The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 326 Small Guest House
This family is Xiaohui's own family, and it is said that Xiaohui's father and the man are the grandsons of a grandfather.The man's name is Zhao Muhe, older than Xiaohui's father.

Xiaohui's father and Zhao Muhe grew up naked. Xiaohui's family is poor, while Zhao Muhe's is better.Xiaohui's father had no house to live in when he got married, and Zhao Muhe helped build the two earthen shacks on the hillside at the back of the village.

Zhao Muhe and his wife like Xiaohui, his family is a son, if it weren't for the inseparable character of Zhao, they would be able to kiss each other like a doll.Later, Xiaohui's father fell ill and passed away, and Xiaohui's mother took Xiaohui to endure the hardships, and left Binhai when she couldn't bear it any longer.

Knowing that Xiaohui came back to visit her father's grave, Zhao Muhe and his wife were happy, and felt relieved for Zhao Muben.

After lunch, Zhao Muhe led Xiaohui's family of three, Lao Tan and Wang Shulan to the grave.Xiaohui shed tears while burning paper in front of the grave, and told her father about the ups and downs of more than twenty years. To be honest, those who heard it cried.

After visiting her father's grave, fulfilling her wish and fulfilling her mother's last request, Xiaohui decided to leave.

Zhao Muhe and his wife wanted to stay with Xiaohui's family for a few days, but there were five of them, and the house didn't have that much space, and Xiaohui didn't want to bother them too much.

To be honest, although I belong to the same family, I am a relative who often walks around, and I am a stranger if I don’t walk around often, not to mention that I haven’t seen each other in twenty years.When we meet to catch up on the old days, we can feel relieved knowing that everything is fine, and the rest live their own lives, and we don't know when we will meet again.

At this time, there was no car to return to Yiyang, but there was a guest house in Qianhu Town. Zhao Muhe drove Lao Tan and the others to the town in a big four wheeler, and returned after arranging accommodation.

The town guest house is not big, it is built facing the street, and there are ten large bungalows per trip.There is a bed and TV in the room, but there is no bathroom, and of course there is no water heater, so you can't take a shower.

"Sweating all over, it's uncomfortable not to take a bath, and it's uncomfortable to wear it." Wang Shulan said helplessly.

"It'll be fine when I go back tomorrow, just stick to it and do as the Romans do," Old Tan comforted.

"It's okay, I'll just talk about it." Wang Shulan turned around and said, "Actually, the countryside is quite nice, with fresh air and no pollution. There are mountains all around, green mountains and green waters."

Speaking of Shan Laotan, he thought of the Beautiful Valley and said: "The Beautiful Valley is also beautiful at this time. I haven't been there for almost a year. I have time to play."

"I didn't go after the New Year's Eve. I guess my garden will be deserted." Wang Shulan said.

"No, there is Yingzi's mother, there will be no shortage."

"Yeah, that's right." Wang Shulan seemed to remember something, and said, "You know, Xiaomei's mother has gone to Beauty Valley."

"Oh, miss your wife?" Old Tan asked.

"I went to take care of my wife." Wang Shulan said, "I don't know, it's that Cao Jiadong who is taking care of the children at home now."

Old Tan was taken aback for a moment, then thought of something, and said, "You mean—"

Wang Shulan smiled and said, "Not yet, but it's almost there. Once Xiaomei's mother left and Xiaomei was not at home, Cao Jiadong began to take care of the three children, sending them off in the morning and picking them up in the evening, and going to work normally."

"I didn't hear what Xiaomei said."

"You are a negligent uncle, and you care about your niece when you have nothing to do."

Old Tan smiled and said: "Neglect of duty, indeed." Then he said: "Xiaomei and Cao Jiadong are really good and suitable, what does Xiaomei mean?"

"It's not interesting, I don't agree with it, but I didn't say anything - she is a bit misleading, her head is full of restaurant affairs, and she will become a female man in two years, a typical female director."

Then Wang Shulan laughed.

Old Tan said: "It's better to be dedicated and have something to do."

"Dedication is dedication, and life is life. They are two different things. You can't just live by dedication. With Xiaomei's personality, you should find someone like Cao Jiadong. She works outside and has not been abandoned at home." Wang Shulan said.

Old Tan nodded, "That's pretty good."

"Little brother, how are you doing now? With your wife." Wang Shulan asked suddenly.

"It's still the same, it's good."

"It doesn't look good——" Wang Shulan squeezed the corners of her mouth and smiled, and said, "You and your wife are both career-oriented, and neither of you accepts the other. If either of you takes it back, you won't be like this."

