Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Jinjiang Solo
What Zhang Mengzhi needs to do now is to accumulate funds, and when the time is right, he will make a big move.
Not to mention that his idea is still good. Now is a good time to buy land for a house. The restaurant that Zhang Mengzhi wants to open is incompatible with the current house. Instead of making major changes to the current house, it is better to buy land and build it according to his own ideas!
Zhang Mengzhi does it as soon as he thinks of it. While he still has time, he not only designs private rooms, but also designs new restaurants.
Even though he has a group of apprentices, Zhang Mengzhi is still busy every day. Even when he is busy, he does not forget to ask someone to install a telephone at his home, and then calls Zhou Guilan in the capital to ask about her life.
In the blink of an eye, it's almost Chinese New Year again.
"Grandma, how are you doing in the capital?"
The eldest wife has been in the capital for two years. Zhang Mengzhi sent 1,000 yuan to Zhou Guilan yesterday for the New Year. He thought that the money that the eldest wife took away before should have been used up.
"I'm doing well, Mengzhi, don't worry. How are you doing back home? Are your parents in good health? Is Xiaoyu obedient..."
Zhou Guilan was at her second son's home, holding the phone and listening to the familiar voice on the other end, tears were about to fall. Before, because the Zhang family didn't have a phone, she could only write letters to the Zhang family occasionally. Direct phone calls like this were rare.
It was not until Zhang Mengzhi installed a telephone at home that they contacted each other by phone every once in a while.
"Grandma, I'm fine. My father and Xiaoyu are fine too. They went back to the countryside to visit their grandparents and won't be back until tomorrow. Grandma, let me tell you, I sent you a thousand yuan yesterday. Go to the post office in a few days to see if you've found it. Don't save the money. Call me if you don't have any left."
Zhang Mengzhi warned her, fearing that she would hide everything in order not to cause trouble to everyone.
"Why are you sending me money, kid? I still have money to spend!"
Zhou Guilan glanced at her daughter-in-law and said sweetly in her heart.
Zhang Deshuang's daughter-in-law Cui Xiangqian couldn't help but touch her ears when she heard her mother-in-law's words.
It cannot be said that she has treated her mother-in-law badly in the past two years. She has certainly not treated her mother-in-law badly in terms of food and accommodation, but she has not been so generous when it comes to spending money.
Previously, the husband gave the Zhang family 1,000 yuan to pay for the mother-in-law's medical treatment, and thought that the Zhang family had taken a great deal. When the mother-in-law and husband came back and counted the money, they found that the 1,000 yuan was not enough, and the Zhang family had also paid a lot of money. She has not paid the money back to the Zhang family until now, and her husband has been giving her the cold shoulder for a long time.
"I know you still have some money, but there won't be much left, right? You used your own money to pay for the medical treatment and medicine, right?"
Zhang Mengzhi was no novice and didn't really believe what Zhou Guilan said.
"Not bad."
When Zhou Guilan heard what her nephew said, she immediately responded guiltily.
In order not to put her second son in a difficult position, she had used her own money for medical treatment in the past two years and she really had little money left.
"Don't worry, wife. We still have this little money. Just take good care of yourself and don't stop taking the medicine."
Zhang Mengzhi was worried that she would not take medicine to save money. She was getting older and older, so she had to take medicine regularly. She couldn't stop taking medicine for even a day, otherwise she would become physically weak.
"Okay, I'll remember that."
Zhou Guilan was very touched that her nephew still cared about her after two years.
After returning to the capital, she met with General Zhang, but neither of them had much to say. General Zhang gave her two hundred yuan, but she refused to accept it.
She was afraid that the money would burn her hands. Since she had decided that it would not matter to her in the future, what right did she have to take the money?
General Zhang didn't say anything. He took the money and left his second son's home.
As for the eldest son, he was even busier than the second son after he came back, and he could only see him once a month. But he also gave himself some money privately. It was just that he had more children and grandchildren than the second son, and he spent more money, so the money he gave was not much.
She did not refuse the money from her eldest son, but just as Zhang Mengzhi guessed, she had paid for her medical treatment herself in the past two years, and her two daughters-in-law did not contribute a penny.
