Chapter 39 Oden is True Love
Chen Jingfang and Xu Sha were immediately astonished.
Xu Sha quickly asked, "Did you go to see the landlady?"
Chen Jingfang looked worried: "I've been keeping an eye on things lately, but I haven't seen the boss's wife come to the factory. I can't even borrow money from her."
“Xinran.” Chen Jingfang looked at her enviously, “You’re so clever and eloquent that you managed to get your wages back.”
Xu Sha thought to herself, "I didn't expect that the boss's wife, who usually looks fierce and stingy, is actually quite kind-hearted."
Seeing their increasingly bizarre guesses, Song Xinran chuckled and said, "It wasn't the boss's wife; I asked the factory manager for it."
The two were extremely surprised and exclaimed in unison, "Factory manager...??"
"How is that possible!" Xu Sha exclaimed in suppressed surprise, then immediately leaned over and asked, "How did you get it? What did you say to the factory manager? Did you say your family was poor and needed money?"
Both of them made guesses, and Song Xinran shook her head: "Speaking of which, this matter is all thanks to Xu Sha."
Xu Sha asked in confusion, "Me?"
What can she do to help? She's also behind on her salary and is always struggling to make ends meet.
Song Xinran nodded: "Yes, you told me some things about the factory director and Wei Yu. As a result, I happened to run into the two of them when I went to Yongyan, so I paid more attention to them."
Xu Sha immediately understood and her gossipy nature was piqued. She hurriedly asked, "Are they really having an affair? I knew this news wouldn't have spread out of nowhere."
Song Xinran nodded.
Chen Jingfang: "So you're using this information to blackmail the factory manager into paying you back wages?"
Song Xinran nodded: "The factory manager is also afraid that I will tell the boss's wife about this."
She briefly explained the matter of demanding wages that day to the two of them, and then instructed them: "The two of you go separately and just get your wages back. Don't ask for any extra money, otherwise it might constitute extortion. The glass factory has been in town for so many years, and the factory manager has his own connections."
Xu Sha was overjoyed: "Thank you, Xinran! I will definitely only take back my own salary. I won't even look at the other money. It's all the factory director's hard-earned money. I'm afraid that taking it would diminish my good fortune!"
Chen Jingfang, however, was thinking a little more deeply: "Xinran, will it have any impact on you if we go to see the factory manager?"
After all, Song Xinran was probably the only one who used this information to get her wages back. They hadn't heard any rumors before, so wouldn't their going there just make the factory manager suspicious and target Song Xinran?
Song Xinran smiled and said, "No, I don't work at the factory anymore, and I think the glass factory is about to go bankrupt. The factory manager is very busy now. There are no secrets in the world. The boss's wife will find out about this sooner or later. Do you think I'm the only one who knows about the factory manager?"
Chen Jingfang was relieved and smiled more: "Okay, then I'm relieved. I'll go to the factory manager tomorrow to ask for my wages."
Song Xinran said, "It's better to go sooner rather than later. Let's go to the factory now."
The two were swayed by her words, and Chen Jingfang finally said somewhat awkwardly and shyly, "We originally came to help you today, we can't just keep eating your oden for free, but in the end we didn't even get to help, and we even got such valuable information from you..."
Song Xinran smiled and said, "I know what you mean. Just get your wages back, and then you can treat me to a meal later."
The two responded and left in a hurry.
On the way back, Xu Sha said, "Xinran is so generous and kind-hearted; she only told us this news."
Chen Jingfang said with deep emotion, "I knew she was a good person when we lived in the same dormitory before."
Speaking of the past, Xu Sha was a little embarrassed. She had spoken ill of Song Xinran quite a bit in the past, both openly and secretly. Now, she actually asked the other party for such a big favor, and Song Xinran didn't hold any grudges at all.
Xu Sha blushed, but couldn't help but ask in confusion, "How could she have changed so much..."
“I used to dislike talking to her. She seemed timid and hesitant. At first, I told her not to take every night shift, saying that people were just taking advantage of her. But she said that we were all from the same factory and she would help if she could, which made me furious.”
Chen Jingfang said, "That's not entirely true. Although Xinran has a good heart, she's mostly after money. I used to talk to her a lot and know about her family situation."
Xu Sha murmured, "If only I had talked to her more before, I wouldn't feel so ashamed to face her now, always feeling like I'm letting her down."
