◎ Miaomiao Barbecue Is Here! ◎
Looking at Tian Doudou acting like a lovestruck young man, Tian Miaomiao couldn’t help asking him, “How old is the girl you’re talking about? What does she do?”
Tian Doudou replied, “She’s a year younger than me. She only graduated from university last year, and I heard she works at a state-owned enterprise.”
Tian Miaomiao fell silent for a moment before asking, “So why would she be interested in you?”
“…” Tian Doudou choked for a moment. “What’s wrong with me?! Why can’t she be interested in me?!”
“You come from Qingjing Village, and you only have a junior college diploma. Even if the girl herself really doesn’t mind, you still won’t be able to get past her parents.”
“…Aren’t you from Qingjing Village too?! Besides, Qingjing Village has developed really well these days. More and more tourists are coming to visit, and there’s even a dating reality show that’s going to be filmed there!”
This was the first time Tian Miaomiao had heard about it, so she asked curiously, “A dating reality show? Really?”
“Of course! The television station’s executives have already visited our village to inspect the location, and they’ve even signed the contract!”
When Tian Doudou said this, he sounded extremely proud, as though the television station had signed the contract with him personally.
“Once the show airs, we’ll definitely have even more tourists! The village is already making plans to build several more guesthouses!”
“Oh… So the village really is developing well. You’d have much better prospects staying there than coming to City A.”
“…”
Just as the siblings reached this point in their discussion, Tian Miaomiao received a call from their mother.
Tian Miaomiao glanced at Tian Doudou before answering the phone.
“Mom, Tian Doudou didn’t cause any trouble at home, did he?”
Hearing her question, Mother Tian immediately knew that Tian Doudou must have arrived.
“No, he didn’t. He just said he wanted to pursue love, and your father and I couldn’t stop him.”
“…Will you be able to manage things at the inn now that he’s gone?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve already hired someone. Aren’t you working today?”
“…Uh, it’s my day off.”
Tian Miaomiao didn’t dare tell her mother that she’d lost her job.
Mother Tian didn’t suspect anything and continued, “Doudou said he wants to stay with you. If you find him annoying, just tell him to find somewhere else to live. You don’t need to worry about your father and me. After all, he’s the one who chose to suffer the hardships of love.”
“…”
Tian Miaomiao took the opportunity to look at Tian Doudou.
He was tall and looked quite strong. After spending the past two years helping their father in the kitchen, he must have learned quite a few cooking skills too.
He was practically the perfect source of labor.
“There’s no need for that. I’m his biological older sister, after all. How could I treat him like that?”
Standing beside her, Tian Doudou inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
Whenever his sister spoke like that, it inevitably meant trouble for him.
“Alright then, it’s up to you,” Mother Tian said from the other end of the phone. “I just sent you a box of oranges and a box of lychees. They were freshly picked in the village. They should arrive today, so keep an eye out for the delivery.”
“Alright! Thanks, Mom!”
After finishing her call with Mother Tian, Tian Miaomiao looked at Tian Doudou and smiled.
Tian Doudou almost dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Sis, don’t look at me like that. You’re scaring me.”
Tian Miaomiao patted his arm. Feeling the muscles beneath the fabric, she nodded in satisfaction.
“You’re quite a sturdy young man. I’ve got some good news for you. I’ve already found you a job.”
“Really? What kind of job?”
Tian Doudou looked at her excitedly.
“Don’t tell me it’s at your hotel?”
The hotel where his sister worked was a five-star hotel!
He’d visited it once before, and the building was incredibly grand!
Tian Miaomiao fell silent for a moment before answering with a smile.
“No.”
“Then where?”
“Helping me sell barbecue.”
Tian Doudou’s brain stopped working for a few seconds. He stared at her in confusion.
“Wait, why are you selling barbecue? Is your salary at the hotel not enough for you to spend?”
Tian Miaomiao sighed and told him, “The hotel… is gone.”
“Gone as in…?”
“It went out of business. They still owe us two months of wages, and the employees have been fighting for their rights in the group chat every single day.”
“…”
Tian Doudou looked even more confused than before.
“Such a huge hotel just went out of business like that? The last time you called home, you said you were going to be promoted to assistant manager next quarter!”
Tian Miaomiao clutched her chest and lamented sorrowfully, “Life is just that unpredictable.”
“…”
Tian Doudou was speechless for a moment.
His sister really should have applied to a film academy back then.
“So you’ve decided to sell barbecue instead?”
“That’s right. I’ve already arranged everything, including the barbecue truck and suppliers. All I’m missing is someone to do the heavy lifting.”
“…”
Tian Doudou looked at her and gave her a smile.
“That person you’re talking about… wouldn’t happen to be me, would it?”
Tian Miaomiao smiled and nodded.
“You just happen to be looking for a job, and I just happen to have one available. Perfect.”
Tian Doudou: “…”
“Since you’re already here, come camping with me at Starlight Park this afternoon.”
Tian Miaomiao had deliberately bought so many vegetables today because she wanted to test the flavors before officially opening for business.
“They allow barbecuing over there. We’ll cut up the ingredients, thread them onto skewers, and take them there to grill.”
Tian Doudou’s eyebrows twitched.
She was already putting him to work?
Although he was reluctant in his heart, his body headed toward the kitchen of its own accord.
Tian Miaomiao didn’t sit idle either. She took out her old notebook and began preparing the seasonings according to the recipes written inside.
The two of them were busy until a little after four in the afternoon before finally heading to Starlight Park with their prepared skewers. Since it wasn’t the weekend, there were relatively fewer people around. Tian Miaomiao rented a barbecue grill and began grilling.