Medical treatment in the capital is more expensive than in her hometown. It is just some common medicines to maintain the body, but the cost is more expensive than in her hometown. So she spent almost all the nearly 2,000 yuan she had, including the money her eldest son gave her.
In addition, she had to give red envelopes to her children and grandchildren during the New Year, so after several rounds of shopping, Zhou Guilan had less than 100 yuan left.
Looking at the remaining money, Zhou Guilan was very anxious. She even thought about stopping the medication and not treating her illness. Just when she was in a dilemma, Zhang Mengzhi sent her money. One thousand yuan was enough for her to take medicine for more than a year.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Guilan stood up.
"Mom..." Cui Xiangqian walked over cautiously.
"I'm tired, I'm going back to rest."
Zhou Guilan didn't wait for her to speak and turned back to her room.
Because her two grandsons moved out after they got married, she has her own separate room in this house.
Cui Xiangqian looked at his mother-in-law's back, feeling a little aggrieved and guilty.
When she knew that her mother-in-law had money, she turned a deaf ear to her husband's words asking her to use the money to pay for her mother-in-law's medical treatment, and even concealed the fact that she did not take the money.
And her mother-in-law did not blame her and had always used her own money to pay for her medical treatment.
Today's phone call from her hometown gave her a loud slap in the face, making her realize how despicable her previous behavior was.
Even a nephew who was not related by blood was concerned about the old lady and sent her money to buy medicine. However, as a daughter-in-law, she did not care about it. Although she did not lack food and accommodation for her mother-in-law, she did not ask about her clothes. The clothes the old lady is wearing now are still sent by the Zhang family, all year round.
Compared with the Zhang family, her behavior is really disheartening.
Perhaps the decades of searching by her husband and her elder brother-in-law had left the daughters-in-law with a lot of dissatisfaction with their mother-in-law, and thus they developed resentment in their hearts. Although they did not express it, it was still revealed in the way she and her sister-in-law usually behaved.
She couldn't believe how angry her husband and brother-in-law were when they found out the truth. She now just hoped that her mother-in-law wouldn't tell them.
Zhang Mengzhi on the other end of the phone sighed after hanging up.
Although the eldest wife didn't say it explicitly, he could still hear the grievance in the old woman's tone.
If I had known earlier, I would have kept my first wife here. She is not as happy in the capital as she was in the Zhang family.
He believed that his uncle and second father were filial, but everyone forgot that it was their wives who usually took care of the family.
The eldest uncle and the second uncle have their own jobs, and I heard that they go on business trips occasionally. It is certain that they cannot take good care of the family, so it becomes difficult for the eldest mother-in-law and her two daughters-in-law to get along with each other.
There is no emotional foundation, and the eldest daughter-in-law spends a lot of money on medical treatment and medicine. No daughter-in-law can accept such a mother-in-law.
Although the eldest wife doesn't need them to take care of her on a daily basis, the money she spends on her is enough to cause their dissatisfaction.
Poor couples have many sorrows. This has never been an adjective, but a fact.
Uncle and second father were not businessmen, so they didn't have many ways to make money. They relied on their own wages to support their families, and the money they could save was limited. The 1,000 yuan they gave to the Zhang family was probably most of their savings at the time.
Zhang Mengzhi did not call her uncle and second father, but instead thought about sending some money to her eldest wife after the New Year.
As long as the eldest wife's medical treatment and medicine do not cost the money of both families, the conflict between them should not break out. After all, the old lady still wants to live with her son.
He can't help much emotionally, but he will create a peaceful retirement life for his wife during her lifetime.
It must be said that Zhang Mengzhi guessed that she had no money. With his money, Zhou Guilan did not mention money to her sons. Instead, she used her own money to see a doctor and take medicine, and went out for a walk with some elderly people every day. She lived a happier life than her daughters-in-law.
She was originally a very thoughtful woman. Even though she had been confused for decades, what she learned when she was young was still there!
She has not lost her knowledge, and the temperament that was cultivated with money since childhood is still there. She is particularly charming among a group of old ladies.
A woman of culture is naturally elegant, and this is exactly what Zhou Guilan is all about.
However, Zhou Guilan and Zhang Mengzhi did not say anything, but the Zhang family in the capital made a fuss about it during the New Year.
