Zhou Momo sat at the restaurant entrance eating noodles—pork rib noodle soup with a clear broth. She slurped them down, one mouthful after another, with great relish.
She was too little, so while an occasional taste was fine, Zhou Yan usually made her noodles and rice without any spice.
The noodles and soup were in a huge bowl, but she took small sips and drank all the broth.
Zhao Tieying and Zhao Hong were at the entrance, setting up a Dragon Gate Formation, taking a break before washing the dishes.
Zhou Yan was also lying flat on a bamboo chair, ready to catch a quick nap. He had woken up far too early that morning.
"Mom!"
"Fourth Grandma!"
Two loud, clear voices rang out.
Zhou Yan opened his eyes to see two boys, one big and one small, running toward them.
The older one was about 1.6 ters tall. He wore a blue, military-style jacket with a cloth bag slung across his shoulder. His hair was cut very short, his head was round, and his large, bright eyes made him look full of spirit.
The younger one looked to be six or seven and was the spitting image of the older boy—a perfect miniature version. His clothes didn’t fit well; the sleeves and pant legs were rolled up several tis, clearly hand--downs from his brother.
Zhou Lihui and Zhou Lifan. These two brothers were Zhao Hong’s sons—his nephews.
They ran like the wind and reached the restaurant entrance in no ti.
Seeing Zhou Yan, the two called out crisply, "Little Uncle!"
"Huihui, Fanwa, did you run all the way here? You’re covered in sweat." Zhou Yan sat up, looking at the two boys with steam rising from their heads and sweat on their cheeks, and asked with a smile.
"Hehe." The two chuckled, sneaking glances in Zhao Hong’s direction.
"What are you running for? Running till you’re soaked in sweat! If you catch a cold, I’ll beat you both!" Zhao Hong grabbed them, snatched up a towel, and first wiped their heads dry, then their backs.
The two brothers shrank like quails, giggling foolishly, not daring to resist. They certainly took after their father.
Zhou Momo had long since put down her chopsticks and sidled closer. With her little hands behind her back, she waited until the two were done being dealt with before saying expectantly, "My turn, my turn!"
"What?" Everyone looked at her at the sa ti.
Zhou Lihui and Zhou Lifan’s eyes were smiling, their faces full of delight.
"You have to greet . Huihui and Fanwa haven’t greeted yet," Zhou Momo said, beaming at the two boys.
Zhou Yan froze for a second, then couldn’t help but laugh. ’So the little one was waiting for this all along.’
"Go on and greet her. Don’t you know you’re supposed to greet your aunt?" Zhao Hong also laughed and gave the two a light smack.
The brothers, Zhou Lihui and Zhou Lifan, scratched their heads, exchanged a glance, and said, a little embarrassed, "Aunt."
"Yes, good boys," Zhou Momo replied loudly, grinning with delight.
Seeing Zhou Momo laugh, the two brothers started laughing too.
Although Zhou Momo was only three and a half, she was indeed their aunt—and the cutest aunt at that.
"Huihui, Fanwa, have you eaten? If not, have your little uncle cook you so noodles," Zhao Tieying asked, looking at them.
Zhou Lihui replied, "Fourth Grandma, we’ve already eaten. Mom left us sweet potato congee. The two of us ate half a pot, we’re so full."
"Yeah, we’re full," Zhou Lifan said, rubbing his belly.
"I’m full too. I’ll take you to play on the slide." Zhou Momo grabbed one of their hands in each of hers and said as she walked, "I also have a super fun secret base..."
She did... have the air of an aunt.
"Huihui, look after your aunt and Fanwa, okay!" Zhao Hong said.
"Okay!" Zhou Lihui answered.
Zhou Lihui was fifteen this year, practically a young adult already. It was reassuring to have him take the two little ones to play.
Zhou Yan was just about to lie down again when he saw a shuttle bus pull up and stop at the entrance of the textile factory.
The doors opened, and twenty to thirty young n and won stepped out. They were all dressed quite fashionably. Leading them was a middle-aged man with glasses, wearing a black Zhongshan suit. He was slender, with his hair parted two-to-eight and combed ticulously, giving him a scholarly air.
Several people from the textile factory hurried out to greet them, led by none other than Lin Zhiqiang. The rest were also leaders from the factory.
"Look, isn’t that Xia Yao?" Zhao Tieying had sharp eyes and spotted Xia Yao in the crowd at once.
"Looks like they’re all university students from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute." Zhou Yan also quickly spotted Xia Yao in the crowd. She was tall and fair-skinned, making her stand out quite a bit.
Xia Yao was also looking over toward the restaurant. Her eyes t Zhou Yan’s, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she gave him a small smile.
Zhou Yan gave a slight nod in return. He hadn’t expected Xia Yao to co back.
Lin Zhiqiang shook hands with the supervising professor, Su Jun, and then announced in a loud voice, "To the esteed professors and students of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Departnt of Art and Design, I am Lin Zhiqiang, Vice Director of the Jiazhou Textile Factory. Welco! We are delighted to have you here to visit, learn, and research our school-enterprise cooperation..."
As the students listened to Lin Zhiqiang’s speech, their eyes couldn’t help but dart toward Zhou Yan Restaurant.
It slled so good!
A large pot stood at the restaurant’s entrance, and a rich, fragrant aroma of beef was wafting out from the gaps around the lid.
Even though they had already eaten breakfast in Jiazhou, this scent was simply too enticing.
Even their supervising professor glanced over a few tis.
Besides the large pot, many people also noticed Zhou Yan sitting under the tree.
"Ah! Xia Yao, isn’t that the lifesaver from your painting?" Deng Hong blurted out. "His na is Zhou... Zhou what-was-it?"
