Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

night~

Chinatown, Xincheng Restaurant.

Cui Yingying patiently listened to the explanation of senior brother Zhang Wenbiao (Brother Biao), frowned and looked at the master Zhang Maochang who was drinking tea calmly, and had an expression of "it has nothing to do with him". Junior brother Zhang Jia'an, who didn't know what he was thinking, quickly thought pass.

But she still felt uneasy about the master's move of giving all the exclusive secret recipes he had accumulated throughout his life to Polly for free. .

Brother Biao, who had participated in almost the entire process, understood that Junior Sister's silence at this time did not mean that she "agreed" with Master's decision.

But he understands better that Master can make up his mind in a short period of time, the risks he must bear behind it and the huge gains he may gain~

"Junior sister, Master, he did this not only for you, but also for..."

"I know!" Cui Yingying tried hard to control the irritability in her heart, waved to Brother Biao, and said to her master.

"Even if you don't do this, I..."

Mr. Zhang Maochang suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Cui Yingying and said, "Even if I don't do this, if your brothers and sisters in Xiangjiang want to come to the United States to join you, you can still help them... right?"

"Um.."

"Hehe~"

"But this takes a lot of time!"

Mr. Zhang Maochang deliberately glanced at the restaurant owner Zhang Jinhong. After pondering for a few seconds, he urged Yingying to say something serious.

"When you reach my age, time is running out."

"When you were learning to cook from me, I always followed the training of the master and taught each of you in accordance with your aptitude. I hope you can all find a better way out with your good cooking skills."

"But when I was teaching you cooking skills, I also imitated the way my master taught us back then and left it behind, and I wanted to pass it on..."

When Mr. Zhang Maochang said this, he glanced at his son Zhang Jia'an, smiled slightly at himself, and sighed helplessly to Boss Zhang.

"Wen Biao is right~"

"The times have changed."

"Among all my apprentices, if we just talk about the talent of learning cooking skills, Yingying is undoubtedly the best inheritor."

"But she is a girl after all. She wants to be married, raise a husband and raise children, so she cannot pass this inheritance on in the kitchen."

Boss Zhang looked at Cui Yingying, then observed Zhang Jia'an out of the corner of his eye, and said with a smile: "Comparing yourself with others, if it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to do what you do..."

"Haha~" Mr. Zhang Maochang raised his tea cup to Boss Zhang who understood him, feeling that a thousand words could be said in this cup of tea.

Cui Yingying saw that the two elders seemed to have reached some kind of "tacit understanding". She looked at Zhang Jia'an unwillingly, glared at him fiercely, lowered her head and became silent.

Brother Biao smiled and listened to the two old men chatting for a while, and then gave them some tea time to express some of his own thoughts.

"Master, I think..."

"What are you thinking about? Tell me~" Zhang Maochang knew this apprentice's character and waved his hand.

"Well..." Brother Biao glanced at his uncle, Boss Zhang, and said cautiously.

"I think it's better for you to sign a legally recognized and protected document with Da Company to avoid..."

"Oh?" Mr. Zhang Maochang raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Go on."

"Good~"

Brother Biao saw that his words attracted the attention of junior sister Cui Yingying, so he simply said without hesitation.

"Since you want to use the secret recipe to gain the favor of Da Company...or the Sidrich family."

"You might as well do this more smoothly..."

"Because here in the United States, even a bottle of ketchup that can be bought everywhere has its own food patent..."

"If you want to fully commercialize the secret sauce recipes you came up with and sell them, you must..."

"Yeah! You're right!" Boss Zhang agreed very much.

"Wenbiao cooperates with da company for mass production of sauces. After signing the contract, the samples are sent to FDA to obtain official approval, and then apply for food patent rights before they can be sold publicly on the market~"

"Uh..." Mr. Zhang Maochang didn't expect that he actually forgot about the temporary decision he made after thinking everything was considered. .This is the United States, which is known as the most complete legal system in the world!

When Cui Yingying was silent just now, she thought more than a few others, frowned and whispered.

"When I met Attorney George before, I also talked about submitting an application for food approval to the FDA."

"He said that although the approval rate for this kind of food patent application is very high, the overall process is relatively cumbersome and takes a long time."

