The next day, Lin Yan was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. He planned to make scallion pancakes today; he was getting a bit tired of eating porridge every day. The shop still sold scallion pancakes, and over the years, the shop's breakfast offerings had changed. Pumpkin pancakes and scallion pancakes were the most common, while soy milk and tofu pudding were the most popular. Their delicious taste attracted many people.
As soon as Lin Yang finished kneading the dough and letting it rise, Zhao Yian ran over excitedly: "Daddy, where's your brother? Do you have a younger brother?"
Lin Yan quickly covered his mouth. This damn kid couldn't even control his mouth.
"An An, don't make this public. Daddy will tell you when you have a little brother. Be good."
Zhao Yian nodded in understanding, "How long will it take?"
"At least a few months."
Zhao Yian didn't know how many months was. He scratched his head in confusion, but his attention was quickly diverted by the rumbling of his stomach. "Daddy, I'm hungry. What do you want to eat?"
"Daddy is making scallion pancakes. Go find grandpa and I'll make you a bowl of soy milk."
"Okay!" Zhao Yian liked soy milk, and he smiled and ran towards the tofu shop.
After breakfast, Lin Yan planned to go to town. He hadn't been to the shop for a few days. Since he let his cousin's wife take charge, Lin Yan went to the shop every two or three days, or he would research new dishes and cook them in the shop. After seeing that they had learned it, he would let them do it boldly.
My cousin's wife is very responsible and keeps the shop in good order. Lin Yan is very relieved and gives her a lot of monthly salary, a full two taels. When my cousin's wife received it for the first time, her hands were shaking with excitement, and she secretly thought to herself that she must manage the shop well.
Lin Yan also mentioned one or two taels of the widow Liu's monthly salary. She and Yue Ge'er had worked in the shop for several years and were considered veterans. She had always worked very diligently, and Lin Yan was very satisfied with her. He was not worried that she would change jobs even if the monthly salary was higher.
"Brother Yan, you're here." Sun Ruoqing was serving food to the guests in the kitchen. When he saw Lin Yan, he greeted him.
It was still an hour before noon, and the people who had breakfast had not yet left. The newly hired boy was cutting vegetables in the yard. There was a new stone platform in the yard specifically for cutting vegetables, which was very convenient.
So now there are six people in the shop. Widow Liu is responsible for cooking, Brother Yue is responsible for serving the dishes, and the two boys in the backyard wash dishes and cut vegetables. Sun Ruoqing helps out wherever there is work, and is also responsible for collecting money and doing simple account keeping.
Sun Ruoqing was not very literate, so Lin Yan taught her simple account-keeping skills. Every time she got home from work, she would give the account book and the money she received that day to Lin Yan.
Lin Yan nodded. "Let me take a look. The Dragon Boat Festival is almost here, and the shop is getting ready to sell zongzi. I'll buy some ingredients and start making some."
"Well, that's great. The rice dumplings in our shop are always the most popular every year."
"I'll give you all some to take home and eat when the time comes." Lin Yan thought they were just talking at the time, but he didn't expect that they really liked to eat them and even said they wanted to buy them with money. Lin Yan simply gave them a dozen rice dumplings as gifts for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Uncle Qian orders rice dumplings every Dragon Boat Festival, and this year is probably no exception. Lin Yan plans to prepare them in advance.
He went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for eight-treasure palm leaves, and then went to the grain store to buy a lot of glutinous rice and red and mung beans, and asked the waiter to deliver them to the store.
After buying these, Lin Yan prepared to go to West Street to see if there were any rice dumplings leaves. If he went to the mountain to cut them himself, he wouldn’t be able to cut much, so he would have to buy some.
When we arrived at West Street, we saw Zhou Chunlan serving vegetables to customers from afar. The stall next to her was now rented by Yang Xu, who was selling cooked food, but he hadn't come yet. He usually came after noon.
"Ah." Lin Yan went to greet Zhou Chunlan first.
"Brother Yan, why are you here? What do you want to buy?"
"Buy some rice dumplings leaves. Oh, and by the way, do you have any salted duck eggs?"
"Yes, I prepare some for you every year." Zhou Chunlan said with a smile. Lin Yan makes rice dumplings every year, so she makes a lot of salted duck eggs every year.
"Then I'll go get it from home later." Lin Yan simply sat behind the stall and helped Zhou Chunlan sell vegetables. It had been many years since he had sold vegetables with his mom, and he missed it. Lin Yan thought of the days when he and Zhou Chunlan set up the stall together, and he felt nostalgic.
*
Time passed quickly, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, Yang Xu asked a matchmaker to go to the Zhao family to propose marriage! Li Yuemei was grinning from ear to ear, while Yu Ge'er, with a shy face, said, "It's all up to my father and mother," but in fact, he was already overjoyed. He twisted the silk handkerchief in his hand, not daring to look up.
Yang Xu looked at Yu Ge'er from the opposite side, feeling both excited and nervous. He even lost his focus when the matchmaker and Amo were discussing the wedding date. Yu Ge'er was a little anxious. He wanted to interject but was afraid of giving others something to talk about.
Yang Xu came back to his senses. He had heard Yu Ge'er express his fondness for his current job before. "Ah, I want to postpone my marriage for two years."
Yang Xu turned around and looked at him in surprise, "Why?"
"I'm still working hard. The shop and the delicatessen business are just getting on track. I want to save more money so that I can marry Yu Ge'er in a grand ceremony."
Li Yuemei smiled with relief. She knew what Yu Ge'er was thinking, so after hearing what Yang Xu said, she felt very satisfied.
After hearing this, Yang Xu's mother wanted to ask more questions, but Yang Xu pulled the corner of her clothes from below, so she had to give up.
"Okay, let's get engaged first. We'll go back and look at the wedding date, and then discuss it with you, okay?" Yang Xu's mother said finally.
"That's great. We don't want Yu Ge'er to get married too early. We can't bear to let him go." Li Yuemei said with tears in her eyes. When she thought about Yu Ge'er getting married, the reluctance in her heart emerged.
"Ah..." Yu Ge'er took Li Yuemei's arm and handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
The family chatted for a while. Li Yuemei wanted to invite her future in-laws to dinner, but Yang Xu's mother said that her grandson would be home that day, so she took Yang Xu and the matchmaker away.
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