Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 110 - 107 Regrets

The shoe factory driver came to pick up Yan Ling and Yan Yan.

Yan Yan took Qi Yi with her into the car and had the driver drop Qi Yi off first.

"Do you think it’s appropriate to use my family’s car to send your boyfriend home?" Yan Ling asked Yan Yan.

"What’s inappropriate about it? Are you planning to pick a fight with me or what?" Yan Yan was somewhat displeased with Yan Ling today, clearly targeting Qi Yi on purpose.

Since primary school, when she started having Yan Ling defend her against classmates, Yan Ling had always somewhat considered himself as Yan Yan’s "guardian."

As a guardian, it wouldn’t be surprising that Yan Ling disliked Qi Yi.

During Yan Yan’s high school years when she dated Qi Yi, Yan Ling was at his busiest with studies, barely having enough time to sleep, let alone keep in touch with Yan Yan.

Thus, Yan Ling was unaware of Yan Yan’s past with Qi Yi during high school; otherwise, his "guardian" attitude would definitely have been even more pronounced.

Qi Yi’s home was in Shangdou Gate, a place in Wenzhou that had relatively early apartment buildings. Twenty years ago, it was considered a very nice place, but now it had become a rather rundown neighborhood.

The roads were narrow, characteristic of the old-style apartments without elevators.

It was also Yan Yan’s first time visiting the entrance of Qi Yi’s apartment building.

Yan Yan somewhat regretted insisting that the shoe factory’s car drop Qi Yi off.

Not only would Yan Ling lecture her again, but more importantly, Yan Yan was worried that Qi Yi might feel burdened.

Throughout the journey, Qi Yi’s face didn’t look very good.

Without asking, she just directly pulled Qi Yi into the car, having her cousin’s driver take Qi Yi home, which Yan Yan hadn’t thought through at all and just did instinctively.

Now that things had come to this point, it was obviously a bit too late for regrets.

Real-life problems had always seemed very distant to Yan Yan; from her childhood, she only ever worried about being targeted, never these "minor" real-life concerns.

She didn’t care about reality, and neither did her parents, but what about Qi Yi? Would he care?

After Qi Yi got out of the car, Yan Yan’s foul mood was written all over her face.

"Why are you looking at me like I owe you money?" Yan Ling asked Yan Yan.

"Just say whatever you want to lecture me about." Yan Yan responded with a resigned attitude.

"Lecture you? Why?" Yan Ling was confused.

"Aren’t you going to lecture Qi Yi?" Yan Yan waited for Yan Ling to speak, ready to counter his moves.

"Why would I lecture him? The guy looks okay, just a bit boring. He just greeted me as ’cousin’ right away, really no fun at all." Yan Ling was indeed a bit annoyed.

"That’s it?" Yan Yan was a bit surprised.

"That’s it," Yan Ling replied.

"Aren’t you going to complain about the neighborhood where Qi Yi lives not being very nice?" Yan Yan asked Yan Ling.

Yan Yan wasn’t really worried about Yan Ling’s opinion. Her cousin wasn’t likely to meddle in her relationship over such a trivial matter or oppose it outright, at most he’d just occasionally nag and criticize Yan Yan.

"Why are you so old-fashioned? Despite being educated, why do you care where someone lives?" Yan Ling lectured Yan Yan.

"Do you really not think there’s anything to it? Then, does Qi Yi not think there’s anything to it either?" Yan Yan asked Yan Ling.

"Why are you asking me what your boyfriend thinks? How would I know?" Yan Ling looked at Yan Yan with a somewhat bizarre expression.

Yan Ling didn’t know when Yan Yan had become so neurotic.

...

After the driver dropped Qi Yi off at his home, he didn’t take Yan Yan home; instead, he took the siblings directly to Awai Building for dinner.

Yan Yan and Yan Ling, who rarely came back, had relatives and friends who had received dinner invitations and were already waiting at the restaurant for today’s main characters.

Awai Building was a very traditional Wenzhou restaurant that had been around since the 1980s and 1990s.

It served typical Wenzhou cuisine, which is hard to define specifically.

Wenzhou has a mother river called the Ou River, so Wenzhou people call their cuisine Ou River cuisine.

However, within the eight major culinary traditions, there isn’t a category for Ou River cuisine; at most, it’s considered a branch of Zhejiang cuisine.

The specifics of the culinary tradition are fleeting; what matters is that the food is delicious.

Jiang crab, drunken shrimp, spicy crab, Changren Wonton, Dwarf Cake, Flattened Head Lamp Cake, duck tongues—each has a fascinating story. The century-old Changren Wonton shop is even a part of some intangible cultural heritage. (note 1)

Wenzhou also has the duck and lamb dishes that, according to Yan Yan, are the tastiest she has ever had in the world.

