Chapter 401: The Zhou Family's Surprise

Chapter 401: The Zhou Family's Surprise

Nanning.

The luxury mansion in Wuyue Square.

Zhang Xiuping and Gu Caimei, who are acting as elder sisters, are helping their younger sister get ready.

Women are the most beauty-conscious beings; in the afterlife, many women endure unimaginous hardships to make themselves more beautiful. They endure pain and effort to beautify themselves, which can truly be terrifying.

Of course, not all women are so beauty-conscious; there are also many women who don't care much about their appearance, especially rural women who work from morning till night, who have no time to beautify themselves!

However, whether they are usually beauty-conscious or not, women will always make an effort to look their best for important occasions.

For women, there's no doubt that a marriage interview is a very important occasion.

Even in the afterlife, where women typically have several marriage interviews a day, they will still make an effort to look their best, especially in today's era where marriage interviews are highly valued.

Today is the first time Deng Yunzhu is attending a marriage interview. The interviewee is personally selected by her father, who places great importance on this,he has asked the two elder sisters to help her get ready.

It must be said that women who are naturally beautiful will look good even without much effort, while those who are not so naturally beautiful will need to use makeup to transform themselves, otherwise, no matter how they dress up, they will still look unappealing.

The former naturally have the interest to beautify themselves, while the latter often give up and become less concerned about their appearance.

Zhang Xiuping and Gu Caimei are both exceptionally beautiful women, chosen from ten thousand to one. With their natural beauty, they are more beauty-conscious than the average woman, which is why Deng Yunzhu has the two elder sisters helping her.

The result is satisfying; with the help of the two elder sisters, after a thorough makeover, Deng Yunzhu is undeniably beautiful and can be considered a true beauty.

Add to that, the aura she has cultivated as a hotpot restaurant owner over the past few years, which makes her look even better.

Zhang Xiuping immediately praised her, saying, "Yunzhu, you look so beautiful in this outfit; you're sure to captivate the other party."

Gu Caimei also smiled, saying, "Elder sister is right, Yunzhu looks like a genuine beauty after this makeover!"

Deng Yunzhu looked in the mirror, seeing the familiar but slightly different girl, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, "Elder sister, second sister, thank you for helping me get ready. But the two elder sisters are naturally beautiful, so I'll leave it to you to stay at home and wait for news."

Otherwise, with the two elder sisters here, I could look beautiful, but it would be awkward."

Zhang Xiuping and Gu Caimei couldn't help but glance at each other,. In terms of beauty, they are indeed more beautiful than the younger sister. If they really appear at the interview, it might even affect the younger sister's chances.

Zhang Xiuping then nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll stay at home and wait for your good news."

In Nanning, the most famous restaurant before the 80s was undoubtedly the Wanguo Hotel.

This hotel began operations in 1945, initially named the Wanguo Grand Hotel, known for its traditional dishes, and tea and snacks, it was famous throughout Nanning and even in Guangxi.

Before liberation, many military and political officials, as well as high-ranking officials were its regular guests. After liberation, it was renamed to "Wanguo Hotel" and became the main venue for various meetings in Guangxi and Nanning, making it one of the oldest and most prestigious eateries in Nanning.

At that time, there was a saying in Nanning: "Eat in Nanning, start with Wanguo," implying that one meal here could boast for half a year.

However, as the saying goes, "People don't stay good for a thousand days, flowers don't stay red for a hundred days," after entering the 90s, even this famous hotel declined.

Now, the two most famous restaurants in Nanning are Ruyi Restaurant and Xiyuan Hotel.

Ruyi Restaurant is the first in Nanning to serve Cantonese morning tea, having been in operation since the mid-80s, bustling from morning till night with no empty seats, its popularity surpassing Wanguo Hotel.

Xiyuan Hotel, on the other hand, is even more prestigious; it is the "National Guesthouse" for leaders in Nanning, with many high-ranking leaders from Guangxi having stayed here over the years.

After the reform and opening up, this prestigious hotel also opened to the public, becoming extremely popular.

Zhou Haidong and Deng Yunzhu's marriage interview is set at the Xiyuan Hotel.

Zhou Haidong and his parents arrived in Nanning yesterday evening, but since it was late, they naturally decided to meet today at noon.

At this moment, the three members of the Zhou family are waiting at the hotel entrance for the Deng family to arrive.

Although mobile phones existed at this time, expensive and not widely used, due to the lack of a well-established mobile network, this is also why Deng Shirong hasn't used a phone.

Without a phone, it's difficult to contact the invited guests.

To show respect to the female side, the Zhou family of three is waiting at the entrance.

While waiting, Zhou's mother couldn't help but ask, "Old Zhou, is your judgment really that good? This back and forth, we're spending quite a bit of money!"

Zhou's father replied, "Don't worry, I've been in the government for decades, and my judgment is still good. This cousin, nine is not an ordinary person; his daughter is younger than Haidong by a year, and the hotpot restaurant is about to open its third branch, making him the best earner in the family at making money."

