Rent a shop
"Why, you don't want to marry me?"
Wen Jingzhao's voice was a little hoarse, his black phoenix eyes narrowed, and his emotions were difficult to discern.
How do you answer this question?
He Yingchun's hand was still on his shoulder blade, and she curled her fingers slightly, feeling a little embarrassed.
The two of them were indeed in love. She personally thought that their current situation was more like being in love. Wen Jingzhao was used to being a playboy, so he probably thought the same way.
But she had never thought about getting married. He Yingchun pursed her lips, not knowing how to answer.
Wen Jingzhao lowered his eyes. He had originally thought that once he was freed from slavery, he could marry He Yingchun with honor. But now, he sneered at himself and slowly opened his mouth, "What does that mean now? Who do you think I am?"
He withdrew his hand, his throat rolled a few times, but he still didn't say anything, "Forget it." What right did he have to make He Yingchun wait? How many years would it take for him to have a chance to vindicate his father or to be freed from slavery? It was too long.
All he carried for his entire life was the shackles of his own. Originally, this exile was just an unexpected disaster for He Yingchun.
The oil lamp flickered in the night. His eyes were dim, but the light in them had disappeared.
He Yingchun opened her mouth, and the two people who had just been kissing were now speechless, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
She thought of Lady Wang and Wu Yong. They had been married for more than ten years, but ended up like this. Wen Jingzhao and she had only known each other for a few months. It was still too early to talk about getting married.
If it were usual, He Yingchun would still play with the cat, but now she didn't have the heart to do so. "Then I'll go back first."
Wen Jingzhao nodded, "Okay."
-
A few days later, Madam Wang came to find He Yingchun. The wound on her head had already scabbed over. She had been recuperating recently and the noodle shop was closed. He Yingchun didn't know where to find her.
"Sister, are you still renting the shop?" After a brief greeting, Madam Wang asked her.
Perhaps because of the divorce, although Lady Wang has lost a lot of weight, she looks very energetic.
He Yingchun had discussed this matter with Wen Jingzhao and Muma, and she made the decision directly, "Rent, six cents a month, for a year first, is that okay?"
Madam Wang nodded. "Okay, okay. I knew you were a straightforward person. If you have time tonight, come to the noodle shop and we can draw up a contract. What do you think?"
"Okay, no problem!"
Neither party was the type to procrastinate, so the contract was drafted and signed. He Yingchun paid a year's salary. Thanks to the compensation Heng Yusheng had given her at the beginning, otherwise she would not have been able to pay it all at once.
Madam Wang introduced the scale of the noodle shop to He Yingchun. It was not very big, with compact tables and chairs. There was a cashier counter with some large wine jars outside. The kitchen was around the corner and was usually not closed. One could just lift the curtain to get in.
Behind the kitchen is a small courtyard with a house that can be lived in, and there is a toilet in the corner of the courtyard.
He Yingchun followed Madam Wang around and cleaned up everything.
"If it's too late at night, you can just stay here. The stove is always burning brightly during the day, and the kang is very warm!" Madam Wang said with a smile, pointing to the hut.
He Yingchun took a quick look and found some of her daily necessities inside. It seemed that Lady Wang had been staying here recently.
"Where do you live later?"
"I'm staying at my brother's house for now. It's not far from here. I'll recover first and then we can talk about the rest." She smiled. "I'll pack up my things and take them away tonight. I won't delay you."
"It's okay, don't worry. The lease of my stall hasn't expired yet. I guess it will be done in a while." He Yingchun was still thinking about tidying up and hanging up a new sign.
Over the next few days, He Yingchun was busy preparing for the opening of the noodle shop. Lady Wang had run the shop for many years and had many regular customers. Plus, the weather was cold in Zhuyi, and people here loved noodles, so the main focus was on making noodles.
She was not sure about the stew for this noodle. It didn't matter if she added a few more or a few less ingredients. She was just worried that with too many varieties, her mother and her husband would be too busy to handle them all.
