Lou Xiao'e and Tan Yali returned to Beijing before the Qingming Festival.
This time, they flew back, instead of taking a four-day, four-night train journey.
It was Fatty who brought Chen Mengxiao to pick them up.
After not seeing each other for many years, Tan Yali first grabbed the fat man's hand and looked him up and down: "Look at your energy and spirit, you're even better than before, you don't look like a man in his forties at all."
After saying that, he became sad again: "Unlike me, I'm old now, my hair is all white..."
The fat man hurriedly said, "Aunt Tan, your hair is full of white, and your students are like peach and plum trees."
Tan Yali chuckled and affectionately tapped the fat man's forehead: "Your mouth, no wonder you can charm Xiao'e so easily."
A full head of white hair is certainly not a good thing; but adding the phrase "prosperous peach and plum trees" makes it mean that although Tan Yali is old, she is still energetic and full of wisdom and talent.
Lou Xiao'e, standing to the side, also blushed and took Tan Yali's arm, saying, "Mommy~!"
As for Chen Mengxiao, she was just a bystander throughout the whole thing.
It wasn't until Tan Yali finished exchanging pleasantries with her "son-in-law" that she remembered her eldest grandson and affectionately called out, "Xiaoxiao, come here to Grandma! See what good things Grandma brought you!"
Chen Mengxiao, who was already a graduate student, was so embarrassed upon hearing this that she wished she could disappear into the ground.
Feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, she ran to Tan Yali to protest: "Grandma, I'm an adult now, please stop treating me like a child..."
Once in the car, Tan Yali and Chen Mengxiao sat in the back; Fatty and Lou Xiao'e sat in the front. Fatty asked her, "Where do we go first? To our place first, or to my place for a meal?"
Lou Xiao'e smiled and glanced at the fat man, then said in a high-pitched voice, "Of course we should eat first! Mommy, let me tell you, Chen Kang apprenticed himself to the master of Shandong cuisine, and now he is a true master of Shandong cuisine. Now, you even have to make a reservation to eat at his Qili Pavilion!"
The reservation system was obviously created by the fat guy, but it's only for private rooms.
There are always seats available in the lobby. Qilige has always focused on service, and now they've even come up with some of Haidilao's future strategies in advance.
For example, the fat man specifically partnered with the shoe shiners at the entrance, choosing the honest and reliable ones and allowing them to come into the shop, assigning them a fixed area.
Guests can have their shoes shined here for free!
Wow, this one project alone made Qilige a huge hit as soon as it was launched.
Even Mr. Lu Xingbang, who was worried about his daughter and came to the capital to see her, was dumbfounded.
Is this even allowed in the restaurant industry?
What's worse, the fat man is offering free shoe shining; other restaurants in Beijing are getting restless too!
These shoe shiners in Beijing suddenly had a stroke of good luck.
Big restaurants like Hongbinlou and Fengzeyuan were vying to bring them into their establishments...
Going back 30 years, we've never heard of shoeshine men being allowed into fancy restaurants!
The shoe shiners in the streets and alleys of Beijing were extremely grateful to the fat man.
Once, Fatty overheard Chen Yan joking, "Those shoe shiners in Beijing are planning to form an association and make you their honorary president!"
Before the fat man could spit out his tea, Chen Yan continued, "It's all thanks to the reform and opening up; otherwise, they would have enshrined you in a shrine and made you the patriarch of the shoeshine business!"
See that? It's that exaggerated!
"..."
Nowadays, Qilige requires its waitresses to be multi-skilled.
The fat man, harboring a wicked intention, said to Lou Xiao'e while driving, "Next, I plan to find a few educated people, preferably those who have worked in elementary school."
Lou Xiao'e asked, puzzled, "What do you want to do?"
The fat man said smugly, "I'll have them help the kids who come to eat with their homework!"
Lou Xiao'e had just taken out her lipstick and makeup mirror from her bag when she heard this and almost choked on her lipstick: "What?!"
Tan Yali, sitting in the back seat, was also so shocked that she couldn't speak.
Chen Mengxiao almost died laughing: "Hahaha, Dad, you're too, too..."
He originally wanted to say "immoral", but after thinking about it, he felt that it was not right. This was clearly accumulating great virtue!
Is there a problem with being responsive to customers' needs and concerns? Absolutely not!
Chen Mengxiao volunteered even more enthusiastically: "Dad, I'll train the waiters later, and I guarantee they'll be able to do all their homework from elementary to middle school!"
Can't these two, father and son, be a little more reasonable?
Tan Yali was so angry that she slapped her grandson on the head.
Lou Xiao'e was utterly bewildered the whole way: "No wonder you've become so rich, just how many cunning ideas do you have in your head?"
The fat man looked disdainful. "Is that all?"
Entering Qili Pavilion brought Tan Yali an even greater shock.
From the entrance to the private room, the waiters I encountered were all incredibly energetic men and beautiful women.
Moreover, she seemed to be an overseas Chinese, and everyone greeted her in English.
He was neither arrogant nor humble, and always wore a perfectly appropriate smile.
Good heavens, I really don't know how these waiters, these fat guys, were trained.
Once inside the private room, Liu Jing led her entourage in to order food.
As soon as Lou Xiao'e saw her, she deliberately made things difficult: "Where's your boss's wife? Why isn't she here!"
Liu Jing smiled and said, "Is the second boss's wife asking about the first boss's wife?"
The phrase "second boss's wife" made Lou Xiao'e blush deeply.
Tan Yali glared at her angrily. Back in 1984, she had told Lou Xiao'e that either she should let the fat man give her a proper status, or she should break up with him completely!
Why are you being so unclear?
But Lou Xiao'e had grown too powerful, especially after she gained control of "Lebashi", and Tan Yali could do nothing about her.
Girls are outgoing, especially since they already have a son, so it's even less likely they'll listen to her!
Lou Xiao'e pretended not to see her mother's glare, glanced at Liu Jing and asked her, "Why did you just come in like that? Where's the menu?"
Liu Jing, still sporting a professional smile, revealed eight teeth at just the right moment as she replied, "We don't have a menu right now."
"No menu?" This time, even Tan Yali started to feel curious.
He took the initiative to ask, "So, how do you order?"
The fat man chimed in, "Aunt Tan, this is also a unique feature of our place. In the past, the big restaurants in Beijing didn't have menus. Ordering food was an art in itself. Just by listening to someone sit down in one of the Eight Great Restaurants and ordering, you could tell whether they were a well-traveled and discerning person."
Lou Xiao'e chimed in from the side, "Isn't that just being a snob!"
The fat man glanced at his son, winked, and said, "If we're talking about snobbery, can your place be more snobbish? Xiaoxiao told me all this, and then I made a few minor modifications."
At this, Lou Xiao'e and Tan Yali were both speechless.
That's really how it is over there. Xiaoxiao, that little traitor, tells her dad everything!
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