Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Jinjiang Solo
"As long as the Duke likes it, I can send it to him often in the future."
Zhang Mengzhi was very tolerant of General Zhang's family. Perhaps due to the influence of his past life, he felt that he owed something to them. Even though Xie Yun and her son did not show up, Zhang Mengzhi prepared gifts for them.
No matter what, they were implicated by me in their previous lives, and in the end they lost everything except their lives.
"Okay, okay, this way I can taste the flavor of my hometown again."
General Zhang's eyes were dazed, as if he had returned to his hometown when he was a child, surrounded by these specialties. At that time, his parents were still alive, and even though the family was not rich, he could still eat well, and there was meat to eat during the New Year and other festivals.
Zhang Mengzhi took out a handkerchief and handed it to General Zhang, whose eyes were red.
"Grand Duke, the ancestors definitely don't want to see you sad."
"Hiss, I know, don't worry, I'll be fine soon."
General Zhang sniffed, but finally did not cry. However, he was very touched by his nephew's concern, and his expression softened.
For General Zhang, who values sons over daughters, he values Zhang Mengzhi more than his daughters. Even if Zhang Mengzhi and Zhang Qunhua quarreled today, he would stand by his nephew unconditionally.
General Zhang was always partial, and he was justified in his partiality. But he had one good point, which was that he attached great importance to the children's studies. Even though Zhang Qunhua was a girl, she was allowed to go to school and even went to high school. It was just that her grades were too poor to be admitted to university.
In this respect, he is better than many men in the world.
General Zhang couldn't understand those parents who only supported their sons' education but ignored their daughters. The Zhang family really loved scholars, and they liked both men and women as long as they were good at studying.
This was also the reason why he let Zhang Qunhua study. As a result, it was proved that the Zhang family really had no interest in studying and could not become scholars.
This is also the reason why General Zhang likes Zhang Mengzhi, a junior. He is very different from other Zhang family members. He has been able to study since he was a child. And his sister is also said to be a good student. This made General Zhang abandon the idea of favoring boys over girls and just wanted another female college student in the Zhang family.
"Look, Grand Duke."
Zhang Mengzhi finally took out a picture album from her bag.
"What's this?"
General Zhang took it and flipped through it.
“This, this, this…”
He pointed at the familiar face in the album and couldn't even speak.
"I asked someone to draw this based on the descriptions of the elders in my old house. The elders said it looks very similar. I wonder if the Duke thinks it looks similar?"
For this gift, Zhang Mengzhi went back to his hometown to ask the elders about General Zhang's parents. Fortunately, the elders had good memories, and he combined the words they used to describe the two ancestors, and the appearance of the two ancestors came out.
The painter was very good at depicting characters, and was recommended by Zhang Mengzhi to join the Criminal Investigation Brigade as a simulated portrait artist. This major was a perfect match for him. The director even called Zhang Deming to thank his cousin for recommending a talent to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Except Zhang Mengzhi, everyone else was quite surprised.
What a coincidence! After the recommended talents entered the public security system, they thrived. It was said that other departments also wanted to find Zhang Mengzhi to ask him if he had any other talents to recommend to them.
Zhang Mengzhi twitched his lips at this, and actually recommended a few talents to them. However, some of the talents were not in their city, and some were even from other provinces.
Everyone didn't mind the distance and actually went to find those people, brought them back to their fruit market, and after a period of probation, they were directly hired as permanent employees.
Talents must be helped when they are at their lowest point. Otherwise, helping them after they become successful will only be icing on the cake and will be of no use to them.
Zhang Mengzhi knew these people in his dream. Some of them were the hero's helpers, and some were his opponents. However, all the helpers met the hero when he was at his lowest point, and with the help of the hero, they finally rose to prominence. They were grateful to the hero and became his helpers in the end.
As for the opponents, it was because they blocked the male protagonist's way, so they became opponents. Naturally, their ending was no better than that of the Zhang family.
