For the entire weekend, Xia Yongen continued running her stall at the food court.
After finishing for the day and returning to Rongxing House, she began seriously calculating the week’s accounts. After staring at a huge pile of numbers and calculating for a long while, her head was already starting to ache.
“System, can you help me calculate everything automatically?”
【This function will be unlocked after the teahouse’s rating is upgraded! Please continue working hard, Host!】
Fine. She still had to use the calculator herself.
Speaking of increasing the teahouse’s rating, she couldn’t help but think of that special mission.
On Thursday, in order to deal with the owner of the bookstore next door, she had searched through the business journal left behind by Auntie Fang Ping.
While looking through it, she had accidentally found the former employee roster.
It suddenly occurred to Xia Yongen that perhaps she should try contacting some of Rongxing House’s former employees.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was a good idea. Former employees knew the place inside and out, and they would also have an easier time getting back into the teahouse’s work. They were definitely her first choice when it came to recruitment.
But she also knew very well that given Rongxing House’s current situation, there probably wasn’t anyone who would want to come back.
Still, even if these former employees were unwilling to return, it would be good if she could at least learn something about Rongxing House and Auntie Fang Ping from them.
Xia Yongen searched through the room and pulled out the employee roster that had been tucked inside the business journal.
So many years had passed, and more than a hundred people had worked at Rongxing House. But after carefully screening the list, she discovered that only a dozen or so had experience working in the back kitchen and had worked there for more than five years.
Among those dozen or so people, quite a few were now working at Mingxin House.
Xia Yongen didn’t know much about Mingxin House. She had only learned from the business journal and from the previous buyer that after Sun Yuelong had established his own business, he had taken quite a few of Rongxing House’s veteran chefs with him.
And three months ago, Sun Yuelong had poached several chefs whom Auntie Fang Ping had hired at high salaries.
If it weren’t for Sun Yuelong, perhaps Auntie Fang Ping’s illness would not have become so serious, and she might not have passed away so suddenly.
Xia Yongen gently ran her fingers over the slightly yellowed paper, and her eyes gradually grew sore.
No matter what, she would definitely fulfill Auntie Fang Ping’s wish and reopen Rongxing House.
She wiped away her tears, then opened the employee roster again. She found eight former employees who had not gone to work at Mingxin House, checked their information, picked up her phone, and started making calls.
However, seven of them had either already emigrated or passed away. Some of the phone numbers were even no longer in service.
In the end, she managed to get through to only one person.
Her name was Lai Meizhen, and she had worked at Rongxing House for twenty-five years.
Once the call connected, the other party was surprised to learn that Xia Yongen was Fang Ping’s adopted daughter.
“I remember you were studying at a university in another province, weren’t you? Why have you come back now?”
Xia Yongen told her about Auntie Fang Ping’s passing.
Lai Meizhen exclaimed in shock, “What? How could this have happened…”
Two hours later, Lai Meizhen appeared outside Rongxing House.
Stepping into this place she had once known so well, she couldn’t help but feel that everything had changed while the familiar place remained.
Lai Meizhen walked over to the shrine and lit three sticks of incense for Fang Ping.
Seeing the state of Rongxing House, she was deeply saddened. Xia Yongen took out a small box and handed it to her.
“There wasn’t much that Auntie Fang left behind. This brocade box is one of her belongings.”
Over the past few days, while looking through the records, Xia Yongen had accidentally discovered a brocade box inside a drawer. There was a silk flower inside, giving off a faint fragrance, and it had been preserved extremely well.
There was a note inside the box that read:
“Gift from A-Zhen, 2003.”
When Auntie Zhen saw the silk flower inside the brocade box, tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall.
“This… this was the gift I gave her back then. I never thought she had kept it all this time.”
When Lai Meizhen had first joined Rongxing House all those years ago, she and Fang Ping had quickly become close friends who could talk about anything. Later, Fang Ping left Huacheng to make a living elsewhere, and the two gradually lost touch, no longer as close as they had once been.
Eight years ago, Old Master Fang suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, leaving all matters concerning the teahouse in Sun Yuelong’s hands.
