Chapter 42: A Gentleman Should Be Cautious When Alone
Yue Ning's dishes were basically finished, and the rest was handed over to the uncles. She held the casserole and asked the waiter to bring a plate of freshly cooked instant noodles, which she personally delivered to the second floor to apologize to her brothers and sisters.
Just now, Yue Ning went upstairs to ask his brothers and sisters how they were eating, and Cai Zhiyuan said unhappily, "Open your eyes and take a good look. What's left on the table? Can you eat the plates?"
Sister Huiyi also asked, "She gave each of us an abalone and a piece of Australian lobster, but is she really short of us? Even if she wants to make the dish look good, can't she find a bigger taro as the base?"
The Dongping chicken rice made by Yue Ning is made by deep-frying taro slices into crispy pieces, with a small handful of Dongping chicken rice piled on each slice. People with big mouths can finish it in one bite, while those with small mouths can only eat it in two bites at most. Every dish is like this, the taste is gone as soon as you taste it.
Cai Zhiyuan complained: "It's like Junxian finally had a wet dream, and was dreaming about having sex with the goddess of his dream, but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door..."
Qiao Junxian glared at his cousin, put his hand on Cai Zhiyuan's shoulder and said, "Just let yourself have an erotic dream, why did you mention me?"
Cai Zhiyuan pulled Qiao Junxian's hand away and said, "The rest of us have girlfriends, but you don't. You have been having erotic dreams because you can't satisfy your desires for a long time."
Cui Huiyi advised from the side: "Alright, alright! Let Ningning serve more dishes, so that Junxian can finish this 'erotic dream' in one go."
Qiao Junxian's face turned red and he stopped talking. He knew that the more he explained, the more they would tease him.
Yue Ning apologized to everyone: "I thought my brothers and sisters were all gentlemen and ladies from wealthy families. In Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Baoyu went to Miaoyu's place to drink tea, and there was a passage like this: 'One cup is for tasting, two cups are for quenching thirst, and three cups are like drinking like an ox or a mule.' How could I know that my brothers and sisters were all Liangshan heroes who drank big gulps of wine and ate big chunks of meat in Water Margin? The next dish must make sure everyone is full."
So there was a big casserole with a big plate of cooked jiaozi noodles. Cai Zhiyuan picked up the noodles with his chopsticks and looked at Cui Huiyi: "Huiyi, come and take a look, is this your jiaozi noodles?"
Cui Huiyi would recognize her own noodles even if they were burnt into ashes. She nodded heavily.
After getting confirmation, Cai Zhiyuan put down his chopsticks and gritted his teeth and said, "Ningning, are you planning to let us eat instant noodles?"
Yue Ning took a clean bowl, took the serving chopsticks from Cai Zhiyuan, picked up a piece of dough and put it in the bowl. Then, she reached out to open the lid of the casserole, and instantly, the wanton and arrogant aroma filled the air. In the casserole was a chopped chicken. The skin was bright red, and the chicken meat was white and tender with the yellow color of chicken fat. The residual heat of the casserole heated the juice, adding a bit of intensity to the aroma that already filled the room.
The rich aroma penetrated everyone's nose, making everyone's mouth water. Yue Ning picked up a piece of chicken and put it on the noodles. Under the chicken was a pig's trotter half-soaked in juice. She asked Cai Zhiyuan: "Do you want to eat the pig's trotter?"
"Eat, eat." Cai Zhiyuan responded, thinking to himself, if he said he didn't want to eat at this time, he would be like a pig.
Yue Ning picked up a piece of stewed pig's trotter, placed it on the noodles, then scooped up a spoonful of juice and poured it on the chicken pieces and pig's trotter.
She placed the bowl in front of Cai Zhiyuan and said, "Lingnan soy sauce chicken noodles, enjoy!"
Then he asked everyone, "Brothers and sisters, do you want to do it yourself, or do you want me to serve you?"
