Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

"What are you talking about? Are you so happy?"

A voice broke the laughter. The person who came was Zhuang Shijiu, followed by a woman.

"Uncle Jiu, Sister Ya." When Lou Xiao'e saw Zhuang Shijiu coming, she immediately greeted them.

"Yeah." Zhuang Shijiu responded to Lou Xiaoe, then saw He Lai and said, "Hey, Xiao Laizi, you're here."

"Huh? Uncle Jiu, how do you know He Lai?" Lou Xiao'e asked puzzledly.

"ah?…"

"We met at the Canton Fair. Your father introduced us." He Lai interrupted Zhuang Shijiu and spoke.

"Really?" Lou Xiao'e looked at everyone in confusion, a little unconvinced.

"Okay, Xiao'e, take Xiaoya upstairs. I want to talk to your uncle Jiu."

When Lou Bancheng saw Zhuang Shijiu coming, he sent them away.

"Oh." Lou Xiao'e agreed and took Zhuang Ya upstairs.

Lou's mother also took the servants to the kitchen to cook, leaving only Zhuang Shijiu, Lou Bancheng and He Lai in the living room.

"Uncle Lou, you look so radiant now. You are different after coming to Gangcheng!" He Lai said with a smile.

"You have a big mouth, kid." Lou Bancheng smiled and nodded at He Lai.

"Xiao Laizi, I heard that you also set up a company. It's called Laixin Industry, right?"

Zhuang Shijiu asked.

"Well, there is such a thing. If you do business in Hong Kong, you basically have a company name. I made one. Why don't you, Uncle Jiu and Uncle Lou, have one?"

He Lai asked curiously.

"As for me, I really haven't thought about it. Don't worry if you laugh at me. Before you came, your uncle was planning to just live off his savings and when he died, he would divide his property among his children and that would be it."

Zhuang Shijiu said awkwardly.

After all, before this, Zhuang Shijiu only relied on a few small factories to make a living and barely maintain family expenses.

"It's not too late to think about it now. Anyway, all the companies in Hong Kong are called industries. Just go for it."

He Lai said.

"You are a well-educated kid, help your Uncle Jiu and Uncle Lou think of two." Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"Yes, Xiao Laizi, help Uncle Lou pick one." Lou Bancheng also agreed.

"What? Uncle Jiu, Uncle Lou, are you serious? Let me name your own company?"

He Lai was speechless.

"Hey, what are you talking about? You don't have any shares in our company!"

Zhuang Shijiu said.

"Uh..." He Lai then remembered that he owned 20% of the shares.

He Lai thought for a while and suggested two names: "Uncle Jiu, your surname is Zhuang, so let's call it Zhuangchi Industrial. Chi means thousands of horses galloping. Uncle Lou, let's call it Loushang Industrial. Shang means the pursuit of excellence. What do you think?"

"Okay, Zhuangchi Industrial, sure, sure." Zhuang Shijiu nodded.

"Yes, I have adopted it too. I will go and register in a few days."

Lou Bancheng also agreed.

Then the three of them started chatting again and discussed in detail the future development trends of the port city.

"Xiao Laizi, according to what you said? You think the real estate industry in Hong Kong City will explode in the future, right?"

Lou Bancheng said.

"Well, I think so. Now more and more people from the mainland are fleeing to Hong Kong City. At that time, the population of Hong Kong City will definitely increase rapidly. When the population increases, the land will naturally become more valuable."

He Lai explained.

"That makes sense, but we don't have any experience in real estate, right?"

Zhuang Shijiu said.

"Uncle Jiu, I actually think that instead of leaving the money in the bank to rust, it's better to take it out and invest it. You can buy houses and land. After buying a house, you can rent it out. After buying land, you don't have to develop it yourself. Maybe someone will come to you and beg you to cooperate and develop it together."

He Lai said with a smile.

"What you said is really irritating. What do you mean by depositing money in the bank will become rusty?" Zhuang Shijiu scolded with a smile.

"Well, it's not rusty, Uncle Jiu, you don't know, Lu Zixuan used my money to invest in stocks, and it has more than doubled! Do you still think your money is not rusty?"

He Lai said with a smile.

"Is it true? So many?" Zhuang Shijiu asked in surprise.

Lou Bancheng also looked at He Lai with interest.

"Why would I lie to you? I don't know anything about the stock market. He's the one who's operating it all. Anyway, the money has been made. I heard from Zixuan that there are already more than 8 million. How can I lie to you?"

He Lai spread his hands and said.

"So amazing! Zixuan is really good. No, I will also invest a few million tomorrow and ask him to help me."

When Zhuang Shijiu heard that the profit would double in one year, he was immediately interested.

"Brother Jiu, let's go together!" Lou Bancheng also said.

"Uncle Jiu, Uncle Lou, you better be sincere. I gave him 20% of the profit."

He Lai reminded.

"Okay, as long as I can make money, I can give him half!" Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"Old Lou, the food is ready." Lou's mother came over and shouted, then went upstairs to call Lou Xiao'e and the others.

"Okay, let's eat first." Lou Bancheng stood up and greeted.

"Okay, let's go." Zhuang Shijiu said.

He Lai has been longing for the Lou family’s Tan family dishes!

Soon everyone was seated. He Lai noticed that Lou Xiao'e looked at him unfriendly. He guessed that she knew from Zhuang Ya that he had deceived her. After all, as Zhuang Shijiu's daughter, Zhuang Ya must have heard about He Lai's affairs.

