Zhou Yan cycled along the riverbank, the cool river breeze stirring his emotions.
Choosing a good partner and grow old together—what a romantic promise!
What kind of person would he meet, and with whom would he ultimately grow old?
Xia Yao's image appeared in his mind, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.
They should be considered good friends now, right?
If he had time tonight, he could write her a letter.
He suddenly felt a strong urge to share, wanting to share this love story that began during the war years with her.
He can be considered a witness!
"Life is full of partings and reunions; let's enjoy the time we have together." He could say that to her the next time they met.
What a magnanimous statement!
What a carefree outlook on life!
"What's got you so happy? Your smile is enough to hang a teapot from the corner of your mouth." Aunt Zhao asked with a smile as Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle in.
"I found a yuan on the way out." Zhou Yan laughed.
"Wow! What great luck!"
Everyone was delighted, looking at him with a touch of envy.
"Come on, everyone gets a share." Zhou Yan pulled out a handful of banknotes and gave everyone ten cents.
"Oh! Ten cents!" Zhou Momo's eyes widened, her face beaming with joy as she looked at the banknote in her hand. She came over and hugged Zhou Yan's leg: "Guo Guo! Loyal!"
"Good girl!" Zhou Yan smiled and patted her head.
A little cutie who would give her loyalty for ten cents.
"Come on, let's pool our money and buy half a jin of dried sunflower seeds!" Aunt Zhao suggested.
"Okay!" Zhao Hong immediately handed over her ten cents.
"I'll go buy some." Comrade Old Zhou said with a smile.
"I want some sunflower seeds too!" Zhou Momo held up her ten cents, ran over, and grabbed Comrade Old Zhou's hand: "Daddy, let's go buy some!"
"Come on." Comrade Old Zhou said, holding a handful of banknotes, and led Zhou Momo out the door.
Zhou Yan smiled and turned into the kitchen. He didn't know when it started, but he was too lazy to even bend down to pick up ten cents that fell on the floor. But now, ten cents can still bring happiness to everyone.
With thirteen tables of guests and no need to make braised dishes or cross-legged beef, preparing the food was quite fast.
Braised pork ribs and beef with dried bamboo shoots were simmering in the pot, and then the pork liver was prepared.
This morning, Zhang Laosan told him that starting next Monday, pork prices will be lowered overall. The price of second cut pork will drop from two yuan to one yuan, and the price of ribs will drop from one yuan and eighty cents to ninety cents. Basically, the price will be reduced by half.
The policy has indeed been issued, and it's being implemented simultaneously in all towns and villages of Jiazhou and in Jiazhou city.
The shoe has dropped, a huge positive development.[1]
Beef prices are confirmed to drop, and he's already pre-ordered beef shank from several uncles today, preparing to officially launch braised beef on Monday.
He was almost embarrassed to put a price tag on braised beef at four yuan a jin (500g).
Three yuan a jin, that's a different story.
Braised beef at the same price as braised pig ears and pig snouts, the value for money immediately becomes apparent.
Unlike the scarcity of pig ears and pig snouts, he can obtain more beef shank relatively easily.
No joke, Zhou Village, the cattle slaughtering center, is his backer!
In Suji, and even in Jiazhou, no one can get more beef shank than him.
Hehehe…
Zhou Yan coughed lightly twice, correcting his expression.
Putting everything else aside, at least he will soon have a stable income from Feiyan Restaurant.
Huang He has been eyeing the braised beef for a long time.
Exclusive sales rights are out of the question, but selling it to him is no problem at all.
Moreover, with the drop in meat prices, the profit margin for braised pig's head meat, originally 30%, immediately skyrocketed to over 50%.
Heh heh, he won't lower the price!
Anyway, the initial agreement was a 20% reduction from the selling price, and his selling price hasn't changed.
Customers gradually arrived.
