Delicious braised pig's trotters
At nine o'clock in the evening, a rich aroma of meat wafted from the gate of Huaxing University.
Jiang Yichun stood ramrod straight, her ponytail swaying behind her head.
She stared at the steaming pot not far away, her eyes almost glued to the packaged pig's trotters.
The aroma of pig's trotters mixed with the pungent smell of spices filled her nostrils, and her mouth watered.
Nothing beats a plate of braised pig's trotters as a late-night snack after finishing evening classes.
Jiang Yichun couldn't help but smack his lips.
She turned her head to look behind her, but the familiar figure did not appear.
Only one boy appeared in sight, wearing glasses, holding a mobile phone in one hand, striding towards the school gate.
The light fell on his upright figure, illuminating his handsome face.
Jiang Yichun's wandering gaze froze for a moment.
The cold light at the school gate made his already fair skin appear even whiter, revealing his sharply defined facial features.
He seemed to have a clean magnetic field around him, like the second male lead in an idol drama.
Jiang Yichun's gaze lingered on him for a long time, not even noticing that the line in front of him had become much smaller.
As the man walked to the school gate, he seemed to have a sixth sense and turned around to look at her.
His eyes, hidden behind his glasses, scanned her like a robot, his gaze meeting the cold light before pausing on her.
He pushed up his glasses, quickly turned around, and looked straight ahead.
Jiang Yichun trembled, lightly tugged at the hem of his pants, and watched helplessly as he disappeared past the turnstile at the school gate.
She shook her head. She had originally wanted to find her roommate to share pig's trotters with, but this man who suddenly appeared had stolen her attention, and she even thought he looked...
Jiang Yichun felt an itch in her heart, and she quickly took a few deep breaths.
No, my attitude towards men is to only admire them and never to mess with them. It's not like I'm going to date him, so what's there to be ashamed of?
As she watched the line in front of her grow shorter, she ran forward and pulled out her phone.
It was a message from my roommate.
Feifei: [Xiaochun, we ate too much at the department team building event! I'll skip this one, I'll make you a milk tea tomorrow!]
Jiang Yichun stared at the three words "give me a break" and almost screamed out loud.
She could only sigh as she stared at the increasingly shorter line in front of her.
The queue has already stretched this far...
Why don't we buy it first and then ask our other roommates if they want some?
Jiang Yichun thought of her other two roommates: one said she wanted to lose weight and not eat after noon, and the other had an extremely regular schedule and never ate late-night snacks.
Aside from her roommate, she only had nodding acquaintances with the rest of her classmates, and no one else shared pig's trotters with her.
"drop."
Jiang Yichun lowered his head again and looked at the WeChat group.
That was a group chat set up by the pig trotter vendor to notify him of his stall opening hours; students would also ask to join in group orders.
Stata, please leave me alone: [Requesting a pig's trotter combo.]
Her eyes lit up. She glanced at the person's unfortunate ID and the cute cat avatar, and immediately sent a message in the group.
Everything is easy: [Me! Me! Me! I'm going to give it my all!]
The person sent a WeChat friend request immediately.
Jiang Yichun accepted the request instantly and immediately sent the other party a cute cat emoji.
Everything is easy: [Sisters! Note: Jiang Yichun!]
Thank you for saving my life! How would you like to order this? Can I order the smaller portion? Do you have any dietary restrictions?
The other party paused for a moment before replying.
Stata, please let me go: [I'm 20, you're 15, is that okay? I have a big appetite. I don't have any dietary restrictions.]
【Please leave it in the cafeteria; I'm still in a group meeting, I'll be right there.】
One minute after that message, the other party sent another message:
Remember to take photos, sis!
Jiang Yichun almost threw her phone away; it spun around in her hand before landing back in her grasp.
[OK, OK, that's great! Thank you, sister! *kiss*]
She stared at the message and touched her chin: This girl seems a bit cold. Will she be scared away by my enthusiasm?
Judging from her ID, she seems to be a graduate student in the School of Management...
As she was lost in thought, the other person immediately replied to her message:
It's okay. Enjoy your meal.
Jiang Yichun didn't care about anything else. The couple in front of her had already walked away with the pig's trotters, so she strode ahead.
The owner of the pig's trotters stall was a man in his early thirties. He wore an apron and looked at Jiang Yichun with a smile.
"Hey little sister, buying pig's trotters again? Who's your roommate today?"
Jiang Yichun smiled and said, "She ate too much today, so she won't be coming."
"Hey little sister, are you eating a whole portion by yourself today? You're a regular customer of mine, so I can sell you half a portion and give you a discount." The owner smiled with his eyes narrowed, and casually scooped a pig's trotter soaking in broth from the pot.
