Chapter 42: Green Vegetable and Lean Meat Porridge. What is the purpose?
Early in the morning, before the morning mist had dissipated, both sides of the back street of the academy were already filled with stalls.
Students who arrived early couldn't help but stop to buy some when they saw the steaming hot food.
"Selling noodles with meat sauce, delicious noodles with meat sauce." A woman in an apricot-colored jacket was standing in front of the stall, cooking and shouting. There was a little girl with her who looked two years older than Huaixue.
The girl was very clever. Not only did she join in the hawking, she also knew how to collect money. She counted the copper coins handed over by the customers and put them into her purse.
Qiu Xuan stood not far away and watched the scene in front of her. She did not move forward nor leave, but just watched quietly.
Zong Xiao thought she was sad or perhaps sympathetic. After all, there was only one woman and child at the stall, and even though he was imitating them in every way, he was ultimately doing it to make money.
"Let's go back and see if there is a more suitable stall in a few days." Zong Xiao advised.
Qiu Xuan still didn't move. She gently tugged at Zong Xiao's sleeve, saying in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Did you notice anything different?"
"Different?" Zong Xiao looked back at it after hearing that. He shook his head, "It's still selling food, there's no other difference."
"I'm not asking you to look at the food. Look at those two people." Qiu Xuan said to him, "They are doing business very calmly and at ease."
Qiu Xuan remembered it clearly: the first time she came down the mountain to this town, she was targeted by human traffickers. She also remembered Zong Xiao saying that there were bad guys in this town who specialized in kidnapping decent girls.
Qiu Xuan was panicked at the time and remembered the incident for a long time. Until now, she doesn't dare to set up a stall alone.
But this woman not only dared to set up a stall, she even brought a child with her. If someone were to stare at her in broad daylight...
Zong Xiao understood instantly.
"Let's go back. I don't think this matter is that simple." Qiu Xuan originally thought it was just a matter of stealing business, but now it seems that the person behind the scenes may want more.
Qiu Xuan and Zong Xiao walked along the path back to their own stall. Seeing diners at the stall, they looked at each other but did not immediately tell Zong Mu and the others what they had just seen.
Unexpectedly, they didn't say it, but some diners asked about it.
The diner stirred the meat sauce noodles and asked with a smile: "Auntie, have you opened a new noodle stall? It's over at the academy."
The clan mother was also a smart person. She smiled and replied, "How can that be? We can't afford to run two stalls with our small business, and there aren't that many people in our family."
"Really? That noodle stall isn't yours." The diners were also curious. The meat sauce noodles at the Zong family stall were different from those in town.
But the noodles sold at that small stall tasted almost the same as those sold at the Zongjia noodle stall. If an outsider didn’t know, they would definitely think they were from the same stall.
"This noodle dish isn't new. If my family has it, other families must have it too." Qiu Xuan quickly changed the subject. "But my family really hasn't opened a stall. If we ever do, we'll definitely let everyone know soon. Everyone, remember to come often."
The diners were very flattering. "Your food is delicious, so it's natural for you to come here often. If your business grows in the future, don't forget us, your old customers."
Qiu Xuan would naturally not forget. She had a good memory and was already familiar with these diners who often came to eat there. She remembered exactly what each of them liked and disliked to eat.
At this time, she could not have imagined that a few days later, thanks to her good memory, something serious would happen.
-
In the blink of an eye, it was cold moon and the weather was even colder.
Getting up before daybreak to knead the dough had become a difficult task. Qiu Xuan huddled in her quilt, leaving only her head outside.
She stared blankly and didn't want to remember.
Zong Xiao: "You sleep a little longer. I'll go check on the kitchen. Mother said we can work for another half month and then we won't leave the mountain until the twelfth lunar month."
Qiu Xuan knew about this, firstly because the weather was really too cold and the roads would be difficult to walk on if it snowed, and secondly because Zong Anji was going to get married in the twelfth lunar month and the family would definitely be too busy to handle it.
She yawned, slowly opened her eyes, and said with emotion: "It's a good thing I didn't set up another stall at that time, otherwise we would have quit early and would definitely not have made back the money."
Zong Xiao smiled, thinking she was joking. After all, she would visit that stall every day for a while.
"Let's wait and see after the New Year." Zong Xiao said to her, "There should be extra seats after the New Year. If there's a suitable one then, it won't be too late to set up another stall."
