Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Under the Longan Tree
In the kitchen, Wang Nian covered the kneaded dough with gauze to let it rise, then turned around and went back to the backyard.
"Pour some tea for the two brothers, I'll go pick some mint."
"The mint in the fried pork ribs just now was grown by the boss lady herself?"
"I originally planned to eat it myself." Wang Nian smiled.
It is rare to find fresh mint in the Anhuai market. If you want to eat it, you have to grow it yourself. If you can’t finish it, you can dry it in the sun and soak it in water to drink.
"I've never seen what fresh mint looks like. Can I go with you to take a look?" Lao Gu took the opportunity to ask.
Wang Nian readily agreed.
The family spent a lot of money to modify the road to the backyard, just to make it convenient for outsiders to go to the backyard without entering the house.
"The boss's wife's house...it's not an exaggeration to say it's a vegetable garden."
As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen, I saw the lush greenery on the roofs on both sides. I tilted my head slightly and found that there was an old loofah as long as an arm hanging under the eaves.
This is just the first glimpse. As you walk into the backyard, a scene that instantly calms your mind slowly unfolds before your eyes.
Flowers and fruits of various colors are dotted in the green. Occasionally, bees and butterflies flutter by, and the scent of fruit wafts to your nose.
No wonder there are two lounge chairs and a table under the eaves. It would be so comfortable and relaxing to lie down, drink a few sips of tea, and look at the beautiful scenery in the courtyard.
Mint is planted in a small corner near the yard. Although there is not much of it, the mint fragrance is very strong.
Mr. Zhong had never seen what fresh mint looked like, so he couldn't see anything wrong. He even bent down slightly to get a closer smell.
The reason why you only need to bend slightly is because mint grows really tall. Judging from the height of the plant, it is at least over 1.2 meters.
The mint produced in the space is not afraid of scorching heat or severe cold. One crop can be harvested for half a year, and the more you harvest, the taller it grows.
This is the third batch that Wang Nian has picked. I estimate that it will grow as tall as a sapling next month!
After admiring the garden scenery, Lao Gu's eyes were finally attracted by the longan tree in the farthest distance.
The fruit trees in the garden are planted in an orderly manner; the farthest longan tree is so tall that it can be seen at a glance.
There are one or two fruit trees of each kind, so you can recognize at least ten species by just counting them. There are also a few species that have not yet reached the fruit-bearing season, and Lao Gu can't recognize what they are.
That's because he didn't see that there were actually berries and blueberries in the greenhouse, otherwise he would have been even more surprised.
“Is that a pumpkin?”
Mr. Zhong finally got enough of the mint scent and instantly noticed a pumpkin vine crawling over.
There was a fist-sized pumpkin on the vine, its skin was green to black, and it looked ripe.
Wang Nian had already finished picking the mint, and smiled as he picked a few and handed them to Zhong's father: "Go back and steam them for Zhong Yan. This melon may not look big, but it's really tender!"
The yield of mini pumpkins is amazing, with four or five pumpkins growing on one vine, and there is no need to remove leaves or pinch flowers.
"No wonder Yan Zi always says your dish is delicious when she comes home. How can it not be delicious if you pick the fish from the front and stir-fry it from the back?" Zhong's father joked.
"How can we keep up with the speed of eating? The vegetables in the restaurant are all bought from the market." Wang Nian told the truth.
After picking the mint, I went back to the kitchen to knead the dough.
It was not until the two of them witnessed with their own eyes that a dough ball turned into noodles in Wang Nian's hands that they paid for their meal and left.
Lao Gu never mentioned the restaurant from beginning to end.
After leaving the restaurant, Mr. Zhong asked, "Why didn't you ask the boss lady to cook?"
"Do you think the boss's wife can work in a restaurant given the conditions?" Lao Gu asked back.
He might have thought about it at first, but after walking into the backyard and taking a casual look, he didn't want to mention it at all.