"Come by yourself, come by yourself!" Cui Huiyi couldn't wait any longer. She knew that Ningning was showing off the deliciousness of her Yuanzai noodles.
The waiter changed the bowls for everyone, and everyone followed Yue Ning's demonstration, using the round noodles as the base, placing the chicken and pig's trotters on the noodles, and then pouring the sauce on them.
While they were still beating noodles and picking up chicken nuggets, Cai Zhiyuan had already finished the tender, chewy and juicy chicken, and was now eating the soft, glutinous and plump pig's trotter, the tendons of which could be hooked out with the tongue.
Cai Zhiyuan spat out the bone and quickly mixed the noodles. The sauce made from the pig's trotters and chicken was very rich. When it was wrapped around the noodles, the round noodles became extremely delicious. He quickly ate the noodles. Ningning loved him the most and served him rice first. While there was still chicken and pig's trotters in the casserole, he decided to have another bowl.
Yue Ning watched him eat his second bowl and said, "Brother Zhiyuan, you enjoy instant noodles so much?"
"I can have another bowl." Cai Zhiyuan raised his head and said. Zhao Xiru laughed and scolded: "You are a pig! Still want to eat?"
"Eat less. This stuff can make you fat." Cai Zhiyuan said to Zhao Xiru.
"I'll just do two more hours of exercise tomorrow." Zhao Xiru replied.
Yue Ning walked behind Cui Huiyi and put his hand on her shoulder: "Sister Huiyi, let's use this flavor to make a series of Hong Kong-style roast meat flavored noodles, what do you think?"
"Sister! I'll leave Lide's new product development to you, okay?" Cui Huiyi said.
As they were talking, Ah Zhong knocked on the door and came in: "Ningning, Ding Shengqiang is kneeling at our door. Sister Hua asked me to call you."
Yue Ning hurriedly followed, muttering, "The Qing Dynasty has been gone for so many years, why are they still kneeling down at every turn?"
The people downstairs didn't care about eating anymore and ran to the door. Sister Hua called out, "Ningning is here."
This shout was particularly effective. The people in Baohua Building immediately made way for him. Yue Ning saw Ding Shengqiang kneeling on the ground holding his grandfather's trouser legs.
Ding Shengqiang raised his head and said, "Master, I didn't know that Sister Li did so many things in private. I always thought that it was because Asong was lax in managing the restaurant and he was shirking responsibility. Today I found out that it was really that woman who hired someone to frame Baohualou. I learned the craft from you when I was sixteen, and you are like my real father..."
Sister Hua couldn't stand it any longer and said, "How dare you say such things? You have been sneering and mocking me these days, and even asked Uncle Hua to sell Baohua Building to you earlier. Now he is just afraid of Ningning's backing in Gangcheng, so he is wagging his tail and begging for mercy. Uncle Hua, don't let him off easily."
Yue Baohua was stabbed in the back by Ding Shengqiang, and was injured bloody. If Ningning had not been smart, had amazing skills, and had not met her uncle Mo in the northwest, if she was just an ordinary girl, I am afraid that now the two of them would have to transfer Baohua Building. To ask him to forgive Ding Shengqiang, it would take until the sun rises from the west. Yue Baohua said hatefully: "Get lost!"
"Grandpa!" Yue Ning said disapprovingly, "Let's talk it over nicely."
She walked up to Ding Shengqiang, stretched out her hands to support him, and said softly, "Uncle Qiang, what are you doing?"
Ding Shengqiang looked at Yue Ning in confusion. The swelling and pain on his shoulder that had not yet subsided made his heart tremble unconsciously. "I'm here to ask your grandfather for forgiveness. I didn't know before..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Sister Hua: "Who believes it?"
Seeing that he couldn't even stand steadily, Yue Ning thought to himself, he is really no match for those men in the Northwest. At least they can run away after being beaten by her.
She said, "Whether others believe it or not, I believe in your sincerity."
