Qian's mother stood at the door, with a rectangular wicker basket at her feet, the edge of which was covered with the green color of some vegetables.

Seeing Qian Qing sweating profusely, Qian's mother felt extremely distressed.

"What are you doing? Why are you going out in such hot weather? Why don't you just stay at home?"

Qian Qing hugged her mother's arm and said coquettishly: "You ask me so many questions, how can I answer them? Mom, are you hungry? It's noon now, let's go to the cafeteria to eat."

Mother Qian patted her arm gently, looked around to see if there was anyone around, and then lowered her voice and said, "You stopped cooking after Zhou Hao left? Eating in the cafeteria every day, wouldn't that make people think you're not particular and spend money recklessly while your man is not at home. Just cook at home. I brought you some vegetables grown by your brother-in-law's family."

Qian Qing opened the door obediently, and her mother started frowning as soon as she came in.

"Look at your room! You have all these clothes scattered around! Why don't you hang up your skirts? And this table, you just leave all the things lying around like this?"

To be fair, Qian Qing is a very clean person, but Zhou Hao is obsessive-compulsive. Since the two of them got together, Zhou Hao basically took over most of the tidying work. In the past, Qian Qing would leave her books and homework in a mess when she went to school, and Zhou Hao would tidy them up for her every day, flatten the corners of the books, and put them in order according to the size of the homework books.

Qian Qing has been too busy recently, and without Zhou Hao, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, at home, the house is naturally a little messy.

Qian's mother pushed Qian Qing into the inner room and said, "Go, go, go, change your clothes and wash up quickly. Don't be a nuisance in front of me!"

Qian Qing rubbed her nose and went out. When she came out after cleaning up, the house had changed a lot. Everywhere was clean and tidy. Qian's mother was already selecting vegetables and preparing to cook.

Mother Qian brought a small piece of pork, a handful of edamame, a few cucumbers, loofahs and a handful of sweet potato leaves.

Peel the edamame, smash the cucumber, cut the pork into thin strips and marinate for a while, and cut the sweet potato leaves into small pieces. Then take out the noodle rolling machine from under the chopping board and roll out a handful of wet noodles.

Qian Qing moved a small stool and sat beside her, listening to her mother's chatter, her eyes fixed on the pot.

Heat the pan with oil, slick the pork, and stir-fry a small bowl of edamame. The aroma spreads through the balcony window into the tube-shaped building. Stir-fried edamame and meat in the pan, Qian's mother smashes the cucumber with a kitchen knife, minces the garlic, and adds salt, vinegar, sugar, and finally a little sesame oil.

Wait until the dish is ready before adding cold water to cook the noodles, and throw a handful of sweet potato leaves in before serving.

The noodles rolled out by the noodle rolling machine were very chewy. Qian's mother poured garlic juice on her own bowl and placed the stir-fried edamame with meat in front of Qian Qing.

Qian Qing couldn't help smelling this smell. Her mother's cooking skills were top-notch. When she was a child, whenever her family cooked, all the children in the building would rush to her door. There was no other way, it smelled so good!

Those who are close to her mother come to ask her how to make it. Her mother doesn't keep any secrets and tells her everything. Others can make it almost like this by following her instructions at home, but it just won't be as delicious as the ones her mother makes herself.

The shredded meat is evenly cut, the edamame is fragrant, the cucumber is crispy, and the noodles are chewy.

Qian Qing was enjoying her meal. Qian's mother didn't know that her daughter's life had undergone tremendous changes recently, and she kept talking to her while eating.

"You said you didn't go back to see him. Zhou Hao was on a business trip, but you weren't. Although your father is a stubborn old man, no one said that if the girl didn't come back on time, she wouldn't be allowed in. But you just sent a message, and then you didn't even show up. That's why your father asked me to stay with you for a few days, so that you wouldn't be scared living here alone."

"And why did you bother Zhou Hao's colleague that day? He made him go through a long way to deliver something to our house. His new wife looked very unhappy that day. Your father said you were ignorant. Isn't the girl from the Wan family your neighbor? Why didn't you ask her to take it back for you? She's nearby..."

When Qian Qing mentioned Wan Zhenzhen, she no longer felt happy.

"Don't mention it. Go back and tell my dad to ignore that family in the future."

When she was at her parents' home, she didn't like Wan Zhenzhen's parents, especially Wan's mother, who said she was in poor health and always told others that life was difficult. Whenever her family cooked some meat, Wan's mother would ask her son to come over. But her parents were too proud to say anything.

