The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 123 Sexless Marriage

It may be a coincidence, but things in the world do happen like this. Buddhist believers say this is cause and effect.

The little girl's surname is Zhao, her name is Xiaohui, and she is from Shaoyang, Hunan.

When I was young, my father died and my family was poor, so my mother took her out to beg for a living.The mother was also forced to take care of a child, and her husband's family did not take care of her after her husband died, and a few acres of Susukida could not support the mother and child.My natal family was also poor, so I had no choice but to come out.

The actual situation is very miserable, so I won’t go into too much detail. It made people cry after hearing it, and kind people can imagine it.

The mother and daughter went to Binhai first, and they went to a relative.Unexpectedly, when I arrived in Binhai, I found out that my relatives were no longer working in Binhai, and went to the provincial capital.The couple had little money left, and Xiaohui's mother wanted to find a job to earn money to support herself and her children.

Looking for a job everywhere hit a wall, the reason is that I have a child, and I don't like to get it anywhere.

In the end, I ran out of money, couldn't find a job, and could only live on the streets.

Seeing women begging for food with their children on the street, they followed suit and begged for food for the sake of the living.People are professional beggars to earn money, and they make a living by this, so they know what to do.The two of them are really beggars, and they don't know how to win people's sympathy, but they are regarded as scammers.

Hey, this is how things are in the world, sometimes you are forced to have no choice but to let go of your dignity in order to live.

Xiaohui's mother wanted a sum of money, so she took Xiaohui to the provincial capital to find relatives.Fortunately, I met Lao Tan and gave me enough money to buy a train ticket, so the mother and daughter went to the provincial capital.

God has eyes, they found relatives.

Two relatives, a couple, work in the provincial capital. The man is a carpenter, and the woman is scratching white. They rent a house in Beisantaizi, and their life is not bad.

The mother and daughter stayed at relatives' house for a while. Xiaohui's mother first learned how to shave from relatives, but she had to take Xiaohui with her when she worked.

The relatives are very good. Seeing that the mother and daughter are really miserable, they find a home for Xiaohui's mother.He is a craftsman on the construction site, single, because one eye is a glass flower, and he has not found a wife in his thirties.

The glass flower people are more down-to-earth, from Sichuan, they are very kind to Xiaohui's mother and daughter.

So the mother and daughter settled down in the provincial capital, and lived quietly for ten years.Although life is not rich, it is also passable.Xiaohui still went to school, but she quit junior high school and started helping her mother with work at home.

As the saying goes, there are accidents in the sky and people have misfortunes and blessings. Glass Flower was hit by a car on the way home from get off work the year before last.

The glass flower was hit very badly. After eight days of emergency treatment in the hospital, he was unable to be rescued and left.

After eight days of rescue, all the savings of the family were spent, and the person left, and the driver who caused the accident has not been found. The unfortunate fate once again befalls the mother and daughter.

The couple had to live and pay the rent, so they had to come out to work.

Xiaohui's mother fell ill after Glass Flower's death. Xiaohui, 16 years old, worked part-time while supporting the family and serving her mother.This year, my mother recovered from her illness, but she was still weak. She wanted to come out to find a job, but Xiaohui refused to let her go, so she stayed at home for more than half a year.

Xiaohui was laid off last month and saw that the dumpling restaurant was recruiting dumpling workers. She had worked in a restaurant and wanted to come to work.Mom wanted to come too, saying that she was already in good health, so she couldn't make dumplings?If it works, I will work with Xiaohui, and I will take care of her.

Xiaohui couldn't bear her mother's nagging, so she thought it was okay, she could take care of her while working with her mother, and she could rest assured.

So there was this scene of applying.

When she saw Lao Tan, Xiaohui didn't think of anything. Lao Tan's rich appearance looked like a big boss, and she couldn't think of anything else at all.When Lao Tan led the mother and daughter into the dumpling room to get acquainted, Xiaohui couldn't help but look at Lao Tan more when she heard the employee inside called Master Tan.

Although more than ten years have passed, in her memory, the bald uncle is wearing a white shirt, is a chef, and is also fat, very similar to Old Tan.