"So, he suggested to Polly that if you want to obtain FDA food certification as soon as possible, it is best to find someone to clear the relationship and reduce some time-wasting approval processes."

"..." Mr. Zhang Maochang smiled speechlessly.

He shook his head and joked to Boss Zhang: "I used to hear people mention it when I was in Xiangjiang... Americans value money interests the most and don't pay that much attention to the interpersonal relationships that we value very much."

"But now that I have arrived in the United States, I realize that it is the same all over the world!"

"Hahaha~ That's right!"

Boss Zhang smiled sympathetically: "Only those who have never been to the United States will think that American people only care about interests and not about human relations~"

"But when they come to the United States, they will be surprised..."

"It turns out that Americans are the ones who like to talk about nepotism and favors..."

Boss Zhang glanced at Cui Yingying intentionally or unintentionally, and said in a half-joking tone.

"Wenbiao is able to own a restaurant that he manages. In addition to his extraordinary cooking skills, there is also a certain amount of luck."

"Well..." Mr. Zhang Maochang glanced at Cui Yingying thoughtfully, pursed his lips and remained silent for a few seconds, shook his head slightly and sighed.

"Luck!"

"We can sit here and chat, too..."

"Ding Dong~"

Just at this moment, at the door of the restaurant, a girl wearing a heavy coat opened the door and walked in.

Several people present heard the news and went out, only to see that the person coming was Xu Cuizhen, a girl who works in the kitchen of Brother Biao restaurant.

Brother Biao stood up in surprise, walked up to Xu Cuizhen, and asked, "Did something happen in the restaurant?"

"No~"

Xu Cuizhen raised her red and cold hands, shook her head and said, "No, boss, the restaurant is fine..."

"Oh~ Then what are you...?" Brother Biao glanced at her face, which was red from the cold, and asked in confusion.

Xu Cuizhen blinked and looked at Boss Zhang and the others, encouraging herself in her heart and speaking with all her courage.

"I am willing to marry Zhang Jia'an and help him obtain the right of residence in the United States!"

"What?" Brother Biao opened his mouth wide and said something subconsciously. He felt as if he had been punched by this quiet and gentle girl in front of him, and he was a little dazed. .

"Ah...?" Zhang Jia'an, who was also confused, looked back at Xu Cuizhen, whose face was red, pointed at his nose, and asked in shock.

"You want to marry me?"

"Yeah!" Xu Cuizhen clenched her fists and said loudly amidst the strange looks from everyone.

"I was born in the United States and am an American citizen. If we get married, you can get legal American status immediately!"

"Uh..." Young Zhang Jia'an was speechless.

Mr. Zhang Maochang frowned at this "reckless" girl and asked Boss Zhang next to him.

"she is..?"

Boss Zhang was also surprised and silent for a moment, looked at Xu Cuizhen with very complicated eyes, and whispered.

"Her name is Xu Cuizhen."

"Her father Xu Hongsen and mother Han Weixuan both moved to New York from Boston more than ten years ago."

"The whole family makes a living by running a laundromat in Manhattan..."

"Lao Xu and I have been friends for many years."

"He is an honest man and leads people well."

"It's just... he is a bit patriarchal and wants to leave his own laundry to his son..."

"Cuizhen was able to help in Wenbiao's restaurant, and it was only because Lao Xu came to beg me personally that I reluctantly accepted the offer."

"Well..." Mr. Zhang Maochang understood.

This time when he looked at Xu Cuizhen, his eyes lacked the scrutiny and caution just now, but added some sighs.

Cui Yingying, who had been silent just now, suddenly stood up and walked to Brother Biao, pushed him aside and asked in a low voice.

"Are there many people in Chinatown who have used this method to obtain American identity?"

"Uh... yes." Brother Biao thought for a moment with a grin on his face, then nodded helplessly.

“In the past few years, after the U.S. government liberalized its immigration approval policy, some so-called immigration agencies began to appear in Chinatown, specifically selecting girls who wanted to immigrate to the United States.”

Cui Yingying looked back at Xu Cuizhen, who was standing there with her head bowed silently, and asked with a frown.

"Where are the girls?"

"Did you get the successful status in the end?"

"hiss.."

"It was indeed successful..."

