Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 191 News about Chef Lin

Jingyan's voice trembled, and her legs shook. Even though she had mentally prepared herself, the grief still overwhelmed her when the day actually arrived. She had also been very sad when her mother passed away, but after experiencing her past life, that feeling seemed to be a long time ago.

But now, the feeling of being in so much pain that she couldn't speak or shed tears was really... Her heart was throbbing, and for a moment she thought she was having a heart attack. Fortunately, Cui Hongru reacted quickly when she saw Jingyan's abnormality and pinched her. The pain brought Jingyan back to reality.

He Jiaoxu cried like a child. Cui Hongru was also sad, but as a medical worker, she was used to seeing birth, aging, sickness and death, and was much stronger than He Jiaoxu and Jing Yan. She called her sons to inform them of the death and then called her uncle's family. As for her grandchildren, she did not invite them to come.

Grandma's body was taken away that day. We had to get all the necessary certificates, choose a date, and prepare the burial site. With all these things piling up, everyone was busy, which actually helped to ease the grief in our hearts.

Three days later, a farewell ceremony was held with only family members present before Grandma was buried. He Chaoli, who lived nearby, took leave to return home, but He Cien was not notified. Beijing was too far away, and the old lady had previously instructed her not to interfere with the children's studies and work.

After everything was settled, a week had passed. Following the seventh day after the funeral, the funeral was considered completely over, and everyone returned to their homes. Jingyan called Ci'en to inform him of her great-grandmother's passing.

Ci'en's voice choked with emotion on the phone, and he kept saying he wanted to ask for leave to come back. Jingyan stopped him: "Just come back for the Spring Festival this year. We'll go to the grave. Before she passed away, Great-Grandma instructed us not to notify the children in other places. She didn't want to delay your studies and work."

You can't let Great-Grandma's good intentions go to waste. Work hard. Great-Grandma passed away peacefully. The elders here say it's a happy death; she passed away in her sleep without pain, which means she was a person of great virtue. So, don't be too sad. Everyone has to go through this sooner or later; Great-Grandma just passed away sooner.

After returning to Changxing Island, He Zhijun canceled his leave and went back to work. The children had to continue going to school after their sadness. Only Jingyan and Sister Wang were at home. When people are idle, they tend to overthink and become sentimental. Half a month passed, and Jingyan, who hadn't done anything at home, had lost more than ten pounds.

If she was going through this, then He Jiaoxu was even more upset. But they were of one mind and didn't tell anyone else in their families, for fear of disrupting their children's lives. Perhaps this is what Chinese parents are like.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, in previous years everyone would come to Changxing Island because Grandma was still alive. Now that Grandma is gone, everyone has agreed to go to Yangzhou City for the New Year. The grave where Grandma and Grandpa are buried together is also in Yangzhou City, so we will go to sweep their graves before the New Year.

Although there were still many people this year, their moods were not very high. Mingming's grandmother didn't talk much when she was alive; most of the time she just smiled and watched the children playing around.

But this year, I suddenly felt that the house was very empty, as if something was missing. Well, the anchor of the house has collapsed, and it will take a long time to get used to it.

Early on the morning of the Lunar New Year's Eve, the whole family went to the cemetery to burn paper money for their grandparents and chat for a while. They didn't leave the cemetery until noon. There were so many people in the family. The eldest uncle and aunt went to stay at the eldest brother's house, while He Zhijun and Jing Yan stayed at their parents-in-law's house.

I wasn't really interested in buying New Year's goods or preparing food for the holiday, but I still made some preparations. However, they weren't as plentiful as in previous years, and the year just passed by uneventfully.

After everyone in the family left, Cui Hongru was still sighing: "It seems like ever since Zhijun and his wife came back, and our mother came out of the sanatorium, the house has never been quiet. This is the first time in more than ten years that we have felt a quiet New Year."

He Jiaoxu put his arm around her shoulder and gently comforted her, "Mom just passed away. Neither we nor the children can accept it for a while. Time is the best healer. She'll be alright in a while."

After returning home for the New Year, Jingyan called her third sister and eldest brother to wish them a Happy New Year. These were the only two families with telephones. Her third sister didn't say much beyond the usual greetings, but Jingyan sensed something was on her mind, so she asked:

"Third sister, is something wrong over there? If so, tell me. I'll do my best to help. You're all alone in the Great Northern Wilderness. Don't try to shoulder everything by yourself. You still have your brothers and sisters."

