There were 30 people including teachers and students. Many children had never been to a restaurant before and had no idea how to choose. They just followed the teacher and Tong Jianglin.
Da Jiang had been here before and ordered the same thing as before. Many children followed his choice. After all, the teacher was an adult and it was not his first time eating out, so he chose according to his own preferences. Some students followed the teacher's choice.
So the 30 bowls were not that mixed. The couple exchanged a few words and then went back to work.
Niu Niu likes to stand recently and can walk by himself. He doesn't have to be held by an adult. Today, he was walking in the outer room of a small restaurant where we entertain guests, and suddenly a large group of people came. He was so scared that he quickly ran behind his parents.
He wasn’t so scared until his brothers and sisters were seated.
Mom and Dad went to work. Niu Niu was scared but also very curious. It was the first time he saw so many brothers and sisters. He stood next to the counter where his mom usually worked as a cashier, looking at the group of brothers and sisters.
It was impossible to finish thirty bowls in one go, so the two large iron pots in the small restaurant were operating at the same time. Xu Xiangjuan was boiling the noodles, and Wu Caifeng was also boiling the noodles. The mother and daughter were each responsible for a pot, and Xu Gensheng was lighting the fire. The daughter asked to heat both pots well so that the noodles would be cooked faster.
Zhou Chengning was responsible for bringing the food out. Before the vegetables were even finished blanching, he went outside the kitchen door to wash them.
The slightly larger door in the kitchen leads to a well. Usually, we wash vegetables by the well. Since we need so much at noon, we must also wash vegetables as well.
In the end, Zhou Chengning followed his father-in-law to deliver 30 bowls one after another, and people didn't have to wait too long.
There was no preparation in advance. After everything was done, everyone's tense nerves finally relaxed. Xu Xiangjuan asked: "Where's Niu Niu?"
After being busy for a while, I realized that Niu Niu was not in the kitchen.
When Zhou Chengning delivered the noodles, he paid some attention to Niu Niu. Niu Niu stood outside quietly, occasionally leaning against a chair or the counter when he was tired. He didn't let Niu Niu go into the kitchen to help out unless there was something else to do. "Niu Niu is outside collecting money."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Dad, Mom, Aning, you guys eat lunch first. I'll go outside to look after Niu Niu."
She hadn't come out since she went into the kitchen to boil noodles, so she decided to take the opportunity to check out the situation while Niu Niu was outside.
The food was in the steamer, which had just been moved down to steam the noodles. There happened to be hot water in the pot, so Xu Gensheng asked his son-in-law to help move the steamer up. The old couple were fine, but the son-in-law had to go to school later, so they ate lunch quickly.
The teachers and students outside were eating, and there were still some noises while eating, so it was not quiet. Niu Niu was standing at the usual cash register place, watching everyone eat, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Mom." Niu Niu saw his mother and called out "Mom."
Xu Xiangjuan sat on a chair next to the counter, holding Niu Niu on her lap.
Fortunately, there were several benches in the restaurant. When so many people came, they arranged to replace the chairs with benches. The chairs were placed against the aisle, and the benches were used for two people to sit together.
Without those benches, their family might have no place to sit.
Niu Niu sat on his mother's lap, still looking at his brothers and sisters who were eating.
Xu Xiangjuan was also watching, but her eyes were not as direct as Niu Niu's.
Zhou Chengning finished his lunch in the kitchen, said goodbye to his lover and went to school.
When he comes to the restaurant depends on which class it is in the morning. Sometimes he comes early, sometimes he comes late. The time he comes is uncertain, but the time he leaves is very certain, which is 1:15 in the afternoon.
Teachers who do not have classes at 1:30 have to listen to the principal's speech. The principal does not give the speech every day, but it is more like a surprise speech. So teachers who do not have classes at 1:30 must stay in the office. Who knows if the principal will come over suddenly?
Xu Xiangjuan never thought that primary school students could have such activities as spring outings. Although the teacher said that it was just taking the students for a walk nearby, it was still quite surprising.
She talked to the teachers and told them that if she brings students here in the future, she should greet them in advance so that they can be better prepared.
Although I feel that there won't be a next time.
The number of bowls of noodles ordered by one class far exceeded the number of bowls sold in a normal day.
The teacher finished her meal first. After eating, she came over to ask Xu Xiangjuan if they sold rice. In fact, the teacher prefers rice. She ordered vermicelli for lunch today. She thought it went well with rice, and it would be even better if it was spicier.
