Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 40
It was dinner time. When Mother Jiang wanted to keep Jiang Yueqin for dinner, she was not polite and actually sat down. Mother Jiang urged Jiang Ning to cook quickly. The clams and snails she cooked were quite delicious, but they were not worth the price anyway.
Jiang Ning didn’t want to go, but Father Jiang came back. His trouser legs were covered with mud. In addition to a basket of crayfish, he was holding a snakehead fish weighing almost two kilograms on a straw in his hand.
Seeing Jiang Yueqin, he said, “Yueqin is here.”
Mother Jiang, with a smile on her face, said, “Yueqin will leave tomorrow morning. She came to tell Ning Ning. The bus leaves at five o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Father Jiang was silent for a moment after hearing this, then put down the basket in his hand. “I happened to catch a grass carp on the river beach. I will make grass carp for you to eat. Don’t leave, Yueqin. Let’s eat together.”
Jiang Ning liked to eat fish. She had previously told Father Jiang how to make pickled fish, so he went to borrow a bunch of pickled vegetables from the aunt next door.
When rural people cooked fish, they simply fried it on both sides, then added water and seasonings and cooked it thoroughly.
It was the first time Jiang Yueqin saw someone filet fish into thin slices, especially Father Jiang’s knife skills, which were quite good.
She watched him marinate the fish filets first, then fry the fish heads and bones until fragrant. After washing the fish filets, he even added egg white. She had never seen it done before.
Jiang Ning was still instructing Father Jiang, “Put the sauerkraut into the pot and fry it to remove the water vapor.”
When the last pot of fish was cooked, Jiang Yueqin thought it was done. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ning directed him to sprinkle garlic paste, dried chili segments, white sesame seeds, garlic leaves, and Sichuan peppercorns on the fish filets, and then pour hot oil over them. The overbearing fragrance suddenly appeared.
Excited, Jiang Yueqin praised repeatedly, “Hey, my uncle’s craftsmanship is so good. It’s the first time I came to know that fish can be cooked like this.”
Jiang Ning suddenly looked at her sideways and asked, “Aren’t you working as a waitress in a restaurant? You don’t even know about pickled fish?”
Jiang Yueqin, a rural girl, had been taken out. Although she stayed in a nightclub with feasting and entertainment, her food and accommodation were arranged by someone. They were not allowed to go out normally. If Jiang Yueqin hadn’t stayed there for a long time and said she wanted to go home to bring a few little sisters, they wouldn’t have let her. They came back in the middle of the year and all worked at night and slept during the day. She saved all the money she earned and took it home to her parents. She had never eaten in a serious restaurant. Even if she ate out, it would always be at a food stall or with a box lunch. How could she know about pickled fish?
When she was asked, she stammered, “Wh-what our restaurant sells are all foreign wines. Foreign wines are for foreigners to drink. Of course, the food is also foreign food. Do you know what foreigners eat? Steak, fries.”
Their nightclub actually had steak and fries, and she had even secretly tasted them from leftovers of the guests. She raised her chin proudly, “Have you tried steak and French fries?”
“It’s amazing.” Jiang Ning asked curiously, “Then your hotel must be very famous. What’s its name?”
“Paris Hotel.” When she mentioned the word Paris, her chin raised even higher.Â
“Yeah.” Jiang Ning nodded and suddenly asked her, “Isn’t it called Little Paris Nightclub?”
“Last time you told me it was called Little Paris Nightclub.” She tilted her head and asked Father Jiang in confusion, “Dad, what does nightclub mean?”
Father Jiang, who only worked at the construction site and didn’t know much about the era’s various nightclubs, karaoke, dance halls, and other places, responded. Karaoke and dance halls were still popular places where young people liked to sing and dance, so “nightclub” represented a completely different meaning.
Father Jiang asked, “What Little Paris nightclub?”
“This is the place where I’m going to work.” Jiang Ning looked like a country girl who had never seen the world before and smiled at Jiang Yueqin. “Sister Yueqin told me that the place is beautiful, full of lights, greenery, and splendor. Sister Yueqin said that the girls earn a lot there. They can earn seven to eight hundred yuan a month. Look, sister Yueqin brought back 5,000 yuan this time and she earned it in half a year. Sister Yueqin said that some big bosses may like me.”
Jiang Yueqin was going crazy. She felt like she was stunned after being exposed. She wanted Jiang Ning to shut up and stop talking. Facing Father Jiang’s questioning eyes, she shook her head repeatedly, “No, no, no, no, no, I said…”
Jiang Ning’s face was still full of innocence and curiosity as she asked Father Jiang, “Dad, would a big boss like me like this?”
Her hair had grown a bit during the month-long summer vacation, but it was still uneven. Perhaps it was from catching and selling crayfish every day. Despite wearing a hat, she was still slightly sunburned, with her skin just starting to tan. Her body was thin and short, her face still innocent and youthful.
Father Jiang frowned and asked Jiang Yueqin, “Is what Ning Ning said true? Do you work at Little Paris Nightclub?”
Jiang Yueqin shook her head in panic and exclaimed, “No, no, no! Are you coming or not? It’s your mother who begged me to take you, not me asking you to come.”Â
With that, she waved her hands vigorously and dashed out quickly. She ran all the way home, her heart racing.
She feared that Father Jiang and Mother Jiang would reveal her stage performance at the nightclub.
It was one thing for her to engage in such activities, but it was another for others to know about it. She wanted to get married—how could she if this got out? Flustered, she didn’t know whom to confide in. She had hoped to bring Jiang Ning along. If Jiang Ning entered the nightclub and sided with her, they wouldn’t dare spread rumors. But now it was different—they knew.
To avoid spending a restless night, she grabbed her luggage upon returning home, ready to leave immediately. However, the tricycle her family had arranged was scheduled for the next morning. If she left, she would have to take a long detour via ferry to reach Tanshan Mountain. Only from there could she proceed to her grandmother’s hometown. There was a bus to the town, but once there, it would be far from her destination.
As she stepped out with her luggage, her neighbor aunt greeted her, “Yueqin, why are you carrying your bag? Aren’t you leaving tomorrow morning? Why are you bringing it out now?”
Jiang Yueqin was still standing at the intersection, looking around, trying to decide which way to go.Â
Mother Jiang had already rushed over, grabbed her curly hair, and slapped her across the face twice. “You wicked, shameless woman! You dance in that nightclub! You came back and lied to us about being a waitress, and now you want to take my Ning Ning to that place? You have a black heart!”
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