Chen Jingfang laughed. Xu Sha was only twenty years old, the youngest in their dormitory. Young people usually have a bit of a temper, and they are clear about their likes and dislikes and hate evil. She said, "Xinran doesn't care about these things."
“But I do care.” Xu Sha frowned and murmured, “If it weren’t for what happened before, I probably would be buying oden every day.”
Thinking of the bowl she had just eaten, Xu Sha couldn't help but swallow. She really didn't know how Xin Ran made it. It was light in flavor, but so delicious. Apart from not being spicy, it had a little bit of everything. It was so fresh that you could swallow your tongue.
Upon arriving at the factory, the two bumped into the boss's wife.
Chen Jingfang thought silently, "You're nowhere to be found when I need you, but you suddenly appear when I don't."
She no longer needed the boss's wife's help and turned to leave, but the other employees in the factory desperately needed her. Several shouts came from not far away: "Boss's wife!"
A group of five or six people ran over and surrounded the boss's wife: "Boss's wife, the glass factory hasn't paid wages for four months. My child at home doesn't even have money for milk powder. Can you lend me some money? We'll deduct it from my wages."
"Boss lady, my elderly family members are waiting for rice to be cooked. If you don't pay me soon, they will starve to death."
"Boss lady, my child is studying away from home and we don't have any living expenses."
A group of people were all talking at once, each sharing their own hardships, but the proprietress had a stern face: "I don't have any money either, go ask your factory manager!"
"The factory manager said he doesn't have any money either, so what are we going to do? Are we just not going to get paid?"
"Yes, boss lady, you were involved in the factory's construction and received a lot of dividends. Now you're making excuses when it comes to paying wages. What are we supposed to do?"
"We're not leaving until you pay us our wages!"
The proprietress remained unmoved, displaying a defiant attitude: "If you don't want to leave, there's nothing I can do. If you want to stop me, then stop me. You all know who the glass factory manager is. Even if we take it to court, it's not my responsibility!"
Before the group could finish speaking, several more people ran over from a distance, shouting, "The proprietress is over there! Come quick!"
Seeing that the boss's wife was surrounded, the factory workers now thought the same way Chen Jingfang had before. If they couldn't get money from the factory manager, they would ask the boss's wife for it; they were all one family.
Chen Jingfang shook her head, thinking that with so many people rushing over, the boss's wife would be even less likely to pay wages. However, the boss's wife had been very firm from the beginning and had never considered lending money.
Xu Sha spat and muttered to herself, "They get stingier the richer they are."
“Boss lady, don’t say you have no money. Everyone knows your family is rolling in money. You were the one who funded the factory that Director Dong was able to open.” A worker suddenly said this.
This is something everyone in the factory who's even slightly well-informed knows: the factory manager is henpecked, and he always greets his wife with a smile whenever she comes to the factory.
Unexpectedly, this remark angered the proprietress, who retorted, "It's my family's business whether they have money or not, but this glass factory doesn't belong to my family. When we were building the factory and paying wages, everyone praised us as kind people. Now that we haven't been paid for four months, they're all swarming around us. Have they all forgotten how we fared before? A bunch of ungrateful people!"
Xu Sha had only arrived in the last two years and didn't know what the factory was like when it was first built, but upon hearing the boss's wife's words, she spat and said fiercely, "Is it wrong for me to take back my own wages? What favors? We deserve them all!"
Chen Jingfang grabbed her arm: "Stop watching the commotion, hurry up and go find the factory manager."
"good."
"What are you two doing over there? Come over here right now!" Wang Ling called out to him before he had taken two steps. "We're short-staffed for the night shift today. You two can do it and you'll get double pay."
Wang Ling was on her way to the dormitory to find someone, but she unexpectedly ran into someone as soon as she left the workshop, saving her from having to walk any further.
Normally, the two of them would ignore Wang Ling when they saw her, partly because they were too lazy to talk to her, and partly because she was the class monitor, and if there was any news about her, they wouldn't be punished.
However, the workers in the shift had a lot of complaints about Wang Ling, thinking she was nothing more than a lackey of the factory leaders!
Xu Sha had her hands on the factory director's weakness, and now she didn't care about Wang Ling at all. She sneered, "If you don't want to do it, go find someone else."
