Sun Lanlan thinks this idea can work, smiling and nodding, “Then I’ll do as you suggest. By the way, when should I start working?”
“The sooner the better. Also, what is your third brother doing now? Is he tight-lipped?”
To run the cooked food business, they need at least two people. Lanlan’s third brother, who is familiar to them, is not good at farming. He is lively, and in the past life, he did not continue farming either, but dabbled in reselling some electronic equipment, living better than most.
Upon hearing this, Sun Lanlan knew what Lin Chuxia meant, “Don’t worry, my third brother may seem unreliable, but he’s actually the most dependable one at home. Let me put it this way, when we were children and got caught doing mischief, if my mom started questioning, my eldest brother and second brother would spill everything right away, but my third brother? He wouldn’t say a word even if his life depended on it.”
Lin Chuxia: “…”
That’s quite a unique strength.
“Alright, go back and discuss it with your third brother first, see if he would like to work here. The salary is 35 yuan a month, and there’s a bonus for good performance. If he agrees, you both can come together.”
“No need to ask, I’m sure my third brother will agree. You know him, as long as it doesn’t involve farming, he’s willing to do anything,” especially with a monthly salary of 35 yuan. Even the hardest work at the brick kiln in the north of the village doesn’t pay that much.
Lin Chuxia nodded, “Let your third brother discuss it with Aunt Sun. Tell her he found work that includes you, and push back the marriage too. You talk to your third brother privately that you don’t want to marry someone who farms, he should help speak for you.”
Sun Lanlan thinks this is a reliable plan and suddenly can’t sit still. She didn’t even take a bite of her bun, and rushed home to discuss work with her third brother.
Lin Chuxia didn’t hold her back and packed some buns for her to take home.
Standing at the door watching Sun Lanlan walk away, Lin Chuxia glanced in the direction of the train station, seeing that the spot under the big tree where Old Sir He was usually found was empty.
That old man, did she really scare him away?
Without dwelling on it, she called Su Wensong over to discuss adding cooked food to their menu.
She didn’t plan to make cooked food in the Su Family’s yard. Cleaning pig offal is quite dirty and attracts flies over time, which could affect both Granny Su’s living environment and their Bun Shop.
And she wants to genuinely work on the cooked food business, preferably finding a separate yard for it.
Su Wensong, who is more familiar with the area, was entrusted with finding a place.
Su Wensong, without hesitation, nodded and asked Lin Chuxia if she had any specifications for the yard.
Lin Chuxia thought for a moment, “As close to the Bun Shop as possible, preferably a larger yard.”
Around here, most courtyards belonged to family housing of various workplaces, some were privately owned, not very large, mostly with two or three rooms. There were a few with four or five rooms in one courtyard.
“Alright, I’ll go check it out after the lunch rush.”
Su Wensong took note and returned to his work, while Lin Chuxia also went to check on the cold dishes, just as she looked up to see Qin Han standing at the doorway.
“Brother, what brings you here?”
Qin Han stopped following Su Wensong with his eyes and nodded with a smile, “Just delivered some vegetables at the station, decided to drop by and check this place out, sister-in-law, you’ve done a great job setting this up.”
It was just around mealtime, there weren’t many people eating inside the shop, but there were quite a few buying takeout buns outside the window.
Granny Sun was joyfully selling buns at the window, very busy.
Lin Chuxia pointed to an empty table for him to sit, pouring him a glass of water, “It’s alright, there’s a good flow of customers here, and many residents live nearby. Hold on for a moment, brother, I’ll get you something to eat.”
“No rush, I’m just here to see.”
It had been a while since the Bun Shop opened, he had always wanted to check it out, but he had been busy with
“You have to eat even if you’re busy.”
Lin Chuxia had just placed a plate of meat buns on the table when Su Wensong came over and asked her to taste some cold dishes.
Mixing cold dishes isn’t a technical task, now both Granny Sun and Su Wensong can do it, but they let Lin Chuxia taste it to check the flavor.
Lin Chuxia took the chopsticks, picked a bite from the small dish Su Wensong held up, and nodded, “Not bad, bring over a plate of this. This is my big brother, add a few more varieties.”
Su Wensong smiled and greeted Qin Han, calling him big brother.
Qin Han nodded slightly, didn’t respond, or give a smile, his eyes followed the man getting the cold dishes.
Lin Chuxia saw him staring at Su Wensong and asked, “What’s the matter, big brother?”
Qin Han pointed, “Is he a worker at your shop?”
“Yes, this shop is rented from the Su Family, and he is a returned educated youth. He had no job, so now he works in the shop.”
“Educated youth? No wonder he looks so bookish. Since he’s educated, why is he working as a helper in your shop? Didn’t the returned educated youth get job placements?”
This was the first time Lin Chuxia saw Qin Han like this; what’s with the bookish look?
She glanced at Su Wensong bringing the cold dishes over.
She remembered the first time she saw him, his face full of worldly weariness, but now after working in the shop, protected from wind and sun, his skin had become somewhat refined.
In their catering business, personal hygiene is important. After she mentioned it twice, both Su Wensong and Granny Sun paid great attention. Everyday clean clothes made them look more spirited.
If Su Wensong appeared as a thirty-something middle-aged man when they first met, now at least his age and appearance matched.
And being from a scholarly Su Family, some qualities are inherent.
Previously, she had not noticed, but as her big brother mentioned, Su Wensong indeed had a restrained and courteous gentlemanly aura.
“Please enjoy, big brother,” Su Wensong placed the dishes on the table, nodded, and went off to handle other things.
Qin Han sneered, if it weren’t for maintaining composure in front of his sister, he’d frankly roll his eyes.
Big brother? Calling whom big brother?
He is Qin Yang, Lin Chuxia’s big brother, what relation does he have with him?
He aggressively bit into a meat bun, picked up the chopsticks to grab some cold dishes but paused.
He had been watching; that guy had asked his sister to taste the dish, and his eyes never left her face.
Pah, pretty boy!
Lin Chuxia saw Qin Han in such a petulant state, not understanding what his issue was. Maybe he couldn’t relax sitting next to her. Looking for an excuse, she left, telling him to help himself to more buns and porridge if needed.
Qin Han, of course, had no objections to Lin Chuxia, his sister. He acknowledged her and let her be busy, while he ate and observed the surroundings.
The crowd was getting bigger; a long queue had formed at the window to buy buns, and the shop’s tables were mostly occupied, with some people coming over to share a table with him.
Qin Han noticed that Old Sir He and Lin Chuxia were quite familiar. He also struck up a conversation with Old Sir He, “Do you often come here to eat?”
“Yes, quite often. Lin Family’s buns are delicious. My old lady has never managed to make such tasty buns in her lifetime.”
“That’s true, their buns are delicious,” Qin Han agreed proudly, “I see you’re quite familiar with that Su… Su…”
“Are you talking about Wensong?”