Chapter 174 Airport Pickup

With strength as a backing, communication will be much smoother.

Yue Ning commented on the chefs sent to Hong Kong City for exchanges. There were more than 30 of them. In her words, she was like a diligent and responsible class teacher who listed the students' situations, the strengths and weaknesses of each person, as well as their performance in recent months. She could tell them all.

It was obvious that she truly treated these people as apprentices and taught them wholeheartedly.

"Among this group of people, the one who has made the most significant progress is Ma Yaoxing from our Fuyunlou. He didn't come back this time. He has to cooperate with my grandfather's apprentice Zhang Junming to participate in the semi-finals of the "Chef Contest". He has been trying new dishes these days. He is extremely talented. Before leaving, he has been studying hard on his own. He has done everything he can figure out on his own. After someone helped him broaden his thinking, he was able to master it very quickly."

"The first group that went out of Fuyun Building was three people, and you chose two for the second group, right?" Song Ziqiang asked her.

"That's right. These five people will come back within two months of each other, so they can basically come back together by then. With the five of them, the development of Fuyun Building will pick up." Yue Ning said.

Master Dong was drinking his soup, feeling extremely anxious. Nowadays, the customer flow of Dongfanglou is even greater than that of Fuyunlou. When these five people come back, if Fuyunlou is really promoted, Dongfanglou will fall behind again.

"Director Song, when will the next batch of chefs be selected?" asked Chef Dong.

Song Ziqiang smiled, and he knew that although the old man had a stubborn temper, he was kind-hearted and willing to consider the people below him. He said, "Ask Xiaoyue when she needs someone."

Master Dong looked at Yue Ning at this moment, thinking back to her politeness and respect when they first met. He thought she was glib and eloquent. Such a capable child could still be so humble, while he had been taking advantage of his age.

He tried to force a smile, but because he was usually serious, the smile seemed a little far-fetched: "Xiao Yue, can you give Dongfanglou a few more spots in the next batch of chef selection?"

"Master Dong, what do you mean by more places? Everyone has fought tooth and nail for these places." said the manager of a restaurant.

Master Dong explained: "We didn't deliver the previous batch from Dongfang Building, can't we make up for it with the next batch?"

"Boss, it was you who didn't allow your disciples to go in the last batch, why should you be given more places this time?" A chef didn't give him face.

Yue Ning smiled and said, "I am very happy that the chefs look up to a little girl like me. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, so let's have a good year first. Next year, the Causeway Bay branch of Po Wah Building is expected to open in March or April. There is also a 'Lu Fu Family Banquet' under Ning Yan, which focuses on northern Cantonese cuisine. It is planned to open in Central. The site is still being selected and it is estimated to open in the middle of next year. After the Chinese New Year, I will come back to select a dozen chefs, and another ten in April and May. There will be roughly 20 vacancies. I hope everyone will sign up actively and I will recruit the best ones."

"Of course, of course."

"What's the matter with the 'Lu Mansion Family Banquet'?" Song Ziqiang asked.

"A dark horse emerged from the "Chef Masters Competition", the heir of Beijing Lu's cuisine..."

Yue Ning introduced Lu Peide's basic situation to Song Ziqiang, saying only that Master Lu believed that there was a shortage of talented Cantonese chefs in the mainland and that many traditional dishes had been lost, so he asked his nephew to go to Hong Kong to try his luck.

The heir of the Lu family was indeed extremely powerful, and he won the first game with absolute advantage as soon as he came on the court.

When everyone heard that the next match would be the semi-final between Baohualou and this successor, one chef couldn't help but say, "We are the authentic Cantonese cuisine, Baohualou can't lose."

Yue Ning smiled and said, "But Brother Lu is from our mainland. The mainland has me and Brother Lu. Doesn't this just show that our mainland is full of talented people?"

“That makes sense!”

Song Ziqiang smiled and said, "Anyway, if you recruit him into Baohua Building, you will win no matter what."

Yue Ning smiled and nodded: "Director Song, if you see through it, why don't you say it out loud?"

After dinner and seeing off the chefs, Song Ziqiang called Yue Ning and went to the Fuyun Building office to chat.

"Xiao Yue, the country is piloting joint ventures between state-owned enterprises and Hong Kong and Macao enterprises. Yuecheng ranks first. I think it is the safest way to use Fuyunlou as a joint venture with you. You are the descendants of Fuyunlou, and you have a legacy and affection for Fuyunlou. Moreover, you sincerely want to do something for the mainland. The key is that you also have excellent management ability."

This was exactly what Yue Ning had always wanted to do, so he agreed without hesitation. Since both parties had this intention, they put the matter on the agenda.

Yue Ning agreed, and Song Ziqiang continued, "However, we are a socialist country after all, and this is also a state-owned restaurant. We can't be like your Ningyan, detached from the masses. Let's follow the positioning of Baohualou, what do you think?"

"Of course. First of all, the mainland's economy has not yet taken off, and there are very few consumers like that. And when Hong'an enters the mainland, it must hold a Ningyan banquet in the Hong'an Hotel. According to the positioning of Baohua Building, it is the most suitable." Yue Ning agreed with this idea very much, and then said, "Director Song, I have a brother who grew up with me. I want him to be an apprentice in Fuyun Building. Can you help him get a place?"

Yue Ning will always remember that when her father had just passed away, Uncle Mo was in poor health, and the little food they had was not enough to feed them, let alone keep them alive.

Afa is the youngest son in the family. His parents favor him and cook eggs for him. Yue Ning sets his sights on these eggs and asks Afa for eggs to nourish Uncle Mo.