Could it be that uncle?
As soon as this idea came into my mind, I looked at Lao Tan carefully again, and felt more like him.

Unexpectedly.

Xiaohui and her mother were naturally happy and excited when they saw the benefactor who helped them back then, and thanked them.Nothing to say, Lao Tan left behind this hard-working mother and daughter.

After Xiaohui's mother and daughter left, Zhang Li couldn't help but looked at Lao Tan curiously, and said, "I didn't realize that you are still a kind person."

"Then what are you thinking about? Let me tell you that if I calculate it carefully, I will give tens of thousands of money to others for free. I can't remember so much." Old Tan said.

"It was the first time I watched someone kneel down and thank you. It was so touching that I shed tears." Zhang Li said, her eyes were red.

Old Tan smiled, with emotion, and said: "There are several kneeling down for me, you didn't look at the touching ones, the whole kitchen was crying—"

Li Cheng appeared in front of him, the man who knelt down to thank him in Binhai, his nose couldn't help but feel a little sore.

"I heard from Sister Shuang and Sister Wang that I saw it with my own eyes today. Lao Tan, you are this, I admire you!" Zhang Li gave Lao Tan a thumbs up.

The Huangshan Road store opened on New Year's Day, the opening was full and the business was booming.

A Qiao Dumpling House is open.

When the Huangshan Road store opened, Zhang Yu mailed a white sheep to express his congratulations, and invited Lao Tan, Yanhua, and Yanzi to visit Hohhot.Lao Tan and Yanhua didn't care much about Zhang Yu's invitation. It was just a polite way to go to the grassland in winter.

Swallow was tempted, which came from her relationship with Zhang Yu.

The two are in love.

Once the fire of adult love is kindled, it is in full swing like a young person.Although the two can't meet each other, the communication is now developed, and WeChat is flying all over the sky, so they can send letters to each other anytime and anywhere, expressing their love for each other.

So, Yanzi is going to Hohhot to meet her dear lover.

Yanhua is optimistic about Yanzi and Zhang Yu's love and supports her.In addition, there is no plan to continue to open the store now, and Lao Tan plans to spend half a year to stabilize the three stores. During this period of time, there is nothing wrong with Yanzi, so he can deepen his love.

Swallow got on the plane to Hohhot.

"I hope she will succeed in cultivation this time," Yanhua said.

"It should work. Swallow is no longer what it was three years ago." Old Tan said.

"It's still a little emotional—" Yanhua said.

"People are emotional animals. By the way, I haven't looked at Lao Deng for several days." Lao Tan said.

"I'm on a business trip, this time I'm going far away, Ningxia, I can come back during the Chinese New Year," Yanhua said.

"Ningxia? Yinchuan?"

"Well, maintenance tasks, troubleshooting."

"Didn't you study accounting these days?"

"It's over in three months. What are you busy with this day? I told you the first few days."

Old Tan scratched his head and said, "I forgot, Huangshan Road has been fully opened, and the strings have been stretched all the time. It's more tiring than cooking on the stove."

"Hehe, I'm tired. We're also on vacation today. Let's go to the Chishan Road store and have a few drinks." Yanhua suggested.

"Okay, go to the second part."

The two of them left the office and came to the front hall. The hall was already full, full of noise and voices.

When passing by Ming, Lao Tan saw Xiaohui making dumplings and her mother rolling the dumplings.The little girl smiled sweetly at Old Tan, who nodded with a smile, and followed Yanhua out of the shop.

It was cloudy outside, with scattered snowflakes, and it was already winter.

Yanhua opened the door of the van, and the two sat in it.

"It's time to change the car, this car is not suitable for you." Old Tan said.

"Whether you deserve it or not, as long as you have a trolley to drive." Yanhua said and started the car.

"This car should be given to the purchasing department. You don't have to work so hard to deliver it every day." Old Tan said.

"I'm used to it, and it's boring if I don't do it -- I have to find a driver to take care of purchasing and delivery." Yanhua said.

"Let's find one, you have a lot of things to do in a day, and you also need to change cars."

