Chapter 1430: Unifying the Jianghu

"Hey~ Sauerkraut and Pork Belly—"

This restaurant isn't particularly large, but though the sparrow is small, it has all the vital organs; even the waiter's shouts have a certain flavor to them.

Remember, in the old days, restaurant waiters were divided into two types: one was "light service," serving tea, pouring water, handing out menus, wiping tables, sweeping floors, and clearing away dishes.

Generally speaking, such waiters worked in the main hall and basically never went to the back kitchen.

Now, you might ask, how did they notify the back kitchen of the dishes ordered by the guests?

The answer is simple: chanting the orders.

You've heard of "reporting dish names," right? Actually, that isn't just the work of crosstalk performers; there were crosstalk actors who worked as restaurant waiters.

They were learning—learning the street cries, such as those of vegetable sellers, cloth sellers, or medicine candy sellers.

Whoever had a pleasant-sounding cry, whoever had a rhythmic charm to their cry, they would observe and organize it into their own material.

Over time, it became the "guankou" (rapid-fire monologue) of crosstalk.

A restaurant waiter's cry sounds pleasant, and it makes the food taste better; just hearing the cry gives one an appetite.

Reporting dish names was originally a required course for restaurant waiters; only by memorizing them skillfully could they earn their keep.

That's why they say that in the old days, restaurants and theaters were the liveliest places; waiters who could shout like that were the most sought after.

The other type was "heavy service," which is what we call "food runners" today. In the old days, the waiters who ran the food were different from today's food runners; they would also shout.

It was also reporting dish names, but because the guests had already ordered, they didn't need to report so many varieties; they only needed to shout out the names of the dishes on the tray in their hands.

Their shouts weren't necessarily pleasant to hear, but they would often add a prefix, like "Hey—", and they would only shout when passing through the food delivery door, which served as a reminder.

It reminded other waiters not to bump into them, and it also reminded the guests that the dishes they ordered had arrived.

Furthermore, this method of delivering food also served a promotional purpose, letting guests at other tables in the restaurant know what was being served and what it looked like.

Guests who were ordering had a reference, and those who had already ordered could order more if they liked what they saw; these are all the tricks of the trade.

Why say that only sophisticated restaurants had this kind of shouting, this kind of "light and heavy service waiters"?

It's simple: restaurant staff in the old days were relatively fixed; they might work in one restaurant for a lifetime. As long as the proprietor made no mistakes, the waiter could not jump ship.

You ask what would happen if they jumped ship?

There were industry constraints, and they would also be looked down upon.

Now, someone might say, isn't that unreasonable? There's work freedom, personal freedom.

In this era, we talk about freedom, but in that era, such constraints were more of a guarantee. Restaurant proprietors would use a good waiter for a lifetime, until they couldn't work anymore.

Why don't later restaurants have these waiters who can shout?

Because of "freedom."

Restaurant waiters in the old days were under an apprenticeship system; they weren't paid for learning to work at the proprietor's place, but they were given clothes and fed.

Benevolent proprietors would also provide basic living expenses, such as money for haircuts, baths, and so on.

Children would come to learn the trade when they were young, and only after finishing their apprenticeship could they work as waiters to earn wages, working for a lifetime.

Just the waiters who ran the floor often had to learn for three to five years; they represented the restaurant's signboard.

Do you see anyone teaching this in later generations?

No one teaches floor running, let alone shouting, and restaurants no longer have the conditions to take on apprentices.

Why?

Child labor is not allowed.

Post-liberation restaurants either had the old waiters or used "temporary workers."

Temporary workers are great; if they can work, they work; if they can't, they leave. They don't have the skills of floor runners, so they just work hard.

This floor-running culture disappeared completely. After policies relaxed, everyone pursued enjoyment. What to do if they wanted to improve the level and quality of waiters again?

It's truly helpless; they actually had to learn Western service etiquette standards—neither Chinese nor Western.

Some people say, "Ah, the old floor-running shouts don't sound good and are noisy; Western restaurants are quiet, high-class, and sophisticated."

Nonsense. Anyone who truly has life experience knows that street-side restaurants are noisy all over the world, and high-class restaurants are quiet.

You say the floor-running shouts are noisy; that's because you've never been to the second or third-floor private rooms of a restaurant.