Zhang Mengzhi heard about this matter from Zhou Guilan later. Of course, he doesn’t know about it now.
The private room was renovated before the Chinese New Year and became very popular. People came to book tables every day, and Zhang Mengzhi had to cook for them herself.
Moreover, his fast food restaurant had very good business before the New Year, and some people even planned to order a reunion dinner at his restaurant during the New Year. Those who came to inquire were all those who were not good at cooking.
Forget about other times, there are actually people who want to come to the store to have a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve.
So Zhang Mengzhi thought about it, and after asking the apprentices and employees in the store, he agreed and ordered ten tables of reunion dinner, five tables for lunch and five tables for dinner, all to be eaten in the store on New Year's Eve.
As for other time periods, you can come to the store to order as long as you have time. Because you need to buy ingredients, you need to tell us in advance. If you come on the same day, there will be no freshly cooked dishes.
Because some dishes in the banquet of Shu Province need to be prepared in advance, it will be too late to make them on the same day.
For example, the salty and sweet Shaobai, because it takes a long time to make, you have to wash the meat and marinate it in advance, and then cut it up and steam it the next day. The same is true for steamed pork elbows and fragrant bowls. If you make them on the same day, you will not have enough time.
Therefore, people who want to order food need to tell the restaurant in advance so that they can prepare the ingredients. Otherwise, where can they get the ingredients when they arrive to eat on the day? Even if they have the ingredients, they won’t have enough time!
Even the government came to reserve a few tables, planning to have all the staff come for a reunion dinner on the 27th. Zhang Mengzhi was busy every day. Some dishes could be made by his apprentices, but some he had to prepare himself.
So during the Chinese New Year, all the housework was done by other members of the Zhang family, and Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong would occasionally go back to her parents' home to help.
As Zhang Mengzhi's restaurant made more and more money, Mrs. Xia became more polite to Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong, and she didn't dare to visit Zhang Mengyao's house easily.
The Wang family regretted it a long time ago, especially after seeing the huge crowds of customers at Zhang's fast food restaurant, they regretted it so much.
Wang Lingya must have regretted it, but she couldn't and didn't dare to say it.
The Gu family has another kind of regret. Gu Yan regrets that he did not find out clearly when he was dating Wang Lingya. Even if he wanted to talk about it, he should wait until they canceled their engagement!
People talk about it when they are engaged, but this blatant cuckoldry is something that no man can resist, which is why the Zhang family targeted their family.
Gu Yan hasn't been with Wang Lingya for a long time, and Wang Lingya didn't know what she was thinking and didn't even go to look for him.
Maybe it was because she regretted giving up Zhang Mengzhi, the rich son-in-law, and chose Gu Yan, a college student with no future, so she stopped pestering Gu Yan.
Just let them want to separate, but Zhang Mengzhi didn't want them to separate. He always sent people to watch them and immediately sent people to stop them if anything happened.
So a few years passed, and the two of them were still together. Zhang Mengzhi helped a lot in this.
On New Year's Eve, Zhang Mengzhi prepared five tables of reunion dinner and planned to go home to rest. He was so busy this year that he didn't have time to have a reunion dinner with his family. Everyone was waiting for him to go home to eat!
As for the red envelopes and bonuses for the employees, they were distributed to them two days ago. As long as the guests finish their meal and leave, the employees can go home after cleaning up the restaurant.
"uh-huh."
A muffled sound in the dark alley caught Zhang Mengzhi's attention.
He walked over quietly.
"Gu Yan, why aren't you arrogant anymore? Weren't you quite arrogant when you first came to Guocheng? Not only did you point fingers at me, you even stepped on my face."
Several men surrounded a man lying on the ground and punched and kicked him.
"Hiss~ I, I don't know you."
Gu Yan, who had long forgotten what he had done, answered in a muffled voice.
"Don't know me? That's right, you don't know us. How could Master Gu know me? But you remember that bitch Wang Lingya, right? I just said she was pretty, and you brought people to beat me to the ground. You really don't know me."
The leading man grabbed Gu Yan's hair. Under the dim street lights, Zhang Mengzhi recognized that the man being beaten was Gu Yan.
