Zhang Yu heard the phone ringing at ho, looked up at the outside, and found it was already very dark.
Just as she was about to stand up, she realized her legs were numb. Well, after lying on the floor for so long, it would be odd if they weren’t.
With so difficulty, after waiting for them to recover a bit, by the ti she got to the phone, the other person had hung up.
Feng Liya hung up the phone and slowly shook her head at Zhang Tao, "No one answered."
Zhang Tao couldn’t help feeling a little displeased, wondering where she could have gone.
At that mont, the phone rang, and Feng Liya quickly picked it up.
Zhang Yu: Mom, did you call?
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Feng Liya nodded to Zhang Tao: Yes, it’s already past seven, and you haven’t co for dinner.
Zhang Yu: I just ate half a waterlon and I’m not very hungry. I’m at ho reviewing history and lost track of ti.
Feng Liya was surprised that her daughter could be so focused on her studies. She was genuinely a bit amazed. Anyway, it was good that her daughter wasn’t out with Zhou Kai and their group: Are you still coming to eat?
Zhang Yu glanced at the ti. More importantly, her legs were still numb. Walking on flat ground was one thing, but going downstairs was another. She was really worried she’d tumble down without being careful. What to do?
Zhang Yu: Mom, I won’t co over. Could you and Dad bring sothing back to eat?
Zhang Yu paused for a mont: I’m not picky with food.
Hearing her daughter emphasize not being picky, Feng Liya chuckled: Right, right, you’re not picky.
Zhang Yu pretended not to hear Feng Liya’s laughter: Alright then, I’ll go back to my studies.
Feeling inspired earlier, Zhang Yu was determined to produce a draft while she still had the motivation.
Initially, she wasn’t planning to go out tomorrow, but now it seed she had to, to buy large sheets of paper. She just hoped the stationery store would have so.
Imrsing herself once more, Zhang Yu continued writing on the dining table.
Zhang Tao ca ho holding a box of chicken feet, a box of cold noodles, and so marinated snacks, expecting to see his daughter watching TV. But to his surprise, there she was, sprawled over the dining table, writing on a large sheet of paper.
Zhang Tao peeked at the contents and saw it was related to history. By the handwriting, he could tell his daughter wasn’t lying; she was indeed studying history at ho.
He couldn’t understand why she needed such a big sheet to write things down, especially since the characters were so small. With such a big paper, why not write larger? Didn’t she realize it was straining on the eyes?
"Dinner’s ready," Zhang Tao called out.
Hearing Zhang Tao’s voice, her stomach started growling. Zhang Yu knew she was hungry and quickly put away her things.
"Cold noodles," she exclaid. On a hot sumr day, that’s the best thing to eat. She’d been wanting this but thought it might be too much trouble, so she hadn’t ntioned it.
But who could have guessed her dad would think of it? He really was the best dad. The thought brightened Zhang Yu’s mood imnsely.
"Thanks, Dad. By the way, is it a hassle?" If it was, she thought it might be better not to make it again. Running a business every day was tiring enough; there was no need to go out of their way for her als.
"It’s not a hassle. Now that it’s hot, more people are eating cold noodles." Though it was a bit of a bother, the sales were good every day. "If you want so more in the future, just let know, and I’ll save you so."
"Alright. By the way, Dad, have you thought about making cold noodles?" It seed this wasn’t popular in the Mainland yet. People only learned about them when Korean dramas entered the market there.
Right now, it didn’t matter if Mainland didn’t have cold noodles. It wouldn’t stop her from promoting them.
Cold noodles? What’s that? Zhang Tao was puzzled.
Zhang Yu briefly explained, and Zhang Tao understood, "So the noodle water is ice-cold, but can this really work?"
Zhang Tao hesitated. Noodles in ice water were one thing, but to add ice cubes seed like it would be very cold. He couldn’t even imagine eating them.
"Give it a try. I can eat it," Zhang Yu actually wanted to try them herself. "On a hot day at noon, just thinking about having a bowl makes it really tempting." The more Zhang Yu thought about it, the more she desired to eat it tomorrow.
"Dad, make it for tomorrow noon, please give it a try."
"Also, Dad, think about it: ice cream is frozen, and so people add ice cubes to mung bean soup."
"And try it, I can eat it." Zhang Yu was keen to advocate for herself as a willing test subject.
Zhang Tao thought for a mont, "I’ll make it tomorrow. The kitchen is so hot anyway." For a chef, sumr was truly hot, and even installing air conditioning didn’t help much. Eating cold noodles might be really refreshing.
"Alright, let’s do that tomorrow." They could at least consu it internally.
Great, Zhang Yu was delighted. Tomorrow she would have cold noodles, and she was ecstatic.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu extended her hand to Zhang Tao, "Dad, can you give so money?"
"I need to go to the bookstore tomorrow to buy a dictionary and so study supplies."
"Also, I’ll see if there are any math practice books or sothing." Zhang Yu wasn’t certain what she would buy at the bookstore tomorrow, but she planned to get whatever she saw.
Zhang Tao responded, "When your mom cos back, I’ll give you five hundred. Is that enough?"
Five hundred? Zhang Yu was amazed. That was generous. So people didn’t even earn five hundred a month. "By the way, Dad, didn’t you say you applied for the utilities last ti? Did they co over?"
"They ca, with help from your uncle’s connections. I treated the people from the construction team to a al, and it was all sorted out yesterday."
"Your mom and I have also left the factory." Zhang Tao rembered he hadn’t ntioned a major matter to Zhang Yu.
What? Zhang Yu knew Zhang Tao had gone to arrange the independent utilities, but she had no idea they had quit their jobs. "Why did you resign just like that?"
"Since I’ve decided not to let the factory sign any orders, I had to cut all ties."
"Your mom and I aren’t factory employees anymore, so they can’t call us to the unit."
"They can’t fire us." To Zhang Tao, being fired and resigning were two different things.
"Anyway, I checked, and we can pay into the pension with the restaurant’s na and still have a retirent wage." He previously couldn’t leave the factory not because he was attached, but because he was concerned about pension issues.
Now that the pension wasn’t a problem, he didn’t care anymore. "Plus, your uncle found out a well-capitalized developer from outside is interested in the factory’s land."
"Negotiations are almost final, just so minor details. Your uncle said no matter how much fuss the factory makes, they shouldn’t give in."
When Zhang Tao got this confird from his brother-in-law, he felt relieved. "Not being relocated isn’t bad, but being relocated is even better."
If given the chance, everyone would choose relocation, and then they could plan it all well.
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