Chapter 146

Zhou Mingxing set the meal budget for employees at twenty yuan per meal. At that price in J City, all you could get was a basic fast-food combo with two meat dishes and three vegetables.

He figured that with such a limited budget, even if they hired someone to cook, it would only be simple home-style meals at best. Still, having someone cook for them meant the food would be clean and hygienic, and there wouldn’t be any weird “black tech” additives. Plus, the money for the cook was coming out of Wei Sheng’s pocket. So Zhou Mingxing had someone send out a notice: for the next two months, everyone could head over to the rented house for meals.

What no one expected was that the very first lunch from this “little kitchen” would blow everyone away.

Eight dishes and one soup were laid out on the table, served in various plates and bowls—seven dishes and one soup in total. The meat dishes included braised duck, steamed pork with rice flour, and steamed meatballs. The vegetable dishes were garlic amaranth, stir-fried pumpkin tips, shredded pork with celery and dried tofu, cold-dressed celtuce, and stir-fried edamame with pickled greens and bamboo shoots. The soup was a cabbage and meatball broth.

The braised duck didn’t look particularly impressive, but once you took a bite, there was none of that usual gamey duck smell. It was rich, spicy, and aromatic, with rehydrated dried bamboo shoots added in for a chewy texture that was even better than the duck meat itself.

The steamed pork with rice flour used rice flour that Jiang Xinfeng and the others had brought from their hometown. They had roasted the spices themselves and ground them with a stone mortar, adding chili and Sichuan pepper powder. The result was incredibly flavorful.

The steamed meatballs were served in a clear broth, laid atop a bed of cabbage leaves. The plate was piled high with plump, glutinous rice meatballs, each one snowy white and round, sprinkled with chopped scallions for a touch of color. They were as delicious as they looked. Inside, there were bits of chopped water chestnut, adding a crisp crunch that balanced the richness of the pork belly. But with only one large meatball per person, it was nowhere near enough!

After the meal, Shen Yi and a few others immediately cornered Wei Sheng.

“Junior Brother, are these the cooks you brought back from Langshan? Are there any more over there? My family’s been wanting to try something new…” Shen Yi didn’t bother to be polite. Her meaning was clear—she wanted Wei Sheng to help her find a cook from Langshan.

Even Zhou Mingxing was tempted. But then he remembered that his daughter usually ate at school, and he himself practically lived at the office. After thinking it over, he decided to ask Wei Sheng to find a cook who could prepare meals for the company. That way, he could bring his daughter to the office for dinner, and they wouldn’t even need to cook at home.

Wei Sheng just snorted. “You think good cooks are that easy to find? I had to go through the Village Party Secretary of Nine-Bend slope and beg for help before I managed to get Brother Xiaofeng and Sister Caihua. You don’t know—Sister Caihua’s rice cakes and meatballs are so popular at their local market, people fight over them!”

Thinking about how they only managed to snag one of those amazing meatballs earlier, everyone instinctively swallowed. With food that good, there had to be some secret recipe behind it. No wonder Wei Sheng said these people were hard to come by.

Wait a minute! Didn’t Wei Sheng just say he brought the cooks from Langshan because he was planning to open a restaurant?

Shen Yi was the first to catch on. She covered her mouth and laughed. “Well, I guess I can save the money I was going to spend hiring an auntie. I’ll just eat at Wei Sheng’s restaurant from now on.”

Zhou Mingxing also realized what was going on and pointed at Wei Sheng, half amused, half exasperated. “So that’s why you were so generous about lending your cooks to the company? You’re just trying to drum up business!”

Using company money to attract customers to your own restaurant—classic Wei Sheng, the master of squeezing every drop of value!

“I’m letting you use them for free for two months. Don’t want it? If not, I’ll just let them take a break. I’ll open a private dining service later, and the wages from these two months will more than pay for themselves.”

Zhou Mingxing was speechless.

Wei Sheng didn’t have the time to personally manage a restaurant, but as the saying goes, good deeds bring good fortune. In the Fund for Impoverished and Solitary Elderly that he had set up, there happened to be a few elderly folks who used to run small eateries. They knew the business inside and out.

Wei Sheng ended up hiring an elderly man named Tang Siyou. He wasn’t even sixty yet and used to run a dumpling shop, living a pretty comfortable life. Unfortunately, he had a lazy, gluttonous son and a wife who couldn’t see reason and spoiled the boy endlessly.

At first, the son just didn’t want to work. He’d spend his days playing pool or hanging out in internet cafes. Tang Siyou tried to be tough and cut off his allowance to force him to find a job. But his wife secretly gave their son money from her stash. With cash in hand, the boy had even less motivation to work.

