Chapter 125 Stir-fried Pork with Pickled Cucumbers [Second Update]...
The enthusiastic recommendation from lunchtime customers led to an even larger number of customers in the evening compared to previous days.
A long queue formed at the entrance, but unfortunately, the weather turned bad, and light snow began to fall.
Wen's mother had no other choice but to call out at the door, asking everyone to try to share a table, and those who lived nearby should take the food home to eat.
In this way, the long queue was shortened instantly, and apart from some customers who took the goods home, the remaining customers were finally able to enter the store.
Even if there are no seats available, you can still stand.
Mother Wen couldn't wait to hang up a "Sold Out" sign at the door, and there were no more customers to be served.
For those already inside, Mother Wen would first serve Laba porridge to each person, so that even standing customers could warm themselves up.
Most of the guests who arrived tonight were there on a whim, so most of them were alone. Among the many young people, a grandfather and grandson stood out.
Wen's mother specially served porridge in a large bowl and greeted Grandma Guo, saying, "If you had just told me, I would have had Lao Wen deliver it to your home. It would have been so kind of you to come to the store in this wind and snow with Siyuan."
Grandma Guo said with a smile, "I didn't know I had to come down before I came out. It's just that my porridge isn't good enough. I thought you were open today, so I came over."
As Grandma Guo spoke, she took out a handkerchief and wiped Xiao Siyuan's mouth.
Wen's mother then called to Grandma Guo to look at what she wanted to eat.
Grandma Guo pointed and said, "Just a small portion of braised pancakes, and a stir-fried pork with pickled cucumbers, please."
She's getting on in years, so she's fine with porridge, but she's always worried about the greasiness of braised pancakes. She'll order a serving of braised pancakes for her grandson, eat a few bites herself, and then have some sour things to cut the greasiness.
Wen's mother was busy giving instructions in the kitchen, and soon a steaming dish of stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cucumbers was served.
Xiao Siyuan picked up a piece of stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cucumber with her chopsticks. The sour and fragrant taste instantly awakened her taste buds. At this moment, eating braised pancakes didn't feel oily at all.
"Grandma, you should eat too!"
Grandma Guo exclaimed "Oh!" and picked up some shredded cucumber from the plate in front of her. The tangy and fragrant taste whetted her appetite, and before she knew it, she had eaten quite a bit of the braised pancakes.
Seeing that Xiao Siyuan was full but still looked a little hungry, Grandma Guo asked Wen's mother with a smile if she could pack another serving of braised pancakes.
Mother Wen: "Sure, I'll have Xiao Fan cook it for you right away."
After stir-frying a large portion of braised pancakes, Wen's mother packed it up and handed it to Grandma Guo. Just then, the cash register beeped.
[Received 50 yuan.]
"Too many!"
Wen's mother immediately found thirty dollars at the cashier and stuffed them back into the cash register.
Grandma Guo firmly refused, her attitude more resolute than ever before.
"Look at you, how could you be like this?"
Grandma Guo patted Wen's mother's hand: "Now that Siyuan's leg has a prosthesis, I feel much better. I'm too embarrassed to take advantage of you anymore."
Mother Wen frowned: "What are you talking about? How did you get onto the topic of taking advantage? Now that Siyuan can walk, we'll have to spend even more money in the future."
The child previously attended a special school, but now that the prosthetic leg has been fitted, Grandma Guo mentioned that she wanted to send the child to a regular school for first grade. Regular schools are crowded and inconvenient, so it's likely that we'll have to spend more money to address the financial difficulties later.
Wen's mother insisted on handing over the money, but Grandma Guo held her hand down and said with a smile, "Really, there's no need... The school has reduced Siyuan's tuition fees, and even the teachers said that as long as Siyuan studies hard and gets good grades, the school will give him preferential treatment in the future."
Mother Wen: "That's really good."
