Chapter 38 We've already got enough spots for good friends...
After watching Cai Yang's family leave, Song Yu turned to Song Xinran and said, "Mom, I've decided to draw a picture for my little brother Xiao Yang!"
Song Xinran also didn't quite understand why Cai Yang used to bully Song Yu back in their hometown, yet Song Yu never held a grudge and always called him "brother."
However, Song Yu is just that kind of person who doesn't hold grudges. Otherwise, his "darkening" in the original story wouldn't just be about severing ties and not giving them money. He never even thought about getting back what he had given them before.
"What does Xiaoyu want to draw?" she asked.
Song Yu said, "I want to draw about studying hard and making progress every day!"
Song Xinran: "Hmm?"
Song Yu: "These words are in our classroom, but the teacher didn't teach them, so I don't know how to write them yet. I'll go to class tomorrow and write them down to give to my little brother Xiao Yang."
"We encourage him to study hard in the future and become a flower of our motherland!"
Looking at the little boy's bright eyes and excited expression, Song Xinran lowered her hand and then raised it again, patting his head. He was so full of positive energy at such a young age.
"Mom, do you think it's okay?" he asked in a tender voice.
Song Xinran smiled and said, "Of course."
The next day, Song Yu took the lilyturf she had bought from the city to kindergarten with her schoolbag. As soon as she got to her class, Song Yu gave the potted plant to Teacher An: "Teacher An, my mom took me to the city to buy flowers."
Seeing the child so happy, with eyes crinkling with laughter, Teacher An felt much better. She bent down slightly and said, "Okay, Teacher will now put Song Yu's plant on the balcony. Song Yu, please take good care of it."
Song Yu nodded: "The auntie who sells flowers said that since the weather is cold now, we only need to water them once every ten days. I'll remember that!"
The child spoke in a sweet, childlike voice, with a serious expression; he was incredibly cute.
Teacher An teased him, "Does Song Yu know that ten days is a long time?"
He nodded seriously: "I have a calendar at home, I know that ten days is a little over three days a week."
Teacher An opened her eyes wide in surprise. The sentence "Ten days is more than three days in a week" is a little difficult for a three-year-old to understand. First, he needs to know that there are seven days in a week, and second, he needs to know simple addition and subtraction such as 7+3=10.
Children of this age have difficulty understanding simple addition and subtraction. At most, they can do addition and subtraction of physical objects, such as adding one cup of water to another cup of water, and counting them, they can get two cups.
The fact that Song Yu was able to say this not only shows that the child is smart, but also indicates that the parents are teaching him.
Teacher An liked families that valued their children's education even more. She smiled and patted the little boy's head, saying, "Song Yu is really amazing."
Song Yu smiled shyly, his hands still obediently gripping his backpack strap. He went to find Teacher An as soon as he arrived at kindergarten.
"Hmph, what's so great about it?" Just then, someone had to break the harmonious atmosphere and say something sarcastic.
"Is this your flower? It's so ugly! The flower bed downstairs in my building is full of grass like this!"
Teacher An turned her head, frowned slightly, and said sternly, "Wu Yaoxuan, how dare you speak to your classmates like that? Have you forgotten what I said about unity and friendship in class?"
Wu Yaoxuan pouted and pointed at the pot of liriope: "The teacher said to buy plants to decorate the classroom. Everyone else bought nice ones, but this one is ugly!"
Teacher An thought that only a weekend had passed, and Wu Yaoxuan probably couldn't tell where he was. She needed to give him a good talking-to, but before she could speak, Song Yu spoke up.
The child's voice was childish, but his words were clear: "It's not ugly, it's liriope muscari, it's green all year round, it's the prettiest, and you can even make tea to drink, it clears heat and reduces internal fire. It's both beautiful and useful!"
Wu Yaoxuan was very unhappy when he was refuted: "It's ugly, it's ugly! It's not as pretty as my jasmine! My jasmine can be used to make tea. Have you ever had jasmine tea?"
