The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 293 Departure from Beijing
In the evening, the snow stopped, leaving no traces on the road, as usual.

Lao Tan bought mutton rolls, fat beef and green vegetables at the vegetable market, and prepared to shabu-shabu.

Get home at five o'clock.Wash the vegetables, adjust the seasoning, put on the hot pot, and wait for the son and daughter-in-law to come back.

At six o'clock, my son came back from school.He went into the room and put his schoolbag on the sofa, then took out his soaked training clothes and put them in the washing machine. When he saw the hot pot set up, he said happily, "Yeah! Eat hot pot——"

"Do you like it?" Old Tan asked with a satisfied smile on his face.

"I like it," said the son.

"Wait for your mother to come back and eat together."

"I'll call my mom and tell her to hurry up."

It's a pity that Lin Yan has a meeting and has to come back at nine o'clock.

Lao Tan was a little disappointed. He originally planned to eat with the family of three, and communicated with Lin Yan by the way. It seems that it will not work.There was a hint of relief at the same time of loss. To be honest, he didn't think about what to communicate. Since Lin Yan didn't come back, it seemed like he had escaped a catastrophe.

While accompanying his son in the shower, he listened to his son talking about what happened in school, smiling from time to time, and asking a few words from time to time.

To be honest, when I was cooking hot pot with my son, there was a scene in front of my eyes: In this familiar yet unfamiliar home, Lin Yan and her son were sitting at the dinner table, talking and laughing while eating——
It was very warm, but he couldn't help but feel his nose sore, because he was not in this warm picture.

Without myself, but who can blame this?I have been running outside these years, saying that I am doing business, and it looks like I have a successful career, but my family——
Some fail.

In fact, Lao Tan is not an exception, he almost represents the status quo of many men working outside.To put it bluntly, in order to make money, to make the family rich, and to let the wife and children live a good life, family building is often neglected. When I find out, I feel guilty and feel that I care too little for my wife and children.

People, if you gain something, you lose something.Migrant workers like Lao Tan and his generation came out of the countryside to earn a living due to their poor families. They all experienced the initial hardships, and then relied on their skills and ability to work hard and accumulate little by little.During this process, I feel that my responsibility is to make money to support my family, and I only need to give money to my family, but I neglect the business.

When the money was earned and the family got better, he suddenly found that the relationship between husband and wife was gone. This was also a main reason for the cook's divorce.

It is said that Lao Tan has little communication with his wife, but in fact, most cooks have little communication with their daughter-in-law.There is no way to do this, the nature of the job depends on it. If the wife is not in the catering business, the two people have different commuting time and rest time, and there is less time to sit and eat together, let alone communicate. .

Let's understand each other.

Lin Yan finished the meeting at nine o'clock. Her unit was in the southernmost part of the provincial capital. She walked to Taoxian Airport and drove home for more than an hour. It was almost eleven o'clock when she arrived home.

Old Tan came out of the bedroom when he heard the door open.

"I'm back." Old Tan said.

"Yes." Lin Yan agreed while changing her slippers.

"Have you eaten yet?" Old Tan asked.

"have eaten."

"The hot pot is ready-made."

"It's over." Lin Yan changed into her slippers and came to the living room. She took off the down jacket on her body, "I'm exhausted. There are many things at the end of the year, and the boss has to work overtime for meetings."

"Take a few days off if you're tired." Old Tan said.

Lin Yan looked at Lao Tan, "Take a break? Don't even think about taking a break this month, or you'll have to work overtime every day—" She wanted to continue talking, but was interrupted by a rush of phone calls, and reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Yes, yes, for tonight's delivery in Shuangliao and Daqing, ask the team to arrange two 14 meters compartments, otherwise they won't be able to fit - the quarantine ticket will follow - and coastal seafood - don't need to be refrigerated, add oxygen, Yes, 24-hour oxygen--"

Old Tan knew that it took more than ten minutes for Lin Yan to make this call, so he shook his head and gave a wry smile before going back to the bedroom.

In the next few days, Lao Tan inspected various stores in the provincial capital, and he didn't make himself so tight. He arrived home at five o'clock in the evening to cook, and cooked the meal when his wife and children came back to eat together.

Lin Yan was very face-saving, she arrived home on time for three days in a row, and she praised a few words after eating the warm food.It's just that she has too many calls, like a general dispatcher. While arranging the delivery of the warehouse, directing the itinerary of the logistics vehicle, and connecting with the recipient, she treats the house as an office, and the whole old Tan is troubled by her son. Dodge calls.

"My mother's job is to make phone calls, and sometimes she loses her temper and fires the driver directly on the phone." The son said.

"Really? Your mother is very powerful." Old Tan said.

"Sometimes I swear at people—"

"Your mother is angry."

"When I saw her swearing, I quickly hid and went back to the house to do my homework. I didn't even dare to watch TV." The son said.

Old Tan laughed.

"Dad, let's make pot-packed meat tomorrow. I want to eat pot-packed meat." The son said.

"Okay, let's make pot-packed meat tomorrow."

"Fry some potato shreds for my mother, the kind with soy sauce."

"Ah."

"What else to do—fry broccoli, minced with garlic."

"it is good--"

"Oye-"

Seeing his son's happy appearance, Lao Tan felt at ease, feeling that this was the life he wanted to live.

Unfortunately, this day was soon broken.

According to the plan, Aqiao will open a store in Beijing next year. This is Lao Tan's dream and what Wang Shulan hopes most.So three days later, Lao Tan and Yanhua set off in the provincial capital, and Wang Shulan and Zhou Xiaomei set off in Baotou for an inspection trip to Beijing.

When they arrived in Beijing, Wang Shulan was naturally the host. First, she led the three of them to visit her precious granddaughter at her son's house, then arranged a place nearby, and then took her to Quanjude to eat roast duck.

Lao Tan is not too fond of roast duck. He has eaten it in Beijing, not only from Quanjude, but also from Dayali and Jinwanwan. It feels like that.As the saying goes, different clothes and hats are different. He thinks that the duck is better eaten stewed. Putting some potatoes in it is a beauty.

But what should I do? Quanjude’s roast duck is really good, with crispy skin and tender meat, and an attractive burnt aroma.A few strands of green onion, a piece of pancake, served with authentic Beijing sweet noodle sauce, a thin slice of fragrant duck meat is placed on top, just roll it up, put it in your mouth and eat it, hey——

The mouth is full of saliva and fragrance.

Yanhua, Zhou Xiaomei, and Wang Shulan love to eat. There is not a single roast duck left, even the duck rack, and they drank all the soup.

None of this was important, the important thing was that the liquor on their table made the guests around them smack their tongues—there were four bottles of liquor for four people, and they seemed to be okay, and the fifth bottle had already been opened by the waiter.

All four of them drink a lot, and they have passed the alcohol test. This little wine is nothing to them.

"To be honest, I'm not used to drinking this bottled wine. I always feel that it's not as enjoyable as our old friends." Zhou Xiaomei said.

"Next time, you will bring a bucket wherever you go." Wang Shulan joked.

"Hehe, it's just a matter of celebrating the Chinese New Year. Let Aqiao settle down here, and we'll have wine." Zhou Xiaomei said.

"Look, the other tables are looking at us." Old Tan laughed.

"What are you looking at? Hehe." Zhou Xiaomei asked herself and answered, "What are you looking at—"

(End of this chapter)