Chapter 95 (Second Update) [Noodles with Soybean Paste]

The next day, Wen's mother announced that she wanted to learn to drive, and Wen Fan welcomed her with open arms.

Even Wen Fan herself had already made preparations. After the college entrance examination, the first thing she would do was to learn to drive!

Even Wen's father sometimes muttered that other children didn't seem to have such a great interest in cars, but Wen Fan was always eager to try when she sat in the passenger seat, as if she could learn by herself and ask her father to let her drive for a while.

Wen Fan was now enthusiastically asking his mother questions.

"Mom, do you want to learn manual or automatic transmission?"

"If you learn how to drive it, will you need to buy another car?"

"Can I come along and take a look?"

Ms. Wen initially only mentioned driving as a suggestion, but her daughter kept pressing her for details, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Let's go with a manual transmission. We already have a car, so let's not buy another one yet... I'll give you the name tomorrow."

When Wen's mother wanted to learn to drive, Wen's father took the opportunity to suggest adding another person to the shop.

“I was thinking a few days ago that the store is still too busy, and you’ve developed high blood pressure from exhaustion. We might as well find someone else to help out.”

Yao Qingqin's salary has increased to 6,500 yuan a month, and she deserves it, working from morning till night every day. But she's all alone, and since expanding the store, she's been finding it a bit overwhelming.

If that's the case, why be so stingy with the cost of one extra person? Just hire another one, and everyone will be more relaxed.

What Mr. Wen said was true, but Mrs. Wen also had her own doubts.

"Finding another person is possible, but how should the specific responsibilities be divided?"

Yao Qingqin currently has several jobs. One is selling snacks at her stall, which takes about an hour each in the morning, noon, and evening. Wen's parents also come to help in the morning.

The second task was collecting money and clearing tables in the shop. This was mainly done by Wen's mother, while Yao Qingqin would lend a hand after finishing with the stall.

The third is the preparation and cleaning of the food in the store.

Then came the video editing and live streaming for the store.

Yao Qingqin posts three or four videos almost every week, and also does a live stream once a week, purely to attract customers to the store.

These four things are what Wen's mother and Yao Qingqin had worked hard to get in touch with. It's possible to have another person, but how would they be divided?

“I don’t trust anyone else to run the stall. Xiao Yao is doing a great job editing, and preparing the ingredients isn’t actually that troublesome.”

All in all, the only thing that gets too hectic is the constant flow of people welcoming and seeing off guests during mealtimes.

Wen's mother thought it would be best to find a part-time worker who could come for more than an hour during mealtimes every day, so that the shop could be more relaxed.

Wen Fan also supports it.

"Part-time jobs should be easy to find, right? I heard that students work part-time in our school cafeteria every day at lunchtime."

Qunying Middle School is polarized, with some students being extremely wealthy while others are high-achieving students from very poor families. The school also provides assistance to these students, such as helping out at the cafeteria window, where the cafeteria staff provides meals and the school logistics department provides a small reward.

Wen's mother originally intended to ask Song Hui if she had any suitable candidates, but after her daughter mentioned it, she also felt that the student would be the best.

Unless you're a high school senior with a tight schedule, the peak hours for students in their first and second years of high school actually overlap completely with the store's peak hours.

So Wen's mother didn't bother asking anyone else for introductions; she simply posted a notice at the door recruiting part-time workers.

[Part-time Job Wanted: We are looking for one student to work part-time. Working hours are 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM to 12:50 PM, and 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Three meals a day provided. Salary to be discussed.]

When this part-time job notice was posted, the first people to get excited were not the students, but rather the regular customers who often ate at the restaurant.

The young migrant workers were filled with envy.

"No, this package of three meals a day is so tempting, it makes me want to come to work every day."

"Boss lady, do you need full-time staff? I'm quitting my awful job right now and coming to work for you!"

"I'd come even if you didn't pay me, with three meals a day included!"

"I really can! My company is nearby! Plus, I have flexible hours!"

What do you do?

"I'm a salesperson! Seriously, boss, look at me! I have super flexible hours every day! I can just clock in at the company and then I'm out! I can tell the company I'm out visiting clients..."

Wen's mother was both amused and exasperated: "What if you have to go out for business at noon and can't come?"

The salesperson who said he could come hesitated, while a girl next to him forced her way in.

"Me! Me! Me! I work for the nearby neighborhood office! I have plenty of time!"

The neighborhood committee... Wen's mother was even more speechless.

Does your company allow part-time work?

The girl patted her chest and said, "It's okay, you don't have to give me the money!"

What kind of part-time job is it if you don't get paid? At most, it's just her maintaining the community and being helpful!

...What is all this nonsense?

When Wen's mother was finally surrounded and had no other choice, she could only insist that she only wanted her students.

Soon, word spread throughout the school that Wenji was looking for a part-time student.

As soon as Wen Fan entered the classroom, people kept asking him for details, leaving him completely confused.

"You guys want to go?"

Han Lulu, as the class representative, gave a look that said, "You already know the answer."

Of course!

Wen Fan was also confused. The atmosphere in the class wasn't like this before, was it? The original owner pretended to be rich and suffered a lot of criticism. Jin Rui was always complaining about this person being poor and that person being powerless. How come overnight, my mom provides a part-time job for poor students who are working hard to support themselves, and you all want it?

Han Lulu: ……

"Don't even mention it. In fact, everyone has been feeling pretty stupid these past two months."

Han Lulu felt a little awkward. If Wen Fan hadn't brought it up, no one would have felt comfortable talking about it, but now that Wen Fan had, everyone was finding it difficult to bring it up.

