Chapter 449 Deng Yunhua: Today, I stand in the center position!

New Year's Day.

At noon, after having lunch with his parents and brothers and sisters-in-law, Zhou Haidong and his family of three packed their luggage and gifts and went to the station to catch the train.

"Haidong, why don't you just quit this job? All you do is work all day long. If you need to go somewhere, you have to ask for leave from your boss. You don't have any freedom at all. And after working for so many years, you're still just a section chief. There's really nothing to be nostalgic about."

On the bus to Bobai, Deng Yunzhu said to her husband: "Now is the time for the hot pot restaurant to develop rapidly. I am in need of trustworthy people. You should quit your job and come to help me!"

Zhou Haidong nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Deng Yunzhu was a little surprised when she heard this and asked, "You agreed so readily?"

Zhou Haidong smiled and said, "I have actually been thinking about this for a long time. My job is indeed a rare and good job for others. If I hadn't met you, I might have worked in the system until retirement.

But now I'm married to you, and you're doing so well in your career, but as your husband I can't help you at all, and I feel really ashamed.

If I could have a bright future in the system like my second brother, then it would be worthwhile to keep working there. But I thought about it carefully. If there were no other opportunities, and I could eventually reach a position like my second brother in the system, then my ancestors would be in vain.

Rather than spending half my life trying to get this position, I might as well quit and come out to help you, and together we can make our own business bigger and stronger."

Deng Yunzhu said happily: "I'm glad you can think it through. When you come back from my mother's house, you can quickly go through the resignation procedures."

Zhou Haidong responded: "I know!"

…

Among Deng Shirong's seven children, the eldest son Deng Yuntai, needless to say, has always been a very important figure in the family since he was a child.

The eldest daughter, Deng Yunzhen, took care of all the household chores after her mother passed away early. She was like a mother to the eldest sister and was also a very important member of the family.

The second son, Deng Yunheng, was born in the middle and did not have a strong presence, but he made a comeback in high school and became the first student in the entire Deng family to be admitted to Peking University. Later, he entered the official career and became even more brilliant, becoming the most dazzling one in the family.

The younger daughter, Deng Yunzhu, was a poor student so her presence was naturally not very high. However, after graduating from high school, she ran the La Meizi Hotpot and achieved good results.

The third son, Deng Yunsong, is a top student at Tsinghua University and is also extremely brilliant.

The youngest son, as the youngest, was admitted to a key university and is the most favored one in the family.

The fourth son, Deng Yunhua, was the only one who had been a marginal figure in the family since he was a child. He had poor academic performance and was not very good at business. Whenever he sat with his brothers and sisters, he was always just a foil and had never been the protagonist.

But today, Deng Yunhua rarely became the protagonist, and everyone surrounded him and asked about his girlfriend.

Deng Yunzhen asked, "Xiaohua, I heard from my sister-in-law that you found your girlfriend on your own?"

Deng Yunhua smiled proudly and said, "I negotiated it myself."

Deng Yunzhu then asked, "Where is your girlfriend from? What does she do?"

Deng Yunhua raised his lips slightly and said smugly, "She is a native of Nanning, a student of Wuhan University, and will graduate this year."

Deng Yunzhu couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wuhan University is also a famous key university. I didn't realize you are so good!"

Zhou Haidong was not surprised when he heard this. It's not that he looked down on Wuhan University, a key university with a great reputation in China. It's mainly because there are so many key university students from his father-in-law's family. His second elder brother is a top student from Peking University, his second sister-in-law is from Zhejiang University, his third younger brother is from Tsinghua University, his third brother's wife is from Renmin University, his youngest brother is from Sun Yat-sen University, and he himself is from Nankai University. It's nothing strange to see another one from Wuhan University.

Deng Yunzhu then asked, "What does she look like? Is she pretty?"

Deng Yunhua chuckled and said, "Of course she is beautiful. She is not much worse than the three sisters-in-law."

