"I don't know why I've said so much, I'll stop here!" The boss's smile returned. "What do you want to eat? Roast pork belly and honey-glazed barbecued pork, right? Anything else? Order whatever you want, it's my treat today!"
The boss waved his hand generously.
"No, no, no, that won't work." Yu Qi quickly waved his hand and refused. "We are on a business trip, and the meals are all reimbursed. Thank you for your kindness."
"That's fine." When the boss heard that they were on a business trip, he didn't force them. "Then I'll give you plenty, so you can eat well."
"Thank you, boss!" everyone thanked in unison.
Yu Qi ordered two dishes and asked everyone to see what else they wanted to eat.
After reading the menu, Chen Ru turned around and looked at Sister Ali eagerly, and asked, "Sister, can you cook Sichuan cuisine?"
Since he joined the mathematics talent group and came to Beijing, he hasn't eaten the food from his hometown. Most of the dishes in Beijing are light in taste, which is really bland for people from Sichuan who love oil, salt and spicy food. He finally met a fellow villager who runs a restaurant, so he couldn't help but ask.
Ali was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Of course, what do you want to eat? Big sister will make it for you."
"Anything is fine, big sister. Just watch me cook it. I'm not picky." Chen Ru's eyes sparkled. It was good enough to have something to eat. Why be picky?
"Okay, wait for me for a while." It was a rare opportunity to meet a fellow townsman, and Ali was very happy. She immediately decided to show off her skills.
The delegation members sat around a round table, waiting for their food to be served. After flying for such a long time, no one had eaten much of the food on the plane, so they were all a little hungry.
The boss and his wife worked quickly, and in no time, all the dishes they ordered were on the table: roast pork belly, honey-glazed barbecued pork, fish ball noodles, roasted pigeon... and a few Sichuan dishes made by the boss's wife, Ali: mapo tofu, garlic pork, and stir-fried kidney...
So many dishes? Everyone looked at the huge table of dishes and swallowed their saliva, but still couldn't help asking: "Team Leader, is our meal allowance enough?"
"That's enough!" Yu Qi waved his hand nonchalantly. "We have to rely on ourselves to compete. No one else can help us. But we will provide food, clothing, housing and transportation along the way. Don't worry about that. Just eat and drink well."
"But let's not drink tonight, so as not to delay tomorrow's work. Let's have tea instead of wine."
“Thank you, Team Leader!”
Everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating. Although they ate quickly, they still maintained proper manners and etiquette.
The boss and his wife stood by and looked at them with a smile. The greatest compliment and encouragement to a chef is when the guests like the dishes he cooks.
Seeing a table full of grown men and only a little girl named Su Qingyun, the proprietress Ali took extra care of Su Qingyun. She poured a cup of sour plum soup for Su Qingyun alone.
"It's hot, drink this to cool you down."
"Thank you, sister." Su Qingyun picked up the cup and took a sip. It was sour, sweet and cool, and it relieved some of the heat in her body.
Ali was overjoyed to hear the name "sister." "You're still calling me sister? My son is almost as old as you."
"But she looks young, so I really can't call her auntie." Su Qingyun said with a smile.
She was not complimenting Ali. Although Ali and the boss ran the restaurant and were busy every day, immersed in oil smoke, she still looked young. The few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes did not detract from her beauty, but added a bit of charm. You could tell at a glance that she was the kind of person who lived a relatively happy and comfortable life.
"You are such a good girl." Ali liked the little girl in front of her more and more. "You are so young, and you go to such a faraway place to compete. Aren't your parents worried?"
She already knew that they were a representative team that was going to compete abroad.
"Of course I'm worried, but they all support my decision." Su Qingyun smiled, "Besides, no matter how far I go, I will eventually return to them."
"Go back." Ali was a little dazed when she heard this word. She looked back at her husband who was chatting with Yu Qi, and felt a little sad in her heart.
Her family was not well off. Two years after the natural disaster, the harvest was still poor and all the food was eaten up. Someone wanted to exchange food for her marriage, but her family was poor. Her parents were not the kind of people who would torture their daughter and would not agree no matter what.
She looked at her brother who was only a few years old and was starving, and made a decision. She took the man's food and left home late at night. But what was waiting for her was not marriage, but being sold from Sichuan Province to Guangdong Province. She struggled for her life to escape, and by chance she got on a boat to Gangcheng, and she stayed here ever since.
She often looked at the continent across the street, wondering if her parents were still alive, if her brother had grown up healthily, or when she could return to that home.
The home she resolutely left behind has become the place she's been yearning to return to all these years. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be updating 8k posts every day for a month. Please support me!"
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