Chapter 32 A bowl of steaming hot Guandong cuisine in winter...
As soon as You Tongtong heard the words "钵钵鸡" (a type of Sichuan-style boiled chicken), she couldn't wait any longer and grabbed her deskmate's hand, running over there.
Now, Bo Bo Chicken is the most delicious thing in her heart, and it must be pretty good if it's made by the same owner!
I ran inside and saw the familiar aunt holding a strainer, which was moving back and forth in the rising white steam.
Golden tofu puffs are coated in broth, plump meatballs float in the steaming soup pot, and translucent potato slices are coated with amber-colored broth... Various ingredients are scooped into small plastic bowls, and the bottom of the transparent bowls is covered with a layer of broth that looks as bright as honey, with steam rising straight up.
The aroma exploded like a pop, crashing down on everyone around them without any regard for reason, and trying to get into their noses and mouths.
The aroma that I smelled at the school gate was now even more intense and rich, with the salty freshness of the seafood, the rich aroma of chicken soup, and a hint of alluring sweetness. This sweetness was not the pure sweetness of white sugar, but a warm and comforting sweetness that whetted my appetite.
You Tongtong sniffed hard, feeling her mouth watering: "It smells so fresh, I don't think I've ever eaten anything like this before!"
She hurriedly squeezed in, only to find that there was almost nothing left in the two large soup pots. Only the clear amber soup was bubbling and steaming, and the smell of it made one feel warm all over.
"Auntie, I want them all! I want them all!" You Tongtong shouted.
She was naturally confident because she frequently bought Bo Bo Chicken and knew the prices at the stall very well. Even if the same stall and the same auntie introduced new varieties, the prices wouldn't differ too much!
Secondly, she's rich!
But You Tongtong's words immediately angered everyone: "You can't have it all! I haven't eaten yet!"
"So what if you have money! Auntie, please save some for me, I'm a regular customer!"
There were also humble ones: "Please don't buy it all, give me a chance to try it, my child is starving."
"Leave some for us! We're all classmates, why are we fighting each other so fiercely!"
Hearing these exaggerated words, Song Xinran couldn't help but laugh. That's how it is when you set up a stall at the school gate. Junior high school kids sometimes speak in a very literary way, and sometimes they speak very vividly. She seemed to be like that when she was in junior high school.
"There's only a little left for today," Song Xinran said. "Don't worry, there's only enough for about one person to buy."
A student immediately asked, "Auntie, will you still be selling oden tomorrow?"
Song Xinran said, "If everyone likes it, I'll make it again tomorrow!"
The scene became extremely chaotic, with students making no attempt to hide their emotions and loudly declaring, "I like it! I love it!"
"Auntie, could you give me a spoonful of soup? I'm going to cook instant noodles when I get home."
"Auntie, you have to stay until the end of evening self-study tomorrow, otherwise I'll starve to death here!"
Song Xinran agreed to all requests, and ladled an extra spoonful of broth for those who wanted it, since only those who had bought oden before received a small bowl.
Even if sales are good tomorrow afternoon, she plans to come back to sell more after evening self-study. Oden only does good business in winter. She has spent so much money recently, and now is the time to work hard to earn more.
While talking to the students, Song Xinran scooped up the last bit of oden, put it in a small bowl, and handed it to You Tongtong: "It'll cost four yuan in total."
You Tongtong took it with both hands, took a deep breath, and smelled the aroma. The scent hit her nose and went down her nasal cavity. In an instant, she felt as if her whole body had been warmed by the heat: "Thank you, Auntie!"
As soon as she got the meatball, You Tongtong couldn't wait to put it in her mouth. The first one she picked up was a meatball. As soon as she bit into it, the savory broth burst out. It was still a little hot from being fished out of the pot. You Tongtong opened her mouth wide and kept panting, but she couldn't bear to spit it out.
You can only bite into it whole. The meatball is bouncy and you can feel the distinct meat particles with your teeth. It has a rich meaty aroma and a special umami flavor. The texture is very layered and so fresh that you'll want to swallow your tongue.
Yu Tongtong's eyes widened, her cheeks twitching as she chewed, and as soon as she swallowed, she couldn't wait to put the second one into her mouth.
The second egg is a quail egg. The originally white egg white has been stained honey-colored by the soup. When you bite into it, the yolk absorbs a little soup and becomes flavorful and very easy to eat.