When these words came out, several people were a little surprised. After all, Zhang Xiuping, Gu Caiwei and Pei Qinghua, the three sisters-in-law, were famous for their beauty. The girlfriend that Deng Yunhua found was not much worse than them. Needless to say, they were both great beauties.

Deng Yunzhu asked in disbelief, "Is this true? The person you found yourself is not worse looking than your three sisters-in-law?"

Deng Yunhua said with a smile: "In terms of appearance, she is indeed not much worse, but her temperament is not as good as the three sisters-in-law."

Deng Yunzhen continued, "Appearance is determined at birth, but temperament can be cultivated slowly. And she has even passed the test of my father. It seems that your girlfriend, Xiaohua, has good character. When will you bring her back for us to see?"

Deng Yunhua said, "Dad invited her to dinner before the New Year and said he would invite her to dinner at home after the New Year. If you want to see her, come with us to Nanning and stay for a few days."

Deng Yunzhen glanced at her husband, nodded and smiled, "Okay, then I'll stay in Nanning for a few days."

Deng Yunzhu said: "Then I'm not in a hurry to go back to Guangzhou."

Just then, Deng Shirong finished preparing all the dishes and came out shouting, "It's time to eat!"

So, everyone washed their hands and sat down, some took care of the children, some helped serve the dishes, some helped serve the rice, some helped pour the wine. Everyone was busy but not chaotic, and soon they could start eating.

While eating, everyone was still talking about Deng Yunhua's girlfriend.

Among the seven siblings, Deng Yunheng doesn't know how many years he will study, and he certainly won't consider getting married in the short term, so we can completely ignore him. The other brothers and sisters have already married and had children, so only Deng Yunhua is left.

After everyone had learned more or less about Deng Yunhua's girlfriend, Deng Shirong spoke up, "When we get to Nanning, we'll invite Ah Mei to our home for a meal, and then we'll find time to meet with her mother and set a date for their wedding."

Deng Yunzhen nodded and said, "It's time to settle it sooner. Xiaohua is already 25 this year in terms of age."

After talking about Deng Yunhua, Deng Yunzhu also mentioned that her husband Zhou Haidong was preparing to resign.

Deng Shirong naturally agreed with this. His son-in-law was just an insignificant section-level cadre, and one more or one less would not make much difference. After his resignation, he would be free and could focus on the hot pot restaurant. If the couple worked together to run the business, perhaps they could really open this La Meizi hot pot restaurant all over the country.

…

If you want to know when the acid business is most prosperous, it is undoubtedly during the Spring Festival.

Sour food can help relieve greasiness, but if there is no oil in the stomach, eating too much sour food will make you crave meat and you can't help it.

During the Spring Festival, every household has a rich variety of dishes. This is the time of the year when people eat the most meat. After eating too much meat, people naturally want to eat some sour food to relieve the greasiness, so the sour food business is the most prosperous at this time.

In later generations, Bobai's sour materials became famous. A store of only a few square meters could earn several million by selling sour materials. You can imagine how popular this sour material was in Bobai and how prosperous the business was.

This year, Fan’s sour food shop was closed for one day on New Year’s Eve and even on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and insisted on operating.

From this, we can also see that Qin Fengzhen is indeed a good mother. Although her daughter has become the girlfriend of the young owner of the snack street, she still works diligently in her small business and strives to make money to improve her family's lives.

Unlike some people, if they had such a great opportunity, they probably wouldn't even want to do business and would just wait for their future in-laws to take them away.

Under her influence, her two sons also followed her and did things obediently.

That night, Qin Fengzhen's family of four were busy doing business, when suddenly a familiar voice came over and greeted them, "Auntie, Yuemei, Happy New Year!"

Qin Fengzhen looked up and saw that it was indeed her future son-in-law. She smiled and greeted him, "Xiaohua, Happy New Year!"

Fan Yuemei also said with surprise: "Brother Hua, Happy New Year!"

Deng Yunhua handed over the bags of gifts in his hand and said, "Auntie, these are some small gifts I prepared for you."

