Chapter 491: Huaihua's Visit

On the way to send Jia Zhangshi home.

Although Huaihua had guessed some of the truth, she still asked Jia Zhangshi about the cause of her fainting.

Facing her well-behaved granddaughter, Jia Zhangshi knew this matter was embarrassing; she originally didn't want to speak, but then realized that even if she didn't say it, Huaihua would hear it from outsiders, so she recounted how she had taken a liking to You Fengxia, wanted You Fengxia to marry Bangeng, and then Shazhu would provide a room as dowry.

In her speech.

With a hint of bitterness.

Huaihua secretly sighed, guessing that the matter certainly stemmed from Jia Zhangshi, that Jia Zhangshi had done something wrong to the neighbors; otherwise, the whole courtyard wouldn't treat Jia Zhangshi as if she were invisible.

She fainted on the ground, yet no one reached out a hand.

This shows Jia Zhangshi's failure in conduct.

The Jia family's feng shui.

It was ruined just like that by Jia Zhangshi.

Inside the siheyuan, Jia Zhangshi was detested; the neighbors regarded her like dog feces, wishing to detour around her.

Yet Jia Zhangshi herself failed to see it, mistakenly thinking it was her great achievement, looking smug and saying the neighbors all feared her.

Looking around.

The whole courtyard was full of enemies.

Even Huaihua, implicated, was looked down upon by the neighbors, and at school she was variously isolated by classmates.

Many people, upon hearing that Huaihua's grandmother was Jia Zhangshi and her mother Qin Huairu, lost their initial enthusiasm and no longer wanted to interact with Huaihua.

Huaihua didn't want people to just jab her in the spine like that.

So she harbored the thought of fleeing far away, to a place where no one knew who Jia Zhangshi was or recognized Qin Huairu, to live the kind of life Huaihua had imagined.

She inexplicably began to envy Xiao Dang.

Initially Xiao Dang still held some hope for the Jia family, but because Bangeng had slept with a widow, the other party demanded a thousand dollars, prompting Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu to consider marrying Xiao Dang off.

They didn't consider the person or their character; whoever offered more money would get Xiao Dang.

This became the final straw that broke Xiao Dang; she fled to the countryside overnight, arriving in the northwest, where she married a local old bachelor.

In the letter written to Huaihua, she admonished Huaihua with one thing: even though Jia Zhangshi was her grandmother and Qin Huairu her birth mother, Huaihua could not believe their words; the letter also said that if Huaihua wanted to shed the label of being a Jia family daughter, she had only to flee far away.

No money.

Also no letter of introduction.

How to escape far away!

Huaihua helped Jia Zhangshi to the Jia family residence, settled her in, found an excuse, left the siheyuan, pondered a moment, then walked toward the Bai Xu restaurant.

Suddenly she wanted to go check out the Bai Xu restaurant.

She had no other thoughts.

She simply wanted to feast her eyes.

She had also heard that Shazhu was not working as a canteen head but opening a restaurant.

……

Inside the Bai Xu restaurant.

Shazhu, speaking from experience, critically examined the layout before him, unsure whether he was used to those star-rated hotels of later generations, and always felt that Liu Lan and the others' arrangement fell short of his wishes.

This table.

This chair.

And the slogan.

No random scolding allowed!

Nowadays, whether state-run or privately co-operated, restaurants all have that take-it-or-leave-it attitude; as for customers being our providers of food and clothing, they never entertain such thoughts, nor would they think that way, and if angered they'd truly dare to punch you, you damned bastard.

In almost every restaurant, there is such a slogan on the wall forbidding random scolding.

You think this is a warning written for customers.

Pure nonsense.

This is a warning to the staff of state-run restaurants.

"Take this down." Shazhu pointed at the slogan on the wall, "Who had it written?"

"It was left over from the previous restaurant." Liu Lan explained, "I had Thus: Thus: Mahua pick up a pen and redraw it, so we wouldn't have to write it again."

"Our restaurant doesn't need such a slogan."

The speaking Shazhu.

His gaze turned toward the restaurant entrance.

In the empty space, placing a table—too big doesn't fit, too small feels wasteful; leaving it empty again feels improper.

A bar counter!

"Put a bar counter here!"

"That kind of bar counter?"

"Yes!"

"Will this work? Shazhu, don't play the fool!"

Liu Lan's face slightly changed, his tone also carrying a hint of alarm.

Before the public-private joint operation.

There was a bar counter.