Wang Ling emphasized, "You won't even take double the pay for a substitute shift? This is the first time you've ever received such treatment; you're lucky to have encountered this opportunity!"
Xu Sha burst out laughing: "You can have this luck. You're doing the work of two people and getting four times the salary. You're usually so greedy for money, why don't you hurry up and join us today?"
Chen Jingfang tugged at Xu Sha's arm, reminding her to stop talking.
Xu Sha just couldn't stop: "Weren't you so arrogant before? You even formed cliques in class. Now you can't even find someone to cover for you. Serves you right!"
Wang Ling was incredulous and threatened, "How dare you talk like that? I'll fire you, and you don't need to come in tomorrow!"
Xu Sha said nonchalantly, "Quit, quit! Do you really think anyone wants to work here? If you like it, then keep working!"
Wang Ling was surprised that Xu Sha dared to speak to her like that. Her relationship with Xu Sha was not particularly good, but it wasn't bad either. Xu Sha was fearless and did her job. Sometimes she would say something harsh, but she never targeted Wang Ling. When Wang Ling chatted with others, she would often bring up Xu Sha's affairs as a joke.
They actually dared to ride roughshod over her today?!
Wang Ling cursed, "I think you've all picked up some mental illness from living in the same dorm as Song Xinran for too long!"
Xu Sha snorted: "I think you're the one who's really sick. Xin Ran's business is booming and she's making a lot of money, so she wouldn't even look at an old, run-down factory like you. She wouldn't even glance at you if you were offered to her. You're the only one who thinks you're so great. Bah!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Sha turned and left, leaving Wang Ling speechless with anger. She had always known that Xu Sha was quick-witted, but she never expected her to be so eloquent when it came to cursing.
Is Song Xinran's business doing well and she making a lot of money?
How could that be? With her personality, she's so quiet and reserved.
Wang Ling was convinced that Xu Sha was bragging.
"Xiaosha, you're being too impulsive!" Chen Jingfang said. "Why did you tell Wang Ling so much? You know what kind of person she is!"
Xu Sha said, "I've disliked her for a long time. I used to avoid her when the factory was paying out money, but now that the factory is about to go bankrupt, she still acts like she can't get enough. It disgusts me!"
"She was the one who bullied Song Xinran the most in the class before!" Xu Sha spat viciously. If it weren't for the class monitor leading the bullying, the workers below wouldn't dare to be so blatant.
Chen Jingfang was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "But what you just said was quite satisfying."
Xu Sha snorted: "Does she really think I've wasted all these years?"
When the two arrived at the factory director's office, Xu Sha was still a little nervous: "I've never done anything like this in all my years here."
The next second, she raised her hand to knock on the door. After being told to come in, Xu Sha said directly, "Director Dong, you don't want your wife to know about your affair with Wei Yu, do you?"
Factory Director Dong was startled.
Chen Jingfang was equally shocked, glancing at Xu Sha in disbelief. Wasn't she just a little nervous? Why did she suddenly go all out in front of everyone? At least she could have been more tactful with the factory manager!
"Director Dong, we didn't come here for any other reason than..." Chen Jingfang tried to ease the tension, but was interrupted by Director Dong with a gloomy face before she could finish speaking.
Factory Director Dong stared intently at Xu Sha, his tone threatening: "I don't understand what you mean. How dare you bring such rumors to my face?"
"Shut up!" Factory Director Dong's face turned pale and then red. He picked up the phone to make a call, "Security! Where's security?"
Xu Sha sneered, "The security guards are blocking the boss's wife outside."
Factory Director Dong froze.
Chen Jingfang noticed and immediately said, "Doesn't the factory manager know that the boss's wife is here? I wonder if the boss's wife heard something and came to check up on things now. But there are too many workers surrounding her, so the boss's wife is probably still downstairs."
Factory Director Dong looked at them with a gloomy gaze: "What exactly do you want?"
Director Dong felt like his heart was on fire, his internal organs were about to burst, but he had to pretend that nothing was wrong. He was more frustrated than if he had swallowed a fly.
“We need the wages that are owed to us,” Chen Jingfang said.
Factory Director Dong found these words very familiar, his pupils widened, and he growled, his voice crackling with anger: "You're in cahoots with that Song... Song Xinran!"
