It's dawn! Thank you Xia for the tip!
Zhang Hongmei disregarded her reserve and walked down the street eating the food as she went. It was so delicious! She would definitely come again next time. If she didn't still have some vegetable buns at home, she would have bought more today.
Suddenly, a piercing wail came from one of the shops. Curious, Zhang Hongmei looked inside. She saw an old woman sitting on the ground throwing a tantrum. Zhang Hongmei quickly left; anything could happen.
A middle-aged woman rushed over and bumped into Zhang Hongmei. Without apologizing, she hurriedly left.
Then a shop next door caught my eye; it had a Bagua diagram hanging on the wall.
Zhang Hongmei went into the shop and stood under the Bagua diagram to examine it carefully, but there was nothing special about it.
"Does the little girl like this Bagua diagram?"
"No, it just feels a little different, but I can't quite put my finger on what's different."
"Hehe, just take your time and look at it. I got it from an old Taoist priest."
Zhang Hongmei didn't notice anything amiss. She turned around, saw the boss reading a book, smiled apologetically, and left.
As soon as I stepped outside, I ran into the woman who had been throwing a tantrum on the ground earlier and the woman who had bumped into me.
"You jinx! What ancestral high-ranking official? This piece of junk is fake."
The woman didn't say anything, but helped the old man walk forward with his head down.
Zhang Hongmei shook her head; this was another daughter-in-law who had been mistreated.
Today's Taobao shopping trip was fruitless, I'd better go home.
Wang Xiaoshun saw Zhang Xingguo's car parked at the door, waiting for him.
"Brother Xiaoshun, what brings you here?"
"We're bringing you food. This time it's all top-quality stuff, shipped from the neighboring country. Open the door quickly, I'll carry it in for you."
After Wang Xiaoshun finished carrying a bag of rice and a bag of flour, he said, "Hongmei, shall I pick you up tomorrow morning to go see the tailor?"
"Let's wait until it gets warmer. We're wearing a lot of clothes now, and the sizes aren't accurate. Tell Uncle Zhang when you get back."
"Okay, then I'll be going."
"Brother Xiaoshun, how many of the cabbage and pork buns I steamed could you take home?"
"Alright, the commander hasn't eaten yet."
Zhang Hongmei handed Wang Xiaoshun a basin containing ten stuffed buns.
She went into the kitchen to light a fire and boil water. But it was already dark, 5:30, and Liu Jingze still hadn't returned. She wasn't hungry, so she decided to wait for him to come back so they could eat together. The thermos was full, and the fire in the stove wasn't smoking, so she decided to bake some steamed buns.
I washed the stove lid, put it back on, and a lot of steam came out. After the lid dried, I put the remaining four vegetable buns on it and baked them slowly.
Half an hour later, Zhang Hongmei opened the door for Liu Jingze.
"Hongmei, I'm sorry I'm late today."
"It's alright, your business is more important. I've baked the steamed buns, and Jingze has washed his hands and is eating. I didn't make porridge, so how about we have some milk powder?"
"I don't want any, I'll just have some boiled water. Shall I make you some?"
"I don't need you, I can manage on my own. Hurry up and eat."
The two ate in silence. Liu Jingze felt that Zhang Hongmei was becoming distant from him, and he didn't know what to say.
Zhang Hongmei, however, seemed oblivious. After eating a steamed bun, she sat quietly at the table, holding her bowl and sipping her milk.
Liu Jingze was unusually quiet today. The setbacks outside and Zhang Hongmei's estrangement made him particularly irritable.
"Jingze, are things not going well for you outside? You go ahead and do your thing, I'm really fine on my own."
"Okay, I won't be here at all tomorrow."
"Okay, there's hot water in the thermos. Go wash up, I'm going back to my room."
The next day, Zhang Hongmei got up and cooked rice porridge, chopped pickled vegetables, and even coated steamed bread slices with egg wash and fried them until golden brown on both sides.
Liu Jingze thought it through overnight and decided that he would never let go. Even if Zhang Hongmei distanced herself from him, he would hold on tight.
"Delicious! This is the best way to eat steamed buns. Hongmei, you really know how to do things right."
"Hehe, it's just that I love to eat, so I figured out how to eat it. If you love to eat, you can eat more."
After Liu Jingze left, Zhang Hongmei packed up and, fully equipped, rode her bicycle to the photo studio.
"Zhang Hongmei, you're here. Here, take a look, it's so beautiful."
Zhang Hongmei took the paper bag and sat down to look through it one by one.
"How is it? Doesn't it look good?"
"Liu Jingzhang, your technique is still better. Can you give me the negatives?"
"Here you go, there are fifty-six negatives in total."
"Four cents a photo, right? That's twenty-two dollars and forty cents. How much does it cost to develop the photos?"
"Two cents a photo. Zhang Hongmei wants to discuss something with you. Can we put your photo in the shop window? The photo will cost you two cents, and printing it will cost one cent."
"Hehe, that won't do. Liu Jingzhang, could you wash another one for me?"
"Wash fifty-six sheets?"
"Yes, I like it too."
"No problem, but I can't give you the negatives now. Come back in two days to pick them up and I'll give you the negatives then."
"Okay." Zhang Hongmei took out twenty-eight yuan from her handbag and handed it to Liu Jingzhang.
"This is twenty-eight, you count it."
"Okay, I didn't give you a receipt last time, but I'll give you one this time. Wait a moment."
Zhang Hongmei put the photos into her handbag; they were all two-inch photos.
"Liu Jingzhang, is this a two-inch photo? Could you print it larger?"
"A bigger one? One that can wash ten or twelve inches, the kind that hangs on the wall."
"When you wash them, make the one of the city gate towers twelve inches, and the one of the benches by the water in the park twelve inches too."
"No problem, just add two more dollars."
Zhang Hongmei handed over two yuan, took the note, and went out.
While riding my bike, I wondered if I had a photo album in my online space?
Maybe. It's my childhood photo album, with quite a few blank pages, but they're all seven inches, so I can't put three photos in one.
Hearing the car horn behind her, Zhang Hongmei moved aside, and the car passed her and stopped.
Zhang Shouyi got out of the car. "Hongmei, are you going home?"
"Yes, Brother Zhang, are you out on business?"
"Okay, I'm going to Xinyuan, shall we go together?"
"Oh, then you drive ahead, I'll be there in a bit."
"You get in the car, I'll drive, and Xiao Li can ride the bike."
After Zhang Hongmei got into the car, she asked, "Brother Zhang, are you here to move some money?"
"Yes, it's lucky I ran into you on the way, otherwise I would have had to go looking for you."
"I might not be able to find it even if I look for it. I'm going to eat some steamed buns at the steamed bun shop on the antique street. They have scallion and pork filling, they're so delicious. I didn't get enough last time, so I'm going to buy more to take home this time."
"I'll have Xiao Li go buy it for you in a bit."
"No need, I'll go by myself. I just want to eat at a restaurant."
"Okay, let's have lunch there."
“Brother Zhang, you don’t need to keep me company. You’re so busy, I don’t want to take up your time.”
"No matter how busy I am, I still have to eat. I've tried their steamed buns, and their seaweed and egg soup is also delicious."
"There's also seaweed? I'll buy some seafood when I have the chance to go to the beach."
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