Chapter 134 As a diner, always welcome...
In the end, Song Yu ate the strawberry completely, but before eating it, he took out a small pack of tissues from his pocket and carefully wiped it clean so it wouldn't be dirty. He is still a good boy who loves hygiene.
Song Yu thought the strawberries from Uncle Lin's place tasted better than those bought at the market. She was also very careful when picking them to avoid touching other unripe strawberries.
After picking a full basket, Song Yu left satisfied. Looking back, he saw some ripe red strawberries still hanging on the vines, looking very tempting. Although the plot of land didn't look big, it actually produced a lot of strawberries.
Song Yu hesitated for a moment, then ran over to Lin Jingyuan a few seconds later and said, "Uncle Lin, my basket is full."
Lin Jingyuan naturally understood what the child meant: "Does Xiao Yu need another basketball hoop?"
Song Yu nodded reservedly: "If Uncle Lin has any."
Lin Jingyuan smiled: "Of course."
Song Xinran, who was squatting in the soil picking and eating strawberries, raised her head slightly upon hearing this. Seeing Song Yu's eager expression, she felt a little happy. It seemed that Song Yu really enjoyed this kind of activity. In her previous life, she often went to strawberry farms in the suburbs of the city with her friends and enjoyed the fun of exploration and the satisfaction of the harvest.
Song Yu looked at her, then suddenly seemed to notice something. Her eyes widened, and she ran to her side, her voice slightly surprised: "Mom, you ate strawberries."
Song Xinran hummed in agreement and casually fed herself a fresh one: "Didn't Xiao Yu eat?"
She used to pick and eat strawberries on the spot at the strawberry farm, believing that if they weren't clean, they wouldn't get sick.
Song Yu frowned slightly, lowered her voice a little, and answered shyly, "I ate."
Song Xinran casually picked one, wiped it in her hand, and fed it directly to Song Yu's mouth. Song Yu opened his mouth and ate it without any pressure.
"Mom, strawberries are so delicious." His cheeks were bulging, and his voice was a little muffled.
Song Xinran laughed and said, "Uncle Lin probably inherited some kind of Shennong bloodline."
Song Yu didn't quite understand the sentence, but looking at his mother's expression, he thought it was a compliment. So when Lin Jingyuan handed him the new basketball hoop, he imitated his mother and said, "Uncle Lin has the bloodline of Shennong, he's really amazing!"
The tone was sincere.
Lin Jingyuan was stunned for a few seconds, feeling that this was not something Song Yu could have come up with, but since there were only the three of them present, he suddenly laughed: "Did Xiao Yu's mother tell you?"
Song Yu hummed twice, his gaze already fixed on the strawberry patch, and shook the basket in his hand: "Uncle Lin, I'm going to pick strawberries!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the child had already run into the soil, carefully stepping into the furrows so as not to trample on any strawberry leaves.
This time, Song Yu received a larger basket. It took him a long time to pick all the ripe strawberries from the field. He had excellent eyesight and wouldn't pick any strawberries that were a little pale in color. Moreover, he arranged them very carefully, placing them neatly in the basket, so that they could be sold directly as merchandise.
Lin Jingyuan clapped his hands and said, "Xiao Yu is really good at picking strawberries. She puts them in the basket so neatly."
Song Xinran nodded in praise, "Xiao Yu, you've worked hard."
She was picking and eating at the same time, thinking that Song Yu had already put away the ones she picked, so she didn't need to.
Song Yu's face was flushed. He didn't feel tired at all, but rather very happy. He held up a full basket of strawberries and handed it to Lin Jingyuan: "Uncle Lin, here you go."
Lin Jingyuan waved his hand: "These are all for Xiao Yu."
Song Yu blinked: "I already have one!"
He pointed to the basket that was filled with strawberries for the first time: "That's mine."
Lin Jingyuan looked slightly taken aback: "Xiao Yu, do you only want a basket of strawberries?"
Song Yu nodded: "One basket is enough for me and my mom."
