The Wood-Chasing Bird's Tongue and a Human Tongue

When Liu Chang'an returned home, he saw Zhou Dongdong had piled up crab shells and legs to form empty crab shells and placed them on the dining table.

"This is my crab army," Zhou Dongdong boasted as she saw Liu Chang'an return. "I'm the Crab General."

"What about my crabs?" Liu Chang'an asked, pointing to the empty plate. The huge pile of crabs had been devoured by the two adults and one child. He then took two crab shells and hung them on Zhou Dongdong's two high-piled pigtails. Since she was a crab general, he decided to give her a makeover.

"Dan Dan and Dongdong both love it, so I let them eat it all. I steamed another portion for you." Zhou Shuling came out of the kitchen with a plate of crabs, about ten of them.

Liu Chang'an was very satisfied; this was someone who had truly been a mother—so considerate.

He glanced at Shangguan Dandan, who seemed to enjoy being a mother but only knew how to eat all the crabs with Zhou Dongdong.

"Didn't you just say you only left him three?" Shangguan Dandan looked at Zhou Shuling with great confusion.

"I said that on purpose because I was afraid you'd want to eat more..." Zhou Shuling explained somewhat embarrassedly, "Crabs are considered 'cold' in traditional Chinese medicine, so girls shouldn't eat too many, as it can easily cause stomach aches."

Shangguan Dandan, clutching her rocket launcher thermos, sat on the sofa to watch TV. The TV upstairs was much nicer than the small, box-like TV in the storage room.

Zhou Shuling sat across the table, watching Zhou Dongdong play with crab shells and Liu Chang'an peel and eat crabs. She rested her elbows on the table, a gentle smile on her face, and chatted with Liu Chang'an about odds and ends of the restaurant.

Zhou Dongdong, sporting two crab shells on her head, ran to find Shangguan Dandan and asked if she wanted to be the Crab General, but Shangguan Dandan sternly refused.

Liu Chang'an doesn't use any tools to eat crabs. In the old days, when the green trains moved slowly, people would often board with a few crabs and a set of crab-eating tools, eating them all the way. By the time they finished eating the crabs, the several-hour journey would have passed.

Zhang Taiyan's wife Tang Guoli, said, "If it weren't for the delicious crabs from Yangcheng Lake, why would anyone want to live in Suzhou?"

With today's high-speed logistics, most places that can ship online can enjoy Yangcheng Lake crabs, so there's no need to live in Suzhou just for crabs.

Of course, Suzhou is also a great place, suitable for eating, living, and doing business.

"Mi Gaoming came to the restaurant to see me today, and I just happened to run into All-Star. It was quite awkward." Zhou Shuling encountered a problem and habitually consulted Liu Chang'an for advice.

"Mi Gaoming is the old classmate you met at the buffet that time, right?" Liu Chang'an nodded, peeled a crab, saw that it was full of roe, and handed it to Zhou Shuling while picking up another one to peel. "He seems like a pretty normal, successful man, or maybe he's on his way to success."

"He's very composed, what kind of description is that?" Zhou Shuling couldn't help but laugh. Fortunately, Liu Chang'an and Zhou Dongdong didn't use such random adjectives when they talked, so as not to lead Zhou Dongdong astray... But it doesn't matter, whether he uses them randomly or correctly, Zhou Dongdong doesn't really understand.

"But... what's so awkward about it? Mi Gaoming asked you out?" Liu Chang'an looked at his silly mother in front of him. In his eyes, she seemed a bit foolish and he was worried she wouldn't be able to get married, but actually, she was quite sought after.

"No, we're old classmates... How could he possibly ask me out?" Zhou Shuling shook her head in disbelief. She figured Mi Gaoming felt the same way. Zhou Shuling continued, "Mi Gaoming wants to discuss a collaboration with us. His company will handle brand promotion and turn our Hong Soup Spicy Rooster noodle shop into a franchise brand."

Liu Chang'an didn't say anything. He rolled his tongue inside the crab shell, scraping the crab roe and meat into his mouth, slowly savoring the mixed flavor. He glanced at Zhou Shuling and nodded.

Zhou Shuling and Liu Chang'an had developed a good rapport in their conversations. His nods didn't necessarily mean he agreed; rather, they conveyed a deeper meaning behind his nods, implying that he didn't want to say anything more.

So Zhou Shuling continued, "It looks like a good thing, but I'm a little unwilling. As for why I'm unwilling, I can't really explain it myself."

