Chapter 39 A Very Polite Sister
Yue Ning and Yue Baohua had already walked between the two restaurants. Yue Ning saw a fat aunt rushing towards them.
This fat aunt is like the chubby, round and super cute character in Hong Kong dramas in my previous life.
When the fat lady saw Yue Ning, she said in a loud voice without the need for a loud speaker: "Wow! Ning Ning really looks like a movie star!"
Seeing more and more people coming, Yue Baohua felt a little headache, but he still wanted to introduce her to his granddaughter: "This is Sister Hua, the accountant of our restaurant."
"Hello, Aunt Hua. Grandpa said that Aunt Hua is considerate and straightforward, and is one of the people he trusts the most." Yue Ning smiled gently.
This made Sister Hua very happy: "Ningning, you are both beautiful and sensible."
Ding Shengqiang was right behind Sister Hua and said, "Master, Ningning is pretty and sensible. Find her a good family to marry, and you can enjoy a peaceful life."
Sister Hua glared at Ding Shengqiang and said to Yue Ning, "Ningning, Uncle Hua told you that he has two ungrateful apprentices, right?"
Yue Ning smiled very gently and said softly, "He said that Uncle Qiang went out to open Shenghualou, and Uncle Jiafu followed him."
Sister Hua blamed Yue Baohua for being too kind. It's fine if he doesn't want to say bad things about others, but he didn't even tell Ningning the truth? Forget it, this is Uncle Hua's own decision. Although she is angry, she can't make the decision for him.
Yue Ning called out obediently: "Hello, Uncle Qiang!"
Being called Uncle Qiang by such a pretty and well-behaved girl, Ding Shengqiang was overjoyed. He walked up to her and said, "You are Ningning, right?"
"Yes!" Yue Ning's voice was clear and cute like a young girl.
"Some of the truths may not be pleasant to hear, but I am your grandfather's apprentice after all, and I hope he is well. Your father's death has caused him to have a mental disorder, and he has been talking nonsense these past two days." Ding Shengqiang took another step closer to her.
Yue Ning pretended not to know and asked humbly, "What crazy things did he say?"
"He actually said that you can cook, and he cooks very well, and he will hand over Baohualou to you when you come back. Don't you think this is crazy? Is there something wrong with his brain? You should persuade him and take him to the hospital for a check-up." Ding Shengqiang said with a smile.
Yue Ning showed a puzzled expression: "Uncle Qiang, why do you think my grandfather is talking nonsense?"
"Girls, especially girls as pretty as you, wouldn't it be good to find a good family to marry and become a young lady? The kitchen is full of fumes and the iron pots are so heavy. You have to toss the pots and stir the pans every day. Not to mention whether a girl can endure this hardship, just talking about the physical strength, can a girl do it?"
Ding Shengqiang took out his cigarette case and prepared to light a cigarette, but he didn't notice Yue Ning sneaking around behind him. Suddenly, Yue Ning hugged Ding Shengqiang, and in an instant Ding Shengqiang felt dizzy and screamed in fear, and the onlookers also screamed.
Yue Ning lifted Ding Shengqiang from behind in a similar way to Lu Zhishen pulling up a weeping willow tree. Ding Shengqiang was upside down on her shoulders. Yue Ning carried Ding Shengqiang around in circles, and only put him down after a few circles.
Ding Shengqiang had just been thrown upside down and was still in shock. Yue Ning grabbed his arms and he was swaying from side to side, unable to stop.
The onlookers were stunned. This little girl with skinny arms and legs actually treated a fat chef as a punching bag?
Yue Ning stopped. Ding Shengqiang was too fat and she felt really tired.
As soon as Yue Ning stopped, Ding Shengqiang felt stuffy in the head, dizzy, and his stomach churned. Finally, he couldn't hold it in any longer and bent over to vomit.
"Uncle Qiang, are you okay?" Yue Ning patted Ding Shengqiang on the back. "Uncle Qiang, I should be able to flip the pot, right?"
Ding Shengqiang was still in shock. The hand on his back, which was like a tiger's claw, was still patting him again and again. He felt like the hand wanted to pat out all his internal organs.
It was already a little after one in the afternoon. Shenghualou was filled with customers who were walking out after having eaten and drunk their fill. When they saw people outside watching the fun, they came over to see as well. They were stunned by the scene.
Ding Shengqiang was still retching. Yue Ning, who had no answer, looked at the onlookers and said, "Everyone, please judge. Can I flip the pot?"