Her deskmate, seeing her like this, couldn't help but ask, "Is it delicious?"
Of course, this question seems redundant, but middle school students are not like kindergarten children who will directly ask for something when they are hungry; they will be much more tactful.
Yu Tongtong clearly understood this euphemism, nodding frantically and saying in a muffled voice, "It's absolutely delicious! You should try some!"
My deskmate smirked: "Okay!"
Then I picked up a shiitake mushroom. After soaking for a long time, the shiitake mushroom had absorbed all the soup and was very thick. With one bite, it was soft and juicy, and the aroma of the mushroom itself was fully brought out, with a hint of sweetness.
Her deskmate's pupils dilated slightly. Was this really a shiitake mushroom?! How come she never knew shiitake mushrooms were so delicious?!
"Tongtong," my deskmate said very directly, "Can I have another one?"
It turns out that all shyness and embarrassment can completely disappear in the face of the most exquisite food.
You Tongtong generously handed over the bowl: "You eat!"
My deskmate's eyes were almost red as she ate, half from the steam and half from being touched. Her friend was actually willing to share such delicious food: "Tongtong, I'll buy some tomorrow, and we can eat together then!"
“Okay!” You Tongtong said.
"You Tongtong, what are you eating? Let me have a taste." A male voice rang out. You Tongtong didn't even need to look up to know it was the most glib-tongued boy in the class. Without raising her head, she said, "Get lost!"
"Let me have one, this bowl is so big, the two of you can't finish it."
My deskmate looked up and glared at me: "No way! If you want some, why don't you buy it yourself?"
To this, You Tongtong simply replied with two words: "Get out of the way!"
The boy grumbled, "I wouldn't have asked you for any if we hadn't sold out today. You'll just have to watch me eat them tomorrow!"
My deskmate picked up a piece of seaweed, savored it slowly, and then exclaimed, "Ugh!" He chirped, "What a disgusting person! I really don't know why our Chinese teacher likes him."
"Wow! This seaweed is so delicious! My mom has made seaweed soup before, but it wasn't soft and sticky at all!"
"Oh my god, I definitely have to come and buy some tomorrow! Auntie Bo Bo Chicken is amazing! Bo Bo Chicken is delicious, and Oden is so delicious too. I've never had Oden before!"
...
"Hey, Tongtong, why aren't you saying anything?" Her deskmate had said a lot but hadn't heard a response from You Tongtong. She was very curious because You Tongtong loved to talk at school, and the two of them would sometimes pass notes during class.
You Tongtong straightened her back, exhaled, squinted her eyes happily, picked up the small bowl, tilted her head back, and poured the remaining soup into her mouth. She ate it all, not leaving a drop, and burped: "So delicious."
Then he glanced at his deskmate and said, "I didn't want to talk just now. Talking would only slow me down."
"But that guy was really annoying. We're not even close to him, yet he asked us for food! It was disgusting!"
"Doesn't he know that many people in the class dislike him? He still acts like he's very popular!"
...
You Tongtong started ranting and raving, but after saying quite a few things, she didn't hear a response from her deskmate. Turning her head, she asked in surprise, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
My deskmate had half a piece of boiled, golden-brown radish on his chopsticks, but he looked completely dazed.
"What's wrong with you!" You Tongtong asked anxiously.
Her deskmate slowly stuffed the radish into her mouth, swallowed it slowly, and then slowly said, "You Tongtong, I misjudged you..."
You Tongtong: ? ? ?
"You're so cunning! You managed to finish all the oden while I was talking!"
"Now they're asking me why I didn't say anything. It turns out I'd already said everything, and now all I feel is heartbreak."
My deskmate made a heart-shaped gesture.
You Tongtong chuckled: "That's because it's so delicious. I couldn't help myself and was so focused on eating that I didn't even have a mouth to talk."
You Tongtong exclaimed, "Why do people only have one mouth? If I had two, I could eat oden and chat with you at the same time."
My deskmate was shocked: "You're so greedy! How bizarre! You actually want to evolve a second mouth just to eat oden! Wouldn't that mean you could eat it all by yourself?"
My deskmate immediately put his hands together and began to pray: "I hope I can come to evening self-study early tomorrow, finish class early, and come out early to buy oden."
