Chapter 9 Peace! Fortune! Life! An Fusheng looked up and saw only one person...

"I'm back!"

"Oh, the busy man is finally back?"

"roll!"

He Xi raised the bag in her hand, as if to smash it at her brother's smug face.

"Hey hey hey hey!! What are you doing? What are you doing? Can't you see I'm carrying soup?" He Zhi held the soup pot high in front of her, "This soup has been simmering for three hours."

"That'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed."

He Xi put down her bag, changed her shoes, and rushed to her mother in the living room: "Something came up at the studio today and I was delayed. I also got stuck in traffic on the way back, so it's so late."

He Xi graduated with a master's degree from the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts last year. After returning to China, she opened a BJD doll clothing studio with two friends.

I was late getting back today because there were some quality issues with a batch of custom-made prototypes, and the inspection didn't go smoothly.

Mrs. He gently stroked her daughter's hair and said softly, "It's not too late, it's just right. Are you hungry? Go change into some comfortable clothes, and we'll eat."

"Mmm." He Xi snuggled in her mother's arms like a puppy for a while before going upstairs to change her clothes.

A short while later, she changed her clothes and came downstairs, where her family was already seated at the dining table waiting for her.

He Xi washed his hands and sat down in his seat.

"Don't work too hard. Rome wasn't built in a day. Take it slow. Your parents can still support you. I'll transfer some pocket money to you tomorrow," Mr. He said with heartache.

He Xi gladly accepted: "Thank you, Dad."

Her studio is just starting out and she really needs money.

He Zhi hummed to himself, "Some people rely on their parents to go to school and on their parents to send them money to work."

He Xi retorted, "So what if some people get scholarships in school? They still have to start from small companies. At least our studio has three people, unlike some people's small companies that only have one employee. I heard they even ran away. How pitiful! What can a company do without employees?"

He was so angry he gritted his teeth: "That big mouth of Lin Yuantang!"

He Xi made a face at her brother: "He's just telling the truth."

Seeing that the brother and sister were about to start fighting again, Mrs. He quickly stopped them: "Alright, alright, eat your food."

Mr. He placed a sea urchin on He Xi's plate, saying, "Xi Bao, come on, have a sea urchin."

"Thank you, Dad." He Xi scooped up a spoonful of sea urchin and put it in her mouth. It was sweet, tender, and smooth. "So fresh!"

"Delicious, isn't it? I made it!" He Zhi said proudly, tilting her chin up.

"Does this really need to be done?" He Xi asked incredulously. "If there's nothing wrong with my tongue, this sea urchin should be raw, right?"

"If it's raw, there's no need to cook it; it can be served straight from the sea?"

"Otherwise what?"

"From sea urchin balls to what you see before you, there are many steps involved."

He cleared his throat and adopted the air of a professional: "First, I need to cut an opening with scissors to pour out the seawater, then cut off half of the shell along the edge. Next, I need to carefully remove the intestines and other dirty things with tweezers, then rinse it clean with purified water. Finally, I will serve it on the table so that you can taste this delicacy."

"What does this have to do with cooking?"

"Why not? Can you say that someone who makes a salad isn't a chef? High-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods, don't you understand?"

"Ding-dong!"

He Xi received a message on her phone. She opened it and saw a photo of wolf-tooth potatoes sent by Shen Xinan.

He Xi clicked on the photo and almost drooled.

Shen Xinan: Today's dose of wolf tooth potatoes is here! I also added pickled radish, it's sour, crunchy and refreshing, so delicious I'll scream!

He Xi: Screaming.jpg

"Mom and Dad, He Xi is playing on his phone while eating, and you're not doing anything about it?" He Zhi complained cheekily.

He Xi put down her phone. "Then why don't you use some simple ingredients and show off your high-end culinary skills?"

Her brother always boasted about being a master chef, but all he knew how to do was steam or boil expensive ingredients and then attribute the deliciousness of the ingredients to himself. He Xi despised this.

His strength is not yet sufficient, and he is not only temporarily speechless.

