Liu Xiangmei's persuasion
Sun Min stood aside, watching Liu Xiangmei hawk her wares with admiration in her eyes. She tried to open her mouth, but found herself too embarrassed to speak, and finally lowered her head.
It wasn't that she thought selling boxed lunches was undignified; she was just embarrassed to hawk her wares in public, and the stares of strangers made her uncomfortable.
Wang Yao was not surprised at all; when she decided to let her mother set up a stall, she completely trusted her mother's social skills.
Because Liu Xiangmei's hawking voice was so loud, there was no need for Sun Min and Wang Yao at all. She alone could completely attract the workers' attention, and the workers would curiously approach when they heard her hawking voice.
They were tired of the restaurants near Dongling, but now a new place had appeared. At first glance, the food in the lunchbox was glistening with oil and smelled delicious, so some people were the first to decide to buy a serving to try.
Upon tasting it, the flavor was indeed quite good.
The tomato and egg stir-fry is tender and smooth, with fluffy and soft eggs. The tomato chunks are almost boiled down to juice, and the broth becomes even richer after being thickened with cornstarch. The eggs are soaked in the broth, and with the addition of scallions, the taste is incredibly rich.
Even a simple smashed cucumber dish is not sloppy; it's crisp, refreshing, sour, and spicy, with cucumber and chili oil intertwined and garnished with garlic—it's a top-notch cold dish.
Finally, there's stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork. The fatty cured pork is marinated until it's almost translucent. When stir-fried with bright green garlic sprouts over high heat, the garlic sprouts are fully soaked in the fat of the cured pork, becoming oily and glossy.
Once one person bought it, another would follow. Seeing that the person in front of them had oil on their lips from eating it, they no longer hesitated.
A worker standing nearby ate and asked, "Hey girl, I've never seen you before?"
While handing out boxed lunches to people, Liu Xiangmei replied, "I didn't work in this area before. This is my first day here, and I should be here for the next few days. If you like the food, please come and support me!"
Someone noticed the little girl standing nearby and asked, "Is this your child?"
"Yes, both of them. When I went out to sell boxed lunches, they insisted on coming along to help me."
The man nodded in praise, "The child is quite diligent, coming out with you in this sweltering heat. You're lucky."
Liu Xiangmei liked hearing this and chuckled, but still humbly said, "Children from poor families mature early. It's my blessing that you brothers come and support me!"
A worker who was handing money to Sun Min laughed loudly, "Boss, you have quite the eloquence!" Then he turned to Sun Min, who had been keeping her head down, and asked, "How old is the little girl?"
Sun Min looked up at the person, then quickly looked down again, and mumbled in a barely audible voice, "Sixteen."
The man made a clicking sound, "You're not as brave as your mother. You need to practice more, or you'll get into trouble when you go out." Then he asked, "You should be able to go to high school by now, right?"
Sun Min blushed with embarrassment at his words and dared not speak again. She had only nodded at first, but under his gaze, she added, "I'll be going to the county's No. 1 High School to start my first year of high school soon."
The man nodded slightly in satisfaction. "To be able to get into the county's top high school, your academic performance must be excellent. Study hard, and bring your mother an admission notice in three years."
Sun Min's face was red to her earlobes. This time it wasn't shyness, but embarrassment. She hadn't gotten into the county's No. 1 High School on her own merit.
Liu Xiangmei chimed in, "I've always left the matter of my child's exams to fate. The final result is 70% hard work and 30% destiny. As long as they study hard and diligently, that's enough."
In the time it took to say a few words, the man had already finished his food, closed the lunchbox, and said with a light laugh, "You have a daughter, she's very well-behaved, you don't have to worry about her. If you had a son like me, a naughty monkey who would climb on the roof and tear off the tiles if you didn't discipline him for three days, you wouldn't have such a good attitude. Sigh, I wish I had a daughter!"
With that, he patted the dust off his butt and walked away.
Sun Min watched the man's retreating figure, puzzled. Could someone really dislike a son and want a daughter? That was strange.
Sun Min felt something was strange at the moment, but once she actually came into contact with the "troublemaker" this person was talking about, she would completely understand him.