Seeing this, You Tongtong quickly joined her deskmate in praying. She used to dislike evening self-study the most. During evening self-study, the teacher would review the homework and call on students to answer questions. After two classes, she felt so scared that her hands and feet were ice cold and her back was covered in cold sweat.
But at this moment, for the sake of oden, they are willing to attend another evening self-study session and endure the feeling of being scared by the teacher!
Song Xinran had no idea that students would go to such lengths just to get some oden; she was simply in a great mood as she packed up her stall.
I tidied up the control panel, put the remaining bowls and chopsticks in the drawer, and with a few quick moves, I packed up the stall.
Unlike before, we no longer have to carry everything home one trip after another, leaving us breathless.
The advantage of using a cart is that it saves time and effort. Finally, I put the cart under the eaves at the door, covered it with a board, and carried the soup pot home. That was the end of the night.
"Mom." Song Xinran heard Song Yu's voice as soon as she entered the room.
Because it was cold at night and the streetlights along a section of the road were broken, she told Song Yu to wait for her at home and didn't let the little one go out with her.
Song Yu was obedient and stayed at home. Now that she was back, he happily ran over, his voice sweet and tender: "Mom, I've packed my schoolbag and I'm drawing!"
Song Xinran stroked the soft hair and praised, "Little Yu is so good."
Song Yu smiled, revealing a row of white teeth: "Mom, today the teacher taught us to recognize pinyin, and also taught us to sing and dance. The teacher said I sang well!"
His tone was a little happy and excited, and his eyes were shining: "Mom, shall I sing it for you?"
“Okay!” Song Xinran was more than happy to agree. She had been worried that Song Yu wouldn’t want to come home to perform, as many children don’t like this kind of performance.
But Song Yu was clearly different. He stood in front of Song Xinran, his back ramrod straight, and his voice, though childish, was very clear: "Mommy, I'll sing 'Little Swallow'."
"Little swallow, wear a flowery dress..."
He not only sings, but also dances. His little hands move back and forth, his palms opening and closing, and his feet never stop, hopping and skipping.
At this moment, Song Xinran felt that living on the first floor was the best thing ever. They could put their stall carts right next to the door for easy supervision, and the children's jumping around wouldn't disturb the downstairs neighbors.
Song Yu's singing and dancing were quite impressive. Song Xinran almost thought it was an idol's tour stage. Although his singing was a little off-key and his dancing was childish, he was really trying his best and looked very serious. The way he tried to reach out and jump showed that he really wanted to present the best stage effect. However, he was too young, so he looked a little silly and cute.
Song Xinran couldn't help but laugh as she watched him sing and jump around.
After singing it only once, Song Yu stopped, frowning slightly. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "Mom, the teacher who sang it only skipped it once, and I forgot."
His face was a little red, I don’t know if it was from the heat of the dance or from shyness.
"Clap clap clap!" Song Xinran clapped her hands, showering Yu with praise. "Xiao Yu is already great!"
She thought it was really amazing that she could learn so much in just one day.
Song Yudundun ran over and sat down next to her: "The teacher said she will teach us this song again tomorrow. I will sing it to my mom after I have learned it."
Song Xinran said, "Okay, did anything interesting happen to Xiaoyu at kindergarten today?"
Song Yu tilted his head and thought for a moment: "The teacher led us to play the game of drop the handkerchief. Yuanyuan always dropped the handkerchief behind me. I was the fastest runner, and I almost caught up with her!"
"But no child threw a handkerchief to Wu Yaoxuan, and he looked a little unhappy..."
Song Xinran asked, "Who is Wu Yaoxuan?"
Song Yu took a sip of water and let out a sigh of relief. There was so much to say about this person.
Today, Song Yu was a little nervous when Teacher An took him to class. It was the first time he had stood on the podium and faced more than thirty students.
Yes, there are 32 students in their first grade class.
Teacher An said, "This is a new transfer student in our class named Song Yu. Song Yu, would you like to introduce yourself?"
Song Yu immediately spotted Yuan Yuan, Xiao Da, Xiao Lang, and Xiao Xue sitting below. The happy looks in his friends' eyes gave him some confidence, and he nodded: "I'm willing, teacher."
Although he was nervous, his mother had taught him how to introduce himself at home, so he tried his best to speak clearly and clearly, stating his name, his age, and what he liked to do.
