Chapter 33 Locust Blossom Alley
Not long after the Chen father and daughter left the house, it was time for the store to open for business.
Yang Qiaomai was very efficient. In the early days, before she had accumulated so many bowls and chopsticks, she even helped serve many customers in the store.
Compared to the busy days of the past few days, Xiaohua and Grandma Guo are finally able to take a break and don't have to be constantly on standby.
Even when it's time to close, they still have the energy to chat for a bit.
Everyone felt that hiring someone was the right decision.
Guo Baiwen also told Grandma Guo about Yang Qiaomai's wages.
She knew how busy the store was, and seeing Yang Qiaomai helping out so diligently today, she didn't think the price was too high.
And so the matter of hiring a helper was settled.
Yang Qiaomai knew she was still in her trial period, so she worked very hard. She not only washed all the piled-up bamboo bowls, but also cleaned the entire storefront before leaving work.
Grandma Guo saw that he was hardworking, so she gave him some of the ingredients that the store hadn't sold out that day. These vegetables and meatballs could be kept overnight, but they didn't taste as good as the day before.
Even if the daily purchase quota is set perfectly, there will always be some left over, and it cannot be sold to customers the next day.
In the past, we would save it and eat it slowly at home.
But after eating this for so many days, I'm getting a little tired of it. It would be good to have someone else to help share the load.
On my first day of trial work, although I did washing dishes and cleaning, I only worked for a little over an hour in total.
In the past, with such hard work, it was impossible to even get a decent meal.
If he could snatch one or two orders from those idle deliverymen, he would consider himself lucky that day.
When Yang Qiaomai received the basket, she looked at the vegetables and meatballs inside. Although they were leftovers from today's sales, the basket was still nearly half full.
He never imagined that after having a full meal, he would be able to bring some things back with him.
"These—these are all for me?" His voice was somewhat unsteady, and even with the heavy basket in his hands, he felt as if he were in a dream.
Guo Xiaohua felt much better today; her arms and legs weren't as sore as they had been a few days ago.
Seeing his expression only made her laugh more. "If it wasn't for you, did you think you were supposed to take it and throw it away?"
The vegetables inside weren't expensive, but they were fresh, not to mention there were also tofu meatballs and some cleaned pig offal.
"No, no, no, we won't lose them. How can we lose these things?"
Yang Qiaomai finally realized what was happening, and immediately shook her head repeatedly. She gripped the basket handle tightly, bowed several more times to the Guo family, and then ran out the small door with the basket, unable to contain her joy, "I'll wash this basket clean and bring it over tomorrow—"
He ran quite fast. Guo Baiwen was thinking about whether to give him a lantern or something, since it was getting dark outside.
But Yang Qiaomai seemed to be very familiar with the streets and alleys of Xiuning County, and disappeared in a flash.
He stood at the door for a while, and after confirming that he could not see anyone at all, he shook his head helplessly and closed the small door.
Yang Qiaomai was carrying things in her hands, but she didn't seem to mind the weight.
He was used to delivering food with various teacups, bowls, and plates, and no matter how fast he ran, he never turned the food over.
Sure enough, he ran all the way back, and not only did he not fall, but the meatballs in the basket were still safely in the corner of the basket.
Seeing that she could finally see her own wooden door, Yang Qiaomai suppressed the joy on her face, calmly knocked on the door, and only went in after hearing someone get up and open it.
The older sister remained the same as before, sitting quietly on the bamboo bed, her hands still busy with her endless needlework.
Only when I really can't hold it in anymore will I cover my chest and cough for a while to rest.
But after recovering, he continued to busy himself with needlework.
She was coughing at the moment, but when she saw him walk in, her cough, which hadn't stopped yet, became intermittent. "Cough—Wheat, cough cough, you're back."
Hearing her voice, a little head suddenly popped out from under the blanket, which had been curled up in a ball. "Uncle, you're back!"
Seeing this, Yang Qiaomai hurriedly put down the basket she was carrying, "Sister, I'm back—", patted Little Radish's head, and went to pour her sister a glass of water.
They lived in a single room in this locust flower alley. Although the monthly rent was not high, when the older sister was in good health, she could only make a living by washing clothes for others.
Later, he finally married his brother-in-law. Although his brother-in-law lived alone, he had a legitimate business and thought he could finally live a stable life.
But who would have thought that such an honest and kind person would die young?
Even the child that my sister finally gave birth to, I don't remember what he looks like.
Sweetie had no idea what her uncle was thinking. After peeking out from under the covers, she kept fidgeting with her short legs, trying to reach the shoes on the floor.
Yang Qiaomai watched as she thrashed about on the bed for a while, attracting her sister, who was busy with needlework, to stop. Both of them stared at her without saying a word until she almost fell off, at which point Yang Qiaomai stepped forward and caught her.