Mrs. Zhou said, "If she really has such a great ability to make money, then she would indeed be a good match for Haidong. Since we've come all the way from Guangzhou, if we find her acceptable, we should definitely take the opportunity to visit her hotpot restaurant."

After all, what you hear is not as reliable as what you see!"

The old Mr. Zhou nodded, "It would be good to take a look."

Zhou Haidong chimed in, "I wonder how her hotpot restaurant compares to my cousin's place."

Mrs. Zhou replied, "It probably can't compare. My cousin's hotpot restaurant is over 200 square meters and is one of the best in our area."

The old Mr. Zhou mused, "That's hard to say. Her hotpot restaurant might not be as large or as grand as your cousin's, but the business must be good. Otherwise, she wouldn't have opened one after another, with the third one about to open."

Zhou Haidong nodded, "The business must be good. If it weren't, she wouldn't even be able to manage one store, let alone think about opening a second one!"

Mrs. Zhou said, "We'll see when we get there."

The three of them chatted idly at the entrance of the restaurant for a few minutes. Then, they saw Deng Shirong leading his youngest daughter, Deng Yunzhu, approaching.

The introductions and greetings upon meeting are omitted.

A few minutes later, both parties entered the restaurant and made their way to the reserved private room.

During the ordering process, both sides naturally exchanged some pleasantries.

After the dishes were ordered and the server left the room, both sides began to chat.

Throughout the process, Zhou Haidong and Deng Yunzhu were quietly observing each other.

In Deng Yunzhu's eyes, the man named Zhou Haidong was indeed as tall and handsome as her father had described. He was immediately likable, and with his degree from a prestigious university, she was very satisfied with her first impression.

In Zhou Haidong's eyes, the girl before him was clearly well-dressed, with a good figure and appearance. What was particularly impressive was her confidence; she was poised and graceful in front of his family, unlike the usual shy and bashful girls.

She seemed to have seen the world and was not at all petty, which left a very good first impression on him.

Deng Yunzhu's performance also pleased the Zhou family. They all had respectable jobs and were government employees, so they valued face. If the daughter-in-law was petty or timid, unable to hold her own in social situations, they wouldn't like her.

A confident and poised daughter-in-law like Deng Yunzhu was exactly what they had in mind.

...

In most marriage interviews, a matchmaker is present, and the conversation revolves around the two parties. However, today's interview between Zhou Haidong and Deng Yunzhu was a bit different. Both the old Mr. Zhou and Deng Shirong had already discussed the basic situations of their children, and there was no matchmaker present. This interview was purely for the two to meet each other.

After some casual chat, Mrs. Zhou opened the conversation, "Ah Zhu, to be the owner of two or three hotpot restaurants at such a young age, that's truly impressive. Are all three of your hotpot restaurants in Nanning?"

Deng Yunzhu shook her head, "Only two are in Nanning, one is the first to open, and the other is currently preparing to open. The third one is in Liuzhou."

Mrs. Zhou asked, "It's easier to manage in Nanning, but who helps you manage the one in Liuzhou?"

Deng Yunzhu smiled, "Naturally, I hire people to help manage. As long as there are proper management systems in place, I only need to check the accounts periodically."

The old Mr. Zhou added, "It's important to have good supervision to prevent any underhanded dealings."

Deng Yunzhu nodded, "That's right, supervision is very important. We are continuously improving in this area to ensure no one can take advantage. A classmate of mine from high school, who is a top university graduate, has already agreed to help manage the hotpot restaurants after she graduates next year.

By then, with her talent, we can establish a more reasonable management system and help the hotpot restaurants grow faster and more steadily."

Zhou Haidong was surprised, "A top university graduate is coming to help manage your hotpot restaurant?"

He himself was a graduate of a top university and understood the value of such degrees in this era. Graduates were highly sought after and cultivated in any organization they joined.

After all, the number of university graduates was very small, especially those from top universities, who were truly one in a thousand.

Unlike in the future, where a random brick could hit at least three graduates from 211 universities and one from a 985, the value was very different.

For such a talented graduate to ignore the state-assigned job to help manage Deng Yunzhu's hotpot restaurant was truly surprising to Zhou Haidong, and he couldn't quite understand why.

Deng Yunzhu smiled, "Yes, that's what she said."

The old Mr. Zhou also understood the value of a top university graduate and asked with some surprise, "Ah Zhu, what's the situation? Why is your classmate willing to give up a state-assigned job to help manage your hotpot restaurant?"

Deng Yunzhu smiled and explained, "She wants to repay me. In the last semester of high school, something major happened to her family. Without my help, she might not have had the chance to take the university entrance exam."

The Zhou family, curious, asked more questions, and Deng Yunzhu didn't hide anything, briefly recounting what had happened to her classmate, Li Shuqin.