His voice rose at the end, and he seemed quite proud. His father had taken him to buy this flower, and they had spent a long time choosing it. It had small white flowers and a pleasant fragrance.
Song Yu ran to the balcony and pointed to one of the potted plants whose leaves had turned yellow and had fallen off many leaves, saying, "Is this your jasmine? It's almost dead."
Wu Yaoxuan's eyes widened, and he charged forward like a cannonball, gritting his teeth as he said, "You dare say death! You actually said my Jasmine is dead, but yours is going to die!"
Song Yu shook his head, his voice clear and crisp: "My liriope will not die. I will take good care of it, and it will grow lush and green in the future."
He had just heard the word from his mother, and now that he had learned it, he was using it—a perfect example of applying what he had learned.
Wu Yaoxuan pointed to his liriope muscari and said, "It's going to die soon!"
Song Yu sincerely said, "You should water your flowers, otherwise they'll die before the end of the semester, and you won't get your little red flower."
Wu Yaoxuan was so angry that he jumped up and down: "You cursed me! You actually cursed me so that I wouldn't have a little red flower! My jasmine flower is alive and well!"
Song Yu picked up a leaf from the flowerpot and shook it: "Look, so many have fallen off. A perfectly good flower doesn't lose leaves."
"You're the one who pulled it out!" Wu Yaoxuan exclaimed, turning to Teacher An as if he had caught her red-handed. "Teacher, he pulled out my leaves! You said we shouldn't pull out leaves and cause damage!"
Song Yu remained calm and patiently explained, "I didn't pull it out, I picked it up."
Wu Yaoxuan shouted "Wow!" and exclaimed, "It's you, it's you!"
The classmates testified for Song Yu: "Song Yu was picked up."
“Well, you’re all in cahoots!” Wu Yaoxuan exclaimed.
Song Yu felt a little confused: "Of course we're in this together."
Wu Yaoxuan turned to the teacher again, as if he had caught her red-handed, and said smugly, "Teacher An, did you hear that? Song Yu admitted that they were all lying!"
Song Yu blinked: "We're all in Class 1, we're a group, you are too."
Wu Yaoxuan froze for a few seconds, seemingly unsure how to refute his words, but after a few seconds he shouted even louder: "I'm not, I'm not!"
"Aren't you a student in Class 1?"
Wu Yaoxuan: "...I am!"
"Ahhh, you're talking nonsense!" Wu Yaoxuan had never felt like this before. He couldn't explain himself, and he felt that no matter what he said, it was wrong. It was clearly not like this at home, and everyone always let him speak first.
And even though he made such a big fuss, Song Yu still acted like nothing had happened, just looking at him without getting angry or happy.
Wu Yaoxuan felt deeply annoyed. Whether he bullied his classmates or was bullied by them, when they got angry, it was always both of them. But Song Yu made it seem like he was the one who lost.
Unable to win an argument or a fight, Wu Yaoxuan immediately ran to Teacher An for help.
But Teacher An frowned: "Wu Yaoxuan, shut up. There are so many students in the class, don't disturb them."
“Look at Song Yu, he doesn’t always shout like you.”
Wu Yaoxuan's eyes widened in disbelief that he had been criticized even though he had done nothing wrong. This was something that had never happened before. He felt a surge of grievance and couldn't help but cry.
Teacher An was shocked. In the past, only Wu Yaoxuan had bullied others to tears in the class. Even when he was called to the office by the teacher for criticism, he had never cried. What happened today?
Why are you crying?
Song Yu quickly ran over and gave him a small tissue: "Don't cry."
This small pack of tissues was prepared by his mother when he went to school. The white tissues were especially soft, unlike the ones Song Yu used to use at his aunt's house. Song Yu cherished them and would tear each tissue into several pieces before using them.
But Song Yu was a bit too generous to others, directly handing over a piece of paper.
Wu Yaoxuan didn't even glance at it, and slapped it away with a wave of his hand: "I don't want your stuff, it stinks!"