During the conversation, we learned that the house was Wang Nian's own residence, his wife worked in a design institute, and the restaurant only served lunch.
Old Gu couldn't figure it out. Wang Nian opened a restaurant simply because he liked cooking and he was just looking for something to do.
Mr. Zhong was silent.
He has always been very confident in judging people. He met Shi Feiying's father once two months ago on the day of first grade registration.
He seems to have a good temperament, not like an ordinary researcher, but more like a leader.
"So what are you going to do?" Mr. Zhong stopped talking about Wang Nian and asked, "How about I introduce you to a chef?"
"No need." Lao Gu waved his hand, looking confident.
"Do you have a candidate in mind?"
"I plan to come back in a few days. Since I can't ask the boss's wife to work in the restaurant, I can ask her to cook a meal for me!"
Therefore, once this person learns to adapt, many ideas will naturally come to him.
Mr. Zhong did not comment, but just smiled and said: "Remember to call me when you come to eat. You are busy with work and I will eat mine..."
"I will never forget you."
As soon as the two of them walked to the bus stop, they saw the big sister who had just come to buy ramen walking hurriedly towards the restaurant.
"I was just about to send it."
Wang Nian also ran into the older sister who had a worried look on her face.
"Hurry up, hurry up." The elder sister took the pot in a hurry and apologized to Wang Nianxian with a look of apology: "I will take it back first and then give the money. If I am a step later, I will cry with hunger."
I'm not exaggerating. Even though we were so far apart, my daughter-in-law insisted that the aroma of the noodles wafted into the house and made her so hungry that she couldn't stand it. Even a dog's nose isn't that sharp.
Wang Nian nodded and said yes, and the eldest sister hurried home again.
After watching his elder sister walk away, Wang Nian turned around and closed the glass door of the restaurant.
"The longans are ripe. Can you pick some and bring them back to Kangping?"
"Since we became neighbors, I have never bought fruits and vegetables from you. Kangping always says that we have taken advantage of you."
"You and Lao Xiao also helped us a lot."
Ever since Hu Wenli and Lao Xiao helped to fight without saying a word, Wang Nian truly regarded the couple as friends.
"It's not a favor if it's just a matter of convenience." Hu Wenli laughed heartily and raised her chin towards Wang Nian proudly: "Now everyone on the street knows that we are not to be messed with."
The news spread all over Guanghua Street that Wang Nian and Hu Wenli had developed a strong fighting ability by picking up manure in the countryside when they were young. If you mess with them, they can tear down the door of their house.
Therefore, no one ever gossiped at Gate 15. Wang Nian had lived there for more than a year and there were only a few people he was familiar with.
"It's good to have some peace and quiet. Otherwise, I'd be like Zhang Hongyan, having to listen to other people's gossip every day before I wake up."
Wang Nian didn’t know where those people came from to gossip about other people’s affairs. There were always people at Zhang Hongyan’s door every day.
There is a group of people when we get up in the morning, another group in the afternoon, and even more people after dinner.
After gossiping, they start comparing the men in different families, and finally the children’s academic performance.
As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived in front of the longan tree.
After the gate was moved to the other side, the longan tree was planted right next to the gate, and many of its branches extended over the wall.
However, passers-by can only look at but not taste the rare longan trees because the trees are too high. If they want to pick the longans, they can only climb up the wall.
Longan generally grows in hot and humid environments. The longan sold in the Anhuai market is expensive enough to match the flesh. As for seeing what a fresh longan tree looks like... that is even more difficult.
Wang Nian was in the restaurant the whole time and didn't know it, but in fact, there were people standing at the door of his house every day to watch and sigh with envy.
The same is true today...
"What is that?"
"Longan? I've seen it on TV."
"How much would this tree full of longans sell for?"
"No matter how expensive it is, it has nothing to do with us. Look at what's next to it..."
From their conversation, we can also understand why no one dares to climb the wall to hit the lychee tree.
