Lu Miaomiao sat properly in her seat, though she still looked thoroughly displeased with Lu Tingfeng’s remark. “I am not a little kid anymore, I’m already a big girl!”
Without so much as glancing back at her, Lu Tingfeng started the engine and asked casually, “Oh really? So can this big girl eat her carrots now? Grown-ups aren’t picky eaters, you know.”
Lu Miaomiao: “…” Well, that was asking for too much!
Knowing she was in the wrong on this one, Lu Miaomiao decided to pretend she hadn’t heard a thing. Since her little uncle wouldn’t let her talk about the pretty aunty, talking about Tong Mingkai should be safe, right?
“Little Uncle, did you think that little boy we saw earlier was really cute?”
Lu Tingfeng thought back for a moment and gave a casual nod. “Mhm, he was quite nice-looking.”
The little boy was clean and fair-skinned; you could tell his family kept him well-groomed, and he had great manners too.
Seeing that Lu Tingfeng was biting, Lu Miaomiao eagerly continued, “He’s a new student in our kindergarten class! Our teacher told me to show him around and help him get used to things, so now we share a desk!”
“Is that so?” Lu Tingfeng replied indifferently.
Acting like she was showing off a brand-new toy, Lu Miaomiao pleaded with wide, hopeful eyes, “I spotted him the moment we walked out of the kindergarten today. He’s just so adorable—can I invite him over to play at our house?”
Hearing the tone of her voice, and knowing the little girl’s usual spoiled, headstrong nature, Lu Tingfeng felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He cut straight to the point. “You don’t just want them to come over so you can play with him every single day, do you?”
If a child’s logic worked that way, it was at least somewhat understandable. But could this little rascal use her brain for a second? The boy’s mother was right there, which meant she was clearly a married woman with a husband.
For him to go and fancy someone else’s wife?
That would be a severe violation of discipline!
“No way!”
Offended by the misunderstanding, Lu Miaomiao immediately pouted in protest. “Am I really that superficial? Little Uncle, how could you think that of me? You’re breaking my heart!”
Hearing the little girl talk in such a milkily dramatic tone, Lu Tingfeng couldn’t help a chuckle. Playing along with her logic, he teased, “All right, fine. That’s not your motive. You just think he’s cute, so you like him?”
Lu Miaomiao shook her head. “Nope! The real reason I like him so much is because he looks just like you, Little Uncle!”
At that, Lu Tingfeng raised an eyebrow and glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “He looks like me?”
Lu Miaomiao nodded vigorously. “Yeah! Little Uncle, don’t you think so? He really does look just like you.”
Lu Tingfeng racked his brain, completely baffled as to how he could possibly resemble a little toddler.
“How on earth do we look alike?”
After a moment of serious contemplation, Lu Miaomiao declared in all earnestness, “You look the same everywhere!”
Lu Tingfeng: “…”
The little rascal must be telling jokes again.
The boy they had seen earlier was fair and clean, looking like a little dumpling molded out of white flour.
And him?
He spent year after year exposed to the scorching sun out at the military base; his skin tone was practically the color of harvested wheat. Their complexions alone were worlds apart—how could they possibly look alike?
Figuring the little girl was just talking nonsense, Lu Tingfeng didn’t press the matter any further.
Meanwhile, back with Tong Yuexin and Tong Mingkai, they had almost reached the restaurant entrance. Tong Mingkai was still chattering away to her about her getting lost along the way.
He was thoroughly worried, acting as though if he didn’t lecture her properly now, Tong Yuexin might wander off to some unknown corner of the earth next time. In his little milky voice, he advised, “Mommy, next time you don’t need to rush so much. I’ll just stay right there in the kindergarten and won’t go anywhere. You can walk slowly, take your time, and don’t get lost again.”
Zhou Qianshan had been growing anxious wondering why the two of them were taking so long, stepping outside to check the street every few minutes.
As she walked out this time, she happened to catch the tail end of his sentence. Looking thoroughly surprised, she asked, “Lost? Where did you guys walk to get lost?”
Tong Mingkai piped up brightly, “It wasn’t me who got lost, it was Mommy! When Mommy came to pick me up from kindergarten, she couldn’t find the place.”
Since there were patrons dining inside the restaurant in addition to their own family members, her words instantly drew a round of hearty laughter.
The tips of Tong Yuexin’s ears turned a bright shade of red.
Finding it rather amusing herself, Zhou Qianshan chuckled. “You just started coming to the restaurant recently, so it’s completely normal not to know your way around yet. As long as you’re both back safe, it’s fine. Kaikai, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first?”
Kaikai had no idea his innocent remark had sent the crowd into laughter. Hearing his grandmother’s question, he nodded obediently. “Hungry.”
Zhou Qianshan led Tong Mingkai over to the table closest to the cash register and asked him what he’d like to eat.
The rice at the restaurant was already pre-cooked, meaning they only needed to stir-fry a quick dish to go with it. Being an agreeable child, Kaikai didn’t pick or choose, saying he was happy with whatever they made.
While Zhou Qianshan headed back to the kitchen to whip up a meal, Tong Yuexin used the excuse of helping out to slip into the kitchen after her.
She claimed she was going in to help, but in reality, she just wanted to escape the lingering embarrassment out front.
Her shame didn’t last long, however, as it was quickly replaced by pure astonishment.
The kitchen counters were lined with a whole array of freshly cooked dishes waiting to be served.
Seeing Tong Yuexin walk in, Zhou Qianshan didn’t stand on ceremony. “Xinxin, take those plates out to the front. The girl out there knows which table they go to.”
The “girl” she referred to was, of course, the young waitress.
Tong Yuexin immediately rolled up her sleeves and got to work. It was only at that moment that she truly grasped how overwhelmingly popular her mother’s restaurant was.
By lunchtime, every single table outside had already been packed to capacity.
She had originally assumed the evening shift wouldn’t be quite as frantic, which was why she had taken her sweet time earlier. But she certainly hadn’t expected to see customers still waiting in line outside at this hour!
After all, during this era, many families were still struggling just to put food on the table, and household budgets were tight. People who could afford to eat out at restaurants were few and far between.
Unlike the future decades where dining out would become an absolute everyday routine…
Right now, though…
The fact that her mother’s restaurant could draw such a massive crowd meant the business was genuinely thriving.
If she hadn’t stepped in to help, the sheer exhaustion would have inevitably worn Zhou Qianshan down, leading to severe stomach trouble and eventually stomach cancer—looking at it now, that outcome hadn’t been far-fetched at all.
Lost in these thoughts, Tong Yuexin tied back her sleeves and dove efficiently into the work.
Her resolve solidified even further. She was determined to shoulder the load for Zhou Qianshan, resolving to cook alongside her mother during every single peak rush from now on.
Knowing just a couple of signature dishes wasn’t going to cut it anymore. She needed to study diligently and master the craft so she could fully take over the restaurant reins from her mother.