Of course XingXing did, except that he also wanted to stay in bed. The two conflicting ideas had a tug of war in his head. The little kiddo thought about it long and hard before finally decided that going to his motherâs grand opening was more appealing and reluctantly crawled out of bed.
Rongjiang Plaza was particularly lively on a Saturday. Cheng Huan, with XingXing in tow, went straight to the third floor.
On the third floor and outside of a Chinese-style restaurant, with door that looked like they were made out of bamboos, hang two large red lanterns. On the plaque above was the large character âLambâ.
The front door of the restaurant was still closed and there were flower baskets on both sides of it. There was one from Xu Li and one from Jiang MingYuan. And a few more from Cheng Huan to pad.
At 9 oâclock, there was a simple opening ceremony to announce that they were officially open for business. There werenât a lot of customers at first but, as lamb werenât usually considered as breakfast food, Cheng Huan wasnât worried. Business picked up as it got closer to noon.
Jiang MingYuan had paid a lot of attention about what was going on on her end. He knew that today was her grand opening and planned to go to support her. He felt that it was important for him to do so. He picked out his suit that was most pleasing to the eyes and had just walked out of his front door before he ran into Zhou HengYuan, who came uninvited.
Zhou HengYuan was there for free food.
âYou going somewhere?â asked Zhou HengYuan outside his house.
âYes.â
âGoing to lunch?â
Jiang MingYuan, ââŚâŚâ
His silence was the best answer. Zhou HengYuan smiled cheekily and said, âIt so happened that I havenât had lunch yet either. Why donât you take me with you?â
As a friend for many years, Jiang MingYuan couldnât turn him away if he wanted to follow so he quietly brought Zhou HengYuan with him to Rongjiang.
âIsnât this one of the shopping center that you own?â Zhou HengYuan had never once stopped talking. âWhat are you doing over here? Are you going to meet up with your lover here?â
Jiang MingYuan, ââŚâŚâ
No, he wasnât going to meet up with his lover, just to have lunch at the restaurant belonging to the mother of his son. But, for some inexplicable reasons, hearing the words from Zhou HengYuan gave Jiang MingYuan a guilty conscience.
His good friend was still going on and on next to him. Following Jiang MingYuan to the outside of the restaurant, Zhou HengYuan looked up at the plague and said, âEh, Xiao Jiang, arenât you are little bit cheap? Is there where you are taking the girl to have lunch at?â
Zhou HengYuan made a disgusted look purposefully and eyed the entire restaurant from the outside in as he continued to make some âtsk tskâ noises. He looked from left to right until he saw Cheng Huan standing behind the cash register with a big smile and the âtsk tskâ noises stopped abruptly.
âAlright, letâs go inside,â said Jiang MingYuan as he casted Zhou HengYuan a glance and started walking inside.
A server went up to them and asked them how many was in their party.
âTwo.â As soon as Jiang MingYuan said that, Cheng Huan, who was standing behind the cash register, looked over at him.
The two exchanged a look and pretended that nothing had happened. One of them continued to follow the server to their table and the other one went back to smiling and talking to the customer in front of her.
âAye, you didnât tell me you are here to visit yourâŚâ Zhou HengYuan became chatty all over again after they were seated. He winked at Jiang MingYuan and gave him a I-get-it look. âSo? Do you really have feelings for her?â
âDonât be silly. I am just here to lend my support.â Jiang MingYuan looked down and tried to find what he could eat on the menu. He didnât like the taste of lamb very much. Most of what he ordered was vegetarian dishes. Zhou HengYuan, on the other hand, ordered a lamb spine hot pot as he saw others having it.
Picture: Lamb spine hot pot
Source: jmwxm.com
There was a 20% off discount on the first day and business was very good inside. They had only been there for a little while and all the seats were taken. There was even a line formed outside.
Even though they were quite busy but the speed of service was not slow. The hot pot that Zhou HengYuan had ordered came shortly.
The pot was made out of copper and heated up with a alcohol burner. A big chunk of lamb spine soaking inside of the soup with coriander leaves on top. The smell was irresistible once it was heated up.
The lamb spine was precooked and ready to be eaten after the soup was heated up.
Zhou HengYuan picked up a piece of it and bit off a chunk of meat. It was a bit hot at first but, after he chewed it a little, the meat was tender and with the delicious soup base, made him want a second bite.
Zhou HengYuan ate a few pieces in a row before he slowly recommended it to Jiang MingYuan. âThis meat is quite good. It doesnât taste gamey at all. Give it a try.â
Jiang MingYuan was skeptical about it but his vegetarian dishes havenât come yet and, after smelling it for so long, he was starting to get hungry. So he reached for the smallest piece of them.
After this entire time, the meat was about to separate from the bone. Jiang MingYuan picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.