Chapter 112 You might as well ask him instead of asking me
Shi Xiaoai used two kinds of sauces in the barbecue she prepared. The dry ingredients were used for the skewers, and the sauce was used for the seafood.
Guo An has a special liking for grilled meat skewers with cumin and chili powder, while Chef Liu prefers a variety of seashells and braised small sea fish seasoned with Shi Xiaoai's homemade barbecue sauce.
It is tasty and full of flavor.
Shi Xiaoai prepared a lot of things. In addition to leaving enough for the two of them, she also roasted a lot of food and asked Cheng Lin to take it to the cabin to feed the little ones.
Seeing Cheng Lin coming over to get something, Master Liu said to him, "Xiao Lin, you're already so old, don't eat with the kids over there. Come here and have a drink with your uncle!"
Cheng Lin chuckled and looked at his sister-in-law.
Shi Xiaoai said, "Come and have a drink. Today we have the wine made by my grandfather. There are only two bottles left. After you finish this, there will be nothing left for you to drink. Come and have some of it too."
Cheng Lin agreed and went to the cabin to deliver the skewers.
When Master Liu heard Shi Xiaoai mention Old Man Shi, he sighed. Thinking of the deceased old man, he couldn't help feeling a little sad.
He poured himself a glass of wine, drank it all in one gulp, sighed, and said, "Xiao Ai, if your grandfather were still alive, he would definitely be happy to see you like this.
You didn't bring shame to your old family, and you even brought them great honor! Your grandfather was a very respectable man his whole life, and you have brought him enough respect that he would be proud even in the grave."
Shi Xiaoai didn't expect that Master Liu would mention her grandfather, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.
At this time, Guo An, who was standing by, echoed, "Xiao Ai is amazing. Everyone knows that Grandpa Shi has an amazing granddaughter! Not only does everyone in our restaurant know about it, but everyone in the company knows about it too."
That day, people from the company’s union came to see my wife and daughter, and they were still sighing when they talked about Xiao Ai.
It is said that after Shi Daxi and his family did those embarrassing things, everyone in the company was deeply saddened.
It is said that the old man had always been strong and never gave in no matter how big the problem was. But in the end, he was defeated by the luck of his descendants, and they lost their dignity for a lifetime!
Only now that Xiao Ai has become independent has Grandpa Shi's reputation been restored. At least people can no longer say that the old Shi family has no successor.
At this point, Guo An smiled, then suddenly lowered his voice and asked curiously, "Xiao Ai, I heard from the union that you changed Mingxi and Mingrui's last name to Shi in order to ensure that someone could continue to take over the Shi family? Is this true? And... Cheng Yang actually agreed to it?"
Shi Xiaoai was stunned by what he said.
To be honest, she always called them Mingrui and Mingxi, never using their full names, so she almost forgot that the two children had their mother's surname.
She had forgotten about it, so how could she think of discussing it with Cheng Yang?
It was the original owner who named the children and registered them, and it was also the original owner who let them take their mother's surname. Shi Xiaoai did not think she had the qualifications to make a new decision for the original owner.
Therefore, she would not change her children's surname back to their father's.
As for whether Cheng Yang would have any ideas?
Shi Xiaoai thought that probably not.
When the children were hospitalized, their full names were written down. He must have known that both children had surnames. If he was not happy about it, he should have told her long ago.
No mention means no opinion.
Besides, based on Shi Xiaoai's understanding of Cheng Yang, he should not be obsessed with his last name. After all, he has severed ties with his biological father.
Guo An didn't know this until he asked Master Liu, and his words scared the old man.
Master Liu stopped eating the skewers and sat up straight, asking, "Xiao Ai, is this true? Both children have the surname Shi? Cheng Yang didn't even mention you, but he actually agreed?"
"What's there to say? Whose last name does the child have?"
Shi Xiaoai smiled and said, "Cheng Yang knew about this, but he didn't mention changing the two children's surnames."
"The last name is Shi! They all have the last name Shi! Oh, this is so true, this is so true!"
Master Liu suddenly became excited. He stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the room.
Then the old man remembered something and his eyes suddenly became red.
He didn't want to cry in front of the younger generation, so he turned to face the wall and pressed his eyes with his sleeves.
After a while, he turned around again and looked at Shi Xiaoai with a loving gaze, saying, "Your grandfather must be happy to have a granddaughter like you. Yunchuan has an heir! The knot in his heart has been untied."
