Chapter 88, I'll ask again: "I hope it's because you like it and are happy..."
"Sister, I want two starch sausages!"
"I want a meat sausage, a starch sausage, and a cantaloupe milk tea."
"Boss, same old order: ten meat sausages and twenty starch sausages. I'll come pick them up after I get home for dinner." The boy in the blue and white school uniform ran up to Lin Qiaofang, quickly placed his order, paid, and ran off again.
"Okay." Lin Qiaofang took the crumpled banknotes, all of them in denominations of one or two yuan, smoothed them out, and put them into the money box.
The school across from the small restaurant is a complete secondary school with six grades, from junior high to senior high. In addition, there are a few special classes called repeat classes.
The boy who just helped his classmate get the sausages is in the senior year repeat class; they call it "Grade 12." But occasionally, some students do go to Grade 12.
Half of the students in the school are day students who can go home for lunch and dinner, while the other half are boarding students who can only go home once a week on Fridays and have to return to school on Sunday afternoons with a week's worth of food.
Although there is a small canteen on campus, it is relatively expensive and the food is not very good, so many boarding students are reluctant to spend the money.
Every Sunday when I come, I pack about ten naan breads in my backpack, along with some chili sauce and other snacks. When I eat, I soak the naan breads in hot water and eat them with the chili sauce.
The rising steam fully releases the aroma of the chili sauce, and the unique spiciness of the green and red peppers permeates the entire dormitory. Add a few drops of fine aged vinegar.
One bite, and the body, exhausted from a long day, is instantly healed. A warm current flows from the throat into the stomach and then to the limbs.
But spicy paomo is like a man: you like it the first day, it's okay the second day, but after a week of eating it, you can't stand it anymore.
It wasn't until the Taoyuan Restaurant opened near the school that they finally had a place to occasionally treat themselves. A starch sausage cost 50 cents and a meat sausage cost one dollar, which was affordable for ordinary students.
To make life easier for boarding students, Lin Qiaofang sets up a stall at the school gate every Wednesday noon to sell vegetable sandwiches.
Pushing the small cart that Chen's father had made, we stopped in front of the railing on the side of the school. The moment the lid was lifted, a fragrant aroma wafted out.
The dishes were all home-style fare: cold eggplant salad, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and stir-fried pork with chili peppers, all sandwiched in their own steamed, fluffy buns. One sandwich cost only three cents, and two cost five cents.
At this price, almost all students will buy two to treat themselves. At the same time, they actually make a profit; although the price is low, their costs are even lower.
Aside from labor costs, the only things that cost money are flour and seasonings. The vegetables are grown on the farm, and the meat is from chickens raised on the farm.
However, they don't sell much. The small restaurant is already busy enough, and they don't have enough manpower to set up a stall every day. Selling once a week is enough.
It was a coincidence that Lin Qiaofang started selling vegetable sandwiches at a stall. Students who frequently bought grilled sausages complained that the school cafeteria food was not good, and the farm had too many vegetables of its own.
One day, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I decided to do it.
Of course, the closer she was to people her own age, the longer Lin Qiaofang would drift into a daze, though she herself was unaware of it.
Once upon a time, she was also a member of the enclosure. How happy she would have been if she could have an eggplant sandwich every week back then.
.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the small restaurant was unusually quiet. Chen Mian and Lin Qiaofang had just finished reviewing the accounts for the month and were surprised to find that their income was actually 50 percent higher than last month.
The increased income came from the addition of grilled sausages, milk tea, and vegetable sandwiches, all thanks to Lin Qiaofang.
Chen Mian: "Qiaofang, do you know how amazing you are? You are the second person I've ever met who is born to be a boss."
"Who was the first person?" Lin Qiaofang lowered her head shyly after being praised, but after a moment she looked up curiously and asked.
“Of course I’m the first one,” Chen Mian said with a smile, her dimples appearing and disappearing.
Lin Qiaofang looked at Chen Mian's confident smile with envy. When would she be able to become as confident, generous, sunny, and lively as her cousin?
Chen Mian, who was standing to the side, closed the ledger with both hands. "Qiaofang, are you really not going back to school?"
From a business perspective, Chen Mian was unwilling to lose such an excellent employee. Lin Qiaofang was meticulous, creative, and given time, she could very well become her right-hand woman.
But from her family's perspective, she didn't want Lin Qiaofang to give up her opportunity to go to school. These days, college graduates are still highly valued, and even high school graduates can find good jobs.
Some things can only be judged after they have been obtained. She didn't want Lin Qiaofang to regret giving up the opportunity to continue her studies one day in the future, just like herself.
The adult world is full of distractions, and it won't be so easy to go back to school later.
After asking that question, Chen Mian fell silent. She thought Lin Qiaofang would refuse outright again and got up to leave.
“I want to go to school,” Lin Qiaofang’s voice gradually became firm, even choked with emotion, “I want to go to school, cousin. I just… I just…”
Chen Mian understood what Lin Qiaofang couldn't say. She put down the ledger in her hand, bent down and hugged her tightly, stroking her back with her right hand.
"It's alright, Qiaofang, don't think about those bad people, they don't deserve it." After a pause, Chen Mian continued, "If you don't want to go back, I can ask someone to let you continue your studies here, okay?"
"Really? Sister?" Lin Qiaofang's voice was clearly hesitant, but her dark eyes held a deep longing.
Chen Mian nodded without hesitation and replied, "Of course. My child just wants to go to school, not fly to the sky. What's wrong with that?"
