Chapter 80: Take your student's beat-up car back. Professor Shen felt a sense of...
"Teacher Shen, are you here for dinner?" An Fusheng asked, looking at Shen Yuqiu who suddenly appeared at the door.
Shen Yuqiu was also surprised to see An Fusheng. "It's you. Why do you ask that? Didn't you say your family doesn't run physical restaurants?"
An Fusheng: That's what they say, but people come every day.
"I didn't come here to eat." Shen Yuqiu noticed that An Fusheng's movements were a bit stiff as he helped with the cart, and asked, "What's wrong?"
An Fusheng blushed a little. "I just learned to ride an electric bike and I accidentally fell down."
Shen Yuqiu asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
An Fusheng scratched the back of his head: "No."
Seeing An Fusheng's embarrassment, Shen Yuqiu said with a smile, "Falling down is nothing. Falling down when learning to ride a bike is like swallowing water when learning to swim; it's something everyone goes through."
An Fusheng's hometown is in the southwestern mountainous region, where mountains overlap and streams crisscross. Villages are nestled against the mountains and beside the water, and people's production and life are inseparable from the mountains and water. People there don't need special instruction to learn to swim. In the summer, older children go to play in the streams, and younger children follow along happily. The older children swim in the deep water, while the younger children paddle in the shallow water on their own. As they paddle, they learn to swim. Outsiders say that they are born to swim, but An Fusheng knows from his own experience that they swallowed countless stream waters while learning to swim.
After hearing what Teacher Shen said, An Fusheng suddenly felt that falling down wasn't such a big deal, but it would be even better if he didn't fall in front of everyone.
"How's your learning going?" As a teacher, Shen Yuqiu habitually asks about other people's learning progress.
"It's my first time learning, and I haven't... mastered it yet."
Take your time.
"Teacher Shen, is there something you need at our house?" An Fusheng asked. If you're not here for a meal, then what are you here for?
Shen Yuqiu said, "It's nothing. I just happened to pass by and thought I saw someone I knew, but I was probably too far away to recognize them."
An Fusheng nodded, without suspecting anything.
"Fu-zai, I told you to ignore that car and come home for dinner," Wen Min called out from the restaurant entrance.
"Oh, I see!" An Fusheng replied, then said to Shen Yuqiu, "Teacher Shen, I have to go back now. My mother wants me to go home for dinner."
Seeing that Teacher Shen was still standing at his door, An Fusheng couldn't close the door, so he said, "Teacher Shen, I need to close the door."
Shen Yuqiu didn't move aside, and asked in a trembling voice, "Who was that person just now?"
An Fusheng honestly replied, "It's my mother."
Shen Yuqiu paused, "You...your mother?"
An Fusheng nodded. He didn't like explaining the special circumstances of the orphanage to strangers. To avoid being asked too many questions, he usually referred to Wen Min and Lou Lan as his own mothers, without adding their surnames as he usually did.
Seeing that An Fusheng verbally agreed but was still standing at the door without moving, Wen Min assumed he was worried about the electric scooter being damaged, so she walked over and said, "Don't worry, you didn't break, so the scooter can't possibly break. Go home..."
Before she could finish saying "eat," Wen Min saw Shen Yuqiu standing at the door, staring straight at her.
“It really is you…” Shen Qiuyu’s body trembled slightly, and most of his voice was stuck in his throat. An Fusheng did not hear what he said, but saw his expression suddenly change and looked at him suspiciously.
Wen Min glanced at Shen Yuqiu and then looked away, his expression unchanged. He only said to An Fusheng, "Let's go home for dinner."
An Fusheng felt it was his proper courtesy to introduce the two parties as the intermediary, so he said to Shen Yuqiu, "Teacher Shen, this is my mother, Wen."
Then she introduced Wen Min, "Mrs. Wen, this is Teacher Shen, the teacher of those college students who came to eat earlier and said they wanted to bring food back for the teachers."
An Fusheng's words only made things worse; Wen Min's face instantly turned cold, and she said to Shen Yuqiu with considerable displeasure, "So you're your student?"