You say Western restaurants are quiet and high-class; that's mostly seen in film and television works, which is a stereotype.

Why say this restaurant is "sophisticated"? It's not just because it has floor-running waiters and high-level waiters, but also because of the four "huozi" (flags) hanging in front of the door.

Restaurants in the south, and even restaurants in Beijing, don't have this situation; only restaurants in the Northeast do.

The flags hanging at the entrance of a restaurant represent the restaurant's capability and grade.

Hanging one flag means supplying snacks, two flags mean providing stir-fried dishes, and four flags indicate that they can host banquets, and a restaurant can hang at most four flags.

If you say, "My culinary skills are superb, the restaurant is very large, I want to hang eight flags, sixteen flags," then you aren't superb in culinary skills, but have a hole in your brain.

A large restaurant hanging four flags must have at least two floors; the first floor has twenty or thirty tables in the main hall, and the second floor has multiple private rooms and elegant seats.

This restaurant doesn't have that many tables in the first-floor main hall, but the tables and chairs look very sophisticated in terms of materials.

There is a staircase leading to the second floor in the main hall; Li Xuewu has also been upstairs, and the decoration is passable.

How should I put it? The business premises in this era were all built after renovation; how many are ancient buildings from the Republic of China? Very, very few.

Influenced by economic conditions and the situation, hanging four flags at the entrance of this restaurant is well-deserved.

If you say their name doesn't match reality, guests don't need to question it; peers would have already come to "kick the hall" (challenge them).

How does that saying go?

Peers are the naked hatred—

Being able to survive until now and continue operating shows that the restaurant's skills are legitimate.

"Please eat first; the rest of the dishes are already being made in the back kitchen."

The floor-running waiter is quite eloquent; while placing the two-rice (rice and millet) for the two of them, he added a polite remark.

Seeing Li Xuewu nod, he bowed slightly, took two steps back, and went to the back kitchen with the tray.

Bang Geng can't see the tricks of the trade here; he only feels that this restaurant is very special.

How could it not be special? There are waiters who take the initiative to provide ordering services, and there are waiters who personally serve the dishes.

Although he hasn't eaten in Beijing's restaurants, he has seen and heard of them; don't forget, he is still a cook's apprentice.

Although he might never graduate in the cooking trade in this lifetime, he has also heard some knowledge from his master.

How low the service level of ordinary restaurants in Beijing is, the signs hanging on the walls have already revealed it clearly.

Just don't hit the guests, and the rest...

"What are you staring at? Haven't eaten it before?"

Li Xuewu saw this kid stretching his neck and staring at the sauerkraut and pork belly on the table, so he asked him.

Bang Geng was also honest, shaking his head slightly and saying: "I've eaten it, just haven't eaten it in this style."

When stewing sauerkraut at home, there's no need to plate it when serving it from the pot, so it doesn't look as good as this, right?

Li Xuewu glanced at him, ignored him, picked up his chopsticks, and tasted it; it was still the taste from before.

Sauerkraut and pork belly has a requirement: the meat cannot be too thick, which is different from "pig-killing dishes."

Pig-killing dishes are almost like cutting a pig in half and stewing it directly with sauerkraut, while sauerkraut and pork belly is not like that.

The pork belly on the sauerkraut doesn't taste greasy at all, and the taste and texture of the meat are moderate.

When eating pig-killing dishes, you can stack four or five slices of meat as thick and large as stinky tofu blocks and stuff them into your mouth together; sitting on the kang and eating like that, no one will laugh at you.

If you eat sauerkraut and pork belly like that in a restaurant, people will think you haven't eaten meat for a long time.

"Really delicious—"

Bang Geng really seemed to be eating sauerkraut and meat like this for the first time; after tasting a bite, his eyes widened brightly.

"If it's delicious, eat more."

Li Xuewu smiled slightly, put down his chopsticks, pointed to the blood sausage arranged in a circle around the large bowl, and said: "This."

"Blood sausage, I know." Bang Geng puffed out his cheeks and muttered: "Uncle Sha said, this thing isn't easy to get; it has to be a freshly slaughtered pig."

"If you don't call him Master, are you not planning to continue learning to be a cook?"

Li Xuewu wasn't very hungry; he hugged his arms and leaned on the dining table, watching him wolf down the food.