Third Sister's voice was much clearer. "It's nothing, I just haven't known why I've been feeling a bit feverish lately, and my teeth have been hurting. Rongqiang has to take the college entrance exam next year, so I guess he's worried about that. Don't worry about me, just take care of yourself."

You're the youngest in the family, but you have the strongest opinions. Once you're married, don't be so headstrong. We've been too far away to take care of you all these years, so we're worried about how you've fared. But remember to discuss things with your husband and don't make decisions on your own.

Men, most of them want to be relied upon by their wives at home. Even if you don't need it, it's necessary to pretend to satisfy their vanity.

Jingyan sensed a hidden meaning in her third sister's words, but she didn't dwell on it further and readily agreed. After hanging up, Jingyan frowned. Of the five sisters in the family, her third sister was the most pretentious.

Back when she was a girl at home, she was clearly in the middle, yet she always tried to be the best at everything. It's strange that she would say something like that. If she were to follow the same path as in her past life, her brother-in-law would probably already be having an affair by now.

She couldn't and shouldn't talk about this matter; the idea of ​​rebirth was too unbelievable. However, even if she followed the same path as before, her third sister's personality would still allow her to live her life well.

On the contrary, her older brother was a little worried about her: "In previous years, they would call on New Year's Day. This year, I didn't receive a call and even called your house, but no one answered. Is something wrong?"

Jingyan recounted her activities during the Spring Festival and also mentioned her grandmother's passing. Her eldest brother sighed, "Days go by, and we're getting older too. This day was bound to come sooner or later. Try to think positively. You still have two children to take care of."

If you really feel empty inside, find something to do. Haven't you been taking care of your shop for a long time? Now that the policies have been relaxed, why don't you think about hiring a few chefs and turning your shop into a restaurant?

There are quite a few restaurants, big and small, that have opened up around here now. I sometimes eat there myself, and I must say, they're quite popular.

Jingyan thought her brother's suggestion was good, so she started to take it to heart. Nowadays, there aren't many barbecue restaurants on Changxing Island, but there have been quite a few barbecue stalls. The business in the restaurant is not as good as it was a few years ago, so it's time to make a change.

However, finding a chef is a big problem. The management of people who have been registered as permanent residents on the island is quite strict. If you look for one outside, the various verification processes will take a long time, and the employer will also have to bear the risk of having to deal with the background of the employee.

Regardless, post the job advertisement first. It would be best if we could recruit people. If not, we would look for other channels. Ideally, we should recruit cooks who have retired from the military or transferred back to civilian work. They should have no problems with the political background check, have a clean background, and their long-term residency qualifications should be easily approved.

Jingyan had a plan in mind, so she discussed it with He Zhijun, and finally sighed, "If only we could win Chef Lin back, his cooking skills are truly unparalleled."

Unfortunately, after his unit disbanded, Chef Lin never wrote to me again. Later, we moved and opened our own shops, and we lost contact completely.

He Zhijun's eyes flickered: "Call my older brother and ask him to inquire around in the military. After the military is disbanded, they will transfer people to other military regions. Maybe they can find out."

Jing Yan nodded: "Okay, then you can talk to your brother? Actually, even if Chef Lin has been in the army all along, he should have retired by now. I don't know if it will be easy to find someone."

"I will do my best," He Zhijun promised.

He Zhicheng rarely received a request from his younger brother, so he took it very seriously. After many twists and turns, he finally found out about Chef Lin in early March. He had indeed retired, but because his apprentice, Xiao Zhou, was still working as a chef in the military logistics department, the two of them were temporarily staying in Shandong.

However, there are inside sources saying that Xiao Zhou's unit is likely to increase the number of specialized personnel. Although Xiao Zhou's cooking skills are decent, he was once courted by the daughter of a chief of staff who wanted to marry him, but he refused.

At that time, he was dating the daughter of a head chef at a state-owned restaurant. That girl, in terms of both looks and temperament, was more to his liking than the chief of staff's daughter.

Although the chief of staff didn't say anything at the time, his daughter later married a military officer, and it's said that their married life wasn't happy. This time, with the demobilization of personnel being finalized, the chief of staff has a say, so it's unlikely that Xiao Zhou will stay in the army.

Jingyan was overjoyed to hear the news: "It's okay if I can't stay in the army. I happen to be short of chefs here. I originally only wanted to recruit Chef Lin, but now it's perfect. I can recruit both the master and apprentice. Did you get Chef Lin's contact information, brother?"

