Chapter 151 Tofu Pine Leaf Junshu Has a Scale in His Heart
"When you're at school, how do you usually buy things?"
Yao Xiaoyu did not answer Ye Junshu's question, and Ye Junshu did not press further. In fact, he regretted saying those words as soon as they came out. While the atmosphere abroad is relatively open, the separation of men and women in China is still somewhat tense. His question had crossed a line.
"I usually..."
When Yao Xiaoyu had doubts, she didn't interrupt Ye Junshu's narration. Instead, she kept her questions to herself and waited until Ye Junshu stopped before asking them one by one. There are many ways to go abroad now, and different social classes have their own lifestyles. In addition, there are different industries in different countries and regions... Yao Xiaoyu had never heard of most of the lifestyles Ye Junshu was talking about from other people who had experience going abroad.
Yao Xiaoyu wasn't particularly eloquent, but she was very good at providing emotional value. Before they knew it, the two had been talking for a long time and even arranged a time to talk again.
Ye Junshu has lived abroad for quite some time. Although the academic pressure was considerable and his life was somewhat monotonous, it's not something that can be fully described in one go.
Yao Xiaoyu left decisively, unaware that Ye Junshu's father had excitedly inquired about the young woman he had met that day after she left the Ye residence.
"Father, it's not what you think."
Ye Junshu was not prepared to accept this ill-arranged match. Not to mention that Yao Xiaoyu was three years younger than him, although the Qing Dynasty was over, its harshness towards women had not lessened much. For him, the rumors between men and women were at most a romantic affair, but for the woman, they were much more serious.
Yao Xiaoyu is a good woman and shouldn't be criticized by others.
"What am I thinking? Men should marry when they are of age, and women should marry when they are of age. I'm not some old-fashioned person."
When Ye's father was pointed out that he wanted to arrange a marriage, his eyes gleamed as he exclaimed that his eldest son was so handsome that any girl who came into the family would be blessed. As for not being able to have children... it just meant he couldn't have offspring, not that he couldn't be used. At worst, he could just adopt one.
Ye's father had a rather double standard in his thinking—his family business must be inherited by his own bloodline, otherwise he wouldn't have married a new wife and had children immediately after his eldest son lost his fertility. But when he looked at his own eldest son, he felt that it was no big deal to have a child adopted.
"Please don't get involved in this matter."
Ye Junshu had long understood his father's thoughts, so he didn't say anything more. He just made his attitude clear with a serious face. After muttering for a while, Ye's father finally agreed—his son really did have the ability to overturn the table.
A few months before Ye Junshu went abroad, his father, blinded by greed, did a lot of foolish things. Ye Junshu pretended not to see them until he offended him. But when he got involved, he struck hard and made his father see things clearly. It was after that incident that Ye's father stopped treating his eldest son as a child who spoke carelessly.
Forget it, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. A man is in his prime at thirty, there's no need to rush.
Feeling timid, Ye's father silently comforted himself and pretended to leave naturally. Ye Junshu did not try to stop him, but simply put the hair dryer into a specially customized box and started tinkering with other strange but happy little items.
It is often said that home is the best place, but going out is difficult. However, in this era, the basic living standards abroad are objectively far ahead of those in the East, even in the most prosperous city of Shanghai, the gap is still very large.
Ye Junshu didn't care about anything else, but it was really inconvenient not having some small appliances. Fortunately, when he was studying in Germany, in addition to studying medicine, he also studied mechanics. As long as there were enough parts, he could basically assemble what he needed himself. Even if it didn't meet the requirements, he could still make do with a makeshift substitute.
...
"I have to meet someone tomorrow, you guys discuss who should go."
Yao Xiaoyu quickly flipped through the notebook, making sure there were no words she couldn't understand, and then readily paid the fee, also arranging a time for the next meeting. The man nodded repeatedly with a broad smile, thinking that giving the money to his wife would make things a little easier for the family.
The man was a stenographer hired by Yao Xiaoyu. He was the first person Yao Xiaoyu spoke with who had overseas experience and was very good at boasting. No matter what Yao Xiaoyu wanted to ask, he would always steer the conversation back to his family background and education. Although she didn't get much useful information after the conversation, when Yao Xiaoyu went back to organize her thoughts, she realized that a bad pen is worse than a good memory, so she used her connections to find a temporary stenographer.
She could barely transcribe what she heard this time because it was less. But when she encountered something real later, without prior preparation, she would just stare blankly at the blank paper. She wasn't some kind of genius with a photographic memory; she was just an ordinary human being who strictly followed the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.
There is a profession for stenographers now, just with a different title. Yao Xiaoyu pays generously and only requires clear handwriting and complete recording of all information. There is no need for summarizing, categorizing, or extracting key points. Therefore, many people apply. However, after several rounds of selection, only four people meet the requirements, and each of them has their own problems.
The first one was a professional recorder with a regular job who applied for the job to earn extra money. He was good at everything, including writing speed and memory, but he could only come to work once every now and then—his regular job was six days on and one day off.
The second one didn't have any other work, but he wasn't in good health, and he needed to rest for several days after going with her for a day.
