Chapter 44 Chapter 44 A Zhou, Here I Come

"Brother!" A crisp voice came, and Lu Mingzhou was awakened.

As soon as Lu Mingzhou got out of the car, Ye Anyu ran to him.

Ye Anyu looked surprised, then smiled and said, "Brother, how come you're here so fast?" Logically speaking, it would take Lu Mingzhou at least ten minutes to arrive.

In reality, Lu Mingzhou had left work ten minutes early. He vaguely explained, "The company is relatively close to here."

Lu Mingzhou arrived early, which was something Ye Anyu was very happy about. He didn't even bother to think about why he arrived early.

"Brother, I came here today for another thing." Ye Anyu said with a smile.

Lu Mingzhou was confused and asked, "What's the matter?"

Ye Anyu tugged at his sleeve and said, "Brother, you've helped me a lot during this period. I have no way to repay you, so I want to treat you to a meal."

Hearing this, Lu Mingzhou's expression changed. Ye Anyu immediately explained, "Brother, don't misunderstand me. My promise to you still stands. I just want to treat you to a meal."

Hearing this explanation, Lu Mingzhou smiled and said, "Okay."

"Um, brother, what do you want to eat?" Ye Anyu asked.

"What about you?" Lu Mingzhou asked back.

Ye Anyu pouted and said, "Brother, since I'm treating you to dinner today, I'm going to have to eat something you like."

Lu Mingzhou didn't say anything, but walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and said to Ye Anyu: "Get in."

Ye Anyu was a little confused and stood there without moving.

Lu Mingzhou explained: "Didn't you say you wanted to eat what I like? Get in the car, I'll take you there."

After the car started, it drove around the road for about half an hour and finally stopped in front of an antique restaurant.

Ye Anyu had only heard of this restaurant but had never eaten there.

The store is not big, but the decoration outside is simple and elegant, with an ancient charm. As soon as I walked to the door, I could smell the fragrance of food.

Ye Anyu followed Lu Mingzhou in. As soon as they entered, a man in his fifties or sixties came to greet them. He smiled and said, "Azhou, here you are."

Ah Zhou? Who was he calling? It wasn't until he saw Lu Mingzhou nodded and said "hmm" that Ye Anyu realized that the Ah Zhou was calling Lu Mingzhou.

When Ye Anyu walked forward, the middle-aged man seemed a little surprised. He asked, "A Zhou, who is this?"

"Uncle Ming, she is Anyu." Lu Mingzhou looked at Ye Anyu and said.

Hearing this, Uncle Ming's eyes lit up and the smile on his face became even more intense. He said, "Hello, Miss Ye."

Ye Anyu didn't expect this person to take the initiative to greet her. She was stunned for a moment before saying, "Hello."

"Azhou, is it still the same box as before?" Uncle Ming asked.

The private room from before? That means Lu Mingzhou often comes here to eat. I didn’t expect that this small restaurant actually has a private room.

Ye Anyu followed Lu Mingzhou inside. After a few steps, they arrived at the private room. They opened the door and went in. Although the private room was not big, it was small, exquisite, tidy and clean.

As soon as the two sat down, the man who was called Uncle Ming walked in. He had a smile on his face and a menu in his hand. He handed the menu to Lu Mingzhou, who then handed it to Ye Anyu.

In fact, Uncle Ming didn’t need to bring a paper menu because the store allows orders to be placed by scanning the QR code, but Ye Anyu still took the menu.

Uncle Ming smiled very kindly and said, "Miss Ye, is there anything you would like to eat?"

Ye Anyu raised her head and glanced at Lu Mingzhou, and Lu Mingzhou also gestured for her to order food.

Ye Anyu had no choice but to obey. She glanced at the menu and found many dishes looked good, but since it was her first time here, she didn't know which ones would taste better.

She handed the menu to Lu Mingzhou and said, "Brother, this is my first time here, why don't you order?" Besides, she was the one treating him to dinner today, so it didn't make sense for him to just order for himself.

Lu Mingzhou took the menu but didn't look at it. He handed it back to Uncle Ming and said, "Uncle Ming, it's still the same dishes I usually eat, plus two signature dishes."

"Okay!"

When Uncle Ming pushed the door open and left, they were the only two left in the box. Before Ye Anyu could ask, Lu Mingzhou spoke up: "That was Uncle Ming just now. You can call him Uncle Ming like me."

Ye Anyu nodded and asked, "Brother, do you often come here to eat?"

"Not very often. I have liked the food here since I was a child. I used to come here often when I was little. Now I'm used to it and I come here several times every year," Lu Mingzhou explained.

So that's how it is.

"Has Uncle Ming been here all the time?" Ye Anyu asked.

"Of course, this restaurant was opened by Uncle Ming. Originally, there were no private rooms here. Later, because I would be coming, Uncle Ming asked someone to set up these private rooms." Ye Anyu noticed that when Lu Mingzhou said this, his body was very relaxed and there was a smile on his face.

Ye Anyu really didn't realize that Uncle Ming was the owner of this place. Maybe it was because he felt that Uncle Ming was a little old, which didn't fit in with the style of the restaurant that suited young people.

