[Our Times] [Three Meals a Day] [Episode 01] [2012] [The dinner is soon over after three rounds of drinks] [But the relationship strengthens after five dishes] [Three Meals a Day] The first aircraft carrier of China has been commissioned into Liberation Army Navy. After the aircraft carrier, Liaoning was built and completed its sea trial as scheduled. It's so beautiful. Not bad.
A rice noodle roll, please. I'd like two rice noodle rolls. No problem. Excuse me, a rice noodle roll with an egg, no green onions. Thanks.
- One egged roll for take-away. - One, please. Master, one rice noodle roll. Wuwei. Today is a good day. We have our aircraft carrier.
I watched it. I watched it. It's rebroadcasted on TV. I watched it at home. Yes. It's great. Uncle Yan, take a seat. I'll serve the table later.
Morning. Good morning. Morning. Yan.
Good morning. Morning. Good morning. Mr. Yan, glad to see you. Here I am. I've been waiting for you.
Here's tea. These tea leaves were lately picked up this year. I took it for you. Thank you.
Hey, boy, do you have old vinegar？ Aged vinegar, right? Yes. Wait for a second. I'll fetch it for you. My friend. You eat rice rolls with vinegar? We didn't see anyone here eat in this way. Are you from Shanxi? Me? My ancestral home is Shanxi. But...
I didn't live there before. My friend. What do you do now? Bai. This is not the question you should ask. You poured it over.
Does it taste good? Try it. I can't stand it. No, I can't. It's so sour that it will hurt my teeth. The azalea is good. I bought it at the market.
The azalea should be red. Why is it green? It's planted lately. And... What you ordered is a plain rice roll? Yes. Come on, join me together.
Here, please. Sure. Thank you. You can only get the original taste from a plain rice roll.
Through dozens of years, it's still the old taste. Speaking of the old taste, Chang. the cooking technique of Wuwei, never changed for more than 30 years. By the way, Miss Ding hasn't been here for three days, right? Actually, last week, a karaoke of her downstairs bought a new super bass speaker. It's so noisy that she can't sleep at night. She should talk with the owner to solve the problem.
The owner won't do anything. She is just an old lady who retired many years ago. What are you talking about? Miss Ding. Her name is Ding Caixian. She is a famous actress in Cantonese Opera in Shande City.
But now she can't sleep well, nor can she eat rice rolls. How could she have the energy to inherit and play our traditional opera? It has become a serious problem now. Don't worry. Yan. She doesn't have to inherit it.
She will live a long life. She'll come here later. Why do you call Ding Caixian Miss Ding? When she was young, she played the roles like Hong Niang, Du Shi-niang, Du Li-niang, Zhao Wu-niang, Li Hui-niang.
They are all young ladies. So we call her Miss. So where is Miss Ding playing these young female roles now? The person lives in an open-minded, free and unfettered way. The dance is graceful, with delicate moves. And even looks more flippant than a pretty man, and glares so hard at others.
Stop for a second. Glare at others. It means you need to look in a different direction. Look at me.
Glares so hard at others. It's better. Let's do it again.
Glares so hard at others What's going on? Master? Miss Ding? How are you? Master Ding, what is happening? Are you alright? My son... He's busy in business on tables. But, he rarely got drunk. I know.
On table, people toast to the higher-ranking person, those who propose a toast, drink it all, but the higher people only take a sip. The sip means they've done a favor to those who propose. Actually, to propose a toast or not. It is just a table show.
Manners and rules of dinner are really exhausting. Mr. Old Vinegar told the truth. As I see, almost every dinner with the honored person is like a setup. Mr. Old Vinegar?
Can I call you Mr. Old Vinegar? Sure. No problem. Well, I'll call you the same.
Mr. Old Vinegar. It's a good name. Vinegar is helpful for sterilization and disinfection. That's right. Sterilization and disinfection Yes. That's how I feel.
It seems that your son is very young. But he can't keep drinking and eating in this way. I agree. Bai. If you want to stop him from drinking, stop him walking around, then stop him from joining so many dinner parties.
But my son told me he joined it not for drinks but for some businesses. Mr. Old Vinegar Do you understand what I am saying? I need a minute.
Hello. Excuse me. Coming. Thank you.
I have to leave. See you. - Sure. - See you. Master, Ms. Ding is here.
Good to see you. Here's your tea. I got you a new cup. How is it? These days, you didn't come here, Yan is concerned about you. He is afraid that you may get sick. But it looks like that you're really sick.
