Chapter 188 Opening a Restaurant

They set out on the afternoon of the 10th and arrived in the county on the morning of the 13th. As usual, Su He's family went to Su's father and mother's house first. Su's father and mother had already prepared a large table of delicious food for them.

"I was just talking to your dad and we were almost there when you guys showed up."

"It must be cold on the road, go and warm yourself by the fire."

It snowed here half a month ago. It's not cold in the north when it snows in winter. It only gets cold when the sun comes out a few days after the snow.

The four of them were also cold, and they warmed themselves by the fire for a while before they felt better.

"How many days will you stay? Leave on the fifth day like last time."

Su's father came over and asked.

Gu Jianhua, "Yes, Dad, my company will only give me half a month's leave at most."

Father Su said, "Alas, you won't be able to stay for a few days this time."

Su's mother made some hot tea and said, "The children are busy, so giving them half a month's leave is good enough. Your eldest son only comes back once every few years."

"Jianhua Xiaohe, have some tea."

Adults drink tea and children drink milk powder.

"Mom and Dad, we bought a duplex with a shop on the second floor in the capital." Su He said after taking a sip of hot tea.

Father Su, "You bought a shop, do you want to do business?"

Su He nodded.

Su's mother said, "Didn't you say in your letter that you would stay on as a teacher next year? Who will look after the shop?"

"By the way, what business do you do?"

Well, it’s time to ask!

Su He and Gu Jianhua looked at each other, and Su He spoke.

"I want to open a restaurant, is it possible?"

Father Su stroked his chin and said, "Opening a restaurant? Well... we'll know if it works after we open it. But it's more troublesome to open a restaurant, since you need to hire a chef and waiters."

Su's mother said, "Yes, you still want to do something easier and less strenuous. You two are both working. It's not good to open a restaurant without anyone watching."

Su He smiled and said, "So, Mom and Dad, I want to invite you over."

"What? Invite us over?" Su's mother asked doubtfully.

Su He nodded, "Yes, Mom, please go over."

Father Su smiled and said, "Are you asking us to look after the store?"

Gu Jianhua also smiled and said, "Dad, you can also be a chef."

Hearing this, Su's father waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, that won't work. When people open restaurants, they hire chefs. If I become the chef, the restaurant will not fail."

Gu Jianhua disagreed, "Dad, what you said is wrong. If the dishes you cook are not delicious, then there will be no delicious dishes in the world."

"Your grandchildren all want you to come over and be their chef."

After eating at his father-in-law and mother-in-law's house for more than ten years, Comrade Gu Jianhua has also learned some of his mother-in-law's skills in exaggerating.

This may sound a bit exaggerated, but Su's father likes to hear it.

The two kids also said, "Grandma, we really like the food you cook."

Brother Changjun said, "Grandma, if you cook fish, I can eat a whole bowl of it."

My younger sister Chang Huan said, "Grandma, I can eat ten plates of the shredded pork with Beijing sauce you made."

After the two kids finished talking, Su He said, "Mom and Dad, just go over. I have already rented a yard for you in the capital."

Su's mother said, "You two, your father will be the chef and I will be the waiter."

Su He immediately acted coquettishly, "Mom, are you willing to go?"

Although she is 38 years old, she is still her parents' youngest child.

Su's mother said, "It's just the two of us, your parents-in-law won't go."

Su He, "They're going too. I've already thought about it. Mom, you'll be the one collecting the money at the counter. My dad and my mother-in-law will be the cooks, and my father-in-law will do odd jobs."

"You four can definitely run the store well."

Hearing Su He's words, Su's father laughed and said, "The four of us are about to be buried, and we still have to open a shop and do business."

Su He, "Mom and Dad, please don't think like that. Sixty is not old at all. It's the right age to start a business."

Su's father and mother, "............." I'm a little speechless. What's going on?

"Mom and Dad, you guys go ahead. We don't know how this store will do business yet, so you four old men and women can just run it and pass the time."

Since the young lady said so, there was no reason not to go, so Su's father and mother agreed.

Anyway, I'm free at home.

Her parents have been taken care of, so there will be no problem taking care of her parents.

"So what kind of food do you plan to serve in this restaurant? If you don't hire a chef, I can only cook a few common dishes, not more."

Su's father asked during the meal.

Su's mother said, "Yes, there are several types of restaurants here, some selling breakfast, some selling noodles, and some ordinary small restaurants selling stir-fried dishes."

This is also a problem.

Su He thought for a moment and said, "How about selling stuffed buns? The name of the store can be Mongolian Stuffed Buns. It can be our specialty. Aren't we from Mongolia?"

