1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

After calculating the accounts, Lu Yuan was stunned by today's sales figures, which totaled 3500 yuan.

Although there were many customers who ate 1-yuan cold noodles, the number of orders for self-selected dishes and spicy dumplings was more than he had expected.

But Lu Yuan knew this wasn't the norm; once the other stores reopened, the mala tang shop's revenue would return to normal.

Lu Yuan set a target of 1500 yuan in daily revenue for the mala tang restaurant, which would allow him to make a net profit of over 20000 yuan per month.

. . .

When I left the mala tang restaurant, the sky was already full of stars illuminating the earth.

Summer insects chirped under the night sky as Lu Yuan went alone to the kitchen of Xiao Lu Farmhouse Restaurant.

For him, the day's work was not over.

There's a private banquet arranged by Zhang Yuwen tomorrow, so some dishes need to be prepared in advance today.

However, it didn't take long, as many of the ingredients had already been gradually accumulated during the recent business hours.

After tidying up the kitchen, Lu Yuan intended to go straight back inside to rest, but then he noticed that the lights in the front yard had come on.

Needless to say, this could only have come from the fried dough workshop.

But he just came in from the front yard, where the lights weren't on yet. Could it be that a thief broke in?

Lu Yuan picked up a rolling pin, gently pushed open the door, and walked along the wall towards the fried dough workshop.

As Lu Yuan approached the window, he stopped, peeked over, and realized that his mother was making bread.

call!

Lu Yuan breathed a long sigh of relief.

These days, petty thieves are not uncommon, especially those who run shops along the street, making them a prime target for such crimes.

After putting down the rolling pin, Lu Yuan slammed the door shut again before leisurely arriving at the fried dough workshop.

It was late at night, and he was afraid that making too much noise would scare his mother.

Sure enough, when Mom saw Lu Yuan come in, she immediately smiled with joy.

"Son, look at the sandwich Mom made for you! I learned how to make it from a foreign movie!"

Wei Yinghong held up the sandwich in her hand, the two slices of bread cut neatly.

From the cross-section, you can see lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, fried eggs, and a few slices of beef.

"Mom, let's go to America and open a shop, earn dollars, and come back to spend RMB!" Lu Yuan took the sandwich and gave a thumbs up.

Wei Yinghong immediately shook her head and said, "Mom isn't going. Haven't you seen those movies? Gunfights happen all the time on the street!"

"Mom, don't be afraid. We'll get you and Dad each a gun, and the whole family will go together!"

"You brat! Eat up, and get some rest after you're done!" Wei Yinghong smiled and rolled her eyes at Lu Yuan.

"hey-hey!"

Lu Yuan took a bite; the taste was not bad, only lacking a bit of sauce.

But the bread has a very distinctive texture; it's soft yet chewy, with a strong wheat aroma.

My mom has made tremendous progress in baking bread; it's been amazing!

Just then, someone knocked on the window.

Lu Yuan looked outside and saw that it was Doctor Huang and his group.

Lu Yuan was so busy today that he didn't even have time to talk to Doctor Huang and the others.

Lu Yuan invited them in and shared the bread his mother had made with them.

Dr. Huang took it and handed it to Xiao Zhang and the others. Beneath his calm expression, he was slightly agitated.

"Boss Lu, our free clinic here is basically over, and we're leaving tomorrow. We've come to say goodbye today."

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" Lu Yuan put down the sandwich and wiped his mouth.

He has been chatting with Dr. Huang and the others quite a bit lately.

He was already used to their presence.

For Lu Yuan, Dr. Huang and the others were like the rich and colorful world of his previous life, a supplement to his current monotonous rural life.

They're leaving tomorrow, and Lu Yuan is quite reluctant to see them go.

But all good things must come to an end, and Lu Yuan knew that their mission was not limited to the barren northern frontier.

Still in the distant Xinjiang province, the mountainous Guizhou province, and the beautiful Yunnan province...

He could only offer his deepest blessings to these lovely people.

Dr. Huang took out a wooden box from his bag, opened it, and inside lay a wolf-hair brush.

"This is a wolf-hair brush left by my grandfather. It is said that Lu Xun used it."

After Dr. Huang finished his explanation, he closed the box and handed it to Lu Yuan.

"Boss Lu is a very kind person. I specially asked someone to send this pen to thank him for his help these past few days."

"This is unacceptable!" Lu Yuan hurriedly declined, "This is too meaningful, I can't accept it."

"It's meaningless for it to just gather dust in my house," Dr. Huang said firmly. "Giving it to Boss Lu is its greatest significance."

After several attempts to refuse, Lu Yuan finally had no choice but to accept it.

Although Wei Yinghong was not highly educated, she knew of Lu Xun's great name. After receiving the brush, she helped Lu Yuan keep it safe.

On the way back, Xiao He asked Dr. Huang with a shocked expression:

"That was used by Lu Xun, and you're just giving it away like that?"

Xiao Zhang also asked, "What articles did Lu Xun write with it?"

Dr. Huang didn't speak, but made a "one" gesture in the air.

Xiao He replied, "One? What article is it? I've never heard of it."

Seeing that Dr. Wang and Old Wu were barely able to contain their laughter, Dr. Huang coughed and explained:

"When Lu Xun went to buy a calligraphy brush, he used this one to write a horizontal line, but he didn't like it and didn't buy it. My great-grandfather happened to be there and kept it for him."

The young doctors responded with an "oh," and then asked, "So your great-grandfather was also a scholar? He was able to travel with Mr. Lu Xun."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Wang couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"His great-grandfather sold calligraphy brushes! Hahaha! Lu Xun tried them but didn't buy any; he still has several at home!"

After listening, Xiao Zhang looked at him with disdain: "Dr. Huang, don't you feel any guilt about lying to Boss Lu like this?"

Dr. Huang blushed deeply, looking like Kong Yiji, and stammered, "Just tell me, was it used by Lu Xun?"

. . .

The next morning, the sun shone brightly.

Dr. Huang and his group had packed their luggage early on and cleaned the rooms and courtyard thoroughly.

They were afraid of disturbing Lu Yuan and wanted to leave quietly, but Lu Yuan and his relatives were already waiting at the door.

"Come on, open the car door! What are you standing there for?" Lu Yuan urged, holding a bag of food in his hand.

"Oh, oh, coming right away." Old Wu, the driver, felt a bit guilty after being blocked earlier, so he immediately ran to open the car door.

So the Lu brothers started moving things into the trunk: watermelons, fried dough sticks, cooked beef, drinks, and so on.

Dr. Huang immediately stepped in front of them: "It's already troublesome enough that we're staying at your place and eating at your place, how can you take things with us! That won't do!"

Lu Yuan directed his two brothers to hold Dr. Huang and the others aside, filling the car to the brim.

boom!

After closing the trunk, Lu Yuan smiled and said to Dr. Huang, "Alright, everything's taken care of. Have a safe trip!"

Dr. Huang and his group were kind-hearted and honest people, and with Lu Yuan feeding them so intensely, their eyes were already red with tears.

They straightened their backs and bowed deeply to Lu Yuan and his relatives:

"On behalf of those children, and on behalf of myself, I thank you!"

Lu Yuan immediately called on everyone to help them up, and then solemnly said to Doctor Huang:

"Dr. Huang, let's make a deal. If I ever become a billionaire, I will definitely donate half of my money to charity. You can help me run the charity foundation then."

"Alright, then I wish Mr. Lu will become a billionaire soon."