Even though it was only a matter of a month or so, and only a dozen or twenty eggs, it was a timely help! How could Yue Ning not repay this favor?

"If it doesn't involve the transfer of household registration, there is no labor insurance, which means it is a temporary worker. If you want to have a formal relationship, you have to wait for an opportunity. For example, after the two companies form a joint venture, you can use the quota you have to recruit."

"No, no, I just want him to learn a craft."

"Then why not take him to Hong Kong City?"

"Although Hong Kong is a prosperous place, it is also a mixed bag. He is still young, and I am afraid he will learn bad things." Yue Ning sighed slightly, "Also, it will be very inconvenient if he doesn't speak Cantonese. He should learn Cantonese in Fuyun Building and lay a foundation. Then I will take him there."

"It doesn't take up a spot, no problem. I'll arrange it."

Yue Ning and Song Ziqiang drank tea for a while. Seeing that it was almost three o'clock, she borrowed a van from Fuyunlou and prepared to go to the airport to pick up Aunt Chunmei and others.

Since there were only a few people coming to Pengcheng, and Yue Ning knew that Uncle Agen was thinking about Aunt Yueqin and wanted to go back early, she asked Uncle Agen to take a direct plane from Beijing to Yuecheng.

Yue Ning was waiting at the airport arrival area, waiting and waiting... Who are these people?

In the past few months, she had bought a lot of clothes and fabrics for Aunt Chunmei and asked Xiuxiu and A Biao to send them back. Even when Uncle Agen went back this time, she asked him to bring winter cotton clothes for Aunt Chunmei and her husband, as well as Yuanbao.

But what was Aunt Chunmei wearing? She was wearing a sweater made of yarn from old gloves. The colors of the old gloves were different, making the sweater look really terrible. She was holding a bundle wrapped in a large cotton towel in one hand and holding her son Yuanbao in the other.

The others were not much better off. Uncle Zhongyi wore a new cotton-padded jacket, a washed-out dark blue liberation cap on his head, with the brim slightly rolled up, a pair of black coarse cloth trousers with the bottoms casually rolled up, and badly worn black cloth shoes on his feet. He carried a large coarse cloth bag on his shoulders.

In this day and age, you can't just have money to fly, you need a letter of introduction from a state unit to buy a ticket. Therefore, most passengers are at least well-dressed even if they are not fashionable. And they seem particularly out of place in such a group of people.

Yue Ning saw Aunt Chunmei looking around, so he called out, "Aunt, Uncle, Yuanbao, here!"

Yuanbao let go of his mother's hand and ran out: "Sister Ningning!"

"Wow, I haven't seen you for half a year. Yuanbao has grown so tall?" Yue Ning pulled Yuanbao to compare with her. The little guy was almost as tall as her shoulders.

Lu Chunmei had come back to her senses. She said in a loud voice, "This kid has a big appetite. The children's rations were cut in half, but he ate more than his father. All the little food at home went into his stomach."

Yuanbao lowered his head in grievance, Yue Ning touched his head and said: "It's okay, we will be able to eat well in the future."

"Really?"

"real."

Lu Chunmei looked up from top to bottom, then down from bottom to top, carefully examined Yue Ning, and asked in a loud voice: "Ningning, have you really become a capitalist?"

Yue Ning was going to meet Song Ziqiang and several chefs at noon today, so he was naturally dressed more formally, with a dark green Shu brocade jacket on the upper body and black velvet trousers on the lower body, which looked quite luxurious indeed.

Lu Chunmei's voice was so loud that other passengers looked at her sideways, which frightened Yang Zhongyi: "What nonsense are you talking about, woman? Don't hurt anyone."

Lu Chunmei reacted immediately, and her dark face turned pale with fear: "What should I do?"

Yue Ning smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Everyone was just scared by my loud voice."

"Really?" Lu Chunmei asked doubtfully.

"Really? Let's get in the car first and talk about it when we get to the hotel." Yue Ning was just talking when he realized that Uncle Agen was not there. "Where's Uncle Agen?"

"There!" Aunt Chunmei pointed.

Agen was next to them, talking to a woman in a tweed coat. The woman took out a work manual from her bag and handed it to Agen: "Leave me your address and phone number."

Yue Ning was puzzled and asked in a low voice: "Who is this?"

"The woman that Agen let run away before. She chased after Agen when we got off the plane just now."

When Aunt Chunmei mentioned this, Yue Ning remembered it.

When Agen's parents were still alive, they bought him a wife. This woman didn't want to be with Agen and begged him to let her go.

He actually sent her away while his parents were not at home.

At that time, Secretary Fugen had just returned to the village and had been trying to rectify this bad habit, but how could such a thing be so easy to change?

As soon as Secretary Fugen went to do ideological work, the villagers rushed into their house and smashed their pots and pans. The villagers lay on the ground and said, "Since you have made our family extinct, we can forget about our lives."

Agen sent the abducted woman away by himself. Secretary Fugen immediately made his case an example and reported it to the commune and the county, praising Agen highly.

Some villagers don't think so, and call Agen "Shagen" behind his back.

Yue Ning thought of this and saw the woman nodded to them. Yue Ning also nodded to her and greeted her.

After Agen finished writing, the woman took the notebook from him, wrote a few words quickly, tore off the paper and said, "This is my phone number and address. You have to remember that you have a sister here. Go out more often if you have time."

Agen smiled and said, "I see. Your sister-in-law and I are here. There are plenty of opportunities."

The woman nodded: "Yes! When my sister-in-law gives birth, you must tell me. I will bring your brother-in-law and nephews and nieces to visit my sister-in-law and the child."

"good."