Qin Fengzhen took the gift and said with a smile, "Xiaohua is really thoughtful. Yuemei, quickly take Xiaohua in and sit down."

Deng Yunhua smiled and said, "You guys go ahead and do your work. I'll go in and find a seat by myself."

Fan Yuemei nodded and said, "I'll be there right away."

…

A few minutes later.

Deng Yunhua looked at his girlfriend sitting in front of him and asked softly, "Yuemei, did you miss me?"

Fan Yuemei blushed, looked around with a guilty look, and then nodded and said, "I thought about it!"

Deng Yunhua chuckled and said, "I missed you too. I just came from my hometown today and came straight to see you without even entering the house."

The two of them sat in the corner, whispering and sharing their innermost feelings with each other.

After chatting for more than ten minutes, Deng Yunhua said, "Yuemei, my dad wants to invite you to have lunch at home tomorrow at noon. My eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, eldest sister, second sister, and youngest brother are all here, as well as my nephews, nieces, and nephews. They all want to see you."

Fan Yuemei was very happy to hear this, because her mother had told her that usually when the boy's parents invite the girl to dinner outside, it proves that the marriage has not been approved by the boy's parents and the girl is still in the stage of being observed.

Once the boy's parents take the initiative to invite the girl to their home for dinner, the marriage is almost certain.

Although Uncle Deng had already approved of this and said he would invite her to his home for dinner after the Spring Festival, this matter has not yet been actually implemented, and I cannot be sure that there will be no changes.

And now that Uncle Deng has formally invited her to his home for dinner, it is a final matter, and it is naturally something to be happy about.

However, thinking about so many relatives from the man's family waiting to meet her, the pressure is still very great.

"Brother Hua, are your eldest brother, sister-in-law, and eldest and second sisters easy to talk to?" Fan Yuemei asked worriedly.

Deng Yunhua smiled and said, "Don't worry, they are all easy to talk to. Besides, you have even passed my dad's test, so no one will make things difficult for you, because my dad has always been the one who has the final say in the family, and everyone has to listen to him."

Fan Yuemei was relieved after hearing this and said with a smile: "Okay, I agree."

"Then I'll pick you up at your house around 11am tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, okay."

…

The next day.

Fan Yuemei got up early and dressed up as usual.

Qin Fengzhen also attached great importance to this matter. It was the first time for her daughter to go to the man's house for dinner, and it was also the New Year period, so the gift was definitely indispensable.

However, there is no need for expensive gifts. Her family is not well off, and the man's family knows it, so there is no need to pretend to be well off.

However, if you simply prepare some candies, biscuits and fruits, it would feel too ordinary.

After much thought, Qin Fengzhen finally decided to make some rice dumplings for her daughter overnight. These dumplings were not precious, but they took more than ten hours to make. They were a very thoughtful gift, and it would be most appropriate to let her daughter take them as a gift.

Nanning’s New Year’s rice dumplings are a traditional delicacy of the Zhuang people. Although Qin Fengzhen’s family is Han, there are many Zhuang people among their neighbors. Influenced by them, making New Year’s rice dumplings during the Chinese New Year has become a habit.

In previous years, Qin Fengzhen would make New Year's rice dumplings during the Chinese New Year, but this year she is too busy with business to do so.

There are three kinds of zongzi of the Zhuang ethnic group: the big ones are called "huangzong", which is called "fengbao" in Zhuang language. The big ones weigh more than ten jin, and some weigh five or six jin. The medium ones are called "feng", which are about one jin each. The small ones weigh only a few liang, which is called "fengle" in Zhuang language, which means small zongzi, and are used for offering to gods and greeting the New Year.

In later generations, Guangxi’s big zongzi became famous throughout the country. After all, zongzi that weigh more than ten kilograms or even twenty or thirty kilograms are probably only available in Guangxi.

Of course, those rice dumplings specially made for the sake of publicity do not count.

For example, on May 25, 2017, a farm in Shunde, Guangdong, made a 6,000-jin giant palm tree with a volume of 7 cubic meters, creating the "No. 1 Palm Tree in the World". It took 10,000 tourists three hours to finish it.