The two soon arrived at the Chishan Road store.

Unexpectedly, it was full, and there were no seats in the private rooms in the lobby.

The two smiled at each other.There is no place to eat in your own restaurant, should you be happy or angry?

Of course I am happy.

Yanhua suggested to buy some fat beef and cook hot pot at her house.

This is Lao Tan's first visit to Yanhua's house in a real sense.The last time was three years ago, when Yanhua and Lao Deng ran away from home in anger, Lao Tan sent her downstairs instead of going upstairs.

The room is very clean, and it gives people a fresh and warm feeling when they come in, which shows that the hostess is a virtuous daughter-in-law.

There is a corner sofa in the living room. In front of the sofa is a solid wood coffee table, which is clean and has a set of tea sets.A group of fish tanks stood beside the sofa, and there were two arhat fish swimming quietly in it, with their protruding foreheads appearing naive.

On the other side is the open kitchen, neat and orderly, with a dining table in the middle and two solid wood chairs on both sides of the dining table.

Lao Tan didn't go in to see the two bedrooms, but he thought they were clean and tidy.

Yanhua went into the bedroom and changed into home clothes, and came out as a housewife.He set up the hot pot swiftly and washed the vegetables. Ten minutes later, the two of them sat down to have a meal.

The moment he sat down, Lao Tan was in a daze, feeling that this scene had happened before, right in front of him.After thinking about it for a while, I remembered that it was this time last year, and it was also snowing outside. At Zhang Li's house, the two of them were cooking hot pot. It was very warm and exciting.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile, and glanced at Yanhua, who was also looking at him.

The two looked at each other and smiled, communicated with each other with their eyes, then raised their glasses at the same time, touched each other, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Old Tan, you always come home late, is your daughter-in-law angry?" Yanhua asked.

"What's the matter, I've been living like this for years, I'm used to it," Old Tan said.

Yanhua thought for a while and said, "There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time, but I haven't found the time. I'm afraid I'll be angry if I ask you—"

"What's the matter?"

"The last time I sent you home when you were sick, you lived in a house by yourself and didn't live with your wife. What's the matter?"

Old Tan hesitated for a moment, avoided Yanhua's gaze, lit a cigarette, and said, "There are three houses in my family, one for each person."

"Not with Lin Yan?" Yanhua asked.

"You won't believe me if I say that we haven't been together for ten years, but it's true." Lao Tan smiled wryly, and then said: "In the beginning I was out of town and didn't go home twice a year. At that time, the child was young, and even after returning home, the child would not be able to leave her mother, so you can understand me, right?"

Yanhua nodded.

"Later, we stopped working in other places. After we came back, Lin Yan and we became strangers. We hadn't been together for five or six years, and we were not used to sleeping together again. That's it."

"Don't you want to? Why don't the couple stay together?"

"Just get used to it—at first Lin Yan was unhappy and annoying. Now I'm used to it. If I really sleep on the same bed, I'm not used to it, and I don't like it—how can I say that we are pure middle-aged couples? Friendship, legally a husband and wife, is actually a friend who lives in the same room. They are both for the family and for the children. They have no other intentions, but they just hate sleeping together.

It’s been a long time, and I can’t change it—you can’t hide it from you if you see it, and others don’t know. "

Old Tan took a sip of his wine while talking, and then took a deep puff of his cigarette.

"Did you do something to offend Lin Yan?" Yanhua asked.

"Does it look like it to you?" Old Tan looked at Yanhua and asked back.

"Are you and Zhang Li okay?"

"Dare you call her over to be the manager if there is anything? Besides, if there is something, you would have known it a long time ago, and you can hide everything. You can't hide it from anyone."

"I think so, but she has a heart for you, and everyone knows it."

"Hehe, we all know that it's been more than ten years. This happened when I was not married to Lin Yan. At that time, she wanted to take me down, but she didn't succeed after more than ten years. No one cares now. We're married, and no one will believe you even if you tell us something." Old Tan laughed.

"But—I didn't expect this to be the case with you and Lin Yan." Yanhua said involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)