He Zhijun laughed: "Big Brother is absolutely reliable. He has the mailing address and phone number."

Jingyan immediately made the call as soon as she got the phone. Chef Lin was a little confused when he received the call. Who would have thought that someone he had lost contact with for more than ten years could find him again? But then he was overjoyed.

He genuinely liked Jingyan; she was cheerful, talkative, and hardworking—all admirable qualities. After exchanging pleasantries, Jingyan mentioned the difficulties she was facing on Changxing Island: a shortage of chefs. She hoped Chef Lin could come and help her, and of course, it would be best if Xiao Zhou could also come, so she wouldn't need to look for any other chefs.

Chef Lin asked for her address and phone number, wrote them down, and said he needed to think about it and would contact her after making a decision. Although he didn't give a direct answer, Jingyan felt that the chances were still quite good.

Otherwise, given Chef Lin's personality, he wouldn't have said he was considering it if he wasn't coming back. It seems that her brother's inquiries were correct; Xiao Zhou's work in the army was indeed not going well. However, she didn't ask any more questions and hung up the phone after saying she would wait for his news.

He Zhijun had been standing to the side the whole time, and seeing her expression, he smiled and said, "It seems there's a good chance Chef Lin will come. What are your plans for settling them in?"

Let's buy an apartment in the residential area near the shop. Over the years, I've made a lot of money using the braised meat recipe that Chef Lin gave me. It's only right to give him an apartment. When he comes, I won't pay him a salary. I'll give him a share of the shop's profits. Do you think 30% is too little?

He Zhijun shook his head: "I don't know that, but based on our store's current monthly profit, how much would 30% be?"

"The profit is about five or six thousand yuan a month now. If we take 30%, it's between 1,500 and 1,800 yuan. Hey, that's not a small amount," Jing Yan said with a smile.

"Well, you can discuss the rest with Chef Lin and the others when they arrive. We need to get the house purchase done as soon as possible, and we also need to contact Yuan Xiaoling's side to come and do the renovations. It'll probably be at least six months before we can move in," He Zhijun reminded him.

Jingyan is a woman of action. After spending several days exploring the island, she finally found a four-bedroom, one-living room, two-bathroom, one-kitchen apartment in a residential area about a 15-minute walk from the shop. The apartment had previously been occupied by three generations of an engineer.

The house was only ten years old and is still relatively new. Now he has been transferred to a new place for work, and he needs a lot of money to settle down with his family. So he plans to sell the house. However, his house is too big. Those who want to buy it don't have the money, and those who do have the money may not be interested in it.

So this house had been sitting unsold for half a year, which gave Jingyan the opportunity to buy it. The house only needed a thorough cleaning and no further renovation was needed. At most, she could replace the furniture she didn't like. However, in Jingyan's opinion, the furniture was quite nice and not old, so there was really no need to spend the money.

The current housing price in Haishi is about 700 yuan per square meter. Changxing Island has stricter requirements in various aspects, so the housing price is lower than that in Haishi, around 670 or 680 yuan per square meter.

This house is large, 130 square meters. Nowadays, it's not common to buy a house with a loan. Most people can't afford to pay 80,000 or 90,000 yuan at once, and even if they could, they might not be willing to spend it.

Jingyan brought He Zhijun to see the house, and He Zhijun also thought it was very good. After several rounds of bargaining, they finally bought it for 85,000 yuan. Jingyan was very satisfied with the income from the shop over the past year.

Chef Lin didn't make her wait long. Half a month later, he replied, agreeing to come over and promising to get a letter of introduction from the military so that settling down on Changxing Island would be easy. However, he requested that he bring Xiao Zhou's family with him.

He never remarried and lived with Xiao Zhou. Xiao Zhou got married and now has a son who is in the fourth grade of elementary school. He asked Jing Yan to help him with his schooling.

He didn't know that Jingyan had even bought a house for him. Once he came, he could register his household at the house, and then his child would be able to go to school legitimately. However, Jingyan didn't mention buying a house and simply agreed to let all four of them come.

"Chef Lin, I want to open a restaurant, but we haven't been able to hire a single chef yet. Luckily, you and Xiao Zhou are both head chefs, and your wife is also a good cook. She can work in the kitchen as a side dish cook or as a head chef until you arrive. What do you think?"