Narrator: Luo Qihang.
The last episode said: I rejected the favor of Wang Xinyue, a rich female classmate, and left her hotel with a suitcase, and Wang Xinyue cried sadly and fell to the ground.
But I still hardened my heart and left this goddess in my heart without looking back.
It's not that I'm ruthless, and my heart hurts, but as my mother said, the difference between the rich and the poor in our two families is too great.
Wang Xinyue also has to study abroad, or take the flight attendant exam, I am a poor boy in the countryside, if I am reluctant to be with her, it will only affect her good future.
When I finally got back home, my mother glared at me with a straight face, and said, "Didn't you follow her?" How do you still know to come back? ”
I lowered my head and said, "Wang Xinyue's parents asked her to go abroad, why am I still staying in her hotel?" I don't want to delay her. ”
The mother sighed and said, "Human life is different, and you can't force it at all. ”
I said, "Mom, I just want to walk my way out on my own, and I don't want to live under the eyes of rich people all the time, because then I will be too poor for the rest of my life." ”
Wang Xinyue is not wrong, what is wrong is that we are from different backgrounds, even if I have a future with her, but I also understand that her parents will always look down on me, and I don't want to live like that. ”
The mother said, "I'd rather laugh on a bicycle than cry on a BMW, that's the reason!" ”
So from that day on, I followed my chef Brother Chen to do things again, and this time we worked in a hotel in the county seat.
The owner of the hotel handed over the kitchen to Brother Chen, who was no longer on the stove, but let me be the chef, and my workload and responsibility were even heavier.
In order to improve my cooking skills, I started to study the recipes and created several new dishes with my own unique style.
In particular, I researched the chili oil poured fish, which is to cook the fresh fish in a special way and then pour red chili oil on it, which won the first prize in the hotel's cooking competition and became a signature dish of the hotel.
In addition, I worked the decoration and carving of dishes, and my interest in painting when I was a teenager actually became the basis for my design of carved dishes on platters.
My expertise in this area is something that my master Brother Chen does not have, who told me to go to junior high school for two more years than my master?
It can be seen that every part of life will not be in vain, just like Steve Jobs once learned art fonts, and later when he designed computers, he successfully made the first computer with exquisite printing fonts.
When I followed Brother Chen to work in the hotel, Wang Xinyue also came to the hotel to find me, but she came to say goodbye to me, she had been admitted to the flight attendant and flew all over the country.
I see that she is in good spirits, and I feel that she has come out, so I sincerely wish her a smooth journey in the future.
Wang Xinyue smiled: "Although we can't be lovers, we can still be friends, okay?" Get in touch in the future! ”
Perhaps, as fate would have it, everything was arranged for the best, right?
I continued to work in the hotel, at this time, my master Brother Chen was about to lead a team to other provinces for development, but the owner of the hotel quietly grabbed me and said:
Luo Qihang, I think you are down-to-earth and your cooking skills are also good, I hope you can stay and take your master's place to help me manage the kitchen, how about it? ”
The invitation of the hotel owner is undoubtedly full of ** for me, not only can the salary be raised, but also, the leap from a small maid to a chef, and the upgrade of status are naturally things that I am looking forward to very much.
But I didn't dare to offend the master, I was worried that if I continued to stay in the hotel and didn't go with him, he would be very angry, but I didn't expect the master to know about it, but instead encouraged me and said:
It's an eagle, it always has to fly, Luo Qihang, you can get the boss's approval, this is a good thing, you must take advantage of this opportunity! ”
When Brother Chen left, most of the helpers in the kitchen stayed behind and were not taken away by the master, so my management work could be carried out in an orderly manner.
I have always been very grateful to Brother Chen, the so-called one day as a teacher, lifelong friends, over the years, I and Brother Chen have always maintained a friendly friendship, every Spring Festival, I will carry gifts to the master's house to pay New Year's greetings.
After I broke up with Wang Xinyue, Liu Yu, who used to be at the same table in junior high school, didn't know that she heard about it from **, and actually found my home.
When my mother called me ** and said that there was a girl with a round nose and short hair who came to look for me at home, I guessed that it was Liu Yu, the daughter of "Liu Million".
When I rushed back to the countryside, I saw Liu Yu buying a lot of gifts and chatting with my mother.
This time, her mother was actually very enthusiastic about Liu Yu, and she was not as indifferent to Wang Xinyue as she was at the beginning.
