Chapter 442: Precious in the Ordinary World (Please Subscribe to Monthly Tickets)

The sky gradually darkened and dusk fell.

On a summer night in Yuxianli, smoke was billowing from the charcoal grill, and the flames were already burning brightly. On the rows of simple dining tables, diners were chatting happily, toasting, and satisfying their appetites.

Amid the smell of smoke and fire, Yuxianli entered the first climax of the night.

Looking up, restaurants and food stalls on both sides of the bluestone road have opened one after another, offering all kinds of special night snacks, with the aroma of beef, mutton and other meats mixed with stinky dried tofu, fried dough twists and pot stickers floating in the air. Jiangchuan's most famous specialties include rice dumplings, spicy chicken wings, grilled small intestines, Zhangji Qifengdu fish powder, tea oil roasted chicken and pickled fish.

The crowded Yuxianli is divided into the dining area at the main entrance, the East District with large open-air barbecues, the West District with leisure and entertainment mainly consisting of karaoke bars and discos, and a long dragon of special snacks strung together by small stalls in the middle of the bluestone road. The long dragon runs through the entire Yuxianli Night Market. In the North District directly above, there are various toy stalls and clothing, shoes and hats stalls. These include shoes, hats and clothing brought back from Guangzhou, as well as watches, Hong Kong shirts, mesh shirts and so on brought back from Shanghai.

Night markets are often one of the symbols of a prosperous city. They can show the cultural atmosphere and life atmosphere of a region behind the prosperous business. They are very important for arranging employment, boosting consumption, and promoting the coordinated development of the secondary and tertiary industries.

Not counting the consumption of restaurants and karaoke bars on both sides, including stall fees, processor management fees and other taxes, these small vendors pay 80 yuan per month. Zhangji Catering has conducted research and calculations on this. In one night, these vendors can sell 50 to 70 yuan. At the end of the month, the net income of the vendors far exceeds the income of state-owned enterprise workers. As for today and during the cultural festival, it is not a problem to sell one or two hundred yuan a day. Many years later, the following saying spread among the neighbors in Jiangchuan: "In the 90s, Yuxianli was full of gold, and everything you sold made money!"

While walking through Yuxianli, Zhang Yunqi couldn't help but recall the days when he was a peddler, going out in wind and rain with a torn snakeskin bag on his back.

Time will never let down any ordinary person who works hard in ordinary life. When he saw Yang Wei and Yan Shi, this feeling became even stronger.

Yang Wei also saw Zhang Yunqi and Chu Jian, but his face did not show the embarrassment and awkwardness of a young man. He wiped the black sweat from his face and grinned: "Boss Zhang, are you here to play with Chu Jian?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded and pulled Chu Jian over.

Yan Shi stopped what she was doing and stopped soliciting customers. She looked at Zhang Yunqi in surprise, her rough hands intertwined with her fingers: "It's been a long time since we last met, Yunqi, are you okay?"

Zhang Yunqi smiled and nodded: "Very good." After a pause, he asked: "You and Yang Wei..."

Yang Wei and Yan Shi looked at each other, and Yan Shi's pockmarked face turned red. Yang Wei quickly said, "Let's do business together. Don't think too much. You know I used to set up a stall over at Ximen Street, but the city cracked down on street vendors some time ago, and I was forced to run around. Besides, it's hard to run a barbecue stall alone, and I didn't make much money. Later, I met Yan Shi. She had just returned from Guangdong and had no job. We decided to set up a stall here together."

Zhang Yunqi nodded and said, "Today is our class reunion. It should be the last time. Do you want to come with us? Let's have some drinks and reminisce about the past."

Yang Wei hesitated for a moment, looking a little hesitant, and finally said, "Forget it. Look, I'm busy too. Today is the first day of opening, and business is so good. I can probably make 100 or 200 yuan."

Yan Shi pulled his clothes and said, "You go ahead. I'll look after the stall by myself. I'll sell as much as I can."

Yang Wei was silent for a moment, then casually patted the back of Yan Shi's hand, and said to Zhang Yunqi with a smile: "After you finish your meal and feel tired from playing, if you want to have a midnight snack, remember to come to my place, and we can have a few drinks together."

Zhang Yunqi nodded: "Then Chu Jian and I will go over first."

Yang Wei immediately said, "Wait a minute, I remember you used to like eating spicy chicken wings. I'll grill some for you. Chu Jian can't eat spicy food, right? Yan Shi, get some grilled sweet corn for Chu Jian. If it tastes good, remember to advertise for me. Boss Zhang, you have a wide network of contacts, so let Yang's BBQ benefit from it."

While talking and laughing, Yang Wei's hands did not stop. He picked out a few chicken wings with the best color and the largest bones and threw them on the smoky wire rack. After selling barbecue for more than half a year, he has become a veteran in the barbecue business and his movements are familiar.

It took about ten minutes for the chicken wings to be ready. Yang Wei wiped his greasy hands on his chest before packing them in a paper bag marked "Yang-style BBQ" and handing it to Zhang Yunqi.

Zhang Yunqi took out 100 yuan and handed it to Yang Wei.

Yang Wei took the money and said, "I won't be polite to a big boss like you."