Xu Sha felt a surge of nervousness and immediately wanted to retort, but Chen Jingfang grabbed her, looking puzzled: "Song Xinran..."
He swallowed his words halfway through, then said, "Factory manager, don't worry about who we're on. If you don't pay us our wages, we'll have to ask the boss's wife for them. And it just so happens that the boss's wife came to the factory today."
Factory Director Dong said with a dark face, "Go to the finance department and settle this with Director Liu! You know the consequences if you say another word."
Chen Jingfang said, "Don't worry, Director Dong."
She grabbed Xu Sha's hand and strode out of the office. Just as they were about to go downstairs, they bumped into the boss's wife who rushed up. The boss's wife's clothes were ripped open, and white down feathers were escaping from inside. The boss's wife's face was darker than ink, and she looked like she was about to settle scores.
The two quickly stepped aside, and sure enough, a moment later they heard the proprietress and the proprietress arguing: "Dong Qiang, what have you done?!"
With a "bang," the door slammed shut, and the noise immediately subsided.
Xu Sha frowned and asked Chen Jingfang, "Why did you say those things to the factory director just now? Wasn't that betraying Xinran?"
Chen Jingfang shook her head and lowered her voice, saying, "It's precisely because we don't explain things clearly that he'll doubt our claims. Explaining things too explicitly is actually counterproductive."
Xu Sha looked at her with suspicion: "Is there such a saying?"
Chen Jingfang gave a vague reply: "Do you think you would believe Wang Ling's words?"
Of course not!
That's it.
Xu Sha thought about it for a while, and the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. She definitely wouldn't believe what someone who had a grudge against her said, and if someone said it, she would definitely think it wasn't true.
"Jingfang, how did you react so quickly?" Xu Sha praised.
The two went to the finance department to settle their wages. Director Liu handed them the pay slips and money together, his smile incredibly kind: "Count them and see if they're correct."
Xu Sha didn't stand on ceremony and started counting on the spot, saying that she hadn't received four months' worth of wages, but there were only two days left in this month, so it was actually a total of five months' wages from August to December.
Director Liu, usually a miser, was surprisingly generous today. He even paid them for the two days they missed this month, giving each of them 3,000 yuan. However, the factory manager lent Xu Sha 300 yuan and Chen Jingfang 1,000 yuan, and Director Liu deducted that amount before making up the difference in their wages.
Seeing the undisguised joy on their faces, Director Liu casually remarked, "Several people have received their wages in the past few days. You must have found some connections, right?"
Xu Sha's face hardened: "What's it to you!"
Director Liu frowned: "You're quite fierce, young lady. I was just asking a few questions."
Chen Jingfang said, "Thank you for your concern, Director Liu. We'll be leaving now."
After coming out, Chen Jingfang said, "There's no need to argue with this kind of person. It seems that the factory is really in trouble. They say they have no money and everyone's wages are owed, but actually, they've all been given to people with connections."
Xu Sha nodded: "Go back to the dorm, pack your things, and leave quickly. I'm too lazy to talk to Wang Ling and make her rack her brains when arranging people tomorrow!"
Chen Jingfang put the hard-earned three thousand yuan in the inner pocket of her clothes, and would press it down with her hand when packing her things, only feeling at ease when she touched it.
She sighed, and surprisingly, she actually got back every penny of the back wages. A smile appeared on her face. On her way home, she bought some things for the children. These days, only her husband was earning money, and they had been living very frugally. Now they could finally have some more money.
It's all thanks to Song Xinran...
*
When Song Xinran set up her stall that evening, she ran into an acquaintance.
"Aunt Song, I'd like a bowl of oden!" Hearing the little girl's clear voice, Song Xinran was pleasantly surprised. She didn't even need to look to know who it was: "Sisi, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Ding Sisi said, "It's still early. I need to do some homework when I get home before I can go to sleep."
Song Xinran exclaimed in surprise, "Is there really this much homework in elementary school?"
Ding Sisi is in sixth grade. Song Xinran remembers that she didn't have much homework when she was in elementary school. She could finish it quickly when she got home and then go out to play with her friends.
Ding Sisi: "It wasn't homework assigned by the teacher, it was a workbook my mom bought for me."
Song Xinran clicked her tongue, thinking to herself that Huang Yun was also a "tiger parent."
