"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
Qiu Jingwen and Zheng Yanshi jumped off their bicycles and pushed them to the side, watching the two boys push the iron hoop past them.
An old man making popcorn was about twenty meters away, pulling the bellows with one hand and adding coal to the popcorn pot with the other. Qiu Jingwen could hear the whooshing sound of the bellows clearly.
Having received professional training, Qiu Jingwen can remember many features and information at a glance.
The old man looked to be around seventy years old, with dark skin and a thin build. He had a bald patch on the top of his head, not exactly bald, but completely bald. He wore glasses on his nose, had a pointed chin, and his beard looked like it hadn't been trimmed for at least half a month.
There were about seven or eight children and adults gathered around the popcorn vendor.
Some of them were carrying dry ladles, while others were holding large porcelain jars.
Whether it's a dry ladle or a ceramic jar, it's filled with either corn or rice.
People were queuing up, waiting for the old man to pop rice for them.
Popcorn is a favorite snack for children in the countryside; it's fragrant and delicious, and sometimes it can even be a meal in itself.
Qiu Jingwen and Zheng Yanshi were passing by a popcorn stand when they heard a loud 'bang'.
Qiu Jingwen, who was pushing his bicycle, was so frightened that he trembled and almost lost his balance.
He instinctively turned around and saw wisps of smoke rising from a long tube made of black leather.
In the smoke,
The rich aroma of popcorn wafted towards him.
Despite having received training, Qiu Jingwen always felt nervous when he heard a sudden noise, as if his identity as a secret agent was about to be exposed.
Zheng Yanshi also turned around and looked at the popcorn, and laughed:
"Oh, if I had known, I would have brought some corn and cooked a pot of it to take home for the kids to enjoy."
Qiu Jingwen calmed his nerves and thought for a moment before saying:
"That's easy. I'll have Wang Liping bring some corn over later and stir-fry it for you to take back to the factory."
Wang Liping's house is at the end of the alley.
Two red brick and black tile houses are enclosed in a small courtyard.
The gate was open, and looking in from the outside, a middle-aged woman was in the yard, bending over to water a small vegetable patch.
When Wang Liping's father passed away last winter, Zheng Yanshi, representing the workshop, came to pay his respects along with Gao, a cadre from the factory's labor union. Therefore, he immediately recognized the woman bending over to water the vegetable garden as Wang Liping's wife, Zhao Qinghe.
So he shouted into the room.
"Wang Liping, Wang Liping."
Upon hearing someone call her husband, Zhao Qinghe immediately looked up and responded.
Just as Zheng Yanshi knew Zhao Qinghe, Zhao Qinghe also knew Zheng Yanshi.
After all, Zheng Yanshi had visited his home before and was Wang Liping's workshop supervisor; it's just that she didn't recognize Qiu Jingwen standing next to her.
Zhao Qinghe called out crisply towards the tiled house:
"Liping, Liping, your boss is here."
Zhao Qinghe has a very pleasant voice, clear and sweet with the soft, melodious Wu dialect.
Just like the sound of popcorn, Zhao Qinghe's voice also gave Qiu Jingwen a jolt.
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