wavenovel Chapter 2 Beginner Quests
Chapter 2 Beginner Quests
Ma Cuimei also warned, "Don't let yourself become a laughingstock!"
"Don't worry, I won't. You should worry about yourself first!"
Xu Liang responded domineeringly.
When Ma Cuimei left, she spat out the name of the small restaurant and glared at Xu Liang. These days, women love to show off and come up to cause trouble at the drop of a hat.
Unfortunately, neither mental nor personal attacks seemed to have any effect on Xu Liang.
He has a strong inner strength. From childhood to adulthood, he has been a brave person who is not afraid of causing trouble. At the same time, he can remain calm and rational in situations where everyone is attacking or trying to defuse the situation.
Having been framed by Director Feng and then subjected to a barrage of criticism from everyone, Xu Liang initially couldn't tolerate it.
He knew that if he shouted in anger, others would think he was incompetent. But if he argued back with Director Feng, he could mentally attack him.
This would make Xu Liang appear to be the winner.
However, a sneer or a cold snort at Director Feng is more effective than shouting it out.
Moreover, it was quite normal for such phenomena to exist in factories at that time. In fact, the best approach was to temporarily avoid direct confrontation and learn to take the lead.
It's the same as the idiom "seeking victory through stability" in the dictionary!
Xu Liang looked him up and down, then glanced at the environment of the dilapidated little restaurant.
It's been abandoned for so many years, and it's really quite dirty and messy.
So Xu Liang had a thought, and the panel popped up again, showing the same interface as before.
He opened the first beginner quest, clicked the "Accept" icon, and the reward was +1 to knife skills proficiency.
Some tables and chairs are moldy and unusable, the floor has cracks and is unsightly, the facilities are old and pose safety hazards.
Xu Liang considered all of this and felt that not changing it was absolutely not an option; everything here had to be replaced, taking into account the restaurant's reputation and food safety.
This has affected the future development of the small restaurant.
In the end, not only will diners not get to enjoy the food, but the small restaurant will also receive a lot of negative reviews.
The replacement of tables, chairs, countertops, ceilings, tiles, and the entire kitchen set adds up to a significant expense.
But the money I have left isn't enough. Who will make up the difference?
Xu Liang is no longer working at the factory and has no source of income. His uncle has already contacted the factory manager, but Xu Liang has already resigned, so it's unlikely he can be persuaded anytime soon.
Of course, the factory director didn't think highly of him opening a small restaurant, and he hated Director Feng and his family even more.
Relying on family connections might not be realistic.
It's time to rely on family connections.
Xu Liang's father, Xu Guisheng, has some savings, so taking out a portion shouldn't be a problem.
However, Xu Guisheng has a strict wife. He likes to hide money from his wife, and if she finds out, he will inevitably be punished.
Xu Guisheng and Xu Liangjin did not work at the same factory. Xu Liangjin was an ordinary employee, while Xu Guisheng was a supervisor in the Foxconn workshop in the city, and he was not short of money.
As for why the family is still so poor, it's because Xu Guisheng has never been good at saving money. Whenever he has money, he first hands over most of it to his wife, and then sets aside a small amount to hide as a secret stash.
However, even after losing her secret stash of money, this woman still took Xu Guisheng's money to play mahjong with her friends, and ended up sitting there all day.
"You're hiding money from me again! I'll beat you to death, you miser! I'm just asking you to use money to help with household expenses, why are you making such a fuss?"
When Xu Liangcai returned home, he saw his mother, Zhao Hongzhi, chasing after Xu Guisheng and beating him wildly with the family's heirloom feather duster.
In fact, Xu Guisheng was a notorious alcoholic. The purpose of hiding his secret stash of money was so that he could have a few drinks with his brothers on weekends.
It seems the rumors circulating online before my rebirth—that marrying a woman from Sichuan or Chongqing would lead to a life of misfortune—were indeed true.
"Give me your secret stash of money. If I ever see you hiding it here or there again, I'll tear you bastard off."
Seeing Xu Guisheng in such a miserable state, Xu Liang rushed forward and grabbed his mother's clothes, begging Zhao Hongzhi not to hit Xu Guisheng anymore.
Then Zhao Hongzhi turned her head, glanced at Xu Liang, and remembered that the factory director had come to her home to inform her that Xu Liang had voluntarily resigned.
As a result, just as the old man was getting angry, the young man arrived.
She glared at Xu Liang, grabbed his ear, and said, "You haven't been home for days, you must have been out partying. The factory manager just told you you resigned. Tell me! Why did you resign from the factory manager? That was a sure-fire job."
"I think you're thinking about Ellis again!"
"If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm telling you, don't come back home. Go sleep outside."
Her tone grew harsher with each passing sentence.
