Chapter 285 - 170: I Really Deserve to Die...

Chapter 285: Chapter 170: I Really Deserve to Die...

Huang Bing clutched the magazine, staring blankly at Zhou Yan as he seriously mulled over his words.

Zhou Yan took the two magazines from Huang Ying’s hands and signed his name on them.

He had no idea why he was being asked to sign his name next to a bowl of Kneeling Beef, but they were VIPs with a yearly pass to his restaurant. He figured he should do his best to accommodate such a request, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous.

The brother and sister pair spent a remarkably consistent seven yuan at his shop every single day.

Zhou Yan put his pen away and glanced at Huang Bing.

If there was one thing he hated in life, it was simps.

’He could be using that energy to make more money.’

And another thing!

’Being a simp in Jiazhou in 1984 while riding a Jialing 70?’

’How could someone own a Jialing 70 and have low self-esteem at the same time?’

’Master Huang must be quite the character,’ Zhou Yan mused.

Huang Ying happily tucked away the magazines and rolled her eyes at Huang Bing. "Exactly! If you’re really that smitten, you might as well go to her family’s home to haul corn and never come back. Just looking at you is annoying."

"Huang Ying, you... you’re taking it a little too far," Huang Bing said, getting flustered.

"I can’t be bothered to deal with you. It’s not my allowance you’re spending, anyway." Huang Ying pouted, then turned to Zhou Momo. "Come on, Momo. Let’s get back to our drawing."

"Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded enthusiastically and took Huang Ying’s hand.

Huang Bing looked at Zhou Yan’s face with envy. "If I looked like you, Xue’Er definitely wouldn’t be putting me through these tests."

But he quickly reversed his thinking. "Then again, if I looked like you, shouldn’t she be the one trying to win me over?"

Zhou Yan looked at him. ’What is this guy muttering about?’

"Yan, don’t tell me you’ve never been in a relationship, have you?" Huang Bing suddenly asked.

"Women only slow down the speed at which I make money. Relationships? I wouldn’t touch one with a ten-foot pole," Zhou Yan scoffed.

"You... you... you’re letting a God-given gift go to waste!" Huang Bing said, exasperated. "If I looked like you, I’d have a new girlfriend every week!"

"In that case, you’d most likely end up eating a lead peanut," Zhou Yan said seriously.

"Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about that. As for my girlfriend from last month... I caught her hooking up with one of my buddies a few days ago. A shameless pair of dogs! Anyway, this new girl I’m chasing, Xue’Er, is the artsy type. I’m afraid just showering her with gifts isn’t going to be enough." Huang Bing leaned closer to Zhou Yan and whispered, "Yan, your handwriting is so beautiful. You know how to write love letters, right?"

"Love letters?" Zhou Yan hesitated. ’The ones I wrote to Xia Yao don’t count, do they?’ he thought.

Seeing his hesitation as a sign of hope, Huang Bing quickly said, "I won’t ask you to do it for free! Help me write one love letter, and I’ll give you a one-yuan ghostwriting fee."

"One yuan?" Zhou Yan’s fingers twitched.

"I’ll add another yuan!" Huang Bing said, gritting his teeth. "You only have to write one page!"

Zhou Yan smiled and clasped his hand, his expression sincere. "Don’t talk about money. We’re friends, aren’t we?"

’All that handwriting practice wasn’t for nothing,’ he thought. ’Two yuan for a one-page love letter. That’s as much as Lai Fu makes selling two whole slabs of tofu.’

He’d never written a love letter himself, but he had taken plenty of notes from the master, Old Wang.

Opening lines, closing remarks, all sorts of poetic quotes—he had them at his fingertips.

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "Come on. I’ll write it for you right now."

"Great!" Huang Bing followed him inside, beaming.

Nearby, Huang Ying looked up and shook her head in resignation.

Ten minutes later, Huang Bing emerged with a sheet of letter paper, looking absolutely delighted. He was muttering to himself, "Xue’Er, to read these words is to see you before me. May a smile grace your features as you unfold this letter..."

By the counter, Zhou Yan dropped the two yuan into the cash box, then turned and headed into the kitchen, pleased with himself.

’This guy sure is an easy mark. Two yuan in ten minutes. Easiest money I’ve ever made.’

"This is written so beautifully! Such literary flair! It was well worth the two yuan!" Huang Bing praised effusively. He was certain Xue’Er would say yes after reading it.

"Let me see," Huang Ying said, leaning over.

"This is not for little girls to see." Huang Bing immediately folded the letter and tucked it into a pocket close to his chest.

"Get lost! Fine, keep it to yourself then!" Huang Ying seethed.

...

「That evening.」

In a room on the second floor of the guesthouse.

Two sheets of oil paper were spread on a small table, one holding braised pig’s head and the other braised beef.

Three liquor cups sat on the table.

He Zhiyuan and Huang Chen sat facing each other, raising their cups and drinking freely.

Li, who couldn’t hold his liquor, was already passed out on the bed, snoring away.

Huang Chen picked up a piece of braised pig’s head, popped it into his mouth, and remarked while chewing, "I never would’ve guessed there was a story like that behind Zhang’s Braised Shop. It took someone like you to dig it up. I’ve been paying visits to the Zhou Family for the last ten years, and not once did I hear Mrs. Zhang mention any of it."

"It’s perfectly normal you didn’t know. The older generation doesn’t usually air that kind of laundry," He Zhiyuan said after a sip of liquor. "I took a walk around this evening. There are quite a few private vendors setting up stalls by the bridge and the pier, selling hot pots. Li and I did a rough count, and there were at least twelve. They’re all families of the Cow Slaughterers from Zhou Village, selling their own goods. You could say it’s become its own little industry."

"Hot pots are indeed pretty common around here. The number of Cow Slaughterers in Zhou Village has grown significantly in the past couple of years. The offal and other scraps that are hard to sell wholesale and have to be processed the same day get brought into town and sold in hot pots." Huang Chen nodded and added with a smile, "In fact, the Kneeling Beef that Zhou Yan makes is really just the Zhou Village hot pot. His is just tastier, and he gave it a more distinctive name."

"You’re in charge of Suji’s economy, so let me offer a suggestion. You could try to promote Kneeling Beef and help it scale up. If you can pull it off, not only will the vendors make more money, but if you can attract tourists from Jiazhou to Suji... well, food, drink, entertainment, it all generates revenue. That could be a huge opportunity for Suji’s development," He Zhiyuan said, putting down his cup with a smile.

"Look at the yellow catfish in Xinjin—its reputation is already starting to spread. Plenty of gourmands from Rongcheng make special trips out to Xinjin on holidays just to eat the wild yellow catfish. More and more restaurants are serving it, and business is absolutely booming."