But no one had expected that the very first thing Sun Yuelong did after taking over was implement reforms. He fired many of the teahouse’s longtime employees and changed many of the rules that Old Master Fang had established.
“That was when I left. Master Sun had always been quite close to us, too. I regarded him as half a younger brother. I truly never expected him to fire all of us just like that.”
After leaving Rongxing House, Lai Meizhen officially began her retirement.
Her husband had died young, while her son was now working overseas. She was perfectly content with her leisurely life, spending her days at home collecting rent and watching television to pass the time.
But a year ago, she received a call from Fang Ping again.
“After A-Ping took over the teahouse, she wanted me to come back. But at the time, I was still holding a grudge, so I stubbornly refused.”
Even though the two of them had once been such good friends, so many years had already passed. And whenever Lai Meizhen thought about how she had been fired for no reason, she still felt a dull ache in her heart.
She didn’t want to return to Rongxing House, the place that held so many painful memories, and politely declined Fang Ping’s invitation.
Lai Meizhen looked at the memorial portrait on the shrine and couldn’t help sighing. Her eyes grew moist.
“If I had known she was sick, I would have come back to stay by her side no matter what…”
After leaving Rongxing House, Lai Meizhen never made any effort to inquire about its affairs again. She had only heard from others that business at Rongxing House was poor and that it was close to shutting down.
At the time, she had felt rather melancholy about it and somewhat regretted not returning to Rongxing House back then. But who could have imagined that the next time she heard news about Fang Ping, the two of them would already be separated by life and death?
Xia Yongen repeatedly comforted her before bringing up the topic that followed.
“The thing Auntie Fang Ping was most reluctant to let go of was Rongxing House. Now that I’ve taken over, I’ve made up my mind to reopen it. It’s just that I’m only one person, and there’s only so much I can do on my own. I wonder if Auntie Zhen would be willing to come back and give me some guidance?”
Lai Meizhen glanced at Xia Yongen but didn’t say anything.
She knew a little about the young woman’s past from Fang Ping. And now, seeing that the entire teahouse was deserted, yet Xia Yongen was still willing to come back and take it over, she had to admit that she had a rather good impression of her.
But reopening a teahouse was easier said than done.
Although Lai Meizhen had been making pastries for more than twenty years, all of her experience was in actually working at the pastry counter. When it came to running a teahouse, she knew absolutely nothing. As for Xia Yongen, she was a university student who probably hadn’t even made pastries more than a few times, let alone knew how to run a teahouse.
Xia Yongen could see her hesitation and hurriedly told her about the pastries she had been making recently.
“I know that, in your eyes, what I’m talking about probably sounds like a pipe dream. But I still really hope I can have your guidance.”
She brought the pastries she had prepared beforehand over to Lai Meizhen.
“Auntie Zhen, I made all of these according to the recipes in Auntie Fang’s journal. Why don’t you give them a try?”
A hint of delight flashed through Lai Meizhen’s eyes. She carefully examined the pastries in front of her before choosing a piece of crystal cake and putting it into her mouth.
She took a bite and chewed several times. The surprise in her eyes grew even stronger, and then she voiced her confusion.
“Hmm? This flavor…”
That single bite brought back memories of when she had first joined Rongxing House all those years ago, and the astonishment and satisfaction she had felt upon tasting the pastries made by Old Master Fang for the first time.
Xia Yongen watched Lai Meizhen’s expression and cautiously asked, “Auntie Zhen, do you think there’s anything about my pastries that could be improved?”
Lai Meizhen put down her chopsticks and sighed.
“I have to admit, you’ve made them very well.”
Even so, she still refused Xia Yongen’s invitation.
“You’re still so young. Why trap yourself here? You should go find a good job instead. Even A-Ping couldn’t do anything about the mess that is Rongxing House, let alone you or me.”
Hearing her say this, Xia Yongen began to understand.
She could tell that Auntie Zhen still had feelings for Rongxing House and Fang Ping. She simply didn’t want to see Xia Yongen follow in Auntie Fang Ping’s footsteps and step into the same pit, which was why she was politely refusing.
Her voice became even more sincere.
“Auntie Zhen, I know you’re worried about me, but I’ve already made up my mind. I’m determined to reopen Rongxing House.”