Song Yu's arm was hit, it didn't hurt much, but he pursed his lips, a little unhappy: "It smells good, my mom gave it to me, it smells good."
Yuanyuan rushed over like a cannonball, shouting angrily, "If you hit Song Yu, I'll hit you back!"
Teacher An was at her wits' end and quickly stopped Yuanyuan, preventing this small-scale conflict.
Song Yu grabbed Yuan Yuan's arm: "I'm not in pain."
Yuanyuan took the tissue from his hand, smelled it, and concluded: "It smells good. Wu Yaoxuan has a problem with his nose!"
Wu Yaoxuan was already feeling wronged, and hearing this made him even more upset: "You, you're the one with the problem!"
Teacher An suddenly became furious: "All of you, shut up! Wu Yaoxuan and Song Yu, come to my office."
Wu Yaoxuan was a regular at the office, going there several times a day. He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes hard, not intimidated at all.
Song Yu was a little scared. This was the first time he had been called to the office by an angry teacher. What should he do first when he got there?
He looked at Teacher An's furrowed brows and wondered if he should apologize first so that the teacher would stop frowning, but then he felt that he hadn't done anything wrong.
Wu Yaoxuan glanced at Song Yu, and seeing his uneasy look, he snorted, "Coward!"
As soon as he arrived at the office, Song Yu said, "Teacher An, please, please don't be angry."
"I...I was wrong..." the child's voice was low with unease.
Teacher An was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said, "Song Yu, you didn't do anything wrong, why are you apologizing?"
Song Yu said softly, "But Teacher An is angry. I hope Teacher An won't frown."
Upon hearing this, Teacher An felt a warm current flow through her heart, her gaze softened considerably, and her earlier anger subsided. She said softly, "Okay, Teacher won't be angry."
Teacher An looked at Wu Yaoxuan, her voice still gentle: "Wu Yaoxuan, do you know what you did wrong?"
Wu Yaoxuan, with his neck stiff, said, "I did nothing wrong!"
He glared at Song Yu with hatred, finally understanding why he disliked him so much. He hated him from the very first meeting because Song Yu resembled one of his cousins.
If looks could kill, Wu Yaoxuan felt that Song Yu would have been killed by his gaze by now, just like the laser beam shot from Ultraman's chest in the cartoon, capable of eliminating all monsters.
Ms. An's eyes widened. She knew there was no need to use a soft approach with Wu Yaoxuan, and she directly read out his accusations: "Song Yu brought plants to the classroom as requested by the teacher, but you mocked him. This is unfriendly to your classmates. Song Yu only gave you advice on how to take good care of the flowers, and you said he pulled out leaves. Everyone saw it and knows that's not what happened. You slandered him. Apologize to your classmates immediately!"
Wu Yaoxuan stared at Song Yu, thinking to himself, exactly the same, exactly the same.
His cousin came to visit and broke a potted plant, then claimed it was him who broke it. The adults believed his cousin but not him. Although they didn't criticize him and even gave him the rest of the broken plants, Wu Yaoxuan still felt wronged.
That's how Song Yu is now! His jasmine was perfectly fine, so why did it start losing leaves? It must be Song Yu's fault, but everyone believes him.
Overwhelmed with grievance, Wu Yaoxuan shouted, "I hate Song Yu! I don't want to apologize!"
Song Yu was also a little flustered. He had been coming to the kindergarten for several days and no one had ever said they disliked him. He said softly, "Don't dislike me. I'll help you water the flowers and take good care of the jasmine."
Hearing this made Wu Yaoxuan feel even worse, because his cousin had said the same thing that day: "Xuanxuan just likes flowers, and there are so many buds. They'll bloom soon if you nurture them. We'll water them together." This made the adults smile.
"Get out! I don't want you to support me!" Wu Yaoxuan turned his head with teary eyes, trying to push Song Yu away.
Song Yu blinked and took a small step back: "Alright, then take good care of yourself."