The most infuriating thing was that in her dream, she "saw" herself lying sick in bed, and her parents asked the neighbor Wan family to borrow money for her treatment. Mother Wan arrogantly refused in a tweed dress, and cursed her, saying that she had a "dirty disease", which made her parents so angry in the dream that they fell backwards.

Qian's mother was a little surprised: "What's the matter? Why do you say such things for no reason? Your father said that you and the girl from the Wan family would be able to take care of each other in the future if you marry together."

Qian Qing rolled her eyes and said, "You'll know in the afternoon."

It was just right that her mother came, so she didn't have to worry about finding someone to help her. Her mother wasn't in good health last year, and she wanted to give her job at the match factory to her sister, but her grandmother cried and begged, and her father gave the job to his nephew. Now her mother is just sitting at home doing nothing.

Qian Qing told her mother directly: "Mom, you don't have anything to do at home anyway, so just help me here and I will pay you."

She wanted to earn money to buy a house in the future, so naturally she wanted to help her father, mother, and sister. In her dream, she saw it clearly that no one in her family gave up on her in times of trouble. Her parents dragged their old bodies to pick up waste, and her sister gave her money even though she was having a hard time.

In the dream, she was both unfortunate and lucky.

So this time she not only wants to get on the rails of the times herself, but also wants to take her family on the train of opportunity!

Qian's mother was worried at first, but she panicked when she heard her daughter say she wanted to pay her salary.

"Nonsense! How much money can you make? If you give it all to me, Zhou Hao, I will be dissatisfied. It's no use for your mother to help you. There's no need to pay you. It's just your business... Qingqing, this self-employed business owner doesn't sound good. Why don't you sell less and sell as much as others? In the end, you will be caught for speculation and profiteering like before..."

Qian Qing knew that she was being cautious. Although the reform and opening up had been in place for four or five years, the differences between the north and the south were still quite large. The development strength of each place was different. Y City was not the provincial capital, and the oil field was an integral part of it, so the changes here were particularly slow.

But in other words, no matter how slow it is, most people at this time still think that being a self-employed person is not honorable, because the money they earn is "capitalist" and will not last long.

Changing one's mindset takes time and means. Qian Qing did not argue with her mother about this, but instead pulled her arm and persuaded her: "Mom, you'll know after you sell some popsicles with me this afternoon. Don't underestimate the small size of the popsicles, they can make a lot of money. Besides, how long can I sell them? It won't be long before autumn comes, and then I'll ask my sister to help me make extra money."

Mother Qian stopped talking. In fact, at her age, there were only a few things that worried her. The biggest one was Qian Qing's sister Qian Yu.

Qian Qing married into an oil field, and her husband was a nice guy. Qian Yu was unlucky, as she caught the last train to the countryside. It would have been fine if she hadn't gotten married in the countryside, but Qian Yu got married in the first year of her time there, and gave birth to a daughter the next year.

The one she felt most guilty towards was her eldest daughter, so she wanted to give her the job last year and asked her to bring her daughter to the city. But her mother-in-law made trouble, and Qian Yu's in-laws were unwilling to let her go to the city, so after all the push and pull, the second wife got the job at a lower price.

After taking care of her mother, Qian Qing became even more powerful.

During the lunch break, she took out the tickets she had exchanged with others in the past few days and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy an oscillating electric fan, which came with a socket and a clock that needed to be wound up.

That gatehouse is good in every way except that it is short. A one-story house is prone to heat. Qian Qing couldn't stand the heat these days, so she wanted to buy a fan and put it in the hut.

Everything is different with one more person. Qian Qing starts purchasing goods early in the afternoon and is able to go to the office to deliver goods twice.

Mother Qian was almost scared when she saw Qian Qing bought ten boxes of popsicles. She thought that selling popsicles was just one box, no more than three or five, how could she buy so many!

How can I explain to Zhou Hao if I lose money? How can Qingqing be so brave!

Qian Qing repeatedly comforted her: "It's okay, Mom. Things will sell out quickly after school. It's especially hot today, so they will definitely sell out even faster!"

When school was almost over, Qian's mother tugged at Qian Qing's sleeve in a panic: "Qing Qing, look, look, why is there a popsicle truck here?"

With the popsicle cart here, can Qingqing sell all the popsicles she bought today?

Qian Qing didn't even raise her eyes: "Mom, didn't you ask me why I told you to stay away from the Wan family? Look who that is?"