Chapter 63: Marriage Notice

Zhou Andong said, “What relationship? Just colleagues, and she’s my superior.”

Yuan Liying felt both fearful and disappointed; Jian Qiu was even more beautiful than Jiang Yuying, looked like she came from a better family, and yet the problem remained—their social standings were mismatched. She feared Zhou Andong would suffer another emotional setback.

But now that she heard they were merely colleagues, she felt a tinge of disappointment. Jian Qiu was simply too good—she’d shown up and immediately helped out with everything, spoke warmly, treated her with great respect, never complained about anything, and even played happily with Old Four all afternoon—far superior to Jiang Yuying.

“Get out!” Yuan Liying suddenly grew irritable, kicked Zhou Andong off the bed, and picked up the half-stitched shoe sole to resume sewing.

Zhou Xiao also sighed, thinking his son wasn’t destined to marry such a fine girl, then caught Zhou Andong watching TV right in front of him—his eyes instantly widened.

“Don’t just stand there blocking my TV—get out of the way.”

“...” Zhou Andong gave a blank look, glanced at the clock—it wasn’t even eight yet: “Xiao Qin, get paper and a pen. Come with me to draw something.”

Zhou Anqin was watching TV. Hearing Zhou Andong, she reluctantly tore her eyes from the screen, grabbed her schoolbag, and followed him to the side room.

To develop the distillery, we can’t rely on just one liquor. So I need to design a higher-end blue-and-white porcelain liquor, and a lower-end Blue Dragon Guest. Of course, the tech department must start R&D quickly—otherwise, if all our liquors taste the same, they’ll go cold fast.

The siblings worked until past eleven. Zhou Andong smiled and said, “Didn’t get to watch TV—feeling down?”

Zhou Anqin lied: “No.”

Zhou Andong affectionately ruffled her hair: “After the New Year, I’ll buy you a portable cassette player.”

Zhou Anqin’s eyes lit up: “Really?”

Zhou Andong said, “Didn’t I promise to buy a TV—big color TV—before the New Year? Did I deliver?”

“You did!” Zhou Anqin nodded vigorously.

“So!” Zhou Andong said seriously, “Don’t doubt your brother’s word.”

“Hehe!” Zhou Anqin excitedly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, brother.”

Zhou Andong smiled: “Go to sleep.”

January 13th, temperatures dropped again; the New Year drew closer. Zhou Andong got up, ate something, then took a bus into the city.

Zhongyangdajie was Jiangzhou’s only commercial street, unchanged for the next twenty years—until after 2014, when the city expanded southward, the municipal government moved to the new southern district, a new commercial zone emerged, and Zhongyangdajie gradually declined.

But at this moment, if you wanted to do business, this was the best place. For Zhou Andong, with limited funds, catering was the only viable option—low barrier to entry, small investment, quick returns. In this era, as long as the food wasn’t inedible and prices were reasonable, customers would never be lacking.

More importantly, in his past life he’d run a catering business—he was familiar with it, and he was confident he could build a catering empire. Of course, his ultimate goal was the stars and oceans; this first step was merely capital accumulation.

At this time, Chinese cuisine offerings were still quite limited. Snacks were mostly the same: buns, dumplings, wontons, and noodle shops. But there were also many distinctive specialties.

For example, Shuixian Buns, Zhao’s Wontons, Sanhe Dumplings, Smoked Meat Pancakes—all Jiangzhou famous eats.

Zhou Andong wandered around twice, then entered a Lanzhou noodle shop. Located on the commercial street near both the train and bus stations, business was thriving. It was barely nine in the morning, yet the place was already packed—likely customers who hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“Boss, one bowl of noodles, add beef.” Zhou Andong sat by the window.

“Alright!” A young guy replied, “Add meat—three.”

Zhou Andong glanced around the shop—it wasn’t small, about two hundred square meters, no decoration—just whitewashed walls, cement floors, all four-person long tables.

The noodles arrived quickly—huge bowl, topped with a thick layer of beef. In twenty years, you wouldn’t find this much beef even in three bowls.

“Brother, your business is doing well.”

The young guy said, “Not bad.”

Zhou Andong asked again: “How much does your boss pay you? Why are you alone? Can you handle it?”

The guy laughed: “The noodle shop is co-owned by me and my brother. My sister helps out—she comes in during lunch rush.”

“Oh!” Zhou Andong nodded. “How much is your annual rent?”

The guy said, “Eight thousand a year. The landlord says next year it’ll go up—we’re barely holding on.”

Zhou Andong said, “Prices have been rising these past few years, especially the last two. If rent goes up, you can raise your noodle prices too.”

The guy sighed: “We’ll see. Many regulars eat here—if we suddenly hike prices, it’ll hurt our reputation.”

Zhou Andong said nothing more, slurping his noodles. The taste was excellent—no wonder business was so good.

“Hmm?” Zhou Andong tilted his head and saw two girls playfully chasing each other. One was short, not as beautiful as Jian Qiu, lacking her poise—but her smile was radiant, with two dimples that made your eyes light up.

“Tsk!” Zhou Andong clicked his tongue. “This girl would make a great wife.”

Then he remembered Zhao Guifen’s matchmaking attempt. He stood up, went to the counter, got a sheet of paper, returned to his seat, and wrote furiously. Then he stuck the paper to the window with a noodle.

“Bill!”

The young guy came over. Zhou Andong pulled out money: “Keep the change. The extra yuan covers the window space—don’t tear it down before closing tonight.”

The guy smiled and thanked him: “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it up until closing.”

Zhou Andong left the noodle shop, scanning around—but the two girls were gone. He sighed in disappointment, then wandered nearby, looking for a suitable storefront.

He’d barely left when three girls passed the shop. One gasped, then turned back: “What’s this?”

Another girl peered curiously and read softly: “Made in China, length 17, net weight 62kg. Uses artificial intelligence, all components complete, operates stably, after twenty-six years of service, proven reliable. Full documentation provided, lifetime return and exchange guarantee. Due to expansion needs, seeking like-minded partners to co-develop second-generation product. Interested parties, contact Zhou Andong.”

“Hahaha…”

The three girls burst into laughter. Already pretty, their unrestrained giggles drew many glances—people crowded over to see.

“Pfft!” Another girl laughed: “This marriage notice is pretty unique.”