Shen Yuqiu was still immersed in his overwhelming emotions and didn't quite hear what Wen Min was saying. He only assumed that Wen Min had spoken to him and responded without thinking, "Mm."
Wen Min said, "Since you're here, take your students' beat-up car back and let them figure out how to eat on their own. Don't keep pestering Fu Zai to bring them food."
Shen Yuqiu instinctively replied, "Okay."
"Bang!"
The loud crash of the iron gate against the frame finally pulled Shen Yuqiu back to reality. Shen Yuqiu stared blankly at the electric scooter in his hand. Whose scooter was this? What had Wen Min just said? That his students weren't allowed to have Fu Zai deliver their meals?
The poor former academic star, now a promising young professor at the medical school, pondered for several more minutes before finally figuring out the gist of the matter: his student had asked Wen Min's son to deliver food, Wen Min was unhappy with him, and the electric scooter had caused Wen Min's son to fall off. The electric scooter belonged to his student, and Wen Min was angry with him!
Professor Shen felt as if he had been struck by lightning for no reason.
...
"Isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate?"
An Fusheng knew that Wen's mother was standing up for him, but in fact, Teacher Shen and Qi Zhao had not bullied him. He was willing to bring him food, and he fell while learning to ride a bike. He had no one to blame but himself.
Wen Min said expressionlessly, "There's nothing wrong with it."
An Fusheng: "That electric scooter is almost out of power. We should take it to charge it for a while before returning it to Teacher Shen. Their school is quite far away. How will Teacher Shen drive back if the battery is low?"
Wen Min took a deep breath, looked at An Fusheng, and said earnestly, "Fuzi, remember this: don't put filters on anyone. It's their own business if they are excellent in their own field. You are also very good in your own field. Don't always think that others are better than you and don't excessively praise others."
People don't see preferential treatment that comes easily as an honor; instead, they take it for granted. If that preferential treatment were to disappear one day, they might even blame you, leaving you feeling like you've put in a lot of effort but haven't gotten any credit.
We don't need to please anyone; we just need to do our job well, understand?
An Fusheng's eyelashes trembled slightly: "I understand."
...
After dinner, An Fusheng politely told Qi Zhao and the others via WeChat that he would no longer be sending them meals.
Qi Zhao and the others were locked in the lab running data until after 11 p.m. before they had time to check their phones. When they opened their phones and saw the message, the sky fell: Why?
An Fusheng was still leaning against the headboard practicing typing on his phone when he saw Qi Zhao's message and immediately replied: My mom won't allow it.
Qi Zhao: ...
An Fusheng: My mother has already returned your electric scooter to Teacher Shen. Have you received it?
Qi Zhao: Why did my director go to your house?
An Fusheng: He said he was just passing by.
Qi Zhao: . . . .
An Fusheng: Could it be that the battery is dead and Teacher Shen is pushing the cart back and hasn't arrived yet?
Qi Zhao: !!! ...
An Fusheng: I was too busy during the day and didn't remember to charge it, so when I took it out at night, there wasn't much power left.
After thinking for a moment, An Fusheng added: I only rode five meters; the battery was dead when you brought it over.
Qi Zhao: ...
The sky fell too early...
...
Ever since An Fusheng went to the wholesale market, he has been chanting every day that Xu Sannian should take him to the wholesale market to buy vegetables. Every time he goes, he can't help but buy a lot of vegetables other than light ones. No, he always buys too much of what's on the list.
Since he bought too much food and couldn't finish it, An Fusheng bought a batch of earthenware jars to make pickles from the leftover vegetables. In just a few days, there were more than a dozen jars of pickles in the kitchen.
After the cards with QR codes were sent out with the takeout orders, customers started placing orders through the mini-program. Seeing that his master was making more and more kimchi, Xu Sannian simply sent a serving of kimchi with every order placed through the mini-program.
The customer originally ordered through the mini-program for the coupons, but unexpectedly received a pleasant surprise.
In her past life, Grandma Anfusheng was the best at making pickled vegetables in the village. People from the village would come to Anfusheng's house to ask for pickling brine if they wanted to make delicious pickled vegetables. Under her influence, Anfusheng's pickling skills also became quite good.