After he finished speaking, Song Yu picked up the chalk, turned around, stood on tiptoe, stretched out his hand, and wrote the two characters "Song Yu" under the blackboard, stroke by stroke.
"Yu means abundance year after year, which is my parents' wish for me to live a happy and fulfilling life."
Ever since his mother explained the meaning of his name to him, he has remembered that he is not an unwanted child, but a happy child.
Teacher An couldn't help but applaud: "Little Yu is so amazing, he can even write his own name!"
Teacher An was already in tears. There was no mistake! There couldn't be any mistake! Based on her many years of teaching experience, this child looked like a well-behaved child!
The principal has treated her well; such a well-behaved child was assigned to Class 1 instead of Class 2, which is a blessing for her!
Song Yu was a little shy in the face of the teacher's praise, but her tone was cheerful: "My mom taught me to write."
"Clap clap clap!" Yuanyuan clapped enthusiastically, her voice particularly clear and crisp, "Song Yu is so amazing!"
Her lively and cheerful personality, coupled with her popularity in class, immediately sparked applause from the surrounding classmates, whose palms turned red from clapping.
Teacher An was very pleased to see this. It seemed that the new student was very popular. She didn't even need to say any welcoming words. A group of children spontaneously applauded to welcome the new student.
However, among these excited children, there was a troublemaker. Wu Yaoxuan crossed his arms, looked disdainfully at them, and snorted, "What's so great about Mom teaching you to write your name!"
Yuanyuan was sitting right in front of him, and with her sharp ears, she immediately heard what he said. How could anyone say that her best friend was bad!
She immediately turned her head and exclaimed, "That's amazing! Song Yu is amazing!"
Song Yu's ears turned red when he heard this. He had just arrived in a new class and was facing unfamiliar teachers, classmates and environment. His good friend's praise made him feel very embarrassed. However, before Song Yu could stop him, Wu Yaoxuan started arguing with Yuanyuan.
The two children talked back and forth, neither willing to give in, but they were quite reasonable and would never interrupt, waiting for the other to finish speaking before refuting.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding children stopped clapping and all turned their little heads to watch the excitement.
Yuanyuan said, "You can't even write your own name, you're an idiot!"
Wu Yaoxuan said, "So what? Your writing is ugly too. You're an ugly monster!"
Yuanyuan: "You are the one! I don't even want to see you! You're an ugly monster, you're so ugly!"
She turned her face away, vividly demonstrating what it means to be utterly ugly.
Wu Yaoxuan got excited and stood up to push Yuanyuan. Yuanyuan was very quick and dodged, then pushed Wu Yaoxuan back. Wu Yaoxuan sat down on the bench with a thud, still a little dazed.
Upon witnessing this scene, Teacher An's blood pressure spiked. She rushed over and stood between the two children to prevent the situation from escalating further.
"Wu Yaoxuan, why are you trying to bully your classmates again!"
Then he turned to Yuanyuan and said, "Xu Shuyuan, you shouldn't have pushed your classmate either!"
That's how kindergarten teachers operate: they assign blame to both sides equally, appease the situation, and keep things calm—this makes management easier.
Yuanyuan said, "He insulted Song Yu first!"
Teacher An glanced at Wu Yaoxuan and stared straight at him: "We should welcome a new student. How could you scold him?"
Wu Yaoxuan shouted, "What's so great about being able to write your name? He's just showing off!"
Teacher An was furious. She turned around and looked at Song Yu with concern. The child didn't understand what showing off meant. He stood there looking a little lost and nervous. She felt a little relieved: "Wu Yaoxuan, how can you talk like that? It's great that Song Yu can write his own name. We should all learn from him. Wu Yaoxuan, you need to apologize."
Yuanyuan was also angry. She knew what the word meant. Her mother had said it was a bad word and not a compliment. She wouldn't curse, and was about to hit her, but Song Yu, who was watching from the side, rushed over and grabbed Yuanyuan's arm in a whirlwind. His childish voice was a little nervous: "Don't hit me, Yuanyuan."
Yuanyuan was very angry: "He insulted you!"
Song Yu said, "It's okay, I don't understand."
Yuanyuan's eyes widened, and she emphasized, "He insulted you!"
Song Yu blinked but didn't say anything.
Yuanyuan emphasized: "He's naughty, he scolds you!"