"Stop chatting! I'm starving!" Yao Xu said. "These past two weeks, I've had to go to my teacher's house after school every week, and by the time I got here, all the oden was sold out. I'm so lucky to have found some today."
He pulled out a ten-yuan note in a very extravagant manner: "Auntie, fill it up for me!"
Ding Sisi immediately said, "You said you'd repay me for copying my homework, so you'd treat me to a meal!"
Song Xinran smiled and said, "You two have worked hard too, Auntie will treat you to a meal."
Ding Sisi immediately shook her head: "Aunt Song doesn't want you to treat her, let Yao Xu treat her, he's rich! Grandpa rewarded him with a hundred yuan for his improvement in the midterm exams!"
Song Xinran joked, "Yao Xu is quite a wealthy man."
100 yuan has strong purchasing power now. If an elder can easily give 100 yuan as a reward to a child, then that person is a millionaire.
Yao Xu blushed slightly: "I earned all this money honestly. If it weren't for the end-of-term bonus, I wouldn't be tutoring!"
Song Xinran accepted the money, took out two small stools, and served the two extra oden.
Yao Xu was so moved by the taste that tears almost streamed down his face: "It feels like I haven't tasted anything like this in my past life, it's been such a long, long time."
Ding Sisi said, "I can't even imagine how happy I would be if I could have a bowl of oden every day. I would even have to do two workbooks!"
"Don't exaggerate!" Yao Xu was sweating profusely. "Why can't you choose to eat oden and do fewer homework problems?"
Ding Sisi looked at the fish balls in the bowl and said with a profound expression, "You can't have your cake and eat it too."
Yao Xu laughed heartily: "Why are you so cautious about making wishes and even in your dreams?"
Ding Sisi rolled her eyes and uttered a single word: "Get lost."
Yao Xu laughed heartily, then suddenly stopped, chewed his cheek, and exclaimed, "Holy crap, what is this?!"
His eyes widened. The soft, glutinous texture was delicate, smooth, and incredibly chewy. The glutinous rice was fragrant and sweet, and the oden broth was delicious. Together, they created an absolutely wonderful dish, with a rich umami flavor in the sweetness!
Yao Xu rummaged through the bowl with her chopsticks, and with her sharp eyes, she finally found a small piece of white food: "Rice cake, this is rice cake, right! Auntie, is this rice cake?!"
Song Xinran said, "You have such sharp eyes, you recognized me at a glance."
Yao Xu quickly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing as he said, "How could I not recognize rice cake? I love rice cake the most! I never thought rice cake could be paired with oden, it's a match made in heaven, absolutely perfect!"
Ding Sisi asked doubtfully, "Is it really that delicious?"
Ding Sisi doesn't really like eating rice cakes. Here, they make their own rice cakes. After the harvested glutinous rice is steamed, it is put into a stone mortar and repeatedly pounded with a wooden pestle. One person is responsible for pounding, and another person is responsible for turning it over.
The final rice cake was white, soft, chewy, and very dense.
But the rice cakes here are usually fried. They are fried until golden brown on both sides and then dipped in white sugar. Ding Sisi's mother likes to eat them, but Ding Sisi doesn't like them at all.
She found the rice cakes very sticky and only sweet, so she had to eat them while they were hot, otherwise she couldn't bite them at all when they got cold.
Every year during Chinese New Year, when eating rice cakes, Ding Sisi would only eat one piece and then put the rest down, just to get a taste.
Ding Sisi rummaged through the bowl and finally found a small piece, which she put into her mouth with some skepticism.
The moment it entered his mouth, his expression changed. He chewed it in disbelief. "Is this rice cake?"
When you bite into it, you can feel the elasticity of the rice cake, but it doesn't stick to your teeth. It breaks down easily in a few bites, like a well-formed watery texture, soaked in the delicious flavor of the broth. You can feel a little chewy with each bite.
Ding Sisi swallowed it, and surprisingly, it didn't stick to her throat at all. Her eyes lit up: "Delicious! I've never tasted boiled rice cake before. So this is what it tastes like. It's a hundred times better than fried rice cake!"
Yao Xu said, "I've tried boiled oden, but it doesn't taste like oden at all. Only Aunt Song can make it taste so delicious. Aunt Song is the ambassador for promoting rice cakes!"