Worse, tired of being nagged at home, the son started hanging out with a group of shady characters and often didn’t come home at night.

Realizing his son was hopeless, Tang Siyou threw himself into running the dumpling shop, quietly saving up for his retirement. But then, a group of professional debt collectors showed up at his shop.

Turns out, at some point, his son had been roped into a scam and taken out loans totaling several hundred thousand yuan to start a dirt-hauling business.

As if that kind of business were easy to run. Without the right connections, even owning a dump truck wouldn’t get you any contracts. Worse still, Tang Siyou’s son, with his inflated ego and lack of ability, had been tricked into buying a nearly scrapped, refurbished dump truck with the loan.

The scammers had convinced him that even though the loan interest was high—over two hundred thousand yuan—the truck would make money. A dump truck, they said, could pay for itself in just over two years. Once the loan was paid off, he’d be pocketing tens of thousands in profit every month.

Tens of thousands a month without having to work? Who wouldn’t be tempted?

But as Tang Siyou put it, if dirt-hauling contracts were really that profitable, wouldn’t those people just buy trucks themselves? Why would they go out of their way to help you get a loan and make money for yourself?

Just as Tang Siyou had expected, after his son was coaxed into buying that dump truck, the so-called “good brothers” who had sworn they’d introduce him to construction jobs all vanished without a trace.

A loan of nearly 300,000 yuan ballooned into a mountain of debt in less than a year, snowballing with interest until it became a nightmare.

Knowing he’d made a huge mess, Tang Siyou’s son originally planned to sell the truck to pay off part of the loan, then go home and ask his parents for help with the rest. But when he drove the truck to a used vehicle market, they told him it was a refurbished scrap vehicle. The truck he had bought for 270,000 yuan was now worth only 30,000.

Faced with a hole too deep to fill, the little bastard actually sold the dump truck at a dirt-cheap price, pocketed the 30,000 yuan, then went home and tricked another 20,000 yuan out of his mother—before running off on his own.

Debt collectors started showing up at the dumpling shop every day, making it impossible to keep the business going. With no other choice, Tang Siyou sold the only home he and his wife owned. But the decades-old house fetched a pitiful price, not nearly enough to cover the debt. In the end, he had to give up the dumpling shop too.

From a small business owner who had once lived a comfortable life, he was reduced to a homeless drifter.

When his wife kept insisting on going out to look for their son, Tang Siyou, for the first time in all their years of marriage, raised his hand against her. After the slap, he dragged her to get a divorce.

After the divorce, Tang Siyou had nowhere to go. At his age, even the job of a residential gatekeeper wouldn’t take him. With no options left, he built a makeshift shack near a landfill on the outskirts of the city. He survived by collecting garbage and growing a few vegetables on a patch of cleared land—just enough to keep from starving.

Tang Siyou thought he would die out there by the stinking landfill. But unexpectedly, because his household registration was still tied to Haitangyuan Street, he was included in the aid program of Wei Sheng’s Fund for Impoverished and Solitary Elderly.

When he heard Wei Sheng was opening a restaurant, Tang Siyou was the first to step forward. After all, he’d run a dumpling shop his whole life, dealt with every kind of government department, and knew how to legally sidestep unnecessary fines. He was a seasoned veteran of the food business.

With an old hand like him on board, Wei Sheng and Jiang Xiaoman saved a significant amount on the storefront transfer fee.

Originally, Wei Sheng had planned to take the easy route—find a shop that was already renovated, pay a transfer fee, make a few cosmetic changes, and open for business.

But Tang Siyou happened to know an old acquaintance who worked in property management on a commercial street in the city. What most people didn’t know was that, aside from the storefronts with transfer signs, there were also some properties held directly by the property management company.

The key point? Those properties could be rented directly from the management company, with no transfer fee required.

Tang Siyou asked Wei Sheng for money to buy two cartons of cigarettes. In return, his contact helped them find a recently vacated rustic cuisine restaurant with fairly new renovations. It had two floors, a decent location, space for over twenty tables in the main hall, and eight private dining rooms upstairs.

Large commercial spaces like that are usually hard to lease out. Tang Siyou took the opportunity to haggle the price down. He also complained that the interior design didn’t suit a rustic cuisine restaurant and that many fixtures would have to be replaced. In the end, he saved Wei Sheng over 20,000 yuan.

Wei Sheng was so pleased, he called Jiang Xiaoman right away, and the two bosses gave Old Tang a hefty red envelope with 5,000 yuan.