"But there are many more girls who have been sold by those unscrupulous intermediaries to single men in the United States who are receiving government relief. Even if they gave birth to children for them, they were not able to obtain permanent residency. They could only grit their teeth and continue to suffer... "

"..." Cui Yingying seemed to be pierced by the word "boil", which pricked the sensitive nerves in her heart.

She turned around and walked to Chen Cuizhen, pulled her to the table and sat down, looked into her eyes and asked.

"Is this your own decision?"

"Does your family know?"

"Why did you choose Jia'an?"

"..."

Cui Yingying's "three consecutive questions" are also questions in the minds of several people here.

Everyone looked at Xu Cuizhen, wanting to hear her answer.

Xu Cuizhen clasped her hands together tightly, her knuckles turning white. .

She took a deep breath, looked at Boss Zhang, expressed her gratitude with her eyes, and said with a trembling voice.

"This is my own decision, and my family doesn't know about it."

"I chose Zhang Jia'an because I wanted to take a gamble for myself!"

"Boss Zhang knows my family's situation and is the one who watched me grow up..."

"After I graduated from high school, I couldn't find a suitable job at all..."

"I have no education, no work experience, and no skills..."

"Except for doing housework and doing laundry, I know nothing..."

"But I don't want to let myself continue to live without any hope or goal!"

"My family has done their best for me..."

"I don't want to rely on my family anymore!"

"so.."

Xu Cuizhen looked around with red eyes, puffed up her chest, and said loudly: "I don't want to just marry someone who doesn't love me, and spend the rest of my life..."

"But I have no choice!"

She turned back to look at Zhang Jia'an, who was speechless with his mouth wide open, and said loudly with water in his eyes.

"I am willing to marry you, and I am willing to give you children... at least two boys!"

"I will make a great wife and mother!"

"But I also want a life of my own, and I also have dreams that I want to realize!"

talking. .

Xu Cuizhen took out a small bag wrapped in a handkerchief from her pocket and "patted" it in front of the stunned Zhang Jia'an.

"As long as you nod, we will go through the marriage formalities tomorrow!"

"..." Zhang Jiaan was completely confused.

He couldn't understand why the girl in front of him, whom he had only met and spoken to a few times, was actually going to get a certificate with him?Want to give birth to your own child?

this. .What happened to the world?

All girls in New York are like that. .Crazy?

Could it be myself. .Um?

Zhang Jiaan, except for breathing hard, his mind is blank~

Cui Yingying and the others present all looked at the "brave" Xu Cuizhen with different expressions and fell into silence.

Xu Cuizhen, who wants to "gamble" for her life, is obviously not an ordinary girl that we often see in our lives.

Because many girls of the same age as Xu Cuizhen are still in the "confused" stage of life ~

They may pay more attention to what they want, but will not think too much about their future, or make some life plans and make changes for this. .

Therefore, when everyone saw a girl like Xu Cuizhen who dared to "gamble" with the first half of her life at such a young age, they all fell silent.

Everyone has no experience with this kind of thing~

Next. .What to do?

Boss Zhang, who has been in business for many years and has a thorough mind, was the first to react in everyone's silence.

He signaled to Mr. Zhang Maochang with his eyes, and said to Xu Cuizhen: "Your marriage cannot be decided just by your whim..."

"This is just nonsense~"

"That's right!" Brother Biao saw his master frowning and seemed to be trying to speak, so he immediately answered.

"Cuizhen, why do you have such thoughts?"

"I'm going to call your dad and ask him..."

"cough!"

Brother Biao was just about to stand up and make a phone call when he heard Cui Yingying suddenly cough slightly.

She rolled her eyes at Brother Biao coldly, reached for the teapot, placed her teacup in front of Xu Cuizhen, filled a cup of hot tea, and asked.

"When did you...have such an idea?"

Xu Cuizhen looked down at the tea cup, the water in her eyes flashed with the ripples of tea, and she said with some choking.

"Many of my high school classmates got married before graduating and became mothers of children..."

"My family has no money for me to go to college, and they don't want me to have to bear student loans... to get married!"

Cui Yingying nodded slightly, picked up the teacup and put it into her hand, and asked again.

"Do you really like Jia'an?"

"..." Xu Cuizhen lowered her head even lower.

"Since you don't like Jia'an, are you willing to give him a child just to help him obtain American status?"