Song Yu looked at Teacher An and said in a soft voice, "Teacher, he scolded me."
Teacher An's heart, which had been pounding in her chest, was calmed down. She had a real headache when she saw Yuan Yuan about to hit someone. One was the principal's child, and the other was the son of a leader from the X Bureau. The two of them were fighting, and this was the most difficult thing for her, as a teacher, to handle.
It's normal for kids to have conflicts. You might say a few words to me, or I might bump into you. As long as nothing serious happens, it's fine. But if they start fighting and something serious happens, then it becomes really difficult to handle.
Fortunately, Song Yu was quick-witted enough to stop Yuan Yuan and hand the matter over to the teacher. Teacher An looked at Wu Yaoxuan seriously, gave him a lecture, and told the children in the class that the word was not good and that they should not use it. In the end, she forced Wu Yaoxuan to apologize to Song Yu.
Song Yu remained good-natured and didn't seem angry. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay."
"Song Yu, sit next to Xu Shuyuan." Teacher An finally understood why Principal Kang said those words back then. Although it was a small matter, she had already realized the perfect match between Song Yu and Yuanyuan.
"Zhuo Ya sat with Kong Zhou."
Upon hearing this, Yuanyuan's former deskmate, Zhuoya, was overjoyed and immediately packed her little schoolbag. "Ahhh, I'm so happy! I can be deskmates with my good friend!"
Song Yu thus became Yuan Yuan's deskmate. Yuan Yuan was so excited that she forgot about what had just happened with Wu Yaoxuan and kept moving closer to Song Yu: "Oh, Song Yu, is this your new schoolbag? Is this your new pencil case? Is this your new pen? Do you want to trade with me? I have a new pen too."
Song Yu glanced at it and swapped one with Yuan Yuan.
The first lesson was aerobics. Teacher An originally planned to have Song Yu stay on the side and watch them dance, and learn by herself first. Unexpectedly, Yuan Yuan pulled Song Yu to her side and said she would teach Song Yu.
Teacher An thought to herself that this was not a good teaching method, as Yuanyuan herself was jumping around in a mess.
But the little girl was too enthusiastic, so Song Yu stood to the side. At first, he followed Yuan Yuan's lead and learned to dance, but as he learned, he seemed to realize that something was wrong and started to dance while watching the teacher leading the exercise.
And you know what? Even though it was his first time dancing, he learned it quite well. He stretched out his arms and legs, jumping and leaping, his dark eyes were very serious, and he even danced a little more like Yuanyuan.
Teacher An saw that they got along well, so she didn't interfere. After all, the purpose of the exercise was to get the children moving, and that was enough. As for whether they were jumping correctly, she wasn't that strict.
It's just that Yuanyuan loves talking to Song Yu too much. She's a lively girl who can't stop talking once she starts, especially since her best friend has become her classmate and is sitting next to her.
During the lesson on pinyin, Yuanyuan took out her flashcards and poked Song Yu's arm, whispering, "Can you recognize them? Come to my house to play today. I have lots of different flashcards at home, and I even asked my mom to make a cake. Do you like cake?"
Teacher An glanced at Yuanyuan, but Yuanyuan didn't notice and was still focused on whispering. However, Song Yu kept her back straight, her hands on the table, and sat very properly.
As Yuanyuan's thoughts wandered, describing what they were going to do after class, Teacher An glanced at her again. Yuanyuan still didn't notice, but Song Yu did. A little nervous, Song Yu made a "shh" gesture to Yuanyuan and whispered, "Talk after class."
Yuanyuan talked to herself for a long time and finally got a response. She was very happy and didn't say anything for the last ten minutes. She even raised her hand to answer a question for the first time ever.
When Teacher An saw this scene, she was moved to tears. It was surprising that there were actually students in the class who could resist Yuan Yuan's advances. You see, she had changed Yuan Yuan's deskmates many times before. Whether they were well-behaved, introverted, or quiet, under Yuan Yuan's influence, they all started to become restless in class.
It's said that Yuanyuan is very talkative and her stories are interesting. Children's attention spans are short, so they couldn't help but start talking along. They even got so engrossed in their conversation that they almost forgot they were in class and decided to run off to play.
Teacher An went to great lengths to arrange various introverted and shy children to sit with Yuan Yuan, and in the end, all the deskmates became more lively.
We're truly at our wits' end.
