I miss you a little
The room suddenly became dark, and a familiar customer walked in. Wu Meilai felt as if she had been pardoned, and she stood up and went into the kitchen.
"Or is it small bowl hoof pollen?"
"right."
Wu Mei opened the pot of pig's feet and poked it with chopsticks. Sure enough, it wasn't done yet. She came out to apologize to the diner: "The pig's feet soup base hasn't been cooked yet. I'll give you more pig's feet next time you come. I'm really sorry."
After waving goodbye to the diners, Wu Mei looked towards the round table, which was already empty.
The next day, Wu Meilai did not do housework, but went to Laowa Village early.
It had been a while since she had done business, and there were a few people queuing in front of the door, which was unusual. She looked around but didn't see Zhou Qianling.
Probably won't come again in the future.
Wu Meilai thought without any sadness or joy.
By noon, the inn was packed with people, leaving no room to step inside. Outside, diners were also scattered around. Looking at these unfamiliar faces, Wu Meilai was a little surprised. Why were there so many outsiders?
Normally, she would politely turn the customer away and take her time serving the food. But now that she was in debt, and the account was linked to her own bank account, Wu Mei was more motivated to make money.
She borrowed tables and chairs from the surrounding villagers, stuffed the narrow ones into the shop, and placed the wide ones on the dirt road outside. She greeted guests warmly and was busy as a bee.
Wu Meilai went in and out without touching the ground, and she felt so happy when she heard the notification of the arrival of funds one after another.
After noon, no one came anymore. Wu Mei came to clean up the tables and chairs outside the store, and sat at the door, looking at the cramped and narrow store thoughtfully.
Several customers just praised her cooking skills and even packed up some food to take back for their coworkers to try before leaving.
From their conversation, Wu Meilai learned that these outsiders were road construction workers, who had begun work right after the Lunar New Year. They had recently reached the town, and having heard about the "Hmong Flower Picking" event in Laowa Village, she gathered a few friends to come and see the excitement.
These people have been wandering around for years, and while they might not have tried all the delicacies in the world, they have at least tasted a lot of mutton noodles from all over Qianzhou. If they can praise it so highly, then their cooking skills must be pretty good.
Thinking of this, Wu Meilai came up with an idea: why not open a store in another place? After all, no matter how lively Laowa Village is, its customer flow can never compare to that of the town.
In the past, she was always thinking about housework. She would get up in the morning to cook food for pigs and people, and then clean up the house, and then slowly open the shop to earn some money.
Now she has come to her senses. Instead of staying at home with Liu Guiyan to support those two useless people, it would be better for her to open a shop and save some money.
What do you mean by "we're all family"? Her family is not a family at all.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone inside excitedly said, "It's started! The Miao people have started singing folk songs. Let's go and take a look!"
The voices gradually faded away, and only a few locals were left in the store. Wu Meilai looked at their backs, her thoughts drifting elsewhere.
I wonder if Zhou Qianling knows about this custom. She would probably be interested.
Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Pi arrived.
Zhou Chenghua ran towards her, skipping and jumping, holding a lollipop in her mouth. The letter paper in her hand was clenched in her little hand and she swung it back and forth ostentatiously.
Wu Meilai's eyes were fixed on the paper, and she was sweating coldly, for she was afraid that it would fall or be seen by someone else first.
She quickly got up to answer it, opened the shop door with her back to it, and said only four short words.
I miss you a little
Wu Meilai was stunned for a moment, then heard the notification of account arrival behind her and casually stuffed the paper into her apron.
"Have a nice trip." She smiled and said goodbye to the diners, but the next second the corners of her mouth drooped.
She was feeling a little complicated at the moment.
The note made her feel uneasy again, but she could not deny that she was also pleased with it.
After standing there for a while holding the paper, Wu Meilai bent down and whispered something in Zhou Chenghua's ear.
The child tilted his head and looked at her, his mouth open in confusion.
"Shh - just read it to your sister." Wu Meilai interrupted her wanting to repeat the behavior, took out a dollar from her pocket and coaxed her away.
Zhou Chenghua was obedient. She ran back with her short legs, shouting "Shit" and giggling.
I don't know what she heard, but she laughed so hard that her shoulders shook violently. When she bumped into someone, she just held her stomach, waved, and walked away.
Wu Meilai forced a smile on her heavy expression and turned to go into the store, but she saw that the child who was hit just moved slightly, did not look at Zhou Chenghua, but just stood in the distance staring at the store.
When Wu Meilai took a closer look, she discovered that it was the child of the unmarried pregnant woman in the village.
The woman only grows crops and sells corn and potatoes to make a living, so she probably has little money left to buy snacks for her children.
Wu Mei came and waved to her. The little girl walked over slowly, not saying a word, but just looking at her with her big eyes.
Wu Mei came into the room, cooked half a bowl of noodles, added a braised egg, packed it up, and bent down to hand it to her.
The little girl stared at the takeaway box but did not move.
"This is for you, no money needed."
The little girl's round eyes lit up and she reached out to take it. "Thank you, Auntie." Then she ran away with the bag.
"The girl from Xiaochunhua's family is quite filial. She remembers her mother for all the good things she has done."
Wu Meilai lifted the curtain and entered the store, silently passing by the people who were talking.
I only heard another person say: "Tsk tsk, with a mother like this, I'm afraid I'll have to go down the same old path in the future."
"Women like this used to be put into a pig cage."
"The world is going downhill. Have you heard that Xiao Chunhua is doing that outside..."
The gossiper's dirty words seeped into the kitchen through every crack, making it hard to breathe in the small space.
No evidence or reason is needed, just the same stinky mouth can trample people into the mud.
Wu Meilai had no time to care about others. She was worried that Zhou Qianling would come to look for her regardless of anything after receiving that message.
She didn't dare to think about what would happen if two women were found fooling around in private in this small place where even the smallest things could be known to the whole village.
You will be treated as a monster.
Rumors will be spread.
You will be ostracized and slandered.
Wu Meilai was very restless and only dared to relax a little after all the customers in the store left.
As a result, she began to secretly curse herself for being so bewildered and going to bed with a woman without thinking.
She knew she would regret it.
Fortunately, when Wu Mei arrived at closing time late at night, she still didn't see Zhou Qianling come to the store.
For three days, the man seemed to have accepted reality and stopped sending letters. The store also had more customers than before, and Wu Meilai was too busy to worry about anything else, greeting people inside and outside the store.
Seeing that the seats were full again and the sound of the door curtain rang again, Wu Meilai grabbed the noodles and smiled outside, "There are no seats now, maybe..." We need to wait.
Outside the door was Zhou Qianling.
Wu Meilai's smile froze, and her hand lost its grip, causing a handful of powder to fall directly to the ground.
Coming back to his senses, he continued his unfinished words: "Maybe I have to come earlier next time."
After saying that, she turned around and grabbed a handful of flour and put it into the casserole before taking off her gloves and cleaning the floor.
When the noodles were brought out, Zhou Qianling was leaning against the door, looking leisurely, not like a diner waiting for food, but just stopping for sightseeing.
"What would you like to eat?" His presence was too strong for Wu Meilai to ignore.
"Small bowl of mutton noodles, no spicy."
As he finished speaking, someone finished eating and stood up, and Zhou Qianling squeezed into the crowd.
Wu Meilai put on a stern face as she cleaned up the dishes in front of her, her heart pounding.
"besides……"
"Bang!"
The casserole in Wu Meilai's hand fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
"No onions." Zhou Qianling said with a cold face.
"good."
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