Put the little guy down on the ground and let him stand up.
The little guy, who is only two years old, was weaned early and started drinking rice porridge. Now, the hair growing on his head is pitifully sparse.
It's not even as tall as a table when you're standing on the ground.
I don't know if it's because I was born in the Year of the Rat, but my nose is very sensitive.
I stretched out my nose and sniffed left and right, and stood on tiptoe to try to look at the table where the basket was.
Unfortunately, her legs are really short.
Even just looking at her back, she's incredibly cute.
Yang Xianu put away the sewing basket, stared at her daughter for a while, and a smile appeared on her face. "Don't tease Tianqiao on purpose."
Yang Qiaomai was also laughing, but she vehemently denied it, saying, "I didn't."
Yang Xianu's health had been poor ever since she gave birth and hadn't fully recovered, so she was no longer able to do chores like washing clothes.
He started looking for ways to make money on the street last year, but he was still young, and the shop owners were afraid he would spill the food if they wanted someone to deliver it.
The only income they could make was from her sister's needlework, which barely covered their monthly rent.
It wasn't until this year, thanks to Brother Guo's introduction, that he was able to get some delivery jobs every now and then, and occasionally earn some money to help with his family's food and rent.
After holding on until now, I've finally found a decent job.
The burden on the family won't be so heavy anymore.
Although the rent here is cheap, the people living here are a mixed bag.
He works outside during the day, but he can't help worrying about his sick older sister and young niece at home.
Worried that someone might sneak into his house while he was away, Yang Qiaomai even arranged a code word with her sister for knocking: three long knocks, two short knocks, and one long knock.
Aside from knocking, don't open the door for anyone else.
Pretend no one is home.
But living like this for a long time isn't ideal either. The room only has one small, high window, which keeps it warm in winter, but turns it into an oven in summer.
Besides, Tianqiao is getting old and has a very active personality, so it's not good for her to stay cooped up indoors all the time.
Once he receives his wages for next month, he's determined to move out of the Huaihua Alley where he currently lives and into a slightly better alley.
After drinking the water, Yang Xianu's cough subsided considerably. She put the cup back on the table and then noticed the contents of the basket.
Upon turning the container over, they were even more shocked to find meatballs inside. "Where did all this stuff come from?"
Yang Qiaomai picked up the buckwheat on the ground and found a sweet potato that she could bite from the basket. After seeing that she had started to bite into it with her small teeth, she told her sister about what had happened that day.
"I was wondering why you came back so late today!" Yang Xiaonu hadn't expected her younger brother to be so lucky today. His originally pale face had a slight blush, and he looked much better than before. "We should really thank Brother Zhao for such a good thing."
The Brother Zhao she mentioned was the worker who used to look after Yang Qiaomai's delivery orders at the snack shop.
These people weren't really close relatives or neighbors. To be honest, he only helped out because he was from the same village as Xu's brother-in-law, who had passed away earlier.
Moreover, according to Yang Qiaomai, he originally intended to introduce such a good job to his younger brother and sister-in-law.
At this moment, Yang Xiaonu no longer cared about coughing.
He rummaged through his own house and found the best set of food containers and cutlery. He picked out a lot of good things from the basket and laid them out, mainly meat dishes.
They hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and seeing so many meatballs and pork offal, even she, as rational as she was, couldn't help but swallow hard.
Xu Tianqiao stopped chewing the sweet potato.
The chopsticks picked and chose, selecting all the nicer and more expensive items.
The rest were mostly vegetables and broken meatballs. Yang Xiaonu closed the lid of the food box and handed it to her younger brother, saying, "Let's hurry and take these things to Brother Zhao's house before it gets too late."
"If it's inconvenient to get a lunchbox, you can get one later."
Yang Qiaomai was not an ignorant person. She took the food box and nodded, "I know. Sister, you can use the remaining ingredients to cook a pot of mixed rice porridge. If you're worried about wasting firewood, cook more so you can eat it tomorrow."
"Tianqiao is still young. I had dinner before I came back, so you don't need to wait for me."
"After we get paid, we'll have to give Brother Zhao another gift."
“That makes sense.” Yang Xiaonu also felt as if a sudden, inexplicable force had come over her. She patted her younger brother’s shoulder, and a huge weight was finally lifted from her heart. “Qiaomai is so sensible now.”
Little Xu Tianqiao didn't understand. She held up the sweet potato and waved it from side to side, looking at this one and then at that one.
She kept repeating the same words her mother spoke, "Buckwheat! Buckwheat!"
She assumed her mother was calling her.
Yang Qiaomai was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this, "Sister, you should just call me Maizi."
It's because his name is too similar to his niece's; every time he calls out the two characters "Qiaomai," she doesn't know who he's calling.
In a few more years, the buckwheat will be older.
Maybe it will get better.
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