Some unknown deity said this was the difference between old and new, that a bar counter represented blood-sucking, and that everything should be reformed toward a new direction.

Thus.

Across the land, all restaurants completely canceled this bar-counter design.

Some stubborn guys, they stiffen their necks and refuse to do it, then someone sabotages them.

Liu Lan, having considered this, worried that Shazhu might be taken advantage of, and gave him a reminder.

Shazhu also knew Liu Lan meant well, and explained to her his understanding of the bar counter design — yes, it's a bar counter, but once built, a porcelain figurine of an elderly person will be placed on it.

Behind the figurine is the checkout counter.

Why design it this way?

Shazhu guessed that once his restaurant opened, there would definitely be people jealous and looking to cause trouble; placing the porcelain figurine at the entrance bar, troublemakers would smash it, turning nothing into something, and after a couple of times he figured no one would dare cause trouble at Bai Xu Restaurant.

It's like giving a preventive shot.

"Shazhu, I believe this restaurant will surely do well when it opens."

"I think so too."

"Yu Li, you don't even manage your own man, and you've learned to brag like Old Wang selling his own melons."

"Regarding the restaurant staffing, I've thought it this way: for ordinary customers, Thus: Thus: Mahua handles the cooking; for difficult customers, I take charge; for kitchen affairs, Liu Lan, you organize them; I don't trust anyone else."

Liu Lan had been working at the Ershitang for over ten years.

She has experience managing a kitchen.

That's also why Shazhu brought Liu Lan out.

Liu Lan knew she would definitely be entrusted by Shazhu with the responsibility of overseeing the kitchen, and she accepted without hesitation.

"My wife Yu Li handles the restaurant's management work, including accounting and such."

"Brother, what about me?"

You Fengxia saw that Yu Li and Liu Lan had both been given livelihoods by Shazhu, while she herself got nothing, and for a moment she felt anxious.

She spoke up to ask.

Shazhu bit his lower lip with his teeth, and upon considering Fengxia's arrangement, he suddenly had a new idea: at first he kept Fengxia around, purely to have her work as a waiter.

After all, it's such a big restaurant.

It needs people to serve tea and dishes.

Later he thought it unsuitable, and considered placing Fengxia at the door as a doorman; just her face, saying nothing, standing there would boost the restaurant's business considerably.

After thinking about the current situation, Shazhu abandoned the idea; if he dared let Fengxia stand at the door as a doorman, someone would likely label him with that bad reputation the same day.

Navigate carefully for a long voyage.

It's best to avoid trouble if possible.

He wanted Fengxia to be in charge of the second floor.

Bai Xu Restaurant has two floors; the ground floor is about 180 square meters, and the second floor is about 150 square meters.

The first floor is an open hall filled with tables for four to six people.

The second floor has large round tables for eight to ten people; near the walls, they plan to separate a few private sections — not fully enclosed rooms, but simple half-partitioned semi-private spaces.

Yu Li is Shazhu's wife; she bustles about, also responsible for accounting, adjusting seating, etc., and when business is booming, she inevitably can't keep up.

Shazhu also doesn't want Yu Li to be overworked.

It would be best to have someone in charge of the first floor and someone in charge of the second floor, down to the individual.

"You Fengxia." The name on her temporary residence permit is Dang Xianghong; only Shazhu and Yushui know her real name is You Fengxia. "Your job I've arranged this way: you're in charge of the second floor, acting as your sister-in-law's assistant."

"The second floor?"

"Liu Lan, Thus: Thus: Mahua, Xianghong, wife — I've arranged the second floor like this; as for the first floor, we…"

Shazhu explained his idea in full.

He had just finished speaking.

Liu Lan, who had long seen the benefits of the second-floor private-room design, gave Shazhu a thumbs-up; if she could, she'd really want to crack open his skull to see how he could think so thoroughly.

Thus: Thus: Mahua, however, put forward a different opinion.

His main concern was worry.

"Master, if we do this, won't someone report us for discrimination? Then they'd put a high hat on us; in my view, whether it's the second floor or the first, we should treat everyone equally."

Yu Li originally supported Shazhu.

Her husband.

She felt reassured.

However, after hearing Thus: Thus: Mahua's suggestion, out of concern for Shazhu's safety, she thought Thus: Thus: Mahua made sense.

A married couple of many years.

Seeing Yu Li's expression change, Shazhu saw in her eyes a hint of worry and knew she was anxious for him.