Song Xinran was amused by their words; children always exaggerate when they talk: "If you like it, eat more."
Yao Xu said with emotion, "Aunt Song must have known that we were tired from tutoring, so she specially packed some rice cakes for us to fill our stomachs. This stuff keeps us full for a long time."
"Huh, what kind of meatball is this?" Ding Sisi picked up a round, plump meatball and looked at it for a few moments. "It doesn't seem to be the pork meatballs that Aunt Song used to cook."
Song Xinran said, "These are beef balls, I bought them in the city."
Upon hearing that she was from the city, Ding Sisi quickly put it in her mouth.
"It's really different! Wow, it even bursts with juice!" Ding Sisi exclaimed as she breathed.
Yao Xu said, "Aunt Song, we haven't been here for a few days. How come you've updated so many ingredients?"
"Damn it!" he said bitterly. "I'm not the first person to try new ingredients!"
"Does Aunt Song still have Bo Bo Chicken?" Yao Xu fell in love with Aunt Song's stall because of Bo Bo Chicken.
However, he has been busy with tutoring classes lately and has been missing Aunt Song's stall hours. In addition, the weather is cold and he hasn't been there for several days. Although the oden tastes delicious, Yao Xu is a sentimental child and wants to try a couple of bites of the pot-boiled chicken.
Song Xinran said, "I haven't made Bo Bo Chicken recently."
Yao Xu stood up abruptly, looking shocked: "Why? Aunt Song, don't you love Bo Bo Chicken anymore? But I still love it! Aunt Song, please don't! Please make Bo Bo Chicken one more time, and I will cherish it and come to buy it every day. These days I haven't been here, and Bo Bo Chicken must be very sad. Aunt Song, please give me another chance, I promise I won't miss it again."
Song Xinran sighed. Kids this age are the most terrifying. They learn a lot and love to use it on their own. They don't know much, yet they speak very fluently. If they are overly familiar with others, their words will be so embarrassing that they'll make you cringe.
Ding Sisi gave a disdainful look: "With your writing skills, how come you can't even squeeze out two words when you're writing an essay?"
Yao Xu said sincerely, "Because my love for writing is fake, but my love for Bo Bo Chicken is real."
Ding Sisi scoffed, "Oh, so you only regret it when you've lost true love."
Yao Xu looked at Song Xinran and cried out in despair, "Aunt Song..."
Song Xinran felt both amused and embarrassed, and explained, "I only said that I won't be making them for a while, and I'll start again next spring when the weather is warmer."
"Really?" Yao Xu asked.
"real."
Yao Xu said, "That's good. We won't graduate until next June. I'll be going to the city to study junior high school then, so I'll be able to see Bobo Chicken again."
"Will Yao Xu also go to the city for junior high school?" Song Xinran asked.
Yao Xu nodded: "My home is in the city. My mother used to work in the town, but she will be transferred back next year."
"She didn't want me to fall behind in the city, so she hired Teacher Zhang to tutor me."
At that time, tutoring was not investigated as strictly as it was later, and many teachers in schools would also tutor students, and the fees were not high.
However, families that pay for their children's tutoring are generally quite wealthy and very attentive to their children's studies.
Such incidents are more commonly heard of at No. 3 Middle School; I haven't heard of many cases in primary schools.
Ding Sisi said, "My mother thinks the same way. She wants me to go to junior high school in the city, but I have to pass the entrance exam for a school in the city first."
Watching the two children eat heartily, Song Xinran thought to herself, "I thought there shouldn't be any corruption these days. I had a very easy childhood. I didn't expect that it was only the places I saw that weren't corrupt."
After finishing the meal, Yao Xu drank all the soup and exclaimed, "This soup is so delicious for cooking noodles." Ding Sisi's eyes darted around, but she didn't say anything.
Yao Xu threw the trash into the trash can and waved to Song Xinran: "Goodbye, Aunt Song, I have to go back now. I'll definitely come back to buy oden tomorrow!"
As soon as he left, Ding Sisi said, "Aunt Song, can I take a bowl of soup home? My mom hasn't had a late-night snack yet, I'll cook her a bowl of noodles when I get home."
Song Xinran said, "Come back with me, I'll get you a thermos to pack things up. What can you put in this plastic bowl?"