I said to Liu Yu angrily: "You don't work well in the hospital, find a doctor boyfriend to fall in love, why did you come to my house?" Come and see my jokes? ”
My mother glared at me angrily and said, "See how you talk to your female classmates?" Not polite at all! Your female classmate is humble and polite, and she has brought so many gifts to the house, you should treat her well. ”
Liu Yu didn't laugh angrily, when I sat on the bench where the rural people were eating, she also sat down next to me and said with a smile: "I haven't seen my old classmate for a long time, I just came to see you, I don't mean anything else." ”
I deliberately said: "Your family has a lot of money, and your rich parents must be busy giving you a marriage, why do you still have spare time to come to me?" ”
Liu Yu looked at me aggrievedly and said, "Luo Qihang, am I so untreated by you?" Now my parents have long since stopped doing business, and the money they earn is only enough to support the family, everyone is an ordinary person, can you not laugh at the past? ”
I saw Liu Yu's somewhat sad expression, and I realized that I had indeed made a joke.
It turned out that Liu Yu's father suffered from lung disease and raised his body at home, so he did not do cement business anymore, and Liu Yu's family also lost the aura of "nouveau riche".
Since then, Liu Yu has rubbed on the reputation that we were junior high school classmates, often coming to my house to see my mother, and my parents have become more and more fond of Liu Yu.
My mother always praised Liu Yu in front of me and said: "This girl has a round face and a round nose, she must be a prosperous husband in the future, son, why can't you treat her with your heart?" ”
Seriously, I have never regarded Liu Yu as a girl, I always feel that she is my "buddy", usually we talk together, I always have no heart.
An incident happened not long after, but my feelings about Liu Yu changed a lot.
That time, my parents were in the countryside, because they ate water spinach that had been drugged the day before, and both of them were poisoned, nausea and vomiting.
The neighbors helped send them to the county hospital, and when I rushed to the hospital after getting the news, I was so nervous that I had to ask Liu Yu, who was working as a ** in the county hospital, to take care of it.
Although Liu Yu was not on duty in the ward where my parents were hospitalized, she still entrusted her colleagues to take care of my parents more dedicatedly.
She didn't leave after work, but stayed by my parents' side, took care of them dutifully, and accompanied them in the ward all night, and people who didn't know thought that Liu Yu was my parents' daughter.
Fortunately, my parents were not deeply poisoned, and they were discharged from the hospital after two days, but Liu Yu's meticulous care of my parents made me feel grateful, and I felt that she was a girl who was affectionate, virtuous, and would handle things.
Before I knew it, Liu Yu's place in my heart became more and more important, and I liked to share with her no matter what I did, including my worries at work and my plans for my future life.
In 2001, my parents were planning to build a house in the countryside in order for me to marry a daughter-in-law as soon as possible.
I said, "Dad, Mom, the two-story house at home can still be inhabited, you can redecorate it, there is no need to build another house, for the convenience of work, I decided to buy a house in the city and mortgage a commercial house to live in." ”
My father objected, saying, "Our peasants' roots are in the countryside, so why do we want to go to the county town to buy a house?" My home is only more than 10 miles away from the county seat, so I think it would be more appropriate to build a house at home. ”
My mother also hesitated, so I said, "In the future, I will always work in the city, and I will definitely not go back to the countryside to farm, if our family has a house in the city, it will be much more convenient to go to work." ”
Liu Yu also helped me speak: "Uncle, aunt, young people all hope to develop in the city, and there will be fewer and fewer young people farming. ”
I took Liu Yu's hand and said, "Dad, Mom, your future daughter-in-law also supports buying a house in the county, so you agree with us to mortgage the house, right?" ”
When Liu Yu heard my words, she was stunned, and my parents also looked at me with wide eyes.
I smiled at Liu Yu and said, "Let's mortgage a house and get married, right?" When I don't have any money, you have to help me pay off the mortgage, okay? ”
Liu Yu's face was blushing, but her hand was still in my palm, and she didn't retract it, but held my finger with her backhand and squeezed it hard, I turned my face and saw the joy in her eyes.
My parents looked at Liu Yu and me, probably thinking that we had all talked about buying a house and getting married, so they had to support us to buy a house in the city.
At that time, the houses in the county were all pedestrian buildings, and the house prices were not **, so my parents took out the 50,000 yuan they saved by selling vegetables to help me pay the down payment for the house, and the house I fancied was 148 square meters, with a total price of 80,000 yuan, and after paying a down payment of 50,000 yuan, I had to pay a mortgage of more than 600 yuan every month.
What I didn't expect was that when Liu Yu and I were still in a relationship, she would help me pay the mortgage on the house every month, just like I joked.
She smiled and said to me: "I pay the mortgage with the money I earn, and the salary you earn will be responsible for the renovation of the house, and we will work together to decorate our home beautifully." ”
When Liu Yu and I got married, we were invited to my country home, and my parents-in-law did not ask for a bride price at that time, on the contrary, the color TV and refrigerator in our new house were all brought by Liu Yu as a dowry.
I remember that Liu Yu and I just went to a clothing store in the city, and Liu Yu chose an 800 yuan suit for me to use as a groom's dress, while she only bought a red cheongsam suit for 90 yuan.
