Chapter 15 Chapter 15
015.
After depositing the money, it was still early, so Song Chunman took Song Xiyue to the nearby vegetable market.
Having just moved to a new place, she had to get along well with the neighbors. She planned to make some dumplings and give them to her neighbors to try, which would show her thoughtfulness without being ostentatious.
There were not many people in the vegetable stand. The pork belly on the butcher counter was a fresh pink and white, and the leeks were neatly tied, their green color with water droplets dazzling.
Song Chunman weighed two pounds of pork belly and picked a handful of tender leeks, thinking of adding some cabbage to reduce the greasiness. She also bought two pounds of ready-made dumpling wrappers.
As soon as she got home and put her things in place, Song Xiyue brought a small stool and insisted on coming over to Song Chunman to help.
"Mom, I know how to pick vegetables!" She picked up a leek and pinched off the roots in a very professional manner, but threw away most of the tender leaves as well.
Song Chunman smiled as she picked up the "junk" her daughter had thrown away and placed it in front of her again: "Look at me, pick it from the yellow leaves."
The little girl followed suit, and although she would occasionally throw away the tender green leeks, her seriousness made it seem as if she was completing some important task.
The mother and daughter were busy around the chopping board. The sunlight slanted in through the window, casting spots of light on the ground.
"Mom, I want to make Yuanbao-shaped dumplings, is that okay?" Song Xiyue raised her little hand and pointed at the old calendar on the wall, which had a slightly yellowed image of the God of Wealth printed on it, and Yuanbao-shaped pastries were placed on the altar.
"Okay." Song Chunman put the prepared filling in front of her and taught her how to pinch the pleats step by step.
The little girl was not very good at it, and the dumplings she made either had the filling exposed or were crooked, and no one knew what they looked like. This made Song Chunman laugh, and the little girl giggled too.
Actually, making dumplings is not that difficult, the skins are ready-made, and with the help of the little girl, dozens of dumplings are ready in less than an hour.
When a pot of dumplings is cooked, the aroma fills the whole house.
Song Chunman first scooped out a small plate and left it for the child to dry. She then divided the rest into two enamel plates, found a piece of clean kraft paper to put underneath, and prepared to take the child to deliver them to the neighbors.
Song Xiyue said, "Mom, go by yourself. I'm going to buy some soda."
"It's not safe for you to go alone. Mom will go with you later." Song Chunman said.
Song Xiyue patted her chest and said, "Mom, I will be four years old soon. I am not a child anymore. I will definitely not run around."
"Besides, I'm at the agency store at the entrance of the alley. I'll definitely be back after I finish shopping."
She spoke in a baby voice, but acted like an adult, which made Song Chunman laugh. "Okay, then you can't stay too long. You have to come back after mommy delivers the dumplings."
Song Xiyue nodded repeatedly, then took some money from Song Chunman and ran out.
She went to the agency store and asked the salesperson to help her press the number to go in.
At this moment, it was lunch time and Gu Tingzhou was preparing to eat when the Gu family phone rang.
Gu's mother answered the phone. When she heard the childish voice looking for Gu Tingzhou, she was stunned for a moment and turned to look at her son suspiciously, "A child, looking for you."
Gu Tingzhou was also stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something and hurried to answer the phone. The little girl's childish voice came from the phone, "Uncle Landlord."
She is indeed Song Chunman’s daughter.
Gu Tingzhou hung up the phone, called back, and asked her with a smile, "What's broken at home again?"
"No," the little girl said, "my mother made a lot of dumplings today. They are delicious. Do you want some?"
Gu Tingzhou was stunned for a moment, and his mind suddenly recalled the tomato noodles he had eaten at Song Chunman's place a few days ago.
A simple bowl of tomato noodles, with tomatoes cooked until soft, the soup wrapped around the slippery noodles, mixed with the fragrance of chopped green onions. It was obviously an ordinary meal, but it was so delicious that he even drank up all the soup.
He wondered how someone could cook noodles so deliciously. The dumplings she made must be delicious too.
He kind of wanted to go, but he had no excuse!
Besides, as a man, why would he always go to other women's homes for no reason?
She just got divorced, and if you go there too often, it will be easy for rumors to spread.
"Uncle... are you busy?" The voice in the receiver was soft and a little expectant.
"When you left last time, you said you would treat me and mom to a meal. Why don't you bring something over today and share it with us?"
When Gu Tingzhou heard this, he immediately remembered that he had said this casually when he left last time. He didn't expect that the little girl really remembered it.
