A figure rushed out, knocking the waiter to the side, and the slap missed.
"Little sister, are you alright?" It turned out to be Liu Jingyu. He and his cousin had come here to eat, and as soon as they entered, they saw Er Ya. They were about to go up and greet her when they saw the waiter about to hit Er Ya, so they rushed out to stop him.
"Hey big brother, you're here to eat too? I'm fine, thank goodness you were here, she didn't hit me." Er Ya had a good impression of this brother who always helped her whenever they met.
"Another helper has arrived. Is he another penniless fellow? It's true what they say, poor to poor, poor to poor together," the waiter said sarcastically.
The older boy who had come with them got angry: "Who are you? How dare you talk to my brother like that? You don't want to do this job anymore, do you? Where is your supervisor, Master Wang? Call him out here, I want to have a word with him."
Only then did the waiter realize that the two people in front of him were dressed in a completely different class from the three poor ghosts. He felt uneasy, wondering if he had really offended some important people. He quickly ran to the kitchen to call Chef Wang.
When Chef Wang, who was busy cooking in the kitchen, heard someone looking for him at the front desk, he walked over impatiently and asked, "Who is it? Don't you know this is a busy time? Why do you have to look for me?"
Only when he got closer did I see clearly: "You are, the young master of Mayor Qian's family?" What was his name again? Look at my memory. But why did this kid come here today? Doesn't he own a restaurant?
Qian Lu narrowed his eyes: "Uncle Wang, I brought my brother here to eat today. Look at your waiters, they not only hit people, but also made fun of my brother, calling him a poor wretch. Saying that my brother is a poor wretch is a way of looking down on me."
Master Wang's heart skipped a beat. How had he offended this young master? He glared at the waiter and said to Qian Lu, "Look, she's new here. I'll talk to her later. Xiao Feng, apologize quickly."
Seeing Master Wang bowing and scraping, the waitress knew she had really offended a big shot. This job was hard-won for her; she, a young woman, was willing to be taken advantage of by an old man in his fifties for it, and she had already offended someone after only two days on the job.
He bowed deeply to Liu Jingyu at a 90-degree angle, and Liu Jingyu quickly stepped aside, saying, "You should apologize to the little girl. You not only scolded her but also tried to hit her. She is the one you should apologize to."
The waiter could only reluctantly apologize to Er Ya: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you, and I definitely shouldn't have hit you."
Er Ya, holding Lin Jianguo's hand, said to the waiter, "You're the one who's wronged. We're both sons of farmers. Everything you eat and use comes from the countryside. You still look down on farmers? Your family has been farmers for two generations."
At this point, Master Wang stepped in to smooth things over: "It's all her fault today. You just said what you wanted to eat, so I'll treat you."
Er Ya was furious. It's true that you'll encounter people who look down on you no matter the era. She grabbed Jiang's mother and Lin Jianguo's hands and said, "We're not eating here anymore. We can eat anywhere with our money. We don't want you to treat us to a meal. What if you spit in our food?"
Turning back to Liu Jingyu, she said, "Thank you so much for today, little brother. We've decided not to eat here anymore; we'll be leaving now."
"Hey, let's go together. I'm not eating here anymore. Cousin, let's go too."
"The first time I visited your home, I didn't bring you anything. Let me treat you to dinner today. My cousin owns a big restaurant, much better than this place," Liu Jingyu said with a smile.
Er Ya initially wanted to refuse, but her stomach was growling loudly, and her parents must be starving too. So she decided to eat it, and if necessary, she could just bring them a basket of mushrooms later.
"Thank you, little brother." Er Ya pulled Jiang Mu and Lin Jianguo along with Liu Jingyu to the restaurant he said was even better than the state-run restaurant.
When we arrived, my goodness, the two-story building was completely empty. It was lunchtime, and while other state-run restaurants were bustling with activity, this place was leisurely, with the waiters chatting idly.
First, they put the piglets and chicks in the open space in front of the house, then chose a private room, went in and sat down. Qian Lu then instructed someone to prepare a few dishes, and the group chatted while waiting for the food to be served.
Qian Lu asked curiously, "Jingyu, how did you meet this little girl?"
"Have you forgotten? A few days ago you took me hunting in the mountains. I walked away for a while, and that's when we met the little girl. She was so pitiful, squatting there crying all by herself."
Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother were heartbroken when they heard this. They wondered how much their daughter had suffered in secret to hide in the mountains and cry alone.
Seeing her parents' low spirits, Er Ya quickly tried to cheer them up: "Big brother, I was trying to catch a wild rabbit that day, but I didn't succeed, that's why I cried. Let's not talk about that anymore."
“But you’re covered in…” He quickly shut his mouth when he saw Er Ya give him a warning look.
"By the way, little sister, what's your name? I don't even know your name yet."
Liu Jingyu asked curiously.
"My name is Lin Xi, but my family calls me Er Ya. You can call me Er Ya too."
As they were talking, the dishes arrived: a chicken stew with mushrooms, a braised fish, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, stir-fried beef, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of rice for each person. Qian Lu then greeted them, "Uncle, Aunt, and Er Ya, you've been gone for ages, come and eat."
Er Ya, who hadn't eaten rice in a long time, had almost forgotten what rice tasted like. She shoveled a big mouthful of rice, picked up a piece of beef, put it in her mouth and chewed. This taste... she finally understood why they were so relaxed even though it was mealtime.
Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother enjoyed the meal immensely. They had never eaten such a sumptuous meal before, complete with white rice. In their family, they only ate sorghum rice once a year during the Lunar New Year.
It was almost lunchtime, and everyone was hungry. So, without saying a word, they started eating.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Qian Lu noticed that Er Ya was quite clever, and that she had even frowned slightly after taking her first bite. He asked her:
"Er Ya, how's the food here? I won't lie to you, today I went to a state-run restaurant with Jingyu because I wanted to let Jingyu try their food. Although it's a state-run restaurant, our prices are cheaper than theirs. State-run restaurants always have long lines, but as you can see, there aren't many people here even at mealtimes. We want to find out what the problem is."
To be continued!
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