Although this man made Sun Min's face burn like a monkey's bottom, his words still had a significant effect, at least making Sun Min relax a lot.
The twenty boxed meals sold out quickly. Some people had just come down from the construction site when they saw Liu Xiangmei preparing to pack up her stall.
Liu Xiangmei inquired around and found out that the Dongling construction site was quite large, with dozens of workers coming out to eat every day. So she immediately decided to increase the number of boxed meals to fifty tomorrow.
All the boxed lunches she had prepared were sold out. Liu Xiangmei was delighted and waved her hand, sending Wang Yao to the nearby convenience store to buy three bottles of soda. She and Sun Min packed the boxes and other items containing the boxed lunches into the car.
Seeing that Sun Min's hair was soaked with sweat, Liu Xiangmei said, "Selling food must be hard work."
Sun Min shook her head, "It's not hard work, it's quite fun."
Liu Xiangmei snorted, "Making money is never fun. It's not only physically tiring but also mentally exhausting. Today you worry about what to do if you can't sell all the goods you've prepared, and tomorrow you worry about what to do if you don't have enough to sell. It's all a lot of work. Even selling a small boxed lunch feels like a hassle. I don't know how your mother manages to support the whole family and run the business all by herself."
Sun Min stood by the car, rubbing her hands together. In her mind, she saw her mother dealing with the cargo owner and the buyer. Her mother was always smiling and always seemed to be working effortlessly.
But it doesn't seem to be like that. My mother is always so tired from stacking the goods on the shelves that she can't straighten her back. When guests come, she immediately puts down her chopsticks to deal with them. By the time she returns to the table, the food is already cold, so she simply doesn't eat it.
My aunt's voice rang in my ears again, "I didn't know before, but I only found out recently. Your dad doesn't manage things, your grandma only makes things worse, and your mom has too many things to worry about. Over the years, when she encounters problems, the only person she can consult is your dad."
Don't underestimate your dad just because he may not seem like a big deal. When your mom feels tired, she always wants to lean on his shoulder. That's the greatest value your dad brings to your mom, something no one else can give.
Liu Xiangmei smiled and continued, "That night, your mother brought you to my house with red eyes. For a moment, I thought about telling your mother to just divorce your father, but as you saw, your mother was determined not to divorce him."
Even if your father has wronged her, after being married for over ten years and without any fundamental mistakes, she can't bear to let him go. That's why she spoke recklessly and disregarded everything else yesterday when she saw that your father might be in danger.
Your mother has too many things on her mind: her son who is late, her unreasonable mother-in-law, her complicated business... to the point that the space she leaves for you is squeezed out, and you feel wronged, as if your mother doesn't love you as much as you think.
But as her younger sister, all I feel is heartache for her. You know, before she married your father, my second sister was a notorious shrew in the village; no boy dared to mess with her. Since she married your father, we sisters haven't had many opportunities to see each other, and even fewer chances to have heart-to-heart talks.
It wasn't until last time that I realized with a start that my feisty second sister had suddenly turned into a quail. Before, every time I met her briefly, I only felt that she had become a thoughtful and steady person. But that day I realized that she hadn't become steady, she had just become quiet.
Xiaomin, you can blame your father, you can blame your grandmother, but you can't blame your mother. She didn't do anything wrong to you. When you were first born, she stayed up all night holding you and coaxing you to sleep. It's just that later, she was swayed by other people's ideas and felt that her son was more important. But even so, her care for you all these years has been real. Don't blame your mother..."
Sun Min slowly squatted down, covering her mouth tightly with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
What is she doing? Lately, she has always put herself in the position of a victim, but she never thought that while she could hide at home after failing to get into high school, her mother had to brace herself to face the ridicule from her grandmother and relatives in her hometown. Yet her mother never complained, she was only worried about her.
She has never truly done anything for her mother, only taking and complaining that her mother doesn't give enough. How could she be so wicked...?
Liu Xiangmei patted Sun Min's head and said, "You're still young and don't understand what mothers in the world do. No one would not love their child. Don't be sad. You have to cheer up. Right now, your father is your mother's only support, but it's obvious that he's unreliable. So you have to grow up and become strong enough so that one day when your mother is tired, she can rely on you without worry."
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