"Lack of family atmosphere--"

"Once a woman starts to do something, she loses her tenderness, but what a man wants most is tenderness. You can't get what you want, and you can't give what you can give—it's just the two of you. It's not bad if you haven't divorced."

"Sister, to be honest, I don't know what happened to me all these years. I think it's good, and I look like a dog, but in fact it's nothing—a failure, a complete failure—"

"It's not a failure, it can only be said that it didn't manage well." Wang Shulan was going to use herself as an example, "I'm a failure——Hi, I actually feel pretty good now, I have a granddaughter, and I'm working hard every day , see if my sister is young?"

Wang Shulan doesn't look old, she has always been a delicate woman with temperament and charm. She asked this because she didn't want to continue the topic of Lao Tan.

At this time, a smell of firewood smoke, which is unique to the countryside, wafted in from the window, with the smell of food in it.

Before you know it, it is evening, the sun has gone behind the mountain, and the gorgeous sunset glow has dyed the western sky red.

At this time, the city is full of traffic and noise, and the evening rush hour after get off work drowns out the beautiful sunset, and people have no time to pay attention.But the countryside is a different story.

A man walking home on the mountain road, followed by a lowing cow, the emerald green mountain scenery gradually thickens, and the air is filled with a sweet and smoky fragrance.

On the street that has been trampled hard for many years, children who do not know about worry are playing. The sound of calling children from the courtyard not far away, with an intimate baby name, has a reluctant response and a joyful return home.

One or two dogs barking, accompanied by lazy ducks crowing and cocking, mixed with the snorting of donkeys and mules, accompanied by the bleating of sheep, rendering the twilight.

The lady proprietress of the hotel stood in the courtyard at dusk, and yelled loudly: "Dinner is ready, hot and sour mountain rabbit in stone pot, roast chicken with open mountain bamboo shoots, fried local cabbage, and a big bowl of oily residue. If you want to eat, hurry up—"

Lao Tan and Wang Shulan glanced at each other, they were amused by the proprietress' special way of serving meals, they called Xiaohui's family, and followed each other to the backyard.

The yard is quite large, with four wooden tables and six wooden stools for each wooden table.A shed is supported above the table, which is convenient for shelter from wind and rain.

The proprietress is very shrewd. The restaurant next to the guest house is also owned by her family. It is open to the public on the street and serves residents in the courtyard. It kills two birds with one stone.

A man and a woman are sitting in front of the table on the east side. They are the driver and the conductor of the small passenger train departing from here tomorrow morning.Lao Tan and the others knew each other when they entered the guest house. They spent the night in the guest house, and every day they were opposite to the little guest that Lao Tan and the others sat in when they came in the morning.

Seeing Lao Tan, the man smiled friendly and said hello.

Old Tan replied, and sat down at the west table.

The proprietress with a plump body and a bold face came over and asked with a smile, "What do you want to eat?"

"Give me one of the four dishes you mentioned just now, and five bowls of rice," Wang Shulan said.

"Okay, wait a minute."

The proprietress turned to leave, but was stopped by Lao Tan and ordered another bottle of white wine.

Soon, the proprietress and a man wearing an apron came out from the back door of the restaurant with a large bowl in each hand, followed by a young girl, dragging a tray with rice and white wine.

The proprietress put down the fried local cabbage and hot and sour mountain rabbit, and when the man let go of the mountain bamboo shoots and roasted chicken and the big bowl of oil residue, she said: "You eat, there is still in it, if it is not enough, ask me to add more."

Wang Shulan joked, "Will there be any additional charges?"

"There is no charge, and there is no charge for adding a la carte and rice." The proprietress said generously.

Wang Shulan gave a thumbs up, "Affordable!"

The proprietress said: "The mountain rabbits are hunted by myself, and the chickens are raised by myself. They are found in the cabbage garden, but they don't know how to fry them, and they can eat as long as they like."

The proprietress's spirit of being affordable was immediately recognized by everyone. Lao Tan nodded with a smile, then looked at the sky in the west, and asked, "Madam proprietress, will it rain tomorrow?"

The proprietress looked up at the sky in the west and said: "The fish scales are burned, and there will be rain. If it doesn't work well, it will rain in the middle of the night."

After the proprietress left, Xiaolong said, "The weather forecast says there will be no rain."

"In the mountainous area here, in the big mountains, it is also in time for the rainy season. The weather in February and August may be accurate. It will fall as soon as you want, as long as it is not too big." Old Tan said.

(End of this chapter)