Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 362 Private Restaurant
Time flies, years pass.

In the blink of an eye, two years have passed and it is already March 1990.

During the past two years, Yan Jiekuang was busy taking care of his children and building new projects. Finally, the 35-story Keda Technology Building has been topped out and is expected to be completed on May Day this year. The important thing is the Keda Technology Industrial Park, as well as the Keda Technology Community that is part of the building.

There are twelve projects that have been negotiated for the industrial park, mainly concentrated in the computer, mobile communication technology, bioengineering and electronic product industries. Lou's Group alone has invested in eight factories. Yan Jiekuang has also invested in the computer industry and the mobile communication industry. The partners are two technology companies in Hong Kong Island, each holding a 50% stake.

Ji Lian now looks like a domineering president, and her character is becoming more resolute and decisive. Except in front of Yan Jiekuang, she is now in charge of the group's work in an all-round way. Except for some investment directions, Yan Jiekuang basically does not interfere.

Shi Lei went to the best high school, Tsinghua High School, but unfortunately it was a bit far in the HD district. Yan Jiekuang originally wanted to drive him to and from school, but Shi Lei chose to live on campus. In his words, children must learn to grow up on their own. Yongchang was in the same school with him, while Yongxin and Yongfang went to No. 4 High School, also in the HD district, and also lived on campus.

Dapang, Xiaopang and Shi Li all went to No. 1 Middle School. The academic performance of the three was pretty good. Shi Li was among the top students, while Dapang and Xiaopang were above average.

Xiaohai and Xixi are no longer studying at home. They are attending the preschool class at Yuer Hutong Primary School. When they heard that they were going to preschool class, they jumped up and almost set off firecrackers because they have always envied their older brothers and sisters.

Yan Bugui and Yang Ruiping became the shopkeeper and proprietress of the Siheyuan, mainly running the private restaurant. They were responsible for accepting reservations and collecting payments, as well as finding dishwashers and cleaning staff, who were paid by the hour.

Because the private restaurant is only open four days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays are managed by Chef Wei Xiaobao, and Fridays and Sundays are managed by Chef Yan Jiekuang. It only serves three tables in the evening and only accepts reservations.

Originally Yan Bugui had many complaints, but Yan Jiekuang insisted. Unexpectedly, after opening, the restaurant was sought after by many people within a month, and now reservations have to be made a month in advance. Yan Jiekuang and Wei Xiaobao also became well-known throughout the city, which was also due to the fact that the KEDA Group held all important banquets in this private restaurant at the beginning.

Ever since all the old neighbors moved away, only Jia Zhang would come back and chat with Yang Ruiping when she had time. No one else ever returned to the courtyard.

Liu Haizhong and Zhao Yue'e lived a very happy and fulfilling life in Fangshan. They raised a horse and two dogs in the yard. Zhao Yue'e also got a job to look after a small fence. It was an easy and not tiring job and she was in a good mood. She had a lot of fun playing with the children every day. When Liu Haizhong had nothing to do, he would take his horse for a stroll around the river on the farm. Sometimes he would play chess and drink tea with his neighbors.

He Yuzhu still meets with the Yan brothers once in a while, but they are always arranged at the Sichuan Restaurant in front of his house. Yan Jiefang always says that he is getting lazier as he gets older, but He Yuzhu doesn't care.

Yan Jiecheng and his wife and Yan Yongqing opened a restaurant on Xinglong Street in Xidan, which also has three floors. The head chef is Chang Li, and the main dish is Sichuan cuisine. Chang Li not only has a fixed monthly salary of 2,000 yuan, but also receives a 10% profit share at the end of the year. Yu Li is very courageous. Originally, it was managed by Yan Yongqing, but this year it was replaced by Yan Jiecheng, who also took unpaid leave.

Why not Yan Yongqing? Because his wife was pregnant, although only three months, but Yu Li and Yang Ruiping did not allow Yan Yongqing to go to work and concentrated on taking care of his wife. This was the first child of the fourth generation of the Yan family, and everything had to be foolproof. This matter made Yan Yongqing very depressed, and his wife Lv Yanling was also helpless.

Yan Jiefang and his wife still go to work and come home on schedule. When Shi Xiaoya is at home, she concentrates on taking care of her parents-in-law, and sometimes goes to the private restaurant to help out. She no longer has to worry about the children.