He Xi turned to chat with her parents: "It was a message from Southwest. Yesterday we ate at a roadside food stall, it was super delicious, and she went to eat there again today, bragging to me about it."

"It's best to eat less street food; it's not clean," said Mr. He.

"This place is very clean, and the food is really delicious."

He Xi then pulled up the photos that Shen Xinan had sent her and showed them to her parents.

The photo shows a disposable lunchbox filled with "wolf tooth" potatoes, the potatoes wrapped around red chili peppers, but still clearly fried to a golden brown and crispy perfection.

With years of cooking experience, Mr. He could tell at a glance that the potatoes were fried very well.

"Not bad," Mr. He praised.

"These potatoes look delicious." Looking at the golden, crispy potatoes, Mrs. He felt the aroma was practically wafting off the screen.

He Xi swiped the screen again, switching the photo to the one Shen Xinan posted yesterday, showing Anfu Sheng's fried potatoes.

The photos show that the food carts and utensils selling snacks are all clean, and even the young man frying potatoes looks exceptionally clean.

Mr. He: "It does look quite clean."

Mrs. He: "Oh, he's still a young man."

“Yes,” He Xi said. “Young people nowadays are very dedicated to their work in all walks of life.”

Mr. and Mrs. He nodded in agreement; their child was the one!

After failing to report the incident and being excluded from the chat, someone couldn't help but crane their neck to take a curious look: "Holy crap!"

Mrs. He slapped He Zhi on the head: "Don't swear!"

"Where does he set up his stall?" He Zhi asked.

He Xi put her phone away: "It's in the food street behind Qingfeng Road Elementary School. What, you want to eat there too?"

More than just grinding his teeth: "I'm going to catch them!"

He jumped up and headed outside.

Mrs. He asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm stuffed!"

………

Some people passing by Grandma Ao's snack stall saw a crowd gathered in front of it and couldn't resist checking it out. Then they were drawn in by the aroma of potatoes.

As a result, more and more people gathered in front of Grandma Ao's snack stall.

"Don't worry, don't worry, there are plenty of potatoes today, everyone will get some."

While preparing the potatoes, Grandma Ao calmed down the noisy customers around her who were worried about not being able to buy any.

An Fusheng's hands were constantly frying potatoes, so when he heard a child's voice behind him, he turned around and asked a casual question, only to be pulled back into the oil.

Suddenly, his leg was bumped, and when An Fusheng looked down, he saw that his leg was covered with children.

"What... are you doing?" An Fusheng looked down at the children clinging to his legs.

"Big brother!" An Shisi excitedly hugged An Fusheng's leg and looked at him.

Although the original owner was thin, he was quite tall. The surrounding environment was noisy, and An Fusheng couldn't bend over, so he didn't hear what the children were saying and thought they were playing some kind of game of hugging legs.

"You're getting in the way of me frying potatoes. Can you go play with the big tree in the back instead?"

The children, as was their habit, reluctantly let go of An Fusheng, only feeling lost when they retreated to the big tree behind them.

"Why did you make us hug the big tree, brother?" An Shisi asked.

Wen Xinglin shook his head: "I don't know either."

Bai Mangmang said, "Because we disturbed Big Brother's frying of potatoes."

"Huh? Will Big Brother be angry?" An Shisi was a little worried, thinking that he was the first one to rush up.

Bai Mangmang wasn't too sure either, "Probably not, but we'd better not disturb our elder brother."

Ao Daiya watched in bewilderment as they first ran to hug her brother's leg, then huddled together whispering, and couldn't help but ask, "Who are you people?"

Several children turned to look at him.

Ao Daiya only felt a flash of white light before her eyes, and then a little angel appeared. She excitedly asked Wen Xingmou, "You...you're white, are you a little angel?"

"No, I'm a little princess," Wen Xingmou explained in a childish voice.

Meow~

"Wow, a cat!" Wen Xingmou's eyes lit up.

"Do you want to pet it?" Ao Daiya handed the kitten to Wen Xingmou. "It had a bath yesterday and is very clean."

Wen Xingmou reached out and gently touched it: "Its fur is so soft."

