Chapter 4
◎ In the early morning, layers of mist rose, and in the winding alleys, residents,
In the early morning, layers of mist rose. In the winding alleys, residents, wearing pajamas and slippers, yawned and drowsy, came out carrying toilets to carry out their daily morning activity: emptying the toilets.
Xu Zeli emptied the toilet and went home to wash up. Then he went out, crossed an intersection, walked around an alley, and came to a noodle shop on the corner. The sign on the street read "Lao Longtang Noodle Shop" in white letters on a black background.
This shop has been here since Xu Zeli's father was born. Children from the neighborhood have been eating here since they were young. When the adults don't have time to cook, they bring their children here to eat noodles, which counts as a meal.
The boss was wearing a white vest, bare-chested, with a sweat towel draped over his shoulders, standing in front of the oil pan frying pork chops.
Xu Zeli didn't like the noodle shop owner's behavior and thought he was a rough guy who kept talking dirty.
But unfortunately, the boss's pork chops are renowned far and wide. The pork chops at this noodle shop are fried to order, the oil constantly hot, and the coating is fragrant and crispy. The cooking time is just right, so hot that you'll want more. Simply saying "buy the fried pork chops from the noodle shop" can calm a crying child.
Xu Zeli, while secretly despising his boss's frivolous taste, kept coming back to eat there, especially after returning from the northwest. He missed the taste terribly and said he'd bring Bei Bitang back for another try.
Will there be another chance in the future?
There were not many customers waiting for noodles in the noodle shop. There were only a few people sitting on low tables and stools nearby, eating noodles with their heads down.
As soon as Xu Zeli came in, the boss smiled and asked, "Hey, a college student is here. What toppings would you like today? Or three taels of clear soup noodles with a fried pork chop? Would you like the pork chop cut?"
Some people have weak teeth, some like to share, and some prefer to eat uncut. Xu Zeli has always preferred to eat whole pork chops. As a child, his parents brought him and a group of other children from rural relatives to this noodle shop for fried pork chops. He ate slowly, and the cut pork chops were all gone, leaving him with only a small piece.
From then on, he stopped cutting the fried pork chop when eating it. Not cutting it meant that the whole piece was mine. You couldn't come and snatch my only piece, and I couldn't give you any even if I wanted to.
Xu Zeli's face was indifferent, and he didn't care about the boss's compliment. He said, "Same old."
The boss turned to the woman cooking noodles in the back room and called out, "Sister, three taels of clear soup, please."
The response was like a folk song: "Okay!"
The boss picked up a piece of pork chop and put it into the oil pan, which immediately began to boil with a sizzling sound.
The pork chops were cut big and thin. The noodle girl brought out the clear soup noodles. The pork chops were fried, taken out of the oil pan, placed on a white plate, and brought out together with the clear soup noodles.
When the noodles arrived, Xu Zeli had already taken the condiment plate and poured some spicy soy sauce on it.
The people behind wanted noodles with other toppings. The boss pulled over a low stool and sat next to Xu Zeli, saying jokingly, "You've been a college student for so long and you haven't changed your taste. I have so many toppings in my shop. Spicy meat, pickled mustard greens and shredded pork, Shanghai smoked fish, assorted vegetables, kidney flowers, large intestines, and eight-treasure chili sauce. Try a different flavor tomorrow. I can also say that college students also like this kind of noodles. Eating it can make you more refined. Now the other toppings are...
It will sell out quickly.”
Xu Zeli lowered his head, picked up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and said, "I love this."
The boss gave him a thumbs up and praised him: "College students are dedicated."
Is he loyal? Xu Zeli recalled the days he and Bei Bitang spent in the northwest, planning their future together. He was distraught when he heard his father was seriously ill, but Bei Bitang comforted him softly. Then, when he heard the news about the college entrance exam, Bei Bitang told him to stop working and support him, so he could study hard for it.
He was getting married soon, but his bride wasn't the one he truly loved, Bei Bitang. Her age, looks, and personality couldn't compare to hers, but her family background and education were far superior to anything a hundred or a thousand Bei Bitangs could achieve in their lifetimes.
The customer next to him burst into laughter, "Boss, you're wrong! You can't say that about Zhuanyi."
The boss, being shrewd, pretended not to understand and teased the customer, "So what should I say?"
The guest said, "Loyalty is used to describe the relationship between a man and a woman."
After saying that, he glanced at his watch, picked up his briefcase, and said, "Stop talking. I'm going to be late. It's all my daughter's fault for asking me to braid her hair. That's why I'm late."
Seeing that Xu Zeli didn't say anything and seemed to be concentrating on eating noodles, the boss turned around and chatted with other customers.
People who were going to work ate very quickly, and there were only three or two kittens left in the store. Xu Zeli was one of them, and he ate very slowly.
The boss turned around again, looked at Xu Zeli with a smile, and said, "Zheli is the most promising one around here. He didn't even want his junior high school diploma, so he was determined to go to the countryside and make a contribution. Dad was sick, and Mom had to stay at home to take care of him. It was all thanks to Zeli who took the lead. His luck changed, Dad recovered, and Mom went back to work. Zeli farmed in the countryside for a few years, and never gave up his textbooks. When the college entrance examination was resumed, he was admitted to East China Normal University. After graduating from university, he was assigned to a good unit as a cadre, earning a high salary, and then married a Shanghai girl with a high education and a good family background..."
Xu Zeli interrupted and said, "I have a fiancée."
This matter cannot be kept secret for long. In another week, his fiancée will come to visit his parents.
