Chapter 527: Chinatown
Chinatown could be said to be a Chinese area that could be found all over the world. Many places had a Chinatown, not just in America. But it was Yu Linna’s first time stepping into a Chinatown, feeling the prosperity inside, and also many Chinese people were decorating with lanterns and colored streamers. It looked very lively. The characteristic of Chinatown was probably red. The Chinese liked red when they celebrated, which was a sign of good luck.
Although Lisara rarely came to Chinatown, she had still fallen in love with this place. She and Yu Linna were walking on the road, no different from ordinary Americans. Chinatown was not only for Chinese people to enter. There were also many foreigners who would come in. This was already a characteristic of this place.
Yu Linna bought a string of candied haws on the side of the road and shared it with Lisara.
“Haha, here you go, little girl.”
The stall owner who was selling things was a kind-looking uncle. When he was selling things to these two, he had used English. Here, most of the Chinese could speak English. And Yu Linna had the appearance of an American, so naturally he would speak English to her. But Yu Linna suddenly wanted to play a little.
“Sir, do you know where I’m from?”
“You? You must be an American.”
“No, no, you’re wrong.”
“England? Finland, or Russia?”
“A country you’re very familiar with.”
“Very familiar… isn’t it still America?”
“Haha, I’m not playing with you anymore. I’m Chinese.”
The last sentence was answered by Yu Linna in Chinese. This stall owner was clearly a little stunned. A girl with an appearance no different from an American could actually speak standard Mandarin from her mouth. This was too surprising.
“I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t said so. I really couldn’t tell.”
“Many people say that. By the way, uncle, is there anywhere around here that’s hiring? I want to find a job.”
“You’re so young and you’re already looking for a job? You can go and take a look in the back street. They’re hiring there. Everyone is Chinese. When you come here, it’s only right that we help each other.”
“Thank you, uncle.”
After saying goodbye to this uncle, Yu Linna and Lisara went for a walk again. On the contrary, Lisara was still a little surprised. The Chinese that Yu Linna had just spoken, she really couldn’t understand a single word, but she just felt that it was very amazing.
Yu Linna found the back street that the uncle had just mentioned, found a few Chinese people and asked, and according to what they had said, she had gone to a Chinese restaurant to ask their boss if they were hiring.
The boss of this Chinese restaurant was Chinese, but he had heard that Yu Linna wanted to come in and work, and it was the temporary kind. He felt that it was not very good. Although she was Chinese, that’s right.
“First of all, let me call you Miss Yu. Are you eighteen?”
“I am. I’m twenty this year.”
“Have you been living in America all this time?”
“I’ve only recently come to America. I want to find a job, mainly to find something to do.”
“Alright. I might be a little direct, but we are a Chinese restaurant. We don’t do Western food.”
“Does this have anything to do with me applying for a job as a waitress here?”
“I’m not saying there’s any prejudice, but you look… not very suitable.”
Hearing him say this, Yu Linna was a little unhappy. This person, there were prejudices everywhere.
When she was having a face-to-face talk with the boss, it was not in a private room. They were sitting and talking in a restaurant. There were also many Chinese people around, both staff and customers. Many of them were Chinese, and there were very few blonde, blue-eyed Americans. Yu Linna and the curious Lisara could be considered special.
“I’ve also said that I’m a Chinese person. For you to say that I’m an American, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
There was a hint of unhappiness in Yu Linna’s tone.
“We mainly serve Chinese people here. There’s also a sign at the entrance, declining to serve customers other than Chinese. I’ve even written it in English. For you to still run in here is a little inappropriate.”
“Am I not a Chinese person? Can’t I just come in? I also have Chinese blood in me. Is that not okay?”
“It’s really not suitable. My old customers will have an opinion.”
At this point, Yu Linna was actually quite unhappy. She had come to America. How could there be prejudices everywhere? Her nationality was Chinese, and there were still prejudices. Her appearance also had prejudices. Was it that a mixed-race person was not allowed to live anywhere?
“What’s with all the nonsense, Old Ji? Don’t hire this little girl. I can’t accept it. If you do this, I won’t come again in the future.”
“That’s right. If you hire a ghost, we won’t agree.”
At that time, Yu Linna was really a little angry. She fiercely glared at the few people who were talking in the back and said:
“I’m also a Chinese person, and I also have a Chinese nationality. To openly drive me away is too much. Fine. If you don’t welcome me, then I’ll go.”
She didn’t want to waste her time here either. She grabbed Lisara’s hand and left. She really hadn’t expected that there would still be people with prejudices when she had run here. So despicable. This world, there were prejudices everywhere. It wasn’t a characteristic of just one place.
Outside the house, a girl in a Tang suit was practicing on a wooden dummy. Seeing Yu Linna come out, she looked at her for a few glances and found that Yu Linna’s face was very ugly. She had been practicing on the wooden dummy outside all along, and had heard the conversation inside the shop. She was just wondering why the boss was not willing to hire a Chinese person. Logically, it shouldn’t have been. When Yu Linna had come out, she had understood everything. So it was because of her appearance?
She walked up.
“Wait, miss, please stay.”
She called out to Yu Linna. Yu Linna turned her head back and looked at this girl in a Tang suit. She should be in her early twenties, with a good figure, and also muscles on her arms. Looking at her movements and behavior, she should be a practitioner.