"Sister Yun will definitely not be able to sleep tonight if she tastes the noodles you cooked."
Ding Sisi said, "My mom can't sleep because the oden soup is too delicious, not because of the noodles I cooked. She's been very critical of me lately, always saying I make too many mistakes in my homework."
Song Xinran said, "Sister Yun is also worried about you, but Sisi, you should also take care of your health and get more rest."
Ding Sisi smiled at her: "Aunt Song, don't worry, I sleep very well every day, you can't wake me up!"
After returning home, Song Xinran filled a thermos with soup base for Ding Sisi and scooped out a spoonful to make noodle soup, intending to cook it for Song Yu.
She had cooked it like this a few days ago, and Song Yu liked it very much, drinking all the broth clean.
While cooking the noodles, she put in the eggs she had saved beforehand. These eggs had been cooked together with the oden sold outside, and they had already absorbed the flavors. The egg whites had turned amber, like tea eggs.
But this is different from a tea egg; it has a slightly runny yolk inside, so it's not dry.
Song Yu really enjoyed eating it. She broke the egg in half, held one half in her little hand, and said curiously, "It's different from the eggs at Auntie's house."
“How is it different? This is what my aunt brought us,” Song Xinran said.
Song Yu pointed to the soft-boiled egg inside: "This egg is delicious."
Song Xinran said, "Then Xiao Yu will eat two tomorrow."
Song Yu shook his head, his face serious: "One is enough. I'll have one for Mom and one for myself."
Song Xinran smiled and then asked him how he was doing at kindergarten.
Song Yu said in her childish voice, "Kindergarten is a lot of fun. All the children in my class like my Ophiopogon japonicus. I've already pre-ordered a lot of Ophiopogon japonicus flowers."
He raised both hands: "I need at least ten flowers to give to my classmates, but I've already promised Yuanyuan that I'll give her the first one."
Because he now shoulders a heavy responsibility, the first thing Song Yu does when he gets to class every day is to check on his ophiopogon japonicus. He really wants to water it more so that it can grow quickly, but the flower seller said to water it once every ten days, and Song Yu strictly follows that advice.
Thankfully, tomorrow is the tenth day. Song Yu even dreamed about watering the Ophiopogon japonicus last night.
The next day, as soon as Song Yu arrived at class, he took a watering can and ran to the toilet to fill it with water. He carried the half-full can of water back to the classroom and stood on tiptoe to water his liriope.
He gently touched the long, green leaves of the liriope muscari and breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, they hadn't withered or turned yellow.
He watered the plants very carefully, trying to water them evenly so that every leaf and every patch of soil could enjoy the nourishment of the rain.
Seeing him like this, several of the children in the class gathered around and asked, "Song Yu, what are you doing?"
"You don't need to water it like that, just pour it on directly."
Song Yu shook his head, his face serious: "This is my flower, and I will take good care of it."
Children have a strong herd mentality. As soon as he said that, someone immediately raised their hand: "Can you give me the watering can after you water your flowers? I want to water my flowers too."
Song Yu said, "Okay, if you take good care of it, it will grow very well."
Several children were slowly watering the plants, exchanging their gardening tips as they did so. In reality, they didn't have any real tips; they only paid attention when the teacher reminded them or when they saw others watering their plants. But that didn't stop them from talking about it with great interest.
Suddenly, a child noticed the jasmine plant that was about to wither and called out, "Wu Yaoxuan, your flower is dying, you should water it."
Since his parents were called in, Wu Yaoxuan has become much better behaved and has had fewer conflicts with his classmates. Teacher An even praised Wu Yaoxuan in public for this.
Wu Yaoxuan turned his head and looked in their direction, immediately spotting Song Yu. He snorted, "My flowers can live without watering!"
He remained seated, while a child by the balcony whispered, "Wu Yaoxuan's Jasmine is so pitiful; she's about to die because no one is taking care of her."
“Wu Yaoxuan is not a good owner; look, the leaves have all fallen off.”
Song Yu felt a pang of sadness. He glanced at Wu Yaoxuan and, seeing that he wasn't paying attention, quickly watered the jasmine, whispering, "Jasmine, jasmine, don't die. You must live well, and it will bloom in spring."
Wu Yaoxuan now really hates Song Yu. He caused Song Yu to be called to the meeting with his parents and scolded by his father. He had never been scolded before!