Shi Xiaoai knew that the Yunchuan he was talking about was the original owner's father, Shi Yunchuan. She had seen the name and the photo on the tombstone when she visited the grave before.
Judging from the photo, he is a very elegant and refined middle-aged man.
"You don't know, when Yunchuan got into trouble, the old man spat out a mouthful of blood and lay in bed for three whole days without eating a single grain of rice!
Later, Yunchuan's wife came with Xiao Ai to kowtow to him. If he refused to drink water or eat, Yunchuan's wife would not let Xiao Ai get up.
How old was Xiao Ai at that time? It was Xiao Ai's crying that pulled the old man back. If it weren't for them, the old man would have gone with Yunchuan that time.
The issue of the two children's names suddenly touched Master Liu's heart. He rarely began to tell Shi Xiaoai, Guo An and Cheng Lin who followed in about the past events.
"So no one should blame the old man for favoring Xiao Ai. After all, Xiao Ai is still the old man's eldest granddaughter!
When Xiao Ai was just born, I was still learning a craft from the old man. I heard him talk many times about how clever his eldest granddaughter was. She was only a little bit old, but her eyes would follow the adults, and she was very smart in every way.
He really loves Xiao Ai! So in the end, only Xiao Ai can call him back."
At this point, the old man became excited and insisted that Shi Xiaoai bring the two children over for him to see.
Master Liu had met Mingxi and Mingrui before and was quite familiar with them. He never forgot to bring food for the two children during his visits to their home.
So when they were called over and knew that it was Grandpa Liu who wanted to talk to them, neither of the two children was shy.
They all ran to Master Liu, climbed on top of him one by one, hugged the old man and called him Grandpa affectionately.
"Grandpa, have this! My mom's braised eggs are so delicious! I can eat two at once! Eat this, eat this! It's nutritious!"
As Mingrui spoke, he bent down and steadily picked up a piece of cut braised egg with chopsticks, and made sure to stuff it into Master Liu's mouth.
Mingxi jumped off Master Liu's lap, took the cup of water from the table and stood aside waiting, with a stern face, staring at his face nervously.
He kept muttering, "Eat slowly, don't choke, be careful when eating eggs, don't talk, be careful not to choke. Drink some water if you feel uncomfortable."
That little look makes people laugh.
The two little guys spoke and acted in a different way, which confused Master Liu.
Holding the two little ones in her arms, she kept agreeing with them, smiling so much that her eyebrows and eyes were visible, and she was almost lost in thought.
"Xiao Ai, you teach these two children so well! I will definitely let Qiao Yun come and learn from you." Guo An said with envy in his eyes.
Shi Xiaoai twitched her lips and didn't respond.
She knew it very well in her heart, how could she have taught this?
The two kids learned all this from Aunt Liu and Uncle Wang.
The two old people's own grandchildren are not at home, so they treat these two as their own children.
Anything good for them is almost in their mouths.
The two children are using all the tricks that Aunt Liu and Uncle Wang used on them on Master Liu.
With Mingxi Mingrui's interruption, the conversation that was originally about the restaurant somehow turned into a chat about family matters.
Shi Xiaoai simply asked the two of them about the kindergarten.
"I asked the office before, and they said there's no public kindergarten in our area. There's only one in the city hospital, and it's only for children of children. Without connections, you can't get in.
But I don’t have any connections, and I can’t find the right person to introduce me.”
Shi Xiaoai looked helpless. "I just wanted to ask if there are any suitable kindergartens near us besides the hospital? A sponsorship fee is fine. As long as the price isn't unreasonable, I'm willing to pay a little more."
Hearing her say this, Master Liu frowned and asked, "Why don't you let them go to our catering company's kindergarten? According to your grandfather, they are the fourth generation and meet the admission requirements. Why are you messing around outside? Can't you just send them to our own kindergarten?"
"Ah? We have our own kindergarten?!" Shi Xiaoai was really surprised this time.
She asked many people for help regarding her two children's kindergarten enrollment.
Not only her, Cheng Yang also asked Chen Min and several of his other friends to inquire about it.
The available responses were not particularly suitable.
Chen Min said that there is a kindergarten under the Public Security Bureau, but it only accepts children of direct descendants. Even collateral relatives such as uncles and aunts are not allowed to attend, let alone outsiders.
He couldn't think of a solution.
Several other people responded in much the same way.
There are not many units in the whole Yuncheng that have kindergartens now, and those that do exist are basically established for the convenience of their own employees.
These kindergartens are not for-profit, and many of them even subsidize the children's food expenses, so the requirements for admission are very strict.