Now only Yan Bugui's family and Yan Jiekuang's family cook at home, while Yan Jiecheng's family and Yan Jiefang all go to the brothers' restaurants to eat. This had been agreed upon before.

If the old couple don’t like to cook at home, they have to eat at those restaurants, because private restaurants rarely put out ingredients, and because they are all pre-ordered, the fresh ingredients are delivered from the farm on the same day.

Wei Xiaobao accepted three apprentices, and this was done under the witness of Yan Jiekuang. They were all poor children. Yan Jiekuang knew that Wei Xiaobao had not forgotten his roots and always remembered his predicament when he first became his apprentice. From time to time, Yan Jiekuang would also give guidance to his apprentices.

The spring breeze of March blew by, and the willow trees sprouted tender buds, which swayed in the wind.

Today is another Sunday. Early in the morning, Yan Jiekuang took his two children to Yan's Private Restaurant. As soon as the two children entered the yard, they took Da Wang and Xiao Wang to the backyard. There were two swings and a double hanging chair in the backyard. They played in the backyard every time they came back.

Yan Jiekuang first changed into a chef's uniform, then came to the front desk set up in the hallway in the front yard, picked up today's reservation menu, and looked at it carefully. The first table was for a Mr. Li, with a total of eight people, who had reserved a top-notch seafood feast for 1,880 yuan. The second table was for a Mr. Jin, also with eight people, who had reserved a palace feast for 999 yuan. The third table was for a Mr. Niu, who had reserved a palace feast for 2,880 yuan, with ten people.

Yan Jiekuang made a list, then picked up the phone and told Li Dong what he needed, and told him that all the ingredients must be delivered before twelve o'clock.

Yan Jiekuang took out the broth he had prepared earlier and warmed it on the fire. He then processed some ingredients that needed to be soaked, such as sea cucumbers, abalone, shark fins and fish maws, and then began to make chicken soup. This series of preparations was very time-consuming.

It was almost twelve o'clock when Wei Xiaobao arrived, bringing with him a cook. His apprentices all stayed in the restaurant to keep up appearances.

At twelve o'clock, the ingredients from the farm arrived. The farm staff sent them to the kitchen, and the three of them began to pack up the ingredients in an orderly manner.

At noon, Yan Jiekuang simply prepared four dishes and a soup. The three people and two children had lunch, and then the three of them continued to work. When it was almost five o'clock, the kitchen helper and Yang Ruiping came.

The kitchen helper's job is to clean, but she doesn't have to wash the dishes. She mainly washes the plates, bowls, pots and other tableware prepared in advance, as well as the dining utensils.

At half past five, the waitress arrived. She was a waitress from Chunfenglou. She set the tableware and the drink list on the table, and carried out the preparations in an orderly manner.

At six o'clock in the evening, the first table of guests arrived on time. This table booked a private room in the east wing of the central courtyard. The private room was decorated in Chinese style. There was a set of wooden mahogany sofas at the entrance. On the wall hung a scroll by Qi Baishi, with exquisite decorative frames on both sides. To the left was the bathroom, and to the right was a large private room. Inside was a mahogany round table with a wooden turntable on top. The chairs were all mahogany official hat chairs. There were also ancient paintings and decorations hanging on the wall. On the inner side of the table were a clock vase and a dual-cassette radio. Next to it was a low glass cabinet with various tapes inside. There was also a TV on the glass cabinet.

The guests took a look around and sat down one after another. At this time, the waiter asked if they wanted to serve the dishes. The leader, Mr. Li, nodded.

It didn't take long before the four dishes arrived, including cold jellyfish, chilled red shrimp, sweet and sour lotus root, pickled cauliflower, two seafood and two vegetarian dishes.

For the main course, Yan Jiekuang served three Shandong dishes, namely, braised sea cucumber with scallions, shark's fin with three shreds, and fish fillet in wine; three Cantonese dishes, namely, baked lobster in superior broth, A-yi abalone, and blanched geoduck; three palace dishes, namely, braised ark shell, braised fish lips, and braised shark skin with scallions; and the last dish was a Fujian dish, the exquisite Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. When each dish was served, the waiter gave a detailed introduction.