Teacher An recalled her worries, hesitations, despair, and irritability when she first received Song Yu's admission form; it turned out that all her efforts had been in vain.
Song Yu had a happy first morning at kindergarten. The teacher gave him new books, but he didn't use them much. During class, they didn't use the books; they just followed the teacher's instructions.
In the afternoon, it was playtime, and the children in the class played a game called "Drop the Handkerchief."
Song Yu had never played this game before, but he learned it after just one viewing. Moreover, he had a great advantage in this game; he ran fast and could almost catch up with others, but others could never catch up with him.
“Many children threw handkerchiefs behind me,” Song Yu said to Song Xinran in a childish voice. “I picked up the handkerchiefs and chased after them. If I caught them, that child had to perform a talent show. If I couldn’t catch them, I would throw the handkerchiefs to the next child.”
He counted on his fingers, his memory was excellent: "I picked up the handkerchiefs six times!"
"However, Wu Yaoxuan didn't pick it up even once, and I felt he wasn't very happy, so I threw the handkerchief behind him."
"And then?" Song Xinran asked.
Song Yu puffed out his cheeks: "He tried to catch me but failed, and said he would never play with me again."
"I didn't play with him in the first place."
Listening to the child's innocent words, Song Xinran could tell that he had a very happy day at kindergarten.
“But Mom,” Song Yu said, “Yuanyuan always talks to me during class, and I don’t know what to do.”
He sighed, clearly troubled. The teacher had said to sit quietly and listen attentively in class, which meant he had to obey. But Yuanyuan was his good friend, and he felt it wouldn't be right to ignore her.
Song Xinran said, "Then you should talk to Yuanyuan about it. Can you not talk during class and play after class?"
Song Yu nodded: "Okay."
"I wish my mom could go to kindergarten with me," he said.
Song Xinran was both amused and exasperated: "Only little kids can go to kindergarten."
Song Yu said, "There are so many fun games in kindergarten, and Mom will be happy to play them too."
Song Xinran said, "Then Xiaoyu will tell his mother what games are available every day after he gets home, and his mother will be very happy."
Song Yu nodded happily.
After listening to Song Yu's kindergarten story, Song Xinran also prepared to settle her score for the day.
While she was counting money and doing accounting, Song Yu was drawing next to her. He hadn't finished the painting he promised to give to Zhang Xiaoda and the others.
He was lying on the table, carefully drawing with a pen in hand. He was small in stature with a round head, and he was very focused.
Song Xinran also calculated in her ledger that she had prepared two pots of Bobo Chicken and two pots of Oden today, and the total cost, including only the newly purchased ingredients, was 56.
All the food we prepared today sold out. We sold a total of 236.6 items, and our gross profit today was 180.6!
Song Xinran excitedly wrote down the number in her notebook. This was the day she had earned the most since she started her stall, not only because she made an extra pot today, but also because she changed the form of oden, allowing each pot to hold more.
Oden is made by skewering cooked ingredients on bamboo sticks and keeping them submerged in hot broth for easy handling and consumption.
However, this way, one pot could not hold too much food, and Song Xinran could not raise the price rashly. Therefore, she directly used a divided pot to hold the skewered ingredients, and put some ingredients such as meatballs, quail eggs, and chicken eggs in the insulated container. These were sold by the piece, at one, two, or five cents each.
Students are very receptive to these offers, especially junior high school students who have more pocket money. They often go out to buy snacks for dinner after school and are willing to spend their money.
Song Xinran decided to make three pots of oden and one pot of boiled chicken tomorrow.
Considering that this was the first time she was selling oden, she was worried that customers wouldn't buy it, so she split the oden equally. However, the fact that everyone loved the oden today gave Song Xinran a lot of confidence. The colder the weather, the more people like to eat something warm.
After making her plans, Song Xinran stretched and looked at Song Yu, who was still drawing intently. Song Yu rubbed his eyes and then took an eraser to correct the parts of his drawing that he was not satisfied with.
Song Xinran looked up at the tungsten filament incandescent bulb above her head. It had a high wattage and the light was bright, but for a child, a desk lamp would be brighter and less harmful to the eyes.
"Xiao Yu, it's almost ten o'clock, it's time to go to sleep." Song Xinran felt that it was really late. In the past, when Song Yu didn't go to school, he often went out with her. If he had to set up a stall at night, he would go to sleep around ten o'clock. But now it's not possible.