“These past few days, I’ve been studying the business journal Auntie Fang Ping left behind, and I’ve also been setting up a stall nearby to sell pastries. I hope you can give me a chance.”
After hearing this, Lai Meizhen suddenly found herself unable to refuse outright.
“I… I’ll go home and think about it first.”
After seeing Auntie Zhen off, Xia Yongen returned to Rongxing House.
To Auntie Zhen, she was nothing more than a stranger, so it was perfectly normal for her to have doubts about her.
Since that was the case, Xia Yongen would have to prove through her actions that she was absolutely not someone who only talked without taking action.
Long ago, Liu Bei had visited Zhuge Liang’s thatched cottage three times to recruit him.
Today, Xia Yongen would make three earnest appeals to Auntie Zhen.
She believed that she would definitely be able to move Auntie Zhen.
The next day, Lai Meizhen went to work at the pastry shop as usual.
After an entire morning had passed, she had made one-third less dough than she normally did. One of the more observant aunties noticed something was wrong and asked her what had happened.
Lai Meizhen thought for a moment before telling them about what had happened at Rongxing House the previous day.
Everyone immediately began chiming in.
“Rongxing House is reopening? That’s a good thing!”
“Exactly! Since that young lady has such good skills, why didn’t you agree?”
Lai Meizhen sighed.
“Running a teahouse isn’t child’s play. I’m afraid she’ll end up with more disappointment than hope.”
In truth, there was another sentence she hadn’t said aloud.
Her “fear” wasn’t only concern for Xia Yongen. She was also afraid that all her own hard work would ultimately amount to nothing.
After all, she was almost fifty. If she went off to struggle alongside a young woman to open a teahouse and they failed in the end, wouldn’t she just become a laughingstock in other people’s eyes?
Besides, she was merely a pastry maker. When it came to actually running a teahouse, she truly knew nothing about it.
Now that she was working at this pastry shop, her life was stable. She made decent-tasting pastries every day, and her days were actually quite comfortable.
Someone chimed in, “That’s true. Young people these days are all about enjoying themselves. Don’t end up losing your retirement savings over this.”
The shop owner overheard them and immediately joked, “You all better not encourage Auntie Zhen to go! It took me a lot of effort to hire such an amazing head of the pastry department. I certainly don’t want her going back to the teahouse!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
But Lai Meizhen’s expression froze.
Back when she had first joined Rongxing House, she had been completely clueless too. Relying solely on her own two hands, she had gone from doing odd jobs to becoming the head of the pastry department in just five short years.
How glorious those days had been!
At the time, the pastry department had a full fifty or sixty people, and there were plenty who had more seniority than her. But Old Master Fang said that she had the courage and determination to fight for what she wanted, so he had chosen her despite everyone else’s objections.
As a result, there were plenty of people who talked about her behind her back. But no matter what, whenever they entered or left the teahouse, everyone had to call her “Sister Zhen.” No one dared treat her disrespectfully.
Lai Meizhen gathered her thoughts and composed herself. She immediately called Xia Yongen, wanting to make a trip to Rongxing House.
Xia Yongen was preparing to set up her stall near the school, so she asked Auntie Zhen to wait until after seven before going to Rongxing House.
Lai Meizhen had already made up her mind.
“It’s fine. You go ahead and do your thing. I’ll come to the school and find you.”
Naturally, Xia Yongen had no idea what Auntie Zhen was thinking. After hanging up, she began setting up her stall.
Perhaps the bookstore owner had been provoked somehow. Aside from the coconut-milk mille-feuille cake, he had lowered the price of all the other pastries to one yuan.
But Xia Yongen didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, she now had a large group of loyal student fans. Her competitor was nothing more than a clown making a scene.
Besides, the fact that the bookstore owner could lower his prices so drastically meant that the pastries he sold probably weren’t very good to begin with.
Sure enough, even with the huge price reduction, the bookstore stall remained deserted.
Several students who had visited the bookstore had barely taken a bite of the water chestnut cake before cursing.
“Holy crap! Is this rubber or water chestnut cake? It’s full of gelatinous stuff! I’m not going to get poisoned, am I?!”
Author’s Note:
Sorry for posting late today.