Chapter 18: First Pot of Gold, Rewarding Family
It was almost five o'clock when she returned to the community and unloaded the things and carried them upstairs. The neighbors who knew Zhang Wanwan all praised her when they saw her. There were also those who wanted to make fun of her and joked about how much she had sold that day. Zhang Wanwan smiled at everyone she met, but didn't say anything, and dealt with it vaguely.
Those gossips curled their lips, feeling dissatisfied, but at least they were not as outrageous as Wang Chunhua, who said nasty things in front of others without any consideration. What they said behind their backs was their business. Zhang Wanwan didn't care at all and started counting today's turnover in the room in a good mood.
In fact, she could roughly guess the amount of money consumed from the milk tea cup, but this did not prevent her from enjoying the fun of counting money. After pouring a pile of change out of her schoolbag, Zhang Wanwan's eyes lit up, "I'm rich, I'm rich!"
She was excited for a long time before she started to sort it out. It seemed that there were quite a few big ones. It was almost half past five when she counted the money. The turnover for the day was about twelve hundred yuan. After ordering again, Zhang Wanwan was happy. She collected the money and took two hundred yuan to rush to the nearby vegetable market. She saw fresh seafood and bought two kilograms of it, as well as a big pig's trotter. While walking around, she happened to see someone selling farm chickens and ducks on the street, so she also asked for a hen. Then she went to the seasoning store to buy some spices for stewing, and bought red dates, codonopsis, astragalus, wolfberry and other nourishing Chinese medicines from the pharmacy. After all the shopping, she had almost spent all the money she brought with her.
When Zhang Wanwan returned home, her parents were not back yet, so she immediately took out the rice and put it into the rice cooker. She then put the processed hen and the Chinese medicine together to make soup. She washed the pig's trotters and rinsed them with water, then added some rock sugar to stir-fry for color, and added soy sauce and spices to the stew.
Before she even entered the house, Zhang's mother smelled a strong aroma coming from the house. She thought that Zhang's father had made something delicious. When she opened the door, she found that it was Zhang Wanwan. She was surprised and asked, "Girl, why are you back so early from setting up the stall? What delicious food did you make?"
Zhang Wanwan came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and holding a spatula, and said excitedly, "Mom, I've improved your meals tonight. Can you call your brother and ask him if he wants to come back for dinner?"
It was rare for Zhang's mother to see Zhang Wanwan so happy, so she didn't bother to ask any more questions and obediently went to call Zhang Baiyan. Because Zhang Baiyan was boarding, his father bought him an old phone that could only make calls. The call was answered shortly after the other end of the line.
Mother Zhang asked a few questions before saying, "Your sister cooked something delicious tonight and said she wanted to improve our meals. Do you want to come back for dinner?"
Zhang Baiyan on the other end of the phone paused before saying, "Although I don't believe in my little sister's cooking skills, I can't discourage her enthusiasm. It just so happens that I just got out of class and haven't eaten yet, so I'll go back now."
After Zhang's mother hung up the phone, she immediately took a shower and changed into clean clothes before coming to help.
At this moment, Zhang Wanwan's chicken soup and braised pig's trotters were boiling fiercely, and the rice was almost cooked. Zhang's mother saw Zhang Wanwan making braised prawns, and the whole house smelled strangely good. However, she could not help at all, so she could only lean against the door frame and chat with Zhang Wanwan.
"How's the business today? If no one buys, we'll close it after two days. You can go hang out with your classmates."
Zhang Wanwan shook her head and said proudly, "Mom, my business is really good today. If you don't believe me, ask my dad. My dad went to deliver lunch to me at noon today, but he couldn't come back for a nap because he was helping me sell milk tea. All the ingredients he prepared today were sold out. I decided to prepare more tomorrow. At worst, I can ask my dad to deliver the ingredients to me at noon."
Zhang's mother was stunned when she heard this. She didn't know how much material Zhang Wanwan had prepared today, so she thought the little girl was exaggerating. She was slightly shocked and then let go. She joked, "So you made money to treat us to a meal?"
Zhang Wanwan nodded vigorously, "That's OK!" Zhang's father came back at this moment, and Zhang Wanwan's braised prawns were out of the pot, as well as a plate of fried clams.
Because Zhang Baiyan was coming back for dinner, Zhang's mother waited for Zhang Wanwan to finish cooking the seafood and then fried a plate of vegetables and a plate of poached eggs.
When Zhang Baiyan came back, the food was already on the table.
"Wow! What day is today? How come the food is so good!" Zhang Baiyan exaggeratedly supported the dining table with both hands, and his pair of clean big eyes were scanning the food on the table in disbelief.
Zhang's father had been to Century Plaza and probably knew that Zhang Wanwan had made money today. However, he did not expect Zhang Wanwan to be so generous to buy these things. He felt relieved but also a little sorry for the money. But then he thought that his child cared about them and became very happy.
Zhang Wanwan asked everyone to sit down and served a bowl of soup to each family member. "This is a nourishing soup I made specially. You can drink more. There are also braised pig's trotters and braised prawns. Let me try my cooking skills."
Zhang Baiyan was very considerate and took a sip of the soup and ate a shrimp. He raised his thumb straight up and nodded vigorously, saying, "Delicious, delicious. My sister's cooking skills are self-taught! Even my mother can't make such delicious food."
When Zhang's mother heard this, she became unhappy, hit Zhang Baiyan on the head, and then started to taste it as well.
The family of four had five dishes and one soup, and they ate so much that they almost had to lean on the wall.
Zhang Baiyan touched his stomach with a satisfied look on his face and burped, "I'm going to push my bike back to school later!"
Zhang Wanwan was immediately happy, "Brother, when are you going to have a holiday?"
"You will be a senior next year. This summer vacation we only have one month off. I guess I will still be in school when your high school entrance exam results come out! What's the matter? Is there something wrong?" Zhang Baiyan remembered the plan Zhang Wanwan had mentioned before and said with a smile, "Just tell me what you want me to do!"
Zhang Wanwan shook her head, frowned slightly, and said very seriously: "I know that my brother's meals at school are average, not very good. Now I am working part-time to earn money for my studies. I can give some money to my parents in the future and ask them to make some delicious food for you. Don't eat in the school cafeteria for dinner."
Zhang Baiyan didn't expect Zhang Wanwan to care about him so much. His heart was warmed and he was deeply moved. "Thank you, my dear Wanwan. But that would be too much trouble. Besides, you should save the money you earn from working part-time for school. I can just eat in the school cafeteria. Everyone eats that way. No problem!"
Zhang Wanwan disagreed. As it involved Zhang Baiyan's high school entrance exam, Zhang's father and mother were also concerned. Zhang's father made the decision directly: "Just listen to your sister, but don't spend her money. Your father can still afford this little money. Don't eat in the cafeteria for dinner in the future. I'll make it and send it to you."
Zhang's mother also nodded in agreement.
Zhang Baiyan had no choice. Once his parents got stubborn, even three oxen couldn't pull them back. He could only go along with them.
The family talked for a while and then Zhang Baiyan went back to school. Zhang's mother went straight to wash clothes and do housework. Zhang's father and Zhang Wanwan sat in the living room and talked.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