Upon learning that the girl's brother had actually sold her to pay off his gambling debts, the three members of the Zhou family were furious.

At the same time, they understood why a top university graduate would be willing to give up a prestigious state-assigned job to help manage a classmate's hotpot restaurant.

By this point, the dishes began to arrive at the restaurant.

The conversation continued as they ate, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

The meal lasted over an hour before it finally concluded.

Naturally, the bill was paid by the male side, as it was a customary practice for the male side to cover all expenses during a marriage interview.

If it were a normal marriage interview, it would be reasonable for the male side to cover the expenses.

However, in later times, there were many instances where the female side would treat the male side as a mark, inviting a large group of relatives to the interview, ordering the most expensive dishes, and racking up bills of several thousand yuan.

They would even claim it was to test the male side, which was utterly shameless.

The most satisfying response to such behavior was for the male side to find an opportunity to slip away secretly, leaving the female side to foot the bill.

As they walked out of the Xiyuan Hotel, before the Zhou family could speak, Deng Shirong said, "Old Zhou, let's head back to the hotpot restaurant for some tea. I have some specialty red crushed tea from my hometown of Baise, all from century-old tea trees."

Old Zhou smiled and said, "Sure, I'd love to taste such fine tea."

...

Half an hour later.

Deng Shirong and his daughter led the Zhou family back to Wuyue Square. The Zhou family immediately noticed the eye-catching sign of La Meizi Hotpot.

Old Zhou immediately praised, "Ah Zhu, you chose a great location for your hotpot restaurant. It's right in the city center, with high foot traffic, so business must be doing well."

Deng Yunzhu smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhou, it's not too bad."

They quickly followed the external stairs up to the second floor.

As expected, when they saw the enormous size of the hotpot restaurant, the Zhou family's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Zhou's mother, pointing at the vast restaurant, was trembling all over, "This... This... Ah Zhu, is this your hotpot restaurant?"

Old Zhou also trembled, "My goodness, this hotpot restaurant is huge!"

Zhou Haidong was not faring much better. His cousin's hotpot restaurant in Guangzhou was over 200 square meters, which was already quite impressive in a big city.

But the hotpot restaurant before him was truly beyond his imagination, more than ten times larger than his cousin's, and in a city like Nanning, which was not even among the top-tier cities in the country. It was simply unbelievable.

Deng Yunzhu had anticipated the Zhou family's reaction. Who wouldn't be amazed upon seeing such a large hotpot restaurant for the first time?

Zhou's mother's question didn't even need Deng Yunzhu to answer, as the welcoming staff greeted them respectfully, "Boss!"

Deng Yunzhu nodded at the staff and then looked at Zhou's parents, smiling, "Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, please come in."

Upon entering the hotpot restaurant, the Zhou family, having recovered from the shock of the size, began to inspect the interior decor. They were naturally impressed, as the hotpot restaurant not only dwarfed the cousin's by several times but was also beautifully decorated.

Especially the embedded hotpot settings, which truly opened their eyes.

Only after sitting down and having Deng Yunzhu personally serve the tea did the Zhou family slowly recover from their shock.

At that moment, the Zhou family realized they had greatly underestimated the capabilities of the female side.

Zhou's mother took a sip of tea, calming her excitement, and asked, "Ah Zhu, are the other two hotpot restaurants just as large?"

Deng Yunzhu shook her head and smiled, "No, the one in Liuzhou is only about one-tenth the size of this one, and the other one in Nanning, which is still in preparation, is even smaller, about 200 square meters."

Zhou's mother praised, "Two hundred square meters is already quite large. Haidong's cousin also runs a hotpot restaurant, which is about 200 square meters, and with tables set up outside the door, it feels quite spacious."

Zhou Haidong couldn't help but ask, "Ah Zhu, why did you make this hotpot restaurant so large? Even in Guangzhou, such a large hotpot restaurant wouldn't be fully occupied, and during peak hours, it might only be half full. In Nanning, the number of customers might be even fewer, wouldn't the remaining space be wasted?"

Deng Yunzhu glanced at her father and smiled, "This is the flagship store of our La Meizi Hotpot chain, so it has to be impressive. Right now, a lot of space is indeed wasted, but with the country's reform and opening up, more and more people are becoming wealthy, and business will get better.

I believe that in ten or eight years, the customer flow in this flagship store will increase, and it will eventually be fully occupied."

Although Zhou Haidong still had many questions, the relationship between the two sides hadn't reached the point where he could ask too many details.

Old Zhou nodded and said, "Nanning is an ancient city with a long history, and it's also a burgeoning city. As the capital of Guangxi, I believe it will see significant development in the coming years. Your hotpot restaurant will eventually be bustling with customers, Ah Zhu."

"Thank you for your encouragement, Uncle Zhou!"

...

PS: I'm a bit stuck, so this chapter is only 5,000 words. I'll find an opportunity to add more later. Thank you all for your support and votes.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end