As he spoke, he opened the drawer. Most of the banknotes in the drawer were stained with barbecue oil. He carefully picked out the clean ones, counted out 92 yuan and 3 cents banknotes, and handed them to Zhang Yunqi.

Zhang Yunqi took the money and said, "Let's go."

Chu Jian took the sweet corn Yan Shi gave her, waved her hand and said, "Yan Shi, Yang Wei, we will come to see you later. Come on."

Yang Wei nodded and said yes.

Yan Shi waved her hand, and Ma Zi smiled: "Have fun."

Zhang Yunqi nodded, took Chu Jian’s hand and went into the crowd.

By seven o'clock, the night had deepened, brilliant lights were on, and there were noisy sounds and blurry figures all around. When I first saw them, I couldn't help but turn my head back to see the ordinary couple working hard to make a living in front of the stall under "Yang's BBQ" in the crowd. Zhang Yunqi asked, "What's wrong?"

Chu Jian retracted his gaze and said, "I don't know why, but I feel sad."

Zhang Yunqi smiled: "I am quite happy."

Chu Jian thought about it, pursed his lips and hummed, and said, "I suddenly realized that Yang Wei is really great."

Zhang Yunqi ate the perverted chicken wings and said, "Of course, everyone's life is a world. Even the most ordinary people have to fight for the world they live in. Weizi has done this, and he will definitely live a happy life."

After a pause, he added: "With Yan Shi."

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As he was talking, Zhang Yunqi found the Shangongguan Restaurant at the end of the main bluestone road. From the outside, it looked very ancient and Chinese, and of high quality.

Zhang Yunqi and Chu Jian walked in.

A beautiful waitress in a red cheongsam waved her hand at the door and said with a smile, "Hey, young man, we are not open to the public today."

Zhang Yunqi chewed the last bite of chicken wing: "Don't you want to ask why you are not open today?"

The waitress was stunned for a moment: "Why?"

"Because I booked the whole place." Zhang Yunqi threw the barbecue paper bag into the trash can and pulled Chu Jian into the Shan Mansion. "This is the restaurant booked by Zhang Yunfeng, the boss of Yuxianli Management Unit, right? Anyone in the back who is about my age, regardless of gender, as long as they say Zhang Yunqi's name, please come in."

Zhang Yunqi did not go to the private room, and sat directly with Chu Jian in the ancient hall with a feeling of small bridges and flowing water. After all, it was a private room, so there would be no outsiders, and the hall was also a private room. There were about 50 people in their class, and even if not all of them could come, the private room would not be able to accommodate them.

The restaurant manager, leading the cheongsam girl who was at the door just now, came over. He bent over and said politely, "Hello, Mr. Zhang. I am honored to have you here. The restaurant was booked by your elder brother Zhang Yunfeng, but your name was not mentioned. Our boss told me..."

Zhang Yunqi waved his hand. The people in the restaurant probably thought that his elder brother Zhang Yunfeng was going to accompany the city leaders who came here today to dine here. Those people looked like they were in their 40s or 50s with big bellies. The waiter would naturally not associate a man of his age with those leaders: "It's a small matter. Don't worry about it."

The manager immediately took out the menu and handed it to Zhang Yunqi, then stood aside and introduced their special dishes.

Zhang Yunqi drew thirteen or fourteen dishes on the menu and threw it to the restaurant manager: "Make four portions of each. We estimate that there will be forty or fifty people tonight. Set up four tables in the hall. You can order fruits and snacks as you like."

As they were talking, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Liu Zicheng, Yu Xiaorui, Yu Qingqing, Lin Xueqing and Liu Zicheng arrived first.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was buzzing. After more than a month, he had grown a lot bigger and looked more round and friendly. He pulled a chair and sat opposite Zhang Yunqi: "Boss Zhang, I just met Weizi and Sister Hua."

Zhang Yunqi asked: "Why don't you buy some barbecue to generate some income for Weizi's barbecue business and contribute some GDP to Jiangchuan?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang grabbed a handful of melon seeds and ate them while saying, "You know what, I really wanted to help him earn some money, but I was afraid he wouldn't accept the money, and I was also a little worried that our buddies would be embarrassed, so I didn't go over to say hello. Well, let's find a chance to chat with him later."

Zhang Yunqi nodded and didn't say anything else.

He saw that several girls who were close to him and Chu Jian had already sat down near the window, so he walked over with Tian Zhuangzhuang and Liu Zicheng, pulled up a chair and sat down and said, "Ladies, what are the activities for tonight's party?"

Lin Xueqing said: "Let's eat. What else do you want to do?"

Zhang Yunqi stuffed a melon seed into his mouth, looked at Lin Xueqing's chest which was big enough to hold an aircraft carrier, and smiled: "I don't want to do anything, I just want to watch you quietly."

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ps: I am in a very bad writing state. Although the story is about to enter the climax of the last few chapters of this volume, I only have a rough outline in my mind. In addition, I have work to do and time is tight. I am really worried that I will not write well. The subscription data is very bleak, and I can't even get excited. I am just boiling, and my brain is like paste.

Hey, please subscribe and give me monthly tickets.

Without subscriptions from readers, the author would be left with nothing but emotions and chicken soup for the soul. It would be really hard to keep staying up late every day.

(End of this chapter)