Qiu Xuan was not in a hurry about this matter. She always felt uneasy until she figured out the purpose of the person who stole the stall.
"By the way, you are not going down the mountain with us today, right?" Qiu Xuan did not lie down again. She half sat up wrapped in the quilt, and Zong Xiao was reflected in her pair of dark eyes.
"Well, I'm going to the mountains today. I haven't been in for a while."
Before getting married, Zong Xiao would go into the mountains every day. He was good at hunting, so catching rabbits was no problem for him. Most of the money in the family came from his hunting.
After getting married, they went into the mountains less frequently, especially since the family had a stable source of money that they could earn by going down the mountain every day, and they no longer had to go into the mountains to hunt every day.
But now that winter was approaching, he decided to go into the mountains to save more money. After all, if he was lucky, a single kill could fetch several taels of silver.
Qiu Xuan was a little worried and couldn't help but give him a few more reminders, all of which were to ask him to be careful.
"Don't worry, I won't go any deeper." Zong Xiao patted her head and asked her to lie down for a while.
It's still early, no need to rush.
Qiu Xuan was indeed still sleepy, but she still got up and heated up two dry steamed buns for him, then sent him out of the house. Only after she could no longer see his back did Qiu Xuan close the gate and lie back on the kang.
She didn't sleep well that time and woke up in less than half an hour.
Qiu Xuan couldn't sleep anymore, so she put on her clothes and went straight into the kitchen, where she prepared food by herself. When her mother-in-law and the others came over, the food in the pot was just cooked.
Huaixue rubbed her eyes, she lay in her grandmother's arms, yawned and asked: "Aunt, what did you cook? It smells so good."
It still smells like meat.
Qiu Xuan served each of them a bowl. As for the remaining food in the pot, she did not touch it, thinking that she could heat it up and eat it directly when Zong Xiao came back.
"Green vegetable and lean meat porridge." This porridge is easy to make and tastes delicious, as it contains both green vegetables and diced meat.
But be careful when making it. Don't put the diced meat directly into the porridge, otherwise it will have a fishy smell. It's best to stir-fry it before putting it in. "Delicious." Huaixue sat in the arms of the clan mother, holding a small bowl and eating with big mouthfuls.
The clan mother wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "Eat slowly, no one will snatch it from you."
After saying this, the clan mother asked again, "Did Erlang go into the mountains?"
"Yeah. We'll go before dawn." Qiu Xuan said as she moved things onto the mule cart.
"Erlang is not here, so let's not prepare so much today. Mother thought of going to the cloth shop to buy some cotton after selling the noodles." The grandmother has not been idle after returning home these days. She made a quilt and a mattress with the cotton that Qiu Xuan bought last time.
It's just that I used too much cotton, and the remaining ones are not enough for winter clothes. That's why I thought of buying some more today.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
After finishing their meal, they drove down the mountain in a mule cart without delay.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s cold, but there aren’t many people on the street early in the morning, and they come one by one.
Seeing that the stall was not busy, the grandmother thought of going to the cloth shop first and buying some things while there were fewer people around.
As soon as she said that, Huaixue pounced on her, her little mouth as sweet as honey, "Grandma, I want to go too."
"Mom, just take her with you. There aren't many people here today anyway, and my third brother and I can handle it."
The clan mother said: "Okay, then I will take her there first."
Unexpectedly, not even an incense stick of time had passed since the grandmother left when many customers suddenly came to the stall.
Qiu Xuan and Zong Anji were so busy that they were sweating profusely and had no time to rest.
Just then, a familiar-looking diner hurried through the crowd and headed straight for Qiu Xuan.
He called out, "Young lady, your mother-in-law sent me to call you over. She said she didn't bring enough money, so she asked you to send some over."
"Second sister-in-law, you go over there. I can do this alone." Zong Anji was busy with his work with his head down. At this moment, he was doing the work of two people.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Qiu Xuan took the purse, walked through the crowd and followed the man straight to the cloth shop.
After walking less than ten steps, she suddenly stopped.
The man in front turned his head and said anxiously, "Why don't you leave, young lady? Your mother-in-law is still waiting for you at the cloth shop."
"Really? Is it my mother-in-law who's waiting or someone else?" Qiu Xuan looked at the big black mole on his cheek and frowned even deeper.
She did recognize this person, and had even seen him more than once. However, it wasn't at her stall, but at a stall in the back street of the academy that imitated her noodles.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com