Of course, everyone had a very happy family dinner.
Yu Lian could tell his uncle was a bit troubled, but seeing his grown-up self, he was genuinely relieved, so he accompanied him, drinking cup after cup, until the lights came on and the restaurants outside were already full of guests.
The food on the table was mostly gone, so his aunt and Feifei began clearing the table. His younger siblings also dutifully helped, leaving the two grown men to continue drinking.
“Tomorrow… you should take Feifei to visit your parents’ grave. You certainly won’t be able to come back for Qingming Festival anyway.”
Yu Lian nodded.
Afterward, Feifei brought over another plate of peanuts and a small plate of fried small fish, poured each of them a cup of tea, and then left.
“She really is a good girl! So you absolutely must take her to visit the grave,” his uncle repeated.
“...When you say that for the second time, my little heart starts to thump,” Yu Lian said helplessly.
“Hmph, I’m afraid that every year you’ll bring a different girl to visit the grave. How would your parents remember so many people?” His uncle glared at Yu Lian: “I’m warning you one more time, kid, don’t you dare wrong Feifei!”
“Look at what you’re saying, how could I wrong her?” Yu Lian said helplessly.
His uncle scoffed: “Heh, last summer, two girls came to my place for dinner. They said they were here for dinner, but they kept trying to get close to me and your aunt, asking about you, and even secretly gave An’an and Lele pocket money and gifts!”
Who did that? Who on earth did that? Are they already trying to pull strings with my connections?
“Oh, and they specifically chose a time when Old Li, who lives across the street, wasn’t around. That means they definitely know Feifei.”
Your deductive reasoning skills are truly wasted on being a chef.
His uncle stared at Yu Lian with disdain, and a hint of unconcealed envy, jealousy, and resentment. He swirled his wine glass and said, “You’re about to graduate. Do you have any plans?”
“Still thinking about it…”
“You’re a graduate of Central Defense University, so your academic qualifications should be quite strong. You should be able to find a very good job. Yes, and marry Feifei, then quickly have children. While your aunt and I are still young and can help you raise them, then we’ll truly be at ease and have done right by your parents.”
“Why are you bringing that up too!” Yu Lian said, a little helpless: “It’s hard to say. If I were in communications, logistics, intelligence, military engineering, or ship management, I could easily find a high-paying job, but this strategic research department…”
“Isn’t that the major with the highest scores at your university?”
“Yes, but it was originally designed for military management and staff personnel, so it touches on everything but isn’t particularly in-depth in any area. To put it bluntly, it’s like a management department, economics, or Chinese literature department. Which professional field do you think is a direct match?”
“...Then why didn’t you choose something else back then?”
“Probably because I was young and foolish then. I always felt that if I was going to do something, I should do the best.” Why? Wasn’t it the fault of the original owner, that stubborn kid! Why were you so chuunibyou back then?
“If it were your parents, they definitely wouldn’t want you to stay in the military, right?”
“But if I don’t stay in the military, I’ll have to pay all the tuition fees.”
Yu Lian’s father was just an ordinary Engineer, and his mother was only an ordinary Captain pilot before she passed away. If it weren't for their pensions, plus a certain tax exemption policy for children of martyrs, Yu Lian wouldn't have been able to afford a house in the new district.
By the way, the property in the new district has always been handled by his aunt and has already been rented out. All the rent has been untouched and deposited into a fixed account his aunt set up for Yu Lian. It should be a considerable sum now. But even so, it would still be impossible to cover the tuition expenses for four years at Central Defense University.
“I’ve said it before, don’t worry about money. Your aunt and I still have a sum of savings, enough…”
Yu Lian, however, shook his head, interrupting his uncle: “But, isn’t that savings of yours for emergencies? And, it’s very likely that you’ll need to use it soon, isn’t it?”
“Kid, what do you know?”
“The new mayor has taken office and says he wants to develop Jin City commercially, and he’s eyeing the old district. And those people I met this afternoon… well-dressed and sharp, but it’s as if every pore of theirs is exuding the alienated aura of capitalism!”
His uncle certainly didn’t want to talk about it, but seeing Yu Lian’s expression, he probably guessed that even if he didn’t say anything, the other party would figure it out, so he said: “…They hope to buy the land and the brand of Rongxia Restaurant.”
“Oh, it’s happening again?”
“Yes, but this time it’s not the whole street at once, but negotiating with each business individually.”
Yu Lian wasn't surprised; it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Humans believe they are the best eaters in the Universe, Earthlings believe they are the best eaters among humans, but Jin City residents firmly believe they are definitely the best eaters among Earthlings. Yet, in Jin City, if one hasn't eaten on Fu Street, one is simply not qualified to call themselves a gourmet.
