The story of a cook

Chapter 43
After March [-] Women's Day, the weather in the provincial capital is still very cold. The winter chill is stubbornly fighting against the spring that has quietly sneaked in. One comes without hesitation, and the other is unwilling to leave.

I'm not in a relationship with Zhang Ling. She has a kind of liking for me, but it hasn't risen to the level of love. At the age of 28, she has experienced the failure of her first love, and already has her own opinions and understanding of real life.She knew that she would eventually return to that county town, return to her parents, find a man there to marry, have children, and live her life in peace.

I have a good impression of her, although there have been ripples, but that is not love, but a curiosity about the opposite sex.In addition, since I didn't have the idea of ​​having a relationship with her from the beginning, I didn't have those thoughts.

Love is not decided by a hug, it has to be pleasing to each other.

After that hug, our relationship has gotten better and better, to the point where we can talk about everything.At first, Li Haina thought we were dating, but after a while, I stopped talking, because Zhang Ling and I didn't have any intimacy other than chatting together.

At the beginning of April, I wrote a letter to my family, declaring that I was safe, and mailed back 500 yuan at the same time, telling my fifth sister to use the money to ask my third brother-in-law to buy bricks and cement for the courtyard wall, and the third brother-in-law is a bricklayer.

Sister Zhao never came over after the new year, and I didn't go to see her. To be honest, I felt very sorry.Communication between people is mutual. You can't always teach the other person to think about you and care about you while you don't care about others at all. After a long time, no one will take care of you.

She came just as she was about to see Sister Zhao.

"Brother, I haven't gained weight in a month, and I'm still energetic." Sister Zhao said with a smile.

"Really? Didn't feel it." I said with a smile.

"Are you in love?" she asked.

"No."

Sister Zhao looked at the bar, and Zhang Ling looked here at the bar, their eyes met halfway, and Zhang Ling smiled at Sister Zhao.

Sister Zhao turned her head and said to me: "I don't believe it, Sister Zhang told me, she saw it, and you still don't admit it."

I said, "Nothing, it's not what Sister Zhang saw."

"What's that like?" Sister Zhao joked.

"Colleague."

"On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, I'm going to come to you. Sister Zhang just happened to go to see her mother. Her mother's house is close to my house. She came to my house and told me to watch you go to the lantern festival with your bar, saying that you are in love. It's gone." So that's what happened, I thought it was Sister Zhang's house that Sister Zhao went to first.

"We went to the Lantern Festival together, but we're not dating." I said.

Seeing what I said seriously, Sister Zhao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

It was already noon when I got off work, and I asked Sister Zhao what she wanted to eat. Sister Zhao said that she wanted to treat me and my partner to a big meal, but it didn't work out, and asked me to compensate her for the mental loss and treat her to hot pot.

I walked out of the store and walked on the street. It was a bit cold. It snowed a little yesterday. The snow in the shade has not yet melted, and it is a bit cold in spring.

I came to the hot pot restaurant I ate last time and ordered the mandarin duck pot.

After sitting down, Ms. Zhao said apologetically, "I'm quite happy to hear that Ms. Zhang said that you are dating. After thinking about it, I will stop coming a few times in the future, so as not to misunderstand your partner, so I haven't come for a long time." Then said: "But I was thinking about it in my heart, and I kept thinking about it, but I didn't dare to come. When I came here today, I was worried that your partner would think too much, and I was timid. It's not the same thing if I didn't think about it."

Feeling very warm in my heart, I smiled and said to her: "You are really my real sister."

"If it was your own sister, you wouldn't have to be afraid of this and that. She would have come here long ago after hearing about it." She felt sorry for herself and said, "It's not my own sister. I'm afraid people will think too much, so I dare not come."

"What are you afraid of? If you are my sister, who dares to say anything." I didn't take it seriously.

"Silly brother, you don't understand that you are a man. If people know that we met when we were part-time workers, that we are not relatives, but that our relationship is still so good, and that we are like siblings, you think they will believe you. You don't think too much about it. .”

That's exactly what she said.

"Especially because you're so pretty." I joked.

"Go, I'm not in shape." She gave me a blank look, and then asked, "Brother, do you think what sister said is right?"

"Right or wrong." I said.

"Why is it right or wrong?"

"There's no way to explain this stuff, it all depends on the human mind." I said, "If the mind thinks in a curved direction, everything is right; if the mind thinks in a straight direction, everything is right. Some things can be understood without explanation, and some things can be explained. It’s so clear, but I still don’t understand it. It’s useless to think too much, it’s better to do your own thing than anything else.”

"You are quite open-minded, so be careful not to lose." She reminded.

"Sister, suffering is a blessing, you see those who are blessed are not afraid of suffering." I said.

"You just like to fix these fallacies." She smiled, and then changed the subject, "I plan not to do it there."

I asked, "When are you going to quit?"

"I talked to the manager, and I won't do it until I find someone."

"To your classmate?"

"Go to her to work first, learn how to sell clothes, and then do it yourself."

I said: "I don't understand clothing, but it's not easy for me to do anything, you have to be mentally prepared."

"It's okay, I've already thought about it, I'll learn first, and I told my classmate, she said yes, take me first, teach me how to buy goods, how to sell things. At the beginning I didn't do big things, and then It’s not that big of a capital, so I’ll do something small first, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll go out to the night market or morning market, work harder, and I’ll do it myself.” She said.

"Okay, that's good, as long as people are willing to endure hardships, there is nothing they can't do." I said, "Sister, I wish you success!"

"Thank you brother."

Sister Zhao looks weak, but she has strength in her bones.She can think of going to her classmates to sell clothes, study there, and then go it alone, proving that she is ready to start a new life.Such a beautiful woman has experienced the failure of her marriage and the experience of being unkind, and gradually becomes stronger, which is the beginning of a transformation.After all, she is only 33 years old, which is when a woman matures, and there is still a long way to go in her future life.