Braised pork ribs and beef with dried bamboo shoots were transferred to a clay pot and placed on a honeycomb briquette stove to simmer over a low flame. The quantity wasn't large, just enough to keep it warm.
The large wok was used to stir-fry dishes.
Everything was ordered in advance; once they arrived, they just gave their names, and the food were served quickly.
"Sister Hat! You're here again~~"
"Yes! Look how pretty my hat is today!"
"Beautiful! What's that sparkly thing around your neck?"
"It's a diamond."
"A diamond? So pretty!"
"Hehe, you have great taste, baby. How about I… give you a diamond ring?"
"No, my brother said I can't just take things from other people."
"Oh, you're so good. How about next time I bring you a talking doll?"
"Hmm, will it really talk?"
"Of course."
Zhou Momo and Duan Yuyan's conversation drifted in from the doorway, and Zhou Yan knew they had finished their chat and come to eat.
Just then, he finished cooking two dishes of spicy stir-fried pork liver. As he carried the dishes out, he saw Grandpa Wang and Grandma Qiu enter.
Grandpa Wang smiled, looking as spirited as he had in his younger days.
Grandma Qiu smiled gently, her features relaxed, her demeanor graceful and elegant.
Zhou Yan put down the dishes and greeted them with a smile, "Grandpa Wang, Grandma Qiu, please come in."
"Okay." Grandpa Wang replied with a smile.
"Little Zhou, thank you." Grandma Qiu said softly, not immediately sitting down, but looking at Zhou Yan.
"You're welcome. I was very happy to see you two walking together across the stone bridge today." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Grandma Qiu nodded slightly and sat down with Grandpa Wang.
Duan Yuyan walked in and smiled at Zhou Yan, saying, "Your sister is so cute."
"If you like her, she'll be your sister from now on." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Really?! You said it!" Duan Yuyan's eyes lit up immediately, and she bent down to pick up Zhou Momo. "I love her so much! Come on, call me Sister Yuyan."
"Sister Yuyan." Zhou Momo called out obediently.
"Give me a kiss." Duan Yuyan turned her head to the side.
"Mwah~" Zhou Momo leaned in and gave her a kiss, then exclaimed in surprise, "Sister, you smell so good!"
"Mmm, I'm the Fragrant Sister." Duan Yuyan's eyes almost disappeared as she smiled. "You smell sweet and milky too, let's stick together."
Zhou Yan looked at the two smiling people.
Little sister, this is all I can do for you.
This isn't just a Fragrant Sister, this is a Goddess of Wealth!
Your high-class toys are going to be taken care of from now on.
See? Being cute comes with its privileges.
The goddess that everyone else dreams of, Zhou Momo kisses, hugs, and cuddles with on their second meeting, and even tries to give her a diamond ring but is rejected.
Zhou Yan thought Duan Yuyan, this capitalist's daughter, was a pretty good person. She was rich but not arrogant, had sound values, and was quite good except for being a little too filial.
If he could acquire the Qiu family's old house, he'd definitely have to treat her to a meal.
He glanced again at Yan Fei, the bodyguard squatting by the Crown car outside the door.
What's going on?
It feels…
His eyes are often filled with tears?
Zhou Yan touched his neck, feeling a strange chill, and smiled as he turned and went into the kitchen.
One dish after another was served. Old Mrs. Qiu tasted each one, eating more than usual, and gave them high praise.
"Little Zhou is young, but his cooking is truly exceptional. It even tastes like the dishes of those old master chefs from back then." Old Mrs. Qiu remarked, putting down her chopsticks and said with some emotion.
"It's truly superb. Even the chefs the Wang family hired back then couldn't compare." Grandpa Wang nodded with a smile.
"The big restaurants in Rongcheng are about the same quality, some even worse than his." Duan Yuyan said, putting down her bowl and equally praising the dish. She particularly enjoyed the crucian carp with perilla leaves today; it was far superior to the cold-dressed crucian carp at Feiyan Restaurant!
It was simply divine!