However, we must also understand that this is an era of capitalist alienation, an era where good wine cannot be hidden in deep alleys. Although the small shops on Fu Street enjoy an extremely high reputation among hardcore foodies across all humanity and even the All-Galaxy, it is only a word-of-mouth reputation. Without capital, there is no traffic or exposure. Without exposure, fame naturally cannot rise. If fame cannot rise, one can only resign oneself to poverty.
Of course, the folks on Fu Street, being skilled artisans, wouldn’t truly be destitute or unable to afford three meals. They are simply a group of artisans who live earnestly, content to maintain their current comfortable life with some surplus and pass down the delicious culinary heritage left by their ancestors for generations.
But we must also know that Fu Street is located in the center of the old district, adjacent to two ancient moats along the street. It is the best commercial area, convenient for transportation and full of charm. For ambitious enterprises, if such a location is not properly developed and left to the whims of these old-fashioned folks, wouldn't that be like planting persimmons on top of a gold mine?
Thus, in previous years, representatives of large enterprises came to chat with the small shop owners here, hoping to build a luxury commercial street on Fu Street that integrated gourmet food, leisure, bars, entertainment, and shopping. Of course, the shop owners wouldn’t have to leave their homes; they could still open shops and do business on this commercial street. As for the rent afterward… those were just minor details. They were told to have long-term plans, that with the promotion platform of the large enterprise, their shops would no longer be niche divine restaurants, but true internet sensations—no, star shops!
This vision sounded very beautiful. However, when the negotiating representatives chosen by everyone, which were his uncle and Uncle Li from the opposite dojo, asked the other party to provide a development plan and saw their design drawings, they wished they could smash them on the enterprise representative’s face on the spot.
If the other party’s plan were truly implemented, this ancient street with its antique charm, small bridges, flowing water, pavilions, and archways would be no different from those “cutting-edge” and “fashionable” commercial streets in big cities, or even the Alliance.
Yes, luxurious, exquisite, modern, sci-fi, yet full of the alienated consumerism created by light pollution. No culture, no unique features, no classics, no charm. Every light, every decoration, every celebrity poster, even the fountain at the street corner, tempts you to buy, buy, buy.
This was the proposal that company put forward.
If Fu Street became like this, what about the entire old district of Jin City?
The local residents united to resist this large enterprise’s development plan. Coupled with the fact that the mayor at the time was also a local-born “conservative” who sided with the original residents, they finally managed to save their hometown.
But if you expect capital to give up easily, that would be too naive. Just recently, a commercial real estate development company, reportedly backed by a large Alliance consortium, came again, and this time they changed their negotiation approach, preparing to do public relations one by one.
“So, what’s the situation now?”
“At the moment, they’re acting quite friendly, their attitude is quite sincere, and the conditions they’ve offered are very good… They’re prepared to buy the land and storefronts here at one and a half times the market price, and they’re also prepared to pay a large sum to buy the signboard of Rongxia Restaurant. That really is a huge amount of money.”
His uncle’s face was a bit stiff, looking as if “they’re offering too much,” and his voice trembled slightly:
“And then, they’ll ask me to continue as the technical consultant for the new Rongxia Restaurant. The contract is for twenty years, and the annual salary alone will be more than I earn now. To be honest, the conditions are so good that I’m tempted, which is why I’m a bit restless.”
“But you still refused, didn’t you?” Yu Lian smiled.
His uncle nodded, then gulped down the wine in his glass.
“Is it because you don’t want to give away the family business of eighty-eight generations? Or is it because they didn’t mention the other shops? And they didn’t mention the subsequent development plan for this area?”
“Perhaps, both… Everyone agreed before that we would advance and retreat together. It’s precisely because of this that I didn’t dare to agree easily. They just said they would visit again and then left. Haha, their attitude is much better than the previous company’s. We could even be friends, but I still have to refuse them!” His uncle took another sip of wine and muttered, “Oh, oh, that really is a huge sum of money! I actually refused them just like that. Yu’er, am I manly, even manlier than your mother!”
“Yes, you’re a real man!” Yu Lian gave him a thumbs-up, but he knew in his heart that the matter wouldn’t end so quickly.
Seriously, I just wanted to come back to rest and take a vacation or something! How did I end up encountering such troublesome things?
He looked at his uncle and aunt, who were completely drunk, and felt it would be better to quickly set aside money for the old couple’s retirement home, funds, insurance in the Alliance, and the education expenses for An’an and Lele.
I’ll send Ash a letter later. He should be quite free now, right?