“And you are?”
“My name is Pan Xinan. The boss of the shop you just went into is actually my eldest uncle. He’s a bit stubborn. He’s never liked Americans before. You don’t have to mind too much. You were just looking for a job, right?”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t willing to have me. He said I didn’t look right.”
“Ahaha, my eldest uncle is just like that… are you short of a job? My dad’s restaurant, you can consider going there. My dad’s restaurant doesn’t say it won’t serve Americans or British people. And it’s your first time in Chinatown, right? Since you are a Chinese person, then when you come here, everyone should take care of each other. Do you want to come over to my side?”
Yu Linna was really surprised. She hadn’t expected that there were also good people here.
Yu Linna thought that it wouldn’t be bad to give it a try, so she went with her. Pan Xinan had immigrated to America for many years and had been living in Chinatown all along. She herself was a practitioner, had been practicing boxing since she was little, and knew how to fight with Wing Chun, Southern Fist, Northern Fist, and Mantis Fist. Although her dad ran a restaurant in Chinatown, she herself was already a stunt double and a martial arts instructor in Hollywood films and had also earned a lot of money.
Pan Xinan was 25 this year, had a boyfriend, and was planning to get married in these two years. It was just that she was not well-received by her family, because her boyfriend was a native-born American. Just like her eldest uncle just now, he would surely not agree.
“Your name is Linna, right? This name is quite nice, very poetic. Were you born in winter?”
“…Let’s not talk about this first. Let’s go over quickly. Sister Xinan, you’re a martial arts instructor in Hollywood, right?”
“Yes. This industry is actually quite profitable, if you do it well. My master took me to do it. Because in terms of martial arts instruction, only Chinese people are authentic. Many of us Chinese are struggling in Hollywood, and many of them have left their names. By the way, that famous Hollywood queen, Catherine Davis, it is said that her ancestors also have Chinese blood. She can also be considered half-Chinese, right?”
The two of them were communicating in Chinese. This made Lisara very uncomfortable. She couldn’t understand a single word!
“Um, can you guys speak something I can understand?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Lisara. I forgot about you.”
“You’re too much!”
“How about this? I’ll cook you something delicious when we get home?”
“Really? Then I want to eat spaghetti.”
Hearing the conversation between the two of them, Pan Xinan thought for a moment and asked:
“Linna, you can cook? Can you cook Chinese food?”
“Of course I can. I always cook for myself when I’m in my home country.”
“So that means you can cook authentic Chinese food, right?”
“That’s what they say, that’s right.”
“OK, my dad’s restaurant is just short of a chef. Do you want to give it a try?”
“…A chef?”
Yu Linna was actually a little speechless.
She had actually been reduced to being a chef? What the hell was this? But she had heard that the treatment for a chef was still very good. Forget it. She would just endure it and it would pass.
She went to the restaurant that Pan Xinan had introduced her to. Her old dad had personally come to see her. Pan Xinan’s dad was named Pan Xuecheng, an honest and kind Chinese man. Hearing that she could cook Chinese food, he had become interested in her. After all, after being abroad for many years, many of the old masters found it hard to cook authentic Chinese food. Although there were some, the price was generally very high.
But Yu Linna was different. She had just arrived, and had had work experience in her home country. It was also a common thing for her to be in and out of the kitchen. Although that was three years ago.
“Your name is Linna, right? Can you cook Chinese food?”
“Alright, you’re hired.”
“So casually…”
“It’s fine. I trust you. You can go and cook a few dishes for the guests. I’ll see your skills.”
Yu Linna was helpless, but she had no choice but to tie up her hair, tie on her apron, and go into the kitchen. Taking the menu from the waiter, she, the dignified Shion-sensei, was actually going to be a chef in a kitchen. It was really too difficult.
“Eh? How did the boss hire an American as a chef?”
“No, boss, she’s too young! How old is she? Aren’t you afraid of something happening if you put her in the kitchen!”
“Boss, I’m calling the police, I’m telling you.”
Yu Linna ignored those people in the kitchen, took the menu on her own, and after thinking for a moment, she picked up a wok and some spices and started to cook. The heat, the spices, the wine, the time, she controlled them all very well. Clearly, she was very used to cooking. Slowly, the questioning voices in the kitchen also subsided.
Not long after, the dishes that Yu Linna had made were served. The first one to taste this dish was a Chinese person. He couldn’t stop after tasting one bite and had ordered two more dishes.
“The chef at this shop is pretty good! It’s quite flavorful, and also authentic. It’s just that it tastes like a southerner’s food. I’m a rough man from the northeast. It would be even better if it could be made into a northern flavor.”
The first day of cooking seemed to have a not bad effect.
The boss was also very satisfied.
Lisara, as a hostess, had also gotten to eat Yu Linna’s dishes. It was her first time eating Yu Linna’s Chinese food, and she was full of praise for it.
“This is delicious! Linna, are you a born chef!”
“Indeed. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such a delicious dish. I feel like it could be a five-star.”
Both Lisara and Pan Xinan praised Yu Linna’s skills. Yu Linna untied her apron and said with pride. After all, she had also been cooking for many years.
In short, Yu Linna had temporarily found a place in Chinatown.
