Chapter 241: Boss, Winter Solstice Blessings

"What poor taste! I, the esteemed owner of Xiaolang Barbecue Shop, am right here, and she doesn't even glance at me!"

Xiaolang's briefly straightened posture slumped again,

his gaze toward An Xia filled with blatant jealousy.

"Exactly!"

"What poor taste! I, the esteemed owner of a five-star hotel, am sitting here, and she doesn't even look at me!"

Under the romantic night sky,

two single men, Xiaolang and Chen Jianhai, enviously watched An Xia and the girl in the dress chatting and laughing.

The intense emotional gap

was like cold rain cruelly slapping Chen Jianhai and Xiaolang's faces!

It made them grit their teeth in frustration,

feeling utterly powerless!

Who the hell said that as long as you make more money, pretty and gentle girls will flock to you?!

Who said that?!

Are these girls blind?

The two richest men on Xiaomajia Island are sitting here sweating profusely,

and you don't even glance at them, instead heading straight for a guy singing on the beach!!

Does this society have to be so superficial?

In an instant,

the freshly earned money in Chen Jianhai and Xiaolang's pockets lost its appeal...

As they watched, Xiaolang suddenly smashed his bottle on the ground!

"Damn!"

"They even scanned QR codes to add each other as friends!"

...

Under the moonlight,

Chen Jianhai and his group walked wearily towards the island hotel.

The waves crashed against the shore, the stars reflecting on the waves.

The wind gently carried the sounds of insects singing from the bushes along the way,

...which sounded much better than An Xia's singing!!!

As they walked,

Chen Jianhai couldn't hold back anymore and asked bitterly:

"An Xia, do you know that girl who just approached you?"

"Is she a fan of yours?"

An Xia shook his head: "No, I didn't know her before."

If she's not an old fan, then she must have been attracted by his singing on the beach?

Chen Jianhai felt even more bitter...

He didn't know what was more sour, but it was definitely more sour than his legs!

Chen Jianhai rolled his eyes in jealousy.

Just as he was halfway through rolling his eyes,

he heard An Xia say: "She came to ask for my help."

Hmm?

Chen Jianhai and Xiaolang's ears perked up instantly.

"What did she need help with?" Chen Jianhai asked, puzzled.

An Xia said: "That girl said she's the music teacher at Xiaomajia Island Elementary School."

"Xiaomajia Island is preparing for a New Year's Eve gala, and the children have prepared a choral performance."

"But because the school's piano is broken, the children don't have accompaniment."

"So she wanted me to play the guitar to accompany them."

Chen Jianhai and Xiaolang were stunned, "No accompaniment for the choir?"

An Xia shook his head, "No."

"She said this song is an original, so there's no accompaniment available online."

So she was asking for a favor, not specifically wanting his phone number?

Chen Jianhai and Xiaolang's hearts instantly lightened up!

Chen Jianhai suppressed his joy and asked: "She asked you just for that?"

"Yes, just for that." An Xia said in confusion: "But... Boss, Brother Lang, why are you two so happy?"

What's there to be happy about this?

"Boss, have you heard about the island's New Year's Eve gala?"

"No, I haven't," Chen Jianhai said happily, waving his hand and speaking cheerfully:

"Don't worry about it. I'll ask around for you later."

"If there's really such a thing, you should help them out."

"Since you're on vacation on the island, feel free to manage your schedule as you like. If there's anything you don't understand, come to the boss, and I'll take care of it!"

...

By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already late at night.

Chen Jianhai struggled back to his room, wailing and moaning as he took a hot bath,

and then collapsed into a deep sleep like a dead pig.

The next morning.

Chen Jianhai dragged his exhausted legs, yawning, and shuffled step by step to the restaurant.

Although the "Xiaoma" event was over, many participants hadn't rushed to leave and were still vacationing at the island hotel.

So the restaurant was still quite crowded.

Strange...

Why is today a feast of noodles???

Why so many noodle dishes?

Did Dabao come???

Chen Jianhai walked around the food area with a plate, growing more and more puzzled.

The exquisite dishes on the plates were not just the usual meals but were filled with dumplings, glutinous rice cakes, New Year cakes, wontons, and rice cakes,

and there were quite a few guests waiting in line by the pots of dumplings, tangyuan, and wontons,

business looked very good.

In the soup section, besides the classic fish bone soup of the island hotel, there were noodle soups and sweet rice ball soups that Chen Jianhai had never seen or tasted before.

Moreover, the mutton flavor in the noodle soup was quite strong,

just a casual scoop would reveal a generous amount of mutton, mushrooms, chives, garlic sprouts, and cilantro, a truly generous mix!

"What new trick is this?"

Chen Jianhai, confused, pulled an employee who was placing red bean glutinous rice on the dining table and asked:

"What's with today's menu?"

"Boss, today is Winter Solstice!"

The employee replied while moving things:

"Last week, Brother Qiaoni assigned us the task in the group, asking us to prepare more local specialty foods for today."

"To let the guests staying at the hotel feel the festive atmosphere."

"All these dishes were made by us staying up late last night."

Winter Solstice?

Chen Jianhai glanced at the nearby calendar,

December 21st.

Wow, time flies so fast.

It'll be the New Year in a few days.

"Do people still celebrate the Winter Solstice?" Chen Jianhai casually asked out of curiosity.

Nanjing's climate is like summer all year round, even in December, it's bright like spring.

So Chen Jianhai never really had much impression or feeling for this festival.

Whether it was celebrated or not made no difference to him.

Moreover,

this festival doesn't have holidays or galas, why does Dabao care so much about it?

Although Chen Jianhai asked casually,

the employee took it seriously and replied:

"Brother Qiaoni said that although festivals only exist in our minds, the taste of food is ingrained in our bones."

"There will always be guests who want to taste the flavor of their hometown today."

"And in oracle bone script, the Winter Solstice signifies the end of all things."

"When the Winter Solstice arrives, all the misfortunes of the year will end on this day."

"It has a very auspicious meaning."

Chen Jianhai was stunned.

Dabao knows this much about culture???

Oracle bone script?!

This guy who couldn't even pass CET-6 is talking about oracle bone script!

But no matter what,

Dabao's words were indeed quite insightful.

"Well done!" Chen Jianhai sincerely praised.

"You prepared so well, it must have been hard work."

The employee smiled shyly and sincerely said:

"Boss, Winter Solstice blessings to you!"

Seeing the employee's bright eyes, Chen Jianhai felt a warmth in his heart and softly said:

"Winter Solstice blessings to you too!"