His tone remained so calm, as if he weren't angry at all.
When most children hear "get lost," they'll immediately roll around crying and complaining.
When Teacher An saw Song Yu, her anger vanished instantly. But when she looked at Wu Yaoxuan, she was furious. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and asked in a deep voice, "Wu Yaoxuan, will you apologize?"
"I don't!"
Ms. An immediately prepared to make the call. She rarely calls parents, even though most of the students in her class have telephones at home, but everyone is busy with work and she doesn't want to bother them.
Student-related issues are handled on the spot. If it's a serious matter, we communicate with the parents face-to-face after school. We only call them immediately if it's a very serious matter.
Although Wu Yaoxuan often had conflicts with students in the past, they would always apologize to each other and shake hands to make up when they came to the office. What's wrong with him today?
Before making the call, Teacher An told Song Yu to go back first. She always felt a little guilty about this obedient student who had been bullied and hadn't even received an apology. "Song Yu, you can go back to class now. I'll handle this."
Song Yu hummed in agreement, and before leaving, he glanced at Wu Yaoxuan, feeling sorry for him as he cried.
As soon as Song Yu left, Teacher An called Wu Yaoxuan's father and began to educate Wu Yaoxuan.
The teachers in the office also chimed in: "How did Wu Yaoxuan become like this? He used to get into trouble, but he could still recognize his mistakes. They say that people become more sensible as they grow up, but this time he's becoming less sensible."
"Teacher An, you'll have to have a good talk with him when his father comes!"
“But Song Yu is quite well-behaved,” one teacher said, which immediately drew agreement from the other teachers.
They used to think that Song Yu had a powerful background for joining the school midway through the semester and was spoiled, especially since he dared to come to the office to ask the teacher if he could talk in class. They thought he was very strange and felt sorry for Teacher An.
Today, I noticed that she was surprisingly well-behaved. When she entered the office, she first asked the teacher not to be angry. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she apologized first. She's really endearing.
Wu Yaoxuan was crying and wailing in the office and refused to apologize. Most students would have added fuel to the fire and wished he would be punished more severely, or they would have joined in the crying and fussing. Young children are not very good at controlling their emotions.
But he didn't say anything, and his emotions were unusually stable, unlike a three-year-old child.
The teachers in the office recalled Teacher An's praise of Song Yu. They thought it was just self-consolation, but it turned out to be pretty much true.
Upon hearing this, Teacher An temporarily set aside her lecture to Wu Yaoxuan: "Song Yu is usually more obedient in class. Once, a small bird flew into the classroom, and the class was in chaos. Song Yu immediately opened the window and chased the bird out."
"Teacher An, you're not joking, are you?" a teacher asked. It's common knowledge that kindergarten children love these kinds of unexpected events in class, and they'd love to spend the whole lesson playing with birds.
Teacher An said, "Of course not. Wu Yaoxuan just wanted to catch birds. Don't you think so, Wu Yaoxuan?"
Wu Yaoxuan opened his teary eyes, looked at the teachers around him, and then burst into even louder sobs.
He thought Song Yu was even more annoying than his cousin. Although his cousin blamed him for picking flowers, he knew that the adults in his family still liked him more. Children are always very sensitive to the love they receive. However, now the teachers in the office all liked Song Yu more.
When Song Yu returned to the classroom, he found several children standing on the balcony looking at his liriope. They were all very curious about the new plant. Yuan Yuan stood next to him and became Song Yu's spokesperson, explaining for him: "This is liriope... um, the winter lily of wheat! Look how long and green its leaves are. It will bloom later with small purple flowers that smell really good!"
Yuanyuan couldn't quite remember the plant's name, only that it was something like wheat winter, so she simply linked them together.
The children listening to her story looked on in amazement: "This is the first time I've ever seen a plant with such a long name."
"If wheat is edible, can this be eaten too?"
Why winter, and not spring or summer?