Thinking of this, the door of the box suddenly opened. Ye Anyu thought that someone was serving food, but unexpectedly a girl rushed in: "Brother Mingzhou, you're here!"

The girl probably didn't expect that there were other people in the box. When she saw Ye Anyu, she was a little dazed. She hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Brother Mingzhou, who is she?"

While talking, Ye Anyu finally saw the girl's appearance clearly. The girl looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a pink sweatshirt, with long hair that was dyed blue at the roots, and big eyes.

Before Lu Mingzhou could say anything, Uncle Ming came over and said, "Xiaoyun, why are you so rude? This is Miss Ye, Ah Zhou's wife. You should call her sister-in-law."

"Miss Ye? So you are Brother Mingzhou's wife." The girl looked Ye Anyu up and down, making Ye Anyu feel a little uncomfortable.

"Xiao Yun, how did you talk to your sister-in-law? Apologize to her immediately."

Then Uncle Ming smiled and looked at Ye Anyu, saying, "Miss Ye, I'm sorry. Ayun is my little daughter, and I usually dote on her too much, so I was so rude. Please don't take it to heart."

Although Ye Anyu felt a little uncomfortable, she couldn't refuse Uncle Ming's apology since he had already done so. After all, Lu Mingzhou was still sitting next to her. She forced a smile and said, "It's okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Mingzhou, who was standing beside him, said with a serious face: "Xue Yun, speak properly."

Xue Yun saw Lu Mingzhou's serious expression and left reluctantly. After he left, Uncle Ming continued to apologize: "Azhou, don't be angry. I spoiled Ayun."

Lu Mingzhou was about to say something, but Ye Anyu was afraid that it would damage the relationship between the two of them, so she rushed to say, "Uncle Ming, it's okay." Then she looked at Lu Mingzhou and said, "It's really okay."

But Ye Anyu could also see that Xue Yun liked Lu Mingzhou, so he was so hostile to her.

After Ye Anyu spoke, Lu Mingzhou moved his mouth but said nothing.

Uncle Ming came over and brought a plate of appetizers, saying, "Miss Ye, I made this appetizer myself. Ah Zhou really likes it. You can try it."

Ye Anyu was really curious about what Lu Mingzhou liked to eat. She picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in her mouth. It was sour and sweet, crispy and delicious, which was a real eye-opener.

Only then did Ye Anyu realize that this was pickled radish.

I didn’t expect Lu Mingzhou would like to eat this.

"How is it?" Uncle Ming did not leave immediately, but watched Ye Anyu take a bite.

Ye Anyu nodded and said, "It's delicious."

"As long as it tastes good, you can pack some up and take it away when you leave," said Uncle Ming.

"No need, Uncle Ming, it's too much trouble for you." Ye Anyu said hurriedly.

"It's no trouble, it's no trouble. Azhou always takes a little away every time he comes." After saying this, Uncle Ming left.

Ye Anyu was left with a confused look on his face. He always brought it back home, so why had Ye Anyu never seen it at home? Could it be that Lu Mingzhou didn't bring it home?

Lu Mingzhou said: "There have been fewer visits in recent years, but I do bring some back every time."

"I don't think I've seen it at home." Ye Anyu said.

"It's right on top of the refrigerator."

"In that ceramic bottle?"

Lu Mingzhou nodded.

No wonder she had no impression of it. It turned out that it was placed in that ceramic bottle. At home, Ye Anyu never touched Lu Mingzhou's things casually, so she didn't know.

"If you like it, ask Uncle Ming to pack more for you to take back later," said Lu Mingzhou.

"Would it be too much trouble for Uncle Ming?" After all, it was Ye Anyu's first time here, and it didn't seem appropriate to bring things back on his first visit.

"No, Uncle Ming is my mother's friend." Lu Mingzhou explained.

"Mrs. Lu." Ye Anyu blurted out. Although Ye Anyu was married to Lu Mingzhou, she rarely went back to his parents' home, so she was not used to calling Mrs. Lu "Mom". She usually addressed her as Mrs. Lu.

Lu Mingzhou paused and said, "No, she is my biological mother."

He blurted out the words without thinking, forgetting that the current Mrs. Lu was not Lu Mingzhou's biological mother. Ye Anyu quickly apologized and said, "I'm sorry, I..."

"It doesn't matter."

Ye Anyu only knew that Lu Mingzhou's mother was not the current Mrs. Lu, but she had never heard from him about his biological mother. She knew that this was his taboo, so she prepared to change the subject.

Before she could speak, Lu Mingzhou spoke first: "Uncle Ming and my mother are old friends. Uncle Ming told me a lot about my mother."

So that's why. No wonder Lu Mingzhou and Uncle Ming have such a good relationship.

While they were talking, Uncle Ming knocked on the door of the box again, ending their conversation. Uncle Ming brought a dish of yam and pork ribs soup and placed it on the table.

"This yam and pork rib soup is our restaurant's signature dish. Ah Zhou orders it every time he comes. Miss Ye, you should try it too."

Ye Anyu nodded.

Lu Mingzhou picked up the bowl, scooped some soup with a spoon, added a piece of pork ribs and a few pieces of yam, and handed it to Ye Anyu, saying gently: "Try it."