I was a little reluctant to go, but Liu Yu said: "The bridal dress is just worn when you get married, and if it is expensive to buy, it is a waste, and your suit can be worn in the future, spend more money, I don't feel distressed." ”
When Liu Yu and I got married, Wang Xinyue also came to our wedding, as well as her boyfriend, a man with glasses who worked as a manager in a large company.
The man with glasses is young and promising, and he is almost obedient to Wang Xinyue, who is a flight attendant, Wang Xinyue is smiling and seems to be quite satisfied with her boyfriend.
I sincerely wish Wang Xinyue and hope that she can get the happiness she wants and have a fulfilling life, otherwise I will feel uneasy.
After Liu Yu and I got married, my parents still lived in the countryside because they had to farm, but Liu Yu and I still often went back to the countryside to visit them.
More than a year after we got married, Liu Yu gave birth to our daughter, because we were all at work, so we had to send our daughter to the countryside and let my mother help take care of it.
In 2007, I wanted to quit my job in the hotel kitchen and start my own business, Liu Yu nodded without thinking.
In fact, no matter what I do, my wife will stand behind me and support me unconditionally.
But my mother and father were very hesitant and always advised me not to be impulsive, after all, I was the head chef in the hotel, and my income was among the best among young people of the same age.
But I'm an assertive person, and I want to try whatever I decide.
After I quit my job, I led my wife to eat all over the restaurants in the county, to understand the preferences of diners, to explore the taste of other people's restaurants' signature dishes, and to experiment at home and discover some new dishes.
In 2008, I rented three connected small stores on the snack street in the county, invested about 50,000 yuan, and opened a fast food restaurant, mainly dealing in some fast food dishes such as steamed vegetables and cold dishes.
At that time, there were not two such fast food restaurants in the county, and the prices of my restaurants were not high, and ordinary workers could afford to consume small portions of steamed vegetables and cold dishes.
I didn't expect that on the first day of opening, all 16 tables in the restaurant were full, and there were many waiting customers standing at the door.
My staff and I had prepared the ingredients for the whole day at noon and in the evening, but in just over two hours at noon, they were all sold out.
At that time, because we had no experience in opening a store, the cashier work was a mess, and many customers who had eaten could not find a place to pay the bill, so they directly threw the meal into the cardboard box at the door.
Liu Yu saw that I was too busy, so she simply quit her ** job at the hospital and ran the restaurant with me.
Every day, Liu Yu is responsible for purchasing kitchen ingredients for restaurants and cashier work when meals, and I am still in charge of the back kitchen.
We recruited 7 employees, including waiters and dishwashing aunts, as well as two male cooks in the kitchen, plus Liu Yu and I did almost everything ourselves, and our daily work and life were busy, intense and fulfilling.
Doing catering work is also a process of slowly accumulating experience, and we have experienced many setbacks and troubles during this period, but we can only overcome them step by step and find ways to solve them.
For example, when our business was booming, the landlord of one of the stores we rented wanted to sell the façade house, and he asked for 500,000 yuan for a 14-square-meter old storefront.
In order not to affect the business of the restaurant, I had to borrow money everywhere and bought this old and dilapidated house with 490,000 ** in the hands of the landlord, so that the hotel could continue to open.
In this way, my wife and I have guarded this restaurant and worked diligently all the way to the present, which has both pain and joy, fatigue and joy.
Our car has changed from a domestic car of 60,000 yuan to an Audi of more than 500,000 yuan, but because our husband and wife are busy in restaurants every day, we can only drive out for a few days during the Spring Festival holiday.
The pedestrian building we originally bought has now been replaced by an elevator building, and my parents still like to live in the countryside, so we have rebuilt a small villa in the countryside to support our parents.
Last year, my wife and I bought a commercial house in the city for our daughter, who is in college, with a mortgage of more than 1 million.
There is also a façade room, 10 years ago I mortgaged a large façade of 300 square meters in the university town, and I can collect more than 12,000 yuan in rent every month, so the pressure of the façade mortgage is not large, and the loan can be paid off in a few years.
Thinking about the history of struggle over the past 20 years, I still have deep feelings in my heart.
I think that as long as a person dares to think and do, opportunities and hard work, things are man-made, and almost all dreams can come true.
I am also glad that I did not stay in Wang Xinyue's restaurant because of my children's personal feelings, which may be a lifetime of anger.
It's not because of comfort and security, I stopped my career in the position of head chef of a big hotel, and I have been working in the back kitchen, so I wouldn't have my current small business, right?
Of course, I should be most grateful to my wife, who has been by my side since I was a student, sharing weal and woe with me, and now she is still silently dedicated to our family, never saying anything about hard work.
As for the former first love, I heard that Wang Xinyue and her boyfriend, who was a manager, got married, but because the effect was incompatible, they divorced a year later.
Later, Wang Xinyue went to the United Kingdom, developed outside, rarely returned to China, she never remarried, and lived alone, which made my wife and I feel a little regretful.
I still hope that Wang Xinyue can find her own happiness as soon as possible!