Chapter 18: Fool Around
Yun Qiao and Aunt Chen waited outside for nearly three hours before Mian Xi finally finished playing the piano.
The padded cotton was loose and soft, and its volume had expanded many times compared to when it was first delivered. I had to divide it into two parts before I could barely pack it into the small bag.
It's not heavy, but it's so big that I can only carry it on my back.
When we returned to the alley, it was almost evening. The setting sun hung lazily in the sky, illuminating the entire sky in a crimson glow.
Yun Qiao put Mian Xi down and took Aunt Chen to the state-owned restaurant.
Aunt Chen said politely, "No, no, I can just make something to eat at home. Why would I need this money?"
In fact, she said one thing and meant another, and Yun Qiao pulled her arm lightly and pulled her away.
After all, these days we can only eat meat a few times a month, so who wouldn’t like to eat good food in a state-owned restaurant?
Passing by a department store, the salesperson was about to get off work, so Yun Qiao called Gao Xiaoping again, and the three of them chatted and laughed as they entered the state-owned restaurant.
Yun Qiao asked Aunt Chen and Gao Xiaoping to find a place to sit while she went to order the food.
This time when they came to the restaurant, the waiter who took the order was a young man. He looked very outgoing and always smiled at everyone he saw. Yun Qiao thought he looked a little familiar and couldn't help but take a few more glances at him.
Then she heard the young man open his mouth and call her name: "Ye Yunqiao, come and have dinner too."
"Ah, yes." Yun Qiao didn't expect that he actually knew him, and he couldn't react for a moment.
"You don't remember me?" Song Qi introduced herself: "I'm Song Qi. We were in the same class in junior high school. Although we were in different classes in high school, we were in the same school. Have you forgotten?"
Yun Qiao really didn't remember much. At her age in her previous life, the events of junior high and high school happened more than ten years ago, so her memory of them was indeed a bit vague.
However, she did have some impression of the name Song Qi. He seemed to have been the class monitor in junior high school, and he had given an impassioned speech on stage during graduation.
"I didn't really forget." Yun Qiao laughed: "I just didn't expect that you would come to work in a state-owned restaurant."
"I can't help it. I wanted to take the exam to work at the steel mill, but they only hired ten people this year. My score wasn't high enough, so I didn't get in." Song Chen said a little embarrassedly, "So, I can only take over my mom's job for now."
"It's not bad to take over." Yun Qiao comforted him, "The treatment in state-owned restaurants is pretty good."
"It's pretty good." Song Yi raised the corner of his mouth with satisfaction. At least the food was better than other jobs.
He laughed twice and said enthusiastically, "Look, what do you want to eat? It's my treat."
"No, no. I'm the one who invited others today, I can't let you." Yun Qiao knew he was just being polite, so he smiled and waved his hand to refuse, changing the subject, "But I'd like to trouble you to recommend a signature dish?"
Song Qi was indeed just being polite. Since Yun Qiao said no, he didn't insist and took the opportunity to recommend the restaurant chef's signature dishes to Yun Qiao.
Finally, Yun Qiao, on his uncle's recommendation, ordered a sweet and sour short ribs, a stir-fried shrimp, and a pickled pork with preserved vegetables. Three dishes for three people, all meat dishes, quite impressive these days.
Finally, with a bowl of rice for each person, Yun Qiao earned a total of two yuan and sixty cents, one pound of meat coupons, and six ounces of grain coupons.
Although the meal wasn't cheap, Yun Qiao didn't seem to feel bad. After all, Gao Xiaoping's help was substantial. Without Gao Xiaoping, she wouldn't have found a way to buy the defective cloth without coupons. Just exchanging dozens of feet for coupons would have been a real hassle for her, not to mention that exchanging coupons for cloth required money!
The chef at the state-owned restaurant was very skilled and had connections with Mr. Song, so with his father's special attention, all three dishes were generously portioned, especially the pickled pork with preserved vegetables, which was piled high with bamboo shoots and the broth almost overflowed from the bowl.
This state-owned restaurant was right next to the department store. Gao Xiaoping often ate there, but she had never seen such generous portions. Seeing this, she couldn't help but tease, "Xiao Qiao, you have a good relationship with this classmate!"
Yun Qiao was busy chewing on the ribs, his entire mind focused on the fragrant sweet and sour spareribs. He was a little slow to react when he heard this: "Huh?"
Gao Xiaoping: "You can tell from the portions. Your brother Zhou and I have never seen such large portions of food when we've been here to eat."
Yun Qiao didn't understand and explained, "He was my classmate. We went to the same school for junior high and high school."
Gao Xiaoping was joking, but when she saw that Yun Qiao had no other thoughts at all, she stopped talking about it and started praising the chef's cooking skills instead.
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