mtl008 Chapter 154 Farewell
Chapter 154 Farewell
Seeing her grandmother's excited expression, Lin Xi quickly said, "Okay, okay."
She was originally thinking of buying new ones, but these jars were her grandmother's treasures. Every time she gave away pickled vegetables, she would urge her to get the jars back.
After packing up, the family ate a quick bite and went to sleep.
Lin Guojun wanted to express his feelings, but he was already exhausted from catching chickens and running around the yard more than ten times today, and he started snoring.
The next morning, after the family finished breakfast, Lin Guiying took pickled vegetables and sausages to say goodbye to her old friends.
First, I went to Liu Shufen's house and had a good chat with my old best friend for a while. Liu Shufen was teary-eyed and full of reluctance.
They lived in the same village for most of their lives and never had any dirty dealings.
She was almost scammed, but the Lin family helped expose the scam. With Xiao Xi's help, her granddaughter's grades improved dramatically.
Even when the Lin family's business prospered, they never forgot about them, and would visit them from time to time with nice gifts.
This friendship will not change just because the Lin family is gone.
Lin Guiying was also very sad. She had gotten used to life here and the people here, but if she wanted to stay with her granddaughter, she had to get used to parting ways.
I had a heart-to-heart talk with my best friend for a while, and then took some things to say goodbye to someone else.
"Oh dear, I don't want to leave either, but Xiaoxi is so young, and I'm worried about her going to high school alone in the city."
"Yes, we'll be moving soon. The house is all bought; my granddaughter picked it out."
"No, no, mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot) doesn't make that much money. It's all from my granddaughter writing novels."
"Of course! We're getting old, and we've finally moved into an apartment building, all thanks to my granddaughter. You know, grandsons and granddaughters are all the same. Don't always favor your little grandson..."
……
After saying goodbye, Lin Guiying, who had been quite sad, returned happily.
Lin Xi had been thinking of comforting her grandmother, but seeing the situation, she realized she had been overthinking it.
Lin Guojun then went to see Old Su, who always fought with him for scrap metal, and said a proper "farewell".
"I'm going to the city to pick up trash. There's so much to collect, you know? This whole area is yours from now on, do a good job..."
Lin Dayuan borrowed a large truck from the village chief's house and secretly threw away 100 yuan.
After tidying up, Lin Dayuan walked towards the small shop with mixed feelings.
He poured so much effort into this place, transforming himself from a small vendor who worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk into a boss, from a family who were always busy to having his own waiters.
This success is inseparable from the hard work of everyone in the store and the support of every customer.
I vaguely remember everyone shivering in the cold wind just to eat a bowl of spicy hot pot.
When they accompanied Xiaoxi to the police station to solve the case, everyone thought they were being bullied by the police, so they all stood up and stopped the police.
And then there's the support and protection we receive when faced with malicious customers...
But for his daughter's sake, he had to keep moving forward and couldn't stay in this little shop.
He also has a dream: to open mala tang restaurants all over the country, to become a strong support for his daughter, and to make her proud of him.
He braced himself mentally, pushed open the shop door, and the scene before him immediately brought tears to his eyes.
The store was packed with people, and he recognized every face in it.
His first customer, Grandpa Wang, loved his homemade bone broth the most, as did his wife, Grandma Li, who would always ask about Xiao Xi's condition whenever they came.
Wang Xiu, a parent who believes that eating mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot) will make her child smarter, brings her child to eat there every weekend, and no matter how she explains it, the child doesn't believe her.
Calligraphy teacher Hu Yihang often asks Xiaoxi if she has time to participate in competitions.
There's also Li Kui, a burly, dark-faced man who can eat three or four bowls of food each time; he comes over almost every day.
……
He could call all these customers by name; they were loyal customers who had been coming to support him since he started his stall and continued to do so even after he opened his shop.
Lin Dayuan's eyes were red and swollen. "You... why did you all come?"
As the oldest and most senior customer, Grandpa Wang replied on behalf of everyone: "Dayuan, Erli told me you're opening a new store in the city. We've come to see you off and wish your new store great success and smooth sailing."
He took out another poster, which was unfolded by Li Kui, a burly man with a dark face, who was standing next to him.
"You've moved quite far this time, so we can't be with you all the time, but we've written some blessings for the new store. Everyone's good wishes are on it."
Lin Dayuan took the poster; it was covered with dense text in various fonts.
There are calligraphic works led by Grandpa Wang, neat small regular script by Hu Yixing, large and messy characters by Li Kui, delicate and graceful characters by Wang Xiu, and crooked and distorted characters by Wang Ye, along with some misspellings...
The poster was messy, irregular, and unattractive, but it was a priceless treasure to him.
The above is everyone's recognition of him and his shop, filled with care and blessings for him.
"May Lin's Mala Tang business flourish like sesame flowers blooming, and may customers flow in like a river in spring."
"May Mr. Lin's business flourish and be packed with customers every day."
"We hope Mr. Lin won't forget us, will come back to visit often, and will not overwork himself and will take good care of his health."
"Boss Lin, I will miss you. Only you can cook my favorite flavor. But even if you are not here, I will always support you."
"Lin's Mala Tang is the best in the world, no arguments allowed. Anyone who says it's not good should look for the reasons within themselves."
"New customers, don't bully my boss, Mr. Lin, or our old customers from Lotus Town will come after you."
……
As he looked at it, Lin Dayuan couldn't help but wipe his eyes, carefully rolled up the poster, and bowed to everyone.
"Thank you, I will come back often. Uncle Wang, please put less salt in your soup in the future, it's not good for your health."
Aunt Li, if you often have leg pain, just give us a call when you feel unwell, and Erli will deliver it to your home.
Li Kui, put less chili in, so you don't get a stomachache. You never listen to me.
And Xiao Wang, eating spicy hot pot really won't make you smarter..."
……
Lin Dayuan talked on and on, giving instructions to everyone.
This is why everyone loves this little shop. It's not just because the food is delicious, but also because the owner treats them like friends. Which other owner would be so thoughtful as to offer such reminders?
The sorrow of parting grew heavier and heavier, and there was no end to the words. It wasn't until new customers came into the shop that everyone dispersed and sat down, their hearts filled with reluctance.
Finally, Lin Dayuan shook hands with everyone, gave Liu Erli and the others some final instructions, and then turned to leave.
Liu Erli secretly wiped away tears. If it weren't for the presence of his regular customers, he would have wanted to hug Lin Dayuan and cry his heart out. This was his best brother and his savior, who had enabled him to stand up and given him a decent job...
He really couldn't bear to part with it.
Tian Lei and the others were the same; they knew that they were able to work here and receive high salaries because the Lin family had taken special care of them.
Grandma Yang was initially misled and didn't realize what was going on, but later she understood that it wasn't that she needed help at all, but that Guiying and Xiaoxi had taken special care of her because they saw that she was having financial difficulties.