Slowly grilling raw meat took quite a bit of time, but the resulting flavor was well worth the time and effort. Tian Doudou tasted a piece of beef that Tian Miaomiao had just finished grilling, and his eyes immediately lit up.
“This is actually pretty good!”
The meat skewers on the grill were still sizzling and dripping with oil. Tian Miaomiao picked up a beef skewer herself and took a bite.
“It’s delicious! As expected of me! Barbecue really should be made by slowly grilling raw meat. How can deep-frying it first even count as barbecue?!”
After finishing his beef skewer, Tian Doudou picked up another skewer of pork belly.
“At first, I thought you were just acting on a whim, but now it actually seems like a pretty reliable idea.”
Tian Miaomiao raised an eyebrow and placed several more skewers of raw meat on the grill.
“Don’t just stand there eating. You can grill the rest.”
“…Fine.”
After finishing the pork belly skewer in his hand, Tian Doudou resigned himself to taking on the role of barbecue chef.
“I still can’t figure out how your hotel suddenly went out of business.”
Tian Miaomiao sat comfortably on a chair beside him and began enjoying the barbecue.
“The big boss took all the money and invested it in other ventures. Then he lost everything.”
“…Then will you still be able to recover your unpaid wages?”
“Hard to say.”
Tian Miaomiao picked up the chilled beer she’d brought along and took a sip.
“The arbitration people we consulted said we could only pursue the company’s assets through arbitration, not hold the owner personally liable. But there’s no money left in the company’s accounts now.”
“Then how can you still have the appetite to eat? Don’t you have a mortgage to pay every month?”
When Tian Miaomiao bought her apartment, her parents had paid fifty percent of the down payment, while she was responsible for repaying the remaining mortgage herself every month.
Since she’d bought the apartment at a reasonable price, her monthly mortgage payments weren’t too burdensome. However, if she remained unemployed for too long, she would still start feeling anxious.
“I’ve saved up some money over the past few years. Besides, aren’t I about to start selling barbecue at a stall?”
After saying that, Tian Miaomiao reminded Tian Doudou, “Don’t tell Mom and Dad about this. Otherwise, I’ll kick you out of my apartment.”
“…Okay.”
Tian Miaomiao set aside the bamboo skewer she’d finished eating from and happened to spot their neighbor, Aunt Chen.
She called out to her, “Aunt Chen, out for a walk?”
“That’s right.”
Aunt Chen lived in the same apartment building as Tian Miaomiao, so they were fairly familiar with each other. However, she’d never seen Tian Doudou before and couldn’t help giving him a few curious glances.
Tian Miaomiao took the initiative to introduce him.
“This is my younger brother, Tian Doudou. He’s come to help me out. Would you like a barbecue skewer?”
“Sure!”
Aunt Chen had already smelled the delicious aroma from quite a distance away. She accepted a freshly grilled pork belly skewer and took a bite.
“Did you make this yourself, Xiao Tian? It’s really tasty.”
Tian Miaomiao asked her, “Then do you think I could make money selling this at a street stall?”
“Of course you could.”
Aunt Chen looked at her and continued, “Isn’t there a barbecue restaurant downstairs in our residential complex? This tastes much better than theirs.”
Hearing her say that, Tian Miaomiao handed her another two freshly grilled meat skewers.
“Then when I open my stall, Aunt Chen, remember to come and support my business!”
Holding the skewers in her hands, Aunt Chen froze for a moment.
“You’re really planning to set up a stall? Where will it be?”
“At North Gate Night Market. I should be able to open for business in a couple of days.”
“That’s great! When you open, let everyone know in the group chat. I’ll bring my friends over to eat.”
“Thank you, Aunt Chen!”
After seeing Aunt Chen off, Tian Miaomiao sat back down on her chair.
The siblings continued eating until sunset before heading home. On the way, they also picked up the box of oranges and the box of lychees that Mother Tian had sent and carried them back.
Two days later, her customized food truck finally arrived.
Tian Doudou accompanied her to collect the vehicle. When he saw the soft pink food truck in front of him, he was utterly astonished.
“You actually had the truck painted pink?!”
“That’s right! Isn’t it adorable?”
She’d checked with the factory several times before they finally mixed this particular shade of pink. It didn’t look tacky at all.
“When I drive this truck to North Gate Night Market, it’ll definitely outshine that fried rice owner’s food truck!”
Tian Doudou: “…”
Had competition among street vendors already reached this level?
After inspecting the food truck and finding no problems, Tian Miaomiao signed the form handed to her by the delivery worker.
“Do you need a driver’s license to drive this thing?” Tian Doudou asked.
“Of course you do, I think.”
Tian Miaomiao had obtained her driver’s license right after graduating from university. Tian Doudou had taken his driving test together with her during his summer vacation.
“You brought your driver’s license, right?”
“I did. I brought every document I could possibly need. I’ve even got my health certificate.”
Since Tian Doudou had originally come to City A to look for work, he’d brought all his documents with him.
“That’s great! Then we’ll start working tomorrow!”
Tian Miaomiao parked the little pink food truck in the underground parking garage.
The parking space had been included when she’d bought the apartment. Although Tian Miaomiao hadn’t bought a car in the past few years, she’d faithfully paid the parking space management fee every single month without missing a payment.
Now, that money was finally no longer going to waste!
Since it was their first day of business, neither of them knew how well things would go, so they prepared relatively modest quantities of each ingredient.
In addition to barbecue skewers, Tian Miaomiao had also prepared drinks, including soda and beer, which would pair perfectly with the barbecue.
At six in the evening, the vendors at North Gate Night Market began setting up their stalls one after another.
There weren’t many customers at the night market yet at this hour, and the stall owners were still busy making preparations.
Just then, a pink food truck bearing the four large characters “Miaomiao Barbecue” slowly made its way toward them.