before that playing professionally doesn't make money, so he wouldn't go, he wanted to go to university. At the time, I thought this kid was quite thoughtful, but now I see, he just doesn't care about the money he could earn playing professionally. Now, after the basketball team's afternoon practice, he doesn't attend the school's evening self-study sessions, so it doesn't interfere with his business..."

The Moutai liquor on the table was just the prelude. After finishing his meal, Zhao Xusheng went to pay the bill, only to be told that the bill for this table had already been settled.

Everyone understands that Huang Jian would never agree to this; how could he possibly eat the students' food for free?

Occasionally, she would receive gifts from students' parents, but she didn't consider it a given. She found it somewhat unacceptable to be treated to meals by students.

Huang Jian wanted to go to the boss through the waiter, but Zhao Xusheng stopped her: "Forget it, just give him the money later."

The implication is that passing the buck here is inappropriate.

"Teacher Huang..."

Xu Kai walked in from outside, holding a large bouquet of pink tulips. Compared to carnations, he liked the symbolism of the pink tulips and thought it was a suitable birthday gift for his teacher.

"Teacher Huang, my birthday wishes are a little late. I hope you have a happy birthday and always remain so elegant."

Huang Jian was overwhelmed by this, and tears welled up in his eyes. He took the flowers, somewhat at a loss, "You child, you're wasting money. And, and what about the money for the meal..."

Xu Kai hugged his teacher. Although they hadn't known each other for very long, he had great respect for any teacher in this era who was dedicated to imparting knowledge and teaching, especially his homeroom teacher. The teacher had taken good care of him at school and, as someone who had been through similar experiences and was also a teacher, had not only talked to him about his studies but also taught him principles of life and how to conduct himself. Even though he didn't need them, he was grateful.

He deeply felt the integrity and virtue of teachers in his junior high school homeroom teacher, Ms. Lü Yan, and basketball team teachers, Mr. Park In-ji and Mr. Yoo Da-seong.

"You child, you're being silly."

Zhao Xusheng lagged behind, but he was also deeply moved. As a teacher, his wife could receive other honors for herself and her livelihood, but the only true achievement and honor for a teacher was the respect and gratitude she received from her students. It was worth it for his wife to stay up late every night to grade students' homework and to visit students during holidays to provide individualized instruction.

"Master, please bring more friends next time. This time, let's skip it."

Xu Kai tried to refuse the money Zhao Xu was forcibly shoving at him.

Zhao Xusheng pressed Xu Kai's hand down, signaling him not to stop: "Flowers, wine, and the most sincere blessings are enough."

Xu Kai smiled and didn't stop him anymore. He accepted the money and said with a smile, "Okay, Master, take care."

"Big star, can I take a picture with you?" Huang Jian's niece came over. Everyone outside had gotten into taxis and left, but she stayed next to Xu Kai, holding up the camera she used to take pictures at the birthday party, wanting to take a picture with him.