The onlookers were in an uproar, and the neighbor Sister Lan couldn't help but speak out: "Do you know what he did? You just believed it."
Yue Ning turned to Sister Hua and said, "Aunt Hua, count from the day they put the tape on our Baohua Building, and add up our labor expenses for these days and for the next ten days. Although the house is ours, the shop has rental value, and all expenses such as employee insurance. Also, calculate the cost of my grandfather and Uncle Song going to the hospital."
Sister Hua's eyes lit up: "What about our lost profits over the past few days?"
"Who wants his filthy money?" Yue Baohua said angrily.
"Grandpa, there's an old saying that it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Moreover, these are two restaurants on the same street. There's no need to make things too extreme." Yue Ning thought of something, "Uncle Qiang, my grandfather paid off your gambling debt. Have you not paid it back to my grandfather yet?"
"And he also coveted more than 30,000 yuan worth of food money from Baohualou." Sister Hua added.
Yue Ning held Ding Shengqiang's hand and said earnestly, "Uncle Qiang, since you are here to apologize and ask for forgiveness, what I said before is the compensation that Shenghualou has to bear. I have made the decision. Forget about the loss of profits. In fact, Uncle Jiafu ran away with his apprentices, and many handymen also ran away. We will definitely not be able to restore the supply volume of Baohualou in ten days. Since we are all on the same street, I will not care."
"Well... I'm not a major shareholder, I can't make the decision." Ding Shengqiang tried hard to pull his hand back. His hand was held so tightly by Yue Ning that the joints were almost shrunk, but this girl's grip was too strong.
Yue Ning suddenly realized: "That's right! Your boss is Sister Li."
She turned to Sister Hua and said, "Aunt Hua, go borrow a loud speaker from the uncle at the clothing store."
Without Sister Hua's help, the neighbors who heard this ran to the clothing store. The owner of the clothing store brought a loud speaker and taught Yue Ning how to use it. Everyone was curious about what Yue Ning wanted this loud speaker for.
Yue Ning held a loudspeaker in one hand and held Ding Shengqiang's hand with the other, half-dragging him to the entrance of Shenghua Building.
It was almost nine o'clock and the evening peak had passed, but there were too many people today and they were surrounded.
Ding Shengqiang shook his hands and tried to break free, but Yue Ning exerted force on him and Ding Shengqiang cried out in pain. Yue Ning turned around and said, "Uncle Qiang, be good!"
After that, she held a loud speaker and shouted at the gate of Shenghua Building: "Sister Li, come out, I will discuss with you face to face how to resolve the grievances between the two families. If Uncle Qiang lied to you, I will rely on the power of my elders to make you unable to survive in Gangcheng. In order to save Shenghua Building, I will let you bear all the charges, so that you will not appear in Shenghua Building in the future and will not provoke my grandfather. He also said that my grandfather is kind-hearted and he came to ask my grandfather for forgiveness so that Shenghua Building can be saved. Then you have been fooled. A man like Uncle Qiang who has no credibility is a liar. And the man who supports you, a man who can betray his wife can be trusted, even a sow can climb a tree. My grandfather has a reputation for 30 years, and I am a good girl who is polite, civilized and moral. My elders are all serious businessmen, not gangsters, so how could they do something that violates morality and the law?"
Yue Ning said very seriously: "We, the grandparents, solemnly promise that only Shenghualou needs to bear reasonable compensation, and Baohualou will not hold us accountable for the past. We, the grandparents, will not throw tape in the dishes of the other family, will not take the children to poop in front of the other family in the middle of the night, will not book the private room of the other family, will not kill the feng shui goldfish of the other family, and will not use hot water to kill the fortune tree of the other family." Everyone knows the previous things, but is there something else that everyone does not know about the last sentence? Someone asked: "Did they use hot water to kill the fortune tree of Baohualou?"
Yue Ning quickly explained: "No, no, I just told the story based on the dirty things they did in the past."
When the onlookers heard this, they burst into laughter.