She asked her mother to go home first while she figured out in the noodle shop whether to have more meat or more vegetables.
Shredded chicken, pork chops, three fresh delicacies...
She had never opened a restaurant, and she thought she was great just by setting up a stall. She wanted to learn from her father, but most of what she learned from her father were skills and business philosophy. After thinking about it, it could be summed up in six words: delicious, clean, and affordable.
He Yingchun slapped her head. That's right! She still had six things to unlock!
I was so busy that I forgot everything!
He Yingchun clicked it and saw chocolate beans and cola?
She logged out and logged in again, and this is what the thing upgraded to?
Chocolate beans are worth 20 points, cola is worth 20 points, the chef's recipe fragment 2 is worth 30 points, the chef's recipe fragment 3 is worth 50 points, good luck seeds are worth 200 points, and Aladdin's magic lamp (decorative version) is worth 200 points.
He Yingchun quit again and re-entered. Yes, she had 200 points. Then she looked at her own 198 points and smacked her lips. This was going to empty her family's savings.
Good Luck Seeds, Aladdin's Lamp, are these metaphysical items starting to appear?
Fancy little things like chocolate beans and cola are indeed very attractive. He Yingchun licked her lips and decided to be more pragmatic.
"Ding ding, you have unlocked the second fragment of the Master Chef recipe. 30 points will be deducted from your score. Your current score is 168. Please keep working hard!"
"Ding ding, you have unlocked the Chef God recipe fragment 3. 50 points will be deducted from your points. Your current points are 118. Please keep working hard!"
He Yingchun opened the recipe to see what dishes there were. It was braised pork. She opened another page and saw beggar's chicken.
There was a "bang" sound outside the door. He Yingchun was startled. She put away the recipe, held the kitchen knife and tiptoed to lift the curtain. There was no one in the lobby. The tables, chairs and benches were neatly arranged, and an oil lamp was lit.
She walked to the door and looked carefully. The door latch was still there. She breathed a sigh of relief and put down the kitchen knife.
He Yingchun was a little worried. The noodle shop had been closed for the past few days, and she always went in and out through the back door. Could it be a regular customer knocking on the door? That shouldn't be the case. She leaned over and put her ear to the door.
“Huh, huh, huh”
The sound of the wind, and... the sound of people's footsteps.
At this moment, the light from the oil lamp flickered a few times, and her shadow was reflected on the other side of the wall, looking a little weird.
There was a rustling sound outside the door. He Yingchun raised the kitchen knife again and took two steps back.
After a while, the footsteps outside stopped. She breathed a sigh of relief and put down her hands. She decided to go with her mother next time. It was always a bit scary to go alone.
She went back to the kitchen to continue thinking about the recipe. After a while,
“Crack.”
There was another sound outside the door. She didn't move, but listened quietly. There was silence again.
The unclear sound of "Bang" was particularly creepy in the darkness.
He Yingchun was annoyed by the disturbance, so she simply went around through the back door to see what was causing trouble at the door.
There was indeed a person at the door, a thin and tall figure, pacing slowly, with his hand in front of the door, as if he was going to knock. After waiting for two seconds, he withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and leaned against the pillar beside him.
Wen Jingzhao bent his legs. From a distance, he couldn't see his expression clearly. There were pedestrians hurrying back and forth, some running home, some carrying their children to buy food. He stood there alone, feeling a little lonely.
After that day, He Yingchun hadn't seen him for many days. She felt a bitter feeling in her heart. She exhaled, and everything turned white. She couldn't see the person in front of her clearly.
She just watched him standing there for a long time.
As if sensing something, Wen Jingzhao suddenly looked over, a glimmer of light flashing in his dark eyes.
He Yingchun led him in through the back door and said, "Next time you come, go this way. The main door won't be open for the time being, otherwise people will keep coming in and asking if they can have some noodles."
