Li Mingyu was riding a borrowed tricycle with the cargo box piled high with bowls, chopsticks and benches. Li Guifang was sitting in the back, holding two bottles of Yanghe Daqu covered with red paper in her arms.
He kept muttering, "Xie Da Jiao said she would come to help in the kitchen. Stop in front so I can go call her..."
——
Three large iron pots were set up in front of the repair shop. Firewood was crackling underneath and water was bubbling in the pots.
Xie Da Jiao was wearing a blue apron and was chopping pork on the chopping board with a "dong dong dong" sound.
She swung the kitchen knife with her strong arms, and the chopping board shook.
"Guifang, bring me another head of garlic!" She wiped the sweat off her forehead and shouted to Li Guifang who was two steps away from her.
Li Guifang was squatting by the well, washing vegetables, her red, frozen fingers fiddling with the cabbage stalks in the cold water.
"Here I come!" She shook the water droplets off her hands.
Several women sat around on small stools picking vegetables, swishing the leeks in their hands.
While working, Huang Xiuying kept muttering, "These leeks must be picked cleanly. Last time when Old Zhang's family was doing business, a fleshy worm was found in the vegetable, and the bride was so scared that she jumped around!" This caused everyone to burst into laughter.
Uncle Qin and a few old men were killing chickens on the other side. The rooster with white catkins flapped its wings, splashing water all over the ground.
"Old Qin, your cooking skills are terrible!" someone joked, "Look at how you caught the chicken blood, half of it spilled!"
"What do you know!" Uncle Qin wiped the chicken blood that splashed on his face. "This is called prosperity, a good omen!"
Li Anyuan did not go to school today. He took a few friends with him, sneaking around the adults' legs and stealing the freshly fried meatballs.
When they were discovered, they ran away with their mouths stuffed full.
A little girl fell down and her new cotton pants were covered with dirt. She started crying.
Li Anyuan quickly stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. I'll take you to eat cake later!"
At ten o'clock in the morning, Li Minghua lit the thousand-bang firecrackers hanging on the crooked tree with trembling hands.
Amid the smoke, red confetti fluttered like snowflakes, and the five big characters "Ming Hua Auto Repair Shop" on the newly painted sign sparkled in the sun.
"Good luck with your grand opening!"
At noon, Zhang Fengzhi came with a dozen or so neighbors from the compound, carrying an enamel pot and towels printed with "Labor is Glorious" - these were gifts!
Wu Xiaomei's family members were also present, and her eldest brother even brought a brand new jack as a gift.
The eight-immortal table was set up next to the car repair pit. Li Guifang and Xie Dajiao shuttled between them, bringing pots of steaming stew.
Braised pork with radish, cabbage with vermicelli noodles, stewed chicken with potatoes... Huang Xiuying's specially steamed brown sugar buns were placed side by side with Wu Xiaomei's white flour buns, each with a big grin. It looked very pretty!
"Minghua!" Uncle Qin took a sip of his wine and pointed at the price list on the wall. "Fifty cents for a tire repair? You're even cheaper than during the commune days!"
Before Li Minghua could answer, Wu Xiaomei rushed in and said, "Uncle Qin, we're just a small business, so we'll give you a 20% discount for the first three months!"
She suddenly lowered her voice. "But if you need your Forever 28 repaired, please let us know in advance. We'll do it for free!"
In the corner, Li Mingyuan demonstrated to a few curious children how to use a jack, and a smile appeared on his usually serious face.
Li Mingyu was surrounded by a group of young men, gesturing with his hands and showing how fancy the welding machine he would buy in the future would be.
The sun was shining brightly, and the cement floor of the repair shop was covered with melon seed shells and candy wrappers.
Xie Da Jiao, whose face was flushed from drinking, was pulling Huang Xiuying and saying, "Gui Fang has finally made it!"
After three rounds of drinks and a full meal, discordant voices began to emerge.
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