Everyone was very curious. Yuanyuan frowned. She didn't know much about plants, and all she knew came from Song Yuhua. She didn't want her classmates to think she was ignorant, so she tried to drive them away.
"Yuanyuan!"
Song Yu ran over, picked up where Yuan Yuan left off, and emphasized that this special grass was called Ophiopogon japonicus. He answered the children's questions one by one, earning a series of "wow"s from the children who had never seen anything like it before.
His words seemed to have a magical power, making each child's heart flutter: "I want my mom to buy me Ophiopogon japonicus too!"
"The Songyu flower is blooming, can I have one?"
Song Yu said, "Of course!"
Then she was hugged and someone said affectionately, "Song Yu, you're so nice, I want to be your best friend!"
Yuanyuan's radar seemed to have been triggered, and she immediately grabbed Song Yu's hand and said loudly, "No, because I'm already Song Yu's best friend."
Zhang Xiaoda and the other two also asserted their dominance: "We've already taken all the spots for best friends, so you can only be the second best."
Two little hands shot up: "Then I'll sign up for the second best."
"Third best!"
"I'm fourth!"
The spot for this "good friend" position was quite sought after for a while.
Yuanyuan defended her position and was very satisfied. When it was time for class, everyone sat back down. Yuanyuan leaned close to Song Yu's ear and said, "If it blooms, give me the first one. They have to line up."
Song Yu nodded earnestly: "I will water it every ten days and make sure the lilyturf blooms properly."
*
The frozen meatballs and freezer that Song Xinran ordered arrived, and she couldn't wait to put them into use.
The freezer was filled with frozen goods that cost several hundred yuan. Song Xinran took out some of the ingredients to make the day's food. She now sets up her stall twice a day, once after school in the afternoon and once after evening self-study. Each time she prepares two pots of oden, which usually sell out in a very short time.
Today, Song Xinran decided to stop making Bobo Chicken and instead make three pots of Oden each time she sets up her stall, which is more convenient and saves time.
You Tongtong has recently fallen in love with oden. Since she tried it for the first time half a month ago, she has bought it every day for the past week, spending a lot of her allowance to eat to her heart's content. After that, she started buying it every other day, because even the most delicious food will get boring if eaten for too long.
But the truth is that You Tongtong is not tired of oden yet. She is just worried that she will get tired of it in the future. The thought of not liking delicious oden one day is unbearable for You Tongtong. She feels that her current behavior is very much in line with the word "foresight".
After school, her deskmate, as usual, took You Tongtong's hand and went out, excitedly suggesting, "Let's go eat oden again today. It just doesn't taste right after not having it for two days over the weekend."
You Tongtong refused the suggestion with a serious expression: "I want to eat fried noodles."
My deskmate asked in surprise, "Why? Isn't oden your favorite food?"
You Tongtong presented her far-sighted theory to her deskmate, who was bewildered by her tongue-twisting words and blurted out her true thoughts: "Okay, since you don't want to eat, then I'll go eat."
You Tongtong sincerely advised, "You should also try to quit, so you can continue to like it."
My deskmate had his own reasoning: "I have to eat quickly, otherwise I won't be able to eat oden if Auntie stops making it in the future."
You Tongtong thought that day would never come, since her aunt's business was so good.
She parted ways with her deskmate at the school gate. She went to buy fried noodles, while her deskmate bought oden. They then ate it together on the stone table in the school.
You Tongtong used to love fried noodles, which contained various vegetables, ham sausage, and eggs, and tasted great. However, today, You Tongtong felt that something was off about the noodles.
Has the taste changed? It's still the same owner.
Is it because there aren't enough ingredients? But I've had all the usual ones before.
It seemed a bit dry to eat, and it got a little cold when the wind blew. The flavor wasn't quite there either. As You Tongtong ate the fried noodles, she thought that she still preferred something steaming hot, something that she could drink some soup after eating, something that would make her feel warm all over.