They are hidden deep in the countryside in small shops.

Wenzhou is home to countless delicious delicacies, but when it comes to restaurants, none are more famous than Awai Building.

Today’s Awai Building features both new and old locations, with numerous branches, and besides restaurants, they have begun to operate five-star resorts, resembling a major conglomerate.

Awai Building represents a typical story of entrepreneurship by Wenzhou people.

Initially, Awai Building was a rather shabby snack shop on Huan Cheng East Road in Wenzhou.

Several brothers started it together; it couldn’t even qualify as a proper food stall and barely managed to pass as a small one.

Yet the brothers, unfazed by hardship, would start their day at three or four in the morning to buy vegetables and pick seafood.

The first iteration of Awai Building was a dilapidated shop that didn’t even have a name. Despite its humble and shabby nature, it bizarrely chose a location next to a large restaurant.

At that time, Awai Building was conclusively underprivileged and bereft of any advantages.

Nevertheless, the brothers hustled from dawn till dusk, always managing to procure better and fresher seafood than other large restaurants.

With great taste, ample portions, and superior ingredients, it quickly attracted a loyal local clientele.

Epicures, fond of the then-unnamed Awai Building, looked at this humble shop and then at the neighboring grand restaurant, endearingly nicknaming it "Dwarf Cake."

"Dwarf Cake," when pronounced in the Wenzhou dialect, sounds like "Awai Building."

There is no relation between Awai Building and foreigners; the name was chosen purely for self-deprecating humor, frankly acknowledging its short and shabby condition.

Those who can humor themselves about such shortcomings naturally possess good eloquence and excel in providing service.

Quality ingredients, superior service, and excellent flavors, these three factors together built what Awai Building is today.

However, given its current scale, it’s no longer possible for the brothers to personally go and buy ingredients as they did in the past.

Still, old Wenzhou people mentioning Awai Building can each share their own stories.

Twenty or thirty years ago, dining at Awai Building was certainly a boast-worthy event.

Wenzhou people engage in all kinds of businesses.

Naturally, many have opened restaurants around the world.

Businesses in Wenzhou expand internationally only after they’ve been fully developed locally, similar to investing in overseas properties when the domestic market is saturated.

There are many entrepreneurial stories in the restaurant industry in Wenzhou. Before, there was a small Western restaurant hidden in an alley named Hai Tianshang.

It started by selling steaks in an alley and gradually shifted to specialize in top-tier abalone and shark fin.

The small Hai Tianshang also slowly evolved into a large East-meets-West restaurant, and today’s Hai Tianshang too is a major hotel group in Wenzhou.

However, during the era when Hai Tianshang rose to riches, Wenzhou was already saturated with restaurants, and no one spent all day discussing which hotel to dine at.

Hai Tianshang has been successful, but most Wenzhou people only know the successful Hai Tianshang hotel and are completely unaware that the once hidden Hai Tianshang Western restaurant was where it amassed its fortune.

The widely known story of Awai Building contrasts sharply with the almost unknown success story of Hai Tianshang.

Most people became acquainted with Hai Tianshang starting from its location on Jiangbin Road.

To be fair, the abalone prepared by Hai Tianshang’s hotel is quite good, slightly better than other major restaurants.

But to truly enjoy the best abalone in Wenzhou, both in terms of the quality of the abalone itself and the flavor of the dish, one must visit the original Hai Tianshang Western restaurant.

The mass-produced method used at major hotels, compared to the Western restaurant’s way of allowing each customer to select their own premium dried or fresh abalone to be cooked on the spot by the chef, is simply not in the same league.

Of course, the price of a single abalone can easily match a whole table of dishes in a major hotel.

The pricing is not in the same league either.

Thus, the costliness of a meal in Wenzhou is genuinely a standardless matter.

A small shop in a tiny alley, without particularly striking decor, as long as the ingredients are top-notch and the flavors authentic, true gourmets will still make their way there.

.........

note 1:

Does anyone know which part of the duck "duck tongue" refers to?

Guess first before looking at the answer below?

In the last book, there were superfans who received "duck tongue" treats mailed out by Xiao Mo—it’s said that his wife’s drooling hasn’t stopped since the last book till today!

Indeed, "duck tongue" is actually duck tongue. But for Wenzhou business people, who couldn’t stand the sound of "tongue," constantly selling "tongue" sounded like a "losing proposition." Thus, the word "tongue" naturally became "profit," turning it into "duck profit," selling each piece for a profit, which is more like it.

Many might have eaten Wenzhou duck tongue, but do you know where to find the genuinely tastiest duck tongue in Wenzhou?

Hehe, Xiao Mo won’t tell you〜