Tell me about it. I miss the rice roll so much. Or I couldn't have woken up now.
I have a cold. Good Morning. Mrs. Ding. Good morning. Do you see? Wuwei cares about you. He made it special for you. The color of romance.
Not like the plain rolls to us. My fellows. Listen, get inside. Take a seat. It's going to rain.
Go. Come here. Here. Please take a seat.
Okay. Thanks. How's the rice roll today? Very good. It's delicious, like always.
The rice you used today is the rice stored for two years, and it's the Southern Indica Rice ground by skilled farmers. Yan is picky at the taste. You washed the rice three times. And soaked it in water for more than two hours.
You can taste how he made it? Wuwei, is he right? Perfectly right. Why did you spend so much time on it? You don't have to do so much. No one can be a picky food critic like Yan. You don't have to prepare so much. No, I don't think so.
I can get the South Indica Rice which has been stored for two years, so what does it mean to me? It is my destiny. I must make good use of it. And make it work outstandingly in the dish. If I waste the good taste of it, it means I lose the respect for the raw material of high quality. An excellent cook and a perfect material are best partners.
As Wuwei said, he pursues this kind of combination. It looks easy to make rice rolls, but it's difficult, actually. Wuwei.
You've been making rice rolls for almost half of your life. I've been... eating for at least 30 years. 34 years to be specific.
I've been visiting his shop for years, but I can't comment on it exaggeratedly like you. You still have many years to come here. If she keeps eating here, the restaurant will go broke.
Of course not. If Miss Ding gives us a performance of Fragrant Sacrifice, I will make a fortune. Listen to him, he is good at calculating things. In the past, if you invited her to perform, she wouldn't play in a show unless she could earn 20 or 30 thousand yuan.
I was nice. What I asked for was a good price. I wouldn't go if I didn't know who you are. Look at her. I'm lucky. We are lucky. Wuwei won't lose money in his business.
You can tell it from his shop. Customers keep coming here. It's just a small business. I have to do strict budgeting Did you sell like 200 rice rolls this morning? It's less than 200. In all, 168 rice rolls.
The first rice roll was sold at 6:10 this morning. Now it's 8:50, you've sold 168 rice rolls by yourself at a good pace. To be honest, it's a lucky number.
You are... My name is Fang Mingli. Nice to meet you. Fangyuan Real Estate Development Company. Mr. Fang.
I make rice noodle rolls. You build high-rise buildings. We're like living in parallel worlds. We have no connection before, but we'll get to know each other. Mr. Cai. I want to rent your restaurant.
Just say it's coercion. Mr. Fang. You're welcome to have a rice roll here.
But if you want to buy my shop, then sorry. Dad. What's going on? Cai Yun. I'm sorry, Director Cai. I don't know he is your father. I should have found you to talk about it in advance.
It's alright. He's been selling rice rolls for more than 40 years. Of course, he'd feel angry if someone stops him from doing it. It makes sense. But if I can't rent the first floored shop, it's useless even if the upstairs owners are willing to sign the contracts.
The key to running a shop business is to have a good-looking entrance on the first floor. You are an expert, Director Cai. A few years ago, I applied for a mortgage loan to buy the first floor. And now, I am still paying the debt to the bank.
You have an eye for it. Director Cai. The money your father earned by selling rolls, is it enough to pay the debt? Did you and your father think about how to solve this problem? My father lives upon the rice roll shop. He can't stop making it.
If he aims to make a living, making more money is the priority. If he rents it out, it will save his money and time. He will kill more birds with one stone.
But frankly speaking, I've talked about it with my dad for several times. But it always ended in a quarrel. For him, I think, the rice noodle roll shop is not simply a business.
I don't understand it. If it's not a business, then what can it be? It's hard to explain. The weather here is really funny. It was rainy for a moment, then it became sunny. I think that Mr. Fang,
he's from a giant company. He has prepared a lot. He's doing even more accurate calculations than you. I can feel it from him, that he won't stop until he gets your shop. So why did he choose our shop from so many places? I know it.
Old Street Chun Guang Li, will be remodeled this year. Here. Street remodel has been on the table for years.
Now there's an announcement on the newspaper today. It should be remodeled. Old Street has a long history of more than a hundred years. Many houses on the weather-beaten street are too old to live in.