From now on, if she ever eats out again, she'd rather have her driver take her to Zhou Yan's restaurant.
Although there were no private rooms and the environment was a bit lacking, the tables and chairs were clean, and the food was clean too.
Grandpa Wang got up to pay the bill, but this time Duan Yuyan was prepared. She quickly stood up, pulled out the money she had prepared beforehand, and handed it to Zhao Tieying: "Auntie, I calculated it beforehand, it's just right."
"Okay." Zhao Tieying smiled and nodded, accepting the money.
The dishes were all cooked. Zhou Yan took off his apron and came out of the kitchen to see the three of them out.
"Little Zhou, next time you come to Jiazhou, come to our house for tea." Old Mrs. Qiu said to Zhou Yan, then reached out and touched Zhou Momo standing next to Zhou Yan, and said gently, "Bring this little darling with you too."
"Okay, I definitely will." Zhou Yan nodded.
"Okay, beautiful grandma, I'll come to see you!" Zhou Momo nodded.
"Me?" Duan Yuyan said with a smile.
"And see Fragnant Sister!" Zhou Momo said with a smile.
"So good." Duan Yuyan said proudly.
Grandpa Wang saw Grandma Qiu to the car. The two walked side by side, their silver-haired backs still ramrod straight.
As if they had never bowed to life.
One grew old surrounded by love.
The other found new life in the sea of books.
The reunion of Qiu Qi and Wang Yu was like a serendipitous encounter (Qi Yu) spanning fifty years.
It had a perfect ending.
"Wang Yu gave that box of letters to my grandma. My grandma was as happy as a sixteen years old girl receiving her first love letter. She held the box the whole way in the car. I think she'll open the letters one by one, according to the year." Duan Yuyan watched the two of them walk away and said softly, "Those letters, with their different colors because of the different years, standing in the box, look like the rings of his life."
"I never thought loving someone could be so romantic."
"I think I believe in love again."
Zhou Yan smiled upon hearing this. It was good; the letters had finally reached Miss Qiu's hands.
Wang Yu's deep affection hadn't been in vain.
"After I get back, I'll tell my grandma you want to buy the Qiu family's old house. As long as she agrees, I'll let you know immediately." Duan Yuyan turned to Zhou Yan and said with a smile, "Wait for my good news."
"I only have a little over a thousand yuan on me right now. You might need to wait two months for me to save up 10,000." Zhou Yan said.
"It doesn't matter. I said I'd sell it to you for ten thousand, and even if someone else offered a hundred thousand, I wouldn't change my mind." Duan Yuyan smiled slightly. "Thank you. I can feel that Grandma's heart has been untied. If it wasn't for you, they might never have met again in this lifetime, which would have been such a pity."
"How about you give me a discount in cash?" Zhou Yan asked sincerely.
"No way! It's ten thousand, no more, no less." Duan Yuyan snorted. "Besides, you can save ten thousand in two months, which means you're a high-income earner. I might stay a while longer, and I'll take your money before I leave."
"The child was young and didn't understand just now, so I could have kept the diamond ring for her."
"Oh! I think you're too sensible!" Duan Yuyan turned and left, a slight smile playing on her lips, waving her hand without looking back: "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Guo Guo, is that a car with four wheels?" Zhou Momo asked, tilting her head up.
"Yes, this is a car." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, watching the black Crown with the license plate slowly start moving. Its landed price in China should be enough to buy a row of courtyard houses in the capital.
Grandpa Wang walked over, tightly grasped Zhou Yan's hand, his lips moved, and he choked up a little, "Little Zhou…"
"Men understand, don't say anything more." Zhou Yan squeezed his hand firmly and said with a smile.
"She gave me her Hong Kong address, telling me to write to her often." Grandpa Wang's voice was tinged with excitement: "It feels like I've found my anchor again in this world."
[1] Meaning: The policy release has finally yielded clear results and is expected to have a significant positive impact on the market.