Chapter 152 - 125: Tell Me, Who Is She Still Waiting For?
"Brother, I want to ride a big boat. Can you take me, please?" Zhou Momo ran over, hugging his leg and wheedling, her big eyes full of anticipation.
Zhou Yan glanced at his watch, then at the tour boat schedule nearby, and shook his head with a smile. "Sorry, the tour boats have stopped running for the day. We definitely can’t get on one now. We’ll ride one next time."
"Okay..." Zhou Momo let go, her spirits sinking.
"Here, I bought you some braised pig ears." Zhou Yan opened the package he had just bought and handed it to Zhou Momo.
"Brother, I love you!" Zhou Momo shouted happily. She picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth. After a few chews, her little brows furrowed. "It’s not as good as yours."
"You make braised pig ears yourself, so why’d you buy these?" Mrs. Zhao also picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, shaking her head as well. "It’s too salty! And not very flavorful. Yours is definitely better."
"I wanted to ask the owner for some information, and it’s easier to ask if you’re a customer. He told me everything in the time it took him to slice the ears," Zhou Yan said with a smile, glancing at the evaluation that appeared in his vision.
[A serving of unremarkable braised pig ears]
Looking back at the braised food shop packed with customers, he remarked with some feeling, "See? A good storefront can sell such ordinary pig ears for three yuan a jin."
Hopping on their bike, the family of four began their contented journey back to Suji.
On the way, Mrs. Zhao asked about the price of the house. She was stunned to hear it was over ten thousand yuan.
"Are you planning to buy it?" Mrs. Zhao asked, looking at Zhou Yan. "Even if you can rent out the two storefronts for thirty yuan a month, that’s only three hundred and sixty a year. It would take thirty years to make your money back."
"That’s not how you calculate it. This year it might be three-sixty, but next year it could be five hundred, and the year after, eight hundred. We could break even in less than ten years," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "But for now, let’s focus on saving up ten thousand yuan before we talk about anything else."
Mrs. Zhao didn’t understand where Zhou Yan’s confidence came from, but seeing his determined gaze, she didn’t press the matter.
’Save up, then!’
’We’ll save together!’
’A family has to work together to achieve great things!’
When they only had five hundred yuan, they had dared to give it all to Zhou Yan to open his restaurant and even helped him borrow over eight hundred more.
Zhou Yan knew more than they did and was more farsighted. If he said it was worth buying, then they would buy it.
By the time they got back to Suji, it was almost dark.
After his shower, Zhou Yan took out his account books and went over them.
Today’s trip into the city cost 273.9 yuan. The savings on hand were now 510.72 yuan.
’As for the ten thousand yuan savings goal...’
’It’s still a long way off.’
Zhou Yan took out a notebook and wrote down the names of several restaurants, along with their addresses.
These were the larger restaurants he had seen while walking around Jiazhou today. He had jotted down all their addresses.
When he had a free day, he planned to go to Jiazhou alone and visit them one by one to see if any of them didn’t make their own braised meat and would be willing to source it from him.
He couldn’t sell his stir-fries or other cooked dishes to other restaurants, but braised meat was a different story.
The old lady had already proven this decades ago.
Tomorrow morning, he also had to invite the old lady over to guide him in preparing the second batch of braising liquid and to give him more pointers on the new round of braised beef.
An elder in the family is a treasure.
He felt much more secure with the old lady overseeing things.
Tomorrow, he had to supply braised meat for his master. You couldn’t be too careful with an occasion like an outdoor banquet.
Then he could also ask her for the list of restaurants that used to buy braised meat from her back in the day, which would make his search more targeted.
Ten or twenty years had passed. The old lady was now seventy-five. Whether those restaurants had been passed down to the next generation, or if they would still want his family’s braised meat, were all unknowns.
After putting the money and account books back in the box, Zhou Yan took out some letter paper and his Parker fountain pen. After a moment of thought, he began to write his reply to Xia Yao.
Today’s trip to Jiazhou was like a stone tossed into the placid waters of his tedious, busy life. He suddenly had many things he wanted to share with her.
For instance, the distinctly different styles of tofu pudding in Jiazhou, the house with a river view, and Zhou Momo’s excitement after getting her crayons...
His thoughts flowed like a spring, and he quickly filled three pages.
In the letter, Zhou Yan also asked for her advice regarding the homeowner’s entanglement. He wanted to know the most proper way to approach a young lady from such a wealthy family to gain her trust.
In his two lifetimes, the person he’d met who most resembled a young lady from a wealthy family was probably Xia Yao.
’Friends are supposed to help each other and improve together, after all.’
Zhou Yan slipped the letter into an envelope and wrote four words on it: "For Xia Yao’s Eyes."
’Having a pen pal is pretty nice.’
...
The next day at the crack of dawn, Comrade Zhou and his father went out to buy groceries.
When they returned, the old lady was sitting on the back of Comrade Zhou’s bike, holding a small jar.
The bike slowed to a stop, and the old lady hopped right off, still clutching the jar.
"Whoa! Grandma, be careful!" Zhou Yan, who had been about to step forward and help her, jumped in fright.
"What’s there to be scared of? I can still chase a dog with a carrying pole until it yelps! You might not even be in as good shape as me." The old lady waved her hand dismissively and walked straight into the restaurant, asking, "Where’s my dear granddaughter? I haven’t seen the little darling in ages."