"Zhou Yan!" Zhu Yuyu added. "He’s even more handso in person than in the painting! He looks really tall, too."
Their words reached the ears of the other students, and everyone turned to look at Zhou Yan.
They had all heard that Xia Yao had been in an accident a few days ago. They didn’t know the specifics, but it seed to involve that young man.
Zhou Yan was wearing a white chef’s uniform. His features were deep and well-defined, making him look fresh and handso—not at all like your typical chef.
Hearing this, Su Jun’s gaze also fell on Zhou Yan. Just as Lin Zhiqiang’s welco speech ended, he spoke up, "Vice Director Lin, is this restaurant run by your factory?"
Lin Zhiqiang smiled and explained, "Zhou Yan Restaurant is a privately owned business. The owner, Zhou Yan, is a fine young man who answered the call to develop the individual economy. Their noodles and Kneeling Beef are both delicious. If you have the chance, students, you should give them a try."
"Kneeling Beef? What kind of dish is that? A Suji specialty?" Deng Hong leaned close to Xia Yao’s ear and whispered.
She was a foodie. After moving to Mountain City for university, she had gained ten jin in a single year.
"I don’t know either. They didn’t have this dish the last ti I ca," Xia Yao said, shaking her head. She was also curious about what kind of dish it was.
"Alright, we’ll have to try it if we get the chance. It certainly slls fragrant," Su Jun said with a smiling nod, his eyes fixed on the stove at the restaurant’s entrance for a mont.
Zhou Yan was thoughtful. ’So, they’re university students here for a study tour.’
In his eyes, these were thirty chances to earn new recognition.
Unfortunately, the textile factory’s reception would definitely be held at the factory canteen, making it difficult for him to poach these custors.
What a sha, what a sha!
"University students have a different air about them. Every one of them looks so stylish," Zhao Hong murmured in admiration, her eyes full of respect.
"That’s right. Educated people even talk differently," Zhao Tieying added with a nod.
Lin Zhiqiang led the group from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute into the factory, giving them a tour of the buildings, workshops, and exhibition area.
He had personally reported to and initiated this tour with the factory director, who took it very seriously and arranged for a high standard of reception.
The Jiazhou Textile Factory produced silk products. Last year, they had imported automatic silk reeling machines, placing their technology in the top tier dostically. Their products were mainly sold abroad, and their foreign exchange earnings accounted for 60% of Jiazhou’s foreign trade.
Although their foreign sales were currently strong, the old factory director had approved his proposal on brand building and extended an invitation to the Departnt of Art and Design from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, who were currently in Jiazhou for creative fieldwork.
The invitation had been sent to the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute at the beginning of the month, but they only received a definite reply the day before yesterday.
Talent that understood brand building and advertising was incredibly rare. Lin Zhiqiang was sowhat surprised that the students and professors from the Departnt of Art and Design could make it, so he naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to establish a partnership.
That morning, he had chartered a shuttle bus to Jiazhou to bring the twenty-seven students and three supervising professors to the textile factory.
The tour took up the entire morning.
At eleven-thirty, as the workers’ quitting ti approached, it was also ti for lunch.
Lin Zhiqiang led the group toward the factory canteen. The factory had approved a al subsidy for the professors and students—two yuan per al, which was a very high standard.
Wang Defa, as the director of the factory canteen, was already standing at the entrance. His superiors had inford him that he would be hosting the university students from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute for lunch today, and the kitchen had made extensive preparations.
The canteen’s stir-fry business had been declining recently, so he planned to use this group of university students as an advertisent: "So good, even university students love it!" He hoped to win back so custors.
Seeing the group approach, Wang Defa straightened his collar and went forward to greet them, his face wreathed in smiles. "Welco, professors and students of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, to the factory canteen."
Su Jun stopped in his tracks, and the students behind him followed suit.
"Vice Director Lin, has our morning tour concluded?" Su Jun asked, looking at Lin Zhiqiang.
"Yes," Lin Zhiqiang replied with a smiling nod. "It’s lunchti now, so I’ve brought the professors and students to the factory canteen for lunch. The factory has approved a al subsidy."
"Our factory canteen is also fully prepared. Pork belly, Salted Burnt White, stead pork ribs with rice flour, fish-fragrant shredded pork, and a variety of stir-fries have all been personally prepared by our master chefs. I guarantee the students will eat with peace of mind and complete satisfaction," Wang Defa chid in with a smile, preparing to usher the students into the dining hall.
Su Jun didn’t respond to him. Instead, he looked at Lin Zhiqiang and asked, "Vice Director Lin, can this al subsidy be used anywhere? Or must we eat at your factory canteen?"
"Well..." Lin Zhiqiang was taken aback for a mont, then quickly replied, "Of course, you can eat anywhere. Director Su doesn’t wish to dine at the factory canteen? If you’d like to go to the state-run restaurant, I can just have the shuttle bus take you there."
Hearing this, Wang Defa grew a little anxious. It was just quitting ti, and the workers coming to the canteen for lunch were all curiously sizing up the group of university students.
If the departnt director took his students to eat at the state-run restaurant instead of entering the canteen, wouldn’t that be a slap in his face, implying that the canteen’s food wasn’t any good?
After that old rascal Xiao Lei left to work as a prep cook, the skill of the remaining chefs was indeed a notch below the state-run restaurant’s, but this was their first ti in Suji. They shouldn’t know about that.
"There’s no need for such trouble. We’ll just have lunch at Zhou Yan Restaurant right by the entrance. We have a seminar this afternoon, don’t we? This will be more convenient," Su Jun said with a gentle smile. "This restaurant is quite special, you know. I plan to use it to teach my students a lesson."
"Huh?"
A wave of surprised gasps imdiately sounded out at the entrance of the factory canteen.
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