Bang Geng tilted his head and said: "Don't know, maybe I can't learn it anymore. I don't have the desire to be a cook either; what's the point of spinning around the stove all day?"

"You even look down on your Uncle Sha?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and said: "He can be considered the one who doesn't lack food in our courtyard, right?"

"Hmm, that's true, but that was in the past." Bang Geng nodded and said: "In the past, my grandma envied him, saying my dad didn't have this ability."

He looked at the two-rice in the bowl, was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said: "I envied him when I was young; I could often eat the lunch box he brought back."

"At that time, I was thinking, if I could be a cook when I grew up, how good it would be, bringing lunch boxes home every day."

"You want to be a cook just to bring lunch boxes home?" Li Xuewu said amusedly: "Which canteen would dare to use you? Wouldn't they let you move the whole place home?"

"My master also takes them; I haven't seen anyone find trouble with him—" Bang Geng was unconvinced, shook his head and said: "But I don't want to now; it's meaningless."

This kid has reached puberty; his speech is already very different from before, especially after he stopped going to school.

Li Xuewu can clearly feel that he is learning the communication and behavioral patterns of adults.

This is also a good thing; which boy doesn't have to go through this process? Sooner or later, they have to grow up.

"Hey~ Stir-fried Pork Intestines with Chili—"

It was the same waiter; this time there wasn't so much nonsense. After setting the dishes, he returned to the back kitchen.

It's just that the white curtain of the back kitchen flashed, and it seemed someone looked over here.

How sharp Li Xuewu's senses are; this was trained in jungle warfare. He could know even with his eyes closed.

However, he didn't react and continued to listen to Bang Geng talk about past events, not even caring that the female proprietor behind the counter looked at him from time to time.

"In the past, the neighbors in the courtyard really envied my master, even to the point of jealousy."

Bang Geng curled his lips and said: "Don't think I'm young and don't know what gossip they said."

"Is it about the lunch box he brought back?"

Li Xuewu pointed it out directly, looked at Bang Geng, and asked: "What do you think about this matter?"

"Anyway, I ate it; what else can I say."

Bang Geng took the initiative to pick up a chopstick of pork intestines for him, tasted a bite himself, and nodded, saying it was delicious.

"This skill is not much different from my master's; it really has that 'wok qi' (breath of the wok)."

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu is willing to listen to the child talk; at this moment, he poured a cup of warm tea for the big-faced cat.

Eating pork intestines leaves a taste in the mouth; eating other dishes will cover up the original taste of the dishes, so it's best to drink a sip of tea.

Liquor and beer are also fine.

Just as Bang Geng said, the taste of these pork intestines is okay; the fat is tender, and it tastes very fragrant.

If you want to compare it with Uncle Sha's skills, it should be said that the northern and southern characteristics are different; Uncle Sha makes Sichuan cuisine.

It's definitely not as good as Master Qian's; he has eaten too many dishes made by Master Qian, which is the top-level enjoyment.

In Sichuan cuisine, making pork intestines is too clean; they almost want to remove all the fat and just eat the chewiness.

Actually, those who like to eat pork intestines love this taste, right? Being too clean makes it taste bad instead.

Of course, pork intestine sashimi won't work!

"Did you also look down on my mom at that time?" Bang Geng looked at him and asked: "I know what they all said about my mom; I know how ugly it was."

"What do you think?" Li Xuewu asked him back, smiled, and said: "Since you know someone is gossiping about your mother, why did you still eat the lunch box your master brought back? Wouldn't it be fine not to eat it?"

"But I'm greedy, really greedy."

Bang Geng pointed to the pork belly in the bowl and the pork intestines on the plate and said: "I didn't dare to think when I was young that I could still eat this kind of food in the future."

"Our family was poor at that time; my mom had no ambition, and I had no ambition either, so I just pretended not to hear."

"Poverty makes people lose their ambition, and thin horses have long hair." Li Xuewu summarized and picked up a piece of pork belly for him.

Bang Geng ate with his head down and said faintly: "I just said the neighbors in the courtyard envied him for not worrying about food and drink, but later I envied you."

He raised his head and said: "Actually, the neighbors also envied you. Although they spoke ill of you in the past, I know they were envious, jealous, and hateful."

"Hehe, what do you envy me for?"

