Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 220 - 219: Getting Better and Better (1 Update)

Chapter 220: Chapter 219: Getting Better and Better (1 Update)

Xu Zhicheng and Xu Duoyu were adapting well to school, and Xu Duoyu would come home from school every day as cheerful as a little sparrow.

Xu Zhicheng also became more and more cheerful.

During class, he tried his best to listen to the teacher, and even if he didn’t understand, he still listened hard. He wrote down everything that he could, exactly as it was.

After school, he would take his notes to Xu Niannian, asking her to teach him.

Xu Niannian was very patient in teaching him, acting as Xu Zhicheng’s personal tutor.

After teaching her own younger brother, Xu Niannian discovered that Xu Zhicheng was particularly intelligent; he could accurately remember any character or number she taught him just once.

He was diligent too; if he could match the pronunciation with the character, he would repeatedly write it down until he was familiar.

Xu Niannian had taught both Xu Zhicheng and Xu Zhiqiang, and she found that, compared to Xu Zhicheng, her older brother Xu Zhiqiang was earnest and hardworking, but not as smart.

Since Xu Zhiqiang lacked a foundation, Xu Niannian would teach him too whenever she taught Xu Zhicheng.

Chen Xiaorou had attended junior high school, so whenever Xu Niannian was busy, Chen Xiaorou was the one teaching Xu Zhicheng and Xu Zhiqiang.

Yang Cuihua also realized that Chen Xiaorou had her eyes set on Xu Zhiqiang, not Jin Yu, and couldn’t have been more enthusiastic toward Chen Xiaorou.

Xu Niannian chuckled to herself.

In Yang Cuihua’s eyes, there was truly nothing redeemable about her own son, and she feared he would never find a wife. Coming across a girl who took initiative, she was quick to secure her.

After purchasing two machines, Xu Niannian had become thoroughly broke.

Now broke, Xu Niannian did not dare to delay, using the last two hundred bucks to buy fresh ingredients, and immediately returned to the shop to help the next day.

Yang Cuihua followed to the shop, leaving only Xu Dawei at home—oh, and a small Tibetan Mastiff.

Now with the business doing better and better, Zhao Pang was a bit overwhelmed with the work outside, and Yang Cuihua’s help was perfect timing.

In Xu Niannian’s mind, if Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei wanted to be idle, she would gladly support them for a lifetime.

But if they wanted to find something to do on their own, Xu Niannian wouldn’t stop them.

Sometimes people need to keep busy; too much idle time could end up uncomfortable.

Especially for someone like Yang Cuihua, who was accustomed to regular farm work in the countryside, suddenly being idle would make her feel useless.

Xu Niannian had been away from the shop for over a week, during which time the shop sold buttered noodles every day.

The recipes from the space, blessed by the creek water, combined with Xu Niannian’s perfect culinary skills, had made the buttered noodles famous throughout the county, almost to the point of bursting.

Business was exceptionally good every day.

There were lots of returning customers, and even during non-meal hours, many people still came by.

Meal times were even more exaggerated.

Unable to read, Yang Cuihua naturally couldn’t take customers’ orders, so she was responsible for clearing tables and wiping them down after customers ate.

During meal times, Zhao Pang was frantically busy, especially when they knew Xu Niannian had returned. Customers who had previously enjoyed Xu Niannian’s stir-fries all requested to have them again.

Adding stir-fries to the menu made things incredibly hectic. Not only was Zhao Pang swamped,

but even Yang Cuihua, who was just responsible for clearing and wiping tables, was so exhausted she could barely straighten her back.

In the kitchen, Xu Niannian, who was responsible for stir-frying, along with Chen Xiaorou, who washed vegetables and dishes, and Qin Feng, who prepared the noodle bowls, were so busy their hands never stopped moving.

The peak lunch rush was usually from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. After that, there was a lull of about three hours, and by 5 p.m., they entered another peak period.

After a busy day, Xu Niannian’s hands were almost shaking.

Fortunately, apart from the peak meal times, there were not many customers for stir-fries; most came for the buttered noodles.

As the boss, Xu Niannian couldn’t always be hands-on.

Otherwise, what was the point of hiring workers?

Unless there were customers for stir-fries, she would rest and do nothing. Taking advantage of the downtime, she brought a stool to the counter’s side to teach Xu Zhiqiang how to read.

With business getting better and better, Xu Niannian could not allow the accounting to remain vague any longer.

Things were not yet chaotic because she was the only one handling the money, and thus didn’t need to be so precise in the calculations.

But she couldn’t be the only one collecting money all the time.

Apart from splitting half of the profits with Jin Yu, she also had to leave a share for her younger brothers in the future.

When Xu Niannian was seriously teaching Xu Zhiqiang to read, Yang Cuihua would come over to take care of the money.

As long as it wasn’t during the peak meal times, Zhao Pang and the other two could handle things easily.

There were many customers, but they arrived in a steady stream, not several groups at once within a short period.

