Chapter 60 Misunderstanding
"Dinner's almost ready, go call them," Song Yushu said, setting up several pots and boiling the broth before instructing Zhou Chengzhu and Sister-in-law Wei to call the diners.
The main dishes at this banquet were hot pot and barbecue. All the barbecue grills and ingredients were prepared. Considering the large number of people, the banquet was divided into four sections. Today, more than a dozen regular customers also came, so they were separated and ate in different pavilions.
The children from the orphanage were naturally in a pavilion. They looked at the steaming pot with some bewilderment. Song Yushu invited Xiong Erni to eat with them and taught them how to cook hot pot and barbecue.
The first to start was naturally Zhou Chengyu's group. They had exchanged a basket of eggs and several potted plants at the shooting range. They were still not satisfied, but when they saw that they could have a barbecue, they ran over with their prizes.
"This hot pot is good too. Don't all crowd around the barbecue," Zhou Chengyu reminded him before picking up a slice of meat and throwing it in to cook. He soon scooped it out, dipped it in sauce, and started eating.
Xia Yun was naturally discerning; she only added meat slices, knowing that the vegetables tasted good after being cooked.
There were fewer people on the Master's side, but fewer people had their advantages. They ate slowly and leisurely, without needing to exchange pleasantries with others, which made them quite comfortable. After congratulating Song Yushu, they began to eat.
As for the group of diners, they raised their cups to congratulate Song Yushu upon seeing him.
“Mr. Wei, this place is really nice! Although it’s a bit far from where I live and I can’t come here often, it would be nice to bring my wife and children here occasionally. Please reserve a room for me when you do,” one of the guests said, raising his glass.
“That’s right, Mr. Wei’s place is perfect for relaxation. I’d like to have my mother come and stay here permanently.”
"Just have someone give you a heads-up before you come," Song Yushu said. Seeing that they were quite satisfied with the farm stay, he chatted with them for a few more minutes before returning to the restaurant to prepare some desserts and drinks for them.
Eating outdoors is naturally different from eating inside a shop. Occasionally a breeze blows by, and there's a pavilion on top to block out the sun, making it much more pleasant than eating in town.
Song Yushu served them more food twice, and seeing that they were full, he let them wander around as they pleased.
"Wow!"
"Master Xue won two chickens!"
Cheers erupted from the shooting range. Song Yushu was surprised that someone had won the highest prize she had set so quickly. She immediately became curious and personally caught two chickens and sent them over.
"Master Xue's archery skills are excellent! I thought it would take a while for someone to win between these two chickens," Song Yushu thought, recalling how Master Xue could lead people to hunt down bandits. He couldn't help but sigh, thinking that it was a waste of Master Xue's talents to only be a teacher. He was handsome and skilled in both literature and martial arts, unlike anyone from this place.
"It's just a trivial skill," Xue Huai'an said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He had only offered his help to encourage the students to pay more attention in their future archery and horsemanship classes, but now that Song Yushu had praised him, he felt that he had been a bit too arrogant.
"I'll study archery and horsemanship properly from now on! I'm sure I can take down those two chickens!"
The students looked at the chickens in the cage with envy in their eyes; something earned through their own abilities was more attractive to them.
Although the goal was to win two chickens, he showed great enthusiasm for learning, which can be considered as achieving Xue Huai'an's objective.
The banquet lasted until dusk before the guests dispersed. Song Yushu had the dishes, chopsticks, tables, and chairs cleared away, and then personally escorted the children from the orphanage back home.
"The treehouse is so much fun! Aunt Wei, can we come back to play again? We can help with the chores!" Xiao Jiu asked Song Yushu reluctantly after getting on the oxcart.
"Aunt Wei, I know how to grow flowers!"
"I can wash the dishes!"
"Of course, I can come and pick you up occasionally to play," Song Yushu couldn't bear to refuse them. He planned to pick them up when there were only a few people, but naturally he couldn't if there were many.
"Great! Aunt Wei is so kind!" The group of children on the carriage cheered immediately, sitting in the back of the carriage and talking all at once about what they had played the most fun day and which dishes were the most delicious.
Song Yushu felt that they were no different from ordinary children at this moment. However, since it was a short time, these children, without their parents to shelter them from the wind and rain, cherished the hard-won opportunity to play.
After personally escorting the person to the door, Song Yushu greeted the manager of the orphanage before leaving.
After returning to the farmhouse, it got dark. Thinking about the official opening tomorrow, I went to the kitchen to check the ingredients before going back to rest.
On the first day of the new shop's opening, Song Yushu placed many bright flowers at the entrance and set off a string of firecrackers to make it lively.
After a while, no one came over, which was rare in the past. Wei's mother couldn't stay idle, so she went to the vegetable shed to check on how the seedlings were growing.
Zhou Chengzhu sighed three times that morning. The ledger was completely empty; there wasn't a single penny of income.
"If you have time, practice your calligraphy. Why are you sighing at such a young age?" Song Yushu was relatively calm, after all, even agritainment businesses in later generations had off-seasons.
What if no one comes all day?
"No need to do anything, just eat and drink as you please. I'll make sure you don't starve."
Just as Song Yushu was teasing Zhou Chengzhu, someone came in from outside.
"Boss Wei! Give me the same hot pot as yesterday today! I also want some barbecue, and I'm going fishing by myself!"
The people who arrived were the guests who had attended the banquet yesterday. They couldn't forget the hot pot they had eaten yesterday, and the scenery was also quite nice, so they simply brought their wives and children along.
"Alright! I'll arrange it for you later. Would you like some pastries, Madam? It's our first day of business, so we're giving you free pastries! And the hot pot is 20% off!" Seeing how kind this customer was, Song Yushu wanted to reciprocate.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Wei. Let's go in first," the accompanying lady said rather coldly, and went in first with her son.
Song Yushu was a little confused, but Sister-in-law Wei seemed to understand and pulled her into the kitchen.
“This lady is probably not simple,” Sister-in-law Wei said with certainty.
"We didn't do anything, did we?"
"Are you stupid! You're not bad looking or in good shape now, and you don't have a man. You're raising your child all by yourself. Her man always comes to our restaurant to eat, which must make her overthink things. I'll have my mother send some things over later. You just stay put."
Sister-in-law Wei knew that she was straightforward and could chat with customers, but at that time they were only focused on making money and neglected Song Yushu's current situation. Now this matter has served as a wake-up call for them.
Song Yushu realized that the lady had misunderstood her relationship with the guest after hearing what Wei Dasao said, and her feelings were complicated.
When Wei's mother learned of this, she took over the responsibility of entertaining that family, not letting Song Yushu do anything.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