"...Hmm!" Xu Cuizhen hesitated for two seconds and nodded.

"Hey~"

Cui Yingying felt that she understood everything, shook her head and sighed: "Do you know what marrying him means to a girl like you?"

"..."

"It means that you will be entangled with him for the rest of your life~"

"Not to mention that you don't love him at all and you still want to give birth to a child for him."

"..." Xu Cuizhen bit her lip hard, turned her head and glanced at Zhang Jia'an, whose mouth was open and speechless, and fell silent.

Cui Yingying looked at her master and Boss Zhang, thought for a while, and said.

"The breakfast shop opposite the bar is about to open, and I still need a reliable person to help take care of it."

"Yeah~" Mr. Zhang Maochang immediately answered.

"I think let's forget about her and Jia'an's affairs."

"Uh..." Zhang Jia'an looked at his father with wide eyes, as if he had something to say.

Boss Zhang suddenly smiled and asked Xu Cuizhen: "Do you know how to run a breakfast shop?"

"I can learn!"

“I learn things very quickly!”

"My test scores in high school were often among the top ten in the school!"

"Boss Zhang, you must have heard of it...right?" Xu Cuizhen could no longer conceal her inner excitement, and followed Boss Zhang's words with a clear head, and then continued.

"Yeah..." Boss Zhang nodded, looked at Cui Yingying and smiled.

"Every time his father comes to me for tea, he will say... Cuizhen's academic performance is very good. If his son Xu Chaowei can study as hard as Cuizhen..."

"Okay!" Cui Yingying waved to a few people, looked at Xu Cuizhen with a smile, and said "yes" directly.

"Starting tomorrow, you don't have to go to the Wildfire Restaurant to work. You can go directly to the breakfast restaurant opposite the Wildfire Bar."

"Tomorrow morning, I will wait for you in the store."

"Ok!"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Xu Cuizhen jumped up excitedly, bowing and thanking Cui Yingying.

"You don't have to."

Cui Yingying stood up to support her and said with a smile: "I just lack someone I can trust to help manage the breakfast shop."

"So as long as you are willing to learn..."

"Don't worry, I won't let you down!" Xu Cuizhen promised excitedly.

"Haha~" Cui Yingying smiled and wiped the tears that "overflowed" from the corners of her eyes with her hands, comforted her a few more words, and watched her leave.

Xu Cuizhen is gone.

Cui Yingying returned to her seat and sat down. She looked at Zhang Jia'an with a playful smile and said nothing.

Brother Biao also joked to "little brother" Zhang Jiaan, "Why didn't I see it? Why do you attract girls so much?"

"Hahaha~" Boss Zhang saw Zhang Jia'an's face turning red, laughed and shook his head, pulled the somewhat dark-faced old man Zhang Maochang, and changed the topic and asked.

"I have a full range of seasonings in the kitchen here. Can you make some secret sauces and let me try them too?"

"Uh... OK!" Mr. Zhang Maochang knew that he had "lost his temper" just now, so he responded along Boss Zhang's "steps", got up and walked to the kitchen.

The two elders left.

Zhang Jia'an seemed to have reacted. He came close to Cui Yingying with a very exciting expression and asked in a low voice.

"This Xu Cuizhen...?"

"roll!"

"If you dare to think nonsense again, I will..."

"Oh... I'm not imagining things~"

"I just...I..."

"Hahaha~"

Brother Biao was beside him, laughing at the "family interaction" between his junior sister and his "little brother", but in his heart he praised the junior sister's decisiveness just now.

Xu Cuizhen is still too young!

----

Texas.

Northwest of Houston, eastern suburbs of the small city of Hempstead.

night~

After having dinner with his family, David patted his bulging belly and pulled Zina and Elena out of the house, wanting to go out for a "sneak" under the bright moonlight~

Under the night.

David walked along the backyard of the farm vacation home and walked to the edge of the fence. He looked up at the crescent moon and sighed to the two beauties beside him.

"A breeze blows through the open fields~"

"It blows my mind and reminds me of you!"

"I couldn't help but whisper your name~"

"But the person I am now is no longer me..."

"...??" Xina and Elena looked at each other without knowing why, and smiled.

David also felt that he was a little "nervous", turned around and spread his hands to the two of them and smiled.