"Here it comes, here it comes, the oden is here!" My deskmate strode over with a bowl in hand, placed the oden on the table, took a deep breath, and immediately a blissful smile appeared on his face. "It smells so good! I don't know how I've survived these past two days without oden!"
As he spoke, his deskmate eagerly tore open his chopsticks, scooped out a piece of milky white, slightly soft stuff, and quickly put it in his mouth, his cheeks moving non-stop: "This is the taste! So chewy and bouncy, the meat is so delicate, strange, it's a bit like fish."
You Tongtong laughed: "Has your sense of taste changed? I've eaten oden so many times and I've never tasted what you're talking about."
My deskmate shook his head frantically: "No way! Auntie bought a lot of new ingredients, and this is the first time I've ever tried them!"
As he spoke, his tablemate scooped up another piece of white, rice-noodle-like food, which had been cooked until it was translucent. As soon as he picked it up, the honey-colored broth dripped down, while some of it clung to the surface, trembling slightly. The wind carried the heat and aroma into his nostrils, and he could feel a mouthwatering, fresh, and warm scent.
You Tongtong swallowed hard and couldn't help but say, "I want to try it."
The person at the table pulled their chopsticks back and mocked, "No way! Didn't you want fried noodles? Humph!"
Yu Tongtong's excellent qualities vanished for a moment. She quickly grabbed a handful of rice noodles, put them in her mouth, and her eyes lit up immediately.
Now I finally understand why fried noodles taste bad. It turns out it wasn't the fried noodles that were the problem; it was that her taste had been elevated by oden. That's why she had no problem after eating it.
But this shouldn't be rice noodles. Rice noodles don't have this chewy and resilient texture. After fully absorbing the deliciousness of the broth, they become extremely smooth and delicious.
It's crunchy and slightly crisp when you chew it, and the umami flavor of the broth is fully brought out, making it incredibly fresh and clear.
After swallowing, You Tongtong couldn't resist picking up another bite with her chopsticks. While eating, she spoke somewhat indistinctly: "What is this? I've never eaten anything like it before. I declare that this is a hundred times tastier than those vegetables!"
Just as the chopsticks were about to be served again, her deskmate quickly grabbed her small bowl and glared at You Tongtong: "If you eat any more, I'll have none left!"
You Tongtong was a little embarrassed: "It was so delicious, I couldn't resist."
"That way, if you eat more of my fried noodles, you won't be hungry anymore," You Tongtong said generously, pushing her fried noodles towards her.
My deskmate shook his head rapidly: "No, no, nothing is worthy of being called oden today."
"Oh, the thing you were eating earlier is called konjac knot. When I went there, a lot of students specifically asked for it. Everyone thought it was so fresh and delicious!"
You Tongtong immediately seized on the key point and asked, "Is it almost sold out?"
My deskmate said, "If you go to buy it now, it should still be available."
You Tongtong immediately stood up and rushed towards the school gate, her deskmate exclaiming in shock, "Hey! You haven't even touched your fried noodles yet!"
But You Tongtong couldn't hear anything now; her mind was completely focused on how sold out was happening! Charge! Charge! She had to be the first to buy them!
As soon as You Tongtong arrived at the oden stall, she saw a large crowd gathered around. Everyone was chattering, "Auntie, I want ten skewers of konjac knots! And ten skewers of fish tofu!"
"Auntie, where did you buy konjac knots? They're so delicious! I want my mom to buy some too."
The oden auntie's voice was always so gentle: "I bought it in Yongyan."
"No wonder, I've never eaten this in town, it's only available in the city."
"The auntie is so kind to us, coming all this way to buy things!"
Amidst their conversation, You Tongtong finally squeezed in, pulled out two yuan, and said, "Auntie, I want five skewers of konjac knots, and you can take whatever you want from the rest!"
Yu Tongtong stared intently into the pot like a searchlight, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the familiar cart no longer had the pot-boiled chicken.
Although Yu Tongtong hasn't bought Bo Bo Chicken since Oden came along, it still holds a special place in her heart. She feels at ease just seeing it and only buys it occasionally.