Compared to the tens of thousands usually spent on transfer fees, the red envelope wasn’t that big. But it was a huge help to Old Tang. With that 5,000 yuan, he could finally rent a place in the city and no longer had to live by the landfill.

When Wei Sheng heard that Old Tang had rented a place on his own, he smacked his forehead. How could he have forgotten about him?

Most restaurants, due to low wages and frequent late-night shifts, provide food and lodging. Since Old Tang was paying rent out of pocket, Wei Sheng didn’t make him move into the staff dormitory. Instead, he told the finance department to note it down and give Old Tang a 500 yuan monthly housing allowance.

Someone like Old Tang—well-connected locally and on familiar terms with all the regulatory departments—was someone worth treating well.

Sure enough, with Tang Siyou holding down the fort, all Wei Sheng had to do was provide the funds. Tang took care of everything else: renovations, procurement, hiring. Wei Sheng didn’t have to worry about a thing, and Tang even saved him a good deal of money. Especially in procurement—Tang Siyou, with his small-business savvy, knew better than many big suppliers where to find high-quality goods at low prices.

Wei Sheng was comfortable letting Old Tang handle part of the procurement mainly because their restaurant specialized in Langshan rustic cuisine. That meant most of their ingredients—including some unique Langshan seasonings—were sourced locally by Jiang Xiaoman and shipped in.

Once everything was ready, the only thing left was the name of the restaurant, and that’s where Wei Sheng and Jiang Xiaoman had differing opinions.

Jiang Xiaoman felt that since Wei Sheng had put in the majority of the investment, the restaurant should at least be called something like “Wei Family Rustic Cuisine.”

But Wei Sheng didn’t like the character “Wei.” He thought Jiang Xiaoman’s name sounded better and wanted to name the restaurant “Xiaomange Local Cuisine Restaurant.”

They put it to a company-wide vote, and everyone agreed that “Xiaomange Local Cuisine Restaurant” sounded more appealing—just hearing it made people want to place an order.

“That’s the one! Names are just fluff. What really matters is making money,” Wei Sheng declared, sealing the decision. He immediately had a sign designed and hung above the entrance.

On an auspicious day, “Xiaomange Local Cuisine Restaurant” officially opened its doors for business!

Early in the morning, two rows of flower baskets lined the entrance of the restaurant. So many people had sent them that there was no room left inside. In the end, they nearly spilled over to the entrance of the neighboring fruit shop. As it happened, the fruit shop owner was Hu Qianqian’s old middle school classmate. The auntie beamed as she helped Wei Sheng arrange the flower baskets, even specially wrapping up a fruit basket to gift to the restaurant. When she saw Hu Qianqian, she pulled her aside for a long, nostalgic chat.

With her son’s restaurant opening, of course Hu Qianqian came to help. Worried there wouldn’t be enough hands, she had dressed in comfortable, practical clothes: a fitted hoodie on top, tapered track pants below, and a pair of classic domestic-brand sneakers. Her long black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and she wore light makeup. With her petite frame and round, youthful face, at first glance she could easily be mistaken for Wei Sheng’s older sister.

Liang Yi arrived dressed to the nines in a tailored suit and tie, looking like he was at least ten years older than Hu Qianqian. Standing beside the petite and graceful Qianqian, who was all smiles, Lawyer Liang instantly felt deflated.

If he’d known, he would’ve worn something younger-looking today.

Maybe after work, he could swing by the mall and try on a few tracksuits? Qianqian always seemed to like that domestic sportswear brand, Hongyan, didn’t she?

In that moment, his custom suit worth tens of thousands suddenly lost all appeal. He resolved to switch to Hongyan tracksuits that cost just a few hundred yuan apiece.

Too bad it was too late to change now.

Fortunately, Lawyer Liang was always quick on his feet. With a slight shift in mindset, he stepped forward with a smile and said to Hu Qianqian, “Ever since we got back from Langshan, everyone at the firm’s been clamoring to try some Langshan-style dishes. Now that Wei Sheng’s restaurant is open, do you have any private rooms? I’ll book two of the biggest ones.”

Whether or not they’d fit was irrelevant. If there weren’t enough seats, he’d just tell the employees to bring their families too. No matter what, today he had to make sure his “stepson” got the full spotlight!

Wei Sheng gave a mental eye-roll. When he saw his mom sneak a glance at him, his heart softened. He shot Liang Yi a forced smile and instructed the staff to reserve the two largest private rooms upstairs.

A guest is a guest. Just because you’re dating my mom doesn’t mean you’re getting a discount! I’m making money off you capitalists, thank you very much.