The guests at the table were amazed to see so many exquisite dishes and were reluctant to pick up their chopsticks. The host surnamed Li smiled and said, "All the dishes are here. No matter how beautiful they are, we have to try them. Come on, let's pick up our chopsticks."

Once the people at the table started eating, they couldn't stop. After the wine was poured, they didn't drink a single sip and only finished half of the dishes. The host, surnamed Li, saw this and realized that this was not acceptable, so he quickly raised his glass and toasted everyone one by one.

Yan Jiekuang then prepared the 6:30 table. When all the dishes for the three tables were served, Yan Jiekuang handed over the kitchen to his apprentice. He took off his chef's uniform and went to the lounge next to the front desk, where two children were reading picture books.

Xixi smiled and said, "Dad, I can smell the aroma of your cooking. I'm a little greedy." Xiaohai kept nodding beside him. Yan Jiekuang said, "Don't worry, how can I forget you? Wait a minute, your brother Xiaobao will bring it to you."

After a while, Xiaobao came in with a tray containing a plate of boiled shrimps with dipping sauce and three clay pots of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Yan Jiekuang turned to the front desk to call his mother. Yang Ruiping came over and said with a smile, "He can eat something new every time. Not bad. He is my son."

Yan Jiekuang drank his tea helplessly and said, "I am your son."

Yang Ruiping and the two children sat on the mahogany sofa and ate. Yang Ruiping peeled shrimps for the two children from time to time. After a while, the three of them finished eating. Yan Jiekuang cleaned up the tableware and took it to the kitchen.

At about nine o'clock, Yang Ruiping suddenly came to the lounge and said to Yan Jiekuang: "The guest at the first table wants to see you, saying that he knows you."

Yan Jiekuang was stunned, wondering who this was. Confused, he followed Yang Ruiping to the front desk. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Li Huaide and You Fengxia sitting on the lounge chair next to the front desk, smiling at him. Yan Jiekuang was very surprised, but still smiled and greeted them, saying, "It turned out to be Mr. Li and Mr. You. I didn't expect you to come."

Li Huaide stood up, squinted his eyes, and said, "Oh, it's been many years since we last saw each other in Shenzhen."

You Fengxia sat there and looked at Yan Jiekuang with her seductive eyes. Yan Jiekuang shuddered and said, "Yes, after a round, I found that I still like being a cook. Since it's you and Mr. You, I have to give you a 20% discount today."

After saying that, he turned to Yang Ruiping and said, "Mom, please give me a 20% discount. We are old friends."

After that, he asked Li Huaide to sit down in the lounge area. Yan Jiekuang asked the waiter to pour two cups of coffee. He knew that these two people were just pretending and always liked to drink coffee. Then he smiled and said to Li Huaide: "You have returned to the Forbidden City. What big business are you doing?"

"Yes, no matter where you go, you have to go home. I still do some trade business, mainly clothing business in Southeast Asia." Li Huaide said.

Yan Jiekuang said with surprise: "Oh, Xu Damao from our hospital said he was also doing this business and went to Guangzhou." In fact, Yan Jiekuang didn't know what Xu Damao was doing. He had been gone for two years and hadn't come back. But he knew that Li Huaide had cheated Xu Damao once, and he was deliberately disgusting Li Huaide.

Li Huaide's expression froze instantly, and he said with a little embarrassment: "Really? That's what a coincidence, but I have never seen him." After saying that, he turned to look at You Fengxia, who was drinking coffee with her head down at this time, without even looking up.

At this time, the waiter came over and said, "Mr. Li, your total consumption is 2,000 yuan, and after the 20% discount, the total is 1,600 yuan."

Li Huaide quickly paid the bill, then took You Fengxia and left. Yang Ruiping came over and asked, "Who are these two people?"

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "This is Li Huaide, the man who cheated Xu Damao out of money. He was the former director of the steel mill. He is still making trouble at such an old age."

Yang Ruiping was shocked when he heard this and said, "Is he really not afraid of running into Xu Damao?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "Who knows? I don't know how Xu Damao is doing. To be honest, I miss him a lot."

Yang Ruiping rolled his eyes at Yan Jiekuang and said, "Why do you miss him? Go back quickly. If you stay here, someone might ask you for a discount. Go quickly."

Yan Jiekuang was driven away, and the rest was left to them. He took his two children and strolled back home.

(End of this chapter)