On June 9, 2013, a zongzi weighing 5 to 6 tons was made in Baimajing Town, Danzhou, Hainan, which was known as the world's largest zongzi.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Such zongzi are made either for fame, for fun, or for some other purpose.

In short, rice dumplings weighing more than 100 kilograms are just a gimmick, unlike the rice dumplings weighing 20 to 30 kilograms in Guangxi which are common.

Qin Fengzhen wrapped three large zongzi overnight, all weighing more than ten pounds. When Fan Yuemei got up, the zongzi were still slowly simmering in the pot, and it was too early to take them out of the pot! It was not until Deng Yunhua drove over to pick her up that Qin Fengzhen fished out the zongzi that were almost cooked.

Looking at the two large, packaged and steaming dumplings, Deng Yunhua was astonished but also a little touched. He was not stupid, so of course he could guess that the dumplings were made by his future mother-in-law on the spur of the moment, and she must have stayed up all night without sleep.

"Auntie, actually I could just bring some fruit. You even specially made two big dumplings for me. That's really very polite of you."

Qin Fengzhen said with a smile: "This is Yuemei's first time to eat at your house. I don't have anything special to offer, so I can only try my best to make two New Year's rice dumplings. I hope your family won't mind."

"This is the best gift. Auntie is so thoughtful." Deng Yunhua didn't say much, but she kept the thought of her future mother-in-law in her heart.

Qin Fengzhen smiled and said, "Okay, I guess your family is waiting, so I won't say too much. Yuemei, take the candies, biscuits and fruits and go back with Xiaohua!"

"OK."

Fan Yuemei responded, picked up the gift and prepared to get in the car.

"Auntie, we'll leave first!"

"Go ahead, and drive carefully on the road."

"knew!"

…

Ten minutes later.

Deng Yunhua drove his girlfriend back to Wuyue Square.

Seeing that the car had stopped, Fan Yuemei, who was sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't help but ask, "Brother Hua, don't you want to take me home? Why did I come to your home appliance store?"

Deng Yunhua smiled and said, "My home is right here!"

Three question marks popped up on Fan Yuemei's forehead: "Brother Hua, what's going on?"

Deng Yunhua didn't explain. He picked up the still hot rice dumpling and said with a smile, "Just follow me."

After saying that, he got off the car, and Fan Yuemei could only follow him with the candies, biscuits and fruits.

Soon, Deng Yunhua took her into their home's private elevator and took the elevator to the fifth floor.

Fan Yuemei was a little confused when she saw this. Speaking of the Wuyue Square, the most famous one is naturally the Yongjia Supermarket on the first floor. It is the earliest and largest supermarket in the city. It has been open for many years and its business has always been booming. It is a shopping paradise for Nanning people.

The second is the La Meizi Hotpot on the second floor, which is also the earliest and largest hotpot restaurant in the city. It has been open for several years. I heard that the dining environment is elegant and the taste is excellent. It has a very big reputation among diners.

Then there is the Ahua Home Appliance City on the third floor, which is the largest home appliance city in the city. It has a complete range of home appliances at affordable prices. It is not inferior to department stores at all, and even completely beats department stores in terms of service.

Therefore, this electric city is naturally quite famous.

However, I have not heard of any businesses moving into the fourth and fifth floors of Wuyue Plaza.

There are rumors that the fifth floor is the private residence of the big boss of Wuyue Plaza, but I don’t know whether it is true or not.

Now, her boyfriend took her straight to the fifth floor, and it seemed that the rumor was most likely true.

Thinking of this, Fan Yuemei couldn't help but ask, "Brother Hua, is this Wuyue Square also your family's property?"

Deng Yunhua nodded and smiled, "Yes, this Wuyue Plaza is indeed my family's property. The shop space I use for my home appliance mall is my own, which saves a lot of rent, so the profit is still good. It's just that my ability is limited and I haven't made it bigger and stronger."