"Brother, you are my sister's lucky star. After meeting you, I feel better in everything." She said happily.

"Sister, that's an exaggeration."

"Looking at how you are going through so much hardship and still being happy all day long, as if there is nothing wrong with you, my sister admires you. So I have to find something to do, and I think I can do it myself," she said.

"You can do it, I support you."

"Thank you brother."

After sending Sister Zhao away, I couldn't help but think of myself. Although I have a stable job in Shengmei, it is impossible to go to the stove to practice cooking. It is enough to have the boss and the fourth child on the stove, not three people.But if you can't practice on the stove, when can you become a chef?It’s not good to always have side dishes at the bottom, and the income is too little. If you want to make more money, you have to be a chef.

Are you leaving Shengmei to find a job as a cook?Once I got this idea in my head, I immediately canceled it—I was reluctant to leave, and I thought I would do it here first, don’t worry, and wait for the opportunity to go to the stove.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-April, and two new waiters came in front, one named Liu Xiaoyan and the other named Ge Xiaoxia, both in their 20s, and they were both pretty good-looking.

The boss said to me: "Third brother, I think Ge Xiaoxia is pretty good, you and her are everywhere."

I said, "Okay, I'll try."

Ge Xiaoxia is very quiet, with big eyes, a high nose bridge, and a pointed forehead. She is over 1.6 meters tall. She works cleanly and stands at attention, with quick hands and feet.

It's natural for people to do anything when they don't have the idea of ​​the object, but once they have the idea of ​​the object, it's not natural to do anything.

Sometimes I have a few words with her, but it's all about work and nothing else.Do you think she is suitable?Can I accept the reality that I have an old mother and a poor family?
Just when I was thinking wildly, news came that the fourth child and Ge Xiaoxia were in love.I can't laugh or cry, laughing that I'm still thinking about it, the fourth child has already started.It's a good thing to think about it, but fortunately I didn't say it, otherwise it would be embarrassing.

Liu Xiaoyan was left.

With Ge Xiaoxia's experience, I didn't think about it first, I wanted to observe and observe.

At this time, the fifth sister wrote a letter, saying that the third sister had found me a partner and asked me to go back and go on a blind date.

Going home went well, but the blind date didn't go well.When I went back, the girl was not at home and went out to study.

The girl is a medical student.The third sister and the girl's aunt said that they have a younger brother who is 23 and has not yet married and is working outside. She also talked about our family's situation.The girl's old aunt told the girl's parents about my situation, and the girl's parents said they could take a look. If the two children agreed, they had no objections.

Then Fifth Sister wrote me a letter. When I wrote the letter, the girl was working normally in the hospital. I received the letter and waited for a few days before returning. It took more than ten days to come back and forth.The girl waited for six days, and on the seventh day, she was sent to Jinzhou for further study by the hospital, so she had no chance to meet her.

It doesn't matter to me that they don't match each other, and I don't take it to heart at all.Anyway, back home, the weather was warm, and the third brother-in-law had already bought the cement and bricks, so he called five brothers-in-law, and the third brother-in-law found some bricklayers and small workers in their camp, and began to build courtyard walls and install iron gates.

The courtyard wall is two meters high, and the gate is three meters apart. The gatehouse was going to be repaired, but my mother refused.

It took me three days to concentrate on the work. After the completion, I felt a sense of accomplishment seeing the neat courtyard walls and the gate standing at attention, which further increased my determination to renovate the old house.

My mother supported me in building the courtyard wall, but she was more anxious about my daughter-in-law.

This time we didn't get married, my mother was afraid that I would get angry, so she comforted me and said, "Who gets married with whom is determined by God. Some get married early, and some get married late. If the horoscope says that they get married late, how can they get along with each other?" No, it can only be done at that age.”

Then it seems to be talking to myself, and it seems to be telling me, saying that someone does not get married until they are [-]. Before marriage, it is not enough to meet as many people as possible. When they are [-], they have no relationship. , now that the children are all grown up, how is the family doing——
I know what my mother is thinking, but there is no rush to get married.I missed it this time by mistake, there is no such fate.

I stayed at home with my mother for another two days, and then returned to the provincial capital.

The first thing the boss said when he entered the kitchen was: "Third brother, I'm dating Xiao Liu."

I was stunned, looked at the boss, looked left and right, my head didn't turn around, I never thought that he would have sex with Liu Xiaoyan, and it seemed to be okay.

They are 15 years apart.

A little girl, a middle-aged uncle, I'm a bit messy.

Messy is messy, I still wish the boss sincerely, and hope that he and Xiao Liu will achieve a good result.

Now the eldest and the fourth are in love one after another, and the second and I are still single.The second child is better than me. People say that I have been married and know what a woman is like. I am an innocent guy who doesn't even know what a woman is like.

I wanted to date the waiter in front of me this year, but it seems hopeless.

We didn't feel the same way with Li Haina, and it was impossible to get along with Zhou Lan. Zhang Ling and I were fine, but we were not partners.

Zhang Ling asked me to go out for a drink after work that day. She looked very sad, and told me that her father found her a job as a kindergarten teacher at home and asked her to go back.

She still likes to be a kindergarten teacher. After more than a year of psychological training, she has seen a lot and understood a lot, so when she got the news, she proposed to resign and was ready to go back to work.

I support her decision.

Two days later, send her to the train station.

"Little brother, I really miss you." She said.

I smiled and said to her: "Don't forget to write to me when you go back."

She couldn't control herself anymore, and hugged me hard, with tears all over her face.

Leave a longing kiss on my face and board the train home.

(End of this chapter)