Song Xinran definitely had enough; she had eaten quite a bit in the strawberry field and was already half full.
"And what about this basket?" Lin Jingyuan asked.
Song Yu thought Uncle Lin's question was a bit silly. He had already explained it before, but adults can be a little silly sometimes, just like him occasionally. Song Yu thought it was normal, so he patiently explained, "This basket belongs to Uncle Lin. Red strawberries will rot if they're not picked from the ground. If I pick them all, they won't rot and there won't be any waste."
Lin Jingyuan understood what he meant.
He had thought Song Yu wanted another basket because he wanted to pick more to take home, but it turned out he wanted to help him.
Lin Jingyuan took the basketball hoop from Song Yu with both hands and couldn't help but pat his head: "Thank you, Xiao Yu."
Song Yu smiled brightly, revealing a row of neat teeth: "You're welcome, Uncle Lin. If you need to pick strawberries next time, just let me know. If I have a holiday, I'll come and help you again."
Song Yu thought picking strawberries was a lot of fun, and it didn't matter if he didn't eat them.
This was the first time Lin Jingyuan had ever seen a child so enthusiastic about work, and he couldn't help but smile more broadly: "Okay, I'll pay Xiao Yu a salary then."
Song Yu's eyes lit up slightly. Could they still get paid? He had never thought of this angle before, and couldn't help but look at Song Xinran.
Song Xinran said, "If Xiao Yu wants it, he can ask for his salary."
Children should always know that their labor has value.
After thinking for a moment, Song Yu said, "I don't want to for now. I like picking strawberries."
Lin Jingyuan laughed: "Okay, then we'll use strawberries as wages to pay Xiao Yu."
Song Yu thought this was feasible.
When they finally got home, Song Xinran was carrying half a basket of strawberries, and Song Yu was carrying a small bag. They were all washed clean. He ate them as he walked, his mouth covered in strawberry juice. He had to wipe his mouth with a tissue after every few bites, showing that he paid great attention to personal hygiene.
Strawberries are a delicate fruit and cannot be kept for long. After returning home, Song Yu picked out some and took them to Fu Fu. His home was relatively close to Fu Fu's home. Fu Fu happened to be away from visiting relatives today. The good friends missed each other after being apart for several days. Fu Fu even braved the cold wind to go out and wait for Song Yu at the entrance of the community.
When Song Yu saw Fu Fu, the little girl was stamping her feet in the cold at the entrance of the community. Although she had bundled herself up with a hat and scarf, the cold wind still seeped in through the gaps.
Grandma Fufu advised, "Fufu, let's go home and wait. Song Yu knows where we live."
Fu Fu's attitude was firm: "No, Song Yu said the strawberries are delicious, I want to be the first to eat them!"
grandmother:……
But getting home only takes a few minutes.
Fortunately, Song Yu arrived shortly after, jumping out of the taxi and calling out, "Fu Fu!"
Fu Fu opened her arms to welcome Song Yu and the strawberry, quickly took off her gloves, tasted the first strawberry, and her eyes lit up immediately: "Mmm, so delicious!"
"Grandma, these are the best strawberries in the world!"
Grandma Fu thought her granddaughter was exaggerating, but when Fu fed it to her, she tasted it too. She bit into it, and the juice splattered out. The flesh was delicate and almost melted in her mouth, much better than what she bought in the supermarket.
Fu Fu's words were absolutely true!
Song Xinran took Song Yu to Fufu's house for a while. She knew Fufu's parents, and after chatting for a while, they prepared to go back. Fufu was still reluctant to leave and turned to ask Song Xinran, "Aunt Song, when will you open your business? I can't wait!"
On one hand, she couldn't wait to eat Songji's food, and on the other hand, Songji was opening and Song Yu would come to the store, so she could play with Song Yu. These past few days, since Song Yu wasn't around, Fufu didn't like to stroll around the playground in the community as much as before.