Mongolian stuffed buns are characterized by thin skin and rich fillings. Her parents and mother-in-law all know how to make this kind of stuffed buns. They use white flour and meat as the filling, and they also add a lot of oil when making them.

So basically it is rarely done.

But this pie is really delicious.

Gu Jianhua was the first to agree, "My wife, you are really smart. I think this is very good."

“It’s unique, with stuffing as the main dish, and the dishes are just the usual homely ones, not too many.”

"Well, it's really good."

It's much more attractive than a simple restaurant.

"Let's go and discuss it with our brothers and sisters tomorrow."

"OK."

The chef and store manager had been hired, and the type of restaurant had also been decided, so Su He breathed a sigh of relief.

After dinner and a short rest, the family of four went back home.

It was one o'clock when I got home.

Father Gu was not at home, so Mother Gu was the only one there. Steam was coming out of the big pot, and the whole house was filled with the aroma of chicken.

"Your father has gone to the brigade."

"Xiao He, are you hungry? There's chicken in the pot." Mother Gu quickly made them some hot tea.

"Drink some hot water first. It's been cold these past two days."

Gu Jianhua drank the hot tea and asked, "What did Dad do in the brigade?"

Mother Gu said, "It's about the land. From now on, we farmers will not farm collectively like before. We will divide the land into several acres per person. Your father and I estimate that we can get about 20 acres."

"If the six of you were to share more, we would probably get a hundred acres of land."

Unfortunately, my son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren all have city hukou, and people with city hukou do not have land.

Su He, "Mom and Dad, we bought a shop in the capital and plan to open a restaurant. We also rented a yard. We will take you away after the Chinese New Year this year."

"I guess you two won't be able to share it."

The news came so suddenly that Gu's mother was a little confused. "What? You'll take us away after the New Year."

"Yes, mom. Jianhua and I bought a shop, but we didn't know what kind of business to start. We later discussed and decided to open a restaurant, but no one wanted to buy a restaurant, so we decided to let you guys go."

"My parents are coming over too. You and my dad will be the chefs. My mom can read, so she'll be the cashier, and dad will do odd jobs. Anyway, the four of you will be in charge of this shop."

Mother Gu said, "My dear, Xiao He, let me take it easy."

When my daughter-in-law was preparing for college, she told me that she would bring them to the capital to live there in a few years, and she was mentally prepared for that.

But this happened too fast.

Gu Jianhua, "We have already rented the yard where you guys live. It's near Peking University, and the shop is also near Peking University."

"It only takes ten minutes to walk from that yard to our shop. It's very close."

Su He said, "Mom, the yard is big enough for you to grow vegetables and raise chickens. There is also a well in the yard, so it is convenient to get water."

Mother Gu was still a little shocked, "Are you really leaving after this year?"

Su He, "Yes, Mom, you guys come with us."

Gu's mother patted her chest and said excitedly, "This is too fast."

Su He, "No, it's been two years, Mom."

Gu's mother was agitated for a while and said, "We will be leaving after this year, and we have to kill all the chickens at home."

"Okay, kill him and take him away."

You are not allowed to bring living things on the train, you can only kill them and take them away.

While I was chatting with Gu's mother, Gu's father came back. When he learned about this, he was also very excited.

"But the land was all allocated to us. Our family was given 23 acres."

Gu Jianhua, "Then rent it out."

Father Gu asked, "Doesn't that make me a landlord?"

Su He smiled and said, "Dad, our family only has 20 mu of land, so we can't be landlords."

Gu Jianhua, "I'll talk to the secretary tomorrow and see how we can do it."

As children, they brought their parents to the capital, and they will definitely not send them back.

He lived out his life in the capital.

Father Gu said, "I'll go with you." He was not trying to show off, but was afraid that his son didn't understand the relationship.

Yes, that's it.

In addition to stewed chicken, there was also stewed lamb for dinner.

Drinking a bowl of hot mutton soup in this cold winter warms up my whole body.

"By the way, Mom, has Wu Sanfeng not come back yet?" Su He suddenly remembered.

Mother Gu nodded. "No, it's almost the New Year. He definitely won't come back."

"Her girlfriend has three children, and she's gone to take care of them. I don't think she'll be back for a while."

Su He, "Gu Li didn't go to school either."

She was talking about after the confinement period.

Mother Gu shook her head and said, "That child is useless. She has to give birth to three children when she is in college. It will be strange if she can continue her studies."

Su He, "Indeed, how can you get married right after graduating from college? It's too hasty."

"Her subject went to class as usual."

During the holidays, Su He could still see Zhou Yinghuai at school. He was reading a book and looked very hardworking.

Mother Gu said, "As a man, there will be no problem. He doesn't need to breastfeed the baby. His mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will take care of the baby."