Li Xuewu chuckled and looked at him, saying: "If you really envy me, you should study hard so that when you grow up, you can be like me and wear a white shirt too."

"Forget it, how is that possible."

Bang Geng hasn't read books in vain for the past six months; he said frankly: "Even if I get into high school and read vocational school, I still can't become you."

He shrugged his shoulders and said: "How many college students of your age are there in the Red Star Factory? Why haven't I seen one who can compare to you?"

"My grandma said, people's fate is destined by heaven; I, Jia Geng, am destined to be strong all my life."

"Take back everything you lost?"

Li Xuewu understood his thinking a little and said this with a smile.

Bang Geng admitted it, nodding while eating: "How much they looked down on our family before, I want them to envy our family that much in the future."

"Then you have to study hard and work hard." Li Xuewu also said seriously: "If you want to be prominent in front of people, you must suffer behind people's backs."

"This is the reason why I envy you." Bang Geng looked at him with clear eyes and said: "You can always explain the truth in one sentence."

"You are also growing up very fast." Li Xuewu gave affirmation at the right time, "Much better than when you were at home."

"It's you and Aunt Zhou who take care of me." Bang Geng lowered his head again and started to eat and eat vegetables, "And you don't dislike me."

"Really, I know everything."

He raised his head and looked at Li Xuewu again, then lowered his head and said: "I don't hate my mom, and I don't blame my mom either. If it weren't for her, there wouldn't be me."

Li Xuewu didn't speak; he could understand what Bang Geng meant and knew what he knew.

There were so many neighbors in the courtyard; even if Bang Geng hadn't seen it or known it, he would have heard the gossip long ago.

It's just that he did it, and Qin Huairu is also sensible. Bang Geng is more mature than he imagined; just from his willingness to follow him to the Steel City, one can know that this kid has some heart.

If you ask why Bang Geng didn't react when Qin Huairu followed him, this kid turned over after marrying Liu Guoyou.

There is only one possibility to explain it: he has no demands.

"Eat vegetables, don't just focus on eating meat."

Li Xuewu pointed to the two plates of green vegetables the waiter had just brought and said: "Young people are growing their bodies; nutrition must be balanced."

"Okay." Bang Geng opened his heart to him, and the relationship between the two seemed to be more harmonious; he agreed very readily.

Li Xuewu picked the delicious ones to eat, finished a bowl of two-rice cleanly, and Bang Geng had already eaten the fourth bowl.

This kid can eat; he is really a big-bellied man. No need to think, he will definitely be a big fat man in the future.

He will be whatever Old Biaozi is; he won't be much taller than Old Biaozi either.

"Leader, is the food delicious?"

Just when Bang Geng was asking the waiter for the fourth bowl of rice, the person Li Xuewu was waiting for personally brought it up.

He held the rice bowl with both hands, politely placed it in front of Bang Geng, and nodded with a smile.

Bang Geng also learned some Jianghu spirit and nodded in thanks.

"A bit unable to recognize you."

Li Xuewu looked at the person carefully and shook his head slightly, saying: "I didn't know you had this skill before."

"I don't have this skill now either."

Nie Liansheng smiled and stood aside, explaining: "I just help with odd jobs in the back kitchen; there is a master chef."

"Oh, that's what I said—"

Li Xuewu smiled, pointed to the seat beside him, and said: "Used to hold a gun, now changed to holding a kitchen knife; I find it hard to believe even hearing it."

"Getting old, nothing I learn works out."

Nie Liansheng didn't stand on ceremony with Li Xuewu; seeing him let him sit, he sat down on the side.

Bang Geng looked at him curiously a few times; seeing that Uncle Wu had no other instructions, he continued to eat with his head down.

"Okay, that's fine." Li Xuewu pointed to Bang Geng, who was eating dry rice, and joked: "The restaurant's skills are still very good; settling down and making a living is not a problem."

"Just as you said, what ability do I have now? Just making a living is fine."

Nie Liansheng smiled modestly, took the initiative to pour tea for Li Xuewu, and looked at Bang Geng with a warm gaze; one couldn't tell what his previous profession was at all.

"When did you come back?"

Li Xuewu pointed to the proprietress who was standing behind the counter looking nervously over here and asked him.