After remodel, the Old Street will have a sense of energetic youth. It'll attract tourists and money. Wuwei. After the street remodel, I think you will make more and more money. He's right. More and more customers will come to your store.
Yes. Is he angry? Wuwei. He is not a businessman. He is a craftsman who will never give in. He thinks of the big picture.
He has made a lot of rice rolls. Many people will start a day with his rice roll. I know how he feels. But he can't live upon it. The big picture can't feed him, nor gives him money.
I believe you have been considering a lot for the plan, right? I do what a businessman does. And I won't beat around the bush. You're a five-star marketing director.
I want to make a new and high-ranking restaurant in this city. But what you often focus on the big-budget business of high-rise buildings. Do you want to make money from a small restaurant? Director Cai, what you see is the grand scale of my business. But you don't know how much I've been through and struggling with. China is a society of inhuman detachment. We must eat and drink for business.
And keep doing so though it's done. If people don't eat or have a drink together, then we won't feel connected. If there's no connection, then there will be no cooperation and trust. If there are no cooperation and trust, we will never have a chance to move forward.
Science and technology constitute a primary productive force But social relationship also works the same. For the productive force, the scale of business dinners is becoming bigger, and more expensive. So as you said, your motivation to run a restaurant is not for money? No, no. For money. I have to make money.
To be honest, for these years, I had to spend millions of yuan for business dinners every month. If I have my restaurant, it will save a lot of money for me fundamentally And my friends, are from commercial and political industries. And you have the experience of managing the hotel of high star ratings, and friends there. If we work together, we will have a bright future, and make a lot of money.
Master. This is... It's Vinegar's plant. He left in a hurry this morning. So he forgot it.
Master. I heard that... someone is trying to buy our restaurant. This is my restaurant. I make the decision here. What others scheme to do are just dreams.
Director Cai, you should take my advice. On business, people won't reject a win-win chance. You sound confident. We should be confident because it must become a great success. But... I haven't said yes.
You're thinking about it. It means you have an interest in my plan. So we may cooperate. Please wait for a minute. Hello. Okay.
I see. Director Cai. I want to invite a provincial officer to the dinner tonight. May I ask you a favor? So what is it? This officer especially loves to eat hemifusus very much.
The officer you mentioned... His family name is Yu? That's him. I know he often visits your hotel.
Don't worry. We have this dish on our menu. And your customer likes boiled hemifusus very much. No matter how much you drink, I will order how much you want.
Come on. Have a drink. Guys. It's a little left. Come on. Here it is.
Drink it all. I'd propose a toast to you. One more cup. No problem. Director Cai, Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang. I, I am good.
Here, this way, please. You want to talk? What do you think of the dishes? Good. Very good. We didn't eat much.
We kept drinking. We drank a lot. Thank you for getting me out of there. I need to take a break.
Here. You need a cure for it. My stomach feels better. Director Cai, do you agree to do what I told you this morning? Speaking of it, I don't think I can persuade my dad to rent out his restaurant. You're late home again.
I've been grounding the rice into a half bucket of milk An important customer came for me tonight. I couldn't leave if their dinner weren't over. I've made fresh rice milk. You can have a rice noodle roll. Why do you want to eat instant noodles? I just want to have soup. Even you, don't like the rice roll I make by myself.
It takes time to steam the roll. And it tastes plain. I don't want to waste your time.
I don't care about it. I've had my noodles ready. Tell me the truth, the monthly income of my shop, is it enough to pay the loan? Well. Don't overthink. You got up so early today because you're worried about the shop.
I've been calculating all my life, but now I don't know what to do because of an estate agent. I've told you selling rice rolls on a busy street, is like penny wise and pound foolish. Rice roll is the penny, so tell me, what is the pound? Luxury restaurant. Now businessmen and politicians like to have dinner parties there. The money they spend on one party is more than the money you get for one month. You're excessively proud of yourself now.
Listen to me, what did you eat that fed you? It's the rice roll. You grew up with it. How did you live at the university? By rice noodle rolls.
I don't mean to offend you, you run this restaurant for a living, so you have to make money. Sure that I should make money. But as a human being, you should have a conscience. I know what conscience is.
It's not about the rice roll. They are totally different. Listen, the conscience is about the rice roll. And it is my conscience. It also should be yours. Fine.
If I should have the conscience, how much is it? I didn't want to say it. I don't want to hurt you. But do you know how much my customers spend in my hotel? Do you know how long it takes you to make so much money? Are you jealous? I don't have to be jealous. But I feel jealous whenever I think that you wake up at midnight to make rolls, and we stay at such a small place, but we can't make any money. We still have a loan of millions of yuan. I don't want to talk to you.