Song Yu said, "There's just a little bit left. I'll go to sleep after I finish drawing."
When Song Xinran walked up to him, she saw that he had drawn a child playing with a water gun.
After waiting a few minutes, Song Yu put the painting away, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and said, "Mom, I'm going to sleep."
He quickly washed up and fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed.
Looking at him sleeping so soundly, Song Xinran was a little worried about whether he would be able to get up the next day.
However, it turned out that Song Yu had a strong will. When Song Xinran woke him up the next day, he was still half asleep, but as soon as he heard that he had to go to school, he got out of bed.
When Yuanyuan came to call him, he was still eating. He was so startled by the sound that his eyes widened, and he quickly opened the door for Yuanyuan.
"Song Yu, let's go to school!" Yuan Yuan and Kang Zhilan stood together at the door.
Song Yu paused, glanced at the time; it was still five minutes to eight. Kindergarten started at 8:30. He murmured, "Too early..."
Yuanyuan spotted him eating breakfast immediately: "Why are you still eating so late?"
Kang Zhilan said, "It's not late, there's still half an hour before class."
In fact, she was a little sleepy herself, and her daughter woke her up every day. She didn't know how Yuanyuan had so much energy.
Yuanyuan sniffed and exclaimed in delight, "You're eating noodles! They smell so good!"
Song Yu said, "It's egg noodles made by my mother."
Yuanyuan rubbed her tummy: "Mommy, I'm hungry too. I want to eat egg noodles."
Kang Zhilan immediately said, "Didn't you eat milk and eggs at home? You're already full."
But Yuanyuan smelled the delicious aroma of the egg noodles and felt she wasn't full, so she shook her head.
Song Xinran said, "I just cooked a little too much, Yuanyuan, have some more."
"Yay!"
Yuanyuan and Kang Zhilan spoke at the same time.
Yuanyuan turned her head and glanced at Kang Zhilan: "I'm using it, I'm a little hungry."
Then he said to Song Xinran, "Thank you, Auntie."
Song Xinran had already scooped out a small bowl of noodles for Yuanyuan, and Yuanyuan nimbly climbed onto the table and began to slurp them down.
Kang Zhilan was so restless that she wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.
Why is Yuanyuan behaving like a little beggar, coming to someone's house to freeload? Anyone who doesn't know the situation would think that they've mistreated her at home.
However, the aroma of wheat from the noodles mingled with the fragrance of eggs, creating a clean and refreshing taste that inexplicably made one's mouth water.
Kang Zhilan thought, no wonder Yuanyuan is so greedy.
After all, Song Yu's mother's cooking skills are top-notch; she craved oden after trying it that time.
Song Xinran didn't even need to send Song Yu to school; Kang Zhilan took both children directly to kindergarten.
Song Xinran glanced at the time and estimated that she could still sleep for a while. Today, she didn't need to make a new broth for the oden, and making a pot of boiled chicken was also easy. The main task was in selecting and preparing the vegetables.
If only someone could help her with these things, it would be great. It doesn't require any skills and is simple, but the repetitive nature of the work is making Song Xinran a little bored.
If someone helps her, she now has a new handcart, which allows her to prepare more food and earn more money.
However, when she needs help with her small stall, character is very important. It's best to find someone she knows who is easy to get along with, otherwise it will only cause more trouble.
Song Xinran decided to keep an eye out and search slowly.
In the afternoon, she set up her stall as usual, and before she had even finished displaying her wares, people came to buy from her.
"Young lady, have a bowl of this." An old voice rang out, pointing to the pot containing oden.
Song Xinran looked up and saw it was the old lady next door. She was a regular customer. When Song Xinran used to sell Bobo Chicken, the old lady would come over every few days to take care of her voice. She smiled and said, "Auntie, this is a new product I'm selling, called Oden. What do you want?"
Then she opened the lid of the thermos and lifted the lid of the soup pot. Steam billowed out, and the aroma of fresh food mingled in the air. The old lady swallowed hard, really wanting to take a bite right there, but she still said modestly, "Just a little of everything, to make it ten yuan."
Song Xinran responded, took out two bowls, added some dishes to the old lady's bowls one by one, and finally gave the old lady two meatballs.