Nie Liansheng also followed his finger and looked, turned his head and said: "Almost a year, I guess. Alone, all by myself; it's she who didn't dislike me."

"A bit of a waste of talent." Li Xuewu nodded slowly and said: "Your mistake has already been dealt with; just live well in the future; there's no need to suppress yourself."

He looked at Nie Liansheng and said: "And no one will find trouble with you; no need to hide in the back kitchen."

Nie Liansheng's mistake wasn't big, and the main responsibility wasn't in business; it was that he had too many concerns.

Being able to take the initiative to confess the problem and having meritorious service, and considering his previous work situation, squatting for two years can be considered a conclusion.

Li Xuewu didn't just know he came out; he knew it long ago and just didn't react.

He was waiting for the Zhong family; Old Zhong's five sons were all cut off in the hands of him and Ji Weidong. He wanted to see if Old Zhong and Zhong Huilian had any reaction.

Zhou Wang Yamei was far away and didn't directly participate in this matter; even if she knew he was in the Steel City, no one dared to break into Zhou Wang Yamei's house.

It was Zhou Wang Yamei who didn't dare to gamble and took the initiative to go to Beijing.

Li Xuewu chose to live in her house, which was also a test. Calling it fishing was already too much; those small fries, how high could they jump?

If you want to talk about revenge, Nie Liansheng couldn't run either. He had been out for a year, and there was no storm.

Li Xuewu didn't wait for any attacks from behind; these people were either scared or scattered.

Yu Min and those people were still in the "balizi" (prison); Guandong had already been executed. Who else could find trouble with him?

"The times have indeed changed—"

Nie Liansheng nodded and said: "After I came out, I felt that the Steel City was different."

"Have you ever thought about doing something?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and said straightforwardly: "You are not even fifty yet; will you spend the rest of your life in this shop, in the back kitchen?"

"Or is the proprietress so beautiful that you lost your ambition and dare not step into the Jianghu again."

"You are joking with me; where is there any Jianghu."

Nie Liansheng looked at the woman walking over from the counter, his gaze gradually blurred.

"Leader Li, is the food okay?"

The woman was nervous, but still tried to smile and greet him; she had already felt that the two were talking about her just now.

"Very good, already eaten four bowls of rice."

Li Xuewu smiled and pointed to Bang Geng, saying: "Unique skills, prosperous business."

"Just making a living, borrow your auspicious words."

The woman was polite, but her gaze was on Nie Liansheng, wanting to say something, but held back.

"It's okay, you know each other, right."

Nie Liansheng smiled and comforted the woman, saying: "We haven't seen each other for a long time; let's talk for a while."

"I'm not worried; Leader Li comes, I'm just a bit surprised." She looked at Li Xuewu and said with a smile: "You can still remember this place."

"Hmm, I was transferred to work in the Steel City."

Li Xuewu nodded and explained: "Transferred before the New Year, have been busy, today was free, had no place to eat, don't know how I walked here."

"This must be fate—"

The woman's smile was a bit stiff, but what she said was still very beautiful.

"If you live nearby, we can send it to you if you want to eat something; it's all convenient."

"Better to come to the shop to eat; it has more flavor."

Li Xuewu didn't care about the meaning in her words, nodded to Nie Liansheng, who looked embarrassed, and said: "Heard people say, this restaurant's signboard is very hard; I guessed it was you here."

"The proprietress also said, it's all fate; if you want to come out to do things, I happen to be short of people here."

Seeing Bang Geng had finished eating, he stood up and greeted him, saying: "It's okay, you consider it."

After finishing with Nie Liansheng, Li Xuewu said to the nervous, smile-less proprietress: "My address in the Steel City is not far from here; I will come to support you more in the future; thank you for the hospitality today."

After speaking, regardless of how their expressions changed, he took Bang Geng and went out the door.

Nie Liansheng and the woman sent him to the door, watched them walk away, and then returned to the restaurant.

"You say, what did he come for?"

The woman's fingers were tightly clutching her clothes, and there was suspicion in her gaze looking at Nie Liansheng.

Nie Liansheng naturally felt it too, sighed slightly, and said: "Added trouble for you."

"You want to say this now?" The woman looked at him and said: "Do you think I want to hear this?"

"Rest assured, I won't let him find trouble with you." Nie Liansheng seemed to have made some decision, signaled to the back kitchen and said: "Today's work is like this; I'm going back to pack my luggage now..."