Wen Jingzhao nodded, stretched out his hand, hooked his slender fingers around hers, and slowly tightened his grip.
As soon as the door closed, she fell into a somewhat cold embrace.
Wen Jingzhao didn't know how long he stood at the door, feeling cold.
The entanglement, melancholy and depression of the past few days turned into a helpless hug.
He lowered his head and pinched her chin with one hand, not too hard, "Why are you not home so late?"
"Then why didn't you come back these days?" He Yingchun asked back, her eyes sparkling.
He sighed softly, without answering her, and placed small and dense kisses on her lips, rubbing his thumb on her neck.
No one spoke in the darkness, only the sound of water lingering between lips and teeth.
The two walked home side by side, fist bumping together, walking and stopping, the fabric of their shoulders rubbing against each other,
"What's for dinner?" He Yingchun suddenly asked, "Do you want some soup dumplings?"
They both remembered the snowy night in the cave. She stripped him naked and rubbed his body, and promised to make soup dumplings for him when he woke up.
Wen Jingzhao's brows relaxed and he smiled, "Soup dumplings with big fillings and thin skins?"
He still remembered what she said. He Yingchun also laughed, "Yes! Soup dumplings with big fillings and thin skins!"
Their eyes met, and the depression they had felt for the past few days disappeared at this moment.
He Yingchun started cooking as soon as she got home. She poured a handful of Sichuan peppercorns into hot water and soaked them for a while. She cut the pork into small pieces and chopped it into minced meat, adding ginger slices and green onion segments. The minced meat should not be chopped too finely, and some granularity should make it taste better.
Add salt and soy sauce to the meat filling and drizzle with some sesame oil.
After the peppercorn water is soaked, pick out the peppercorns and pour the peppercorn water into the minced meat three times, stirring while pouring. Stir until the minced meat is completely absorbed and until the minced meat looks fresh, fragrant and tender.
Cover the meat filling with a lid and put it outside to freeze. It will soon freeze into sand.
Wen Jingzhao watched from the side, handing her seasonings, bowls and chopsticks at any time. Mom felt that she was an eyesore and went into the house to sew a mat for the new kitten.
Next, make the bun skin. Pour flour into a basin, add two spoons of salt, boil half of the flour with boiling water, and mix the other half with cold water. The dough made from the half-boiled flour will be a little sticky. Sprinkle dry flour on it and knead it slowly. Set the kneaded dough aside and let it rise for half an hour.
Roll the dough into long strips after it has rested, cut out dough pieces of similar size, and roll them into dough sheets.
"Help me bring the stuffing in from outside." He Yingchun instructed Wen Jingzhao, "Please check if it's frozen into sand."
Wen Jingzhao came in with a basin, "It should be considered frozen into sand, right?"
He Yingchun stirred it with chopsticks, but it was still too short. "It's okay, let's make do with it."
Wen Jingzhao watched her wrap a few, washed his hands, and started wrapping them himself.
"Can you do it?" He Yingchun was surprised to see him trying it.
"You'll get it if you look at it for a few more times." Wen Jingzhao had big hands and could hold more stuffing. He slowly rounded the mouth and wrapped it properly.
"Talented!" He Yingchun praised him. Wen Jingzhao raised his eyebrows, very pleased.
The two of them wrapped the dumplings much faster, put them in the steamer, and steamed them in cold water. "Wait a moment."
After a while, He Yingchun estimated that it was almost done, so she opened the lid of the pot. The buns shrank rapidly when they came into contact with the cold air.
She took out the steamer with a cloth pad, "Quick! Try the soup dumplings!"
When the soup dumplings were served, He Yingchun offered them a taste. "Like this!" she bit into the folds of the dumpling. "Open the window first."
Then he blew on it twice, "Drink some more soup." He took a sip of the rich soup, "Slurp."
The skin is thin and tender, the soup is rich and the meat is fragrant. She closed her eyes and savored it, "One bite, and my mouth is full of fragrance."
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