The boss' eyes widened in surprise, "So soon! Your fiancée is going to have a wedding, right? When is it? Uncle's noodle shop is closed, so I'll go help you. Uncle not only fries pork chops, but he also prepares wedding banquets."
Xu Zeli said without much enthusiasm: "It hasn't been decided yet."
The boss suddenly leaned forward and whispered, "You're so lucky! Your fiancée is so beautiful. She got into university, right? Is she from Shanghai? Where does she live?"
Xu Zeli looked puzzled and asked the boss, "Uncle, are you meeting my fiancée?"
How did he know who my fiancée was? It was impossible. Zeng Linlin had come to his house to look for him, and he had specifically told his parents not to make it public before the two families agreed on the wedding date.
He had told his parents about his relationship with Bei Bitang in the countryside, but they were indifferent to her, disliking her low education and the fact she was raised by a widow, so they never told anyone else. At the time, he didn't care. After all, he and Bei Bitang had settled down in the northwest and didn't return to Shanghai more than once a year, so his parents' attitude wasn't that important.
The boss chuckled and said, "In 1976, your father was seriously ill, and you applied to return to the city to take care of him. During that six months, letters from the northwest arrived frequently. The postman who delivered your letters always came to my place for a bowl of spicy noodles after delivering them. He told me that your fiancée's name was Bei Bitang, right? It's a nice name, and she's also very beautiful."
Xu Zeli's heart skipped a beat. He seldom interacted with neighbors because his parents were teachers and few people interacted with his family. Perhaps the fact that he had a girlfriend in the northwest had already spread throughout the alley, and he and his parents didn't know about it.
That year, he returned to the city due to a family emergency. Bei Bitang's monthly letters arrived without fail, each time telling him about interesting and lively events in the Northwest and asking if he had any difficulties. One time, a letter got delayed for several days. He opened it impatiently, not even having time to return home. Unexpectedly, a photograph fell out, and the postman picked it up and handed it to him. It must have been then that the postman saw Bei Bitang's photo.
The boss asked with a smile, "How many years have you been with your fiancée? She's deeply in love with her. Your family was in that situation, yet you kept sending her letters. Be good to her in the future."
Xu Zeli's heartbeat quickened. He said indifferently, "My fiancée is not her. I broke up with her."
Unable to explain, he casually mentioned that there was a noodle shop near his home that had delicious fried pork chops, and the spoiled Zeng Linlin insisted on coming to try it. He had no choice but to agree and take her to this shop to eat fried pork chops on the day of his visit.
The boss said in disbelief: "Split? When was it split? Why was it split?"
Xu Zeli said in a deep voice: "Don't mention the past anymore."
The boss had been frying pork chops in his shop since he was a teenager, and had been doing it for decades, seeing all kinds of people and hearing all kinds of stories. But Xu Zeli, a young boy with a strong sense of pride, looked down on the old man.
He glanced at Xu Zeli lightly and said casually, "Ah, it's a good thing for these educated youth to return to the city. Not to mention getting into university, just being able to come back and reunite with their parents, brothers and sisters is a great joy. Tsk, what a pity, some people only think about their relatives in the city and don't think about finding a partner in the countryside, or even getting married and having children. When they hear they can return to the city, they ignore everything and abandon everything, becoming unfaithful and acting with a clear conscience."
Xu Zeli already felt guilty towards Bei Bitang, and when he heard his boss's words, he felt that he was being alluded to.
He took the initiative to explain, "Bei Bitang is also from Shanghai. There's no such thing as one abandoning the other and returning to the city. She and I are not married. Our feelings have faded, so we just parted ways amicably. Uncle, don't overthink it."
The boss nodded, seemingly believing it, and said, "So that's how it is. Uncle was wrong about you."
The bicycle bell rang, and the postman in charge of this area, wearing dark green work clothes and carrying a messenger bag, parked his bicycle on the side of the road and walked into the noodle shop to eat a bowl of noodles.
"A bowl of 200g spicy noodles."
Since I didn't order fried pork chops, the boss just sat there and didn't get up. He is an old acquaintance.
The boss said to the postman, "Juncai, you lost, split it up."
The boss said this while referring to Xu Zeli.
The postman said in disbelief: "How is that possible?!"
The boss said: "It's true, if you don't believe me, ask the real owner."
Xu Zeli suppressed his anger and said, "We broke up."
The postman lamented, "It's over. All my food money for this month will be spent on the boss's shop. I have to go out every day and eat noodles every meal. No matter how delicious the noodles are, I can't stand it."
The boss said: "You are too young to accept the loss."
The postman sat down at Xu Zeli's table and said regretfully, "Your ex-girlfriend, my goodness, looked like that, with cherry lips, willow-shaped eyebrows, snow-white skin, bright eyes, and a thin waist, like a famous lady from the Republic of China. Where can you find a girlfriend like that? You really can't bear to let her go."
Xu Zeli frowned, feeling uncomfortable. Even though he had decided to part ways with Bei Bitang, he couldn't stand another man saying this to her.
The noodle shop girl brought the spicy noodles over. She, who had been listening to the gossip, asked before walking away, "Is that lesbian named Bei something really that beautiful?"
The postman said rudely, "She's as beautiful as a fairy. She's the one who brought the fairies down to earth. Compared to her, you're not even worthy of carrying her shoes."
The noodle shop girl snorted coldly and walked away angrily, swearing that next time the postman came to eat noodles, she would add more salt to his noodle soup, and cook soft noodles if he liked hard noodles.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
