Aunt Tietou and Liu Hong'er were both a little stunned by his shout, and when they saw him leave in a hurry, they were even more at a loss.
Liu Hong'er curled her lips, thinking, "What a scoundrel! He's certainly not a fool to be taken advantage of." She wasn't in a hurry and said:
"Mom, is there anything to eat in the stove? I'm hungry."
Aunt Tie Tou turned around and scolded, "Your husband is gone and you didn't even go out to check on him! What are you thinking about? Every family eats two meals a day, but you want to eat three. Is the baby you're carrying a reincarnated starving ghost?"
But ultimately, she felt sorry for her grandson, and said rather irritably:
"It's all in the pot, go eat by yourself. I'll go check where Gangzi went, just in case something happened to him."
He chased after her, but Liu Hong'er didn't care and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.
Before long, Lin Gangzi arrived near Song Anxin's house and saw many women delivering duck eggs to his door. He hid under a large patch of shade and tried to peek into Song Anxin's yard on tiptoe.
However, he was standing on a low ground, while Song Anxin's house was on a high ground, so he couldn't see anything at all.
Undeterred, he lingered and quietly approached the foot of Song Anxin's courtyard wall.
Aunt Tietou happened to catch up and saw him crouching down:
"Gangzi, what are you doing here?"
At this moment, Song Anxin, carrying a basket on her back, walked out chatting and laughing with several women who had just delivered salted duck eggs. They all looked over when they heard Aunt Tietou's voice.
"Mother, why are you shouting so loudly!" Lin Gangzi said angrily, noticing that the woman who came out of the courtyard gate and Lin Ershenzi were both looking in his direction.
He said awkwardly, "Hello, Aunt Lin, hello, all the aunties and grandmas."
He still had that disdainful look in his eyes.
The woman, Aunt Sangui, asked, "What are Gangzi's mother and Gangzi doing at the foot of the wall of Fengnian's mother's house?"
Aunt Tietou had no answer. She had come with her son and saw Gangzi crouching down, looking into Fengnian's courtyard. Could it be that he was still thinking about Zhang Mei?
Lin Gangzi said somewhat awkwardly, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I was just passing by."
Song Anxin's lips curled up. How could she not know why Lin Gangzi had come? In the past few days, her family's salted duck eggs must have become incredibly popular throughout the county. The manager of Tianxuan Restaurant must have been getting restless, so Lin Gangzi must have come to find out.
However, Lin Gangzi's attitude was quite interesting. He must have known that the "rich and oily egg" came from her family when he came to her house.
Instead of apologizing to her, he secretly ordered salted duck eggs for the restaurant while sneaking around her house.
Song Anxin tentatively asked, "Gangzi, could it be that you're on your way to the back mountain and just happened to pass by your aunt's house?"
Lin Gangzi chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I was just about to go to the back mountain."
Song Anxin's home was at the end of the village, surrounded by wasteland and mountains. Even when villagers went up the mountain, they only went to the hills closest to their homes—who would believe that? Since they were so insincere, she didn't bring it up; she wasn't going to be so eager.
Aunt Tietou was puzzled. Why would they go so far to the back mountain when there were mountains right next to their house? Could it be that she was really worried about Zhang Mei? Good heavens! Couldn't her son just give her a break? What if he got chopped up by her family during a prosperous year?
Just as Aunt Tietou was about to persuade Lin Gangzi to go home quickly, they heard the sound of a vehicle speeding by. Everyone turned around and saw a luxurious horse-drawn carriage heading this way.
Lin Gangzi's eyes widened. This was his manager's carriage! How did his manager find his way here? Oh no, he must have found out! But he still held onto a sliver of hope.
He quickly put on a smile and went to greet him, saying, "Shopkeeper, what brings you here? You must have come to the wrong place. This isn't my house. My house is over there."
A portly middle-aged man emerged from the car; he was clearly a wealthy man who had no worries about food or drink.
Several women standing nearby saw this and thought to themselves that Aunt Guozi's claim that Lin Gangzi worked at the county's largest restaurant was indeed true.
I also heard that the restaurant manager values Lin Gangzi highly and is grooming him to be the second manager. The manager came to visit Lin Gangzi as soon as he returned. It seems that Gangzi has climbed up to a powerful figure. The others looked at Lin Gangzi with a hint of envy.
Lin Gangzi noticed this and enjoyed the feeling of being envied by these peasants.
He thought to himself that he couldn't let Aunt Lin ruin his current life. He stood in the middle, trying his best to block the shopkeeper's view and lead the shopkeeper towards his house.
Unexpectedly, a waiter who followed her out saw Song Anxin and immediately pointed at her, saying, "It's her, boss, that auntie. She came to our restaurant before saying she wanted to discuss business with you. She must be that 'rich and oily egg,' but Brother Gangzi kicked her out."
Song Anxin recognized him as the thin waiter who had spoken up for her at Tianxuan Restaurant earlier, and also one of the people Lin Gangzi had bossed around at the restaurant.
If Lin Gangzi had apologized to him just now and agreed on cooperation, there might still have been a chance to salvage the situation. Now, there's no room for redemption whatsoever. This is the bitter fruit of his own making, and it's no pity.
Upon hearing this, Manager Cai kicked Lin Gangzi, who was blocking his way and babbling incessantly, aside, and said with a dark face:
"Lin Gangzi, you've blocked my path to wealth, and you still have the nerve to show your face in front of me."
"I think you should take a good look at yourself. You're just a waiter in my shop, yet you wear a long robe and act all high and mighty all day. If it weren't for those rich and powerful people finding it novel and amusing, I wouldn't tolerate you!"
Seeing her beloved son being kicked, Aunt Tietou rushed over and loudly questioned, "How could you hit someone?! Even if you're the restaurant owner, you can't just bully someone. My son, are you alright?"
Lin Gangzi cried out in pain as he was kicked, his robe now covered in mud and grime. His mother helped him up, and he dared not utter a sound of pain. He roughly slapped away Aunt Tietou's hand and approached the shopkeeper again, saying:
"Yes, yes, you are a magnanimous person, shopkeeper."
Song Anxin rolled her eyes inwardly. So this Lin Gangzi was just a waiter at the restaurant, yet he called himself the second manager. He was just a clown to amuse the restaurant's customers.
Ignoring Lin Gangzi, Manager Cai cupped his hands to Song Anxin and said, "This must be Second Sister-in-law Lin. Seeing you today, you are indeed extraordinary. You truly deserve to be able to make the 'Rich and Oily Eggs' that are so popular in the city."
My Tianxuan Restaurant certainly can't be without this delicacy. I wonder if Sister Lin's has any left?
Song Anxin said calmly, "Come in with me and let's talk."
Lin Gangzi, standing to the side, said with a fawning smile, "Shopkeeper, this is Aunt Lin from our village. I know her well. Let me go in with you and we can talk."
Manager Cai glanced at Song Anxin, asking for her indication, but Song Anxin didn't even lift her eyelids and said:
"Lin Gangzi, do you remember saying at the restaurant that you and I are not familiar with each other?"
Song Anxin wasn't so kind as to speak up for him.
Manager Meng raised his eyebrows and said, "Lin Gangzi, from now on you don't need to come to the restaurant anymore. Go to the accounting office to settle your wages yourself."
Lin Gangzi suddenly felt everything go black.
The restaurant doesn't want him anymore, and he's already offended his previous place terribly. Where can he go? Does he really have to go back to the countryside and live with these peasants? Wouldn't that make him just like them, a country bumpkin?
No, no, he doesn't want it!
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