The cost of rice milk is 0.25 yuan. The cost of sauce is 0.1 yuan. Chestnut flour is 0.1 yuan. The gas costs 0.3 yuan. So the cost of a rice noodle roll with an egg is 1.25 yuan. In all, you'd cost 6000 yuan.
And water, electricity, and gas also cost a lot. If it is 10 yuan a day, and you can sell 200 egg rice rolls every morning, then you can only earn 3900 yuan in one month. There's not only an egg rice roll of four yuan on his menu. The meat rice noodle roll is eight yuan.
The shrimp rice noodle roll is ten yuan. You're right. And you often come here. You know the price. The costs of meat rice roll and shrimp rice roll are relatively higher. And some people like plain rice rolls, three yuan.
And you, you love plain rice rolls, don't you? Mr. Fang, Actually, I am not only selling rice noddle rolls, but also making hun-tun noodles, pork trotter soup noodles, and fried beef hor fun. So many dishes on my menu.
You haven't calculated them in. I noticed them. But many customers are not coming to buy them. Most customers of this restaurant are regular customers like you.
They mainly come for your rice rolls. Fine. Include the dishes you just mentioned, I assume the net profit may be 8000 yuan. It's quite a lot, right? Although 8000 yuan is added, you can only get like 12 thousand yuan in one month. Mr. Cai. What I've calculated doesn't include the payment of your staff.
You have to pay him at least 3000 yuan a month. But it sounds pretty good. He still has 9000 yuan to use. 9000 yuan is enough? He works so hard for a month, but only gets 9000 yuan. How could it be good? Brother. It's not enough.
If Mr. Cai rents out his shop to me, I can give 20 thousand yuan a month. Uncle Cai, with 20 thousand yuan, you can get money easily by doing nothing. You won't have to work so hard.
Neither to worry about the business. Master. To make a delicious rice roll, the sauce and the rice milk, which is more important? Both of them are important. But the spirit of rice roll goes to the rice milk. So you mean the good taste of rice milk won't be erased by the sauce.
It's like our humans. You should know what you should do. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. I have it in my mind.
Look carefully. We should soak the rice. But we can't let the water wash away the smell of rice. So it's important to control the time. It's late now.
Let's open. Master. There are so many customers.
Wuwei. Good morning. - Good morning. -Good morning. Good morning.
Why are you coming so early? It's not rush hour now. Wuwei. Two rice noodle rolls for today. One is a meat rice roll. The other is a shrimp rice roll. Yan.
What are you thinking? You can't eat shrimp, or you'll have the runs. Well... Two meat rice rolls. Two.
Wuwei. I want to buy four rice rolls for my son and his wife. And, my students will come to buy every day.
Yes. I want to buy it. Two rice rolls. We want two rice rolls.
Thank you. Thanks. I know you are helping me, but please order how much you can eat. Don't buy too much. Don't buy too much. I...
I can't say anything anymore. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks.
Wuwei. We should say thanks to you. Yes.
If you were not here, we would never have a chance to eat such a delicious rice noodle roll. - Yes, he's right. - It's so delicious. Everyone here can't start a good day if we don't have breakfast at your place. Yes. We can live a peaceful life if you keep your restaurant. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
I have nothing good at. I can only make rice noodle rolls. I promise all of you. As long as I am in this world, my restaurant will be here. Chang. Our restaurant is open now.
Yes. Welcome. Please come in. [Three Meals a Day] Last night, thanks for your tea, or I'd have got a hangover and felt disgusting now.
But the dinner party was a great success. I propose a toast in tea. Director Cai. Come on.
Last night, did you talk with Uncle Cai? I'm sorry. Mr. Fang. No problem. Don't worry. Here. Try it. Try it.
Is it possible that I go to talk with him? Actually. You don't have to. And... Enjoy your brunch.
I have to get back to work. Okay. See you.
Ms. Wu. May I ask a favor from you? You know, only the operation director can create a receipt for customers. But you made five of them, and handed them over to me till now. Do you think it is appropriate? Ms. Wu. Please listen to me.
We couldn't expect what would happen last night. It's harder to apply for extra receipts in advance. The same situation occurred in the past, and we kept handling it in this way. What you kept doing is the right thing? So why do we need any regulations? What about it? I'll pay for the receipts. I have to leave. You can't solve it with monetary compensation.