You Tongtong carefully scanned the cart and finally confirmed that there was no Bo Bo Chicken today, not that they were sold out: "Auntie, are you not making Bo Bo Chicken anymore?"
No, she wants to eat it again later!
"It's not that I won't make it anymore, it's just that I probably won't make it this winter. I'll make it again when the weather gets warmer and everyone wants to eat Bo Bo Chicken."
You Tongtong's emotions were like a rollercoaster: "Really? There will be more in the future!"
"Of course."
Only after receiving confirmation did You Tongtong feel slightly relieved, but she still mourned for a few seconds for the temporary disappearance of Bobo Chicken.
From now on, if I want to eat Bo Bo Chicken, I'll have to go to other stores to buy it. There used to be no Bo Bo Chicken in town. Since my aunt started selling it, many stores have also launched this type of dish, but none of them taste as good as my aunt's.
You Tongtong felt a little indignant. It was clearly her aunt who did it first, and then the others followed suit.
The middle school students had a strong sense of justice, and they all complained to the aunt with anger. But the aunt just said in a gentle tone, "I didn't invent Bo Bo Chicken. The more people make it, the more flavors you can taste. This is a good thing."
You Tongtong thought that her aunt was a kind and good person. Even if the food her aunt made was just average, she would still come to buy it often. But the taste was not average, but absolutely delicious. You Tongtong could not walk away every time she smelled it.
A bowl of oden was handed to You Tongtong, who took it with both hands. Before she could even go back to school, she took a bite of a konjac knot on the spot and immediately felt as if her soul was about to ascend to heaven.
You Tongtong ran into the school and went to the stone table, only to find that the bowl of fried noodles she had left behind was still untouched.
"Why aren't you eating?" she asked her deskmate.
My deskmate shook his head: "I have enough oden."
You Tongtong even specially picked out a piece of konjac knot for her deskmate as a way of repaying a debt of gratitude.
My deskmate mocked me, "Didn't you say you weren't going to eat oden today? Why did you buy it?"
Yu Tongtong said while eating, "I can't help it, I just can't help it!"
"I've decided to change my approach. From now on, I'll eat whatever I want and not deprive myself, especially since there's no Bo Bo Chicken available today..."
Who knows, one day even oden might not be available anymore. The auntie will adjust the snacks and dishes according to the season.
Her deskmate nodded with satisfaction: "Tongtong, you've finally come to your senses."
The two of them ate one after another, and finished in no time. You Tongtong felt that she was still not full, mainly because she didn't have any pocket money today, and she had spent two yuan on fried noodles.
She stared at the bowl of fried noodles, and then a brilliant idea struck her. She poured the fried noodles into the oden bowl, stirred it, took a deep breath, and smelled it. The taste really did seem different!
After some effort, the fried noodles that were previously difficult to swallow suddenly became much more palatable.
You Tongtong thought to herself, "Oden broth is the perfect match!"
*
Today, all six pots of oden sold out. Customers' love for the new ingredients is immense, and konjac knots have gained a large following. Some students even asked Song Xinran to make a pot of konjac knots tomorrow.
Song Xinran would never do that. Frozen ingredients usually make up no more than 30% of her oden, otherwise the flavor of the oden would be lost.
Frozen ingredients aren't expensive by the unit price. Song Xinran did the math when she got home and found that she sold six batches today with a gross profit of 250. However, preparing fresh ingredients was really tiring.
Tomorrow it's time to cook a new oden broth. Song Xinran used the leftover broth from today to cook a bowl of noodles for her and Song Yu as a late-night snack.
Outside, the wind howled fiercely, while inside, the windows and doors were tightly shut, with only the kitchen window half-open for ventilation. Sitting in the living room, one could not feel any cold wind, but could only smell a fresh aroma and feel the warmth wafting in, making one's cheeks feel cozy.