Xu Guisheng witnessed Zhao Hongzhi's "crooked" state of mind. When Zhao Hongzhi scolded Xu Liang, she showed a sense of powerlessness and gave Xu Liang a bitter smile.
I wonder how many masks of suffering Xu Guisheng wore.
Because if he dared to say a word, Zhao Hongzhi would kill both his father and son, and now his son was suffering for him.
The so-called "younger brother" position for men in Sichuan and Chongqing.
"Mom, calm down. I didn't want to quit my job for no reason."
At this moment, Zhao Hongzhi was still furious. Her eyes were wide open, her face was flushed, and she made a gesture as if she wanted to slap him.
"I'm just watching you today. If you can come up with a convincing reason, then you'll end up like your dad—both of you sleeping on the streets!"
Upon hearing this, not only did Xu Guisheng panic, but Xu Liang was also very frightened, fearing that he would be in trouble if he didn't explain things clearly to Zhao Hongzhi.
When Xu Liang's younger sister, Xu Tian, heard that her mother was going to beat her brother, she quickly came out to plead for him.
Xu Tian frowned, tears welling in her large eyes, and kept saying, "Mom, Tian Tian begs you, please don't hit my brother, okay!"
"Sweetie, don't cry. We won't hit your brother. Mom is just trying to reason with him."
Xu Tian is Xu Liang's younger sister. They were born from the same mother and relied on each other since childhood. When Xu Liang was young, he often took care of her and was always the first to stand up for her when she was bullied by others.
Therefore, whenever Xu Liang was beaten by Zhao Hongzhi, she was the first to stand up and plead for him.
"Mom, listen to me. I quit my job because I want to open a small restaurant and start anew. I want to make something of myself while I'm still young."
"You haven't forgotten my childhood dream: to become a world-renowned culinary master!"
In his previous life, Xu Liang was laid off from the hotel due to layoffs. Then, due to the intense competition in society, he was disillusioned with his middle-aged life and indulged in online games late into the night for several months, eventually dying suddenly at home.
Moreover, he had vowed since childhood to become a culinary master and become famous all over the world, but in the end, everything turned into nothing in his previous life.
"Make something of yourself? Become a culinary master? Look at the restaurant run by Old Feng's family. Not many people go there to eat, let alone when they have experience and ability. They still can't make much money."
"I really don't believe you can get the money to pay me. With your mediocre cooking skills, if you hadn't learned something from the master chef at the factory, I doubt you could even cook a hot meal right now."
Xu Liang quickly responded to Zhao Hongzhi's two sentences, saying, "Director Feng's family doesn't know how to run a shop, and it has many drawbacks. First, the food is not good and is very expensive. Second, the location is relatively remote. Third, the hygiene is not good. With these factors combined, it's natural that very few people go to eat there..."
"Oh, you dare to question me, kid?" Zhao Hongzhi said with surprise.
Then he wanted to hit Xu Liang.
Seeing that Zhao Hongzhi was about to act impulsively again, Xu Guisheng, a bystander, came to persuade her.
"Oh, honey, maybe Liangwa has learned something at the factory. I haven't seen him come home these past few days; he's definitely been researching ingredients. How about we give him another chance?"
"He wants to open a shop, so why not use the money you took from me to support Liangwazi?"
Zhao Hongzhi glanced sideways at Xu Guisheng and said loudly, "It's none of your business. I'll deal with you later, you son of a bitch."
"Liangwa, is what your dad said true? I certainly don't believe it."
"Anyway, you absolutely can't succeed running this little restaurant. By the way, how much money do you have left? Tell me the truth."
"..."
Xu Liang felt tense instantly.
I just bought a pack of cigarettes to get my uncle's small restaurant, so I'm almost broke. Plus, I still owe my uncle a month's rent.
If Zhao Hongzhi found out, she would be beaten a lot on the spot.
So he just made up an excuse.
"Director Feng said that this month's salary won't be paid until next month!"
"Alright! Didn't you say you could open a small restaurant? Today I'll test you and see if you're cut out for it."
"I won't test you on anything too difficult. I'll just see if you can cook a dish that satisfies me."
Zhao Hongzhi continued, "If you can do that, I won't stop you from opening your small restaurant. In fact, our whole family will support you. You can take a portion of your dad's salary and the money I win from playing mahjong and use it for the restaurant. I promise I'll keep my word!"
Seeing this, Xu Tian danced with joy, looking at her brother Xu Liang with delight, and encouraged him, "Tian Tian believes in her brother, you can definitely do it!"
Xu Liang was extremely excited. For him, this was a great opportunity to gain his family's approval!
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Xu Liang had no choice but to seize it.
Besides, I also need to complete my own beginner tasks.
So no matter what, even if it's tough, we have to satisfy Zhao Hongzhi.