Aside from Liang Yi, Grandpa Hu’s fishing and chess buddies, Grandma Hu’s square-dancing girlfriends, Zhou Mingxing and other colleagues from the company, and even Wei Sheng’s older friends from his social circle—all showed up to show their support.

It made sense. People from Grandpa Hu’s generation who had managed to settle down in the provincial capital were either self-employed and financially secure, or retired from government jobs. The former rented out their storefronts for hundreds of thousands in annual rent and lived more comfortably than civil servants. The latter had pensions over ten thousand yuan a month, full medical coverage, and very few expenses. Getting together with old friends for a meal was just an everyday thing for them.

The restaurant officially opened at 10:08 a.m., and within half an hour, it was packed to capacity.

Liang Yi, ever shameless, saw Hu Qianqian helping out and immediately took off his suit jacket, slipping right into the role of “host.” He helped carry dishes and clear tables, and when he saw how overwhelmed the staff was, he even called a few young people from his law firm to come lend a hand.

On a normal day, Wei Sheng—being the mama’s boy he was—would’ve definitely come over to throw some passive-aggressive shade. But right now, he didn’t even have the time. A sudden wave of his fans had just arrived outside!

Wei Sheng hadn’t announced the restaurant opening to his fans, worried that some of them, who weren’t well-off themselves, might scrape together money to send flower baskets or gifts just to support him. But to his surprise, quite a few local fans had still caught wind of the event and showed up.

The problem was, both the main dining area and the upstairs private rooms were already full. The fans had brought flower baskets, and Wei Sheng couldn’t just leave them standing outside.

Even though the fans said they’d be happy just to take a photo with him, Wei Sheng couldn’t let it end like that.

“Take them to the hotpot place across the street,” Liang Yi said, appearing out of nowhere with his phone in hand. “A friend of mine owns it. At this hour, they should still have space. I’ll call and reserve a few private rooms. Treat your fans to a hotpot meal.”

“Thanks… Uncle Liang.” Wei Sheng’s ears turned red. He’d just been cursing Liang Yi in his head a moment ago, and now he had to accept the man’s generous help. It made him feel a little awkward and a little guilty.

“Ah, no need, really! We’ll just go home and eat!”

“Yeah, we all live nearby anyway. You go do your thing, Wei Sheng. We’ll come back another day to check in and support the place!”

The fans said their goodbyes and tried to leave after dropping off their gifts.

Wei Sheng stopped them.

Come on! Guests are guests. Around here, when a family celebrates something, even if a beggar shows up with a bowl, you’re supposed to give them a dish and a couple of steamed buns. The more proper families even hand out little red envelopes. And these were fans who brought flower baskets and gifts!

“Come on, come on! Let’s go have hotpot together! We’ll shoot a vlog afterward too—it’ll help me complete my check-in task on Weibo!” Wei Sheng’s reasoning was flawless and left no room for argument.

Ever since they’d left the TV station, they no longer had access to the promotional team the station had provided. The new PR hires Zhou Mingxing brought in were still in training, so for now, they had to rely on themselves to post daily updates on Weibo and video platforms to keep up their online presence.

The moment fans heard they could film a vlog with Wei Sheng, their feet froze on the spot.

Who could possibly say no to appearing on camera with Teacher Wei? Just the thought of it was enough to make them grin in their sleep!

“You take them to the hotpot place. I’ll give the restaurant a heads-up for you. Once the banquet starts, I’ll call you over for the toast,” Liang Yi urged.

Now wasn’t the time to be sulking with “Uncle Liang.” Wei Sheng nodded and quickly led the fans across the street to the hotpot restaurant to grab seats.

Luckily, there weren’t many people in the private rooms at noon. Wei Sheng counted the number of fans who had come and booked five private rooms. Worried they might try to save him money by ordering less, he simply asked the owner to prepare a set menu at 150 yuan per person.

To his surprise, the owner really was a good friend of Liang Yi’s. Maybe Liang Yi had already explained things over the phone, because the owner knew Wei Sheng would be heading back to the main event later to entertain guests. He even assigned several waitstaff specifically to serve their rooms.

It was the first time fans had ever sat down at the same table to eat with Wei Sheng. Even though it wasn’t at his rustic cuisine restaurant, they were still thrilled.

The shy, introverted fans were too nervous to speak, but the outgoing ones couldn’t wait to start chatting—

“Wei Sheng, I’ve seen other idols open bubble tea shops, hotpot restaurants, or Japanese eateries. What made you decide to open a rustic cuisine place?”

Heavens! When they first saw the news, they practically fell apart.

Sure, rustic cuisine was delicious, and they actually liked visiting unique local-style restaurants for fun. But when it came to promoting it… it just felt a little off somehow…

(End of chapter)