Chapter 111
In the inner courtyard.
Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei were picking and washing vegetables at the sink.
Besides the couple, there was also a young man and two young girls working in the yard picking and washing vegetables.
These three young men were the three workers that Tang Haikuan recruited for the restaurant when Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan were about to start school.
Now that the work in the restaurant is shared by these three young people, Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei are much more relaxed.
As to the question of whether individuals can be employed, a nationwide discussion started in the first half of this year.
Naturally, there is only one focus of the debate - whether hiring workers is exploitation.
After much debate, a heavyweight figure came to the conclusion: working with less than eight people is called hiring helpers, working with more than eight people is called hiring workers, and working with less than eight people is not considered exploitation. ①
Seven is OK, eight is not.
This has temporarily become a boundary for individual employment.
Tang's restaurant is not big, so there is no need to hire so many people. Three are enough.
They came in the morning to help wash, pick and prepare the vegetables. After the restaurant opened, the young man mainly helped with the side dishes, while the other two girls greeted customers, took orders, served plates and washed dishes.
At this moment, five people were working in the yard, all in silence.
Because inside the east room, Wang Cuiying was scolding Su Yun to Han Qingtian, shouting at the top of her voice as if she was afraid that no one could hear her: "Who is she dressing up like that for?! San'er works hard outside to earn money to support her, it's ok for her not to take care of the family, but why does she dress up like that all day long?! Does she know what people in our alley say about her!"
"Our Han family is so unfortunate! We found such a daughter-in-law! She can't work! She can't make money! She can't even have children! We married a jinx who only knows how to eat and sleep! If it weren't for her, how could Lei Zi and his wife have to separate and move out! Our family's life is like this now, all thanks to her!"
Just as I was listening intently, someone patted my shoulder.
Wu Xuemei suddenly came to her senses, turned around, and saw that the person taking the photo of her was Chu Xia.
The moment she saw Chu Xia, a smile broke out on her face instinctively, and she said, "Xia Xia is back."
After greeting Chu Xia, he quickly looked at Lin Xiaohan and said, "Xiao Lin is back too."
She specifically said "come back", not "come".
These words naturally poured into Lin Xiaohan's heart like a warm current.
Lin Xiaohan smiled and responded, "I should have come back to see you and uncle a long time ago."
After Lin Xiaohan finished speaking, Chu Xia smiled and asked curiously, "What are you doing? We came down from the second gate and walked right in front of you, but none of you noticed that we were back."
Wu Xuemei gestured to the east room and whispered, "Scolding Su Yun."
They were listening to the excitement and were so absorbed in it that they didn't notice anything else.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan also heard a lot of words after they entered the second door. Chu Xia whispered, "She scolds people every day, and she doesn't feel tired. She will regret it after scolding them away."
Wu Xuemei also whispered: "She won't regret it. Didn't you hear her yelling all day long that she wanted Han Ting and Su Yun to divorce so that Han Ting could find someone better?"
Chuxia couldn't help laughing and didn't continue the conversation.
The vegetables had just been picked, so Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei got up with the three young men and took the picked vegetables to the stone trough and washed them with tap water.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were naturally not idle either, and they lent a hand to help.
While washing vegetables, Chuxia thought of Courtyard No. 1 at the entrance of the alley, and asked again: "We just came back into the alley and saw that there is also a restaurant in Courtyard No. 1. It just opened today."
Wu Xuemei responded, "That's right, so your dad and I bought less groceries today."
This restaurant is located in an alley, with six courtyards in the middle. Courtyard No. 1 is open today, so there will definitely be fewer customers coming to his Zhengyang Hotel for dinner today.
Tang Haikuan also added, "Because our restaurant business is doing well, he is not the only one in this alley who wants to open one. There are many others who are also considering it. Not long after your school started, No. 1 Courtyard applied for a license and started to clear out the house and buy tables, chairs and benches to prepare."
This kind of thing is inevitable.
Chu Xia said: "No matter how many stores they open or how close they are, we just need to make every dish carefully and let the customers eat the freshest and most delicious meals, that's all."
Wu Xuemei also responded: "Yes, we can't just make all the money."
As they talked, they washed the vegetables and went to the front to open the door.
We prepared enough food for lunch and officially opened for business at ten o'clock.
Even if No. 1 Courtyard opens today, their restaurant will not have to worry about business.
Not long after the door opened, someone came in, sat down, and started ordering food from the menu on the wall.
It’s not time for dinner yet, so there are fewer people eating.
