The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 598 Encountering Qin Lili

Lao Tan told Zhang Li about the past. He was very excited and depressed. It seemed that he had wanted to say it all the time but had no chance. Today he just released it.

"It is said that children from poor families should be in charge of the family early. Is it okay not to be in charge of the house? If you are forced to take your share, you have to be in charge of the house. You have no choice.

When I was fourteen years old, I first sent back my third sister who had a fight with my third brother-in-law. I used the rural dialect to live as a branch, and I started to take care of the big and small things at home and outside the house.

I still looked like a student for three years in junior high school. When I entered high school, no one regarded me as a student. They all regarded me as a successful farmer. Those who didn’t know thought I entered the wrong school.

Do you know what my wish was at that time?I hope to have an older brother. If I have an older brother, I don’t have to be in charge of the house, and I don’t have to worry about those things, so I can study with peace of mind.

But that is an extravagant hope. Knowing what your own home is like, knowing that you have already stood on the shaft of the carriage of life, and there is no way out, so you can only yell and drive forward with all your strength.Although there are uphill and downhill beams, although there are ditches and ridges——
Coming out to work has one purpose - to get rid of poverty and no longer be poor, no longer be looked down upon by others, and to stand upright and be a man.Let my mother live a good life and live in a big house, and stand in front of the villagers in decent clothes, and tell others to say that it is good to see this old lady, and enjoy the blessings when she grows old.

To be honest, I did this in ten years. Not only did I get rid of poverty, but I also married a wife, started a family, and had a son.

The only regret is that my mother is not in front of me. As the old saying goes, raising a son will prevent old age. To a certain extent, I did not raise my mother to grow old, but my fifth sister did.Although it is like raising a son and raising a daughter, there is always a knot in my heart. After all, I am a son. "

"I don't blame you. Your old lady is old and not used to living in the city. It's better to stay with your fifth sister." Zhang Li said.

"What you said is true, but if you think about it, you still don't have the ability. If you have the ability, you won't do this."

"I think it's better to be with your fifth sister than with you. You have a strong concept of being a son for the elderly."

"You're right."

Old Tan took a puff of his cigarette, and the coldness of the snowflakes on his face calmed his agitated mood.

"I'm homesick and wait for the epidemic to go back and have a look. It won't always be like this. Now it's almost under control." Zhang Li said.

"Well—a little homesick, mainly my mother—" Lao Tan turned his head and glanced at Zhang Li, "My mother's life is not easy, I don't want to have any regrets."

"You're too tired to think about it."

"Really--recalling that I have not been idle all these years, whether it is for family or oral career, I have been running around--but it is interesting to be busy. I know what to do in a day, I have a career, and I am happy when I am tired.

It's good now, the epidemic is so bad that I can't go anywhere, and I still only attend the funeral, I don't know what to do. "

"You have a psychological effect." Zhang Li wanted to say that Wang Shulan's death had hit you too hard, but she swallowed the words.

"Maybe."

Zhang Li opened her hand to let the snow fall into her palm, looked at the melting, and said leisurely: "I can understand your mood, this energy will not pass for a while, let's go, go to Jinzi, and drink with you, Just drink it and get some sleep."

Lao Tan shook his head and said, "You go back to stay with Li Shuang, just send me home."

Lao Tan returned home and lay on the bed, thinking about things in a mess, and fell asleep after a while.I fell asleep and dreamed, and the dreams were messy, one moment at a time and another at another.

When I woke up at two o'clock in the afternoon, the snow was still falling, which was heavier than in the morning.

The phone rang when he was wondering if he should give himself something to eat, his body shook like he was frightened, and he stared blankly at the phone on the bed for a long time, thinking that there was nothing wrong with it. good thing.

He picked up his cell phone and saw that it was Sister Jin calling, and couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that it should be all right.

It's really all right.On snowy days, there are few customers who eat at the barbecue restaurant. There are three tables in total at noon.The two tables reserved for the evening were cancelled. Sister Jin felt that the evening would not be busy, so she wanted to ask Lao Tan to catch up and ask if she had time.

Lao Tan thought for a while and said that some time would pass in a while.

Putting down his phone, Old Tan washed his face, shaved his head and beard, then put on his down jacket and went downstairs.

When I walked to the gate of the community, the big security guard said that the epidemic has been serious for the past two days, and it is best not to go out. I don’t know when I will be ordered to stay at home.Old Tan said that as long as you can enter the door when you come back, it will be fine.

"In the past, no matter what kind of plague, as long as there was snow, it would kill a lot. Like the flu, it will disappear when the snow falls. This is good. The colder the weather, the more rampant it is." The security guard grumbled.

Lao Tan said: "This virus came in the opposite direction."

"I heard it has mutated."

"Learn to be raped."

Lao Tan stood at the gate of the community and took a taxi. In snowy weather, taxis work well, but it's not easy to take a taxi.After finally getting a trolley, it was still a parallel passenger. Fortunately, they were all going to the north of the province, so they dropped by.

In the car, Lao Tan's cell phone rang. It was the manager of Tiexi Store who called, saying that he had received a notice that the restaurant would suspend dine-in, and it was uncertain when it would open. He asked Lao Tan what to do.

Lao Tan said that according to the schedule of the meeting, he would contact the community immediately and make free box lunches for the epidemic prevention personnel.

After putting down the phone, the driver asked, "Brother runs a restaurant?"

"Well, open a small restaurant." Old Tan said.

"Brother, this realization—" the driver gave a thumbs up.

"Otherwise, the employees will also be on vacation, and they won't be able to go home during the vacation. It's a good job to do, so that they can pay for others."

"Pay attention!"

"Uncle is so nice!"

Old Tan turned his head and smiled at the little girl sitting in the back seat, while the mother next to the girl asked behind the mask, "Mr. Tan."

Old Tan was taken aback for a moment, carefully scrutinized the scene and seemed to have known each other, but the woman was wearing a mask and did not dare to confirm it.

The woman pulled the mask down to her chin, exposing her nose and mouth. Lao Tan recognized it as Qin Lili, Zhang Xiangdong's wife.

Lao Tan was very surprised, he didn't expect to run into her in a taxi.

"You are?" Old Tan asked.

"Go home." Qin Lili said, and then pulled up the mask.

"Oh—I remember your home is on Taishan Road."

"Moved, I live in the north of the province now."

"Oh--"

"I didn't ask Xiangdong to send you off, it's snowing."

"You don't know Mr. Tan, I divorced him for two years." Qin Lili said.

Lao Tan was very surprised. He really didn't know about Qin Lili's divorce, and no one told him about it.

"I don't know—you two are fine."

"Oh, we can't live together——"

Lao Tan didn't know what to say for a while, so he was speechless.The scene of Zhang Xiangdong and Qin Lili's marriage appeared in front of his eyes, and he couldn't help but sigh.

After a little silence, Old Tan asked: "Then you--"

"I work as a planner in an advertising company, a small company. My child and I bought a house in the north of the province." Qin Lili said.

"Oh--"

"What are you doing with your children at work?"

"Send it to kindergarten, I have flexible working hours and can pick it up."

"Oh, that's fine."

Soon, they arrived downstairs at Qin Lili's house. Qin Lili said goodbye to Lao Tan, got out of the car, and led her daughter into the entrance of the building.

The car continued to drive towards Puhe Daji.

It was snowing, there were few pedestrians and vehicles on the road outside the urban area, and the sky and the earth were white.

(End of this chapter)