Yue Ning thought to herself, are the people in Hong Kong all so easy to laugh at? She continued to pick up the loud speaker: "If you really listen to me now and stop participating in the daily operations of Shenghua Building, Uncle Qiang will soon empty Shenghua Building and run away with the money, leaving the debt to you. The little property you worked so hard to get from a man will be gone..."
Ding Shengqiang stretched out his other hand, trying to knock the loud speaker out of Yue Ning's hand. Yue Ning simply pointed the loud speaker at him: "Uncle Qiang, was I right?"
Zhang Lili rushed out of Shenghua Building with bruises on her face. She rushed towards Ding Shengqiang, scratching and clawing him: "You bastard, son of a bitch, so this is what you were thinking."
"When your wild man sees that I am cared for by my elders and loved by my brothers and sisters, he will definitely not want to get involved in this matter anymore and would like to stay as far away from you, a troublemaker, as possible. Where is my Uncle Qiang? It was your wild man who framed him and made him owe gambling debts in order to open a restaurant for you. When he came to Shenghualou, you thought you were treating him well by giving him shares. But he feels that Shenghualou is what it is today thanks to him, and he has to listen to you, an amateur, giving orders to him, an expert, and he has long been dissatisfied. Uncle Qiang knows that my grandfather is an honest man. He is unwilling to do anything, let alone illegal or immoral. He lied to you and said that I would rely on my elders to do this and that, but in fact he was just counting your money." Yue Ning watched the two of them wrestling and analyzed with a loudspeaker on the side.
Ding Shengqiang was hiding from Zhang Lili at first, but now that Yue Ning had exposed all his thoughts, he stopped pretending. He was a fat cook, much stronger than Zhang Lili, and he pushed Zhang Lili to the ground, pressed her under him, and pinched her neck: "You bitch, do you really think I'm afraid of you? If not..."
Seeing that the situation was one-sided, Yue Ning reached out and pulled Ding Shengqiang: "Can you guys deal with the internal conflict between the major shareholder and the second largest shareholder of Shenghua Building later when we get back? Let's discuss the compensation first, right?"
Ding Shengqiang was held back by Yue Ning, and Zhang Lili took the opportunity to stretch out her long nails painted with red nail polish and scratched Ding Shengqiang's face, causing blood to immediately appear on Ding Shengqiang's face. As soon as Yue Ning let go, Ding Shengqiang pounced on him again, and the two fought fiercely, completely ignoring Yue Ning's request for compensation.
Yue Ning returned the loud speaker to the uncle next door and walked towards Yue Baohua with an unhappy face: "Grandpa, did you see that? Uncle Qiang didn't come here to apologize at all. He just wanted to trick Sister Li into not caring about Shenghualou so that he could take advantage of Shenghualou. You are just a part of the scheme he designed. You took it seriously and were moved by it."
Yue Baohua then realized that after living for most of his life, he was not as good as his 18-year-old granddaughter. Then he thought that Ningning had designed this situation when she was in the mainland, and he did not have the ability to do it.
"Let's go back and continue eating." Yue Ning said to the people in Baohua Building, and then looked back at the two people who were fighting, "Uncle Qiang, if you want to act, can't you wait until they finish their meal?"
The housewives watching asked her, "How do you know he didn't really come to apologize?"
Yue Ning shrugged and said, "Whether he sincerely apologizes or not, we can find out by asking him whether he wants to pay compensation or not."
"Aren't you helping Sister Li? She is the mastermind behind the attack on Baohua Building?" the housewife asked again. Yue Ning smiled and replied, "Because I am kind and I can't bear to see such a good pair of partners go their separate ways."
The housewife looked at the two people who were pulled apart and were still cursing at each other, and she didn't know whether to listen to her words in the right way or the wrong way.
Yue Ning walked in and found that his brothers and sisters had also come downstairs, so he asked, "Why did you come downstairs?"
