Chapter 150
Perhaps because she hadn't been back to Hong Kong for a long time, she had long been accustomed to the prices in Suzhou. When she suddenly opened the menu, she found that the prices on the menu were almost the same as those in Hong Kong, and she found it a little hard to accept for a while.
The names are all nice and fancy, such as boiling cabbage in boiling water, which is named "Lotus on the Buddha" or something like that, or a piece of braised pork, which is named "Dongpo Pork".
Although Zhong Qiao had eaten Dongpo pork before, the size of this one was not even as big as a palm, which was really a bit of a rip-off.
"Would you like me to recommend a few dishes?" the waiter standing by reminded carefully.
Zhong Qiao shook her head and closed the menu: "No need, give me a serving of Dongpo pork, steamed sea bass, Shanghai green, and another one..." She ordered a total of four dishes and a soup, and finally a big bowl of rice.
"Okay." The waiter took note. "Please wait."
After saying that, he took the menu and left.
Ji Hebai was afraid that she would be bored, so he chatted with her casually: "How's business lately?"
Zhong Qiao nodded: "It's okay, it's just that the girls are very tired recently. But there's nothing we can do, the new manuscripts must be produced as finished products."
Ji Hebai smiled. He had heard a little about this matter. Zhong Qiao was kind to his subordinates, but meticulous in his work. If there was anything wrong, Zhong Qiao would scold him without mercy. This contrast made the younger girls burst into tears.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Ji Hebai poured her barley tea. "You are the boss. It's right to show your strict side appropriately."
"If you get along with them like friends, no one will work for you seriously."
Zhong Qiao thought the same. She didn't mind laughing and joking after get off work, or getting along with her peers in the same way, but when it came to work, especially the finished product, she would never tolerate others being careless.
This has also led to some girls being resentful of their attitude towards themselves after working overtime recently.
On one side are employees, and on the other side are customers. It was Zhong Qiao's first time as a boss and he also felt what pain was.
Sometimes I think that it would be better if she was a little more cruel, so that she wouldn't be caught in the middle, neither cruel enough to be an evil capitalist, nor kind enough to turn a blind eye to these girls.
While I was daydreaming, several dishes were already served on the table.
The first dishes served were a few cold dishes, cold cucumber salad, braised pork elbow...
Zhong Qiao looked confused, she remembered that she didn't order these.
Ji Hebai explained promptly: "This is what I ordered. Eat it first. If you can't finish it, you can pack it up. You can't just sit and wait."
"The food here tastes delicious. The only problem is that it's too slow to make. If you wait, you'll have to wait at least half an hour."
Looking at the dishes on the table, Zhong Qiao felt hungry again, so he had to give up, put aside the troubles in his mind, and prepared to eat.
Ji Hebai pointed to the braised pork elbow on the table and said, "Eat this."
Zhong Qiao picked up a few slices and put them in his mouth. They were really good, melt-in-the-mouth and extremely soft and tender.
After tasting a few slices, the boss asked the waiter to bring some eight-treasure cake. Zhong Qiao took a few glances and found that it was made of various nuts. After taking a few chopsticks, he found that the taste was also good, with a dense texture and rich layers.
Time passed quickly as they ate and talked. The other dishes were served one after another and Zhong Qiao enjoyed them to his heart's content.
Ji Hebai sent her home, but because he had important matters to deal with in the team, he could only see her to the door.
As soon as Zhong Qiao entered the door, he heard some movement in the kitchen.
She pulled open the curtain and saw Zhong's mother.
Mrs. Zhong seemed to be in good spirits: "Hey, you're back? Have you eaten enough?"
Obviously, she knew that Zhong Qiao had gone to Baihelou for dinner. Zhong Qiao smiled and raised the packed food in her hand: "Mom, I know what you want to say. Don't make fun of me. I was thinking of you too. I specially packed a few delicious dishes."
"You still have a conscience." Mother Zhong took the food from her hand.
Now, just heat it up and have it as lunch tomorrow. It saves time and effort, and it tastes good too. It’s a good choice to change the taste at home.
"Mom." Zhong Qiao suddenly thought of something, "Has there been any movement from the Ji family recently?"
For example, Zhong Qiao had not forgotten the prejudices that the elders of the Ji family had against her when they heard that she was dating Ji Hebai. But for some reason, no one had come to harass her these days, and the Ji family compound seemed eerily quiet.
Mother Zhong was washing dishes, making some noises, without even looking up: "What kind of movement could the Ji family make in this compound? What are you worried about? Our family is innocent. Even if they knew, they couldn't say anything, and—"
She stopped what she was doing, as if she had thought of something.
"It was this kid from the Ji family who pursued you, why are you hiding? Don't forget that the old man from the Ji family also liked you very much."
The second half of the sentence was what Zhong's mother had wanted to say for a long time.
After all, before Zhong Qiao came into being, she was the most favored daughter in the family.
As far as she could remember, she had rarely seen her father mention the Ji family. The only thing she had some impression of was the amiable old man from the previous generation of the Ji family who always loved to give her candy and taught her how to play chess.
It is said that he liked her very much. After she got married, he would bring the young Zhong Qiao to visit him for a few years. The old man also liked Zhong Qiao very much.
Later, her family settled in Hong Kong and never returned to Suzhou, so they had no contact with the Ji family's generation.
What happened later made the two families never have any contact with each other again. Zhong's mother also didn't want to see this situation, but things had already happened and she couldn't go back to the past to change them, so she could only face reality.
They are just victims, and the Ji family has no reason to blame them. Instead of hiding in cowardice, it is better to be calm.
Zhong Qiao collected this information and nodded, but he still couldn't analyze the facts through his own memories.
Maybe I was just imagining things.
She was judging others by her own standards. Perhaps Ji Hebai had already arranged everything behind the scenes, or perhaps no elder in the Ji family was so feudal and old-fashioned that when he learned that she was dating Ji Hebai, he must have tacitly agreed.
His eyes were sore and he felt sleepy. Zhong Qiao was tired after a day and didn't want to think about anything else, so he stretched and walked into the house. After feeding Wanwan, he quickly took a hot shower and went to bed.
On the other side, a storm belonging to the Ji family officially began.
"Let's not argue with you about joining the army behind my back. Let's talk about your lifelong affairs. There are so many good girls out there, but you don't want them. Instead, you have to get entangled with this Zhong Qiao. What's so good about her? Did she feed you some kind of love potion that makes you so devoted to her!"
"Do you really take us seriously? The Ji family's reputation is about to be shattered by others, and we, as the parties involved, have only just found out about this. If Tang Chun hadn't seen you in your military uniform on the street, were you planning to avoid us forever?"
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