Chapter 10 — My Restaurant Is Not Free

Chu Hao is used to eating delicious food, but is lazy to do it. Telling him to pay off a debt of four hundred thousand yuan was almost a fantasy. At first, he tried to work, but couldn't work for long. If you don't criticize the tiring work, you criticize the low salary. Ly Hung urged him several times, but he patched things up everywhere before he could pay thirty thousand yuan and then couldn't get any more money out. So one night, he secretly left home and never came back. He's missing. But the debt is still there. After overdue, the interest doubles, the debt is like a snowball, the more it rolls, the bigger it gets. The old house mortgaged by her mother-in-law was eventually recovered by Ly Hung. The day her mother-in-law and Chu Minh Vien were kicked out of the house, her mother-in-law cried bitterly and sat screaming on the side of the road all afternoon. But crying is useless. The mortgage agreement was clearly written in black ink on white paper, and her fingerprints were put in by herself. After that, Chu Minh Vien brought her mother-in-law to rent an old house in the old neighborhood, working while helping Chu Hao pay off debt. Life is extremely tight. To pay off debt, Chu Minh Vien had to do several jobs, but the salaries were not high. Having to take care of my mother again, life was so dire that I couldn't even bear to eat a decent meal of meat. As for Chu Hao, even if he leaves, he cannot escape the consequences. Because he couldn't fix his greedy and lazy nature, he soon had a pile of debt. In the end, because he fought with others for food, his legs were broken, he had to wander on the streets and became a beggar. As for the mother-in-law, it is said that her health is currently very poor. Every day she lay in bed cursing her youngest son for being incompetent. After hearing these stories, I felt no joy or pity in my heart, only a little faint emotion. That afternoon, waiting for most of the customers in the restaurant to leave, I grabbed a bowl of hot porridge and a few dumplings and headed out the door again. Chu Hao was still huddled there, in the iron bowl there were a few more coins. I placed the porridge and dumplings next to him and said nothing. He raised his head to look at me. His eyes were red, his lips trembled for a long time, and finally he managed to squeeze out an unclear sentence:
“Sorry… Sorry…”
His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing on an iron plate. I didn't respond, just nodded gently and turned back into the restaurant. Behind him came the sound of him greedily sipping porridge. I leaned against the back of the door, raised my head to look at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Three slaps, a debt of one hundred thousand yuan, and all the self-pity and forbearance, at this moment had finally become a thing of the past. I don't forgive him. But I don't need to continue to hate him anymore. Outside the window, night gradually falls. The warm yellow light in the restaurant shines on the clean tables and chairs. A few regular customers pushed the door open and greeted me with a smile:
“Boss, as before, give me a special portion of braised pork!”
I regained my composure, smiled and replied:
“Okay, right here!”
I turned and walked into the kitchen. The sound of shovels and pans hitting each other is both bustling and real. Life must continue to move forward. But my good days have just begun.