The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 281
An hour later, the rain stopped, and the cumulonimbus clouds retreated to the southeast with thunder and lightning, and the washed sun appeared in the northwest sky, sprinkled with the afterglow of the setting sun.

After 10 minutes, the water on the road receded gradually, leaving a lot of muddy and rotten grass, which was a bit messy.

Lao Tan and Wang Shulan switched places, and Lao Tan began to drive.

After 5 minutes, I came to the tomato industry base.

Here is another scene after the rain.Although some low-lying greenhouses have not been filled with rainwater, the water channels between the sheds are full of water. Farmers are rolling up their trousers and barefoot, dredging with shovels to prevent water from seeping into the greenhouses over time.

Some of the tomato trucks parked on the side of the road were half-loaded before the rain. The drivers and stevedores were opening the canvas and pouring the accumulated water down.It is impossible to continue to install the greenhouses, and the farmers are busy taking care of the greenhouses.

Naughty children are playing in the stagnant water on the side of the road, the water is not deep, just below the feet, this is a water park for the children, let the adults shout and laugh happily, and work hard to take care of their childhood.

Some people were calling, asking their family members to come quickly to help dredge the waterway, and some reported to their family members that nothing was wrong, and asked their wives to cook two dishes so that they could go back and have a drink.

When the tomato industry base was about to leave, a group of people surrounded a big tree not far from the road.

The first thing Lao Tan and Wang Shulan saw was not the group of people, but the Banla'er tree lying on the side of the road. Apparently the tree was struck by lightning, Banla'er fell down, and the other half was still standing strong.

When the car approached, it was discovered that the surrounding crowd was blocked by a lying half tree.

"Something may have happened." Old Tan slowed down the car.

"Um--"

Wang Shulan stuck her head out of the car window nervously and curiously, and through the gaps in the crowd, she vaguely saw a person lying on the ground next to the tree, scorched black, covered with mud and grass leaves.

Lao Tan also saw it, and his heart couldn't help but tighten.

Apparently the man was struck dead by lightning.

As the car drove forward, neither of them spoke a word, and they were surrounded by an indescribable emotion, which was sad and desolate, and mixed with emotions about the impermanence of life and death——
After a long time, when the car got on the highway, Wang Shulan said leisurely, "That person was hacked to death."

"Well, it was struck by lightning." Lao Tan responded.

Then he was silent again.

There is no standing water on the expressway, and the road surface is clean, glowing red under the setting sun.The air after the rain has the freshness of water, clean and refreshing, and it floats in from the car window, which is warm and pleasant.

Twenty kilometers passed in a flash, and the car got off and drove into the urban area at high speed.

Everything is bustling and noisy. The torrential rain that just passed just gave the city a bath. At this time, it is enjoying the comfort of the sunset and slowly entering the charming and cool night.

Back at the hotel, the two went into their rooms.

Lao Tan was lying on the bed, his mood fluctuated a bit throughout the day, and he needed to digest it.

First, I was enthusiastic about planning and giving ideas to others, and then I drank happily, as if I was talking about it at the wine table.Next, I visited the Prince's Mansion pleasingly, and sighed for the exquisite architecture of the ancients.

After that, there was a panic in the rain, worrying about being washed away by the flood.

Fortunately, the rain is over and the sky is clear, and I am in a good mood. Whoever has witnessed the unpredictable natural and man-made disasters in the world again feels that life is so weak that it will be gone at some point.

If color is used to describe a person's mood, then his mood at the moment is gray, as if nothingness.

nothingness.

Yes, whether the eyes are open or closed, it is a boundless nothingness.It was as if entering a chaotic world, gray and gray.It also seems to have fallen into a deep abyss, with neither the bottom nor the edge.

He knew that this state was not good, but he couldn't lift his spirits, and he was listless as if he was exhausted.

He remembered being in this state once when he was in high school.It was not long after the start of the second year of high school, and it was the autumn harvest.I learned to cut crops one day at a time, thinking that I would be able to harvest crops in the same way, but I was exhausted from harvesting crops one day, and went to school the next day in a trance, unable to learn anything, like a fool.

After a few days of tossing, people are a little numb, and they fall into an unconscious state when breaking corn in the field, like entering nothingness.

After he came out of that state, he had doubts about his study path, so much so that he became a cook today.

Human consciousness is subtle, and pessimism often leads to negativity, which subconsciously affects people's thoughts and behaviors, but I don't feel it, and think it's normal.

Lao Tan is in this state now. Fortunately, he has learned from the past and realized it in advance and became sober.

It was getting dark, and the night of the city lit up in the darkness.

Lao Tan sat up from the bed, walked to the window and looked at the scenery outside.This scenery is not as beautiful as the beautiful valley, nor is it as grand as the prince's mansion, nor is it thrilling in a thunderstorm.

It is night, and the city built of steel and concrete is decorated with neon lights and colorful colors by modern civilization.There are not only the bright lights and feasting, but also the dark and damp suffering and sadness.

To yearn for feasting and feasting, one must first create brilliant lights; to get out of suffering and sadness, one must first change the darkness and humidity.

He asked in his heart, is he changing the darkness and dampness, and still creating the brilliance of lights?
It seemed that he had never thought about these things before, but he just kept moving forward with his head down.Walked uphill and downhill, jumped over ditches and ridges.First for yourself, for your family.Then it's still for myself and for my family.

The only consolation for myself is that I didn't tell the hundreds of brothers who followed me to be laid off and unemployed.

Is this what you call social responsibility?

To beautify myself a bit, to put it bluntly, I like it, and it is also driven by vanity, so I have to do something famous.

Famous?Famous.

If you take it too seriously, you will be exhausted, and it is easy to learn hypocrisy, even looking down on yourself.If you underestimate it and don't care about it, just focus on doing it, but enjoy it and enjoy it.

In all honesty, I haven't felt tired for more than [-] years, and I'm full of happiness. I haven't left the restaurant for almost a day, and the time spent in restaurants is much longer than that at home.Mr. Lin Yan's words "Old Tan, this is not a restaurant" is a testimony.

People, if you live and die, you will die, if you don't die or live, you are finished.

Thinking of this, Lao Tan's mood began to improve, he happily lit a cigarette for himself, and smoked comfortably.

At this moment, Wang Shulan opened the door and came in, holding the food delivered by the takeaway in her hand, and said with a smile: "I don't want to go out to eat, so I ordered takeaway."

Old Tan was also a little hungry, and said, "Takeaway is good, and I don't want to go out."

"Bring a bottle of wine, I have nothing to drink at night."

"it is good."

"I can't go back after drinking too much." Wang Shulan joked.

"Then you have to buy another bottle, one bottle is not enough."

The two sat down and ate and drank. Wang Shulan sighed and sighed at the person who was struck to death by lightning on the way back, and then said that she was going to add an accident insurance for herself, just in case.

"Brother, you should also buy accident insurance for yourself. If you're not afraid of [-], you're afraid of what happens, right?" Wang Shulan said.

This reminded Lao Tan, so he said: "Sister, when you buy it, ask about it. How do private companies provide pension insurance for employees? What do they need?"

"What's wrong? Do you want to pay pension insurance for employees?" Wang Shulan asked.

"I have this idea, but I can't afford it all. I don't have that money—you consult first, and I will think about it." Lao Tan then said: "Now we only have group insurance. Assure."

Wang Shulan thought for a while and said, "I support it."

(End of this chapter)