He Lai could only pretend not to know and started tasting it.

"Hey, I haven't tasted Lao Lou's Tan family cuisine for a long time. I miss it! I miss it so much!"

Zhuang Shijiu held a bowl of bird's nest clear soup, tasted it carefully, and said with emotion.

"Me too, Uncle Jiu. You may not know that Uncle Lou has only treated me to Tan's cuisine twice in all these years. I was so greedy!"

He Lai also picked up a sea cucumber and started eating it.

"Hmph, a glutton." Lou Xiao'e muttered in a low voice.

"Okay, okay, you can come over to eat in Gangcheng these days. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare it for you, okay?" Lou Bancheng said with a smile.

"Uncle Lou, I think you can open a restaurant in Gangcheng that specializes in Tan's cuisine! It will definitely be popular! Let's make high-end dishes and let those rich people in Gangcheng taste our cuisine from the Forty-Nine City! It will definitely make their tongues melt!"

He Lai said while eating.

After all, Lou's mother's name is Tan Yali, and she is the heir of authentic Tan family cuisine.

Tan Family Cuisine is a family banquet of Tan Zongjun, a bureaucrat in the late Qing Dynasty. Because he was the runner-up in the imperial examination in the 13th year of the Tongzhi reign, it is also called "Bangyan Cuisine".

In 1909, Tan Zongjun's son Tan Hongqing returned to Beijing and moved from Xisi Yangrou Hutong to Miishi Hutong. He and his third concubine Zhao Lifeng indulged in rich food and drink. Relying on the extremely delicious "Tan family cuisine" of the Tan Mansion and the Tan Mansion's status as an imperial scholar, they gathered Beijing bureaucrats for food and drink, which made it a fashion for Beijing bureaucrats to host banquets at the Tan Mansion. Private clubs in China's catering industry began from this, and "Tan family cuisine" went out into the society and opened to the outside world.

It was in the restaurant run by the Tan family that He Daqing learned the Tan family cuisine.

Although Tan's cuisine has only been around for a few decades, its reputation has already been established.

There is a saying that has been circulating in society, which goes, "In the opera world, everyone learns from Tan (Tan Jiaotian is Tan Xinpei), and in the food world, everyone praises Tan (referring to Tan's cuisine).

Lou's mother was Tan Hongqing's granddaughter, and later married Lou Bancheng.

Although Lou's mother's cooking skills are average, she has the recipes of Tan's dishes, so the servants of Lou's family can cook a little Tan's dishes. She just needs to be responsible for giving instructions, and there will be no problem in making Tan's dishes!

"Old Lou, I think Xiao Laizi's idea is feasible. Why don't we open one? It won't cost much."

Zhuang Shijiu immediately agreed.

"Okay, let's open one." Lou Bancheng also agreed reluctantly.

"I don't agree, Dad. It's so troublesome to cook Tan's dishes. Every time we cook Tan's dishes, Mom has to watch from the side. If we open a restaurant, Mom will be exhausted to death."

At this time, Lou Xiao'e spoke out in opposition.

"Uh... Uncle Lou, don't you have someone who can cook Tan's dishes? Like Uncle He?"

He Lai asked.

“There was a man who was similar to He Daqing before, but after liberation, he left the Lou family and went to the seventh floor of the West Building of the Sijiucheng Hotel, which was a state-owned unit. I could do nothing about it.

It’s hard to find a good chef, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked He Daqing to come to my house to cook.”

Lou Bancheng sighed.

"I see. I think the Lou family has so many servants. I don't believe they can't learn. Auntie can actually let each of them learn two or three dishes and try it out. Practice makes perfect. Maybe if they cook more, they will master it! In this way, each person only needs to learn two or three dishes, and it shouldn't be difficult."

He Lai suggested.

"Well, that makes sense. Yali, what do you think?" Lou Bancheng nodded and asked Lou's mother.

"I think we can give it a try. If they learn it, I can worry less in the future." Lou's mother also nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, after saying so much, it's just because he wants to eat!" Lou Xiao'e muttered again.

"Hey, Sister Xiao'e, after all, I have been taking care of you in the steel mill for several months! Can you please stop being so sarcastic?" He Lai said with a wry smile.

"How can you take care of me? You lie in the office all day long. I can count the number of times I've seen you on my hands!"

Lou Xiao'e didn't give He Lai any face and directly retorted.

"Uh..." He Lai was speechless for a moment.

"Okay, okay, Xiao'e, your temper is getting worse and worse. If you have nothing to do, go to college."

Lou's mother spoke up.

"Yes, let her study management so that she can help manage the company in the future."

He Lai added another sentence.

"What is it to you!" Lou Xiao'e glared at He Lai again. However, she still wanted to go to college very much. She couldn't study in China, but now that she could, she definitely wanted to go.

"Hey, kid, can't you speak properly? Xiao Laizi is doing this for your own good, why do you act like he is your enemy?" Lou's mother said speechlessly.

"That's right, that's right! I'm doing this for your own good!" He Lai immediately retorted.

"Hmph, I don't need him to do good for me!" Lou Xiao'e didn't buy it at all.

"Okay, okay, Ezi, talk less. Look at Xiaoya, and then look at yourself. You have no manners at all." Lou Bancheng was also a little angry, and started to teach Lou Xiaoe a lesson.

"Hmph." Lou Xiao'e threw down her chopsticks and went upstairs.

He Lai sighed. As expected, as soon as she arrived in Hong Kong, Lou Xiao'e regained her temper! She was so hard to please!