Fan Yuemei was not too surprised when she heard this. After all, although the Five Mountains Square was awesome, it could not be compared with the snack street.

As they were talking, the elevator arrived at the fifth floor.

Then, Fan Yuemei was stunned by the scene before her.

Just think about it, even people like Gu Caiwei and Pei Qinghua, who came from families like these, were shocked when they first saw the luxury mansion in Wuyue Square, not to mention Fan Yuemei, who came from a poor family and had never seen the world.

At this moment, there was only one thought that came to Fan Yuemei's mind: even the palace where the ancient emperors lived was no more than this.

"Uncle Deng, Happy New Year!"

"Well, Happy New Year!"

"Yuemei, let me introduce them to you. This is my eldest brother, this is my eldest sister-in-law, this is my eldest sister, this is my second sister, this is my younger brother Xiaoheng, this is my eldest niece Xiaodong'er, this is my nephew Dongzi, this is my nephew Zhu Shiba, and this is my nephew Xiao Shitou."

Deng Yunhua introduced them to her one by one, and Fan Yuemei also greeted them one by one.

After both parties greeted each other, Deng Yunhua raised the big zongzi in his hand and said, "This is the big zongzi that Yuemei's mother made overnight. It was just taken out of the pot when I arrived, and it's still hot now!"

Deng Shirong naturally knew how much trouble it was to make zongzi, and he quickly said, "Amei, your mother is really thoughtful."

"Amei, come and sit down."

Deng Yunzhu greeted her and praised, "My Xiaohua is not bragging. Ah Mei, you are really pretty."

Fan Yuemei said somewhat embarrassedly: "Second sister, thank you for the compliment."

Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "Xiaohua really has a good eye. He picked the most beautiful flower at Wuhan University."

After all, Fan Yuemei was a key university student and had a relatively rich vocabulary, so she also praised Zhang Xiuping, Deng Yunzhen and Deng Yunzhu.

After sitting in the living room drinking tea and chatting for about ten minutes, Deng Shirong said, "I'll go cook first. Xiaohua, you take Ah Mei to visit the house!"

Deng Yunhua responded, looked at his girlfriend and smiled, "Let's go, I'll show you around."

Fan Yuemei greeted her sister-in-law and the others, then followed her boyfriend with great anticipation to visit this mansion that was beautiful beyond imagination.

As a top student at Wuhan University, she was able to understand the essence of most of the ancient elements used in this mansion. The more she looked at it, the more she was fascinated by it. She kept expressing her admiration, which made Deng Yunhua feel ashamed.

Because he, a poor student, couldn't understand some of the subtle points his girlfriend mentioned, he just knew it was cool.

After the two of them had almost finished touring the house, Fan Yuemei said with emotion: "This is the most beautiful house I have ever seen in my life. I never thought that the fifth floor of Wuyue Square would be such a beautiful mansion. Uncle Deng's taste is really high!"

Deng Yunhua asked, "Do you like it?"

Fan Yuemei rolled her eyes at him and said, "Who wouldn't know about such a beautiful house?"

Deng Yunhua said with a smile: "If you like me, marry me sooner, and then this will be your home too."

Fan Yuemei's eyes were full of love, and she blushed as she said, "I'll listen to my mother when it comes to marriage."

Deng Yunhua smiled and said, "I believe Auntie also hopes that we can get married soon."

At this point, the two heard the call for dinner, so they walked towards the restaurant together.

This meal was, without a doubt, the most delicious meal Fan Yuemei had ever had in her life.

Every dish was delicious, especially the seafood ones, which tasted amazing. Even though Fan Yuemei had been very restrained, she still accidentally ate two large bowls of rice. If she hadn't been so full, she would have even wanted to have a third bowl.

The temptation of delicious food is indeed extraordinary.

After lunch, Fan Yuemei stayed for more than half an hour before she stood up and said goodbye to Uncle Deng and others.

Deng Shirong and others naturally tried to politely persuade her to stay, and then let Deng Yunhua drive her back.

…

PS: Thank you all for your rewards and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)