They poured the leftover soup from the customers into the slop bucket, and put the used bowls into a basin one by one, to be transported back to the courtyard for washing later. Luckily, their place was nearby; if it were far away, the shop would have to set aside a special area for washing, making the already small space even less roomy.
As Meng Zhao tidied up, she thought about how to choose a larger storefront when opening a branch, and it would be more convenient to choose a place where the courtyards were connected.
An elderly man who had just finished eating potato noodles wiped the remaining soup from the corner of his mouth, then looked outside the shop and said softly, "If it's early, it will be in two hours; if it's late, it will be before 7 PM. The first snow of this winter will fall."
Seeing how certain he was, Meng Zhao couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you know that, and how could you be so accurate?"
When the old man heard Meng Zhao's question, he turned his head slightly and said, "I've been farming for decades, relying on the heavens for my livelihood. When I have nothing to do, I just look at the sky. Today, the sky is covered with dark clouds, and it looks very gloomy. Besides, I was wearing a thin cotton coat yesterday, and I'm wearing an extra layer today, but I still feel cold. The wind feels like it's blowing into my bones. If I'm not mistaken, it will definitely snow today."
"So how heavy do you think the snow will be today?"
The old man clicked his tongue. "Tsk, who can say for sure? The thoughts of Heaven are far beyond the comprehension of us mortals."
Meng Zhao thought what he said made sense. She also felt that the weather was unusual and that it was probably going to snow. So when the shop was less busy, she told Aunt Feng'e and the others.
"Auntie, you should go back an hour early today. My mother and I will sell fewer servings of potato noodles tonight, so that you won't be trapped here if the snow gets too heavy."
If it were just Aunt Feng'e and Shen Yun before, they could manage to stay in their courtyard for a couple of days. But now that Aunt Shuhua and Aunt Suyun have joined them, their courtyard can't accommodate so many people. Besides, if the snow falls too heavily, her shop's business will probably have to close for a few days.
Shen Yun thought for a moment and said, "Sister Meng Zhao, why don't you let me stay here? There will be many people at night, and I can lend a hand."
Aunt Feng'e stopped her, saying, "You should just leave. Your grandma will be alone at home, and it won't be good for her if it snows. I'll stay instead. I only have two sons, and they're both very strong. I'm not worried about them. It'll be good to have another person to help out."
Hearing Aunt Feng'e say this, Shen Yun did not refuse. Although her grandmother's eyesight had improved, she still couldn't see clearly at night. If it snowed, she was afraid that she would have an even harder time at home, so she nodded.
Aunt Feng'e immediately turned to Aunt Shuhua, "Shuhua, you live close to my house. When you get home, tell my two boys not to wait for me and to cover up the chicken coop in the yard. If the coop collapses when I get back, I'll beat them to a pulp."
Everyone in the shop burst into laughter. Seeing that they had made their own arrangements, Meng Zhao didn't refuse; it would be better if more people stayed.
Before Shen Yun left, Meng Zhao instructed them, "If the snow is ankle-deep by tomorrow morning, don't come over. If the snow is too heavy, business won't be good. The three of us can handle the work, and you can rest for a couple of days."
Shen Yun and the others nodded, and carrying Meng Zhao's instructions, they left the shop ahead of time and returned to Shenjia Village.
As dinner time approached, a large number of people suddenly entered the shop. The group was busy and didn't feel cold at all. After about half an hour, perhaps because it was too cold outside, people were unwilling to go out, and the number of people gradually decreased.
"Mom, Aunt, you should pack up and go home. You've been busy all day and you must be tired." Seeing that it was almost time, Meng Zhao told them to pack up and go home, while she packed two bags of braised meat and prepared to go to Meng's Meat Shop to find her parents.
While she was busy during the day, she kept thinking about sending the two pots of Yipinxiang liquor she had brought from Chunfenglou to her parents. If it were snowing lightly outside, with a stove lit inside, they could be eating braised meat and drinking some wine. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Meng Zhao put on the thick cotton-padded coat that Gu Shi had brought her, wrapped herself up tightly, and carried braised meat in one hand and Yipinxiang cigarettes in the other. She walked home, and after taking only a few steps, snowflakes suddenly began to fall slowly from the sky.
Since it had just started snowing and the temperature hadn't dropped very low yet, the falling snowflakes melted instantly upon contact with the ground, leaving only small damp patches.
Nevertheless, the arrival of the first snow still attracted the attention of people on the street, and everyone quickened their pace, hurrying home.
As the number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased, Meng Zhao unconsciously quickened her pace, but when she reached the corner, she suddenly stopped.
Suddenly, a large dog appeared out of nowhere in front of her. The dog was filthy, as if it hadn't been groomed in a long time, and its eyes were fixed on her, gleaming eerily in the dim light.
Upon seeing this, Meng Zhao's heart tightened, and she subconsciously breathed lighter, trying to take a detour to avoid it. However, the big dog wouldn't let her go, barking twice as it rushed over when it saw her about to leave.
In the chaos, Meng Zhao lost her footing and fell heavily to the ground. She instinctively clutched the Yipinxiang (a type of fried rice noodle) to her chest and tried to braise herself with the braised meat in her hand. The two bags of braised meat were thrown off and rolled to her feet.
When the big dog saw Meng Zhao fall, it seemed to have completed some kind of task and turned around and slowly left.
Meng Zhao had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get up when a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the side. Before she could react, the figure quickly picked up the braised meat from the ground and ran away.
Meng Zhao suddenly realized that the man and the dog were in cahoots. Meng Zhao was furious. First, he had fallen hard on his backside, and second, without the braised meat, drinking alone would feel like something was missing. So he got up and chased after them.
"Stop! You stop right there!"
The person who snatched her braised meat was clearly a child, but he ran extremely fast. If Meng Zhao hadn't been an adult with long strides, she might not have been able to catch him. After running for three blocks, Meng Zhao finally cornered him in an alley.
The alley was very long, with only one house at the very end, next to a high courtyard wall. The child stood in the middle of the alley, panting heavily, probably knowing he couldn't climb over it, and stopped running inside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
