Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 19 Brother Liu

The hotel was called Jiuge City Hotel, and it had double glass doors, which were still uncommon at the time. The interior was decorated in a magnificent style, with carved beams and painted rafters. There were large solid wood tables surrounded by genuine leather chairs.

The black marble floor tiles on the ground are so shiny they reflect light, and there is a large European-style chandelier on the ceiling. The walls are decorated with solid wood shelves, on which are placed vases, fans, and various antiques.

The waitresses were all young women over 1.7 meters tall, wearing red embroidered cheongsams that revealed their fair thighs as they walked, and their high heels would make most people of that era dizzy.

Following the waiter to a table, the group sat down. Li Zhongguo took the menu and looked through it to order, while Xiao Hong and Xiao Wei looked around curiously.

The entire hall is several hundred square meters, and it looks spacious and magnificent. There are stairs leading upstairs, and the second floor is full of private rooms. Going in and not eating anything costs two thousand yuan, which is really unaffordable for the average person. In this day and age, it's a place to throw money away. Two thousand yuan is almost a year's salary for a full-time worker.

The restaurant's kitchen is located underground, directly beneath the lobby. Exiting through the back door and turning down a corridor leads to the staff dormitory, a two-story building with men on the left and women on the right. The upper floor houses the supervisors and chefs, while the lower floor houses the waiters and general laborers. A staircase runs down the corridor from the staff dormitory, leading directly to the kitchen. Underground kitchens like this are quite common in Fengtian; many larger restaurants have them, with exhaust fans directly venting the fumes to the roof.

Li Zhongguo ordered the food, returned the menu to the waiter, and ordered a pot of tea. The waiter turned and swayed away. Li Zhongguo turned to Xiaowei and said, "The waiters here earn several thousand or even tens of thousands a month, but you can't work there. You can work as a kitchen helper. Becoming a head chef in the future is not bad. A helper can earn two or three thousand a month, a chef can earn at least five thousand, a head chef can earn tens of thousands, and a master chef can earn tens of thousands. It's quite lucrative, and it's prestigious. You'll be someone important wherever you go."

Xiao Hong's eyes widened as she asked, "Really? Cooking is that amazing? You earn more than you do at a regular job?"

Li Zhongguo laughed and said, "The main thing about working is that it's stable. If you're really talking about making money, working is the worst. Now, you can actually earn more doing anything than working, but it's not stable, and you're afraid you won't be able to do it for long. If you really become famous as a chef, you wouldn't trade it for a factory manager position. Just like the head chef of this restaurant, you can make over 100,000 yuan a year, and you don't have to do any work. You just have to manage the people below you."

Xiao Wei stared wide-eyed and said, "Over ten thousand a year? More than ten thousand a month? My God, city people are really rich, they pay so much just for cooking a meal."

Li Zhongguo laughed and said, "Do you think just anyone can do this? You have to be good at cooking, famous, and have people to manage the kitchen. How do restaurants make money? It's all about the chefs, so it's normal for chefs to earn more. Xiaowei, if you really plan to stay in Fengtian, I advise you to find a place to learn to be a chef. Even an ordinary chef in a typical restaurant can earn several thousand a month. If you happen to become famous, then there's no limit to how much you can make. These days, which famous chef in our province doesn't earn hundreds of thousands, or even millions a year?"

Xiao Hong excitedly grabbed Xiao Wei's arm and said, "Learn, learn, Xiao Wei, learn this! You can earn money and cook delicious food. Isn't that great? It's not tiring at all. You work so hard on the construction site, how much do you earn in a year?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's not bad. I can earn three or four hundred a month now, and five or six hundred if the work is good. It's not less than what a full-time worker in the factory earns."

Xiao Hong said, "A chef can earn several thousand a month, didn't Uncle Li mention that? Anyway, you're coming here to keep me company, so you can learn this. Oh, Guizi, and then you can make whatever I want to eat, okay?"

Xiao Wei scratched his head, thought for a moment, hesitated, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go learn. I've never even cooked corn stubble before, can I really do it?"

It was two hours later when the group finished eating and came out.

It's not that a few people are eating slowly; it's that the restaurant is crowded, and the food takes a while to arrive.

This meal broadened Xiaowei and Xiaohong's horizons, giving them a glimpse into the lives of city dwellers.

A plate of venison, twenty thin slices, cost three hundred yuan; a small dish of tender red buds, a common wild vegetable in every household at home, cost forty yuan here; a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables cost eighty yuan; this meal cost more than nine hundred yuan; and a pot of tea cost one hundred and fifty yuan. Xiao Wei felt the pinch when he found out.

This was a profound experience, etched into Xiaowei's mind.

He had never imagined that people could live like this, or that money could be earned this way. This was a completely different world from the county. It was a big city, with tall buildings and grand hotels, and even the people walking around on the street had a completely different feel to them.

This is the provincial capital.

Thinking of his parents digging mud in the mountains, thinking of his fellow workers carrying bricks in the county town, and looking at Xiao Hong's beaming face, Xiao Wei suddenly felt that he really should do something. Since he was here, he might as well fight. If others could do it, he could definitely do it too. He clenched his fist secretly.

After leaving the hotel and getting into the police car, Li Zhongguo told the driver, "Go to Beisi Road."

Then, turning to Xiaowei from the passenger seat, he said, "How about it? You've seen it, haven't you? Our little car is too small; we have to come out here. Xiaohong is going to stay here for four years, this is your chance. Work hard, and in four years you might be established, a provincial capital resident, haha, then your uncle will come and ask for your help."

Xiao Hong stared at Xiao Wei with wide, hopeful eyes.

Xiao Wei's heart started racing instantly, feeling immense pressure, but he still nodded firmly and said, "It can do it, Uncles, just you wait and see, it'll definitely work."

Xiao Hong smiled contentedly, very happy. Li Zhongguo silently shook his head; it wasn't easy for a mountain person to make it in the city. But he still went along with it, saying, "Alright, that's settled then. Uncle is looking forward to eating Chef Zhang's dishes. Haha."

In fact, in 90, apart from a few main roads, the roads in Fengtian were not as wide as they are now. Most of them were only two lanes in both directions. However, there were fewer cars at that time, so they seemed wide.

However, the most distinctive feature of Fengtian, or rather, Northeast China, is its straight roads, laid out in a grid pattern with east-west streets and north-south roads, making it difficult to get lost. Once you have a house number, you can find your way anywhere. Even if you miss one or two intersections while driving, as long as you're heading in the right direction, it's easy to find your way back.

Soon, the car arrived at Beisi Road.

The car was parked on the side of the road. Li Zhongguo led Xiaowei and Xiaohong out of the car and walked into a somewhat dilapidated residential area.

This area is full of old buildings, all of which look decades old, and they are indeed decades old. They are all Soviet-style tenement buildings built in the 1950s.

Although it's old, it's still much better than the ones in the county town. Many trees have been planted inside and outside the residential area.

In the 90s, Fengtian City had a lot of trees. Tall trees lined the streets, alleys, factories, residential buildings, and roadsides, creating tree-lined paths in the height of summer. Later, with urban development, the number of trees decreased.

After entering the residential area, Li Zhongguo led Xiaowei and Xiaohong directly into the entrance of a building, up the dark and narrow stairs to the third floor, and knocked on an old wooden door.

"Brother Liu, Sister-in-law, are you home?"

After knocking a few times and waiting a few minutes, footsteps were heard inside, and a woman's voice came out: "Who is it?"