A Pair of Men and Women

The morning breeze blew cold and damp.

The owner of Yiwei Restaurant watched the tourists arriving so early in the morning with equal parts love and hate, unable to stop himself from nodding off. Since he made breakfast, he had to get up around four. He had not finished yesterday's work until after eight in the evening, cooking in the back kitchen and occasionally taking photos with tourists. He was exhausted.

It all stemmed from his appearance in that promotional video, where he had made several of his signature dishes. To make sure everyone got a share of the spotlight, Xie Zhiyao had included every restaurant in the village. They had discussed it among themselves, and each restaurant had prepared a few specialty dishes.

He had never imagined Yunmiao Village would become this popular. He had only thought appearing on television would be a novel experience; he had never expected it to amount to anything. But now, he was busy from dawn till dusk, practically worked half to death.

In the distance, a tall, lean figure ambled over, dressed in athletic wear and wearing a baseball cap. The owner of Yiwei Restaurant perked up and flashed a smile from far away. "Teacher Wang, out exercising again?"

"Yeah. The air here is nice, so I have to breathe in that fresh morning air." Wang Yan chuckled. "How is it? You must be making quite a bit lately, right?"

"Well, I am making quite a bit. What I earn in one day now is more than I used to make in a month. But it's exhausting too. My whole family can barely keep up with this one restaurant. We're up before dawn and work past dark, and everything on my body aches. I'm trading my life for money here." As he spoke,