Chapter 8 Big Brother...Big Brother?

Why are you climbing on my lap?

Meow~

"Get out!"

Meow~

"I can't take you."

"Meow~"

An Fusheng released the food cart and pulled off the soft, white plush pendant that was clinging to his calves.

As soon as the kitten touched the ground, its front paws swiftly grabbed An Fusheng's trouser leg. It tilted its head back, looking at An Fusheng with its big, watery eyes, and meowed.

An Fusheng wavered somewhat, but still refused: "You really can't go."

"Why is this cat acting like a child who's begging to go out with adults?" Grandma Ao said. "Why don't we take it with us?"

"Isn't it a concern that it might run around and shed fur, which customers might not like?" An Fusheng asked.

"Wait here." Grandma Ao went to the kitchen.

A moment later, she came out carrying a bamboo woven cage: "This is the cage I used to put the chickens in. I thought it was fine, so I didn't throw it away. Let's see if it will work in this cage?"

An Fusheng thought it was feasible.

"Come in." An Fusheng placed the cage in front of the kitten.

The kitten, wagging its tail high, jumped into the cage.

An Fusheng scoffed, "Dog-like."

Around four o'clock, the two people and the cat arrived at the snack street.

A group of people who were originally standing under the tree chatting and enjoying the shade saw them pushing the cart over and hurriedly said, "They're here, they're here."

"You're here! Come over here, we've saved you seats, we're just waiting for you."

An Fusheng immediately recognized the person speaking as his first customer from yesterday.

Grandma Ao thanked her with a smile.

The two pushed their car to a spot that everyone had saved for them. It was right under the shade of a tree, cool and a great spot.

After parking the car and locking the wheels, An Fusheng placed the cage containing the kitten next to the tree behind the car and said to the kitten inside, "Stay here obediently."

"Meow~"

If you don't understand, just take it as a yes.

"Hey, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for half an hour." Zhang Wenwen fanned herself with a small advertising fan.

"We usually set up our stall at four o'clock. It's too hot and there aren't many people there too early."

"That's true, the autumn heat wave this year is really fierce."

"yes."

"Your wolf tooth potatoes smell so good, especially the chili powder, it's so fragrant, did you make them yourself?"

"Yes, I bought the chili powder from the chili hammer myself."

"No wonder it tastes so good! It's so delicious with the wolf tooth potatoes. I ate two servings yesterday and I still can't stop thinking about it after I got home."

...

Grandma Ao chatted with Zhang Wenwen for a while, while An Fusheng quickly arranged the things they needed.

"Huh? Is this diced radish?" someone asked uncertainly, pointing to the small bowl that An Fusheng had just put down.

Grandma Ao replied, "Yes, it tastes sour and crunchy, quite delicious. Adding it to potatoes can also cut through the richness. If you like, you can add some later."

"This kind of radish is delicious. Nowadays, the market is full of big white radishes. It's so rare to see this kind of red-skinned radish," someone said.

“It’s just that it’s rare here. In our southwest region, this kind of radish is everywhere,” An Wenwen said. “Only those who have tasted this radish know how delicious it is. When made into pickled radish, it tastes better than white radish.”

"Really? Then I'll try it in a bit," said the first person to ask.

Someone was waiting here, so An Fusheng didn't delay. He put his things down and started the fire.

"Handsome young man, I'd like one."

"I'll have one too."

"I want three servings."

"Why do you want so much? Aren't you just going to eat it all by yourself?"

"What, am I not worthy of eating three portions myself?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll add one too, give me two."

...

An Fusheng and Grandma Ao had a clear division of labor: he was in charge of frying potatoes, and Grandma Ao was in charge of seasoning.

Soon, An Fusheng fried a large spoonful of the mixture and poured it into a bowl, while Grandma Ao began to season it.

After two bowls, almost all the customers had been served. But before this group of people had even left, a second and third group of customers arrived.

For the first time, Grandma Ao felt that she was getting old and her hands and feet were not as nimble as before.

"Oh dear, I haven't picked up Xiaoya yet!" Grandma Ao suddenly remembered that she hadn't picked up her grandson yet. She slapped her thigh, feeling utterly overwhelmed with work. But with so many people waiting at the stall, she couldn't leave!

"Grandma!" Ao Daiya ran quickly behind the stall with her schoolbag on her back.

"How did you get out? Did your teacher let you out?" Grandma Ao asked in surprise.

“Teacher Wu brought me out,” Ao Daiya said.

Grandma Ao then noticed the person behind Ao Daiya.

"Hello Grandma Ao, yesterday our school's teachers' group was saying that your wolf tooth potatoes are especially delicious, so I came to try them today and brought Ao Daiya with me."

Ms. Wu is Ao Daiya's homeroom teacher, and she knows Grandma Ao.

"Thank you so much, Teacher Wu. I'm sorry to have troubled you. What flavor would you like? I'll make it for you," Grandma Ao said.

"I'll go to the back of the line." Wu Peihuan adjusted her slightly slipped glasses and went to the back of the line before Grandma Ao could speak.

Wolf tooth potatoes are cooked very quickly.

It wasn't long before we arrived at Wu Peihuan's place.

"Teacher Wu, what kind of food would you like? Are there any dietary restrictions?" Grandma Ao asked.

"There are no dietary restrictions, add a little of everything, and make it medium spicy."

"OK."

Grandma Ao made wolf tooth potatoes for Teacher Wu, giving him a very generous portion with plenty of ingredients, and then added two large spoonfuls of pickled radish cubes.

"Thank you." Wu Peihuan took the bowl full of potatoes from Grandma Ao.

"You can take it, you don't need to pay." Grandma Ao stopped him when she saw him raise his phone.

"I should still give it," Wu Peihuan said with a smile, swiping five yuan.