Ms. Wu. What do you want me to do? Mr. Fang, you put all strings to poach her, but it looks like I am guilty of it. If Cai Yun decides to work for you, she deserves a warm reception.
By the way, your company spent tens of millions in marketing promotion. Shouldn't you invest us with half of it? Half of it is not enough. All in. Ms. Wu. Sure. Deal. Bye.
Thank you. You quit your job? So do you and Mr. Fang want to get this place so much? It has nothing to do with Mr. Fang.
Don't make him wrong. The money may be enough for you to pay the loan of two or three years. Take it. It is the money of your hard work. I can't take it. And it is not enough at all.
I can make more money. I won't die quickly in a few years. Dad. I think it's necessary for us to grab this chance of street remodeling. And we should get our restaurant leveled up.
Or we will be left behind the times. Hurry. Come on. Put it here. I've been to these offices over and over again.
But they kept rejecting me. Hi. They said they're not in charge of it. And beef noodles. I'd like a rice noodle roll and beef noodles. It is so hard to deal with noisy karaoke.
What's going on? You look blue. Today's rice roll isn't good? It's because of the super bass speaker. So Miss Ding couldn't sleep at night. Did you hear any new songs? It's not easy for me.
Of course not. If it was easy to deal with, you'd have handled it already. You made it wrong. I mean, the song which the downstairs speaker played is called Not Easy For Me. I don't know why my brain can't make sense through my orders.
When I learned the opera in primary school, I often got hit by my master, because I couldn't remember the lyrics. But now it's totally different. I can keep the lyrics from that speaker in my mind. Though it stopped playing, the song kept playing in my head.
Not easy for me. Not easy for me. It's over and over again.
I felt like being brainwashed. Can you sing it to us now? Stop it. Mr. Old Vinegar.
Good morning. It's been a long time. Come here. Sit, please. This seat. Please.
Okay. I like it. Thank you. Thanks. Come on. Here's your tea.
Good. Thank you. Where have you been? I participated in a training program in another city. I came back to your restaurant before work.
Wuwei. He has become your big fan now. He even came on a rainy day. Yes. He did. Thank you so much.
Please don't thank me for it. I am just a foodie. I can't stop eating. The street is being remodeled now? Make some changes.
But don't worry. I still make rice rolls. That's good. Very good. Try the tea. Sure. Thank you.
Try the tea first. Please come in. This way. And this... Must be Mrs. Ding.
She is Miss Ding. Hi, Miss Ding. Do you know me? Of course.
How could he not know you? The famous actress in Cantonese Opera in Shande. Yes, she is. I heard from Mr. Yan and Mr. Bai, you kept teaching and spreading the traditional culture of Cantonese Opera. If there's any chance, I want to learn it.
You're welcome anytime. You can learn it anytime. She's playing across the street. Yes.
When the festival comes, or when there're important events in our city, I'd be invited to perform. It is my responsibility as an old artist to carry forward and promote traditional culture. It's great of you to do it. What's your family name? Vinegar? Do we have this family name? Well, when he comes to eat rice roll, he likes to eat it with vinegar. So we just call him Old Vinegar. Mr. Old vinegar.
That's right. Vinegar is good. It can't only be used as an ingredient, but can be used for sterilization and disinfection. I forgot to ask you. What would you like today? An egg rice roll. And one more, beef rice roll.
I can't wait to eat it now. Just wait a second. Okay. Thank you. ♫ This letter is to those who write stories in their daily life ♫ ♫ About how they live their ordinary life ♫ ♫ Who is waiting for the stars you pursued ♫ ♫ About your companions, days and nights ♫ ♫ About you and your city ♫ ♫ You are holding a lamp for love on a misty ferry ♫ ♫ Even storms haven't defeated your earnestness ♫ ♫ The simple and young souls run barefoot wildly ♫ ♫ About the father's eye contacts ♫ ♫ About the ticket back to his hometown ♫ ♫ The growth rings of big trees are granted by each beam of light♫ ♫ About how beautiful the stories are ♫ ♫ We are all on this path together ♫ ♫ The moon shines upon mountains and rivers ♫ ♫ Knowing where I come from and where to go ♫ ♫ To go further to catch bigger waves ♫ ♫ For the past ten years, we are side by side on this path ♫ ♫ Write the splendid stories with the glows of fireflies ♫
2022-10-19