"Well."

Yan Qing felt a little regretful. He really felt that Chen Xu was a bit lost by opening a noodle shop here. He also wanted to make some investments. Unexpectedly, the other party had this attitude.

Chen Xu glanced at him and said, "Actually, I haven't thought about doing this for a long time. After the Chinese New Year, I may change my career."

"No way?" Yan Qing was shocked and said, "No, if you don't do it, where are we going to have supper?"

“It’s a real problem.”

As Chen Xu spoke, he did not stop working and made another bowl.

Yan Qing waited for a long time, but he didn't say the second half of the sentence. When he finished the third bowl, he couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

Chen Xu looked at him in surprise and said, "This is not my problem."

“…”

Yan Qing felt a little heartbroken and said quietly, "I finally know why your sister wants to go home."

…………

Tomorrow is the weekend and there will be more customers. Chen Xu closed the stall earlier than usual. He calculated today's sales and the total was 895 yuan.

He was very happy. After deducting the cost, the profit was at least 600 yuan. It was true that the restaurant industry had high profits. Learning cooking from 2003 was a wise choice.

If we can maintain this level of customer flow every day, we can make a net profit of around 30,000 yuan by the time we go home for the Spring Festival, which can greatly alleviate the financial pressure on our family.

This week, many old customers brought their friends here, and the customer base is growing steadily. Especially after Chen Xu allowed customers to buy barbecue from the barbecue stall next door, more customers came.

He closed the shutter door and returned to his rental house.

The next morning, he went for morning exercises again.

I stayed in the hotel for the previous three days and went to the gym to run in the morning.

After half a month of training, his physical strength has improved significantly, and he can run for 40 minutes at a stretch. It's not just a normal jog, but a slightly faster pace.

By this time, his progress had slowed down and he no longer had the rapid progress he had before.

He is not disappointed, which is normal. If he continues to improve endlessly, he will soon become a superman, which would be magical.

He has already considered swimming every day in the summer when his financial situation improves. It is said that the exercise effect is better and it does not hurt the knees.

At seven o'clock, he finished his morning exercise, wiped off the sweat with a towel, and walked towards the rental house.

He came to the alley as usual. The weather was good today. The thick layer of dark clouds had dispersed and the sun was seen for a rare time.

Walking in the alley, the slanting sunlight is blocked by the high-rise buildings around. Only occasionally a ray of sunlight leaks out from the gaps between the high-rise buildings, shining on the walls of the houses, forming a golden spot of light.

Chen Xu was a little surprised to see the girl squatting in front of the electric pole. Today was Sunday, and it was the first semester of the second year of high school. It shouldn't be the time to have make-up classes on Sundays.

Today she was carrying not a schoolbag but a smaller backpack.

As usual, he walked straight past her without disturbing her.

The girl noticed someone passing by behind her, turned around, stared at his back for two seconds, took off her headphones, stood up, and trotted after him.

Chen Xu looked at her emerging from behind him and stopped in surprise. But she stared at him for a few seconds, which made him wonder if there was something dirty on his face.

The girl finally retracted her gaze, put down the small backpack on her back, unzipped it, and took out a bag, "I'll give it back to you."

"What?"

He was puzzled at first, but when he took it and looked, he saw a thin blue coat in the bag. Then he remembered that it was the one he had put on her last time.

He has been busy these days and has forgotten about this matter.

The coat had obviously been washed and was neatly folded, with a thin bag inside.

“And this.”

Seeing her serious expression, Chen Xu swallowed back the polite words that were on the tip of his tongue, took the folded dollar bill and said, "You still remember it."

"Thank you."

The girl put her schoolbag behind her and said, "I'll treat you to a meal."

Chen Xu smiled and said, "No need, it's just a small matter."

The girl shook her head and said, "I don't want to owe anyone a favor." Then, she took out a very small wallet from her pocket, unzipped it, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and said, "This is all I have. I can only treat you to breakfast. Rice noodle rolls, please?"

"Really, there's no need--" Chen Xu said. Seeing the light in her eyes dim, he lowered his head, carefully folded the money again and stuffed it back into her wallet. A palpitation flashed through his heart.

He recalled that when he was in middle school, his parents lived away from home and he only had a small amount of pocket money every month, which was gone after breakfast. On weekends, he didn't even dare to play basketball with his classmates because he didn't have money to buy drinks.

He didn't want to be looked down upon by his classmates, so he preferred to be alone and rarely participated in class activities.

The flash of the girl's eyes just now made him seem to see himself at that time. He was short of money and finally mustered up the courage to show his kindness. It would be very hurtful if he was rejected by others.

He said, "One bowl may not be enough. I have a big appetite, so I need to eat at least two bowls."

The girl raised her head, her face slightly startled, then she smiled, "Okay."

…………

The breakfast shop is on the roadside, not far from the primary school. Breakfast shops like this one next to primary schools are usually very busy, especially before students go to school.

Today is the weekend, so there are fewer people, not as crowded as usual. There are still a few empty tables inside.

Chen Xu went over and occupied a table, and the girl went to buy breakfast.

After a while, she came over with three rice rolls, two with egg and one with pork, all covered with sauce that was about to overflow the edge of the plate.

"Do you know the owner of this shop?" Chen Xu asked curiously.

When Chen Ziqi lived here, he would eat rice noodle rolls every morning. He would always take away the rice noodle rolls here, and the portions were not so large. He just saw the girl talking to the boss.

"I used to go to elementary school there." The girl pointed to the elementary school gate opposite, "Back then, I came here to eat every day."

"No wonder."

Chen Xu tore open a pair of chopsticks and started eating.

He was indeed hungry, and soon he ate up both plates of rice rolls. He took a tissue and wiped his mouth, and saw that she had only eaten half of her plate.

The girl put down her chopsticks and said, "Are you not full? Otherwise, would you like another portion?"

Chen Xu shook his head. "No, it's just right. Eating too much in the morning is not good for the stomach."

The girl did not insist and continued eating.

Chen Xuguang sat there, feeling a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, she was not wearing a school uniform today. Even so, he still felt that the looks from all around were a little strange.

She is still a middle school student.

He said to himself, pretending to observe the decoration of the store, his eyes moving across the ceiling and walls.

After a while, the girl finished eating and wiped her mouth with a tissue. Seeing that he was not looking at her, she picked up her cell phone, pointed the camera at him, and secretly took a photo.

Chen Xu noticed her movements from the corner of his eye and suspected that she was taking pictures. After thinking for a while, he still didn't expose her and said, "After eating, let's go."

The girl picked up her small backpack and stood up. As she was leaving, she asked him, "By the way, my name is Cao Ningning."

"Chen Xu."

(End of this chapter)