Chapter 57

The commune had given out grain tickets, but they weren’t enough to let a person go to a restaurant and eat braised pork lavishly, so everyone decided to pool their tickets together to buy a table of dishes. Although it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy them, just eating restaurant food would be enough to satisfy their hearts, even if their stomachs were still empty. Besides, it was only one meal, and they could handle it.

Hearing Zhou Tong’s suggestion, Lu Chen hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse.

Originally, he had planned to go to the state-run restaurant and order the cheapest steamed bun and porridge, saving his grain tickets. He hoped that after the training, he could buy something at the restaurant and take it back to Meng Yinyin.

But the food would be cold by the time he brought it back, and after being wrapped up on the bus for so long, it probably wouldn’t taste good anymore.

That’s why Lu Chen hesitated for a while, then decided to try the food at the state-run restaurant and later make something himself for Meng Yinyin.

The group of them arrived at the state-run restaurant, and the waitress were taken aback by their arrival. However, when they saw their obvious lack of experience, they couldn’t help but show a look of disdain.

The people entering were all young men, and their bashful expressions made them feel awkward under the waitress’s gaze. For a moment, they all fell silent, looking around, unsure of what to do.

Lu Chen, however, was used to such looks. He directly walked up to the waitress and ordered his food. When she seemed to question if he had enough money and tickets, Lu Chen took out the money and grain tickets he had with Zhou Tong.

Although the tickets were a little wrinkled, he had managed to gather enough.

Seeing this, the waitress stopped doubting him and called the kitchen to confirm his order. The others, seeing how confidently Lu Chen acted, quickly followed suit, going up to the waitress to order their own dishes.

Once Lu Chen sat down, Zhou Tong couldn’t help but look at him with admiration and said softly, yet excitedly:

“Brother Lu, you’re amazing! You’re not afraid of her!”

Although Zhou Tong was almost a head taller than the waitress, he still didn’t dare approach her when he saw her gaze.

Perhaps, deep down, he felt that people from the countryside were supposed to be inferior to those from the city, which made him feel self-conscious.

However, Lu Chen only felt such self-doubt when he was facing Meng Yinyin.

As for the others?

Did it matter to him?

Lu Chen simply shook his head, not intending to explain further. Zhou Tong had spent two days with him and already understood his temperament and personality, so he didn’t mind.

The only sound at the table was Zhou Tong still expressing his admiration for Lu Chen.

Just at that moment, a voice from the next table suddenly sounded, not too loud but still noticeable.

“In this day and age, being able to order a dish is already a big deal, huh? It’s really quite amusing.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Tong immediately stopped talking, his expression awkward.

He turned to glance at the table where the voice had come from and noticed that the two men sitting there were about the same age as them. However, judging from their clothing and demeanor, they were clearly city people, quite different from them.

One of the men was even wearing a military uniform!

The man who had spoken earlier wasn’t in uniform, but his family background probably wasn’t bad either.

When Zhou Tong glanced over, the man who had spoken seemed to want to say something else. However, the man in the military uniform frowned and interrupted him.

“Enough. Don’t talk while eating. Finish quickly, we have business to attend to.”

The man who had spoken earlier became obedient, even offering a flattering smile to the man in the military uniform.

“Hehe, Brother Dong, I’ll keep quiet now, I’ll keep quiet!”

“Don’t worry. I know this area well. I’ll definitely help you find the person quickly!”

The man called Brother Dong didn’t say anything further, lowering his head to continue eating. His brows remained furrowed, clearly troubled by something.

For Zhou Tong and Lu Chen, this didn’t concern them. In fact, Lu Chen didn’t even have the slightest interest in glancing at the next table.

However, Zhou Tong, at first, only thought the conversation at the next table was unpleasant. But after glancing over, his attention was drawn to the man in the military uniform.

After several glances, he finally couldn’t hold back and whispered excitedly to Lu Chen.

“Brother Lu, I swear the man at the next table looks a lot like you!”

Especially his eyes and face; they could easily be mistaken for brothers.

Hearing this, Lu Chen stopped what he was doing, his gaze shifting not to the next table, but to Zhou Tong. He then said, “I have no siblings.”

He didn’t need siblings.

Although Lu Chen didn’t say the second part of his sentence, Zhou Tong could still feel the message.

Zhou Tong had heard of Lu Chen’s reputation. Though they weren’t in the same brigade people from different brigade in the commune knew each other, and news about Lu Chen had spread. Most notably, the incident with Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin, and how Lu Chen’s uncle had taken his father’s pension, had become widely known. It was only after that incident that people realized Lu Chen had always been the one who was bullied.

When they finally met him in person, they found that although Lu Chen had a cold personality, he was actually easy to get along with. He wasn’t the type to cause trouble, and he was smart and grounded. The senior workers at the factory had even praised him for his quick learning ability.

Although they were competitors, they couldn’t deny that Lu Chen’s learning ability was the strongest among them.

As for Zhou Tong, he was simply sent by his father to tag along, uninterested in learning to drive a tractor. He had agreed to come only because it was an excuse to visit the county and have some fun.

However, over time, he had come to admire Lu Chen and enjoyed spending time with him.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he had just ruined things with one careless remark.