An Fusheng doesn't need to add vinegar or wine to his kimchi; he just lets the vegetables and water ferment naturally. As a result, his kimchi isn't very sour, doesn't have any other mixed flavors, and retains the original texture of the vegetables. It tastes very refreshing, and once customers have tried it, they never forget it.
Xu Sannian has a keen business sense. She doesn't give out large quantities of kimchi, just a small box, enough to satisfy her cravings and make her want more. This encourages her to buy more. The mini-program currently has only sixty registered customers, but the daily sales of kimchi have already reached fifty orders.
What does this mean? It means there are many repeat customers, and the kimchi has great sales potential!
"Let's open a kimchi shop from now on. It's simple, convenient, and the profit is even better than cooking," Xu Sannian said.
An Fusheng recalled that in his previous life, his grandmother took him to the city to see a doctor. There was a shop in the city that specialized in selling pickled vegetables. It was a small shop, but there was a constant stream of customers at the door. At that time, his grandmother said that city people even had to buy pickled vegetables, and that she had so many at home that she couldn't finish them all.
An Fusheng thought Xu Sannian's suggestion was feasible, but since there was no storefront available, they would have to wait until the restaurant was built.
An Fusheng suggested that kimchi shops could take inspiration from the small ice cream windows in fast food restaurants and open a separate sales window outside the restaurant so that customers could quickly buy kimchi without having to come inside to order.
The cowpeas I dried a few days ago are now dry. They haven't been exposed to a drop of rain, and they've turned a beautiful yellow color. They should taste quite good.
Today is Friday, and Miaomiao is going home. The whole family is together, and Anfusheng decides to make dried green beans tonight.
"Master, did you soak some dried green beans?"
"Yes, they're dried and ready to eat. Let's try them tonight."
"Wow, so what are you planning to do?" Xu Sannian had been thinking about it for days.
An Fusheng: "Make a braised pork belly with dried green beans and another braised cured pork with dried green beans. Everyone likes the cured pork you brought, but it seems that Aunt Lou doesn't really like smoked cured pork."
"Mmm, sure!" She liked all the dishes her master made, so she wanted to eat both kinds.
The method for stewing dried green beans with pork belly is actually the same as that for stewing cured pork. First, stir-fry the pork until the oil is rendered, then add basic seasonings such as garlic, chili, and soy sauce. Next, add the dried green beans, cut into small pieces, to the pork and stir-fry together. Once the dried green beans are fluffed up by the hot oil, add water and simmer. After simmering, add salt and sprinkle with some garlic leaves.
The first batch of vegetables planted in the garden is almost ready to eat. An Fusheng picked a few leaves from various green vegetables and stir-fried them together.
The other dishes were prepared along with the takeout order.
The dried green beans had been stewing for a while, and just as the dish was finished, Wen Min returned with Wen Xinghe and Bai Miaomiao.
No one else came to the welfare home for dinner today. The family members washed their hands and served the dishes. Soon they were all ready and gathered around the table, ready to start eating.
"I could smell the aroma of stewed dried green beans outside today." Mrs. Lou leaned closer and noticed that the two bowls of stewed dried green beans and pork on the table were different. "Why are there two dishes made with dried green beans?"
“Master said you don’t like smoked cured meat, so he also made a pork belly version.” Xu Sannian said with a grin, “Anyway, I want to eat it.”
Lou Lan had always eaten sun-dried cured meat since she was a child, so she wasn't used to eating smoked cured meat. Last time An Fusheng made pickled bamboo shoots and pork stew, she ate a small piece of cured meat and didn't like the smoky flavor, so she didn't eat any more. She didn't expect him to notice, and today he went to great lengths to make an extra portion of pork belly stew with dried green beans. Lou Lan said with gratitude, "Aren't there other meat dishes? I'll just eat the dried green beans for this dish."
An Fusheng said, "It tastes even better when eaten with meat."
Lou Lan nodded: "Okay, okay, let's eat."
The family enjoyed a wonderfully delicious dinner together.
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