Ao Daiya said happily, "You can also hug it; it won't bite."

Wen Xingmou carefully took the soft kitten.

The kitten was still a cub, tiny and very well-behaved.

The other children couldn't resist coming over too, taking turns petting the kitten with one hand and the other with the other.

"It's so soft."

"Yes, so cute."

Ao Daiya happily stroked the kitten's soft fur with them and asked, "Do you know my brother?"

"Your brother?" Bai Mangmang asked.

“Yes.” Ao Daiya nodded, pointing to An Fusheng’s location: “He is my brother.”

"Huh?" An Shisi stopped petting the cat. "When did he become your brother?"

"The day before yesterday, I found my brother," Ao Daiya said proudly. "My brother's noodles, boiled eggs—no, quail eggs—and fried wolf tooth potatoes are all the most delicious in the world!"

"Impossible!" An Shisi immediately became angry. "That's my older brother!"

“Yes!” Wen Xingmou pushed the cat back into Ao Daiya’s arms: “I’m not playing with you anymore.”

Ao Daiya blankly took the kitten.

Grandma Ao turned around to get the bowls and chopsticks, and seeing the children standing there angrily, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ring ring ring~"

The white, bezel-less smartwatch rang.

"It's Uncle Du on the phone." Bai Mangmang quickly answered the phone, "Uncle Du?"

"Your mother said you were bringing your younger brother and sister back, why haven't they come back yet?"

Before Bai Mangmang could speak, Uncle Du shouted again, "Come back quickly, stop playing!"

"knew."

Uncle Du hung up the phone.

Looking at her younger siblings, Bai Mangmang said dejectedly, "Let's go home."

Several children followed behind the white expanse, dejected.

Holding the cat, Ao Daiya watched them leave and said to Grandma Ao with some grievance, "They said they don't want to play with me anymore."

The guests were making a ruckus, and Grandma Ao didn't have time to ask the child about her grievances, so she just offered a few words of comfort and went back to her work...

...

After the autumnal equinox, it gets dark earlier and earlier each day.

It wasn't even seven o'clock yet, but it was already completely dark.

The number of people on the street gradually decreased, and Grandma Ao's customers finally all left.

"Those three students probably won't be coming today."

Grandma Ao smiled and said to An Fusheng, "Let's pack up our stall and go home. We can eat the rest at home; it's not much anyway."

"Okay." An Fusheng turned off the stove.

"Grandma! Grandma! We're here!"

An Fusheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw several people running under the streetlights. Who else could they be but the students that Grandma Ao had mentioned?

An Fusheng silently turned on the fire again, and the oil, which hadn't cooled down yet, heated up again with a whoosh.

The three children were sweating profusely and panting heavily from running.

"Grandma, we...we're here."

"You're here! Why are you coming later every day?" Grandma Ao smiled.

The slightly chubby child, panting heavily, had his hands on his knees: "They're all English teachers. School's almost over, and we have to do a dictation test. If we don't pass, we can't leave."

Another child said, "Besides, our school is far away from here; it takes us fifteen minutes to run here."

Grandma Ao smiled and asked, "You're in junior high now, right? Which school?"

"Second Middle School".

"That's quite far, more than a kilometer."

While they were talking, An Fusheng had already fried the potato strips.

Grandma Ao seasoned the fried potatoes, divided them into three portions, and filled each bowl to the brim.

"Here, take it."

"Thank you, Grandma."

The three children accepted the wolf-tooth potatoes and thanked them profusely.

The slightly chubby child didn't have time to tear the chopsticks apart; he just grabbed a piece of potato from the protruding part.

"Mmm~~ It's delicious!"

Watching the three children, each holding a bowl, scrambling for a bite, then yelling and running away, Grandma Ao smiled and said, "Let's pack up and go."

"OK."

"Peace, happiness, and life!"

An Fusheng looked up and saw a person walking angrily toward him.

A note from the author:

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Who was the kind and beautiful little angel who gave me nutrient solution last time? I was so happy I rolled around in bed for an hour (^_^) Thank you~