To dispel Thus: Thus: Mahua's doubts and also put Yu Li at ease, Shazhu, relying on his prepared explanation, told Liu Lan and Thus: Thus: Mahua why he did it this way, then thumped his chest to assure them there was no problem, even bringing out Factory Director Yang, saying he had reported to him and Yang agreed, which eased the worries of Yu Li and Thus: Thus: Mahua.

With Factory Director Yang as their backing, what did they have to worry about? Yu Li and Thus: Thus: Mahua took back their concerns, and their work proceeded much more smoothly.

In the midst of their busyness.

They heard a shout.

"Uncle He, Aunt Yu Li."

Shazhu and his wife looked toward the direction of the voice and saw fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Huaihua standing nervously at the entrance of Bai Xu Restaurant, greeting them through the door.

The couple exchanged a glance.

In the courtyard.

They hardly interacted with the Jia family, and consequently grew distant toward Bangeng, Huaihua, and their other kids as well.

It wasn't just Shazhu's family doing this; the neighbors in the courtyard all kept their distance from the Jia family.

They found it a bit puzzling that Huaihua would take the initiative to come to their door.

What's the matter?

Or is it that Jia Zhangshi is scheming behind the scenes?

This is Yu Li's idea.

Shazhu's thoughts are undoubtedly a bit more than Yu Li's; he looks at the Huaihua before him, yet in his mind he involuntarily recalls some things from his previous life, and he seems to have always been called 'Silly Dad' by Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua—no matter how they address him, there is always a modifying 'silly' character.

Qin Huairu's three children: Bangeng resembles Jia Dongxu; Xiao Dang is carefree and a bit eccentric, with a hint of Yi Zhonghai's manner; Huaihua is gentle and quiet, whether in her actions or her personality, she is more like Qin Huairu.

If Shazhu hasn't remembered wrong.

Today doesn't seem to be Sunday.

What is Huaihua running to Bai Xu for?

While Shazhu was still thinking, Yu Li quickly stepped forward and asked Huaihua, 'Do you have something going on?'

Without waiting for Huaihua's answer.

Then he blocked off her retreat in advance.

If it's about borrowing money or borrowing a house, don't even bring it up; you've mentioned it, we've been neighbors for over ten years, if we turn you down, your grandmother will cause a fuss with us, we'll be annoyed, and we don't want to get a reputation for bullying widows and orphans, so you'd better not say it—no one's money comes from a gust of wind.

Huaihua felt a pang of sorrow; she said nothing, and Yu Li said this to her, without meaning to resent Yu Li, after all this matter was Jia Zhangshi's fault—first asking Shazhu to borrow money, then asking to borrow a house, when not lent, she still acted shamelessly, causing the Jia family's reputation to become utterly foul.

Auntie, I'm not here to borrow money, nor to borrow a house—I am.

Truly worthy of being Qin Huairu's daughter.

Such scheming is practically etched into her bones.

She had only spoken halfway.

Then she stammered, unable to get the words out, standing still, looking pitiful, letting you guess what she wanted to say.

Huaihua, since you don't want to say, Auntie can't force you; if there's nothing else, Auntie will go get busy—the restaurant is set to open in a few days, there's a lot to do, dust and garbage, you're a young lady, standing here isn't good, don't embarrass yourself.

Liu Lan stood beside Shazhu.

She gave Yu Li a helping hand.

Yu Li, do you think this table arranged like this works?

I'm coming over right away.

In the sound of speech.

Just about to step away.

Huaihua then spoke the words she had not said earlier.

Auntie Yu Li, Uncle He, I mean nothing else, it's not that my grandmother sent me here, my mother doesn't know about this either, it's my own idea—I just want to ask when the restaurant will open, whether they need to hire workers, I want to come work at the restaurant.

Huaihua knows what they are wary of.

She quickly distanced herself from Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu.

Come work at the restaurant.

This is also due to Huaihua's sudden whim.

Xiao Dang is right—the Jia family is a pit of fire; as long as Jia Zhangshi doesn't die for a day and Qin Huairu lives in the world for a day, even if Huaihua and they have done many good deeds, as long as Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu are present, people will still look at them through colored glasses, using that mocking tone to say they are the Jia family's children; as long as they bear the banner of the Jia family's daughter on their heads, they will not have a good marriage.

Marry a virtuous wife.

Even if the other person is excellent, as soon as they hear they are Jia family children, they immediately back off; this is a fact Xiao Dang told her from his own bloody personal experience.

Huaihua wants to leave.

Leaving requires money.