After finishing one steamed bun, Factory Director Ao looked longingly at Yang Tiehua’s bag again.
Yang Tiehua immediately took out another one and handed it to him. “Eldest Uncle, keep eating, I still have more here. If you like the pickled vegetables, when we get back I’ll ask my mother in law to make extra and send some to you.”
Factory Director Ao clearly did like them very much. Taking the bun, he happily said, “Alright, then Eldest Uncle will buy them from you when the time comes.”
“Eldest Uncle, it’s only a little pickled vegetable, you don’t need to be so polite with me. You’ve already treated me more than well enough.”
“You child, it’s only right for your Eldest Uncle to treat you well, but your mother in law clearly put a lot of effort into making these. I can’t just take them for free.”
Yang Tiehua did not say anything further. In any case, when the time came, she definitely would not accept his money.
Meanwhile, Fu Ziheng’s emotions were extremely complicated.
In the past, Mother Fu had once made pickled vegetables for Yang Tiehua as well, but she had thrown them out to feed the dogs. After sniffing them, even the dogs had run away. Yang Tiehua had then furiously cursed at Mother Fu.
“Look at the garbage you cooked. Is this even fit for people to eat? Even dogs won’t eat it, and you actually dare serve it to me?”
After cursing her out, she had even smashed the bowl directly at Mother Fu.
The porridge inside had just been freshly cooked and was scalding hot.
Even now, scars still remain on Mother Fu’s hands.
“Brother Ziheng, eat more too and nourish your body properly.” At that moment, Yang Tiehua stuffed another steamed bun into his hands.
Holding the bun, Fu Ziheng unconsciously tightened his grip, his emotions unable to settle for a long time.
This woman had truly become terrifyingly skilled at deceiving him into selling his kidney.
If he had not overheard it with his own ears that day, he never would have believed she could be so cruel.
But what choice did he have when he was so useless?
Without ability, he was destined to pay some kind of price. Otherwise, why would anyone willingly help him care for his entire family?
Yang Tiehua had no idea that the usually silent Fu Ziheng had such a dramatic inner world. At that moment, she was casually chatting with Eldest Uncle as the journey continued.
By the time they arrived in Yangcheng, it was already close to evening. Factory Director Ao had the driver stop near the guesthouse and randomly picked a small restaurant nearby.
However, the moment Yang Tiehua saw the four words “Shaxian Noodle Shop” hanging outside, her eyes widened.
Could this Shaxian Noodle Shop actually be the Shaxian Snacks franchise that would spread across the entire country in the 1990s?
If it really was, then perhaps she could take this opportunity to invest in it.
After entering the shop, she saw only a few tables inside. Overall, the place looked rather shabby.
The menu was even simpler, containing only three items: wontons, mixed noodles, and tea eggs.
Yet despite offering only those three things, the business was surprisingly good. By the time they entered, only one table remained available.
As soon as they sat down, a slightly chubby man walked over. Without even lifting his eyelids, he spoke impatiently, “What are you ordering? Hurry up and say it.”
Factory Director Ao had not looked at the menu posted outside before entering, so he asked, “Do you have a menu? Let us take a look.”
The man replied impatiently, “Can’t you see the menu hanging right there? Hurry up and order, there are still plenty of customers waiting.”
Yang Tiehua’s temper instantly flared. Frowning, she said, “Boss, we came here to eat. Is this really how you welcome your customers?”
“Miss, I deal with hundreds of customers every day. If I had to smile at every single one of you, my face would fall apart from smiling. Besides, the menu is posted right there. Can’t you read? Or are all of you blind together?”
Driver Wang from the neighboring seat had an even worse temper than Yang Tiehua. The moment he heard that, he slammed the table.
“Who are you calling blind? Say that again if you’ve got the guts!”
Clearly, the owner was already used to scenes like this. He glanced at the driver, crossed his arms, and sneered.
“So you people are here to cause trouble? Someone, throw them out. My shop isn’t a place where only stray cats and dogs can enter!”
And just like that, the group of four was actually thrown out of the restaurant.
Yang Tiehua was furious enough to explode. If it had been the original owner, she probably would have smashed the entire place apart.
Fortunately, she could still control herself.
Very quickly, she calmed down and smiled at Eldest Uncle.
“Eldest Uncle, don’t be angry. With service like this, that guy’s restaurant is bound to shut down sooner or later.”
The 1980s were already an era of gradual economic reform and opening up.
In the future, service would become the most important part of the restaurant industry.
Any establishment with poor service simply would not survive for long.
“Xiaohua, you’re absolutely right. A service attitude like that definitely won’t work,” Factory Director Ao agreed.
Yang Tiehua looked around and soon spotted another noodle shop diagonally across the street from the Shaxian Noodle Shop.
The place was called “Wonton Noodle Shop.”
Immediately, she pointed at it and said, “Eldest Uncle, how about we eat there instead?”
“Alright, let’s go then.”
When they reached the entrance, they discovered there was not a single customer inside.
Factory Director Ao hesitated. “There’s no one here at all. It’s probably not very good, right?”
For a moment, even Yang Tiehua became uncertain about entering.
Normally, restaurants without a single customer either had terrible service or poor food quality.
Just as Yang Tiehua was wondering whether they should search for another restaurant, a woman’s crying voice came from inside.
“I told you from the beginning not to teach all your skills away. Look what happened now.
That cousin of yours directly opened a restaurant to compete with you. Half a month has already passed, and we haven’t even earned enough for a fraction of the rent. If this keeps going, we’ll have no choice but to close the shop and return home!”
The moment she heard that, Yang Tiehua immediately understood.
So the noodle shop across the street had stolen their techniques and then opened a rival shop against the original master.
In that case, she wanted to eat here even more.
Not only would she eat here, she would also help this owner out and let the people across the street experience what it felt like to lose customers.
“Eldest Uncle, let’s eat here.”
Yang Tiehua walked in without hesitation.
The others quickly followed behind her.
Seeing customers arrive, the woman who had been speaking hurriedly wiped away her tears and warmly came forward.
“Guests, what would you like to eat? We have wontons, noodles, and tea eggs here. What would everyone like?
Or if there’s something else you want to eat, we can cook that too.”
“Boss Lady, we’ll each have a bowl of wontons and one tea egg,” Yang Tiehua said.
“Alright, please wait a moment, we’ll prepare them right away.”
The wontons and tea eggs were served very quickly.
The moment Yang Tiehua tasted one wonton, her eyes lit up.
It was exactly the same flavor as the Shaxian Noodle Shop she had eaten at during her first visit to Yangcheng in her previous life.
She had not expected this restaurant’s flavor to remain consistent even decades later.
No wonder they would eventually open branches all over the country. This was precisely the importance of putting quality first.
Yang Tiehua deliberately finished eating quickly before quietly approaching the boss lady.
“Boss Lady, I want to discuss a business deal with you.”
The woman was visibly stunned upon hearing that. “Miss, you want to discuss business with me?”
Yang Tiehua nodded. “That’s right. A deal that can bring your shop back to life and completely crush the restaurant across the street.”
Hearing that, the boss lady’s expression changed drastically. “You… you were sent by the people across the street?”
Yang Tiehua froze briefly before laughing.
“Boss Lady, the people across the street aren’t stupid. Would they really send me here so openly?”
Boss Lady Liu Qing thought about it for a moment and found that it made sense. After hesitating briefly, she said, “What kind of business deal do you want? If you need me to pay money, then forget it.”