Grandma Guo watched her grandson get up by holding onto the table. The young man next to her had already seen the child's prosthetic leg and stood up helplessly, wanting to help him up but not knowing how. Fortunately, little Siyuan was polite and said thank you, brother, and that he could get up on his own.
"...Ei-chi, I'd be content even if I closed my eyes now."
Mother Wen: "Don't mention it, your good days are yet to come."
Grandma Guo laughed heartily and said, "You're right, the best days are yet to come."
Several months have passed, and Xiao Siyuan has gotten used to his prosthetic leg very well. After getting up, he slowly walked out from the crowded table. Many people quietly moved aside to let him pass smoothly.
Grandma Guo, carrying the packaged braised pancakes, waved goodbye to Wen's mother: "Yingzhi, may you prosper in the new year!"
Mother Wen: "You too, may you be healthy, and may everything go well for little Siyuan."
The grandmother and granddaughter walked away into the distance in the snow. Wen's mother shook off the snow and returned to the kitchen, where she saw her daughter eating a pear, staring at her with wide eyes like a little rabbit.
Mother Wen warmed her icy hands over the stove and asked her daughter, "When do we close for the New Year?"
Wen Fan took a bite of pear and mumbled, "Little New Year, I guess?"
The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is a week before the New Year and a week after.
Wen's mother nodded: "Then I need to go buy some pork and make sausages."
Wen Fan: "I'll do it! I'll do it!"
Wen's mother didn't quite understand Wen Fan's obsession with the solar terms. She clearly had no interest in celebrating the New Year before, and even going to the market seemed like a hassle. But now her daughter was already talking about what to eat every day in the twelfth lunar month, looking like she was determined to make the traditions perfect.
At this moment, Wen Fan said excitedly, "Mom, ask Aunt Huijuan, doesn't she raise pigs? Let's buy two, I just wanted to make a pork stew!"
With less than half a month until the Chinese New Year, Wen Fan was too lazy to think about any other menus. What kind of New Year is it if there's no pig-killing feast?
Buy two pigs, some for the shop to use, and some for ourselves, perfect!
Upon reflection, Wen's mother realized it was true and immediately called Feng Huijuan.
Feng Huijuan said cheerfully on the other end of the phone, "Yes, yes, my family raises four pigs. You'd better come over and pick one. I think they're all pretty good."
Wen's mother told Wen's father what she had said, and Wen's father nodded and said, "Let's go. It's best to see it with our own eyes."
In previous years, we didn't spend this much. When it was almost Chinese New Year, we always bought small pigs from the market, but they weren't fat enough. Even the spare ribs were much smaller than normal, and they didn't taste good.
This year, since we have the means, of course we'll buy a good pig, a big one.
The family made a decision and immediately asked Yao Qingqin to send a video saying that they would be resting tomorrow, since it was going to snow anyway and they didn't plan to open the shop.
Not long after Yao Qingqin posted the message, customers in the shop became restless and kept asking Wen's mother why the shop was closed again.
Wen's mother didn't hide anything: "Go pick out a pig, we're going to sell pork stew in a few days."
guest:……
Okay, it's alright now.
The thought of the delicious pork stew makes all the worries about temporary closures and resting tomorrow seem insignificant!
"Wow, pork stew!"
"...Seriously, boss, don't you ever consider expanding the store? Just thinking about how many people eat pork stew gives me a headache."
"Enough talk, let's team up and take turns queuing. I'm definitely going to be first!"
...
The atmosphere in the store was lively. Wen Fan served porridge to the employees. With winter approaching, the store had bought more insulated bags, which were perfect for holding the porridge.
Wen Fan first prepared two portions of porridge, and Wen's mother gave the porridge to Ren Haijin and Ji Boyi: "Your home is far away, so go back first, otherwise it will be even more difficult to walk on the snow."
Ren Haijin held the porridge, grinning foolishly.
Ji Baiyi weighed the porridge, which was clearly more than Ren Haijin's, paused for a moment, and then hugged him tightly after saying thank you.
