Chapter 496 - 235: Happy Birthday, Comrade Xia Yao

Chapter 496: Chapter 235: Happy Birthday, Comrade Xia Yao

For a moment, Zhou Yan felt like a complete rookie in front of Zhou Momo.

The little one truly understood what a thoughtful gesture was.

She even knew that beautiful flowers were scarce this time of year.

When she said she wanted to give Xia Yao a sea of flowers, Zhou Yan felt the gesture was unparalleled.

Zhou Yan walked forward. The small flowers blooming all over the hills looked just like the wildflowers that blossomed on the mountain behind his grandmother’s house.

A little girl, a cat, and a big goose strolling among the flowers—it was an infinitely beautiful scene.

"Brother, can you help me write something?" Zhou Momo asked, holding up a crayon for him.

"What should I write?" Zhou Yan smiled as he took the crayon.

The little girl tilted her head in thought for a moment before saying, "Wishing Yaoyao happiness every day and a long life."

"Write it here!"

Zhou Yan gripped the crayon and wrote her lovely wish where the little girl’s finger was pointing. "Looks good," he said with a smile. "She’ll definitely love it."

"Did you get it?" Mrs. Zhao asked with a smile.

"I bought a bracelet." Zhou Yan pulled a brocade box from his cloth bag and prepared to open it.

"Don’t open it, you might get it dirty." Mrs. Zhao shook her head. Her eyes fell on the Laofengxiang logo on the box, and she nodded with a smile. "Very nice."

She didn’t look inside, nor did she ask the price.

Zhou Yan put the brocade box in a cabinet, then went back to the kitchen to knead a small ball of dough.

Longevity noodles carried an auspicious meaning. You didn’t need a lot, but you had to have them.

The food was prepped, and the guests began to arrive one after another.

"Boss Zhou, do you have any Salted Burnt White left?"

"Yeah, people are saying your Salted Burnt White is delicious! The factory director tried it and said it was great, even better than your master’s."

Many customers asked for Salted Burnt White the moment they entered, their eyes full of anticipation.

"I only made ten servings today. I’ll make more tomorrow," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

As for those ’truths’ meant to sow discord between him and his master, he chose not to respond.

He didn’t want his master to hear it and have a meltdown.

’This world is full of malicious people.’

Although the customers were disappointed, they could only let it go.

Zhou Yan was always like this. He was overly cautious whenever he introduced a new dish, making only a small quantity. If you came late, you couldn’t get it at all.

"Boss Zhou, next time you have a new dish, could you give us a heads-up? I need to figure out how to get off work early to line up," Zhao Dong said with a hint of complaint. He had run into Lin Zhiqiang this afternoon, who had described in great detail just how delicious the Salted Burnt White was.

’What torture!’

’He really, really loved Salted Burnt White!’

It was second only to stir-fried pork liver and kidneys.

Ever since Xiao Lei stopped being in charge of steamed dishes, the Salted Burnt White at the factory cafeteria hadn’t been any good.

Liu Er Pangzi could steam the meat until it was tender, but the guy was way too heavy-handed with the seasoning. He was a regular Salt King.

"You got it. Next time, I’ll let Director Zhao know in advance." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile and turned to get busy in the kitchen.

"Uncle, come sit over here." Huang Ying and Huang Bing had arrived early and were already seated. They called out when they saw Zhao Dong.

"You two sure are early," Zhao Dong said, walking over to sit down.

"We are. How did you know we had delicious Salted Burnt White for lunch?" Huang Bing said with a grin.

Huang Ying chimed in, "The pork belly was fried until the skin was all wrinkly, and it tasted fragrant, tender, and soft. It was so flavorful, the taste was absolutely perfect. The pickled mustard was especially authentic. It soaked up all the fat from the meat, and after you finished the pork, mixing the pickled mustard with rice was just divine!"

Zhao Dong said nothing, just started to unbuckle his leather belt.

"Whoa, whoa, Uncle! I’m starting to think you take things way too seriously." Huang Bing quickly grabbed his hand, grinning. "Don’t worry, we’re treating you."

Zhao Dong’s hand paused. He looked at him and said, "In that case, I’ll be doing the ordering."

"Go ahead. And when we’re done, we can get some braised meat and vegetables to-go for our cousins to have a little feast," Huang Ying said with a nod and a smile.

"Yingying is always the thoughtful one." Zhao Dong pulled his shirt back down over his belt, a smile returning to his face. "How’s business at your restaurant lately?"

Huang Ying nodded. "It’s been okay. Mom said to tell you to bring Auntie and Grandma up for dinner on Sunday. She’s been too busy to come down lately. Since we ran into you today, we won’t have to stop by the house to tell you."

"Sounds good. I’ll bring them up on Sunday, then," Zhao Dong nodded.

Before long, the restaurant was full.

The sounds of ordering, chatting, and praise rose and fell, creating a lively, bustling atmosphere.

A number of workers were still waiting in line at the door.

They weren’t in any rush, though. They stood or sat in small groups, setting up their Dragon Gate Formation, many of them waiting for the people they were meeting for dinner.

Sundays at Zhou Yan Restaurant were too hard to get a table, so many people had moved their get-togethers to weekday evenings.

Everyone got off work around the same time, but the young women might go home to change and freshen up, which created a staggered arrival time.

Meng Anhe had gone to Jiazhou to inspect a construction site today. After a meeting there, she bought a small cake in Jiazhou and didn’t get home until almost six o’clock.

Pushing open the unlatched front door, she saw Xia Yao in the living room checking homework for Lin Jingxing and Lin Bingwen, while Lin Zhiqiang sat nearby reading the newspaper.

"You’re back." Lin Zhiqiang stood up, taking the bag from her shoulder and the cake from her hand. "You must be tired from running around all day," he said with a smile.

"It wasn’t that much work, but the roads were so bumpy. I feel like I’ve been shaken to pieces," Meng Anhe said with a hint of resignation.

"Auntie, are you going to the construction site again tomorrow?" Xia Yao asked, bringing over a glass of warm water and handing it to Meng Anhe.

Meng Anhe took a sip of water and shook her head with a smile. "I have to go back to Rongcheng tomorrow. I’ll probably be there for a few days."

"Mom, can we eat with Yaoyao then?" Lin Jingxing asked, looking up.

"Let’s go eat at Momo’s restaurant!" Lin Bingwen’s eyes immediately lit up.

Meng Anhe looked at the two of them and couldn’t help but laugh. "What’s wrong? Is the food from the cafeteria not good enough for you anymore? Getting your palates spoiled every day... how will you ever survive when you can’t eat Zhou Yan’s cooking anymore?"