"We're done eating, thank you for your hospitality," said Qiao Junshen.
Cai Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Ningning! Why don't you come to the TV station to sign a contract? I'm sure you'll be very popular."
Liu Jiayao also said: "In less than two years, you will become the queen of comedy."
Yue Ning's expression changed instantly, as if he was about to cry: "Brothers, are you not satisfied with the food I cooked?"
"No, no! I was just joking." Cai Zhiyuan said quickly.
Cui Huiyi came over and hugged her: "Ningning, thank you! Today's meal is the most delicious and thoughtful meal I have ever eaten."
Yue Ning said, "Wait for me, I'll go change my clothes and take you out, okay?"
Qiao Junxian said, "No, you're busy!" "No! When I was in Beijing, Sister Huiyi said a car was very expensive, so I wanted to see it!" Yue Ning found on the way back today that the cars on the road were basically the brands that were common in the previous life, but the translated names were different. Qiao Junxian smiled and said, "Okay, we'll wait for you!"
Yue Ning ran in excitedly, changed out of his chef's uniform and walked out.
"Wow!" Zhao Xiru exclaimed. When she saw Yue Ning wearing her chef's uniform just now, she thought she had a great temperament.
Now, Yue Ning is tall, wearing a sleeveless jacquard silk blouse with the hem tucked into the waistband, and dark green loose silk trousers. Simple combination, but the color is very impactful, so tasteful!
"Let's go, let's go!" Yue Ning went over and hooked Cui Huiyi's arm, and walked out together.
Zhao Xiru came over and asked Yue Ning: "Ningning, Huiyi said you want to have your hair cut, when will you come to my place?"
Yue Ning thought for a moment, then turned to ask Yue Baohua who had come with him to see the guests off: "Grandpa, do you have anything to do tomorrow afternoon? I'm going to get my hair cut at Sister Xiru's place."
"It's okay." Yue Baohua replied.
Cui Huiyi said, "I'll pick you up after dinner?"
"Okay!" Yue Ning replied.
Walking outside, Yue Ning saw a row of cars. The first one was a white Porsche, the second one was a blue Aston Martin, and the third one was a yellow Lamborghini.
Yue Ning saw the familiar logo at the back. In her previous life, she rewarded herself with the first sports car, a Ferrari F12. Of course, the F12 was still several decades away from coming out, but it still made her feel very familiar. Yue Ning couldn't help but walk over.
Cai Zhiyuan was very happy to see this. His car was not the most expensive, but it attracted his sister's attention. He took out the key and said, "Ningning, I'll take you for a ride."
Qiao Junxian took the car keys from him and gave his own car keys to Cai Zhiyuan: "You still have to send Miss Lu off! I'll drive your car and take Ningning for a ride."
In fact, Yue Ning just missed her past life a little bit. She was satisfied with just one look. It didn't matter whether she took the car or not. She could afford it in the future. But Qiao Junxian had already snatched the key from his cousin. If she refused, Qiao Junxian would be embarrassed. Her brothers and sisters were very kind to her, but Qiao Junxian was a little special. He traveled thousands of miles to accompany his grandfather to the northwest to find her. These days, she was only responsible for giving advice, and Qiao Junxian was the one who contacted and implemented it. He also made a special trip to Yuecheng to give her information and tell her the details.
Yue Ning said to Yue Baohua, "Grandpa, Qiao Junxian and I are going for a ride! You and Uncle Asong should have dinner, don't wait for me."
"Yes! You have been busy and haven't eaten yet." said Qiao Junxian.
Yue Ning pushed him happily: "Let's go! Let's go!"
Qiao Junxian took her to the car, and Yue Ning waved to everyone: "Brothers and sisters, bye!"
They smiled and waved at her.
Qiao Junxian reminded: "Fasten your seat belts."
Yue Ning reached out to pull the seat belt, only to see Qiao Junxian demonstrating to her how to fasten it, so she followed his example and fastened her seat belt.
