In the shop.
Panda was holding a big bowl, wolfing down the new Noodles with Braised Eggplant and Pork Sauce that had just been added to the menu today.
The noodles were very chewy, and the topping was super fragrant.
He was eating with great enjoyment.
He didn't notice the replies under that post at all.
Soon after,
he'd finished a whole big bowl, not a strand left.
"Boss, give me another big bowl! The way you make this sauce is absolutely amazing. My mom always messes it up, no matter what brand of soybean paste she uses, it never tastes right."
Lin Xu stood in the kitchen.
While cooking noodles, he said:
"Don't use soybean paste, use dry yellow paste."
"Dry yellow paste? Isn't that the same as soybean paste?"
Lin Xu nodded:
"Nope, not the same. The more you stir-fry dry yellow paste, the more fragrant it gets. Soybean paste, though, the more you cook it, the less fragrant it gets. They're total opposites. Just dissolve the dry yellow paste in cold or warm water, make sure there's no lumps, after you've browned the diced pork, pour the paste in and let it simmer for a bit, and the aroma will come out naturally."
Just as he finished speaking,
the customers in the shop all started talking at once:
"No wonder the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce I made last time didn't taste good — turns out you have to use dry yellow paste."
"I learned something today! I'll let my mom try it next time."
"My grandpa always uses dry yellow paste, no wonder the sauce he makes is so delicious."
"Boss Lin, when you get a chance, please teach us more cooking tips!"
"..."
Once the noodles in the pot were done cooking,
Lin Xu served them to the customer.
He'd just picked up the rolling pin and was about to start rolling dough again,
when his phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
He wiped his hands,
pulled out his phone and looked.
It was actually his mom calling.
"Son, have you found a job in Beijing yet?"
As soon as he answered, his mom, Chen Meijuan's voice came through from the other end.
Lin Xu pinched the bridge of his nose.
He had a feeling he knew what his mom was about to say next.
He replied, a little deflated:
"No, I haven't."
"I knew it! You're just like your dad when he was young, too shy, doesn't like dealing with strangers. Just come back as soon as you get your diploma. The scenic area is short on staff now, and you studied finance, so you can work as the cashier at the scenic area…"
Lin Xu's hometown is Yinzhou City in northern Central Plains, a city famous for Yinxu ruins and the Hongqi Canal, filled with tourist attractions.
A couple years back, Yinzhou City went all out developing tourism.
Lin Xu's parents jumped on the bandwagon, quit their jobs, and took out loans of several million to contract for a mountain.
After renovating the mountain,
their contracted spot had become the Longqi Mountain Scenic Area of Yinzhou City.
The scenic area isn't that big, but it has all the attractions it should have.
Stuff like the influencer suspension bridge, celebrity swing, jungle adventure, shout fountain, glass walkway, Lovers' Slope, wishing pond, sky walk, rafting — all those web-famous attractions.
Follow the mountain road to the top,
and you can also burn incense, make wishes, pray, or draw fortunes.
There's even a railing by the clifftop specially built for couples to hang locks, and right beside it is a stall selling all sorts of heart-shaped locks — 30 yuan apiece, no bargaining.
After two years of all this hustle,
Chen Meijuan and her husband had managed to go from owing a few million to owing seven or eight million.
It's not that the scenic spot doesn't make money.
Actually, with tickets at 29.9 apiece, there's still plenty of visitors.
The main thing is, every time Chen Meijuan and her husband see some popular new attraction, they want to add it to the scenic area.
And so, over time,
the loans just kept piling up.
Whenever Lin Xu thinks about how energetic and restless his parents are, he gets a headache.
He let out a soft sigh:
"Mom, I've opened a restaurant in Beijing. I'm not coming back."
"What? Opened a restaurant?"
You could hear the doubt in Chen Meijuan's voice:
"Do you even know how to cook, opening a restaurant? What do you sell in your shop?"
The shop was getting a bit hectic right then.
Lin Xu took his phone and slipped into the storage room.
"Hand-pulled noodles."
"So besides hand-pulled noodles, what else do you have?"
Lin Xu counted how much flour was left, then said,
"That's it, there's nothing else — just hand-pulled noodles."
There were three bags of flour left. He'd have to ask the grain and oil shop boss to bring another ten bags over in the next couple days.
If business keeps up,
you go through flour really fast.
On the other end, Chen Meijuan kept interrogating him:
"If you only sell hand-pulled noodles, how's business?"
"Right now I make over ten thousand a day."
Lin Xu was in a hurry to get back to rolling noodles.
If he didn't keep moving, the customers would leave.
He was just about to ask Chen Meijuan if she needed anything and to suggest wrapping it up if not, when suddenly Chen Meijuan lowered her voice and quietly asked,
"Son, did you get caught by one of those scam pyramid schemes? If so, Mom will find a way to rescue you. I heard that if you have no money in those scams, you get beaten. Mom will wire you 30,000 first…"
Lin Xu couldn't help laughing and crying as he said,
"Mom, I'm not stuck in a scam, I'm really running a restaurant."
He kind of regretted not posting anything about opening the restaurant in his friend circle.
At the time, he just thought if he lost money, it'd be super embarrassing, so better to keep a low profile. That way, even if he did lose money, no one would know.
If things went well, it would just make him seem more calm and modest.
Who could've guessed staying low-key would backfire now?
His mom was even suspicious he'd been trapped in a scam den.
But thinking about it,
making over ten thousand a day just selling hand-pulled noodles, who'd believe it?
He thought for a second, then said to Chen Meijuan,
"Mom, wait a sec, I'll video call you."
If he couldn't explain it, he'd just show her the shop.
He hung up, turned on WeChat video call, and called his mom.
Soon,
the video connected.
Chen Meijuan's weathered but still beautiful face appeared on the phone screen.
"Son, where are you right now?"
"In the restaurant's storage room. I'll come out right now and show you my shop — out there, there's a bunch of customers waiting for me to make noodles!"
After that, he held up the phone and walked out the door.
On the video call, Chen Meijuan was stunned.
Because this really was a restaurant.
And there were a lot of customers.
Then, Lin Xu handed the phone to Panda for him to hold:
"My mom wants to see me roll dough."
Panda quickly took the phone and greeted her:
"Hello Auntie! Boss Lin's skills are honestly amazing. I've basically made this place my cafeteria these days."
In front of the phone camera,
Lin Xu swiftly made a bowl of hand-pulled noodles.
On the other end, Chen Meijuan was totally dazed.
"This kid's skills are even better than mine!"
After they hung up,
Chen Meijuan thought it over and was still a bit worried.
She transferred 20,000 yuan to Lin Xu's account.
And booked a high-speed train ticket to Beijing.
She planned to go check on him the day after tomorrow.
"Boss Lin, your family didn't know about the restaurant?"
"Nope, I didn't tell anyone."
Lin Xu kept rolling dough and chatted with Panda.
"Damn, you can really keep a secret, huh? If it were me and I had a business this good, I'd be shouting it to the whole universe."
When the noodles were ready,
Panda carried the bowl over on his own.
He held the bowl with both hands and took a big, deep sniff:
"This taste is really unbeatable. If one day I couldn't get any, I think I'd go crazy."
"You just reminded me…"
Lin Xu said to Panda,
"Next Monday the shop actually does have to close for a day. I have to go back to school for graduation, take photos, get my diploma — wrap up my college life for good!"