When she saw the chili oil on the table, she was very tempted, but the students were there, so she told them not to eat too much chili oil as it would make them choke, so she had to set an example herself.
"We have rice with toppings, shredded potatoes or cabbage and some other vegetables on top of the rice. The rice is 1 cent a bowl, and the shredded potatoes and cabbage are also 1 cent each." Another person who likes to eat.
When Xu Xiangjuan heard the teacher asking about the food, she pushed the rice with toppings that had not been pushed out yet.
Weng Shan listened and said, "We have two classes in the fourth grade. I will bring another class here tomorrow. We will eat the rice topped with toppings you mentioned. Let's make it uniform and put cabbage on it for everyone."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Is it the same time tomorrow?"
Weng Shan: "Yes, come here at this time. Including me, there will be 28 people in total tomorrow."
After all, there are children from particularly difficult families in the class, so we can just keep the price within 20 cents, and she can come and eat by herself anytime.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Okay, we will prepare in advance."
Rice with toppings is much more convenient than boiled noodles, although the quantity is quite large.
After all the students finished eating, Weng Shan led the students to continue their spring outing. They planned to return to school at 4 pm, which was still early.
After the class finished leaving, Xu Xiangjuan and her mother cleaned up the dishes.
Wu Caifeng felt that her daughter was very foresighted. "My daughter, you think too much. I advised you not to buy so many dishes and chopsticks before. Fortunately, you didn't listen to me."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Mom, you didn't advise me not to buy so many bowls and chopsticks, you advised me not to bring so many bowls and chopsticks to the restaurant."
Her mother didn't object to her buying them. After all, she thought that the bowls and chopsticks could be passed down and stored for the children and grandchildren to use. But she was very opposed to using the bowls and chopsticks to run a small restaurant.
I always feel that bowls are easily broken by bumps and collisions in small restaurants. Indeed, they have been broken before. After all, you deal with the kitchen all day long, so how can they not be broken? I can only comfort them by wishing them safety.
But if you bring less, won't it break? So it's not necessary at all.
Wu Caifeng changed the subject, "They are all different. I heard that this class was brought by Da Jiang?"
Xu Xiangjuan: "Well, Sister Ding's son, mom, you don't need to hear about it, after all, Da Jiang is the only one in the class who knows about our small restaurant. Other elementary school students may have passed by, but they didn't dare to come in."
Wu Caifeng: "Next time, please tell us. I'm afraid today's fish won't be cooked well enough and ruin the reputation of our restaurant."
Xu Xiangjuan almost laughed out loud: "Mom, where did we get the signboard? We haven't been running the restaurant for long... Don't worry, I see everyone is enjoying the meal."
Wu Caifeng is confident: "The signboard will be there in the future. It's just a matter of time. Just be happy."
Xu Xiangjuan talked about tomorrow's rice with toppings. "Oh, mom, their teacher Weng said he will bring another class to eat rice with toppings tomorrow, with cabbage. We will bring another bag of rice when we come tomorrow. The rice in the small restaurant may not be enough. Tomorrow, including the teacher, there will be 28 people."
A fourth-grade student is not too big or too small, but he definitely has a big appetite.
She didn't think of cutting corners and continued to cook according to the amount she usually sells. There will be 28 bowls in total tomorrow, and 8 bowls will use up half of the pot. Not to mention 28 bowls, she will have to steam a full pot of rice.
Wu Caifeng got anxious when she heard this: "Not to mention that the restaurant doesn't have enough rice, we don't have any cabbage at home. Should we go buy some tomorrow morning or this afternoon? Forget it, Mom will go buy it this afternoon. It's cheaper this afternoon."
There is no cabbage in the vegetable cabinet of my home's spicy hot pot ingredients. After all, it is not easy to put a whole cabbage in, and there are no green vegetables or white cabbages that do not need to be cut neatly and placed there to look good.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Mom, you can buy a few more. After all, cabbages don't spoil easily. Take your and Dad's tricycle. Anyway, there won't be many people at the market today."
Wu Caifeng: "I'll bring a woven bag, otherwise it won't fit."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Mom, it's best to bring a woven bag. It's okay to buy a few more cabbages."
Niu Niu: "It's okay."
Wu Caifeng smiled and said, "Niuniu is really smart. He can talk even when he has nothing to say."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Niuniu is quite good at interrupting."