Jiang Yichun shook his head: "It's okay, boss. I'll fight with a girl in the group. Just give me the pig's trotters for the original price of 35."
"Oh right, one for 20 and one for 15."
"Okay, okay." The boss put on a mask, raised his cleaver, and began chopping the pig's trotters.
"Thump, thump, thump!" The cleaver, covered in meat juices, began to pound on the cutting board.
The large piece of pig's trotter was quickly chopped into several pieces with a cleaver. The gelatinous pig skin and lean meat were tightly connected, and even the cartilage had a light sheen of oil.
The aroma of pork, mixed with the broth, completely permeated the surrounding air.
The owner skillfully poured the pig's trotters into two plastic bowls and then began chopping the side dishes.
He poured cilantro, scallions, soft-boiled potato slices, and shredded kelp into the bowl.
He picked up a spoon from the side, scooped up a large spoonful of pig's trotter broth, and poured it over the pig's trotter.
With the addition of the broth, the whole bowl of pig's trotters exudes a wonderful aroma.
The shop owner drizzled a few drops of chili oil on top, packed it up, and handed it to Jiang Yichun.
Enjoy your meal!
Jiang Yichun smiled at him and said, "May your business prosper!"
With the gentle breeze of early spring, Jiang Yichun crossed the pedestrian crossing and headed towards the school gate.
She swung the bowl of pig's trotters in her hand, skipped and hopped through the turnstile, and entered the university.
She glanced at the school name at the school gate.
Huaxing University.
A key university located in Huaxing City, it is famous in the Huaxing City university circle for the variety of delicious food around it.
Three years ago, when the college entrance examination results were released, Jiang Yichun came to this big city from a small town south of Huaxing City.
In her hometown, people always praised A University in Huaxing City as a prestigious school. If someone from the village or town was admitted to A University, the whole village would be beaming with pride for the entire year.
Jiang Yichun was also one of the villagers who believed in University A. However, she fell ill during her college entrance examination and had to settle for Huaxing University instead.
Perhaps it was because of the villagers' superstition about University A, or perhaps it was because those annoying, stinky relatives were constantly buzzing around her like flies:
"Look at Xiaochun, she's always been a good student, how come she did so poorly on the college entrance exam?"
"Oh well, I'm going to come back to get married anyway. If I do poorly on the exam, so be it. I'll just ask for a smaller dowry."
Therefore, University A has always been her North Star.
Since I can't get into university through the college entrance exam, I'll just go to University A for graduate studies!
Then, holding the admission letter from University A, I slapped those people's faces red with embarrassment!
Steamed buns must be steamed, and the steam must be fought for!
Jiang Yichun held his breath the whole time.
GPA, exams, volunteer activities, classes, and credits would haunt her like ghosts.
But she fought so hard for this steamed bun that it became big and round, and her GPA was among the best in her economics major.
However, with this big steamed bun, she could no longer freely explore the food around Huaxing University.
Only the pig's trotters after evening class could offer her some solace.
Fortunately, she is now in the second semester of her junior year. Although she still has evening classes, the academic pressure is not as intense as it was in the previous two and a half years.
Jiang Yichun silently set a goal for himself: This semester, I must eat lots of delicious food! And successfully get into A University for graduate studies!
Those short-sighted, smelly relatives are infuriating!
By the time she came to her senses, she had already walked to the cafeteria.
Jiang Yichun simply placed the pig's trotter on the table, took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to "Stata, please let me go."
The other party replied to her very quickly:
【Received it, it's on its way. Don't wait for me, go back and eat first, the pig's trotters won't taste good cold.】
Enjoy your meal, ladies!
[Transfer: 20 yuan.]
Jiang Yichun stroked his chin and looked at the still steaming bowl of pig's trotters on the table.
The steam rising from the bowl left droplets of water.
Her gaze followed the water droplets downwards.
There are always guys who steal takeout food on campus.
What if this sister's pig's trotters get stolen...?
Jiang Yichun scratched his head, pulled a notebook out of his bag, tore off a page, and wrote on it: This pig's trotter has already been eaten! Do not take it!
She placed the paper under the bowl, took another picture, sent it to the person, and then turned and left.
The person replied with "Received" as always.
She finally accepted the twenty yuan with a clear conscience, picked up her share of pig's trotters, and ran back to her dormitory.
Jiang Yichun plopped down in the chair and opened the lid with a "click".
The entire dormitory was immediately filled with the aroma of pig's trotters.
Yang Fei, who was sitting behind her, immediately turned around: "Xiao Chun, are you posting porn again late at night?"
"I stood you up, hug..."
Jiang Yichun interrupted her with a laugh: "Why are you apologizing, Feifei? I just really wanted to eat pig's trotters."