"I want to say sorry to you."

"because.."

"Sorry?" Zina suddenly reached out and grabbed David's arm, with a few lights flashing in her eyes as she smiled.

"no~"

"Tonight, you are mine!"

"Go...you...?" David suddenly had a bad feeling and turned to look at Elena, hoping to get an answer.

Elena deliberately took a step back, shrugged innocently and said, "This is a matter between you two and has nothing to do with me!"

"Uh..." David blinked, smiled crookedly, put his arms around Zina, and asked with a deliberately naughty look.

"Can you finally bear it?"

Zina didn't have any restraint or hesitation, she nodded directly and said: "As long as you don't regret it!"

"Wow~"

"A beauty like you is willing to throw yourself into my arms..."

"How could I regret it?"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Zina kissed David very happily and said emotionally: "I am much older than you..."

"Tsk!"

"I have already answered this question~"

"Age has never been an issue for me."

"Being able to have a mature and charming woman like you makes me laugh even in my dreams..."

"Hahaha~!" Zina couldn't help laughing when she heard these happy "ghost words" and hugged David tightly, as if she wanted to integrate him into her body. .

Standing nearby, Elena felt like she had been "fed a mouthful of dog food". She looked up at the bright crescent moon in the sky and felt a strange feeling in her heart.

Another Valentine’s Day has passed~

She is no longer alone!

----

new York.

It was approaching midnight.

Manhattan, downtown.

Next to a service road heading to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Far Pocchivino slowly stopped the car, opened the window and waved to a middle-aged man standing in front.

The middle-aged man threw the cigarette butt in his hand, walked quickly to the car, and got into the passenger seat.

Far threw a large envelope to the middle-aged man and said casually.

"You left something in the car yesterday."

"..." The middle-aged man nodded slightly in surprise, put the envelope away, and asked.

"where are we going?"

Fall let out a long breath, put the gear in gear, and pointed ahead: "Brooklyn!"

"Then...what are we going to do?"

"Hehe~"

Far put some force on his feet, listened to the "roaring" sound from the engine, and whispered: "Let's go...to fulfill your wish!"

"..." The middle-aged man was stunned for two seconds. Momodu took out a revolver from his arms, checked the magazine, and inserted it into his ankle.

Far glanced sideways at the middle-aged man's movements and sneered: "Revolver?"

"It won't help you..."

"I still have~"

As the middle-aged man spoke, he took out an Uzi submachine gun and two MARK II grenades from his arms. .

When Farr tilted his head and saw the Mark 2 grenade, he couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and complained with a wonderful expression.

"Is there an arsenal hidden in your coat?"

When the middle-aged man heard this "cold joke", he twitched his lips, checked the safety of the grenade, put it between his legs, and took out a Browning M1911 pistol and several magazines from his arms. whispered.

"There is no arsenal in my coat..."

"But I have money~"

"fxxx!"

Farr couldn't help but patted the steering wheel, and felt a little bit dumbfounded and sighed: "You have money... Huh?"

"I'm so @#￥...!"

The middle-aged man carefully inspected and prepared weapons, turning a deaf ear to Farr's "crazy complaints." .

After "squirting" with "emotion" for several minutes, Farr raised his hand and pointed to the rear seat and said feebly.

"I prepared a few things for you..."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man turned around and saw a black luggage bag on the back seat.

He reached into the zipper and pulled out a body armor, two flashlights and a bundle of rope. .

Then, it was gone. .

While driving, Farr scratched his head and said, "I have to remind you!"

"We want to find those who are hiding behind the scenes and controlling everything, not to see and kill each one!"

"If we can't reach a consensus on this point, I'd rather just stop investigating!"

The middle-aged man lowered his head, looked at the bulletproof vest in his hand silently for a while, then decisively took off his coat and whispered.

"For Betty!"

"...ok!" After hearing this, Far said with a relaxed smile.

"Where's the money I just returned to you?"

"We might use it later."

"..." The middle-aged man threw the envelope filled with 1000 yuan to Far.

Fall deliberately looked like a money addict, opened the envelope with one hand, smelled it, shook his head and said.

"The smell of money is so charming~"

"You are so fucking awesome...are you a rich man?"

"..." The middle-aged man was speechless.

"Hahaha~" Farr laughed.