Jiang Ning paused and continued, "As for my sister, she heard that the college entrance examination might be resumed, and she also wanted to take it. However, there was no one at home to tutor her, and there were no textbooks to study with. I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to study as well, so I brought her to the city to study with her."
"And Uncle Zhou and Aunt Pei, because my second brother and my sister are in the city now, they live with us. My second brother lives with Chen Yan, and my sister lives with me. I'm sorry to trouble you again."
"What's the big deal? It's more lively when there are more people. I quite like lively places." Uncle Zhou said with a smile.
"That's perfect. I'll study with you guys. I'll go borrow a set of books from my friend."
"Uncle Zhou, Aunt Pei, I have something else I want to tell you." Jiang Ning looked embarrassed. After all, she had been bothering these two kind old people.
"What is it? Tell me."
"This time when I went home, I helped our village chief cook for Secretary Fang, who was visiting the village from the city. They thought my cooking was pretty good, and their cafeteria happened to be short of a chef, so they wrote me a letter of introduction and asked me to try my hand at their company."
Aunt Pei heard this and said happily, "This is good news. If you go to work for the government, it will be like having a stable job. That's great. You should work hard in the government."
"Aunt Pei, I may not work for the government yet. Don't be so happy yet, otherwise it will be all in vain. I still have to take their exams and can only go to work if I pass. I heard that a chef who works at Zhouyi Tavern also took this exam. So I don't know whether I will be selected or not!"
"The food you cook is no worse than the one cooked by the chef at Zhouyi Tavern. I think it tastes even better. Your Aunt Pei and I believe you can pass the exam."
Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile after hearing this: "Thank you Uncle Zhou for your encouragement. I will definitely work harder."
"Uncle Zhou and Aunt Pei have helped us so much, and we don't know how to repay you. How about you tutor us and I give you five dollars a month?"
"I'm not teaching you for money. Since you've lived here, we have you to chat with us every day and often cook for us. It makes your Aunt Pei and I feel less lonely."
"No, that won't work. We are definitely grateful that you and Aunt Pei can take the time to help us review." Jiang Ning looked sincere.
"How about this, we don't want the money. From now on, you can cook dinner for us two old people and we can eat together. It's boring for us to eat alone at our age. We can enjoy different flavors and new dishes by eating with you. You will pay for the food, which will be your tuition. Jiang Ning, do you think this is okay?" Aunt Pei, who had not spoken for a long time, said.
"This idea is good. Miss Ning cooks delicious food and I quite like it. I agree with this idea." Uncle Zhou also expressed his approval of Aunt Pei's idea.
"Okay, since Uncle Zhou and Aunt Pei don't mind my cooking, let's have dinner together every day."
"Okay, it's settled. Let's start today. I'm going to go cook, and we can eat when Chen Yan and the others come back."
"Okay, go ahead and do it. Your Aunt Pei and I will take a break."
......
After Jiang Ning signed up, Chen Yan started making braised dishes at home with Jiang Weimin and Jiang Xiaomei.
Jiang Weimin was looking here and there, he was really curious.
After a while, he would ask, "Chen Yan, when are we going to sell the braised dishes? It's almost four o'clock now."
"Brother, we'll set off at 4:30, and the dishes are almost done now." Chen Yan took the braised dishes out of the braising pot while comforting Jiang Weimin, signaling him not to be anxious.
"Yes, second brother. Don't be anxious. It's only half past three now. There is still an hour." Jiang Xiaomei also smiled.
"Okay, okay, I'm not in a hurry. I'm just curious about what it's like to set up a stall in the city."
Chen Yan smiled and said, "It's actually the same as when we sold braised dishes at the market before. When customers come, we ask them what they need, then quickly pack up what they need and give them the change."
Jiang Xiaomei: "As long as you have a clear mind, that's all that matters, right, Brother Chen Yan, I'm right, right?"
"Well, my little sister is right."
......
Finally at 4:30, Jiang Weimin and Chen Yan each carried two brine buckets and set off.
Fortunately, the house they rented was very close to the city, and it was only 4:45 when the three of them arrived at the stall, so they had enough time to set up the stall.
"Second brother, second brother, are those my cousin and her husband across from me?"
Jiang Weimin was busy setting up his stall when he heard Jiang Xiaomei's voice.
Jiang Weimin looked up and saw Jiang Qiufang and Li Ergou busy setting up their stall across the street.
"It's them. They are so shameless that they even dare to stand in front of you." Jiang Weimin felt like he was going to explode with anger.
"It's okay, second brother, they can't affect us. Let's set up the stall first, otherwise we won't be able to handle it when the workers get off work." Chen Yan said while setting up the stall.
After hearing this, Jiang Weimin gave up the idea of settling the score with them and carefully put away the things he needed for setting up the stall.
Soon it was five o'clock and the workers all got off work.
"Boss Chen, please pack it for me as usual." A big brother in blue work clothes came over.
"Okay, Brother Wang, wait for me." He quickly took out the pork belly and braised eggs.
While waiting for the food, the big brother asked again: "Why hasn't Boss Jiang come yet? It's been three or four days since he left. You must be too busy now, so you have to ask for help." After saying that, he looked up and down at Jiang Weimin and Jiang Xiaomei.
"No, Jiang Ning just came back today. She had something to do at home, so she didn't come today. We run a small business and don't have the money to hire help. This is my second brother and my younger sister. They also want to open a braised food stall and they came here to learn from the experience."
While answering Brother Wang's question, Chen Yan skillfully cut his braised dishes, wrapped them in brown paper and handed them to him, then took the money from him, all in one go.
Jiang Weimin and Jiang Xiaomei also smiled at their eldest brother.
"Boss Chen, I want three braised eggs and half a pound of vegetables."
"Boss Chen, I want half a pound of pig intestines and pig lungs."
......
Jiang Weimin was stunned to see so many people coming to buy the braised dishes made by Jiang Ning and his team.
Chen Yan looked at him and said, "Second brother, come and help me. Like we said before, I'll collect the money, you cut the vegetables, and I'll pack them up."
"Okay, okay." He quickly took the kitchen knife from Chen Yan's hand.
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