Let’s not talk about the helpers, even the opponent Zhang Mengzhi felt that they were wronged. Ninety percent of the people here had no direct grudges with the hero, but because they blocked the hero’s way, they were forced to become the hero’s opponent and were finally harmed by the hero.
Half of these opponents died, and the other half who survived did not have a good end. Except for their lives, they lived a life worse than death in other aspects.
The male protagonist really has a vengeful personality. As long as someone goes against him, he will not let them go even if they choose to leave Gu Yan. He will make sure that they are either killed or injured.
As for such a person being able to become the male protagonist, Zhang Mengzhi just wanted to compete with the author face to face, and wanted to ask the other party what he was thinking? There are so many male protagonists with normal values, but they have to write a male protagonist who is not enough for half a criminal law book.
Moreover, there are still many such authors even in the new century, who specialize in writing male protagonists that are unacceptable to the public.
For example, there are articles that write that the male protagonist is a drug dealer and the author praises him. Zhang Mengzhi will report such authors and novels as soon as he sees them.
The author can indeed create freely, but this does not mean making up things at random! There is a big difference between the two, and the author must make a clear distinction.
"Mengzhi, you gave me a great gift. I thought I would never see their faces again in this life, after all, they didn't leave any photos for me to remember. They look alike, so alike. They look exactly like the parents I remember, even the mole on my mother's mouth."
General Zhang held the sketchbook tightly, trying to imprint the faces of his parents deeply in his mind.
Decades passed and their faces became a little blurry to him, until today when they became clear again.
"As long as the Grand Duke likes it, I'm afraid you won't like it!"
Zhang Mengzhi smiled.
"I like it. I like it very much."
General Zhang stopped looking at anything else and stared at the picture book. He didn't let go until Zhang Mengzhi left.
"Dad, we're going back. You should get some rest early."
General Zhang waved his hand indifferently, without moving his eyes away from the sketchbook.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Decheng's brother stopped talking, packed up and prepared to leave.
"Goodbye, Grand Duke."
Knowing that General Zhang was not in the mood to talk to him, Zhang Mengzhi simply said goodbye and left with the two elders.
General Zhang did not recover until it was past bedtime because he was too tired.
"It's so late!"
He looked up at the big clock on the wall and saw that it was almost twelve o'clock. He put down the sketchbook in his hand, stood up and stretched his body, then picked it up again and went upstairs.
He hid the sketchbook carefully in the study. No one was allowed to enter without his permission, and he cleaned the room himself.
With the help of a portrait, Zhang Mengzhi made General Zhang love him as a junior very much!
"Old Zhang, is this the restaurant opened by your nephew?"
Several elderly people who looked like they were not ordinary people stood in front of Taibai Tower. Unlike most restaurants and hotels, the decoration of Taibai Tower was purely Chinese style, which was very much in line with the preferences of the elderly.
"Yes, let's go in and take a look! We will have lunch here today. My son said that the food in Taibailou is delicious."
General Zhang walked in with a few friends.
"Welcome, would you like to dine in the lobby or in a private room?"
A waiter came up immediately and asked when he saw that there were six of them.
"Let's go to a private room. Do you have a smaller room here? There are only six of us."
General Zhang and his companions naturally would not eat in the lobby, as there were many people in the capital who knew them.
"Yes, the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum rooms on the second floor are all small private rooms. Which one would you like to dine in?"
The waiter introduced them and took them upstairs.
"Bamboo Room!"
Several elders prefer the tenacity of bamboo to the other three.
"Okay, please follow me, guests."
The waiter took the six people to the Zhuzi private room.
As soon as they opened the door, General Zhang and his colleagues were amazed by the layout inside.
Not only is it clean and bright, but there are also traditional Chinese paintings of various bamboos hanging inside, and there is even a bamboo in a small white and translucent vase on the table.
"This is the bamboo room. Please take a seat, guests."
The waiter went to where the teapot and teacups were placed, took them to the tea room to be washed, and when he came back, the teapot was already brewed.
"This is bamboo tea made from bamboo leaves. Please enjoy it, guests."
The waiter filled the cups with tea and then politely left the room.
