He Dongliang nodded. "I'll ask around when the time comes. If I can get it sorted out, I'll quit my job and open a food stall."
Li Changfeng was somewhat surprised. "A Liang, you're giving up your iron rice bowl at a state-owned work unit?"
Wei Donglai didn't find Li Changfeng's words funny. He figured Li Changfeng wouldn't say such things after a trip to Guangzhou.
He Dongliang clearly disagreed with Li Changfeng.
"A Feng, I have a feeling our state-run restaurant won't be able to compete with those restaurants sooner or later."
"How could that happen?"
Wei Donglai admired He Dongliang's foresight.
"How could it not? Once you've been to Guangzhou, you'll understand that the so-called iron rice bowl is nothing but a joke. Under the tide of reform and opening up, state-owned work units that cling to old ways of thinking, rely on government subsidies, don't know how to adapt, and can't keep up with the times are bound to be weeded out."
"Really?"
"Go have a look around Guangzhou, and you'll know whether it's true."
Then Wei Donglai looked at He Dongliang. "A Liang, I support your idea of going into business for yourself. I've never worked in the restaurant business, but my advice is to observe more, think more, and learn more. Start with innovation, flavor, and service."
"And the most important thing is to stop playing cards and focus on learning to cook. In the restaurant business, your cooking skills are the foundation of your livelihood."
He Dongliang nodded. "I know."
After saying that, he continued staring at Wei Donglai until Wei Donglai began to feel a little uneasy.
"A Liang, if you have something to say, just say it. Stop staring at me like that."
"A Lai, why don't you go into business with me when the time comes?"
Wei Donglai hadn't expected to nearly get roped in.
He had no desire to work in the restaurant business. Did it make money? In this era, it absolutely did, but the hard work was real too. That was especially true of small operations like food stalls, where getting up early and working late was the least of it.
Wei Donglai didn't think he could endure that kind of hardship.
"My goal is the sea. That's where my journey lies."
He Dongliang was speechless. "Don't you still not even have a boat?"
"There'll be bread, and there'll be cola too."
"Can you talk properly?"
"Working in the restaurant business is hard, and I can't stand that kind of hardship. Is that plain enough?"
Seeing that Wei Donglai really seemed unwilling to get involved in the restaurant business, He Dongliang dropped the subject.
Li Changfeng, however, curled his lip. "Isn't going out to sea to fish hard work too? And fish are cheap."
"Fish prices will go up too, you know."
Hearing that, He Dongliang suddenly remembered something.
"Now that you mention it, I saw someone deliver mud eels to the restaurant across from mine yesterday. Do you know how much they cost per jin?"
"How much?"
"Four yuan fifty!"
Wei Donglai's eyes lit up instantly. He glanced at Li Changfeng, whose eyes shone even brighter than his own, nearly blinding him.
"We'll catch mud eels tomorrow!"
The two spoke in unison, arriving at the same idea without a word between them, birds of a feather flocking together.
He Dongliang looked at them. "Do you two know how to catch mud eels?"
"No!"
Once again, they spoke in unison.
"If you don't, what are you getting so excited about?"
Li Changfeng chuckled. "My second uncle knows how. We'll bring him along tomorrow."
He Dongliang was speechless. "Shouldn't it be your second uncle bringing us along?"
"Same thing, same thing."
"Like hell it is. The question is whether your second uncle will take us."
Li Changfeng patted his chest. "Don't worry, leave it to me. Tomorrow we can just wait for a bumper haul."
Watching the two discuss how much money they would make tomorrow, Wei Donglai couldn't be bothered to dampen their confidence.
He knew mud eels weren't easy to catch. Tomorrow's main task wasn't to catch a lot, but to learn how.
Feeling a tug on his trouser pocket, he turned and saw that the little girl, Momo, had nearly finished the food in both bowls.
She was small, but she had quite an appetite.
"Do you want more rice?"
The little girl looked at him, then down at her belly, hesitating a little.
Wei Donglai could tell she'd eaten about enough, but still wanted more.
"Then how about just a little bit more?"
The little girl nodded at once.
Wei Donglai took the bowl into the kitchen. He scooped out the rice, leaving the crispy rice crust behind, then pulled the fire apart in the stove and poured rice water into the pot.
Afraid the little girl would eat too much and become uncomfortably full, Wei Donglai gave her only a little, just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl.
Then he carried the rice into the room and added a little less than half a bowl of dishes for her.
He then gave He Dongliang and Li Changfeng a sly smile. "You two have lined your stomachs, right?"
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. I'm going to drink you both under the table until you call me Daddy."
"A Liang, what do you say?"
"Let's get him. This time, even admitting defeat won't help him."
The battle was on, but Wei Donglai sat as calmly as a fisherman on his platform. Though it was one against two, he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Half an hour later.
"A Liang, can you still drink?"
"Not much more."
"When did that bastard get so good at holding his liquor?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
"What do we do, then?"
"Whatever happens, I'm not calling him Daddy."
"Me neither!"
"Then drink!"
"Drink!"
Listening to the two whispering furtively under the table, Wei Donglai found it rather amusing.
Another ten minutes passed. Judging that neither of them could drink any more, Wei Donglai didn't make them continue.
As for calling him Daddy, that had only been a joke.
"So, would you dare challenge me to a drinking contest again?"
Given a way to save face, the two wasted no time taking it, hurriedly waving their hands with bleary eyes.
After resting for a while, the alcohol seemed to hit them both, and they lay motionless on the table.
The little girl had also finished eating by then. She carried her little stool to the doorway and sat down obediently.
Wei Donglai was just about to clear away the bowls and chopsticks when he saw the courtyard gate being pushed open.
Then Xu Qingqing walked in, holding her younger brother's hand.
Xu Qingqing's feelings were complicated at the moment. Before this, her impression of Wei Donglai had been one of loathing.
Part of it came from Wei Donglai's reputation in the village, but a larger part came from the way he had harassed her in the past.
Ever since Wei Donglai had moved in next door, she had spent the past two days worried that he would come and harass her again.
But that hadn't happened.
When Wei Donglai came to tell her the news and offered to look after her younger sister, she had hesitated.
But she hadn't seen any other sort of emotion in his eyes at the time, and taking her sister along would have been terribly inconvenient, so she had ultimately chosen to trust him.
It wasn't until she reached the clinic and learned that he was the one who had saved her brother's life that she no longer knew what to say.
What was more, he hadn't mentioned it when he came to tell her the news, which left her feeling somewhat guilty.
She felt guilty that she hadn't thanked him right away and had even troubled him to look after her sister.
So when she faced Wei Donglai now, all her complicated feelings ultimately turned into just three words and a handful of money.
"Thank you!"
The three words were soft, but exceptionally sincere.
The handful of money on the table included both small and large bills. The small ones were loose and scattered, while the larger ones were rolled into a bundle. It looked to be about a hundred yuan.
He knew the woman before him wanted to give everything she had to express her gratitude to him for saving her brother's life.
But Wei Donglai neither wanted nor dared to take the money.
If Wei Donglai's guess was right, the handful of money should have been everything she had, plus Sister-in-law Xu's compensation.
"If you give it all to me, how are you going to live?"
Wei Donglai folded the bills one by one, then rolled them back into a bundle and held it out to her.
He gently stroked the little boy's head. "I didn't save him expecting anything in return. I would have done the same for anyone. I think it's something I can be proud of."
"But if saving someone means you have to use the little money you have to thank me, it'll make me feel that what I did isn't worth being proud of at all. Instead, I'll feel guilty."