"What are you doing!" The woman grabbed his arm, stared, and asked: "You want to go with him?"

"Go with him for what? He's here to urge life."

Nie Liansheng shook his head with a bitter smile, reached out and pressed the woman's hand that was pulling his arm, and said: "I'll walk far away; I shouldn't have come back in the first place."

"Don't tell me this; I don't want to hear it."

The woman stubbornly refused to let go, looked at him and said: "You can't go, and you can't go with him."

"Not go? If you don't go, can you be at ease?"

Nie Liansheng sighed again and said frankly: "You don't owe me anything; it's I who owe you."

"Thank you for being able to take me in for so long and give me a bite to eat; our fate is exhausted."

"Not exhausted, I say not exhausted, it's not exhausted!"

The woman's voice was a bit hysterical; the waiters in the restaurant lobby had already hidden in the back kitchen, not daring to listen to the dialogue between the two.

"It's not that I have a knot in my heart; it's that you have a knot in your heart!"

The woman pulled Nie Liansheng and said: "I am willing to support you; it's you who want to go to the back kitchen."

Nie Liansheng was silent; he didn't know how to explain, and even less how to tell the woman.

He used to be her umbrella; now he is an old bachelor; what face does he have to eat and drink for free.

It's not that the woman hadn't taken the initiative to approach him; it's just that he couldn't pass the hurdle in his heart.

Just like what the woman said, he has a knot in his heart; after a long time, it can't be untied.

"You want to go with him to do things."

The woman gave up arguing because of his silence; after a long while, she said: "I know this restaurant can't keep you, and I can't keep you either."

"You don't need to provoke me." Nie Liansheng sat on the stool, let out a long breath and said: "You don't know how much energy he has; he has been eyeing this restaurant long ago; you came back to open, I came back, he knew it all."

"There was no movement for a year; today he suddenly came here to eat; you say what is he for?"

Nie Liansheng raised his head, looked at the woman and said: "I don't go, you won't have peace here."

"Can't we live a good life?"

The woman's tone softened, she sat on the stool against him, and said almost pleadingly: "Just guarding this shop, can he still tie you up?"

"If he really tied me up, it would be fine."

Nie Liansheng smiled bitterly, let the woman pull his hand, and said: "You don't understand; he will never be at ease until he sees me dead, unless I work for him."

The woman was stunned; she couldn't understand the helplessness and determination in his words. How is the man's world so complicated, either you die or I die.

"Let me think, give me some time."

Nie Liansheng patted her hand, stood up and went outside the door; the woman couldn't keep him.

In this restaurant, Nie Liansheng's identity is also awkward, and getting along with the woman is also awkward; today, this awkwardness was resolved, but the two need to re-determine the relationship.

The woman wants to give him a home, but he can't just enter this home like this; a man always needs face.

Nie Liansheng now has two paths: either give up this home and run away, or obediently go to work for Li Xuewu, earn some prestige, and give the woman a home.

A man, never heard of a woman giving a home.

"Is it so sumptuous?"

Xu Sinian was visiting Li Xuewu's home in the Steel City for the first time; he had heard about the "hiding a beauty in a golden house."

It's just that the golden house was seen, where did the beauty go?

"Drink white or beer?"

Li Xuewu pointed to the refrigerator and said: "Beer is in the refrigerator, white is in the cabinet."

"Forget it, let's have some white."

Xu Sinian looked at the food on the table; drinking beer would be a bit of a waste.

Of course, he knew Li Xuewu's drinking capacity was infinite; beer or white didn't matter; anyway, he couldn't drink him under the table.

No need for Li Xuewu to help; he took the initiative to take the Five-Star Moutai from the cabinet and opened it himself.

"I can't imagine, it's difficult enough for you to live here alone, and you have to bring a child."

Xu Sinian filled his cup first, then poured his own.

He was talking about Bang Geng, who was putting meat and vegetables into the pot; today they were eating seafood hot pot.

In this year, where is there any proper seafood hot pot? It's just that Li Xuewu has ways, and there's nothing missing in the refrigerator.

The green vegetables were picked from the courtyard; Zhou Wang Yamei took good care of the courtyard before she left, and grass had grown these past few days.