Ever since this happened, she has been telling her old man every day that if Gu Li were her granddaughter, she would break her legs.

Instead of studying hard, she had to find a girlfriend. Well, she even got herself pregnant. It's really embarrassing.

It would be fine if the person she was looking for was rich, but he is actually poor. I really don’t know what’s going on in this girl’s mind.

The opportunity to go to college was so rare, but she didn't cherish it. Moreover, she went to Peking University, the top university in China.

Mother Gu didn’t know how to describe it, she just felt that with such a good opportunity and conditions, how could she develop into someone who would go home to have a baby before finishing college!

But since she is not her granddaughter, she just watches for fun.

After dinner, the family of four went back to the back room to sleep. The kang was heated by Gu's mother, who also boiled a pot of hot water for them to wash.

Compared to sleeping in bed, Su He still prefers to sleep on the kang in winter, because the kang is warm and sleeping in winter is not too comfortable.

The four members of the Su He family were tired from the car ride, so they fell asleep in a few seconds after washing up and lying on the bed. However, Gu's parents were so excited that they couldn't sleep.

Mother Gu said to Father Gu, "Xiao He told me that our restaurant mainly sells stuffed buns. The name of the store is Mongolian stuffed buns. The skin is thin and the filling is rich."

“And then sell some other home-cooked dishes.”

"My in-laws and I will be the chefs, my in-laws' mother will take orders and collect the cash, and you will do odd jobs."

Father Gu said, "Okay, I can do anything."

Mother Gu said, "Starting tomorrow, we will eat stuffed buns as our main meal. I want to practice cooking."

Xiao He told her that the stuffed buns she sold must have a soft and thin skin, lots of stuffing, and be round in shape.

After all, you are selling food to customers, so it must look good.

So the next morning, Suho ate pork and sauerkraut pie.

"How does it taste?" asked Mrs. Gu.

Su He, "Mom, I think the skin could be a little softer."

Mother Gu said, "Okay, what about the filling?"

"It's OK."

But Su Ho prefers celery stuffing to pork sauerkraut, but it’s winter and there’s no celery.

After breakfast, Father Gu took Gu Jianhua to the brigade to discuss land issues, while Mother Gu cleaned up and did the washing.

Su He originally planned to go to her second sister's house to chat, but she remembered that her parents were coming over today, so she didn't go.

Around nine o'clock, Su's father and mother came over carrying several pounds of meat.

Not long after, Gu's father and Gu Jianhua also came back.

Su He, "Then the four of you should have a good chat and study it."

Father Gu said, "Brother, your cooking skills are definitely good, but our specialty, the pastries, need to be improved."

"The pancakes we made this morning are fine for us to eat, but not so good for guests."

Father Su smiled and said, "We also had stuffed buns this morning."

It looks like we'll have to eat stuffed buns for lunch too.

The four of them went to study the fillings. Su's mother said, "If the dough is soft, we need to add more water, about 90% water for every pound of flour."

"Okay, then add more water." said Gu's mother.

Su's father and Gu's father were also busy and planned to cook some of their signature dishes, such as shredded pork with Beijing sauce and braised spareribs.

The dough was too soft, so it was a bit difficult to wrap the stuffing. However, the two mothers had been cooking for decades, so this was not a problem for them. They just needed to add more flour.

Soon the pancakes were baked by them.

There are also dishes made by the fathers, such as braised spare ribs, shredded pork with Beijing sauce, mu shu pork, deep-fried small fish, etc.

“Try this pie.”

Su He was the first to comment, "Damn you guys, the skin is fine, but it's a little uneven, and the one you branded is a little big."

This pie is as big as a ten-inch plate.

Gu Jianhua, "Yes, we definitely can't sell something this big, we need small dots."

Su's mother said to her mother, "Okay, we will make some improvements."

Father Su, "Where are the dishes? Do you have any opinions about the dishes?"

Su He, "Dad, you have to cut the pork into thinner pieces. There is nothing else."

Gu Jianhua thought that since his wife had said it, he would not say anything more and took a bite of the cut salted vegetables.

"Mom, the pickled vegetables are really good this year."

Mother Gu said, "This year's pickled vegetables are indeed better than in previous years."

Su He looked at the pickled vegetables and an idea suddenly occurred to him, "Mom and Dad, let's take the pickled vegetables with us when we leave."

"Just cut it into shreds and serve as a side dish when the time comes."

"Or you can wait until spring and cook the leftover pickled vegetables, dry them in the sun, and eat them. They're delicious too."

Gu's mother is very good at making dried pickled vegetable dumplings. She would add two bottles of soy sauce when cooking. The dried pickled vegetables would be black and not salty. They were especially delicious.