Wu Caifeng was happy that the small restaurant was doing business. Her daughter had told her about the rice with toppings on top, and she knew the price. Although it was only 20 cents per person, it was a good thing for the family to have business. She didn't care about the price, as it was better than having no money.
...
"Your family also outsources lunch for elementary school students?" When Zhao Huizhu came over, she was a little surprised to see a group of children.
Have you already got the school lunch contract?
"Sister Zhao, you are here. Please sit here. Today is our elementary school's spring outing, and we have decided to have lunch at our restaurant." It just so happened that the children from the class who came today insisted on getting together, so a table was left empty.
Zhao Huizhu came here with her colleagues today. She didn't have a holiday or rest. Of course, it was only convenient for her to come over for a meal after working here.
Today's class was not led by Weng Shan's class, but by the third graders. The town's primary school has a tradition of spring outings for third and fourth graders. Weng Shan told her that she had recommended this place to her colleague, saying that she was very satisfied with the rice and noodles they had eaten before, and she recommended the restaurant to her colleague, who was also the third grade teacher.
The fourth grade was over, but it was not the third grade students who came first, but Weng Shan and her colleagues. They came here to eat and gave her the class statistics.
Xu Xiangjuan had never seen a special statistics on the dishes that were delivered. There was rice, noodles, and the names of the children. It was quite detailed, so she knew what was ordered by which child, and she would not make any mistakes.
Zhou Chengning used to feel disappointed that his family had no business, but since the elementary school's spring outing, his disappointment disappeared without a trace.
It was really a good thing for him to come and help after classes every morning, eat quickly and go back to school.
Although a class of primary school students may not spend as much as the money that Da Jiang and Xiao Jiang’s family spend on a spicy hot pot meal, being busy can indeed enrich a person’s body and spirit.
Moreover, all the students in the class love to eat it, which makes them happy.
Seeing that there were more guests coming, Zhou Chengning carried Niu Niu back to the kitchen.
Niu Niu had been looking at his older brothers and sisters for a long time, so he let his father take him away. When his sister comes back, he can tell her that many older brothers and sisters came today.
Last weekend, a few guests came over and Gua Gua stayed in the small restaurant. Although there were not many guests, he felt relieved because at least there was no one at all.
Once Gua Gua was relieved, he would not sit in the restaurant all day on his weekends, but would find some time to play with his kindergarten classmates who lived in the town.
Sister Xiao Jiang’s home is not far away, so she can go and play with Sister Xiao Jiang.
Niu Niu wanted to go with his sister, but his calves were shorter than his sister's and he couldn't keep up with her at all. There were no peers to play with him. When he saw his brothers and sisters who were also not that old, he wanted to talk to them but didn't dare to. He could only wait for his sister to come home or for his parents to finish their work before talking to them.
"This is Malatang, right?" Zhao Huizhu and her colleagues put their bags on the chairs.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Yes, you can choose the ingredients for Malatang here. The vegetarian ones are 50 cents per pound, and the meat ones are 1.2 yuan per pound. You can choose them separately. If you want to eat Malatang, you can also choose rice. Rice is 10 cents a bowl. The basket is here.
If you don’t want to eat spicy hot pot, there is a small blackboard here that says what’s on sale for lunch today. It has everything written on it.”
Zhao Huizhu: "We want to eat Malatang. I heard that you won't be selling Malatang next month, so we have to try it once in the last minute."
Zhao Huizhu came here specifically to eat Malatang, and she heard it all from the secretary.
Xu Xiangjuan: "We really don't plan to sell in May. Vegetables don't keep well in such hot weather. Sister Zhao, take your time to choose."
After saying this, Xu Xiangjuan sat at the counter and flipped through the books her daughter had received from kindergarten.
This book is for the kindergarten's small class. My daughter is now in the middle class, and will be in the senior class in the second half of the year. The books for the small class, middle class and senior class are different. My daughter has no use for the books for the small class, so I left them in the restaurant for Niu Niu to read.
There were a few pages in the book torn by Niu Niu.
Zhao Huizhu and her colleague made their choices separately. She just ordered spicy hot pot, while her colleague did not choose noodles and chose to have it with rice.
After bringing in the dishes they had picked, Xu Xiangjuan asked Zhou Chengning, who was serving the rice: "Aning, is there still some rice in the pot?"
Zhou Chengning was eating his lunch now. "Juan, there's more. It's enough."
Xu Xiangjuan: "That's all. When you go back to school after dinner, pedal your bike slowly. Don't ride too fast. I'm not busy now. I can handle it by myself."