Ultimately, as people grow up, they realize how foolish they were before. Looking back at their middle school social media posts after graduation makes them cringe. Now that people have changed their opinion of Wen Fan, they also realize how shallow they were back then.

Why does she keep having these love triangles and childhood sweetheart stories in her head all the time? And she even went so far as to give Wen Fan'an the character of a vicious female supporting character.

Wen Fan is actually a really good person!

Wen Fan remained expressionless and said, "You've missed your chance. My mother has already found someone."

Han Lulu cried and complained that Wen Fan was being unfair, saying, "Why are you being so businesslike at a time like this and not giving your relatives and friends a chance?"

Wen Fan sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "How could I have imagined you were going!"

In fact, Wen's mother found the person in just half a day, and it was recommended by a teacher who often ate at the restaurant.

The teacher, who teaches first-year high school students, mentioned a girl in his class from a village in a county. Her parents are farmers, and a few years ago, a family member fell ill, making their situation difficult. Shortly after the start of the semester, she inquired about work-study opportunities at the school cafeteria, only to be told no, which left her quite disappointed.

The child is a good child, with good grades. He is shy and doesn't talk much, but he is very proactive and conscientious in his work.

After hearing this, Wen's mother said she would let her come and take a look, and the girl arrived at the shop at noon.

Wen's mother explained the shop's benefits to the girl: "Three meals a day are provided, and you get eight hundred yuan a month."

It's actually only two hundred a week.

The school pays 500 a month, and Wen's mother gives an extra 300, partly because the shop is busier.

This girl named Yu Fangfang is rather thin, but she moves very quickly. During a mealtime, she basically doesn't take a break.

Wen's mother snatched the dishcloth from Yu Fangfang's hand and urged her to eat quickly.

"You'll be too late if you wait any longer."

Without saying a word, she pressed the person into a seat and urged Wen's father to make noodles for Yu Fangfang.

Yu Fangfang was somewhat at a loss. She was a boarding student and rarely ate out, and besides...

Looking at the menu on the wall, Yu Fangfang knew that even after leaving school, she would not patronize this store.

Wen Fan was lazy again at noon today. He fried a big pot of soybean paste, put the noodles into the pot by hand, took them out and put them on top of the soybean paste and cucumber shreds. Wen's father thought it was too simple, so he also scraped some carrot shreds and cooked some bean sprouts.

A large bowl was piled high with several colorful toppings. The meat sauce was cooked until the soy sauce had separated, and a spoonful of the fragrant sauce was placed on top of the noodles. Wen's mother served a portion to Yu Fangfang without looking at her, afraid that the child would feel uncomfortable.

Yu Fangfang wanted to say that she couldn't eat that much, but Wen's mother didn't look at her, so she was too embarrassed to say it and could only pick up her chopsticks and mix the noodles to eat.

The sauce was already fragrant enough, and after mixing it, the noodles also took on the sauce color, making the aroma even more pronounced.

The sweet bean sauce and soybean paste dyed the meat a dark brown color, and the diced meat had a caramelized aroma when cooked. The thick sauce clung heavily to the noodles, and the chewy noodles combined with the aroma of meat and sauce made Yu Fangfang unknowingly eat a whole bowl.

After putting down her chopsticks, Yao Qingqin came to collect the bowls.

"Hurry up and get to school."

The school bell rings at 1:20, so it's just the right time to go in.

Yu Fangfang greeted Wen's mother and kept thinking about that bowl of noodles on her way back to the classroom.

Once inside the classroom, her deskmate quietly patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey, are you working part-time at Wen's Restaurant across from the school?"

Yu Fangfang's heart skipped a beat. Although she knew that her classmates would see her going out to work, she never expected it to happen so soon!

In other words... all the students saw her wiping tables and serving dishes at Wenji just now?

Yu Fangfang felt like crying, but she didn't know why.

It wasn't something shameful, but she felt her face burning and a little uncomfortable.

She lowered her head, her voice nasal, and said, "Mmm."

Yu Fangfang didn't dare to look up, afraid of seeing her deskmate's expression of confusion, doubt, or sympathy.

But to everyone's surprise, my deskmate suddenly got excited.

Wow, you're so lucky!

Good luck?

Yu Fangfang didn't understand.

Her deskmate grabbed her hand and said excitedly, "Everyone's been saying that Wen's Restaurant needs a part-time worker, and I can't believe you got the job! That's great! Hey, can you buy me persimmon cakes from now on? I've been wanting to eat them for ages, but I can never get a turn!"

The students in the front row heard it too, turned around, and said enviously, "Yeah, Yu Fangfang, you're so quick! I wanted to go too, but I didn't manage to grab one!"

"Yu Fangfang, could you buy me some fried shrimp balls? I've been wanting to eat them for ages!"

"I'll give you money, Yu Fangfang, just buy me a fresh meat pancake!"

"...Yu Fangfang, what did you have for lunch?"

The other students looked at the last person to speak with confusion. The student timidly asked, "Can't I ask? I'm just curious... does Yu Fangfang get to eat the boss's special cooking?"

Yu Fangfang was still in a daze: "I had noodles with soybean paste for lunch."

"Noodles with soybean paste! Oh my god! I want some too!"

"Yu Fangfang, how about I work for you for a day? I'll give you the money, I just need to eat!"

"Waaaaah, how could I have missed it!"

"Yu Fangfang, ask the boss if I can do it for free. We're classmates, how about I help you?"

As Yu Fangfang sat in her seat, for the first time in her life, she suddenly felt as if she were in a wonderful space, surrounded only by envy, kindness, and liveliness.

She didn't receive any of the disdain or pity she feared; instead, everyone surrounded her, asking her to buy things for them.

"Yu Fangfang, the hopes of our entire class are all on you!"