booktalesy Chapter 61 The Lowest Cost of Happiness
Chapter 61 The Lowest Cost of Happiness
After Lu Yuan brushed all the fried skewers with sauce, he piled them up layer by layer on the plate, making them look extremely tempting.
While the food was still very hot, Lu Yuan jogged over and carried the fried skewers to the neighbor's courtyard.
"What does that smell like! It has the aura of a night market king arriving!"
Xiao He sniffed the air; the sensation was almost overwhelming.
"It's fried skewers," Xiao Zhang said.
How did you know?
"Nonsense, I saw it all!" Xiao Zhang shoved Xiao He aside with his elbow and charged at Lu Yuan:
"Boss Lu, I'd like a sausage!"
Xiao He turned around and saw that Lu Yuan was carrying a plate of fried skewers. She rushed over after him.
"Boss Lu, the sausages are mine, and I laid the most bricks!"
Dr. Huang, who had been watching with amusement, suddenly fell into deep thought, then asked the two people beside him:
"Don't you think that eating delicious food is the cheapest form of happiness?"
Old Wu was a little confused, and subconsciously replied, "Right?"
"Definitely. Cosmetics cost tens of dollars, but a bottle of soda only costs 5 cents," Dr. Wang replied.
Dr. Huang raised his head, his gaze drifting from Xiao He and the others to the distant mountains bathed in the setting sun.
"Do you think anyone treats children with cleft lips and palates to good food?"
The question was quite thought-provoking, and Old Wu and Doctor Wang fell into a deep silence.
The more I think about the answer to this question, the more distressed I become.
These children have grown up in prejudice.
People around them would point fingers and gossip, and even some of the children's parents would look down on them.
I doubt anyone other than their parents would invite them to a nice meal.
Dr. Huang withdrew his gaze from the setting sun, his eyes becoming somewhat intense.
"Let's treat those children to something delicious!"
After speaking, Dr. Huang walked straight to Lu Yuan, his tone somewhat agitated:
"Boss Lu, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Dr. Huang, please speak."
After a moment, Lu Yuan also fell into deep thought.
He believes that 99% of people wouldn't think deeply about this issue.
But the answer is obvious.
Doctor Huang thought Lu Yuan was in a difficult position, so he continued to persuade him:
"The villages where we've been providing free medical services recently aren't far from here, so it won't interfere with Mr. Lu's business."
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and replied, "Could we invite all the children to come here?"
"Wait!" Doctor Huang's face lit up with joy. "So you're agreeing?"
Lu Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled, "I never refused!"
"Thank you so much!" Dr. Huang excitedly grasped Lu Yuan's hand.
"Please make it as lavish as possible, Mr. Lu. I'll cover all the expenses."
Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "This meal is on me. Consider it my way of entertaining my late friend."
At an ice rink in the provincial capital, Chen Dongsheng was skillfully skating backwards.
Suddenly, my nose started to itch, and I sneezed for no reason, almost falling flat on my face.
. . .
Lu Yuan glanced at the white wall and suddenly said to Xiao Zhang, "I want to change the pattern on the wall."
Then Lu Yuan took back the notebook and quickly scribbled on it.
A moment later, Lu Yuan stopped writing, and a string of anime characters appeared on his notebook.
After Xiao Zhang came closer and looked at a few pictures, he couldn't take his eyes off them:
"Boss Lu, your cartoon drawings are so beautiful!"
After watching it, Xiao Zhang felt somewhat unsatisfied, but also had some questions:
"But won't drawing these cartoons affect your business?"
Lu Yuan replied indifferently, "It doesn't matter, just draw it this way."
After settling the matter with the wall, Lu Yuan and Doctor Huang finalized the specific plans for hosting the dinner.
They set the date for Saturday afternoon, when they would drive a van to pick up the children one by one and take them to Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant.
Besides needing to modify the content on the wall, Lu Yuan also arranged for several other young doctors to make invitation cards by hand.
Since he was inviting these children to dinner, Lu Yuan hoped they would prepare with the utmost seriousness.
He hoped this wasn't just cheap pity.
After learning about the impromptu event on Saturday, everyone worked extra hard.
Especially Xiao Zhang, even though the night had completely covered the earth, she was still carefully sketching the mural under the light.
. . .
The next morning, the weather was clear and cloudless after the heavy rain.
Today, the medical team did not go out to provide free medical services, but stayed in Luwangtan Village to conduct health screenings.
Logically, such activities should be held in the village collective office, but Lu Changguo had a selfish motive and held the activity at the entrance of Lu Yuan Restaurant.
The purpose is to tell everyone that this event happened because Lu Yuan helped others.
At the same time, he told Lu Yuan's relatives that Lu Yuan's business was indeed doing very well, and that anyone who wanted to get into the catering industry could confidently go to Lu Yuan to learn from him.
On the other hand, tell the Wang family that Lu Yuan took over the shop in front and would give back to the villagers, and that they should not cause trouble because of past disputes.
Lu Yuan didn't think too much about it; he just asked someone to prepare watermelon and herbal tea for the elderly.
So as not to faint at his door on such a hot day.
After lunch, Lu Yuan and Lu Hua took the medical team's van to the county town.
They were going to buy some ingredients to prepare for two banquets that were going to take place over the weekend.
The types of diners at these two banquets were completely different.
It was a children's themed banquet, and Lu Yuan was preparing a fried chicken feast for them.
These ingredients are relatively easy to buy; chicken wings, chicken breasts, and chicken legs are readily available.
Instead of buying the zombie meat that had been frozen for who knows how long, Lu Yuan went to a store that sells fresh chicken and bought a batch of chicken wings, drumsticks, and other cut off that day.
The other event was Mr. Wang's luncheon, which he explicitly stated was prepared for a drinking party.
In other words, what needs to be emphasized in this event is the snacks to accompany the drinks.
There are some things to consider when making snacks to accompany alcohol; first and foremost, they must be able to mask the smell of alcohol.
Business banquets typically feature baijiu (Chinese white liquor), which is known for its strong flavor and potent taste.
When you drink it, the pungent taste of the alcohol will rise up from your throat.
At this time, what you need most are some dishes that can counteract the effects of alcohol and help to soothe the body.
Snacks to accompany drinks should be dry, spicy, charred, refreshing, and chewy.
Soupy dishes are not suitable, as they don't help with hangovers and can cause bloating.
It is also not suitable for dishes that are predominantly sweet, as it will disrupt the taste of the wine.
When choosing snacks to accompany drinks, ease of eating should also be considered.
For example, people who play rock-paper-scissors usually eat during the breaks between games, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ask them to eat a crab at that moment.
Moreover, when people are tipsy, they will subconsciously eat something, and at this time, some complicated and cumbersome dishes may pose a danger.
For example, if someone who is heavily intoxicated picks up a piece of ribbonfish and swallows it without removing the bones, they are very likely to be sent to the hospital.
The comfort and enjoyment of the food are also important factors to consider when choosing snacks to accompany drinks.
There are two stages to eating comfortably.
One is that everyone should eat something before drinking.
At this point, it's important that the snacks served with alcohol aren't too filling, yet still provide a sense of fullness.
The flavor should be mainly salty and savory, so it won't feel greasy.
Another option is to fill your stomach when you've had enough to drink without causing nausea from the alcohol, and also to help sober you up to some extent.