He knew that Lu Chen’s parents had passed away, and that he was an only child. So, how could he have said that the man at the next table looked like his brother?

Zhou Tong glanced at Lu Chen apologetically and whispered, “Sorry, Brother Lu, I didn’t mean it like that…”

Lu Chen nodded.

“I know. But don’t say things like that again in the future.”

Seeing that Lu Chen wasn’t angry, Zhou Tong finally relaxed and promised not to say anything unnecessary again.

Soon, the braised pork they ordered arrived. They had only ordered one dish, but fortunately, restaurant portions were large, so it was more than enough for the two of them.

Lu Chen quickly focused all his attention on the dish in front of him. He didn’t know how to cook braised pork, so this was a good opportunity to study it and try making it for Meng Yinyin when he got home.

However, after a few bites, he realized that the dish didn’t taste that great. On the other hand, Zhou Tong showed a look of absolute amazement, as though this was the best braised pork he had ever eaten.

So caught up in his enthusiasm, he couldn’t help but excitedly share his feelings with Lu Chen, looking like a country bumpkin experiencing his first meal at a restaurant.

The man at the next table had already decided to ignore Lu Chen and Zhou Tong. However, he was so embarrassed to hear Zhou Tong’s enthusiastic words that he could no longer stay quiet. His voice was not soft either.

He couldn’t help himself and, ignoring the warning from Dong Qingcheng earlier, he put down his chopsticks, stood up, and walked over to their table. He scolded Zhou Tong.

“Could you please eat more quietly? This isn’t your countryside, this is a public place. Please be mindful of the surroundings and not disturb others.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered with these uncouth country folk. But now, sitting in front of him was a member of Dong’s family, who had come all the way from the capital. His father had specifically told him to take good care of them, show them around the best places, and ensure they had the best meals.

He was afraid that Dong Qingcheng might think the restaurant he had brought him to was subpar, and that he had not been a proper host by making him eat with country folk. This was why he was so concerned about Lu Chen and Zhou Tong at the next table. He didn’t want to hear any embarrassing remarks from them that might upset Dong Qingcheng.

His words were almost like telling Zhou Tong directly to shut up and stop causing trouble. Zhou Tong’s face instantly turned red, and he froze in place, feeling both awkward and uncomfortable.

The other people in the restaurant looked over, and their eyes all fell on Zhou Tong. This made him wish he could disappear into the ground.

Seeing Zhou Tong almost on the verge of tears from embarrassment, Lu Chen could only look coldly at the man standing next to him and retort.

“This message applies to you as well. Could you please stop disturbing my meal?”

What?

The man was stunned for a moment before becoming angry.

“What do you mean by that? I was just trying to remind you, but you’re the ones who disturbed our meal first. How dare you blame me?”

Despite the man’s accusation, Lu Chen’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He even calmly and indifferently stated the facts.

“You didn’t just disturb me, you disturbed everyone else eating here.”

“If you hadn’t stood up suddenly, who would have noticed such a small thing?”

The people around them finally understood what had happened.

Yes, everyone had been enjoying their meal until that man stood up and walked over to Lu Chen’s table, claiming they were disturbing his meal and affecting others.

But before that, no one had even noticed what was going on at Lu Chen’s table, and they hadn’t been disturbed at all.

It was only after the man intervened that everyone realized something was wrong.

Strictly speaking, it was because of the man’s accusation that everyone had noticed, and in that sense, he was the one who had caused the disturbance.

The man hadn’t expected Lu Chen to be so sharp with his words. Wasn’t it always said that country folk were simple and awkward with their speech?

For a moment, the man could only stand there, dumbfounded, repeatedly muttering, “I only said something because you started it!”

Lu Chen, however, remained silent, simply staring at him with an intense gaze.

His eyes were dark and seemed to carry an immense danger. The man couldn’t even hold eye contact for long.

But if he backed down in front of so many people, especially in front of Dong Qingcheng, would it make him look weak and incapable, like he couldn’t help him at all?

As the man hesitated, Dong Qingcheng suddenly stood up from behind him without anyone noticing and walked over to Lu Chen and Zhou Tong’s table.

The man thought Dong Qingcheng was coming to help him or scold him, making him extremely nervous. However, when he saw that Dong Qingcheng’s gaze wasn’t directed at him but straight at Lu Chen, he realized something was wrong.

Wait, Dong Qingcheng and the man who had just confronted him—they looked somewhat alike.

Not only did the man think this, but Dong Qingcheng, upon seeing Lu Chen’s face clearly, was so surprised that he stood up from his seat and quickly walked over to Lu Chen, asking, “What’s your name? How old are you? Who is your mother?”

The three questions came out of nowhere, completely out of context.

Everyone in the room was confused, except for Lu Chen, who frowned and looked at Dong Qingcheng coldly.

He didn’t speak, his attitude wary. Dong Qingcheng, sensing his defensiveness, tried again with patience.

“Sorry, it’s just that you look so much like an elder of mine, so I—”

But Lu Chen didn’t let him finish. Instead, he turned to Zhou Tong, who was also bewildered, and said, “Are you done eating? If you are, let’s go back.”

Without waiting for Zhou Tong to respond, he stood up and walked toward the restaurant door.