"Yes!" Asong's voice woke up the stunned crowd.
Everyone came to their senses. Isn't this little girl's strength amazing? One person shouted, "Yes!"
The people below shouted in unison: "Yes!"
Yue Ning stopped patting Ding Shengqiang on the back, walked to the middle, put his hands on his chest, and bent slightly: "Thank you all for your affirmation. I will definitely not let Grandpa down, nor will I let everyone down, and work hard to be a good cook."
The pressure on Ding Shengqiang's back was instantly relieved. He took a long time to finally stand up straight, but his legs were still shaking.
Yue Ning asked with concern: "Uncle Qiang, are you okay? You are not even forty, and I was very careful not to throw you to the ground. How did you become like this?"
Sister Hua immediately understood what Yue Ning meant and immediately responded, "That's right! Ding Shengqiang, stop pretending. Uncle Hua is already sixty years old, and you pushed your master to the ground, causing him to go to the hospital. Ning Ke didn't push you to the ground either. Do you want to go to the hospital too?"
The onlookers couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Yue Ning pulled Ding Shengqiang over, pointed at the Shenghua Building sign and said, "Uncle Qiang, come on, stop pretending! Let's get down to business now. Your sign is not worthy of its name. Moreover, it shows that you have a narrow vision and a narrow mind."
Ding Shengqiang was still not very fluent and could not utter a complete sentence. The people watching asked for him: "Why do you say that?"
"To truly achieve 'victory' is like playing a game. If you want to be stronger than your opponent, you have to have an advantage in food and cook better than your opponent. Isn't that the truth?" Yue Ning asked the crowd.
"Yes." Everyone responded.
Yue Ning let go of Ding Shengqiang, walked towards the poster on the window of Shenghua Building, and pointed at a line of words: "Baohua Building heritage, authentic Cantonese cuisine."
"What this means is that they are proud of being able to make dishes exactly the same as Baohualou, and they use these dishes to attract customers. This is called imitation. It shows that they have no confidence, so the prices are generally lower than Baohualou. It would be more appropriate to change the sign to 'Fanghualou'." Yue Ning asked everyone, "Do you think so?"
"That makes sense." The onlookers shouted.
"Just like the Qingzai noodles in Japan and the Yuanzai noodles in Hong Kong, the smoothness and chewiness of the noodles are slightly worse than those of Qingzai noodles, so the price of Yuanzai noodles is lower. Those who pursue the smoothness and chewiness of noodles can spend a little more money to eat Qingzai noodles; if it doesn't matter, just eat Yuanzai noodles." Yue Ning walked in front of Ding Shengqiang, "So, Uncle Qiang, the same is true for Fanghualou. Just say it is a substitute for Baohualou's dishes. If you like better taste, go to Baohualou, and if you care more about the price, go to your Fanghualou. One is a leader and the other is a follower. The leader sets the trend and the latter follows. If you really 'win', then you are the leader, but you are still using the strategy of low-priced imitation. I'm afraid you have a problem with your brain?"
Upon hearing these competing theories, someone shouted, “Girl, you know this?”
"It's just talk on paper. Only through practice can we gain true knowledge." Yue Ning smiled embarrassedly. She looked at Yue Baohua, "Grandpa has confidence in me. He decided to let me run Baohualou with him."
She stepped back and bowed to the onlookers: "I am here to thank you all! I know from this poster that everyone patronizes Shenghualou because they recognize my grandfather's Baohualou. From today on, I, a young chef, will inject new strength into Baohualou, and work side by side with my grandfather, an old chef, to provide guests with more flavors and better quality dishes. It will also distance itself from Shenghualou, or Fanghualou, and leave them enough space for them to grow and catch up."
"What a big mouth."
Yue Ning looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman with big wavy hair and big red lips, walking towards her with a cigarette between her fingers and twisting her waist.
The woman was wearing a tight blue shirt with an open neckline, revealing her deep cleavage, a one-piece skirt and black stockings. Yue Ning was sure that this was the mistress of the stacker. Uncle Asong had just described the situation of that day in detail on the road, and she was doing the same thing again? Did she think that she, Yue Ning, was as good-tempered as her grandfather?
Yue Ning humbly clarified: "I am telling the truth."
The woman walked up to Yue Ning, leaned closer to him, and looked up at him carefully. Just as she was about to exhale a puff of smoke, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down and saw a banknote in her cleavage.