Zhou Shuling wasn't actually unable to explain it, but rather embarrassed to say it. She always felt that if the restaurant grew bigger, like a chain restaurant... the feeling would change, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly would change.

Liu Chang'an must think his idea was rather foolish, but Zhou Shuling still doesn't like outsiders getting involved.

You know Starbucks, right?

Zhou Shuling nodded and quickly sat up straight to listen to him speak.

"Except for specific circumstances where Starbucks has franchise stores, the vast majority of Starbucks stores are company-owned. The reason is that they don't trust franchisees to strictly adhere to regulations, quality, corporate culture, and the execution of promotional activities, etc..." Liu Chang'an took a sip of tea and continued, "The local Modern China Tea Shop in Junsha also hasn't opened up franchising opportunities outside the area, which is also due to this consideration."

"You don't agree to franchising either?" Zhou Shuling breathed a sigh of relief.

"First, our reputation hasn't reached the point of explosive popularity yet. In terms of established foundation, we still lag significantly behind those companies that have built a strong brand. Now isn't the time. Second, Mi Gaoming's definitely in need of revenue. To expand and increase the number of stores in the shortest time, they must hype the brand, making our restaurants the subject of various marketing campaigns. Current marketing strategies largely follow the trend of creating viral sensations, which goes against our original intentions." Liu Chang'an smiled. "We said from the beginning, what will we rely on to establish ourselves?"

"High quality brings a good reputation, and we need to become a brand that is passed down by word of mouth," Zhou Shuling said immediately. Although she is not a particularly intelligent woman, she knows how to listen carefully, remember things, and then execute them diligently.

"We don't need franchise stores. When you feel the time is right, we'll open a second one ourselves."

"Good!"

"But I think the key point is, since Mi Gaoming came here to discuss cooperation, why are you embarrassed to run into All-Star?" Liu Chang'an rarely gossiped, but since this involved the happiness of a foolish child, he still had to ask.

"All-Star misunderstood that Mi Gaoming was pursuing me, and the two of them had a little argument," Zhou Shuling said with a sigh.

"Sometimes you can't be soft-hearted. Always worrying about other people's feelings and face will only make things worse. When you refuse, you have to be firm and decisive, without showing any mercy." Liu Chang'an was also annoyed. How could people be so clueless about matters of the heart?

"I didn't mean to offend All-Star, since we're in the business world... What if he makes things difficult for me?" Zhou Shuling said, sounding a little aggrieved, as if it were her fault.

"He shouldn't be that kind of person." Liu Chang'an paused. "If he causes you trouble, I'll tear Zhu Juntang's skirt."

Zhou Shuling retorted, "Honestly, Miss San is such a nice person. You should have asked her to plead for you, instead you went and tore her skirt. How could you do that?"

What do you know?

"This skirt-tearing thing is really baffling."

"I don't understand, and I won't explain."

"I don't believe you, you're talking nonsense."

Liu Chang'an ignored her and continued eating the crab intently, while Zhou Shuling watched him eat.

"Why do I always feel that your tongue is sometimes long and sometimes short, sometimes thick and sometimes thin?" Zhou Shuling asked in confusion. Women sometimes just can't help but notice strange things.

"That way, the tongue can better adapt to various occasions and functions." Liu Chang'an thought of the Wood-Chasing Bird's tongue again and talked to Zhou Shuling about it. The expression on her face was exactly the same as Zhou Dongdong's when she was very surprised, which was quite interesting.

After Liu Chang'an finished eating the crab, he went to watch TV. Zhou Shuling was cleaning up in the kitchen when Shangguan Dandan came in and stared at Zhou Shuling's chest.

"Is something the matter?" Zhou Shuling asked.

You've breastfed a baby before?

Of course, Zhou Shuling nodded.

Do you need to use your tongue to nurse?

"Ah?"

Do you need to use your tongue to nurse?

"No... don't use it, why are you asking this?" Zhou Shuling looked at the little girl in front of her with a slight embarrassment.

"I'm not telling you." Shangguan Dandan left.

Zhou Shuling was puzzled, but it was understandable. Little girls are always very curious about how to become an adult or a mother. Sometimes they think that wearing high heels and lipstick makes them a mother.

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I really want to die. My gallstones flared up today, and I felt unwell all day. I'm only feeling a little better now. Tomorrow I'll write a long chapter of 10,000 words to make up for the lack of output I should have done today.