Today was another market day. After finishing lunch for a class, her parents ate and then went out to buy vegetables and flour.
Zhou Chengning sat down beside the fire with his bowl in hand and added firewood to the stove. "Juan, I'll listen to you and won't ride fast."
Niu Niu uttered a few words sporadically: "Mom, eat, more, brother, sister."
Niu Niu has made progress in speaking now, and even adults can understand some of what he says.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Niuniu is right. Many brothers and sisters are coming to our house for dinner today."
After talking to Niu Niu, Xu Xiangjuan started to concentrate on cooking the spicy hot pot.
After the spicy hot pot was cooked and served, Xu Xiangjuan sat at the counter again, holding Niu Niu.
His parents were in a hurry because they were coming to town with a tractor to sell vegetables. Aning had to go back to school, so he and Niu Niu would be the only ones left in the restaurant.
However, if there weren't a bunch of people coming to eat, lunch would be easier to prepare and she could handle it by herself.
When Zhao Huizhu and her colleagues came over, a class of elementary school students had almost finished eating. Xu Xiangjuan sat for a while, and the elementary school students had already followed the teacher and left. Zhou Chengning helped to clean up the dishes before leaving.
After eating, Zhao Huizhu chatted with Xu Xiangjuan for a few words, "Xiao Xu, your restaurant has a great environment and looks very comfortable. You will regret not trying the spicy hot pot."
There are a few pots of plants, which looks quite pleasing to the eye.
Xu Xiangjuan was pointing at a rabbit in her daughter's kindergarten textbook to teach Niu Niu to read the word "rabbit" when she heard Zhao Huizhu's words, "Sister Zhao, it's not as exaggerated as you say. The environment is clean and tidy. I can't come up with any other tricks. The spicy hot pot tastes just like that. It tastes good but I can't say you'll regret not eating it."
The woman who came with Zhao Huizhu said, "Don't be modest, your place is no worse than the old Shang family store."
Shangjia Old Brand is a restaurant that Xu Xiangjuan had eaten at twice and it is a bit expensive.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Each has its own merits. They have chefs who can cook big dishes, and we only cook small dishes here. There are only a few kinds of meat after all the preparations."
Zhao Huizhu: "I don't see anyone eating lavish meals all day long. Your food is more comfortable and not expensive. A lot of students ordered lunch from you today."
Xu Xiangjuan: "This is a coincidence. Sister Ding, who often comes to our place, and her son Xiao Jiang have eaten here before. So she made up her mind and brought her sister here to eat without telling her parents.
Later, I simply asked the teacher to bring them here for the spring outing. In the past, I heard the teacher buy dry food and give it to the children during the spring outing. This year, they insisted on bringing them here. The head teacher, Mr. Weng, thought it was good and introduced it to his colleagues. "
Teacher Weng agreed to Da Jiang's proposal because he took into consideration that some children would take the dry food home and not eat it while hungry.
You still need to relax during a spring outing.
This area of Dajiang has brought business to their small restaurant.
Not to mention those whose families are poor, even the slightly better-off primary school students who have eaten here either come alone and order a bowl of vegetable noodles, or come with their parents and eat rice or vegetable/sauerkraut noodles.
Children lead adults, adults lead friends/colleagues/relatives, in short, the influence gradually expands.
Although we are not making a fortune every day, we are on the right track. My parents and Aning and Guagua no longer have to worry about the restaurant business.
Zhao Huizhu's colleague said, "It's mainly because your food is delicious. A few years ago when we came to Maodong Village, the food in the small restaurants here was totally unpalatable. We all brought our own dry food here. Now we have a place to eat."
Zhao Huizhu: "In the past few years, there were few restaurants. We had to bring our own food. The village cadres were polite and would take us to their homes for meals."
“It’s not as comfortable to eat at a small restaurant as to go to a village official’s home to eat.”
Zhao Huizhu: "Spending money means being free, that's what you mean, right?"
Xu Xiangjuan agreed: "It is indeed comfortable to spend money. You can eat your fill with your own money."
Zhao Huizhu: "That's right, that's the truth."
It is quite cheap to order just the Malatang dishes, and there are even cheaper ones in the small restaurant, so it is worth the money. If Zhao Huizhu had to choose between eating for free at the village cadre's home or paying for it at the small urban-rural restaurant, she would definitely choose to pay for it at the small urban-rural restaurant.
The food is delicious and comfortable.