But despite how annoying Song Yu is, his teachers and classmates actually like him a lot, so Wu Yaoxuan decides he must get revenge!
His method of revenge was simple: during class, the teacher asked, "Which child can recognize this pinyin?"
Song Yu raised his hand!
This seemed to be a signal, and Wu Yaoxuan immediately raised his hand as well. He didn't even look at the blackboard; he was only thinking about competing with him.
Teacher An's pupils dilated slightly, unable to believe that Wu Yaoxuan had actually raised his hand. She happily called out, "Wu Yaoxuan, you answer."
I suddenly got stuck. Hmm, how do I pronounce this in pinyin?
Teacher An looked at him encouragingly: "It's okay, think about it before you answer the teacher."
Wu Yaoxuan: Hmm...
After waiting for about ten seconds, Teacher An saw that Wu Yaoxuan still looked blank and finally realized that he didn't know how.
Teacher An: …………
However, for children who rarely raise their hands, Teacher An mainly encouraged them: "If you forgot, just sit down. Song Yu, you can speak."
Song Yu's voice was crisp and clear: "Read 'yi', 'y'."
Teacher An smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, that's how you read it. Everyone, take out your flashcards and recognize them."
"Song Yu is so amazing! He knows the answers to every question the teacher asks." Hearing the words from the side, Wu Yaoxuan gritted his teeth.
Damn it!!
If raising your hand in class doesn't win, then try a different approach, as his father said: use your strengths to attack others' weaknesses.
In physical education class, the teacher led everyone in bouncing a ball.
This was Wu Yaoxuan's specialty. As he patted the camera, he walked towards Song Yu, ready to show Song Yu his skills.
But before I even got close, the spot I'd been eyeing was snatched up.
Zhang Xiaoda said, "Song Yu, you take the pictures, and I'll count them for you!"
Song Yu shook his head: "Let me count for you. You can only count to twenty."
He can take more than twenty photos, but Zhang Xiaoda will only give him a smaller number.
Zhang Xiaoda grinned: "Okay!"
After the photo was taken, Wu Yaoxuan was about to join in, but someone else was faster than him. Yuanyuan said, "Song Yu, you count for me."
Song Yu also said it was good.
He was always surrounded by people, and Wu Yaoxuan couldn't find an opportunity to get close to him.
How could this happen!
Finally, during the physical education class assembly, Wu Yaoxuan found an opportunity to push Song Yu and have a fair fight with him.
But Song Yu, who was just standing there, suddenly ran away for some reason.
Wu Yaoxuan lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.
The PE teacher witnessed it firsthand and was immediately startled. He rushed over and asked, "Wu Yaoxuan, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?"
Why did the little tyrant in our class slip and fall flat on his face today?
He must have hurt himself; his arms and legs throbbed with pain. But then he suddenly heard Song Yu's voice, young and worried: "Should Wu Yaoxuan go to the infirmary?"
Wu Yaoxuan wiped his eyes, pursed his lips, and stood up resolutely: "I'm fine! I'm not going to the infirmary!"
Then, limping, he tried his best to remain calm as he walked to join the group.
After all that happened, Wu Yaoxuan decided to directly challenge Song Yu to a duel. That's how duels between heroes in TV dramas are always like this, but he's the hero and Song Yu is the coward. They'll meet after school.
...
During the last class in the afternoon, Song Yu found a piece of paper on his desk.
There were two characters he couldn't understand written on it, followed by a lot of pinyin. He tried to pronounce them:
song iu 我iao gin 你jie don……
After school, at the gate of X, no X, no X.
Song Yu frowned and tried to read it several times, but found that he couldn't read it at all. It must be a draft written by some child.
Song Yu couldn't recognize all the characters above. There were three more characters at the end. Song Yu pointed to one of them and read: "口,天...唔..."
I don't recognize you anymore.
He placed the paper at the lost and found next to the podium so that students who lost it could retrieve it.
Wu Yaoxuan was looking at him again for some reason. Song Yu was puzzled, but since they were classmates, he smiled at Wu Yaoxuan in a friendly manner.
Wu Yaoxuan immediately turned his face away and snorted heavily, thinking that Song Yu had already accepted the challenge.
He clenched his fists, vowing to compete with Song Yu fairly and squarely.
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