sinovels Chapter 1 Rebirth in 1996
Chapter 1 Rebirth in 1996
In 1996, in a farmhouse on National Highway 109 in Saibei Province.
On the cracked cement floor, several beer bottles were piled up haphazardly.
An oil painting calendar hangs on the yellowed wall, depicting a beautiful woman in a swimsuit.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew in, and the slightly chipped wooden window creaked and groaned.
Lu Yuan, sitting on the earthen kang (heated brick bed), was somewhat bewildered.
Am I not in Singapore, preparing for the opening ceremony of a new overseas store the next day?
Where did it go?
Lu Yuan carefully examined the furnishings in the room, and a sense of familiarity grew stronger as long-forgotten memories were gradually activated within him.
He got up and walked to the wall calendar, looking at the small print under the huge picture of a beautiful woman, which clearly stated July 1996.
He was actually reborn?
So this is the hometown I left 30 years ago!
Although it's a bit of a regret to say goodbye to the catering empire I built from scratch, it seems like it wouldn't be bad to start over.
After all, who doesn't have regrets in their life that they want to make up for?
If there's one regret Lu Yuan has, it's that he lived too far from home in his previous life.
I've been working hard in Beijing for 30 years, and I can count the number of times I've spent with my parents on one hand.
In addition, having never married or had children, he often felt a sense of loneliness after his parents passed away, which kept him awake at night.
Summer in the northern frontier is hot and dry.
Lu Yuan found a half-empty bottle of beer on the ground and gulped down a few mouthfuls before feeling refreshed.
He stretched his limbs, turned on the large, bulky TV opposite the earthen bed, intending to watch the latest news to help him reconnect with 1996.
"The 26th Atlanta Olympic Games opened, the Chinese delegation entered the stadium, and Liu Yudong carried the flag."
"A Boeing 747 that took off from New York exploded and crashed, killing all 230 people on board."
. . .
The old calendar had a month's worth of pages, and he couldn't tell exactly what day it was.
According to the news on TV, it should be July 20th now.
In other words, is this the eve of his restaurant going out of business?
He remembers clearly that his family's restaurant went out of business on July 24, 1996, which was his 20th birthday.
Lu Yuan's family lives in Luwangtan Village, a village located along National Highway 109 in northern China.
Before the expressway was built, there were a lot of vehicles traveling on National Highway 109.
At this time, the road conditions are relatively poor, the speed is relatively slow, and people often have to stop and rest halfway.
As a result, opening shops or restaurants along national highways has become a trend in the last two years.
Lu Yuan's family was one of the few households in the village whose house was right next to the national highway, so they naturally opened a restaurant there as well.
It was Lu Yuan who arranged the restaurant opening.
Lu Yuan's parents were genuine farmers with no cooking skills and never intended to open a restaurant.
Lu Yuan was envious of others making money, so after graduating from high school, he went to the provincial capital to learn a trade at a restaurant. After mastering the trade, he opened his own restaurant.
However, he lacked the skills and had no experience running a restaurant, so business got worse and worse, and he started losing money this month.
To make matters worse, the start-up capital for the restaurant was borrowed from my father and relatives.
He recalled that after the restaurant went bankrupt, it took his family a year of tightening their belts to pay off the debts.
"What a terrible start!"
Lu Yuan stretched, feeling the power of his young body, and couldn't help but let out a shout of "Ah!"
"That's great!"
My shoulders and back don't hurt anymore, but my 30 years of cooking skills are still there.
After the restaurant went bankrupt in my previous life, I went to work in Beijing and was fortunate enough to become an apprentice of a master chef who was in charge of state banquets.
The master had many disciples, many of whom were chefs from various cuisines who came from all over the country to learn their skills from their mentors.
In this environment, Lu Yuan gained some knowledge of the cooking methods of various cuisines.
After working under his master for 10 years, he used all his knowledge to open his first fusion restaurant.
After a period of time, his restaurant became an instant success.
The second one, the third one...