With just a few words, Zhang Mengzhi guessed the whole truth.
He quietly straightened up, turned on his heels and walked in the other direction.
"So you like Wang Lingya, haha..."
Only then did Gu Yan realize that the beating he received was related to Wang Lingya.
He couldn't help but feel resentful when he thought that the reason why he ended up in this situation was related to Wang Lingya.
It was he who couldn't resist dating Wang Lingya in the first place, and he was blinded by her beauty, so he accepted the punishment from the Zhang family.
But he remembered these men in front of him and he would not let them go.
No matter how poor Gu Yan was, he was still the son of the Gu family. No matter how little power his father had, he could still easily take care of a few hooligans.
As long as he gets home, none of them will be able to escape.
Just when Gu Yan was thinking about how to take revenge on these men, the voices of the police suddenly rang out in the alley.
"Don't move, everyone squat down."
Several policemen with batons in hand came into the alley like heroes, rescued Gu Yan who was being beaten and kicked, and captured the men.
Of course, he was also taken away as a party involved.
Gu Yan was not just being beaten at the beginning, he also fought back. In addition, several men insisted that it was a fight, so no one believed Gu Yan's words because there were no witnesses!
As for the person who called the police, he only said that he saw people fighting and did not hear any testimony in favor of Gu Yan, so in the end the incident was classified as a mutual fight and both parties were detained.
Seeing that Gu Yan's school demerit had not been cancelled and he was given another minor demerit for detention, Gu's father slapped his son after taking him out of the police station.
"Can't you just hold back? Now you have no hope of getting a job."
Father Gu squatted on the side of the road, grabbing his hair.
The only hope is gone, what will happen to the Gu family in the future?
"Dad, if I didn't fight back they would have beaten me to death."
Gu Yan looked aggrieved. He didn't mean to cause trouble. It was the other party who brought people to beat him. If he didn't fight back, his body would be cold now. But Gu's father only blamed him and didn't care about his injuries at all.
"So what do you say we should do now? You've been punished again. Even if you get your diploma, you won't be assigned a job. What can you do in the future?"
Father Gu asked his son if he knew what he had missed.
"When I go into business, I don't believe that what Zhang Mengzhi can do, I can't do."
Gu Yan said with a look of unwillingness to admit defeat.
"Do you still want to learn how to do business? Do you have the capital? Do you have their backing? More importantly, do you have any technical skills?"
Mr. Gu's series of questions simply stupefied people.
“…”
"What business can you do if you have nothing?"
Father Gu doesn't think highly of his son at all.
In his previous life, Gu Yan was able to start a business and succeed because he had a strong backer and no one dared to go against him in business. He also had funds and a backer, so he quickly attracted a large number of technical personnel, and thus his company was able to start.
Now Gu Yan has no experience, no background, and no funds. How can he do business? Apart from anything else, where can he find people to work for him?
People are very realistic. Unless there are benefits, who would follow him?
Therefore, what Gu Yan called doing business was not realistic at all and was just a momentary talk.
It is undeniable that some people in this era have become rich by doing business, but their situation is different from Gu Yan. What about Zhang Mengzhi who is always watching Gu Yan? After a few years, there are more and more people watching him.
Zhang Mengzhi will not let him get up, so as long as Gu Yan has the idea of doing business, he will soon know what failure is.
Therefore, Gu Yan has no other way to go in this life except to live a mediocre life.
For a proud person like Gu Yan, letting him live a mediocre life is like killing half of his life. Even if Gu Yan doesn't believe in fate and keeps struggling, in the end it will be nothing but a mirage.
Don't blame Zhang Mengzhi for being cruel. Compared with those lives, the Gu family just can't live a life of luxury. As long as they are content with mediocrity, Zhang Mengzhi will not do anything to them.
Of course, the premise is that the Gu family does not break the law. Otherwise, even if Zhang Mengzhi wants to let them off, the state law will not let them off.
But is this possible? From the previous life, it can be seen that the Gu family ignored the law and acted very cruelly.
Gu Yan did not do anything illegal, not because he did not do it, but because he was too young to do it. Gu's father and mother were different, they did a lot of illegal things!