After speaking, she picked up a piece of pig's trotter and chewed it in big bites.
Seeing her like that, Yang Fei laughed: "As expected, our Xiaochun is the most understanding!"
"But Xiaochun, I'm busy with our club's dance competition lately. I have to perform on stage, so I probably won't be able to eat pig's trotters."
"It's no big deal."
Jiang Yichun waved his hand and continued eating the pig's trotters.
Her hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and the pig's trotters rolled up the soup, splashing onto her collar.
"Beep." The phone rang.
Jiang Yichun looked down and saw that it was a picture of a pig's trotter and a hamster meme sent by that "pig's trotter" sister.
Stata, please let me go: [Sister, you said you ate this pig's trotter... to prevent others from stealing it, right?]
Everything is easy: [Yes, sister, you're so smart!]
Stata, please let me go: [You're smart too. We're thinking the same thing.]
Jiang Yichun's eyes darted around: Isn't this the sister I just met?
She seemed quite approachable. Surprisingly, she wasn't scared away by my enthusiasm.
Jiang Yichun then sent her another message: "By the way, sister, if you have the chance next time, be sure to order pig's trotters from me again! My roommate is currently in a pig's trotter withdrawal period."
She stared at the "typing in progress" message on the screen for a while before receiving the message.
Okay, I've recently become quite addicted to pig's trotters!
What a forced and cheesy trope.
Jiang Yichun silently complained in his heart.
"By the way, Xiaochun, I went to the graduate school recommendation experience sharing session in our School of Management last night."
Zhang Xingxing, the roommate who was looking at the computer, turned around.
"Hmm?" Jiang Yichun hadn't even swallowed the last bite of pig's trotter when he turned to look at her.
Zhang Xingxing's fingers were tapping on her phone: "Xiaochun, I've organized the seniors' PPTs and my notes and sent them to you."
Jiang Yichun's eyes lit up: "My God, Xingxing, you are my god!"
"So what are your thoughts after listening?"
Zhang Xingxing chuckled and pushed up his glasses:
"Well, how should I put it, I feel the pressure is quite high."
"However, there is a graduate student among them who is quite outstanding. He has won many awards in mathematical analysis and even published a paper during his undergraduate studies."
"He even tried to get into A University."
Did he succeed?
"No, his CET-6 score was too low, so University A rejected him."
"So he stayed at the school. But when he spoke, he shared a lot of valuable information."
Jiang Yichun looked at his empty pig's trotter bowl, then at his phone filled with graduate school application materials: "Xingxing, what's that senior's name?"
"Hmm. I think her name is He Yinxin?"
"He Yinxin? That coding freak?" Yang Fei peeked out. "He's my department head, the one who reviews our drafts."
"He processes data very quickly and finishes analyzing the data in no time."
"But he... tsk tsk."
Jiang Yichun blinked: "What's wrong with him?"
"He's a good-looking guy, and he has a good personality..."
Jiang Yichun frowned: "Then why are you acting like this?"
“I haven’t even said anything yet, he’s just a bot. Every time I message him, he only replies with ‘received,’ or he sends a document full of annotations.” Yang Fei frowned.
"He had a department gathering tonight, and he only ate two bites of the delicious food before saying he was full. He always does this at every gathering."
"I'm starting to wonder if he's the kind of robot that doesn't need to eat."
Jiang Yichun chuckled: "There are actually people like this?"
"It sounds like my opposite, which is interesting."
Yang Fei's smile vanished instantly, and she shook her head vigorously: "No, no, no, you'll know what kind of person he is once you meet him yourself. He's frighteningly cold."
"Perhaps it's because he's too much like a robot that no girl is willing to talk to him, which is why he's still single."
Zhang Xingxing joined the conversation at the right moment: "Haha, but I think he's a really nice person. Let's stick to the facts. By the way, Xiaochun, aren't you also aiming for A University? You could ask him for advice."
"He's really reliable, and his advice is always spot on."
Jiang Yichun stroked his chin, picturing in his mind what a cold and aloof man who didn't like to talk would look like.
Although he is a bot, it doesn't mean he knows his limits or doesn't have any ulterior motives.
A man to be admired from afar, but not to be trifled with.
This is practically a born genius for graduate school admission!
This is exactly what she wanted!
Jiang Yichun cleaned up the pig's trotters he had finished eating and put them aside.
She stood up: "Send me his WeChat ID, I'll go meet him tomorrow."
Twenty minutes later, Jiang Yichun stared at the blank profile picture and the ID with a period, his lips trembling uncontrollably.
He Yinxin's first words were:
Is there a problem with your Stata code? Please include your Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace) website ID in your message.
Jiang Yichun sighed:
I'm not your customer, I'm your junior, Jiang Yichun, majoring in economics.
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