Everyone at the scene was stunned. They saw Boss Yue's granddaughter take out a five-dollar Hong Kong dollar from her shirt pocket and stuff it into the chest of the boss lady. Her posture looked like a man who went to a nightclub to seek pleasure and reward the ladies.
"What are you doing?" the woman shouted with smoke coming out of her mouth, pulled the banknote from her chest and threw it on the ground.
Yue Ning picked up the five-dollar bill with a puzzled look on his face, and said aggrievedly, "I was watching a Hong Kong TV series in the hotel these two days. In the TV series, a lady dressed similar to you rubbed against a gentleman, and the gentleman stuffed money into her chest, and the lady happily accepted it. I thought this was the custom in Hong Kong. So you leaned against me, and I stuffed money into your chest, and I thought you would be happy."
The onlookers were laughing so hard that they fell backwards. Yue Ning asked them for help with a confused look on his face: "Did I do something wrong?"
The woman gritted her teeth and said, "You..."
Sister Hua laughed and walked over and said, "Ningning! That's the tip that men give to the ladies in the nightclub. Sister Li is the big boss of Shenghua Building. You can't tip like that."
Yue Ning held Sister Hua's arm in grievance: "My father taught me that a boss should respect employees internally and guests externally. Without the efforts of employees and the love of guests, we can't make money. But respect does not mean flattery. The first thing a person should do is to behave properly. She doesn't look like a boss, but more like... more like... the madam of a brothel in a TV show."
Just now she said she was a hostess, and now she said she was a mama-san. This made people laugh to death, and some people even stamped their feet with laughter, they couldn't help laughing.
Sister Hua smiled and tried to comfort the girl who could throw people around, saying, "Ningning, it's okay, it's okay. You just came from the mainland and don't know some of the situations in Hong Kong. Let's learn slowly."
"Okay, that's good! Sister Hua, please remind me more often in the future so that I won't make mistakes." Yue Ning looked humble and willing to learn.
This Li Jie said with trembling fingers: "You northern girl."
"Sister Li, why are you swearing at me?" Yue Ning frowned.
This time Sister Li seemed to have regained some face. She rolled her eyes and said, "Is 'Northern Girl' an insult? Aren't you a girl from the Northwest?"
"That's true!" Yue Ning nodded, and then asked sincerely, "Then I wish you prosperity! I must wish your whole family great wealth!"
The previous round of laughter had not yet ended when a new round began. The people in the front were laughing so hard that their cramps cramped, and the people behind them didn't know what Yue Ning had said yet, and were trying to ask the people in front about the situation. The laughter spread layer by layer.
Sister Li was furious and shouted, "Just wait!"
"Okay! I'll wait."
Yue Ning watched Sister Li walk into Shenghua Building, she turned around, walked to Ding Shengqiang, and put her hand on his shoulder. Ding Shengqiang subconsciously wanted to avoid her, but Yue Ning grabbed him.
Yue Ning held Ding Shengqiang and said, "Uncle Qiang, we are in the same business from now on. Your Fanghualou has to learn from our Baohualou. How about we jointly issue a statement to our customers?"
Ding Shengqiang wanted to curse, but the hand on his shoulder was like a Nine Yin White Bone Claw, almost digging into his flesh, and the pain made him sweat profusely.
Yue Ning looked at Ding Shengqiang, who was sweating, with some confusion: "Uncle Qiang, are you hot?"
"He is scared." someone said.
"Ah?" Yue Ning tried to comfort him. "Uncle Qiang, don't be afraid! This is what I think. Since you are promoting the inheritance of Baohualou, we in the mainland always say that the advanced should lead the less advanced, and colleagues should help each other. Moreover, once a teacher, always a father. We, the two of us, don't want you to cook so badly that it will affect the reputation of Baohualou. In the future, we will regularly bring out a dish for public competition, so that you can find the gap with Baohualou in time and find the direction for improvement. What do you think? For the first time, let's compete in fish soup. It will be scheduled for this Sunday morning. Such a good opportunity, do you want it?"
"Ningning, why don't you just ask him if he dares to compete?" Sister Hua said, "He feels guilty!"
Yue Ning was very patient, but her patience would eventually run out. She frowned and exerted force with her hands. Ding Shengqiang cried out in pain. Yue Ning said, "Uncle Qiang, stop sweating. I have something to ask you."
"He's almost pissed his pants because of you, how is he going to answer you?" someone reminded Yue Ning.