The third one was healthy but unemployed. However, she was a woman disguised as a man. After Yao Xiaoyu privately exposed her true identity, she did not hide it: she was a runaway bride. According to a letter from her family, her husband's family had already found her in Shanghai. She was now just earning some money for her escape and could disappear at any time.
The last one wasn't inherently bad, but the notes looked like scribbles; only he himself could decipher them. After taking him out to write them down, he had to rewrite them before it was even clear.
Yao Xiaoyu frowned deeply, unable to believe that they couldn't even find a suitable candidate. Pi Xiukang hesitated for a long time before finally uttering: "Her wages are high but unstable. Compared to positions with slightly lower pay but longer job security, her competitiveness is..."
Having said all that, Yao Xiaoyu could only sigh and accept it. The first time she took them out one by one, it was fine, but after that, every time she chose someone to go with her, there was endless arguing. Yao Xiaoyu was annoyed by the noise, so she simply delegated the authority and let them discuss among themselves who would come each time—anyone who wanted to earn more money but couldn't fulfill their job responsibilities would be fired directly.
Strangely enough, when she was choosing people, these people could make as much noise as a classroom during a ten-minute break. But when she let them recommend themselves, they were able to discuss things in a cheerful and relaxed manner, and even made their own schedules. The one who came with her this time was the one who wasn't feeling well, and the one who would come tomorrow should be that young lady.
People who have been abroad are neither easy nor hard to find. Every now and then, a few will pop up. The person I'll be talking to tomorrow is a new find. Apparently, he worked his way up from a food stall abroad to owning his own restaurant. I don't know why he came back to Shanghai.
Yao Xiaoyu was thinking about the meeting tomorrow when she overheard passersby talking about the vegetarian meal they ate at a temple in Guangzhou for six yuan a meal. She was so tempted by the conversation that she decided to skip the idea of just grabbing something to eat on the street and instead hailed a rickshaw to head straight to the vegetarian restaurant.
Although, according to stereotypes, vegetarian food is best enjoyed in temples, the need to make reservations in advance and show sincerity was not suitable for Yao Xiaoyu today. Fortunately, although there are few vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, there are some. The driver took them to their destination in about ten minutes and thoughtfully told them that there was a good barbecue restaurant nearby. If they were not full from vegetarian food, they could turn the corner and try some meat.
Yao Xiaoyu gave Tao Xiaoxiao extra money as a thank you, and then led her into a vegetarian restaurant. The waiter who came towards them was... a monk?
Tao Xiaoxiao and Yao Xiaoyu stared in astonishment at the waiter's head, which was completely covered in stubble. But once the dishes arrived, they lost interest in thinking about it. Although the meal was a bit pricey, the food was really delicious. Yao Xiaoyu's favorite dish was supposedly the restaurant's signature tofu floss.
Making tofu floss isn't difficult, but the main challenge is selecting the ingredients and the cooking process. You need to choose high-quality firm tofu, boil it in water for one or two hours to remove the odor, squeeze out the water, stir-fry it in a hot pan with plenty of oil, add pickled ginger and cucumber for seasoning, add sugar and fermented bean curd sauce for color, and finally drizzle with sesame oil for aroma.
Don't be fooled by the fact that there's not a single speck of meat on it. A well-made tofu floss looks beautiful and is crispy and fragrant. It melts in your mouth after a few bites and is a great dish to eat with rice or porridge. Some people say that Lin Daiyu didn't eat spiced cabbage, but Yao Xiaoyu thinks that if the cabbage were replaced with tofu floss, Daiyu might still have taken a bite.
The table was laden with a variety of dishes and generous portions, and Yao Xiaoyu ate until her belly was round. She lost all interest in trying the barbecue. She took a short walk, kicked away a few hooligans who came up to her, and then hurriedly got into a rickshaw to go home.
After eating two bowls of noodles, several snacks, and several pots of tea, and even going to the toilet several times, the assistant almost burst into tears as he watched the figure enter the Yao family's courtyard.
These two are finally back!
The assistant jumped up and dashed towards the Yao family's courtyard, squeezing in just before Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Xiaoxiao could close the door. Zhou Chunhua recognized the familiar figure and reflexively spoke:
"Little Fish hasn't come back yet..."
She awkwardly stopped mid-sentence. The assistant was always worried that Yao Xiaoyu would come back while she was in the bathroom. Yao's family, for some reason, were too lazy to tell her, so they would knock on the door from time to time. Zhou Chunhua and the others had gotten used to it, and even when she came back, their mouths were faster than their brains. Seeing the assistant's "I knew you didn't want to tell me" expression, they knew that this misunderstanding could not be explained.
Fortunately, the assistant was in a rush to get the manuscript and didn't pay too much attention to the Yao family, thus successfully avoiding any awkwardness later on.
The real seller arrived, and the buyer wasn't one to cause trouble. After the assistant revealed the manuscript fee of eight yuan per thousand words after the young lady's private subsidy, Yao Xiaoyu readily handed all the manuscripts to the assistant. The assistant hurriedly thanked him and then jumped into the rickshaw and ran away as if his pants were on fire.
It's almost time to get off work, and she needs to hurry up and deliver the manuscript to the young lady!
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Author's Note: Assistant: Don't blame me for being so attentive, the young lady has given me just too much!
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