[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-arrival-in-1994":3,"chapter-arrival-in-1994-arrival-in-1994-chapter-2":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Arrival in 1994",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2352483,4601,"Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Godzilla","arrival-in-1994-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>Andy’s father’s Chinese restaurant was called Andy’s Restaurant, painted in a soft red tone, tall and bright, with dozens of small light bulbs hanging above, making customers always feel as if it were daytime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese restaurants were cheap, exotic eateries whose main customers were Asians and Africans; whites were few, preferring fast-food chains like McDonald’s or KFC, or Japanese restaurants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad Andy, Mom Shilu, I’m here.” Ye Nan walked into the restaurant with empty hands, glanced at the empty dining area still closed for business, and nodded in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mom Shilu, though described as mixed-race, had golden hair, black eyes, and always wore a garish red qipao, drenched in cheap, pungent perfume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sitting on the counter, Mom Shilu looked at Ye Nan and immediately smiled, “Little Andy, you’re here again? Didn’t I tell you to stay at school and study properly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom Shilu, I just don’t like studying. Since I’ll have to find a job anyway, why not start now?” Ye Nan flashed a pleading smile, like a child begging for favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In America, illiteracy rates were extremely high; many kids disliked studying—either they dropped out early to work for wages, or, like delinquent girls, became delinquent boys, throwing parties, speeding around, and so on. America was a decadent world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense. How can a child skip school? Don’t you know how many people want to study but have no chance?” Andy’s father stepped out from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Andy’s father now wore a tall white chef’s hat and a white apron—a standard chef—standing right before Ye Nan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad Andy, if I didn’t come, a lot of people would be disappointed.” Ye Nan blinked, grinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since joining Andy’s family, Ye Nan had shown his culinary skill; after countless ingredient experiments, he’d grown quite proficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Americans eating at Chinese restaurants mostly sought exotic flair, savoring foreign cuisine, with low expectations for chefs. Andy’s father had come to America years ago with his grandfather and had never been skilled; within three months, Ye Nan, the new recruit, had surpassed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Andy’s Restaurant had once been struggling—many Chinese preferred walking an extra block to another Chinese eatery. But since Ye Nan arrived, everything changed. Before the authentic flavors of ancient China, those watered-down Chinese dishes had no right to compete for Chinese customers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it, it’s that damn Japanese guy next door who opened a sushi place and stole our business.” Andy vented to Ye Nan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese and Japanese had always been rivals, competing everywhere since arriving in America after WWII. To Americans, both represented “Eastern culture,” even though the Japanese had stolen it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In America, Japanese food was refined and far more expensive than Chinese restaurants, making Japanese eateries the fiercest competitors to Chinese ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Nan frowned slightly, taking the chef’s hat from Andy’s father as he said, “Dad Andy, shouldn’t we also serve Japanese food?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Serve Japanese food? Little Andy, how could ours ever match theirs? Like that fat boss over there.” Andy’s father squinted, smug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Nan knew the “fat boss” meant the owner of the neighboring Chinese Cuisine restaurant. That poor man’s main customers had once been Chinese, but since Ye Nan joined Andy’s, his place had gone completely empty. How could overseas Chinese dishes compare to authentic ones from China?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it, forget it, Little Andy. Stick to Chinese food—our customers are mostly Chinese anyway.” Andy’s father shoved Ye Nan into the kitchen, then stuck his head out and called, “Shilu, open for business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, Andy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Andy’s Restaurant opened, customers gradually arrived, filling every seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Andy’s Restaurant was small, seating only about forty, but its business had once been dead. Now, it was booming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh my God, Andy’s family has found a treasure,” Mom Shilu said, jotting down orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” Ye Nan poked his head out. “But Mom Shilu, you’re employing a child. Watch out—the U.S. Child Labor Board will sue you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shoo, brat. You’re my son. The U.S. Child Labor Board won’t sue me. Besides, you never signed a contract—you’re not an employee.” Mom Shilu winked slyly, shutting him down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh my God,” Ye Nan made an exaggerated face. “How did I end up with a capitalist exploiting child labor? She even thought of avoiding contracts to exploit this poor child!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha.” Andy’s father laughed, dragging Ye Nan back. “Little Andy, get to work, or I’ll dock your pay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh no, Dad Andy, you can’t do that! I’m like Yang Bailong—working harder than an ox, eating less than an ox—and now you want to dock my pay? I’ll sue you in U.S. court!” Ye Nan clutched his head as if in unbearable agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Court? Those stupid judges are still arguing over the shipwreck compensation—they’ve got no time for a little kid like you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shipwreck? What shipwreck?” Ye Nan asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There, the news is on,” Andy’s father nodded toward a small TV mounted above the kitchen. “You never watch the news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The restaurant had two TVs: one for customers, always on ABC; this one, for Andy’s father, had many channels. But Ye Nan, a former shut-in, had no interest in TV—he preferred computers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Breaking news from New York: a massive sea monster attacked American fishing vessels...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sea monster? Does something like that even exist?” Ye Nan stared at the creature on screen—a huge, flat black shadow, like a giant lizard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Andy smacked Ye Nan hard on the head. “There’s no such thing as monsters. It’s just fishermen faking it for insurance payouts. I’ve seen this a hundred times—monsters, Godzilla—all just hype.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the court’s arguing over the shipwreck compensation because of this?” Ye Nan exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. But those fools think insurance companies are that easy to fool? A crappy monster photo and they want payouts? Those damn Japanese.” Andy sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly. Japanese are sneaky—they’ll do anything for money.” Ye Nan agreed wholeheartedly, then stopped paying attention to the so-called monster.\u003C\u002Fp>",976,"2026-06-21T03:32:50.781Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6a4247801f6730a292641fd4b9df0e5b56369364692f8f8674498c68ff092794","arrival-in-1994-chapter-3","arrival-in-1994-chapter-1",643,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Farrival-in-1994-cover.jpg"]