Yue Ning asked puzzledly: "Such a great thing, why are you afraid? He focuses on the inheritance of Baohualou. If we compare it publicly, his taste is exactly the same as our Baohualou, which proves that the imitation of Baohualou is accurate, good quality and cheap. If there is a gap, we can learn from each other, and recognize our shortcomings and improve in the competition and exchange. Unless he is guilty and knows that the gap between the two is huge, and the imitation is not similar at all."
"The difference is indeed huge. The fish in Baohualou's fish soup is very fresh and sweet, while the fish in their fish soup has a strong fishy smell, and the fish sometimes feels a little powdery. Theirs is also fresh, but it's not the pure freshness of fish, and they don't use MSG."
"Yes, yes. Shenghualou's fish soup seems to be similar, but it's really missing something."
"The fish meat was cut for too long and its flavor was lost. We had no choice but to use chicken soup to enhance the flavor," Yue Ning explained.
"Yes, yes! It smells like chicken soup."
“We are all waiting for Baohua Building to reopen.”
"Yes! When does it open?"
"We don't want to eat the ones from Shenghualou either. They say they are the legacy of Baohualou, but it seems to lack some flavor."
"I'm sorry! It's all because of me. My grandfather went to the northwest to find me, so you can't taste my grandfather's cooking for a while." She put a little more strength in her hands and looked at Ding Shengqiang. "My uncle Qiang has pulled many employees from Baohualou over these days, so our Baohualou cannot recover to its previous scale temporarily. It is estimated that it will take about a month to restore the previous reception volume. We plan to open the roast meat stall of Baohualou starting tomorrow. At that time, if you buy any of my grandfather's roast meats, you will get a crispy roast duck made by me. In addition, there will be a tasting event for my roast duck. It is different from the roast duck made by my grandfather. Please give us more valuable suggestions. Thank you!"
"Is the roast duck you made delicious?" someone asked.
"It's well received in Yuecheng. I just arrived and I'm not sure whether it suits everyone's taste, so I'm using my grandfather's reputation to ask everyone to try it and give me your opinions. Your opinions are really important to me." Yue Ning said sincerely.
Yue Baohua watched for a long time before coming over: "Ningning's fish soup was taught by her father. My son is a better cook than me. When Baohualou reopens, you can try her cooking skills. The fish soup she makes is more fragrant."
"Uncle Hua, is your granddaughter's fish soup better than yours?" someone asked.
"Not really. The fish soup that my grandfather and I make have their own merits. My fish soup tastes closer to my father's." Yue Ning pulled Ding Shengqiang again, "Uncle Qiang, shall we compete on Sunday? Say something! This way, everyone can taste my cooking skills on Sunday without having to wait for Baohualou to resume reception. You can also have a chance to learn from it."
"Little girl, why do you force him to compete? What good will it do you if he learns a skill?" asked the onlookers.
"I want him to know that my grandfather is still my grandfather, and his master is still his master." Yue Ning said, his eyes became sharp, and he looked at Ding Shengqiang, "Speak up! Are you dumb? You don't want to compete, right? Take down your signboard. What are you still trying to win!"
The problems with their minced fish soup were due to the fish they used and the fact that Aunt Awang and her family minced the fish in advance, which caused the aroma and flavor to be lost. Ding Shengqiang thought that his minced fish soup was the true teaching of Yue Baohua, and he didn't believe that this little girl with brute force could make fish soup better than him. Ding Shengqiang gritted his teeth and said, "I'll compete!"
"That's settled." Yue Ning and Ding Shengqiang stood side by side, showing their standard smiles. "This Sunday morning at 8 o'clock, we will set up stoves in front of our two houses and show everyone how to make Baohualou's traditional fish soup, from killing and slicing fish to cutting fish. Baohualou will provide 50 people with the opportunity to taste it, first come first served. If you have a basic cooking skill, maybe after watching this, you can also make Baohualou's style fish soup at home. We are here, looking forward to your arrival!"
"We have learned it and we won't come to Baohua Building anymore. What will you do?" someone asked.
Yue Ning smiled and said, "No way! I bet that even if you learn it, you will come to Baohualou to eat the food I cook."
"So confident?"
"You'll know when you taste it on Sunday."
Amid the laughter of the onlookers, Yue Ning finally let go of Ding Shengqiang, walked towards Yue Baohua, and said coquettishly: "Grandpa, I got up at five o'clock today, and I didn't eat much on the way. Besides, Uncle Qiang is so heavy. It took me a lot of strength to carry him. I'm so hungry!"
