Siheyuan: Selling antiques? Only making 28,000 RMB from 30,000 RMB

He knew that the burden of the restaurant now fell on them, and they had to work harder to hold up the sky.

One day at noon, a group of young people came to the restaurant. They looked like workers from a nearby factory. They were clamoring to order food. Zhou Dong smiled and greeted them: "What would you like to eat?"

The leading worker smiled and said, "We heard that your cooking skills are good, so we came here to try it. Please give us a table of your specialty dishes!"

Zhou Dong nodded: "Okay, wait a moment, it will be ready soon."

He returned to the kitchen and began to get busy. He skillfully cut the vegetables and stir-fried them, controlling the heat just right. Soon, a table of delicious dishes was served.

The workers took a bite and smiled with satisfaction: "It's delicious, and it really lives up to its reputation!"

Zhou Dong smiled and said, "Thank you for your compliments. Enjoy your meal and drinks."

The restaurant's business is getting better and better, and Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing are busy and happy. Although every day is hard, they are full of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

However, life is not always smooth sailing. One evening, a gloomy man walked into the restaurant. He walked straight up to Zhou Dong and said coldly: "Zhou Dong, someone said you stole my chicken. How do you explain this?"

Zhou Dong was stunned and suddenly became nervous. He knew that if this matter was not handled properly, it might affect the reputation of the restaurant. He tried to stay calm and replied, "Sir, I have never stolen your chicken. This must be a misunderstanding."

The man sneered: "Misunderstanding? One of my chickens is missing, and everyone says you stole it. Do you still dare to quibble?"

Zhou Dong felt that the situation was a bit tricky, but he knew that he had to explain it clearly. He was about to speak when Liu Guoqing suddenly came out of the kitchen and said in a deep voice: "Sir, Yuzhu never does anything sneaky. You said he stole your chicken. Do you have any evidence?"

The man snorted coldly: "Evidence? Everyone is talking about it, isn't that enough?"

Liu Guoqing said firmly: "Discussion does not count as evidence. We can go find the first, second and third uncles and let them judge for themselves."

The man was intimidated by Liu Guoqing's momentum, his expression changed slightly, he was silent for a moment, and said: "Okay, let's go find them."

Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing brought the man to the street office. An old man was arranging flowers and plants in the yard. When he saw them coming, he frowned slightly and asked, "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

The man said first: "Uncle, this guy stole my chicken, I want him to give an explanation!"

The uncle raised his head, looked back and forth between Zhou Dong and the man, and asked, "Yuzhu, what do you think about this?"

Zhou Dong took a deep breath and replied, "Uncle, I have never stolen his chicken. This must be a misunderstanding."

The second and third uncles also came over. Hearing the argument, the second uncle frowned and said, "For stealing chickens, there must be evidence, not just hearsay."

The third uncle nodded and said, "Yes, discussions don't count. We need real evidence."

The man's face flushed and he said angrily, "Everyone is talking about it, does that not count?"

The uncle said in a deep voice: "Discussion cannot be used as evidence. Let's go to your house and look for the chicken. If it was really stolen by Yuzhu, we will definitely deal with it seriously."

The man agreed angrily and brought Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing to his house. They searched carefully in the yard and finally found a few chicken feathers in the corner. The man said proudly: "Look, this is the evidence!"

Zhou Dong squatted down and looked at the chicken feathers carefully, and suddenly found something unusual. He picked up a chicken feather and handed it to Liu Guoqing: "Look, there are traces of dirt on this chicken feather. It is obvious that someone deliberately threw it here."

Liu Guoqing also took a closer look and nodded: "Yes, this chicken feather doesn't look like it fell naturally, it looks more like someone deliberately put it here."

The first and second uncles also squatted down and looked at the chicken feathers, their faces gradually becoming serious. The first uncle said in a deep voice: "It seems that this matter is indeed a bit strange. Yuzhu, do you have anything to explain?"

Zhou Dong said firmly: "Uncle, I didn't steal the chicken. These chicken feathers must have been placed here on purpose by someone."

The third uncle nodded: "I believe Yuzhu, this matter needs to be investigated carefully."

The man's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are biased towards him! He was the one who stole my chicken. Do we still need to investigate?"

The second uncle said coldly: "We rely on evidence when doing things. Without evidence, we cannot wrongly accuse anyone."

The man was left speechless and had to leave in anger.

Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the first and second uncles gratefully: "Thank you, uncles, for believing in me."

The uncle waved his hand and said, "Don't be polite. We are just handling the matter impartially. You should be more careful in the future and don't let anyone catch you."

Zhou Dong nodded: “Yes, we will pay more attention.”

Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing were still a little uneasy when they returned to the restaurant. They knew that although they had escaped this time, the road ahead would probably not be smooth sailing.

The days are still busy and fulfilling. Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing work silently in the restaurant, trying to manage the hard work left by Liu Dahai. They know that although this road is full of ups and downs, as long as they persist, there will always be a bright day.

One sunny morning, Zhou Dong was busy in the kitchen when he heard laughter outside the door. He looked out and saw a group of children playing and fighting outside the door. He walked over with a smile and asked softly, "Kids, what's wrong? What's fun?"

A little boy said with a smile: "Uncle He, we are playing hide and seek! Do you want to play with us?"

Zhou Dong smiled and shook his head: "Uncle has to work and can't play with you. However, you can play here, but be careful and don't play too hard."

The children nodded one after another: "Okay, Uncle He, we will pay attention!"

Zhou Dong felt a little warm in his heart when he saw the happy faces of the children. He knew that this small restaurant was not only their livelihood, but also a warm harbor for many people.

One evening, an elderly man came to the restaurant. He looked energetic and dressed simply, but he had a unique temperament. After the old man sat down, he ordered some home-cooked dishes.

Zhou Dong cooked a table of delicious dishes himself. The old man tasted it and nodded with a smile: "Not bad, it tastes very good."

Zhou Dong walked up to the old man and said with a smile: "Thank you for your compliment. It is my honor to receive your recognition."

The old man smiled and said, "Young man, I see that you are a great cook. Are you interested in learning some more advanced skills?"

Zhou Dong was stunned, and curiosity suddenly surged in his heart: "Old man, do you mean you have more advanced cooking skills?"

Zhou Dong looked at the old man with a look of expectation in his heart. He knew that the old man in front of him was no ordinary person, and perhaps this would be an opportunity to change his fate. He said sincerely: "Old man, if you think highly of me and are willing to teach me, I am very willing to learn!"

The old man nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, it's good that the young man has this intention. Come to my house tomorrow morning and I will teach you some new skills."

Zhou Dong agreed excitedly, and the old man left his address and left with a smile. When he returned to the kitchen, Liu Guoqing saw his excited face and asked, "Yuzhu, what's wrong? You look so happy."

Zhou Dong smiled and said, "Brother Liu, the old man just now is a chef. He wants to teach me some new cooking skills!"

Liu Guoqing patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "That's great, Yuzhu, you have to study hard, and the restaurant business will definitely get better and better in the future!"

The next morning, Zhou Dong found the old man's home according to the address. The old man's home was simple, but well-organized, and the kitchen was filled with various seasonings and ingredients. The old man greeted him with a smile and said, "Yuzhu, today I will teach you some basic knife skills and heat control. These may seem simple, but they are the foundation of cooking."

Zhou Dong listened carefully, nodded from time to time, and began to practice knife skills with the old man. As the old man demonstrated and explained various techniques, Zhou Dong memorized every detail. As time went by, his knife skills became more and more skilled, and his control of the heat became more precise.

A few weeks passed, Zhou Dong got up early every day, followed the old man to learn cooking, and then returned to the restaurant to continue working. Liu Guoqing found that Zhou Dong's cooking skills had improved greatly, and couldn't help but admired: "Yuzhu, your cooking skills are getting better and better, the old man is really a master!"

Zhou Dong smiled and said: "Yes, the old man taught me a lot, and I feel that I am making progress every day."

One evening, the restaurant was busy, and suddenly they heard a quarrel outside the door. Zhou Dong and Liu Guoqing walked out and saw Qin Huairu arguing with Xu Damao. Qin Huairu was pale and had tears in her eyes, while Xu Damao was furious, pointing at her and shouting, "Your family stole my chicken, and you still don't admit it!"

Qin Huairu seemed very embarrassed. She whispered, "Xu Damao, our family really didn't steal your chicken. This must be a misunderstanding."

Zhou Dong saw this scene and understood a lot in his heart. He knew that Qin Huairu's family was in financial difficulty, and it was not impossible for her to steal the chicken. Thinking of this, he walked forward and whispered to Qin Huairu, "Sister Huairu, don't argue anymore. I stole the chicken."

Qin Huairu was stunned, with a look of shock and gratitude in her eyes. Xu Damao sneered, "It's good that you admit it, Zhou Dong, I have suspected you for a long time."

Zhou Dong nodded: "I was greedy at the moment, so I did this. Xu Damao, I am willing to compensate you for your losses, please forgive me."

Xu Damao looked at Zhou Dong, seemingly not expecting him to be so straightforward, and snorted coldly: "Okay, since you admit it, then let's just let it go, but you have to compensate me with a chicken."