Chapter 42: Aunt's Ambition

Chapter 43 Aunt's Ambition

On the fourth day, the "Youth Restaurant" opened its doors again, but this time they put up a brand new big sign at the door that read "New Products, Today's Specials".

With the promotion by Fang Qing and Wen Ling in the class, many students came after lunch to try out this mysterious new product.

As soon as the braised noodles were launched, they were immediately loved by students. The chewy noodles were mixed with the aroma of beans and meat, and topped with chili and garlic juice. The taste instantly captured the stomachs of a large number of students. Students paid to book dinner, and the restaurant became lively again.

The surrounding merchants gritted their teeth when they saw this, but it was the other party's ability to launch new products to attract customers, and they could only watch helplessly.

Several store owners discussed it and decided that since the new product was good, they would continue to copy it and learn whatever you did.

Soon, surrounding shops also launched new braised noodles. Although they still snatched away some customers, Fang’s braised noodles tasted good after all, so the performance was still good.

But my aunt really couldn't stand the disgusting faces of the people around her, and she even lost the motivation to work. After a few days, my aunt asked for leave and went back to her hometown to farm.

After the aunt left, Fang's mother was the only one left in the store. After class, Fang Qing saw his mother tapping her shoulders due to exhaustion and felt very distressed. He simply changed the business hours to only five hours a day, from noon to five in the afternoon, to leave more rest time for his mother.

When Fang's mother saw that she wanted to change the time, she immediately stopped her and said, "Qingqing, our business is just getting better. Why are you suddenly shortening your business hours? You are just undermining your own business!"

Fang Qing remembered a professional term he saw in a book, called hunger marketing. He leaned over and whispered the principle into his mother's ear, then assured her that it would be better to prepare more braised noodles tomorrow.

Although Fang's mother didn't believe it, she still prepared fifty more boxes. When the door opened at noon, the students who were queuing outside immediately rushed in, each buying two or three boxes. When the students left, there were only a dozen boxes left in the store.

Fang's mother was tired and excited. "This is really weird. Why are there more people buying things when they are hungry? Oh, I don't understand. They are just hungry..."

The braised noodles made the Qingchun Restaurant famous. No matter how the surrounding shops tried to attract customers, the number of people lining up outside the Qingchun Restaurant increased.

After work that day, my aunt bought vegetables from the market and happened to pass by the street of No. 1 Middle School. From a distance, she saw a long line in front of a restaurant. Out of curiosity, my aunt Wang Huizheng stopped the car and stood behind the line, asking people around her while waiting in line.

"Hey, lady, what are you selling? Why are there so many people lining up?"

The older sister pointed inside with an aluminum basin in her hand. "This restaurant is new. Their braised noodles and rice bowls are both very good, but there's only one owner, so they only serve for a limited time each day. If you're late, they'll be gone! You're here today, but you won't be able to buy them after the students get out of class!"

The eldest aunt lost interest when she heard what rice and braised noodles were. She might have been a little interested in other things, but for braised noodles, she only admired the cooking skills of the second brother and sister-in-law. Although the two of them didn't get along, the cooking skills of the second brother and sister-in-law were indeed superb.

Wang Huizheng found it boring and was about to turn around and leave, but suddenly he saw a group of students running towards him from a distance, led by his niece Fang Qing.

Wang Huizheng curled his lips. This girl really spends money recklessly. Her family is so poor that they are starving, but she still wants to go out to eat! What a spendthrift.

But as Wang Huizheng was watching, Fang Qing skillfully opened the side door and went in. Then he put on clean gloves, apron and hat, and called on the people in line to take numbers and get their braised noodles.

Wang Huizheng felt a little relieved. This was right. She studied hard and worked part-time to supplement the family income. It seemed that this girl had made some progress.

Just as she was condescendingly imagining the miserable future life of the second wife, Fang's mother unexpectedly came out and said, "Qingqing, the vinegar is gone. Go buy two bottles."

Wang Huizheng was stunned for a moment. He ran over in two or three steps, pushed aside the people in line and tried to squeeze in. "Liu Chunxia! It's you?"

But before she could step in, several people queuing at the door pushed her out, "Go to the queue at the back! Who are you? You look like a decent person, why are you cutting in line?"

Wang Huizheng was pointed at by people around her. She was stunned for a while before she realized that the second brother's plan to open a restaurant was true, and they actually opened it! Business is so good!

How can this be possible? Didn’t they say they already had a lot of fruits? How can they still have money to open a restaurant?

They must have hidden the money!

Wang Huizheng gritted her teeth as she looked at the popular store; jealousy made her face even more distorted.

You want to make money and live a good life without us? No way! You just wait!

Wang Huizheng grabbed the bag on the ground, rode his bike back home quickly, and told Mrs. Fang everything he had seen today, adding exaggerations to it.

"Mom, didn't you see the people lining up? They lined up all the way to the central square! Their business is so good, they must have made a lot of money! Mom, even though we've split up the family, you're still their mother. How can they take over the store all by themselves? You should at least get a share..."

Old Mrs. Fang lay in the rocking chair with her eyes closed, listening to her eldest daughter-in-law's complaints, but she didn't take it to heart at all.

"Hui Zheng, you should always examine yourself and look for problems in yourself instead of always focusing on other people's small businesses! It's their freedom to do what they want. I'm an old lady and I can't control so much. You should also stop worrying about it!"

Wang Huizheng didn't expect the old lady to say this. He immediately turned his eyes and said aggrievedly, "Mom, am I doing this for myself? I'm doing this for you! The second son's family bought a house without saying anything. I heard from the third son that the house and the land are very beautiful. How much money did it cost? That's not all. Now they have opened a restaurant. With the money they borrowed, can they do so many things?

I don't believe it anyway! He must have been secretly saving money before, just waiting to split up the family business and get rid of you so that he can live a luxurious life on his own!"

Seeing that the old lady seemed touched, she immediately became motivated, "Mom, think about it, you only ask them for thirty yuan a month, and now they are big bosses, thirty is too little, at least they should give you a hundred a month..."

one hundred?

The old lady finally opened her eyes, and the Buddhist beads in her mind stopped spinning. She slowly sat up and stretched out her hand to her eldest daughter-in-law. "What you said does make sense. However, the second son's monthly salary is only a few dozen yuan, and it suddenly increases to a hundred yuan. Is this... appropriate?"

"Of course, of course! You are their mother, and it is their duty to respect their parents! Not to mention 100 per month, even 200 per month is something they can afford!"

The old lady stood up, looked out the window for a long time without saying a word, and finally sighed.

"I'll do as you say!"

(End of this chapter)