Upon hearing Fu Fu's question, the adults in the family turned their attention to Song Xinran, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Although everyone already knows that Song Ji will open on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Song Xinran returned on the third day. What if there's a possibility that it will open earlier? They can't miss it.
But Song Xinran's next words ruthlessly shattered their illusions: "There are still three days left; the gates won't open until the sixth day of the lunar new year."
"Sigh!" Fu Fu sighed, never feeling that a three-day holiday had ever felt so long.
Song Xinran took Song Yu home. Fufu sat by the coffee table eating strawberries. Fufu's mother sighed, "Song Yu is such a good child. He picked strawberries and still remembered to bring them to Fufu."
Hearing her parents praise her best friend, Fu Fu nodded enthusiastically with pride: "Song Yu is really great! All the teachers in our class like him! I like him too, hehe."
"Mom, have you eaten a strawberry?" Fufu handed her one.
When Fu Fu's mother tasted it, she found it to be true and exclaimed, "The Song Yu family is so kind; the quality of these strawberries is so good..." They were even willing to give them away; the whole family is so generous.
*
In Song Xinran's view, the rest time passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already the sixth day of the new year when the business should be opened. In such cold weather, she didn't want to get out of bed at all.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Song Yu's voice came softly: "Mom, are you up?"
Song Xinran immediately sat up, cleared her throat, and tried to make her voice sound more normal: "I'm up."
She casually threw on a fluffy bathrobe, opened the door, and saw Song Yu holding a tray with a loaf of bread and half a glass of milk on it.
Song Yu walked into the room and placed the tray on the bedside table: "Mom has breakfast."
In that instant, Song Xinran felt a deep sense of guilt. Song Yu was not even seven years old yet; how could she let a child serve her?
"Thank you, Xiaoyu. Have you eaten yet, Xiaoyu? What would you like to eat for breakfast? Mom will make it for you." Her voice was so gentle it could melt your heart.
Song Yu smiled and said, "Mom, I've already eaten. I ate bread and milk."
Song Xinran made the bread herself, and the milk was delivered by the milkman every day.
“I drank half a glass of milk, and this half is for Mom.” He explained where the milk came from, and then said, “Good morning, Mom, I’m going to read a book now.”
Hearing that Song Yu had shared half of his milk with her, Song Xinran felt even more guilty and asked with concern, "Are you reading so early? Aren't you cold?"
Song Yu said, "It's not cold. I'm wearing thick clothes, and there's air conditioning too. I watched a bit of Harry Potter last night and I want to finish it as soon as possible."
Storybooks have a huge appeal to children, and Song Xinran understands that. However, as soon as Song Yu left, she quickly got up. She couldn't stay in bed any longer; it was time to go to work today. Although, as the manager of a store, she only needed to arrive before the store opened.
Actually, when she was working, Song Xinran rarely found it difficult to get up in the morning. It was only after a few days off that she relaxed.
When they went to the store, Song Xinran brought Song Yu along. Song Yu was holding a book she hadn't finished reading and was clearly engrossed in it.
Pushing open the wooden door of Songji, the temperature inside was slightly higher than outside. The staff had already arrived and greeted her with, "Happy New Year, Manager!"
Happy New Year, Xiao Yu!
Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
The atmosphere in the store was anything but listless, with everyone full of energy.
Pang Ru smiled joyfully and showed off the flowers she had been tending for several days: "Shopkeeper, look, these ranunculus flowers haven't withered yet, which means our shop will definitely have an even more prosperous business in the new year!"
Song Xinran said, "Thank you for your hard work."
No.
On its first day of reopening after the Lunar New Year, Song Ji's business was booming, with many customers booking private rooms to entertain relatives and friends.
The restaurant was even booked out for the night, supposedly because the big boss was treating everyone and was very generous.
When everyone was leaving get off work, they felt a little tired, but their spirits were high. Shen Hui, in particular, calculated the day's revenue and exclaimed that the New Year was different, with sales double that of a normal day!
Such figures are nothing in the average restaurant; their growth rate can be four or five times, or even higher.
