As dusk fell, Liu Kai Xuan drove his family back to the courtyard house.
Liu Kai Xuan’s entire family had now moved to live in the villa.
Furthermore, Liu Kai Xuan had successively purchased three villas, enjoying a very superior living environment.
However, Zhao Fei Yan still habitually visited the courtyard house to check on their old home and would regularly clean it.
All the houses in the courtyard were old and worn.
If these dilapidated old houses were left unattended for a long time, they would be in danger of collapsing.
Moreover, the old houses in the courtyard were filled with too many memories of joys and sorrows.
These memories were also very important to Zhao Fei Yan.
Tonight, Liu Kai Xuan drove home with the purpose of cleaning the house.
Upon entering, Liu Xin Xue said with a smile, “Mom, I told you, our house isn't dirty at all!”
“I came back a few days ago and saw, and you didn’t believe me!”
This girl, Liu Xin Xue, had now grown into a young lady.
She stood tall and graceful, her appearance bearing some resemblance to Zhao Fei Yan.
“Sister, you’re just a big lazy bum, don’t think I don’t know!”
Liu Xin Hu said with a chuckle, “Even if you came back, you wouldn’t clean the house!”
“This house has always been cleaned by Mom and Auntie!”
“Sister, it’s not me saying this, but if you continue to be so lazy, it will be difficult to get married in the future!”
“You brat, I think you don’t want to live anymore, right?”
Liu Xin Xue glared fiercely at Liu Xin Hu and shouted, “I think you, the brat, are the laziest one!”
“Hehe, I was just teasing you. Tonight, let’s clean the house!”
“Mom is tired from working during the day, so let her rest well!”
“You’re a sensible boy!”
Liu Xin Xue nodded in agreement, “If you dare speak to your sister like that again, let’s see how I teach you a lesson!”
As they spoke, the two youngsters spontaneously began to clean the house.
At this moment, Qin Jing Ruo also arrived with Sha Zhu.
“Kai Xuan, you’re finally back today!”
“This is a little local specialty I brought from my hometown, please try it!”
Qin Jing Ruo was very considerate. Upon entering, she directly handed a bag of walnuts to Liu Kai Xuan.
Liu Kai Xuan replied with a smile, “Forget it, Qin Jing Ruo, I appreciate your kindness, but let’s just keep the gift.”
“Your family’s life is also quite tight, and our family doesn’t lack these things now!”
Liu Kai Xuan clearly indicated he didn’t want Qin Jing Ruo’s gift, but Qin Jing Ruo still forced herself to place it on the table.
After all, Qin Jing Ruo was coming to them with a request.
If you come with a request, you must have the demeanor of someone asking for a favor.
It would be strange if she could get things done by coming empty-handed to ask for a favor.
“Kai Xuan, Sha Zhu has been working at your company for quite some time now!”
“He has always been diligent and hardworking in the company, working very diligently!”
“See if you can appropriately increase his salary and benefits sometime.”
Liu Kai Xuan replied indifferently, “Qin Jing Ruo, what you’re saying…”
“Sha Zhu’s salary has been steadily increasing!”
“Although I don’t work at the restaurant, I still know some things about the restaurant’s situation!”
“Uh, this…” Qin Jing Ruo couldn’t help but frown deeply.
Liu Kai Xuan then asked, “What’s wrong, Sha Zhu? You wouldn’t have not told Qin Jing Ruo about your salary increase, would you?”
“If that’s the case, you’re really not being kind!”
“How could that be!”
Sha Zhu replied with an awkward smile, “Every time the company raises my salary, I truthfully inform Jing Ruo!”
“We are husband and wife, how could I deliberately hide such a thing from her?”
After Sha Zhu confirmed, Liu Kai Xuan continued, “Sha Zhu’s current salary has risen to 200 yuan a month!”
“This is definitely not a small amount!”
Qin Jing Ruo replied with a wry smile, “The head chef’s salary is already 350 yuan!”
“My man’s 200 yuan salary is still too low compared to the head chef’s!”
“Sha Zhu is not the head chef in the kitchen now, how could an ordinary cook’s salary be higher than the head chef’s?”
“But…”
Qin Jing Ruo said with a forced smile, “Back when Sha Zhu worked at Feiyan Restaurant, he was at the level of a head chef!”
“You must know that Sha Zhu is a veteran figure in the catering company!”
“He has made great contributions to the company’s development, so he should be given some benefits, right?”
“Hehehe…”
Liu Kai Xuan chuckled lightly, “Sha Zhu has indeed contributed to the company’s development!”
“However, the position of head chef was voluntarily resigned by him at the time!”
“People have to take responsibility for their actions.”
“For a restaurant, the position of head chef is indispensable!”
“Sha Zhu resigned and left, so we naturally had to arrange for a new head chef to take over!”
“The other person has already taken over and hasn’t made any mistakes, so we can’t just inexplicably remove them, can we?”
“If Sha Zhu wants to return to being a head chef, he’ll have to wait patiently for some time!”
“I…”
Qin Jing Ruo was completely anxious this time and got straight to the point.
“Isn’t Zhao Fei Yan’s catering company always expanding?”
“You can arrange for Sha Zhu to be the head chef at a new branch, it’s just a matter of you saying so?”
“Hmph!”
Liu Kai Xuan replied coldly, “Qin Jing Ruo, are you really not living wisely?”
“I’m giving you face, and you don’t want it, do you only feel satisfied when I turn hostile towards you?”
“Get out!”
“I…”
“Alright, alright!” As Qin Jing Ruo’s composure was about to shatter, Sha Zhu immediately reached out and stopped her.
“Jing Ruo, we should go back and rest. We can discuss this matter later!”
Qin Jing Ruo was unwilling, but in the end, Sha Zhu grabbed her arm and forcefully dragged her away.
Sha Zhu had truly come to understand things now.
If Qin Jing Ruo continued to make such a scene, his job would be in jeopardy again.
This woman, Qin Jing Ruo, had never worked before and didn’t understand the harshness of the working environment.
In the original "Courtyard" novel, Sha Zhu had a period where he indeed acted arrogantly at Yan Jie Cheng’s restaurant, relying on his cooking skills.
However, the current situation with Zhao Fei Yan was different from Yan Jie Cheng’s situation in the original "Courtyard."
Yan Jie Cheng’s restaurant in the drama was a family restaurant business.
But Zhao Fei Yan was now running a chain of restaurants, and the difference was immense.