Chapter 369 - 194: A Lingering Thought Will Surely Have an Echo

Chapter 369: Chapter 194: A Lingering Thought Will Surely Have an Echo

Mrs. Zhao’s eyebrow twitched. ’What could possibly sell for that much?’ That was a thick stack of Great Unity notes, at least two hundred yuan!

Zhou Momo looked at the stack of money, took a half step back, and waved her hands. "I don’t want any money! I’m a good girl who just likes to help~~"

Qian Siyuan smiled, clutching the stack of Great Unity notes. This was the first time since coming to China that he’d offered money and had it refused.

"Alright, then. I’ll bring you a gift next time I come." Qian Siyuan smiled and nodded, handing the money and the painting to Wang. He added, "Take good care of this. Don’t fold it."

"Yes, President Qian." Wang took them carefully, opened his briefcase, and slipped the painting into a folder.

Lin Zhiqiang walked Qian Siyuan to the door.

The car from the Jiazhou Hotel was already parked at the entrance.

"Director Lin, thank you for the introduction today. I feel bad for taking up half your day." Qian Siyuan said to Lin Zhiqiang, "I will give the collaboration serious consideration when I get back. But regardless of whether the deal goes through, I now consider you a friend."

"It’s my honor to be your friend, Mr. Qian," Lin Zhiqiang said with a small smile.

"What I said at lunch wasn’t a joke," Qian Siyuan said earnestly. "If you ever want to start your own business, come talk to me. As long as the project is right, I’ll definitely invest. I think you’re a man to be trusted."

Lin Zhiqiang nodded. "Alright. I’ll remember that. If that day ever comes, and I need an investor, you’ll be the first person I consider."

Qian Siyuan got in the car and left.

Lin Zhiqiang watched the car until it disappeared into the distance.

"Lin, is the deal done?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile, standing behind him.

"It’s still hard to say, but things are looking more hopeful than they were before lunch." Lin Zhiqiang turned to face Zhou Yan, smiling. "I have you and Master Xiao to thank. You were a great help to Mr. Qian."

"It was nothing. The people in Lijiang Town are all from the Kong Sect. For all we know, they could be related to my grandmaster. It was only right to help," Zhou Yan said with a laugh.

A pang of regret hit him as he thought of that stack of Great Unity notes.

His money might not have been blown in by the wind, but it sure felt like it was being blown away by it.

’Of course, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t have taken the money either.’

"Alright, I should head back. I skipped work to spend the day with a client, so I need to go give the director an explanation." Lin Zhiqiang patted Zhou Yan’s arm. "I’ll treat you to dinner sometime."

"I should be the one treating you! What’s more convenient than eating right here at the restaurant?" Zhou Yan laughed. ’The last thing I want is to go to his house and end up cooking my own meal.’

"Well, I’m heading back too," Xiao Lei said, walking out. "I have to say, your noodles are really something else. Perfectly chewy and smooth. Much better than the machine-pressed stuff from the factories."

"If you like them, feel free to come for breakfast anytime. There’ll be all the noodles you can eat," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Xiao Lei looked at him and asked casually, "Who taught you how to make hand-pulled noodles? I don’t recall ever teaching you dough work, did I?"

The smile on Zhou Yan’s face froze for a second before he adopted a serious expression. "I learned it from a cookbook I bought at a street stall. It’s the Shanxi method for hand-pulled noodles, which is pretty different from our Sichuan-style noodles."

"Business was slow a while back, so I just practiced pulling noodles in the shop every single day. I went through several bags of flour before I finally mastered the technique. It was these noodles that turned the business around."

"The Shanxi method, huh? No wonder." Xiao Lei nodded thoughtfully, but his eyes quickly fixed on him again, his brow furrowing. "You’re a strange one, kid. I taught you so many dishes, and you barely mastered any of them. But now that you’re out on your own, it’s like something just clicked. You can flip through a cookbook and whip up a decent dish just like that?"

"Master, that’s where you’re wrong," Zhou Yan said gravely. "Without the solid foundation I built during my two and a half years of training in the factory cafeteria, without your tireless instruction and painstaking guidance, how could I ever have had this breakthrough? It’s all because I have a great master. I’m lucky to have you."

"Oh, stop it! You’re giving this old man goosebumps!" Master Xiao waved his hands dismissively, a look of mock disgust on his face, but he couldn’t hide the smile tugging at his lips.

"I’m being completely sincere. The Kong Sect lineage is passed down thanks to great teachers like you, Master," Zhou Yan said, his expression earnest. "And don’t worry. From now on, I definitely won’t go around telling people you’re my master. Even if a reporter interviews me, I’ll keep my lips sealed. I won’t say a single word about our sect, so I won’t bring you any shame."

Master Xiao stopped smiling and cleared his throat, looking slightly awkward. "Well... about that... it’s actually fine. The Kong Sect is a legitimate school, after all. The next time you get interviewed, you can go ahead and say it proudly."

"For example, you could talk about your culinary journey, how you studied under me, what excellent qualities you learned from me... It’ll make your public persona seem more well-rounded, you know?"

"Oh, really?" Zhou Yan rubbed his chin. "I seem to recall you saying something different before, Master."

"The past is the past, and the present is the present," Master Xiao laughed. "Back when you first opened this restaurant, your cooking was a criminal waste of ingredients. In the entire kitchen, the only things that didn’t die in vain were a couple of cucumbers. Everything else gave its life for nothing."

Zhou Yan laughed at that. ’That’s my master for you,’ he thought. ’He sees everything with perfect clarity.’

"Alright, I’m off. I need to get home and make dinner for your master’s wife," Master Xiao announced.

"Want to take some braised meat back for her to try?" Zhou Yan asked, as Comrade Zhou was moving the braised meats and vegetarian items onto a small display table.

Master Xiao paused and glanced at the braised vegetarian dishes. "No meat, but I’ll take some of the vegetarian stuff. Your master’s wife loves the braised bean curd sticks and dried tofu. And grab some lotus root and potato, too. Then I won’t even have to stir-fry anything when I get home."

"You got it." Zhou Yan grabbed two oil-paper packets, filling one with the bean curd sticks and dried tofu, and the other with potatoes and lotus root. He handed them to Master Xiao.