Over the next 20 years, he continued to innovate, opened new stores, and even graced the stage of the Great Hall of the People, becoming a master of state banquets.
"How about we give everyone a little bit of a state banquet-style surprise?"
With his current skills, if he were to open a restaurant by the national highway, it would be like an old lady blowing her nose – easily shrugged off!
Lu Yuan turned off the TV, quickly tidied up the house, and planned to go to the restaurant.
His house is a typical rural courtyard in Northwest China, with the spacious courtyard piled high with freshly harvested wheat.
The house on the west side is right next to National Highway 109. The three rooms together cover more than 300 square meters, and a huge sign on the roof reads: Lu Yuan Farmhouse Restaurant.
The houses on the east side were used as warehouses, the houses on the north side were used as living quarters, and the houses on the south side were sheep pens and chicken coops.
My parents aren't home; they're probably rushing to plant corn in the fields right after the wheat harvest.
In this way, after harvesting the corn in the fall, we can still plant a crop of winter wheat.
The land in the Northwest is relatively arid, and generally, whether wheat or rice is grown, there is only one harvest per year.
If everyone rushes to plant, the soil won't be fertile enough.
Lu Yuan's parents were at their wits' end; his restaurant was on the verge of losing money.
As farmers, all they can do is swing their hoes a little longer in the fields.
Entering the restaurant through the back door, you'll be greeted by a whole row of brand-new square tables.
Before opening the restaurant, Lu Yuan had high ambitions and set up 20 square tables for 6 people and 2 round tables for 12 people, according to the standards of restaurants in the city.
Even the walls were repainted, and even painted in two colors: a dirt-resistant sky green at the bottom and a bright pure white at the top.
There was also an old-fashioned alarm clock hanging on the wall, its hands ticking loudly.
After opening the restaurant, he dreamed that it would be packed every day and make a fortune.
But reality gave him a cold shower; drivers on the national highway frequently came and went, and the villagers didn't appreciate it either.
Lu Yuan quickly discovered the problem lay in the menu:
Sweet and sour carp 15 yuan
Braised chicken pieces 12 yuan
Braised ribbonfish 10 yuan
Fish-flavored shredded pork 8 yuan
Kung Pao Chicken 8 yuan
Mushu meat 10 yuan
Shredded pork with green peppers 6 yuan
. . .
Isn't this guy incredibly stupid?
Who are the people eating on the national highway?
Passing drivers! Nearby villagers!
For truck drivers and other passersby, the food was unremarkable and had no appeal.
For the villagers, these vegetables are expensive and fancy, and eating them is a waste of money.
What's even more infuriating is the cold dishes section:
Cold cucumber salad 3 yuan
Sugar-coated tomatoes 2 yuan
Cold tofu strips 3 yuan
If you want to eat cucumbers and tomatoes, wouldn't it be much easier to just pick them from the field next door?
If anyone in the village were to come to the shop and order a plate of cucumber salad, they would be laughed at!
Running a restaurant is definitely not something you can do well just by knowing how to cook.
You must understand where the store will be located, who the customers will be, what they want to eat, and how much they are willing to spend.
When Lu Yuan opened this restaurant, he didn't consider his own actual situation at all and simply copied the shop where he learned his skills in the city.
Unfortunately, 20-year-old Lu Yuan didn't understand this principle. His enthusiasm backfired, causing his parents to suffer for several years.
Lu Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly, feeling a sense of absurdity as if he were flipping through his childhood diary.
He jumped directly to the front desk, took down the small blackboard with the menu written on it, and wiped it clean with a rag.
Then he picked up the chalk and, facing the pitch-black blackboard, rewrote the first dish: Stir-fried Lamb.
It's worth noting that most of the drivers who travel on National Highway 109 are from out of town.
When they come to the northern frontier, what they want to eat most is the local specialty:
Raised on herbs and drinking mineral water, this lamb is not gamey or fishy, incredibly tender, and is the first choice for state banquets!