The firm noodles, after being cooked, have a fresh wheat aroma, combined with the sweetness of seaweed and the rich flavor of bonito flakes, creating an enticing fragrance.
Song Yu took a deep breath, carefully wrapped the noodles around the chopsticks, and the snow-white noodles smelled delicious. After wrapping them, he dipped the noodles into the soup, where they were coated with a dark brown sauce. He opened his mouth wide and ate them in one bite.
Her cheeks twitched, and her eyes squinted with happiness. "It's so delicious! Mom says this is called Oden noodles."
Song Yu felt that this winter was really nice, unlike the usual one. The bed was cold and the blankets were hard. If he had to wash the dishes, the water felt like it had thorns on it, which hurt his fingers. He would curl up in bed, and sometimes his teeth would chatter and make a clattering sound.
But this winter he has warm new clothes, a new scarf, a new hat, new gloves...
There's also delicious oden; a bowl of it warms you up completely.
At night, the bed is warm and cozy, and his teeth no longer chatter.
*
After a few days of this, Chen Jingfang and Xu Sha came to see Song Xinran again.
"Boss, give me a bowl of oden for five yuan." The woman's voice was very bold and familiar.
"Xiao Sha, you're only this generous when it comes to food," another voice teased.
Song Xinran was pleasantly surprised: "You came at the perfect time today. The students have left, and I still have some left in the pot. Please make do with this."
She ladled a bowl for each person, but there wasn't much food left. To make it look nicer, Song Xinran ladled out a little more broth.
Xu Sha and Chen Jingfang insisted on paying her, saying they couldn't let her do business for free.
Song Xinran said, "I'm very happy that you could come."
Chen Jingfang said, "The radishes we grow at home are growing very well recently. Our family can't eat them all, and they'll become tough if we leave them in the soil, so I brought some for you."
Chen Jingfang brought quite a lot, carrying a whole basket on her back.
Song Xinran said, "Thank you. I need white radishes. Homegrown ones taste better, and it saves me the trouble of going to the market to bring them back."
As they talked, the two helped Song Xinran push the cart back. Xu Sha ate as she walked, thinking that if she had known what oden tasted like, she probably would have bought it several times already.
However, it's not cheap either. Compared to a meal in the cafeteria that costs two yuan to fill you up, oden costs at least twice as much to fill you up.
The factory is now delaying her wages, and her savings are almost gone.
As soon as she got home, Chen Jingfang said, "Xinran, I'm going to resign."
Xu Sha asked in surprise, "Don't you want your wages anymore? The factory manager said to pay the current employees first."
Chen Jingfang shook her head: "The day after tomorrow is the 30th. If it's not paid by then, I'll resign."
She sighed, "Now I see it clearly. They're delaying payment every day because they never intended to pay. They're just keeping us hanging on, making us work for free. Regardless of whether I can find a factory later, I don't want to work for free anymore."
Xu Sha hesitated for a moment: "There aren't any other factories in town. My sister-in-law has a pottery factory in town. Would you like to come with me to take a look?"
Chen Jingfang said, "It's too far from my home. Unlike you, I don't only have one person to feed and no one to worry about. I have children at home. I'd like to find something to do nearby."
“Xinran.” Chen Jingfang looked at her. “Although I have a plan in mind, I’m still uneasy and want to talk to you.”
She knew that Song Xinran was doing very well now, and when people are confused, they always subconsciously want to seek advice from people who are more powerful than themselves.
Song Xinran's voice was gentle and calm: "You are young now, so you should take your time to find a job and think about your future."
Chen Jingfang said, "I've thought about that too, but the child needs money..."
"Wouldn't it be easier if we could get our back wages back?"
"Of course!" Xu Sha exclaimed happily at the thought of the money. "That's three thousand yuan! I've never held so much money in my hands before!"
Chen Jingfang sighed: "But we can't get it back. Nobody in the factory has been paid their wages, and two people from the security department have quit."
Song Xinran said in a low voice, "I got back the wages that were owed to me."
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