Liu Yafang originally thought that if she wanted to invite a bunch of children to her home during this trip back to the village, it would be Bi Yue and Bi Cheng who would invite their classmates to their home.
But she didn't expect that the people who came were her eldest son's playmates.
Her eldest son has a wide network of contacts. There are seven half-grown boys in the house. Not to mention that five of them are from the same village, there are even two from other villages.
The two people from other villages lived quite far away. They set out early in the morning and came to Zhaojiatun to play for several days in a row. They just thought she had a big family, so they didn't visit her.
Just to accompany Goudan.
They were good classmates in school. Knowing that Goudan was going to study in Kyoto at the beginning of the next school term, they kept accompanying him and making fun of him, reluctant to let him go.
As a parent, what is it like to feel like this?
Liu Yafang didn’t know this before.
The three children are all sensible. They have nothing to eat at home and don’t invite anyone to come home.
Ever since the two of them started school together, other parents even asked Bi Yue and Bi Cheng, who were good at studying, to testify about their performance in school. It was never just a formality, but now...
Some things seem to have changed unconsciously.
Liu Yafang was surprised and enthusiastic.
For the first time, she was genuinely welcoming and willing to offer something to treat them. She felt no pressure to say to the children she didn't know, "Eat here."
Liu Yafang didn't bother to clean up the pile of junk in the warehouse. She first filled a plate of melon seeds with a tea tray and placed it on the kang table. She said a few polite words enthusiastically, and then helped Bi Yue as a handyman, pressing peanuts with a rolling pin and searching for black sesame seeds and the like. Bi Yue gave her instructions and she obeyed them.
Listening to her eldest son taking the lead and reciting poems with a few young boys, Liu Yafang smiled with great satisfaction. She said to Bi Cheng, who was scooping water to make tea, "Yes, yes, go to the gatehouse and get some frozen pears and persimmons."
While working, Bi Yue smiled and rolled her eyes at the door, but her mother thought it was real poetry.
There were melon seed shells all over the ground.
Goudaner ate and talked, with melon seed shells on the corners of his mouth, looking like he was giving orders.
He put his hands on his waist and described the streets of Kyoto. Then everyone talked about studying, saying that when he got to Kyoto, he would definitely leave them eight blocks behind. He waved his hand and took the lead in reciting:
"Spring is not a good time to study, summer is too hot for sleeping, autumn has mosquitoes and winter has snow. If you want to study, wait until next year, wait, next year!"
Amidst the playful banter, the voices of several young boys teasing their teacher, and Bi Sheng's assurance, "Even if I make new friends, I will never forget my old friends," Bi Yue added half a bucket of water to the red-hot black pot.
The water sizzled as it poured into the hot pot. She began to pour a small amount of oil and sugar into the boiling water with one hand, and with the other, she deftly used the largest spatula to stir continuously, her wrist moving as if it could produce flowers. Until the oil dispersed, and she watched the white sugar slowly turn light yellow and into a liquid crystal, she called out to Liu Yafang very calmly:
"Mom, put the popcorn, peanuts and sesame seeds into the pot."
Liu Yafang watched as her daughter put these things into the pot and saw the sugar seeping into the popcorn, making a "squeaking" sound. She admired her daughter.
How can she be so naughty? How can she cook so well? Who did she learn from? She didn't teach her.
She smiled and turned around and muttered, "You actually have a mind for food. You're such a jerk when it comes to making food."
Bi Yue took out four curtains from the front and back and placed them under the window to allow ventilation and cooling.
After entering the house and searching for a while, she couldn't find any membrane. She had no other choice but to ask Bi Cheng to go to the warehouse to find some wire. When he found it, he simply rinsed it with water.
She made heart shapes, peach hearts, diamonds, and squares. She gestured towards the curtain, and her two little hands turned red and cold from the cold.
Liu Yafang didn't understand. Aren't those "leftovers" edible? Why bother with that? Looking at Dong, he was going to eat them anyway. She didn't understand, so she asked:
"It's quite tiring to do, so I'll just indulge you. If you do this and it breaks, won't it be a waste of effort? What's the point?"
"Beautiful. Don't you think so, Mom?"
"Why are you so fickle? A woman who eats and looks beautiful, as long as she tastes good, that's all."
Bi Yue shrugged and said nothing.
Maybe she really is fickle.
She would rather eat dirty food or food shaped with wire than eat beautiful food, otherwise she would not be able to choose Chu Yifeng because he was handsome.
After serving a plate to Goudan'er and his classmates, Bi Yue even arranged the plates and placed them on the table on the kang, laughing and chatting for a while as she listened to Bi Sheng's proud introductions: "My sister is from Kyoto Normal University, and my brother is from Jiaotong University."
Bi Yue withdrew, unable to bear it any longer.
Besides, she and Bi Cheng were staying in the house, so those guys didn't dare to talk nonsense.
Bi Yue was just about to go out and show off her popcorn of various shapes when Uncle Fang and Bi Tiegang came home.
Grandpa Fang pointed at the sugar-fried popcorn at the door and asked about it. Liu Yafang was saying that Bi Yue was a spendthrift while introducing them one by one with a smile.
Step by step, doing what you want at each step, without missing a single step.
Uncle Fang's eyes rolled. He thought that once this thing was ready, he could just fry it himself and then sell it by weight in the county town.
But it makes money faster than the hard work of pulling the bellows for one pot after another. Besides, some parents find it troublesome and have to watch their children and wait.
Thinking of this, Mr. Fang quickly took out the money he had prepared and started to fight with Bi Tiegang in the yard:
"Tiegang, if you don't accept it, you're just scolding me. Take it away now. Do you think I can even enter the house? If you don't know, you'd think Mr. Fang is obsessed with making money! Besides, I have something to ask of you."
Bi Tiegang was having a good time, but when he heard this, he paused and heard a bunch of duck voices coming from the room. They made a gesture to invite him to discuss the important matter at the door. However, Mr. Fang smiled with wrinkles on his face and said:
"That's all right. Just ask my niece to write down how to make it so I can try it. I'll sell it by the pound. If I can make money, that's great. If not, forget it. I'll take it home and feed the kids."
Isn't it quick to make money? It saves me from having to make so many pots an hour. I only make three or five yuan a day, which is not enough to justify slacking off! "
"Write, I'll let her write right away!" Bi Tiegang signaled Liu Yafang with his eyes:
"Where's Danier?"
Liu Yafang understood and said embarrassedly, "She happened to leave the city gate that day. She said she was going to her aunt Zhao's house to deliver popcorn. She would be back in time. She was going back and forth all the time."
This small business opportunity, which required little effort and was not noticeable if one was not paying attention, did not make Mr. Fang extremely wealthy, but he did make him content with a small fortune.
Not only did he support a large family, but he was also able to buy three houses in the city when housing prices continued to rise: one storefront used as a workshop and two residences.
Bi Yue said a few words to Ge Yufeng, handed the plastic bag over, and knocked on Zhao Dashan's door. She looked normal, but her words were pointed:
"Boss Zhao, should we talk?" (To be continued.)
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