Stepping out of the crowd, Wu Peihuan found an open space, raised her phone, and took a series of photos of the huge portion of wolf-tooth potatoes with lots of ingredients in her hand. Then she selected the best photo and sent it to the teachers' group with the most members.

Then he sent three more messages:

"Is this the wolf-tooth potato you were talking about yesterday?"

"It's quite delicious~"

"The pickled radish cubes inside are a perfect match; they're sour and crunchy, refreshing and appetizing!"

The teachers in the group all burst out laughing:

"They went so early? Have all the kids been dropped off? Unbelievable.jpg"

"Holy crap, why does yours look so huge???"

"New products arrived today??? Wait for me, I'm coming right now!!!"

"I still have three kids here and no one can pick them up!!! I'm so anxious I'm running around in circles.jpg"

"Me too!!! Scratching my ears and butt.jpg"

Wu Peihuan put away her phone with satisfaction: "Let you brag about it yesterday."

With a smug smile on her lips, she tore open her chopsticks, picked up a piece of pickled radish, and put it in her mouth. The sour and refreshing taste spread throughout her mouth, and as she chewed, she could also taste the natural sweetness of the radish. Her mouth involuntarily secreted a lot of saliva, and Wu Peihuan swallowed, her appetite greatly stimulated.

"Mmm~ That feels great!"

Then I picked up a potato. The moment the potato touched my tongue, the spicy flavor exploded on my tongue. As I chewed, my taste buds were quickly surrounded, and the rich flavor rushed straight to my head!

tasty!

So Wu Peihuan stood in the middle of the road and started eating potatoes one after another with her chopsticks.

In no time, the large bowl of potatoes was glistening with moisture.

Wu Peihuan carefully scraped the chili powder and pickled cabbage bits stuck to the bowl with her chopsticks and put them into her mouth.

Only when they could find absolutely nothing left to scoop out did they reluctantly throw the bowl into the trash can.

He licked his lips, savoring the taste, and muttered, "Otherwise, I would have bought another one since I've already eaten a large portion and felt embarrassed to appear too greedy in front of the students and their parents. Sigh, teachers, what a heavy burden you carry!"

...

"Okay, okay, no problem."

Zhang Man hung up the phone and said to the two children sitting on the steps:

"Your mother just called and said she's too busy to pick you up today. Your sister will come to pick you up in a little while, is that alright?"

"Which sister is it?" Wen Xingmou asked.

"I don't know either, but she should be here soon. We'll find out in a bit."

As soon as Zhang Man finished speaking, a girl in a school uniform appeared at the kindergarten gate. The girl looked to be about ten years old.

"Hello, Teacher Zhang, I'm Bai Mangmang. I'm here to pick up Shisi and Xingmou." Bai Mangmang greeted Zhang Man politely.

Zhang Man hadn't expected the child to be so young, and asked with some concern, "Are you sure you can handle it?"

“I can do it,” Bai Mangmang said. “I’m going to pick up my older brother later, and he can help me take my younger siblings home.”

"Alright then, be careful on the road, don't linger, don't talk to strangers, and don't walk on the road, use the sidewalk, understand?"

“I know,” Bai Mangmang said.

“We all have our own way of doing things.” Wen Xingmou raised her hand.

"That's wonderful!" Zhang Man saw the children to the door. "When you get home, could you ask Lou's mother to call and let Teacher Zhang know?"

“Okay,” Bai Mangmang replied.

Goodbye, Teacher Zhang!

Goodbye, teacher!

Goodbye, Lao Xi!

Goodbye, my darlings!

The three children held hands and walked to the elementary school across the street to pick up Wen Xinglin.

With no adults around, the children were visibly more relaxed.

Even Wen Xinglin, who usually doesn't like to speak in crowded places, took the initiative to speak: "Sister, why did you get out of school so early today?"

"Because our English teacher is absent today, we don't have to stay behind to memorize vocabulary," Bai Mangmang said.

Actually, she and her deskmate were always the only ones left to finish last, but she would never tell anyone about this embarrassing situation.

"Sister, do you... still have pocket money?" Wen Xinglin asked hesitantly.

"What?" Bai Mangmang looked at him warily.

"Let's go to the food street and buy some wolf tooth potatoes. My classmates all say they're really delicious, and they're only three yuan a serving. Shall we go buy some?" Wen Xinglin asked.

Bai Mangmang has always had no resistance to food, but she only has one yuan a day, and she has been saving money recently. She wants to buy something very important, but three yuan is a bit too much, so she hesitated.

“We can buy one together. I have two yuan,” Wen Xinglin said. “You can just add another yuan.”

One yuan is fine, Bai Mangmang readily agreed: "Let's go, where?"

So the children who had just promised Teacher Zhang not to linger on the way were now standing on tiptoe, craning their necks, lingering in front of the wolf tooth potato stall on the food street.

"Oh dear, we're too short!" Bai Mangmang exclaimed anxiously.

She can smell the fragrance, but she can't crawl in or see anything. What should she do?

Wen Xinglin tugged at Bai Mangmang's clothes: "Sister, we can go in from the back."

So, when Ao Daiya, who was playing with the cat, looked up, she found herself face to face with the four children.

"Do you...do you want to play with the kitten too?" Ao Daiya asked.

“We’re here to buy wolf tooth potatoes,” Bai Mangmang said.

"You have to queue up to buy wolf tooth potatoes," said Ao Daiya.

"But none of them were in line, and we're too short to get in front."

“My brother said we have to wait in line,” Ao Daiya insisted.

"Can't we just queue up at the back?" Bai Mangmang asked.

"But there's no team behind us?" Ao Daiya asked.

“We can just go and queue up,” Bai Mangmang said.

Hearing voices behind him, An Fusheng turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Big...Big Brother?"

A note from the author:

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