Qiao Junxian drove off, and Yue Ning looked at the night view of the port city in the late 1970s, with its prosperity in full view.
As the car entered the tunnel, Qiao Junxian asked, "Ningning, do you want to try some Nanyang cuisine?"
"ah?"
"The dishes from my grandmother's hometown are hot and sour, a bit similar to the sour noodle soup dumplings in the northwest," Qiao Junxian introduced, "such as bak kut teh and laksa."
"OK!"
The car drove out of the cross-harbour tunnel and arrived at Hong Kong Island. Qiao Junxian drove all the way, and Hong Kong Island at this time felt both strange and familiar to Yue Ning.
Qiao Junxian drove around the corner and drove into Hong'an Hotel. Yue Ning knew that this was his maternal grandfather's property.
Qiao Junxian parked the car and took Yue Ning into the elevator. He said, "The Nanyang cuisine in Hong'an is the Nanyang cuisine that my uncle opened in Hong'an after my mother got married, so that she could taste the flavor of her hometown."
"Your uncle really loves your mother."
"Yes, they have a very good relationship among the brothers and sisters." Qiao Junxian took her into the Nanyang restaurant.
Even when the young master arrived, the restaurant manager still apologized and said it was too late and could only provide a few simple meals.
Qiao Junxian took Yue Ning to sit by the window, from where they could enjoy the view of Victoria Harbour.
Yue Ning felt that he didn't know much about Southeast Asian cuisine, and the choices were limited, so he let Qiao Junxian take charge of the order. Qiao Junxian ordered, "One laksa, one chicken satay, one coconut roll, one sambal glutinous rice cake, and one momo chacha."
After placing the order, Qiao Junxian asked, "I have a question."
Yue Ning raised his head: "What's your question?"
"Did Zhang Lili really not give the two hooligans any money?"
"Come closer and I'll tell you." Yue Ning leaned over with a smile.
Qiao Junxian also came over, and Yue Ning told him mysteriously about how he caught Doujihui in the afternoon and pinned him against the wall to teach him a lesson.
The hot air she exhaled when she spoke blew into Qiao Junxian's ears, making his ears a little itchy.
Fortunately, after Yue Ning finished speaking, he sat up straight: "When people are framed, they will subconsciously prove their innocence. At noon, I felt that Zhang Lili was not very smart. There happened to be such an opportunity, why not take advantage of it?"
Qiao Junxian casually adjusted his sitting position: "That's amazing. What about Ding Shengqiang? Did you also predict his move?"
"How can I be that amazing? I didn't expect Ding Shengqiang to come and kneel down and beg Grandpa for forgiveness. This move of his is indeed very smart. If I really am the kind of person who wants to do something shady, and he kneels down in public, no matter if he, Zhang Lili, or his family gets into trouble, the first person people will suspect is Baohualou. Does he think everyone is as shady and has no bottom line as him? I will openly state that I will never use shady tricks."
"How did you infer that Ding Shengqiang would take this opportunity to cheat Zhang Lili away?" The chicken satay was served, and Qiao Junxian dipped it in the sauce for her and handed it to her.
Yue Ning took the chicken skewers and said, "Two people with bad intentions are together. Zhang Lili is relatively stupid, while Ding Shengqiang is more vicious. He can betray my grandfather, let alone Zhang Lili? I can think from his perspective, but I won't use his methods to harm others. Uncle Mo taught me since I was a child that a gentleman should be cautious when alone and not deceive others in secret. I will expose their evil deeds layer by layer in an open and aboveboard manner. With what happened just now, everyone can see clearly that they are both scoundrels. Isn't it normal for such scoundrels to use dead fish to make fish soup and frozen meat to make roast meat?"
After saying that, Yue Ning started eating the satay chicken skewers.
Qiao Junxian looked at Yue Ning. For the first time in his life, he felt jealous of his brother. Why did his grandfather take such great care in naming his brother, but was so perfunctory in naming himself?
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