"Old Zhang, your nephew is incredible!"
Looking at the solid wood tables and chairs in the private room, this set is not cheap.
"Hahaha, it's because he has no interest and wants to start his own business, otherwise I would have arranged a job for him. He's a graduate from a prestigious university, he's very smart!"
General Zhang waited until the tea cooled down a little, then picked up the cup and took a sip.
"Well, this tea tastes good, you guys should try it too."
General Zhang invited his friends to taste the food.
"Okay, okay."
Everyone followed his example and took a sip. Bamboo tea may not be precious, but it is surprising enough. Many people did not expect that bamboo can be made into tea.
It's not their fault that they are ignorant. It's because bamboo tea is not a popular tea. They usually drink green tea, black tea, etc. It's the first time I've seen tea made from bamboo.
Zhang Mengzhi, who was talking with the manager and Zhou Guilan on the top floor, didn't know that his grandfather had brought a group of people to his restaurant for dinner.
"Boss, these are the account books." The manager moved a pile of account books over and placed them in front of him.
"Leave it alone for now. I'll look at it later. Grandma, can you talk to the manager about anything else that needs to be rectified in our restaurant?"
This was Zhang Mengzhi’s first time in the capital. He had never been here since the restaurant was purchased and renovated until now. Zhou Guilan was in charge of everything, so he didn’t know much about the situation of Taibai Building in the capital.
"It's still being rectified. Our restaurant, except for those few, is already this one in the capital."
The manager gave a thumbs up and said that if their restaurant still needed to make changes, other hotels and restaurants should not open.
"That's not so exaggerated. There are still many things that our restaurant is not doing well enough!"
Zhang Mengzhi was very humble and felt that the manager was exaggerating.
"Manager Fu is not exaggerating, he is telling the truth. I have visited other restaurants and hotels, and none of them are as good as ours. Both the service and hygiene are much worse. Not to mention the decoration, which always feels a bit tacky."
Zhou Guilan complained about the decoration of other hotels and restaurants. To be honest, after seeing the decoration drawings of their nephew, they realized what true low-key luxury and connotation meant.
Different from the splendor displayed by other hotels and restaurants, their restaurant may not look luxurious, but those in the know know that Taibai Tower is the one with real substance.
It’s not that Taibai Tower used high-end woods such as rosewood and nanmu, but that Zhang Mengzhi really understood the preferences of Chinese people when it came to decorating the space.
The calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall are all works of talented calligraphers and painters. They are not famous, but their skills are real.
Even the ornaments on the shelves are all handmade, and there are some handicrafts from the Republic of China period.
Fresh, elegant, and with a low-key luxury.
This is the evaluation of Taibailou by people who know the business, and they prefer to eat at Taibailou compared to other restaurants and hotels.
When one's own family is doing well, who would be willing to flatter outsiders?
Those who copied the Western way of doing things, but didn’t understand it, are therefore not liked by the middle-aged and elderly. Young people like it, but they don’t have money!
Therefore, Taibailou's business is better than other hotels and restaurants, which is obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.
It’s not that no one has learned to decorate like Taibai Building, but most of them have been influenced by the West and haven’t figured out their own things. The resulting decoration is neither Chinese nor Western, and is not as beautiful as the original one.
In this case, they had to give up learning the decoration of Taibai Building and continue with their own style. At least it doesn’t look so eye-catching, right?
"Although I am very happy to hear what Grandma and Manager Fu said, we still need to make changes where necessary. Grandma, if you have time, continue to collect calligraphy and antiques. I will not touch the money earned by Taibailou in the capital. Grandma, you can take it directly from it when you need it. As for the courtyard houses and land, if you see any suitable ones, take them."
Zhang Mengzhi said this to Zhou Guilan.
"good."
Zhou Guilan looked at the account book every day and knew how high the daily turnover of Taibai Building was. The money earned in a month was enough to buy a courtyard house.
"And Manager Fu, you need to continue training the waiters and find those who are willing to work somewhere else. I plan to open a few more Taibailou in other places." Zhang Mengzhi's next Taibailou is set in Shanghai, which is known as the Pearl of the Orient.