So, he really did owe the little girl a meal.
He immediately laughed and said, "Uncle is free. I'll be there right away after I finish packing."
"Uncle is waiting for you." The little girl said happily and hung up the phone.
As soon as Gu Tingzhou put down the receiver, his mother looked at him and asked, "Whose child is this? From the tone of your voice, it seems like he's very close to you."
Gu Tingzhou was stunned by her question. After thinking for a moment, he said, "A friend asked me to deliver something. I'm going to skip lunch."
"Sending gifts? What's more important than eating?" Mother Gu slammed her chopsticks on the table, making a soft sound. "Look at you. You're almost thirty, and all your friends are either having children or getting married, but you're the only one who's still single."
Gu Tingzhou was speechless when he heard this: "Mom, I'm only 26, how can I be 30?"
Mother Gu glared at him. "Rounded up, that's thirty. Your Aunt Zhao said the other day that her nephew is the same age as you, and their second child is already a month old! And you, you don't even know where your wife is!"
"Marriage is not like buying groceries and cooking. You have to wait until the right time." Gu Tingzhou said as he walked towards the room, trying to find a clean piece of clothing.
Mother Gu stood up and followed him, standing at the doorway, peeking in. "Fate? You don't want to be with Yafang, and you don't want to go on a blind date. Can fate really just fall from the sky?"
Gu Tingzhou raised his eyebrows: "This is really possible."
"You..." Mother Gu was so annoyed by his perfunctory attitude that she lost her temper. "I'm not urging you..."
Her voice softened. "But you have to think about the future. When your father and I are gone, you'll be left alone with nothing to eat. In the middle of winter, you won't even have a bowl of hot soup. How will that feel?"
Gu Tingzhou had heard similar words no less than a hundred times, and had long since mastered the skill of letting them go in one ear and out the other. However, he still perfunctorily responded, "I know, Mom. I will definitely get married in the future and will not remain single."
After saying that, he took out some money from the drawer and put it in his pocket, then turned and walked out. When he passed by the dining table, he was stopped by Gu's father.
The old man was peeling an egg slowly, without even raising his eyelids: "Work is work, but we have to eat."
"Dad, it's too late. My friends are waiting for us." Gu Tingzhou said directly, "You two can eat first. You don't have to wait for me."
Before he finished speaking, he had already reached the door. Behind him, he heard Gu's mother complaining angrily: "This brat! Sooner or later, he will make us sick!"
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. If there are no children and grandchildren, I will enjoy the happiness." The old man continued slowly, and just as he finished speaking, he was glared at by Gu's mother: "You are the only one who can say that! Wait until he really becomes a bachelor, and see if you will be anxious!"
Gu Tingzhou couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard this outside the door.
The old man usually cares about his marriage more than anyone else, but today he tried to smooth things over for him. I guess he was annoyed by his mother's nagging.
Without further delay, he turned and walked towards the state-owned restaurant at the corner of the street.
A wooden sign reading "Roast Duck Served Today" hangs at the entrance of the restaurant. The shiny roast duck is hung in a glass cabinet, and the aroma seeps out through the crack in the door.
The weather was hot and things were difficult to store, so he only bought a slightly smaller roast duck, wrapped it in oil paper and carried it in his hand before getting in the car and driving towards the alley.
Along the way, for some reason, he felt a sense of inexplicable anticipation in his heart.
The sour and sweet taste of the bowl of tomato noodles from a few days ago is still lingering on my tongue, and the image of the woman in an apron busying herself in front of the stove is particularly clear at this moment.
Here, Song Chunman was also eating dumplings and saw her daughter staring at the dumplings on the plate.
I don’t know what happened today, but the little girl took a long time to chew each dumpling, and was very slow in doing so.
"Why don't you eat anymore?" Song Chunman frowned and asked, "Are the dumplings not tasty today?"
"No." Song Xiyue immediately shook her head, "The dumplings are delicious. I want to eat them slowly."
She didn't say she was waiting for Gu Tingzhou.
"Then don't be too slow, you will learn to take a nap soon." Song Chunman said.
Song Xiyue nodded repeatedly, and Song Chunman ignored her and started eating. After a while, she heard a knock on the door.
She raised her head slightly and saw a familiar figure standing at the door. His shadow was very long and he was holding an oil-paper bag in his hand.
It’s Gu Tingzhou.
She was stunned for a moment, thinking, why is this landlord here again?
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