But Song Ji's business is usually very good. Today, someone booked the whole place and ordered a lot of dishes, mostly expensive ones. Such results are already quite impressive.
As Pang Ru cleared the table, she said, "The owner who booked the whole place tonight is really rich. This probably cost two or three thousand."
Shen Hui made a "four" gesture.
Pang Ru was astonished. Were there really that many rich people in their city?
A knock came at the door. Pang Ru, who was cleaning by the door, instinctively said, "Hello, we're off today."
"I didn't come here to eat."
Hearing the familiar voice, Pang Ru looked up: "Su Hang!"
She quickly opened the door and let them in, pointing first to the ranunculus behind the counter and saying, "The flowers you sent are still blooming beautifully!"
Su Hang glanced at it and said, "It's because you took good care of me."
He placed a food bag on the counter: "I happened to see a new batch of mung bean pastries from a well-established pastry shop in the city when I came over, so I bought some for you."
Pang Ru turned her head and glanced at it, able to smell the sweet aroma of mung bean pastries: "Thank you!"
I quickly called the shop staff to come and eat. The freshly baked mung bean pastries were still hot, with a crispy outer layer and a sweet and glutinous mung bean filling.
Hearing the sound, Song Xinran came out of the kitchen. When she saw Su Hang, her brow twitched slightly, but she still had a smile on her face: "Why did you come at such a time? The kitchen has been cleaned. If you had come earlier, you could have ordered food and eaten."
Su Hang said, "It's okay, I ate at home."
Song Xinran felt something was amiss. Song's Restaurant was a business, so what did it mean that Su Hang ate at home before coming to the restaurant? And he even brought food with him...
Shen Hui said, "Su Hang called today to ask if there were any seats available, but unfortunately they were all booked."
Su Hang laughed and said, "So I can only come over now to smell it."
Pang Ru said regretfully, "If I had known you were coming to smell the aroma, I wouldn't have bothered cleaning."
Su Hang rolled up his sleeves: "It's not too late now. If there's anything else you haven't done, I'll help you."
Everyone naturally refused; it was their own job, and they wouldn't ask outsiders for help.
Su Hang picked up the food bag and handed it to Song Xinran: "Xinran, try some mung bean pastry."
He Zhi suddenly recognized it: "Isn't this the mung bean pastry from Ruifuji?"
Su Hang said yes.
He Zhi: "There are always long queues there. I used to pass by there and wanted to buy some to try, but the queues were too long and I was scared away."
Su Hang said, "It's alright, there aren't many people."
He Zhi took a bite and, although he didn't find anything particularly special about it, he said, "It's okay," since Su Hang bought it for him.
Hearing He Zhi's words, Song Xinran felt even more awkward. Watching Su Hang chatting with everyone, she finally couldn't help but say, "I have something to do today, so I'll go pick up Song Yu and take her home first."
Song Yu is currently playing at Fu Fu's house. Since the store is booked for the evening, it's not convenient for her to let Song Yu play at the store.
No sooner had Song Xinran stepped out of the store than Su Hang followed her out, saying, "Happy New Year, Xinran."
Song Xinran turned her head and glanced at him, then smiled and said, "Didn't you say that to me on New Year's Day?"
Su Hang felt inexplicably nervous: "That doesn't count as saying it in person."
Song Xinran slowed her pace: "It's so cold today, it must be inconvenient for you to come all the way from home."
Su Hang said, "I'm just the kind of person who can't sit still; I like to travel around."
Song Xinran sighed inwardly and suddenly changed the subject: "A lot of interesting things happened when I went home for the Chinese New Year this time."
"What happened?" Su Hang asked, looking very interested.
Song Xinran smiled and said, "I only have one older sister in my family, so I always spend the New Year with her. In previous years when we were in town, she always said that I should find another husband."
Upon hearing this, Su Hang's heart skipped a beat, and his hand, which was hanging at his side, involuntarily twitched.