Ren Haijin brought the porridge home and immediately shouted as he entered the door, "Mom and Dad, I brought back some delicious food! Have you eaten anything?"
Mr. Ren joked, "How could I dare to eat that? Your mother said that even when you're working, you still remember to bring us food, and told me to wait for you to come back on an empty stomach so you can support us."
Mrs. Ren said irritably, "I don't know who it was that kept going downstairs and wandering around, saying things like, 'I knew I shouldn't have let you do this part-time job, it's too hard.'"
Ren Haijin said with a smug look, "Dad, you went to wait for me?"
Ren's father: "...What are you bringing?"
Ren Haijin opened the lid: "Clang clang~"
Ren's father and mother: ...
What a silly child, bringing porridge all the way back, isn't it cold now?
Heat the porridge in the microwave, and the family of three can eat it around the table.
After eating it, Mr. and Mrs. Ren had nothing to say.
The porridge is so fragrant and delicious that it seems like it wasn't cooked in a pot at all.
Mr. Ren scraped the bottom of the bowl, still savoring the taste: "When you brought back other food before, I didn't think much of it, but this porridge is so delicious."
Ren Haijin ate while praising the small business owner's culinary skills, claiming he could do anything and everything.
"Ji Baiyi and I are both stuffed!"
Ji Baiyi, whom Ren Haijin had mentioned, also returned home with porridge at that moment.
It was clearly Laba Festival, but not everyone in the family was home. Ji Baiyi opened the porridge without asking why his parents weren't there.
The old man coughed a few times, a clear indication that something was amiss; both Ji's father and mother were in trouble.
"The Chinese New Year is approaching, and the company is very busy."
Ji Baiyi didn't respond. He opened the porridge, took it to the kitchen to heat it up, and placed it in front of his grandfather.
"Grandpa, try this porridge, it's delicious."
Grandpa Ji drank half a bowl: "It's really good, Baiyi, your parents..."
Ji Baiyi interrupted the old man: "I know, Grandpa, they're busy. Please have some more porridge, it's a holiday today."
Grandpa Ji wanted to tell his grandson that it wasn't that his son and daughter-in-law didn't care about him, but that's just how adults are. When you're focused on your career, it's easy to put family aside. His son was like that, and so was his daughter-in-law. The two of them didn't have any extramarital affairs; they were just naturally inclined to do business and didn't like staying at home.
The grandson used to cause trouble when he was little, but he doesn't mention them much anymore. What the old man fears most now is that his grandson will see his parents like this and become resistant to marriage and relationships in the future.
Ji Baiyi remained calm. After feeding his grandfather some porridge, he and the nanny helped him settle his grandfather to bed. He then sat in the living room and drank the rest of the porridge.
Ji Baiyi's gaze fell on his phone, but he was thinking that he should bring back some more stir-fried pork with pickled cucumbers tonight.
Wenji will be closed tomorrow. If they have some stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cucumber, I can have it with my porridge.
Alas, what a miscalculation!
*****
The next day, Wen Fan and his family drove into the mountains.
Fortunately, the road conditions are good now, and the car was equipped with snow chains. We drove along the main road and soon arrived at the foot of Qingtang Mountain.
Seeing that the tour bus was still carrying people, Mr. Wen shuddered and expressed his incomprehension.
"You still want to go up the mountain in this weather?"
Although it snowed all night, it has stopped now, but the mountain road is difficult to walk on, and it is cold and hard to climb.
Wen's mother: "Isn't it because there's a golden summit on the mountain? They say it looks beautiful when it snows."
Especially with today's cold and sunny weather, if we go up the mountain, we might even see the sun. The sun reflecting off the snow would make for some great photos.
Moreover, scenic areas have assessments; if they allow people to go up the mountain, it means there's definitely no problem.
After passing Qingtang Mountain, the car soon arrived at the village.
Wen Fan saw an acquaintance as soon as he entered the village.
"He Yuzhen!"
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