"yes."
Manager Fu agreed. Although Taibailou in the capital is not the head office, it has a more important mission than the head office. He is used to seeing big shots in the capital, so he will not be flustered when he goes to other places because of the visit of big shots.
To put it simply, it is to train employees' ability to react on the spot. Even if the sky falls, they should not panic, after all, there are tall people to support them!
In addition, the dishes of Capital Taibailou have also been adjusted. In addition to Capital cuisine and Shandong cuisine, some Sichuan cuisine has also been added.
"Uncle Zhou, are you still practicing these dishes?"
Zhang Mengzhi called Lao Zhou up and asked.
"Yes, this is what you taught me personally, Boss. Of course I can't let you down."
Old Zhou looked at the names of the dishes written by Zhang Mengzhi and nodded. He felt that even if his cooking was not as good as the boss's, it would not be much worse.
"Do you have the ingredients? If so, Lao Zhou, please prepare them. I want to taste them tomorrow to see how well you have learned. If they are qualified, we will add these dishes to the menu of Taibai Tower in the future."
Zhang Mengzhi put his hands on the table and looked at Lao Zhou, and found that he really agreed without any panic.
"Yes, Boss. Since I have to practice every day, these ingredients are always available in the kitchen."
Lao Zhou agreed.
"Okay, then I will come over with my wife tomorrow to taste your cooking. For today, just eat whatever you want!"
Zhang Mengzhi stood up and planned to take his wife downstairs to taste the cooking skills of the chefs in the capital. He didn't ask Lao Zhou to cook because he had eaten enough of it in his hometown and learned Shandong cuisine and capital cuisine from Lao Zhou.
"Boss, Mr. Zhou, please."
Manager Fu took the two of them downstairs and ran into General Zhang and his men who were about to leave.
"Grand Duke?"
While calling people, Zhang Mengzhi glanced at Zhou Guilan and found that she didn't react at all, so he felt at ease to greet her.
"Meng Zhi? You're here too! That's perfect. The Duke will introduce you to some elders."
General Zhang saw Zhang Mengzhi and his ex-wife, nodded to her, then enthusiastically pulled Zhang Mengzhi over and stood at the stairs to greet them.
"Grand Duke, you can go to the reception room."
Zhang Mengzhi glanced at Manager Fu.
"Please follow me, my dear guests."
Manager Fu did as expected and led the way.
"good."
General Zhang looked at the guests and waiters going upstairs and immediately agreed.
So a group of people came to the reception room on the top floor again. As for Lao Zhou, he quietly left the team. This kind of occasion was not suitable for him as a cook to participate.
"Mengzhi, you have done a great job running this restaurant!"
General Zhang looked at the bright and spacious reception room, which could seat dozens of people and also had a special tea room.
"I'm sorry to make you laugh, but I'm just doing it casually. It's just a small business, just to make some pocket money."
Zhang Mengzhi and Manager Fu personally brewed tea and served it to the elders.
"Grandpa, grandfathers, please treat us to tea. Grandma, please treat us too."
Zhang Mengzhi placed the black tea in front of the old men and a cup of flower and fruit tea in front of Zhou Guilan.
"Mengzhi, you are still treating men and women differently!"
Looking at the tea that was completely different from the one in his ex-wife's cup, General Zhang started to joke.
"If you don't mind, Grand Duke, I can also make you flower and fruit tea. Just be careful, flower and fruit dishes tend to be sweet."
Zhang Mengzhi was not frightened by his words, but instead started to joke about it.
"Forget it, this tea tastes better."
General Zhang doesn't want to drink feminine tea!
Although he didn't say it out loud, Zhou Guilan had been married to him for more than ten years, so how could she not know what he was thinking? So she glared at him fiercely.
“…”
General Zhang was so glared at that he dared not say a word anymore and just picked up the tea and drank it obediently.
"Hahaha."
The other five old men had known him for many years and didn't know his temper. Seeing that he was actually afraid of an old lady, they couldn't help laughing.