“In previous years she only said that, but this year she really introduced me to someone and asked me to go and take a look.” After a pause, Song Xinran said, “But I refused. I don’t want to think about these things right now. I just want to run Song’s business well.”
Su Hang's heart sank. He was a smart man and knew the hidden meaning in Song Xinran's words, but he still couldn't help but say, "Song's is doing very well now, with booming business, an excellent reputation, and great popularity. Actually, you could consider other things..."
Song Xinran: "But I don't want to think about it. I feel that my current life is very good. I have a job and a family. I don't have the energy, mind or thoughts to put into other things."
Su Hang held his breath for a few seconds, realizing he wasn't one to pester others: "I see..."
“Life is really good now…” He looked down and pretended to check his watch. “I should go home now.”
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned around and said, "I drove here to give you a ride home; it's quite cold now."
"Thank you, but no need," Song Xinran said. "Xiao Yu likes to get some fresh air outside."
Su Hang nodded: "Goodbye then."
As Song Xinran watched his retreating figure, she suddenly said, "I heard from Shen Hui that you wanted to have dinner at Song Ji today, but all the seats are reserved. There should still be seats available the day after tomorrow. You are welcome to come to Song Ji for dinner."
Su Hang said softly, "I've reserved a seat for tomorrow, I... will come!"
Although some of his feelings were broken, asking him to give up eating at Song's Restaurant would be worse than killing him.
Song Xinran smiled: "You're always welcome."
As a diner, she is always welcome.
Having confirmed that Su Hang understood her meaning and resolved the matter, Song Xinran felt extremely relieved and picked up Song Yu to take a taxi home.
Song Yu likes to go outside in the wind when the weather is warm, but I don't think anyone likes to go outside in the wind when it's cold.
*
Winter slowly passed, and it was already April when the weather truly stabilized and warmed up. Song Xinran rarely did that, but she did a rare calculation of the money she had on hand and was pleasantly surprised to find that she could almost afford to buy a house in a big city!
Good news, really good news! When she was just about to open Song Ji, she never thought she could make so much money so easily. She really wants to thank all the customers for their support.
Buying a house in a big city is just one way to invest. As someone from the future, she knows that although real estate may not be booming one day, it is still the simplest and most affordable way for ordinary people to invest. Not only in Beijing, but she will also choose other valuable places when she has money in the future.
As for where to stay, Song Xinran still prefers to stay in Yongyan.
This city may not be as bustling and vibrant as first-tier cities, but its development is not bad either, and its future looks bright. She is just a person from the world twenty years in the future, and she only knows what the world will be like in twenty years. As for the more distant future, she has no idea. So she just chooses a place that she likes better. Who knows if Yongyan will develop better than those first-tier cities in the next few decades?
Moreover, all her friends are here, and she likes the city's cultural atmosphere and the people here.
Song Xinran's plan is to first visit a big city, then buy a small villa in a place she likes in Yongyan City, and live a leisurely life like that.
The money should be enough, but Song Xinran didn't want to spend all her money on buying a house. She decided to save more money before going, so that she could take Song Yu to see the big city during the summer vacation.
However, there is still one thing to do. Last May, Song Xinran signed a one-year contract with Fang Jianmin, the big boss of Xianlufang. With the contract expiring in another month, Song Xinran has decided not to renew it.
Before she could even tell Fang Jianmin about it, he called first: "Chef Song, how have you been lately? Are you feeling alright?"
These bosses always seemed to like to exchange a few pleasantries at the beginning, so Song Xinran went straight to the point and asked, "Mr. Fang, is there anything I can help you with?"
"It's nothing, I'm here to thank Chef Song. This past year, thanks to you at Fresh Braised Food Shop, our newly opened shop has been able to get to where it is today and be loved by everyone. Everyone who has tasted Chef Song's cooking praises it!" After showering Song Xinran with compliments, Fang Jianmin finally said, "This year I'd like to give Chef Song a raise, is eight thousand a month okay?"
Song Xinran: "I'm sorry, Mr. Fang, I don't want to renew my contract."
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