Two old men came in and sat down. Without even looking at the menu on the wall, they directly ordered a plate of three stir-fried dishes, a plate of fried tofu, and a bowl of noodles with soybean paste for each of them.
When Chuxia put the food on the table, the old man smiled and said, "Oh, the college students are here today."
Chu Xia naturally smiled and said, "Have a good meal."
The old man was talkative. He looked at Chuxia and said, "The first restaurant opened today. I passed by there and knew it wouldn't be good as soon as I smelled the food, so I didn't go to try it. I've tried many private restaurants that opened this year, but yours tastes the best. Just a bowl of noodles with soybean paste is enough to make you 800 miles ahead of others."
Chu Xia smiled even more happily, "Uncle, thank you for your affirmation and recognition."
The old man added: "Don't get carried away by just a few compliments, you have to maintain it."
Chu Xia: "Of course, don't worry, no matter how good or bad our business is, we will make every dish carefully and ensure that we use the freshest ingredients to create the best taste."
"That's fine."
After the old man said these words, he was ready to eat, and let Chuxia go to work.
Because there were three more people in the restaurant, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan didn't need to be so busy.
So while the dishes were being served, the two of them would chat with the guests, asking them whether they were satisfied with the taste of the food and whether they had any comments.
After the busiest period at noon, there were fewer people in the afternoon. Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan chatted with Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei, and they were almost ready to go to school.
Although Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan had only been back for a short time, Wu Xuemei still prepared some things for them and asked them to take them to school together.
Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan took their things, said goodbye to Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei, and left.
When they came back, they took the bus. Naturally, they went to the bus stop to wait for the bus and then took the bus back to school.
There are many people on the bus at this time.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan squeezed into the car and could only stand in the middle aisle.
The two of them squeezed in the middle of the crowd. Lin Xiaohan raised his hand to hold the horizontal bar. He was taller than the bar, so Chu Xia simply grabbed the backrest of the seat next to him.
Because there were so many people, the two of them were closer, and Chu Xia was equivalent to standing in Lin Xiaohan's arms.
After the car started moving, Lin Xiaohan lowered his eyebrows and looked at Chu Xia for a while, then looked out the window and suddenly spoke: "I have been thinking about a question."
Hearing him speak, Chuxia turned around and looked at him.
It was only when she looked back that she realized that, although there was a distance between her and him and they did not touch each other, she was almost standing in his arms, especially with one of his arms folded up to hold the horizontal bar, forming an enclosed space.
When Chu Xia met Lin Xiaohan's close gaze, she was subconsciously stunned for two seconds.
Then she quickly turned back to look out the window and asked, "What's the problem?"
Seeing Chu Xia's reaction, Lin Xiaohan suddenly smiled.
Then he also looked out the window and said aloud, "Nothing."
“…”
Chuxia simply raised her head and rolled her eyes at him.
Lin Xiaohan lowered his eyebrows and saw her expression.
So I couldn't help laughing again.
Chuxia was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore.
She gripped the back of her seat and looked out the window at the city.
The city of Sijiu before our eyes now looks very different from before.
In the past, the whole city felt gray and everyone wore dark-colored clothes such as gray, blue, and green. Now, many people walking on the street wear brighter clothes with rich colors.
Just when I was fully absorbed in watching and thinking, the car slowed down and stopped at the station.
Some people got off the bus and some got on. Chuxia didn't look away, still looking at the pedestrians passing by on the roadside outside the window, looking at their fashionable hairstyles and brightly colored clothes...
As I was looking, I suddenly saw a figure dressed familiarly.
Chu Xia quickly nudged Lin Xiaohan with her arm, asking him to look at the roadside and asked, "Is that Su Yun?"
If he hadn't met Su Yun when he returned to Yard No. 8 in the morning, Lin Xiaohan wouldn't be sure.
But because he had just encountered it in the morning, he replied with certainty: "Yes."
After confirming that it was Su Yun, Chu Xia looked at her for a while longer.
The reason she looked more was that Su Yun was not alone. There was a man beside her. They seemed to have a good relationship. Su Yun even smiled and put her arm around the man's arm.
As if knowing what Chu Xia was looking at, Lin Xiaohan said again: "It's not Han Ting."
Of course Chuxia also realized that the man was not Han Ting.
She might not be able to recognize other people, but there is no way she would not recognize Han Ting.
The bus started to leave the station.
Su Yun and the man also chatted and laughed as they walked out of Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan's sight.
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