For example, as one group of customers got served their meals or noodles, the next group would start arriving.

With time intervals in between, things would not seem so rushed and chaotic.

Xu Zhiqiang was extremely earnest. During the week Xu Niannian was busy, Chen Xiaorou taught Xu Zhiqiang to read almost every night.

Though he didn’t have a memory as good as Xu Zhicheng’s, his persistent effort was commendable. If a person is willing to work hard, even if they may not necessarily succeed, they will surely reap rewards.

Xu Zhiqiang’s accomplishment was that even though he couldn’t memorize thirty or forty characters in a day like Xu Zhicheng, he could still remember about twenty.

With steady progress over time, the results were quite good.

The characters Xu Niannian and Chen Xiaorou taught Xu Zhiqiang were mostly those he saw or used most often in daily life.

First, get those frequently used characters down pat.

Yang Cuihua was collecting money on the side, smiling so broadly she could hardly close her mouth. She had just opened the drawer for a peek, and it was filled to the brim with cash.

Seeing how well her daughter’s shop was doing, Yang Cuihua’s face was so full of joy it was creased with smiles.

After the guests paid and left, she was especially enthusiastic in saying, "Take care, come again soon."

Being able to make so much money made Yang Cuihua feel it was all worth it, no matter how tired she was.

This was the money her daughter had earned.

So capable.

Her precious darling, she always said, there’s no way daughters are inferior to sons. Who says raising a daughter is just wasting money for someone else’s benefit?

Her daughter was capable, not just capable, but also filial.

Haven’t the leaders even said? Women hold up half the sky.

Her daughter was holding up the entire sky of their family.

Xu Niannian was teaching Xu Zhiqiang how to recognize characters, and seeing Yang Cuihua laugh so happily, she couldn’t help but purse her lips in an amused smile.

For lunch, the family of three plus three employees ate stir-fried dishes in the store.

This time, Xu Niannian cooked the meal herself, not letting Chen Xiaorou continue to work so hard.

It was only fair to let her catch her breath.

Niannian’s cooking was delicious; with the help of the stream water, it was even more scrumptious.

Whether it was Yang Cuihua and Xu Zhiqiang or Zhao Pang and the other two employees, none of them were eating Niannian’s cooking for the first time.

Yet, every time they ate it, they still couldn’t stop praising it.

Zhao Pang wiped his mouth after eating: "Little boss, your cooking is just too delicious. I really wish I could just live in your cooking pot."

Xu Niannian laughed: "Don’t, please don’t. If you died, I’d be in trouble. Better keep living and getting fatter."

Yang Cuihua scowled and added: "Exactly, exactly. When running a business, you can’t jinx it by talking about death. Besides, you’re so fat, my cooking pot couldn’t fit you."

Yang Cuihua’s comments caused everyone to laugh and cry at the same time.

Yang Cuihua didn’t mind; she kept putting more dishes into Xu Niannian’s bowl, and after Niannian’s, she served Chen Xiaorou.

She clamored: "You two young ladies need to eat more, get a little plumper, you look better that way."

Yang Cuihua’s attitude towards Chen Xiaorou made Xu Zhiqiang feel particularly amazed.

Taking advantage of the moment when Yang Cuihua wasn’t looking, he leaned close to Xu Niannian and whispered, "Sis, do you feel like Mom is being a little too nice to Chen Xiaorou? What’s going on with her?"

Right?

Xu Niannian chuckled inwardly, thinking that her silly brother had finally noticed something was off.

Her mother was trying to secure a daughter-in-law for him.

However, Xu Niannian didn’t let on and asked with a smile, "Really? I don’t see it, do you?"

Xu Zhiqiang nodded seriously: "Yes, Mom treats Chen Xiaorou, well, only slightly worse than you."

Xu Niannian coughed and explained, "Maybe Chen Xiaorou just hits it off with Mom."

"Is that so?" Xu Zhiqiang was somewhat skeptical.

"Mom isn’t up to some mischief, is she?"

It wasn’t that Xu Zhiqiang was unwilling to trust Yang Cuihua; it was just that those who got along well with her were few and far between.

"How could that be? Come on, let’s eat." Xu Niannian quickly picked up a piece of meat and put it into Xu Zhiqiang’s bowl, "Here, get some nourishment."

Seeing this, Xu Zhiqiang didn’t pursue the matter any further.

Xu Niannian also breathed a sigh of relief.

Her mother was indeed up to some mischief.

But Xu Niannian had kept it under control.

She had a hunch about what Chen Xiaorou was thinking, but was completely in the dark about her brother’s feelings.

Love was someone else’s business. Since Chen Xiaorou hadn’t made it clear, why should she needlessly interfere?

When it came to matters of the heart, besides those directly involved, it was always inappropriate for others to meddle. How things would develop should be up to the individuals concerned.

Had she not been holding her mother back, Yang Cuihua would have decided for Xu Zhiqiang to make Chen Xiaorou his own already.