As soon as Li Huai and the others went inside, the food was already on the table. Zhao Qinglan smiled when she saw him return.
"You came back just in time. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were sitting on our chimney."
Li Huai didn't mind his wife's teasing and immediately went to the washbasin stand to wash his hands.
"Big Brother, go and get two more sets of bowls and chopsticks," Zhao Qinglan instructed.
Da Wa quickly brought the food, putting all the hand-pulled noodles in a large basin in the center of the dining table, and Zhao Qinglan began serving them noodles.
Fearing the dough would clump together, she added cold water to the basin. Besides the dishes she had cooked, she also chopped cilantro and scallions and put them on a plate, along with some stir-fried meat sauce, which she prepared herself.
Xiao Chu is a native of the South and rarely eats noodles; her staple food is mostly rice.
He was handed a big bowl of noodles, and seeing the older kids scooping up meat sauce and adding side dishes to make their own, he started to imitate them in a very serious manner.
"Noodles taste better with garlic." Li Huai grabbed half a clove of garlic and placed it in front of Xiao Chu.
Because everyone in her family can handle spicy food, Zhao Qinglan made several dishes that were on the spicier side. Xiao Chu couldn't handle spicy food very well, and her face turned red after a few bites.
Zhao Qinglan quickly poured him a glass of water.
After drinking a glass of water, Xiao Chu felt a little better.
"Sister Zhao, it's my own fault, the food was delicious," Xiao Chu said apologetically.
"Hey, so what if you can't eat spicy food? Then just eat more noodles."
Hand-pulled noodles with braised sauce are quite delicious, and Xiao Chu enjoys them as long as she doesn't eat spicy food.
Li Huai ate two large bowls of hand-pulled noodles before feeling satisfied. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, "Home-cooked meals are always the most comforting."
After everyone had almost finished eating, Erwa ran to take out the fruit that had been bought and stored in the refrigerator.
While cooking, Xiaoduo had already cut the fruit into pieces and put them away as instructed by her mother. Now, taking them out to eat, they are cool and refreshing, especially in the summer heat.
Xiao Chu had previously thought that her boss's family was well-off, otherwise they wouldn't have bought so many appliances at once. Now, after having a sumptuous lunch with them and so much fruit afterward, she felt even more that her boss's family was well-off.
As Li Huai's orderly, Xiao Chu actually had a room downstairs in their house where he could rest and be on standby at any time. However, Li Huai was not used to ordering Xiao Chu around all the time, so he let Xiao Chu go back to his own dormitory in the camp to rest.
Firstly, they were worried that Xiao Chu might feel awkward or embarrassed, and secondly, they were also worried that the family wouldn't be used to having Xiao Chu in the house.
After the meal, without Zhao Qinglan having to tell them what to do, the children started cleaning up very sensibly, with clear division of labor for wiping the table, washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, and scrubbing the pots.
Zhao Qinglan went back to her room and lay down, then sighed to her husband, "With them all grown up, I've really had a lot less to worry about."
"Having raised them all this time, it's only right that they do some housework," Li Huai said casually.
"You seem quite at ease, Uncle Li."
"You must be tired from cooking. Lie down and I'll give you a massage," Li Huai said, showing his keen understanding.
Zhao Qinglan then let her husband go.
Having air conditioning really makes a difference; the room was so cool that she fell asleep very quickly.
When Zhao Qinglan got up again, her husband was no longer beside her. As soon as she went outside, she saw her two children watching TV.
"Mom, Dad said he went to work," Erwa reported, then ran to the TV and turned up the volume.
"Okay, who will come with me again later? We still need to buy a lot of things."
At first glance, it seems to have everything you need, but once you actually start using it, you realize that many things are missing.
Besides buying things, she also needs to make a few phone calls.
Xiao Chu mentioned during dinner that, given Li Huai's rank, his family should be able to install a telephone, but it would take a few days. They've been here for several days and haven't called home to let their families know they're safe yet.
This time, the third child, Xiaoduo, stayed at home, while the eldest and second children went out together.
The two brothers are both strong laborers, so they can probably carry quite a lot of things.
As soon as she stepped out the door, Zhao Qinglan began to miss her own car.
When she first arrived, she felt embarrassed to use the bus because of her husband's status. She was also unfamiliar with the area and found it inconvenient to go out and do anything.
Because her husband's job transfer was sudden, she didn't have time to think about the car, and her Mercedes is still parked in the yard in the provincial capital.
It would be a waste to just leave it sitting there collecting dust, but it would be disrespectful to my aunt if we let other people in the company use it, especially since the car is so expensive and she would be worried about the cost.
Are we really going to ship the Mercedes over and continue using it? Wouldn't that be too conspicuous?
Never mind, I'll discuss it with my husband again tonight.
If they didn't live in the residential area, she wouldn't have to worry about these things and could drive whatever car they wanted. But living in the residential area inevitably brings some concerns.
As soon as they went out, they found a store, took out money, and made a phone call.
As expected, her family was worried because they hadn't heard from her for several days. Only after she made the call did Grandpa Dou and her mother feel relieved.
After calling home, she called the company and chatted with Zhang Wenjing for a while.
After hanging up, she thought of Zhang Yu and made another call.
The shop owner was curious about who Zhao Qinglan was. She was next to two tall and handsome young men making long-distance calls, not caring about the cost.
You should know that phone calls here are charged by the minute, and long-distance calls are even more expensive. Even if people make a call, they usually finish speaking quickly and hang up.
Unlike this person, who can actually chat without being in a hurry.
As soon as Zhang Yu received Zhao Qinglan's call, he started complaining. "I was saying that you guys haven't been in touch at all, which made Song Yi and me very anxious. We don't even know what the situation is like now."
"Don't worry, we're not three-year-olds. Our whole family has settled in here. Once we get a phone installed at home in a few days, it will be easier for us to stay in touch."
"Give me the exact address, and Song Yi and I will come to see you," Zhang Yu insisted.
After exchanging a few more words, Zhao Qinglan hung up the phone.
While she was settling the bill with the shop owner, the owner asked curiously, "Are you in business?"
“Yes, you can tell that?” Zhao Qinglan said with a smile.
"If you weren't making money in business, who would be willing to make phone calls like this? Don't you feel bad about the phone bill?"
Zhao Qinglan hadn't expected that after paying the money, she would leave with her two sons.
The landlady's words served as a reminder to her.
She's just arrived and hasn't had time to settle in yet. Once everything at home is settled, she'll be free, and she can start her business again.
A person can't stay idle all the time; if they're idle, problems are bound to arise. It's better for her to find something to do.
The economy in Guangzhou is developing rapidly, yet we can still open quite a few branches.
After she sent Erwa back, she brought Ding Yu, Liu Dandan, and the others over to start working on opening a branch store. The company would also send people over at that time.
Not long after Zhao Qinglan and her group left, someone came to their house.
"Is anyone there?"
Xiao Duo Sanwa was watching TV when she heard someone shouting outside.
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