pjbooks Chapter 65 Invitation
Chapter 65 Invitation
As soon as Chen Weidong and Chen Xiaosui left, Su Man immediately closed the door and even drew the curtains. Then she poured out all the money from the cloth bag, counting it one bill at a time, her face beaming with a happy smile.
Su Man checked the money twice before finally tying it up with a rope, leaving only 150 yuan for daily expenses and hiding the rest.
"Did you retrieve it?"
When Chen's mother saw Chen Weidong carrying Chen Xiaosui in, she immediately put down her needlework and asked.
"I got it back, Mom, sister-in-law. No need to cook dinner. Let's go out to eat tonight. It's my treat."
"Why are you going out to eat? Let's just eat at home. It's ridiculously expensive outside. Save that money for the kids in the future."
Chen's mother's face darkened slightly, but considering that Chen Weidong was now grown up and could earn his own money, she could no longer scold or beat him as casually as before.
"Mom, it's just an occasional meal. I finally got my royalties, and it won't cost much for our family to go out for a meal."
As for the money for my child's future, it's not like I can't earn it. I can just write a few more novels and that will be enough.
Chen's mother was speechless for a moment, after all, Chen Weidong did make a lot of money writing novels, a fact she could not deny.
"Xiulan, since Weidong wants to eat out, let's go along and broaden our horizons, and enjoy the filial piety of our children and grandchildren."
Grandma Chen was quite supportive and offered her advice to Chen's mother.
Seeing that Old Mrs. Chen had spoken, Chen's mother had no choice but to agree.
"Then let's go."
"Then, Mother, remember to bring some grain coupons and meat coupons."
"You have money but no tickets, and you don't even know how to show off."
Chen's mother muttered something, but still agreed.
"By the way, when is my little sister coming back?"
Chen Weidong's younger sister, Chen Aihua, is currently studying at Yanjing Business School, but it's neither a bachelor's degree nor a junior college; it's a vocational school.
Although vocational high school graduates can't compare to undergraduate and junior college graduates, their degrees are still highly valued. They are guaranteed job placement by the state after graduation.
Moreover, they are not assigned to bad companies; the vast majority of vocational school graduates enter state-owned enterprises, and some outstanding graduates even get jobs in government agencies.
Most importantly, no matter where they are assigned, vocational school graduates can obtain a cadre position, a secure job. In particular, some rural students can change their household registration to urban through vocational school exams, truly demonstrating that education determines one's destiny.
The vocational secondary schools of this period were highly prestigious, equivalent to the later 211 universities, and were the main way for rural youth to "escape rural life" and change their destiny.
However, the acceptance rate was extremely low and the competition was fierce. Chen Aihua was able to get into Yenching Commercial School thanks to a bit of luck.
This school was founded in 1964. It was originally established by the First Commercial Bureau of Yanjing as a part-time work and part-time business school to cultivate and reserve talent for the bureau.
However, the school was closed a few years ago and has only just started enrolling students. Chen Aihua was among the first batch of secondary vocational school students to be enrolled after the reopening of Yanjing Commercial School.
After graduation, they would be assigned to the commercial system of Yanjing City: the First Bureau of Commerce, the Second Bureau of Commerce, the Grain Bureau, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, etc., to engage in commercial management, financial accounting, materials management and other work.
Some will also enter large commercial enterprises: Wangfujing Department Store, Xidan Shopping Mall, Dong'an Market, etc.
In her previous life, after graduating, Chen Aihua followed her family's advice and thought that Ma Mei's job at the grocery store was good, so she went to work at the grocery store.
It was indeed good at first; the work wasn't busy and the pay was good. However, as time went on, the grocery store was gradually replaced by individual businesses.
Later, both the supply and marketing cooperatives and the grocery stores were merged and replaced by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Grain, and Chen Aihua was laid off as a result.
On the contrary, they were not as good as their classmates who had entered the First Commercial Bureau, the Second Commercial Bureau, and the Grain Bureau, at least they worked until retirement.
Even some of her classmates who went to places like Wangfujing Department Store, Xidan Shopping Mall, and Dong'an Market did better than Chen Aihua later on, which made Chen Aihua secretly regret her decision.
When Chen Weidong came back last time, Chen Aihua happened to be at school and they didn't meet.
"It should be soon; I expect to be back in the next few days."
"Alright then, looks like she won't be able to enjoy it."
After waiting a while, Chen's father and elder brother also got off work. When they heard that Chen Weidong had successfully submitted another novel and earned 1,155 yuan in one go, they were all shocked.
Mr. Chen and his elder brother did not object to going out to eat, while Chen Xiaoteng and Chen Xiaoting were overjoyed.
"What do you want to eat? Quanjude, Donglaishun, or Lao Mo? The first two are century-old establishments."
Chen Weidong asked the crowd, saying that he felt hungry when he heard about these restaurants, as he hadn't eaten in a long time!
"How about we go to Quanjude for Peking duck? I've heard it's pretty good."
Brother Chen suggested.
Seeing that Chen's mother and Su Man were not very familiar with these shops, Chen Weidong gave them a brief introduction.
"The Quanjude restaurant that you mentioned earlier is mainly known for its Peking duck, while Donglaishun is famous for its hot pot. As for Lao Mo, it's a Russian restaurant."
"A Russian restaurant? Forget about it. We're all Chinese, we can't get used to that foreign stuff."
Upon hearing that Lao Mo was a Western-style restaurant, Mr. Chen immediately shook his head and refused.
"Second Uncle, we want to eat roast duck!"
Chen Xiaoting walked to Chen Weidong's side and whispered.
"How about Quanjude? We've had hot pot at home before, but this time we can try Peking duck instead."
Chen Weidong asked for everyone's opinion, and in the end everyone agreed to go to Quanjude for dinner.
Because there were Mr. and Mrs. Chen, plus four children, everyone decided to take the bus.
There aren't many bus routes available now, so I had to transfer twice before I finally arrived at the entrance of Quanjude.
After queuing for a while, it was finally their turn. If it were a few years from now, if they wanted to eat Quanjude roast duck during the holidays, they would have to come and queue up early in the morning.
"How many people are there? What would you like to eat?"
The waiter's tone was rather curt, and he didn't greet Chen Weidong and his group warmly when they came in. It's common for state-owned restaurants to "bully their customers" these days; the waiters are indifferent because, regardless of sales volume, they only receive a fixed salary.
What kinds of dishes are available?
Chen Weidong asked a question.
Waiter: "Roast duck, duck prepared four ways, look at the wall for details."
"This young man is acting like he's on steroids."
Brother Chen's face darkened, and he was about to lose his temper when Chen Weidong stopped him.
"Never mind, brother. I guess your workplace treats customers the same way."
"How could that be? At least I was very enthusiastic!"
Chen Jianguo immediately retorted.
However, a hint of guilt could be seen in his tone, suggesting that similar phenomena existed in their factory.
"Okay, let's look at the menu first."
……