The matter of Lin Qiaofang returning to school was thus settled. Before leaving, Chen Mian reminded her to find a set of textbooks to review her lessons so that she could catch up when school started in the second half of the year.
Lin Qiaofang nodded obediently. She made a resolution in her heart that if she could really go back to school thanks to her cousin, she would work hard, get into a good university, and find a good job to repay her cousin.
In the evening, Chen Mianmian and Ji Yu went to Taoyuan for a date, each carrying a flashlight.
It was called a date, but actually it was just that the first batch of peaches was almost ripe, and Chen Mianmian was worried about them, so she went to check on them every day and also had some time alone with her boyfriend.
That's the downside of couples living in their own homes. Although their parents take care of their daily lives, they still have to deal with curfews if they want to go out on dates.
Besides, young couples are easily embarrassed, and they always have to come up with some high-sounding reasons to go out. They feel quite ashamed when their parents occasionally point out their mistake.
The two walked to an open space where the warm yellow moonlight gently shone on the fruit trees, leaving behind a beautiful reflection.
Chen Mian was still chatting with Ji Yu about export trade, "I think there's a lot of potential in exports. Our products are so good, we definitely won't have trouble selling them. Besides, foreign money is worth a lot, so our products might fetch an even better price..."
Ji Yu, his mind wandering, secretly took the girl's right hand, gently stroking it, and then casually pinched the flesh on her arm a few times. It felt very nice. "Mianmian."
Chen Mian: "Do you think I should consult Professor Shen again? He came back from abroad and is a young expert in agriculture. I just don't know if it's convenient to bother him."
"Mianmian." The man's voice was noticeably louder this time, and his smile was somewhat stiff.
"What's wrong?" Chen Mian looked up in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Why bring up other men when we're on a date?" Ji Yu's voice was muffled. "Aren't you enough with me?"
After Ji Yu finished speaking, he looked down at his chest and abdominal muscles. He hadn't slacked off on his training lately. He grabbed Chen Mian's hand and stuffed it inside his clothes. "Feel it."
Chen Mian touched it, completely bewildered. It did feel nice, with a good balance of softness and firmness and a smooth texture. "I didn't mention any other men."
"Aren't Shen and Tong other men?" Ji Yu had heard from his comrades in Tibet that there was a custom in their area where a woman could marry several men at the same time. Could there be such a custom in the Northwest region as well?
But he wasn't mentally prepared.
"What? What does this have to do with Professor Shen?" Chen Mian was even more confused. She stared at Ji Yu's aggrieved expression for a long time before she realized what was going on. "Are you jealous?"
"Professor Shen is in love with my younger sister."
A silence fell over the surrounding air.
A moment later, Ji Yu stiffly pulled a gold ring from her pocket, knelt down with a thud, straightened her back, and went on to the next step.
"Hello, Comrade Chen Mian. My name is Ji Yu. I am 27 years old. I used to be a soldier and now I am a policeman. My parents are in good health and have their own jobs. I have no siblings."
I own an apartment and a car in the city. If you don't like them, I can buy you another one you like. I've saved up my demobilization pay; it's enough to live on.
After we get married, I'll live wherever you live. You can have children if you want, or not if you don't. And if you have children, they'll take your surname, Chen.
At this point, Ji Yu paused, trying to add to her advantages, "If you like, I can also take your surname, and be called Chen Ji Yu, which sounds pretty good too."
Chen Mian couldn't help but smile helplessly, "How come in your mouth I'm like Zhou Bapi?"
"Get up and talk, don't kneel."
Ji Yu, however, remained serious, kneeling even more upright. He rubbed his sweaty right palm against his trousers a few times and said earnestly, "Don't interrupt me."
Chen Mian innocently raised her hands, trying to explain that she did not do it on purpose.
The next second, Ji Yu started from the beginning, "Hello, Comrade Chen Mian, my name is Ji Yu, I am twenty-seven years old, I used to be a soldier, and now I am a policeman. My parents are in good health..."
Chen Mian: "?"
When Ji Yu was reciting it halfway through, Chen Mian couldn't help but poke his head with her index finger. "Comrade Ji Yu, can we skip the first part and continue with the rest?"
Ji Yu's fluent recitation of the text was abruptly interrupted again. He wasn't angry, but his palms were sweating more and more. He was bad with words; he had prepared for the proposal for a long time and even wrote a speech.
Upon seeing this, Chen Mian took the ring and put it on the ring finger of her right hand. The pure gold ring was set with a blooming kapok flower at the top, which was extremely beautiful.
Ji Yu's hand was suddenly empty. She looked up and saw that Chen Mianmian had already put on the ring. A slightly stiff smile appeared on her lips. She turned around and secretly took out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. She quickly scanned it with the remaining light of the flashlight.
"Hello, Comrade Chen Mian, my name is Ji Yu, I am twenty-seven years old..." The recitation began for the third time with clear and accurate pronunciation. This time, Ji Yu did not stumble, and Chen Mian did not interrupt him.
"I hope you marry me because you love me and are happy, and I hope you can always be happy and blessed. I also hope that this happiness and bliss is something I bring to you."
"Chen Mian, if I do anything wrong in the future, please tell me as soon as possible and give me a chance to correct it."
"So, esteemed Comrade Chen Mian, would you be willing to marry Comrade Ji Yu?"
"I do."
A moment later, Chen Mian asked a question that seemed to come from the depths of her soul: "Haven't I already proposed?"
Ji Yu tried to save face: "The last one doesn't count, it wasn't formal enough."
I've waited half a year, and we're still not engaged. If I wait any longer, he'll be too old. I'm too embarrassed to urge him, so I can only ask again.
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