It's impossible for Li Xuewu to take care of the courtyard, and even more impossible for Bang Geng, but preparing food is still possible.

The ingredients for the soup pot are all well-matched; meat and seafood are ready-made in the refrigerator, and he can only use this to entertain Xu Sinian who came from afar.

It's inconvenient to go to a restaurant late at night, and it's too formal to go to the guest house; now it's convenient at home.

"If you didn't come, we wouldn't have any difficulty." Li Xuewu pointed to the big-faced cat and asked him: "Do you see this child looking like he's suffering or hungry?"

"I said I'd treat, but you insisted on eating at home." Xu Sinian let go here too and joked: "I thought we were eating something good."

He deliberately glanced at the restaurant, wanting to find some traces of hiding a beauty in a golden house, but unfortunately, a week had passed; let alone Zhou Wang Yamei's meticulousness, even his and Bang Geng's laziness made Zhou Wang Yamei's traces disappear.

"This is already awesome enough; what else do you want to eat?" Li Xuewu pointed to the hot pot and said: "It's just you; I wouldn't entertain others."

"Yes, yes, thank you."

Xu Sinian was talking nonsense, but his chopsticks had already reached into the pot to pick up meat to eat.

If it wasn't delicious, could he still move his chopsticks?

"Whose child is this?"

Seeing him pick up meat, this child glared at him, meaning: if you want to eat, add it yourself?

He also found it funny; what kind of good child could a child living with Li Xuewu be?

However, Xu Sinian didn't think in the wrong direction; Li Xuewu was only in his early twenties; how could he possibly have a child of fourteen or fifteen.

"Who do you think he looks like?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, picked up a scallop, saw the meat was still there, so he shaved the meat and ate it.

Seafood hot pot, naturally must have seafood.

Xu Sinian heard him say this and knew that he must know the child's parents.

Being able to live with Li Xuewu, and he knows the child's parents, then whose child is this?

"Whose are you?" He didn't talk nonsense with Li Xuewu and asked Bang Geng directly.

Bang Geng is a good child, of course he has to give face, raised his eyebrows and replied: "Guess."

"Grass, still quite interesting!"

Xu Sinian turned to look at Li Xuewu and asked: "Which heartless parent dares to send their child to you to bring up, not afraid of learning bad things."

"Rest assured, won't learn bad things."

Li Xuewu raised his glass to toast him and said: "At least I didn't teach him profanity."

"Got it, I'm the bad guy."

Xu Sinian pleaded guilty, raised the glass in his hand, and drank it all.

Actually, even if he drank the wine in the cup, there wasn't much; how long would it take to get drunk with a two-qian cup.

Today, the two of them didn't eat to get drunk; they just gathered to talk.

"A kid this big doesn't study anymore?"

Xu Sinian's gaze was still on Bang Geng, turned to Li Xuewu and said: "Hey, have you heard, the United School is going to open shipbuilding and shipping management majors this year; do you have any connections to think about it?"

"Can his mom think better than me?"

Li Xuewu ate a piece of meat, looked at Bang Geng amusedly and said: "His mom can't think clearly, why should I worry about that? As long as he doesn't starve to death with me, it's fine."

"Qin Huairu's son—"

Xu Sinian thought of this as soon as he heard him say this; Li Xuewu's connections were just these.

Seeing Li Xuewu didn't deny it, he looked at Bang Geng carefully and said amusedly: "Looking at it this way, it really looks a bit like it, especially this face."

"What is she thinking, sending the child to you, and not studying?"

"Studying is hard, don't want to study anymore."

Bang Geng answered on his own initiative: "If you go back to Beijing and see my mom, don't tell her about me being here."

"Hehe—" Xu Sinian laughed out loud seeing him so adventurous.

"How do you know I can see your mom when I go back to Beijing?"

"Unless you live at home."

Bang Geng rolled his eyes, and all the meat on his side was taken away; he didn't want to give it to him for free.

"My mom is the director of the guest house; you asked this question in vain."

"Did you teach all this?" Xu Sinian pointed to Bang Geng and asked Li Xuewu: "Has your style."

"Not at all, I don't have time to teach apprentices; the child grew crooked by himself."

Li Xuewu was also joking and teased Bang Geng.

Bang Geng didn't care and just struggled with the meat in the pot; he still liked eating meat very much.