It's just that the Gu family was not in Guocheng before, so it took some time for the Zhang family to collect their illegal activities. After all, unlike the convenient transportation in the future, it took a lot of time just to investigate.
Before, there was the Gu family in the capital, and General Zhang and his two sons spent a lot of time to bring them down.
Now the Zhang family has almost collected all the evidence of the Gu family's illegal activities, and they are just waiting for a good opportunity to overthrow the Gu family completely and make it impossible for them to stand up again.
It was a bit slow to do all this, and it didn't look as good as the Gu family's methods. But the Zhang family didn't break any laws, and it didn't cause dissatisfaction from the higher-ups.
All the means they used were aboveboard. Even if the Gu family came forward to testify, the Zhang family could say with a clear conscience that they had not violated the laws of the country.
In comparison, the Gu family's viciousness was even more unacceptable to the country. The higher-ups simply turned a blind eye to the Zhang family's actions and allowed them to deal with the Gu family.
The Gu family is now like grasshoppers in autumn, and they will soon get their retribution.
Zhang Mengzhi's move completely made it impossible for Gu Yan to get a job, and the Gu family was really finished.
He still felt that he was very kind because he allowed Gu Yan to complete his studies, instead of causing Zhang Mengzhi to drop out of school and even lose her life as happened in his previous life.
Therefore, Zhang Mengzhi did not feel guilty at all when he said that he did not hear the conversation between Gu Yan and those thugs!
Anyway, the police had no evidence to prove that he heard it, and the gangsters and Gu Yan didn't know when he saw it and called the police, so in the end the Gu family couldn't do anything to him.
If he must be accused of perjury, then where is the evidence? He couldn't have reported an enemy to the police out of kindness, right?
It was precisely because he knew that he had no evidence to prove that Zhang Mengzhi was lying that Gu's father did not take his son to find Zhang Mengzhi to change Gu Yan's confession.
After all, Gu Yan's grades were still very good. If he hadn't been detained this time, he would have been able to ask the school to cancel his previous demerits and get the right to be assigned a job.
The miserable situation of the Gu family had nothing to do with Zhang Mengzhi. He hummed in his heart, "Brother, go home for the reunion dinner."
"My brother is back."
Zhang Mengyu, who was already in high school, ran out when he heard the door open.
"Xiaoyu, be careful not to fall."
Zhang Mengzhi quickly turned on the lights in the yard.
A switch is installed at the gate to facilitate people who come home late.
"Brother, you're back. I'm starving."
Zhang Mengyu hugged her brother's arm and spoke to him coquettishly.
"Eat when you're hungry. No need to wait for me."
Zhang Mengzhi looked at his sister, who was taller than she was a few years ago. This was a look he had never seen in his previous life, and his eyes felt a little sore.
"You have to wait. If you don't come back, it won't be a reunion."
Zhang Mengyu shook her head. She had to wait no matter how hungry she was. Only when her brother came back could they have a reunion dinner.
"Dream knowledge."
Zhang Mengyao stood at the door of the main hall and looked at her younger brother and sister. Her eyes were much gentler than they were two years ago.
Without the hindrance of Old Lady Xia, she now lives a very good life.
"Sister, where are my brother-in-law and nephew?"
Zhang Mengzhi saw her and asked.
"Inside! Go wash your hands. I'm the only one waiting for you."
Zhang Mengyao spoke gently to her brother.
"good."
Zhang Mengzhi and her sister went to wash their hands, and when they came back everyone was seated.
"Because it's cold, we decided to have hotpot for this year's reunion dinner!"
Mother Zhang looked at her son and pulled him to sit next to her.
"Mom, Dad, brother-in-law, I'm sorry I'm back late."
Zhang Mengzhi said with a guilty look on his face.
We chose to eat hot pot for the reunion dinner this year, not because of the cold weather, but because he came back late, and the food would get cold quickly. It would be better to eat hot pot, at least it's hot!
"Not too late, not too late, the time is just right."
Everyone talked about it.
“Let’s eat!”
Father Zhang picked up the chopsticks and put the lamb slices into the pot to dip them in. As soon as he started eating, the others naturally followed suit and dipped their chopsticks into the hot pot.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