Yue Baohua didn't know whether to laugh or feel distressed, and said, "Let's go eat."
Someone shouted, "Ms. Yue, why don't you go to Hengtong TV Station to take the artist training class?"
"I didn't take the artist training class because of you!"
"For me?"
"I was afraid you would die of laughter. You laughed the loudest just now."
Amid the last wave of laughter, Yue Ning took Yue Baohua's arm and walked towards Baohua Building.
Ding Shengqiang came back to his senses in a daze. Someone from Shenghua Building rushed out and shouted, "Brother Qiang, go in quickly. Sister Li is losing her temper!"
Ding Shengqiang wanted to run away, but found that the muscles in his legs were shaking uncontrollably. At this moment, Yue Baohua's words suddenly emerged in his mind, that the little lion was a natural king.
He dragged his weak legs, holding the handrail, and walked upstairs step by step.
The office area of Shenghua Building was on the third floor. As soon as he reached the second floor, he heard Zhang Lili's sharp shout: "You just watched me being bullied by that northern girl, didn't you?"
When he arrived at the door of Zhang Lili's office, he saw a mess on the floor and a hole in the wall caused by an ashtray. Zhang Lili's face flushed red, her expression twisted, and she continued to shout: "I just want you to vent my anger, but you won't? Is it because she doesn't want you to help me? Hey...hey..."
Ding Shengqiang could only console him, "Yue Baohua knows a lot of people, and Brother Kun's influence won't be able to extend to Hong Kong City in a short time."
"Am I going to suffer this in vain?" Zhang Lili shouted in a hoarse voice.
Ding Shengqiang sat down on the sofa, and the moment he touched the sofa, he really wanted to collapse. He asked, "What can we do? Brother Kun is unwilling to help you, what else can you do? That day we beat Zhu Yousong, and that night our window was smashed."
"But when you pushed Yue Baohua that day, nothing happened, didn't it?"
"Maybe Yue Baohua also knows that I didn't use much force that day and it wasn't intentional. Yue Baohua is a man of integrity and he would never wrongly accuse anyone." Ding Shengqiang said as he took out his cigarette case and lighter. His hands were still shaking uncontrollably as he lit the cigarette.
Zhang Lili asked, "Did you really drain the water for their goldfish?"
"Those minions under him are deceiving him!" Ding Shengqiang took a puff of cigarette, took a breath, and then said, "After you left, that little girl wanted to compete with us in cooking."
"Ah?" Zhang Lili looked confused. "What's going on?"
Ding Shengqiang raised his head and blew out a smoke ring, saying, "If Yue Baohua cooks for him personally, I really don't have the confidence. But that little girl said she would do it, so I have to let her know that I have eaten more salt than she has eaten rice."
Zhang Lili also lit up a cigarette and asked between puffs, "You said before that Baohualou bought some goods this morning in order to treat this little girl's friends to a meal?"
"yes!"
"You're in such a hurry to treat me on your first day in Gangcheng? When I asked Yue Baohua, he said she was young and she wasn't my boyfriend. If she wasn't my boyfriend, then what kind of friend could she be? Didn't you say that Yue Baohua's son was entrusted to his senior brother to take care of? Maybe she was someone from his senior brother's side who helped this girl before? In any case, she must be an important friend." Zhang Lili exhaled smoke from her nostrils. "He won't help me, so I have no other choice. After they finish the banquet, I'll follow her friend and break one of her friend's arms or legs. Then, send her a dead frog or bird. No need to say it explicitly, let her know that Gangcheng is not the northwest, and you can't just rely on brute force to dominate."
At this point, Zhang Lili calmed down a little. She picked up the phone and tried it, and found that it was not broken. On the other end of the phone were the two thugs who beat Zhu Yousong that day. She told them to come immediately and guard the door of Baohua Building to see who was the guest invited by that damn girl. She wanted to break the leg of that mainland guy.
In Hong Kong, if you break a mainlander's leg, the police won't take it seriously.
After everything was arranged, she sat down and put her high-heeled feet on the table. When she looked down, she saw a red mark on her chest scratched by the banknotes, and she was furious again. She took off her high-heeled shoes and knocked them hard on the table. With a "clang", the heels finally couldn't bear it and fell off.
Ding Shengqiang, who was already exhausted, looked at Zhang Lili and secretly groaned in his heart. What bad luck had he got into to cooperate with such a stupid woman?
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