"I know about the United School opening new majors, it was Director Dong's suggestion."

Li Xuewu said while eating: "The conditions this year are not mature, and next year we will open an aircraft major."

"Very good, flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the water, all are complete."

Xu Sinian nodded with a smile and said: "With the support of the United School, we have solved the problem of shortage of professional talents in the future."

"Development, after all, cannot be separated from talents."

Li Xuewu glanced at him and asked: "How much is the target for the second half of the year for Yingcheng Shipbuilding?"

Before Xu Sinian could answer, he emphasized: "If it's lower than the same period last year and the first half of the year, you don't have to report it; I'd be ashamed to report it."

"Up 5%, this is the limit."

Xu Sinian shook his head slightly and said: "You also know that business is easy to do in the first half of the year, but not in the second half; I'm still waiting for the Yingcheng Port area to drive shipbuilding."

"Speed still needs to be improved, ship speed."

Li Xuewu looked at him and said: "Once the port area is operational, you won't be able to take many orders."

"Furthermore, cooperation with Bincheng Shipbuilding must also be strengthened, making full use of their advantages."

"I thought of this; I've been thinking about this recently." Xu Sinian ate a crab, nodded and said: "Work was too busy some time ago; audit and organizational construction work took up most of the time."

"It's useless for you to complain to me; work has been arranged; are you not executing it, or am I not executing it?"

Li Xuewu picked up green vegetables for Bang Geng and said: "Shenfei has the intention to carry out cooperation; it's a big project; if it can really be done, the integrated parts industry in the Steel City will really rise."

"Big project?" Xu Sinian could hear the meaning in his words and asked: "How much can there be?"

"Unimaginable, very much."

Li Xuewu looked at him and said: "Achieving breakthroughs in both technology and production, after the auto parts industry, the aircraft parts manufacturing also has a goal; when will your Yingcheng Shipbuilding unify the Jianghu."

"Stop messing around, unify the Jianghu; what are we, small fish and shrimp."

Xu Sinian curled his lips and said: "Haven't you heard, Bincheng and Jinmen also have 10,000-ton shipbuilding equipment; there will be big moves next."

"Isn't this just right." Li Xuewu said: "Even the Construction General Company is looking for connections to take on projects; can you still sit still?"

"Two different things, two different things."

Xu Sinian picked up green vegetables and said: "Our factory's auto industry has risen abruptly; I admire getting the key to the industrial chain very much."

"You just said you want to do an aircraft parts supply chain; I think it's also possible."

He ate green vegetables, looked at Li Xuewu and said: "If you do a parts supply chain industry in the shipbuilding industry, I think it's not very realistic."

"You also know that shipbuilding parts are very large, and there are transportation requirements."

Xu Sinian raised his chopsticks and said: "Even storage and transfer are considered difficult, let alone customization."

"Large ships are all one ship, one design, unless you are talking about small fishing boats, or small boats like speedboats."

"Then try to achieve standardization."

Li Xuewu said seriously: "Yingcheng Shipbuilding's manufacturing volume now definitely cannot be counted as modern."

"You can say that it can meet order demands now, and can build 10,000-ton large ships, but what about the future?"

"When breakthroughs cannot be achieved in equipment, technology, etc., standardized production and assembly are the only ways to speed up shipbuilding."

"I'll go back and think about what you said."

Xu Sinian scratched his head, looked at Li Xuewu and complained: "This is a system project, not a screw, a piece of iron plate."

"Industrial enterprises themselves must face the choices and tests of the times at any time." Li Xuewu pointed to the hot pot, let him eat more, and continued: "If you don't consider the future now, the future won't consider you."

"Don't always think about fighting alone."

Li Xuewu reminded him again: "Report work to Director Li more, coordinate with the Scientific Research Institute, you have to put in some effort."

"Where is this just a little bit."

Xu Sinian complained, but still nodded, pointed to Bang Geng and said: "Kid, go get more meat." ===== CHAPTER 1431 =====

"Don't always think about fighting alone."

Li Xuewu reminded him again: "Report your work to Director Li more often, and then coordinate with the Research Institute. You need to put in some effort."

"This is hardly just a little bit."

Xu Sinian complained, but he still nodded, pointed at Bang Geng, and said: "Kid, go get more meat."