Zhao Huizhu and her colleagues rode bicycles to Maodong Village. After arriving at Maodong Village, they pushed the bicycles for a long distance. They were not in a hurry to leave and chatted with Xu Xiangjuan for more than half an hour before leaving.
Xu Xiangjuan continued to teach Niu Niu: "Niu Niu, this is a rabbit. Repeat after mommy, rabbit."
Niu Niu: "Rabbit."
Very good, I know the rabbit. Xu Xiangjuan continued, "This is a carrot."
Niu Niu: “Yes.”
Xu Xiangjuan: "This is carrot. Say carrot to mom."
Niu Niu: "Mom."
Xu Xiangjuan pointed at the carrot: "Carrot."
Niu Niu: "It's mom."
Xu Xiangjuan: "...I won't teach Niu Niu to recognize carrots today. Mommy will carry Niu Niu to sleep."
My parents' small tricycle has been ridden away, but they have another tricycle of their own. When this tricycle is empty after unloading, they can also lay out blankets and quilts for Niu Niu to use as a bed.
The weather was not very hot and there were no guests, so Xu Xiangjuan simply closed the kitchen door and sat at the door watching Niu Niu sleep.
...
As May begins, Gua Gua’s birthday also arrives.
Because it was Guagua’s birthday, Xu Xiangjuan specially steamed an egg cake for Guagua in the morning.
Guagua told her that he would come over to treat her at noon and asked her mother to make her egg cake.
It turned out that her daughter was waiting to treat everyone on her birthday, and Xu Xiangjuan didn't object, thinking that her daughter had several friends, plus Gua Gua herself, four little girls in total.
The egg cake couldn’t be given to only four little girls. The adults in the family and Niu Niu always wanted some, so Xu Xiangjuan steamed a larger egg cake.
When Xu Xiangjuan was waiting for her daughter Gua Gua to come home at noon, she couldn't even count how many children there were.
One, two, three… five in total.
Da Jiang followed.
Guagua and Miaomiao were holding a bowl of rice with vegetables and potato chips on it...it looked like they were brought from kindergarten.
"Mom, I'm here." Gua Gua saw his mother waiting at the door and ran over.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Guagua, run slower, be careful not to fall."
Guagua: "I know, Miaomiao, Sister Xixi, Sister Xiaojiang, and Dajiang, let's sit at this table. Mom, I told you what to eat yesterday."
"Well, mom will bring it to you."
When Xu Xiangjuan saw this group of children, she always felt that Da Jiang was wronged. In order to get food, a boy mixed in with a group of girls.
Guagua had ordered the dishes in advance, which was spicy hot pot, and asked her mother to pick out a vegetarian dish for her worth fifty cents.
The egg cake was her birthday, so she didn't pay for it. Besides fifty cents for a vegetarian dish, there were two bowls of rice. But because Da Jiang came along today, it became three bowls of rice. She only gave seventy cents in advance, and Xu Xiangjuan didn't plan to ask for the "balance".
Zhou Chengning brought the spicy hot pot over, and Xu Xiangjuan cut five pieces of egg cakes and put them on plates for the children to put on the table.
After all, it was Guagua’s birthday, so Xu Xiangjuan also stir-fried some vegetables and shredded potatoes.
At first glance, it looks quite rich.
Guagua: "Let's not eat the egg cake first. Let's have lunch at noon and save the egg cake for the afternoon."
The other three girls all agreed, but Da Jiang had already taken two bites and continued to eat the egg cake in silence.
"Mom!" Niu Niu became anxious when he saw his sister sitting together with several other brothers and sisters.
He wants to sit too.
My son's actions were too obvious. He was walking towards the table of his older brothers and sisters.
Guagua, Miaomiao and Xixi were sitting on a bench squeezed to one side, Dajiang and Xiaojiang were sitting opposite them. Xu Xiangjuan saw that Niu Niu really wanted to sit over there.
I simply moved a chair for Niu Niu, put two layers of cushions on it, and put Niu Niu on it. Then I took a small piece of egg cake for Niu Niu and put it on a plate alone. "Gua Gua, my brother wants to eat with you guys. Is that okay?"
"Mom, it's okay. Niu Niu can just sit here and eat with the sisters."
Well, now it’s not just Da Jiang who is the only little boy mixed in with the girls, now there’s another little boy named Niu Niu mixed in with them.
Niu Niu was very happy to be able to sit down and eat with his brothers and sisters. He grabbed his small piece of egg cake and started eating, laughing after every bite.
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