After all, no company would have enough money to provide welfare to outsiders.
They also found out about several kindergartens that were willing to accept children from outside the school and even visited them in person. They found that either the conditions in the kindergartens were very poor and informal, or they were too far away and required weekly daycare after admission.
Shi Xiaoai wanted Mingrui and Mingxi to go to kindergarten. On the one hand, it was because there was no one to take care of them, and on the other hand, she wanted them to have more contact with their peers.
The two children’s social circle is too narrow now, and they have no friends of the same age at all.
But even so, she didn't want to let her child stay in daycare last week. It was too pitiful. After all, the child was still young, and she couldn't bear to let him go.
As a result, it has been delayed until now and she still hasn't found a suitable one.
Seeing Xiao Ai's surprised face, Master Liu patted his head in frustration and said, "It's my fault. I overlooked this matter. I forgot Mingrui and Mingxi were going to kindergarten, and I didn't ask you earlier.
Our company's kindergarten is not far from the hotel, just across the Zhanqian Street. It only takes about twenty minutes to ride a bike from your home.
You can ask Cheng Lin to take them there in the morning. He has to go out to buy groceries anyway, so it won't be a big deal if he just turns over there. Whoever is free can just pick them up in the evening.
It shouldn't be difficult for our children to go to kindergarten. I'll ask around tomorrow and find out the details. I don't think it'll cost much."
"No, no." Guo An said, "Qiao Yun's brother's son goes to our company's kindergarten. It's five dollars a month per person, I think?"
I heard Qiao Yun say before that our company is very dedicated to the kindergarten and that the teachers we hire are all well-educated. Unlike other places, where they hire family members of employees who can barely read or write.
"Besides, the food in our kindergarten is great! No other kindergarten can compare to the food in our kindergarten."
Guo An said smugly, "Think about whose children are in our kindergarten? If the food allowance is insufficient, the principal can go to one of the restaurants under his command and complain about his poverty, and no one would dare to ignore him."
The master and disciple spoke in unison, which made Shi Xiaoai's heart burn with joy. She instantly felt that today's dinner was invited at the perfect time!
It really solves a big problem!
The few of them talked for a while until the two children yawned. Then Master Liu put them down and let Kaikai take them to bed first.
They finally brought the topic back on track.
"Oh, it's already nine o'clock. Hurry up and get back. Xiao Ai, if you need any help with anything important, just tell me directly. We can discuss and do what we can.
I dare not delay. You have already recruited me, and I heard that you provide meals. Every day of delay means an extra day of expenses. I cannot be taken advantage of."
Master Liu was so straightforward that he made Shi Xiaoai laugh. Of course, she didn't hesitate and immediately told him about her current dilemma.
"Uncle Liu, I have two main problems right now. Let's not talk about the construction team for now. I'm counting on Guo An for that. By the way, Guo An, besides the construction team, you have to introduce me to a good supervisor who can help me keep an eye on things on the construction site, who is knowledgeable and willing to worry about it."
"I know this, you don't need to tell me." Guo An continued.
The last time we built the house, Cheng Yang and Cheng Lin were with us, so it wasn't a big deal if there wasn't a supervisor.
But this time Cheng Yang was not at home, and Cheng Lin still had to take care of his business. The project was so big that it would not work without a reliable project supervisor.
Shi Xiaoai looked at Master Liu again: "Uncle Liu, I need to find someone who knows the business to help me look after the kitchen. I also want to find someone who knows service to help me train the waiters."
As for the kitchen, Xiao Ai actually wants to get out of the way. It would be best to find a better team of chefs that are more professional and reliable.
But she knew that no one was working alone now, and there would be no such team.
So she had no choice but to settle for recruiting workers herself and then finding a professional master to be the supervisor.
"What kind of chef are you looking for?" asked Master Liu.
"I know that people with good skills will definitely not go out to work alone now. To be honest, I won't hire people with poor skills. Uncle, you have worked in the restaurant for a long time. Do you know those retired masters?
Is there anyone who is retired and has nothing to do at home who would like to be re-employed by us?"
Hearing her request, Master Liu just laughed.
He didn't respond to Xiao Ai's question, but pointed at Guo An and said, "You might as well ask him instead of asking me this. Ask him to go back and ask his mother-in-law if she's willing to come and help you with the work?"
Qiao Yun's mother is a national first-class pastry chef with a professional certificate. She is the first person in our catering company to obtain a first-class pastry chef qualification certificate!"
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