"Stop laughing and drink your tea."
General Zhang said angrily to his old friends.
"Don't be angry, Lao Zhang. Hurry up and introduce this young talent to us!"
In the entire reception room, there were only eight people including General Zhang, Zhang Mengzhi, and Zhou Guilan. As for Manager Fu, he left after pouring the tea.
The old men were very pleased with his tact. Taibailou was indeed quite powerful, and the manager knew how to avoid it at the right time.
"This is my cousin from my hometown. You all know his name, Zhang Mengzhi. He is 26 years old this year. He is good in every way except that he is a little young."
General Zhang first pointed at his nephew and said that he was more interested in his nephew than his ex-wife's old friends.
"As for this person, you have heard of her. She is my ex-wife Zhou Guilan, but she has nothing to do with me now."
Compared with Zhang Mengzhi, Zhou Guilan's introduction here is much colder. Fortunately, everyone knows what kind of person he is, and even Zhou Guilan is not angry.
Only Zhang Mengzhi sighed in his heart. His Grand Duke was really indifferent! However, it was precisely because he could tell the difference clearly that he was able to save the Zhang family in the capital during the most chaotic years.
"Hello, grandfathers. I am Zhang Mengzhi, the junior. This is the first time we meet. Please forgive me for not knowing that you all came to Taibai Tower and not being able to entertain you in time."
Zhang Mengzhi saluted the old men. He did not ask about their positions, but just called them General Zhang. Since they were his old friends, they were of course his seniors.
"Ignorance is not a crime. You didn't know we were coming! And your Grand Duke didn't send anyone to call you, so don't be nervous. Just treat us as ordinary old people. Get along with us the same way you usually get along with them."
"Yes, yes, this kid is really energetic. This is our welcome gift to you. It's not something valuable, just some small things."
The old people took out their gifts and handed them to Zhang Mengzhi.
They had thought about the possibility of running into him before they came, so everyone gave him a suitable gift: a bracelet, a fountain pen, a brooch, cufflinks, and a watch.
It happened that Zhang Mengzhi was wearing a suit today. In order to show his appreciation for the gifts from the elders, Zhang Mengzhi took off the watch on his wrist and put on the watch, bracelet, brooch and cufflinks given by the elders. He put the pen and other things in a bag and would wear them when needed.
The moment he looked up after putting it on, the expressions of the other old men changed except General Zhang.
"Zhang Shunrong, your nephew is incredible!"
In particular, there was an old man among them who was once the son of a wealthy family. He was stunned when he saw Zhang Mengzhi, whose temperament was very similar to his when he was young.
"Um?"
General Zhang is a pure grassroots person. Although he has gained some experience over the years, some things are really innate and he will not understand them even if he has more decades of experience.
"If we didn't know he was your nephew, we would all suspect which family in the Republic of China this young man was from?"
There are many people who are good-looking and knowledgeable, and temperament can be faked, but expression cannot be faked.
Zhang Mengzhi has a sense of self-confidence that many people lack, which in the old society could only be built up with money and various things.
"Thank you grandpas for the compliments. I really don't deserve them."
Zhang Mengzhi understands that he is very different from people of this era. He does not look like someone who came from the countryside. Temperament can be faked, but the confidence and arrogance in the eyes are something that many people cannot fake.
Zhang Mengzhi only had respect for these people, but not the slightest fear. You have to know that they have all been to the battlefield, and their aura can scare adults to tears.
But when facing them, Zhang Mengzhi treated them completely as his elders, and was not at all flustered whether he was talking or pouring tea.
"This child is good. You can come to me if you have any problems in the future."
Since the elders have said it, it means that they are willing to provide convenience to Zhang Mengzhi and protect him.
"Thank you, grandpas. Mengzhi will remember it."
Zhang Mengzhi was chatting with a few elderly people, and General Zhang and Zhou Guilan did not say anything.
It was almost the end of noon before they left with General Zhang.
After personally escorting the old men to the car, Zhang Mengzhi straightened his sleeves and returned to the restaurant.
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