Walk a few meters to the right after opening the door, and you will find the Anhuai City Guanghua Street Police Station. Diagonally opposite is the gate of the Municipal Court, and to the right of the court is the Design Institute.
The guard posts of these two units are manned by armed police, and the safety factor is absolutely amazingly high.
Wang Nian quickly climbed up the tree, stood on a branch and looked down.
Two young women in grey uniforms, judging by their name tags, were employees of the design institute.
"I'll cut some longans for you to taste."
Wang Nian's sudden voice startled the two of them, and then they saw a young girl sitting on the tree branch.
“No, no.” The young girl with a high ponytail waved her hands repeatedly: “We were just joking, we didn’t mean to steal!”
"There are a lot of fruits, so I'll give you some to try." Wang Nian stood up holding onto the tree trunk, trying to sound gentler: "I see your clothes should be from the same unit as mine, so consider them as gifts from my sister-in-law."
At the same time, Hu Wenli had already opened the door.
"You are also from the Design Institute, right?"
They both nodded.
"Then you must know Chief Engineer Shi Xiangming. This is his home, and the person on the tree is his lover."
"Chief Engineer Shi!" The expressions of both of them became surprised at the same time, and then they looked up at Wang Nian with shining eyes.
There was admiration, joy, and even a little envy in his eyes.
"Is Shi Xiangming very famous in your unit?"
The two are now considered an old married couple. Shi Xiangming occasionally talks about his work at the unit, but he will never show off how great he is.
Judging from the expressions of the two girls, it is more than just the word "awesome".
"Chief Engineer Shi is the pride of our design institute. We all hope to learn from him." The girl with a high ponytail expressed her respect loudly.
"At that time, you can also send some longans to Shi Xiangming's office for everyone to taste."
"Sister-in-law, do you need help?"
"I've been climbing trees since I was a kid. Let me help you cut the thorns."
Both girls were very lively, and Wang Nian wanted to get closer to them, so soon they started calling each other sister-in-law.
Seeing that Shi Xiangming was so famous in the unit, Hu Wenli couldn't help but become curious: "Shi Xiangming must be very popular among the female lesbians in your unit, right?"
The girl with a high ponytail thought Hu Wenli had something else in mind, so she waved her hand and said, "We only respect Chief Engineer Shi, and have no other thoughts."
"I didn't mean that." Hu Wenli was just joking, but seeing that she frightened the two young girls, she quickly explained, "If I were imagining that, I could still invite you in to pick longans!"
"Next." Wang Nian dropped a cut longan from the tree and continued with a smile: "Actually, she just wanted to ask whether Shi Xiangming was honest in the unit?"
The girl with a high ponytail let out a long breath and smiled with a look of relief on her face.
"Chief Engineer Shi is focused on his work. He treats all employees equally, regardless of gender, and never has any private contact with female lesbians."
Suddenly, the short-haired girl next to her pulled her friend with a strange expression.
"It looks like there's a situation!" Wang Nian smiled.
"It's not Chief Engineer Shi's fault." The girl with a high ponytail quickly waved her hand to deny it. After thinking for a while, she decided to speak out: "There was a female colleague who often went to Chief Engineer Shi's office, so someone in the unit gossiped about it."
Snap——
Wang Nian dropped the longan from the tree, and couldn't help but recall the siblings Lin Weidong and Lin Jing from Factory 431.
The girl thought she had hidden her love for Shi Xiangming very well, but she didn't know that her colleagues had already seen it clearly.
Later, he was rejected by Shi Xiangming in public, which hurt his face. From then on, he would avoid them whenever he saw them in the factory.
"I said she had bad intentions." The short-haired girl was filled with righteous indignation, and her voice could not help but rise a lot: "She also said that she was friends with Chief Engineer Shi. I think Lin Jing is just talking nonsense."
Wang Nian was startled and asked subconsciously, "Is that girl called Lin Jing?"
Same name, same surname, but still the same person...