The old lady left with her things, her back view still looking quite calm. But as soon as she got home, closed the door, opened the plastic lid, and the smell wafted out, she couldn't resist anymore. Without even having time to grab some chopsticks, she used a bamboo skewer to poke a piece of radish and put it in her mouth.
That's the smell! That's the smell she smelled that day!
Several days have passed, and the girl next door has finally put out the new dishes.
The old man had just finished playing cards and returned home. He smelled the aroma before he even opened the door, which immediately perked him up. He quickly opened the door and saw the old woman eating. He immediately exclaimed, "Why are you eating alone without waiting for me!"
The old woman spat out, "Don't you love playing cards? You knew to come home even without me calling you today."
The old man quickly grabbed two pairs of chopsticks and brought them over: "This must be something the girl next door made, right? Tsk tsk, how did she make it? It tastes so good! When I was young, I traveled all over the country, but I've never tasted anything this good!"
"What a pity, what a pity," the old man shook his head repeatedly. "It's only when you get old that you get to taste this."
The two bowls of oden were finished in no time, but the old man was still not full. He hesitated and said, "Shall I go buy some more?"
The old lady said, "You go if you want. The kids from No. 3 Middle School have all finished school and there's a really long line. I can't afford to lose face like that."
The old man opened the window and peered out. Sure enough, there was a long queue in front of the former Bobo Chicken stall, which is now an Oden stall.
The old man sighed, "I'll finish the injections earlier tomorrow and go buy more."
"Oh," the old woman said sarcastically, "you're willing to gamble less this time? You never listened to me before, no matter what I said."
The old man didn't say anything, but he thought to himself, "For this food, I'd be willing to give up playing cards tomorrow!"
In less than an hour, the two pots of oden and the pot of boiled chicken that Song Xinran had prepared were all sold out.
"Auntie, is it all gone? Is there none left? Will there be any left tonight?" a student asked incredulously, as he was waiting to buy some after evening self-study.
"No, Auntie, you said yesterday that you would sell them tonight. Do you want to just watch me starve to death?"
Song Xinran had to admit that these students were a bit dramatic. She said, "Yes, there are still some left at night. There are two pots of it warming at home. Come buy it after your evening self-study session. It will definitely be more flavorful then."
"Okay! Okay! Auntie, you're still the best!"
"I rushed out as soon as evening self-study ended, hoping the teacher wouldn't keep us late!"
"Oh no, what am I going to do? Our math teacher is supervising evening self-study tonight, and he loves to keep us late! My oden, no way!"
Song Xinran laughed: "Yes, we have them all. There are quite a few tonight, even if the teacher goes overtime, we can still buy them."
One student sighed, "Auntie, you have no idea how popular you are at our school. I can't even buy both of those pots."
"Make twenty batches, Auntie! Make sure everyone gets some!"
Song Xinran thought to herself, twenty pots of food would probably kill her.
However, knowing that oden would be served in the evening, the students were much more at ease and just waited for get out of class to end before buying it.
Song Xinran also planned to pack her things and go home first, have a meal, rest, change her clothes, and come back in the evening.
Just then, two voices suddenly came from afar: "Hey! This must be that oden place, I heard it's really delicious."
"Is it expensive? I've never heard of this name before."
"Oh, are they all sold out?"
"Then don't eat it. It's been so long since we got paid. I still have some food I brought. Just have some tofu and some other food for dinner."
The two finally reached the stall, and another voice, still somewhat hesitant, asked, "Boss, are you sold out of oden?"
Song Xinran looked at the newcomers, two women in their twenties or thirties, both dressed in gray. Song Xinran felt the clothes looked familiar, but she didn't have time to think about it and said, "They're sold out now, but we'll have more at 8:30 tonight."
"What's going on? You're even rationing your stall?"
"Huh!" One of the girls wearing a wool hat exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Song Xinran, you're Song Xinran!"
Song Xinran was a little confused, feeling that the two people looked unfamiliar.
"You've changed so much!" The girl in the beanie looked her over, her expression full of surprise. "You've gained weight, and your skin looks even better! So you're the one selling oden! I'd only ever heard people say it was delicious, but I didn't know you were such a good cook!"
"You never used to make food at the factory, I never expected you to start a stall so quietly!"
"So, are you making money setting up a stall here?"
"Now that life is good, we don't keep in touch with old friends anymore."
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