"Your dumplings are ready, how about vinegar?" Li Shuping put the dumplings on the table.
The young man raised his head, looked at her, and nodded, "놚."
Li Shuping went to pour half a dish of vinegar. The dish was quite thick, so if she poured a whole dish, it would be wasted after eating.
The young man picked up a dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, took a bite, and the unique aroma of leeks filled his entire mouth. It was fresh and fragrant, and the dough was also very chewy. It was much more delicious than the dumplings in state-owned restaurants.
The thirty cents were well spent, and a smile appeared on the young man's face.
Wang Xueming is a retired teacher. He was labeled a rightist a few years ago and retired directly after being rehabilitated.
His wife died of illness due to worry a few years ago, and his children have their own jobs and families so they don't live together. Those who can cook and have money and time to spare walk two blocks every day to eat at the state-owned restaurant, thinking of it as exercise.
One day, as I was walking by Lihua Lane with my hands behind my back, I smelled the aroma of dumplings stuffed with leeks and eggs. I stopped and found that a dumpling stall had been set up at the entrance of the lane.
The smell was not right and wanting to change the taste, he turned and walked over.
“How much are these dumplings?”
Li Shuping took a look and said with a smile, "30 cents a portion, 15 pieces a portion, filled with chives and eggs."
Wang Xueming saw that although the stall was simple, it was clean and tidy, and the woman who set up the stall also tidied it up neatly, so he nodded and said, "Then give me one portion."
"Please sit down first. The dumplings will be ready soon."
There were two tables, one of which was already occupied, so Wang Xueming chose the empty one and sat down.
While waiting for the dumplings, I consciously observed the young people at the next table. I saw a young man in his early teens dipping dumplings in vinegar and eating them one by one, enjoying them so much.
Is it so delicious?
The young man noticed someone was looking at him, so he smiled amiably, swallowed the dumpling in his mouth and said, "It's all because these dumplings are so delicious."
This is how he usually eats.
Wang Xueming smiled, looking forward to the dumplings that were about to be served.
When the dumplings were served, the stall owner asked about the vinegar. Wang Xueming always loved vinegar, so he shook his head.
The dumplings tasted delicious and reminded 놛놊 of his late wife who passed away young.
Although the dumplings made by my wife are not as delicious as these dumplings, they are also made very well. Both the elderly and children in the family like to eat them very much. The family often gets together to compete in making dumplings and see whose dumplings are better looking.
But since my late wife passed away, our family has never gathered together to make dumplings again.
Wang Xueming took a deep breath, blinked away the moisture in his eyes, and continued eating dumplings.
"Auntie, can I have a bowl of dumpling soup?" the young man who had finished eating his dumplings asked while holding the bowl.
Li Shuping: "Of course."
Li Shuping scooped a spoonful of dumpling soup from the bowl after eating the dumplings and sprinkled a few chopped green onions and a few grains of fine salt.
The young man drank the soup right beside the pot. After finishing it, he touched his stomach and said contentedly, "This is the most delicious dumpling soup. This is absolutely true."
"Aunt, your dumplings are delicious. I'll come again if I have the chance in the future." The young man took out three cents from his bag and handed it to Li Shuping, who pointed to the iron box on the tricycle and indicated to put the money in the iron box.
"You're welcome anytime." Li Shuping's face was full of smiles. Looking at the three cents thrown into the iron box, she felt full of a sense of accomplishment.
Gu Zhenyuan, holding a briefcase, and Xiao Liu walked out of the staff quarters of the quilt factory. They came to investigate in order to solve the case.
"Captain Gu, shall we go to the state-owned restaurant for lunch?" Xiao Liu suggested.
We also went to Zhang Kexin's school for investigation and visit in the afternoon, and returned to the bureau at noon.
"Okay." Gu Zhenyuan had no objection.
The alleys near the quilt factory's staff quarters were narrower and more difficult to park in, so we parked our car on the road outside Lihua Lane.
Xiao Liu: "Hey, when did a stall appear at the entrance of this alley? It wasn't there when I came here this morning."
Gu Zhenyuan, who was thinking about a case with his head down, heard Xiao Liu's words. He looked up and saw a familiar figure busy at the stall.
Li Shuping?
Why did she set up a roadside stall?
"Why did Captain Gu leave?" Xiao Liu asked.
Gu Zhenyuan turned and walked towards the stall, "Let's go to the state-owned restaurant and have dumplings for lunch."
Xiao Liu's face fell. If he had known this, he would have said nothing. This roadside stall could never be as delicious as the food in the state-owned restaurant.
When I got closer, I found that the person setting up the stall was the one who discovered Zhang Kexin.
"Hey, Comrade Li Shuping."
Li Shuping was making dumplings when she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and saw an acquaintance.
"Captain Gu, Public Security Officer Xiao Liu!"
The four customers who were eating dumplings raised their heads when they heard the word "Public Security". There really were two Public Security Bureaus. The man running the dumpling stall actually knew the Public Security Bureau.
"Comrade Li Shuping, why did you set up a stall to sell dumplings?" Xiao Liu asked curiously.
The last time I saw her, she was digging shepherd's purse by the river to make shepherd's purse dumplings.
Li Shuping smiled modestly and said, "This job has been transferred to my son. I am still able to work, so I will set up a small stall to earn some money."
Xiao Liu nodded, "That's right, people in their forties are at the right age to fight hard."
Captain Gu, for example, is already in his forties, and he works very hard to investigate cases and chase criminals. He is the captain of the criminal investigation team, and actually he can just sit in the office and give orders, but he just sits in the office and follows us to the front line.
"Give us two bowls of dumplings." said Gu Zhenyuan.
Li Shuping: "Okay, find an empty seat and sit down. The dumplings will be ready soon."
"Public Security Comrades, please sit here." The grandfather and grandson, who had already eaten the dumplings, gave up the table and went to sit at another table.
"Thank you." Gu Zhenyuan nodded in thanks.
Gu Zhenyuan sat on a folding stool with his hands naturally placed on his knees. After a habitual glance around, his eyes fell on Li Shuping.
She was wearing a navy blue lapel shirt and a brown apron with some flour on it. She looked down at the dumplings in the pot, her lips slightly pursed, with a focused look, as if what she was cooking were not dumplings but extremely precious delicacies.
As if she noticed someone was looking at her, Li Shuping raised her head and found it was Captain Gu, so she smiled at him.
Gu Zhenyuan was stunned for a moment, then raised the corners of his lips and nodded slightly.
Li Shuping: Captain Gu is really serious, with a smile on his face at all times.
Two bowls of dumplings were served, and Li Shuping asked again: "Do you want vinegar?"
Xiao Liu: “놚.”
Gu Zhenyuan: "It's troublesome."
Li Shuping smiled and waved her hand, "No trouble."
It is reasonable to provide vinegar when eating dumplings.
Li Shuping poured two dishes of vinegar over, put them down but did not leave. Instead, she asked in a low voice: "Captain Gu, are you here to investigate the case?"
"No comment." Gu Zhenyuan's voice was cold.
Li Shuping felt the air around her suddenly drop. She realized that she had no right to ask about these things, so she quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I said too much."
Seeing her apology with fear and trepidation, Gu Zhenyuan rubbed his fingers, thinking that it was too much.
We have our own rules, and we can't just tell anyone about the investigation.
"Take your time eating. I'm going to get busy." Li Shuping turned around and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. From then on, she learned her lesson and stopped asking about everything.
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