On the morning of the first day of school, the sun was shining brightly, and the five small shops that Xu Mengyao had carefully prepared also welcomed their grand opening. Five long rolls of firecrackers specially prepared by her grandfather were hung on the door of each shop.
"Is everyone ready? We are about to start!" Xu Mengyao stood in front of the shop, holding a gong in her hand and shouted excitedly.
"We're ready, just waiting for you to say that!" Everyone responded with expectant smiles on their faces.
As she struck the gong, grandpa struck the match in his hand, and firecrackers exploded with a deafening sound, instantly attracting the attention of students and parents. Even people from several nearby residential areas stuck their heads out and looked at them curiously.
"Look, they are setting off firecrackers over there. Let's go over and take a look!" A student pointed in this direction and excitedly pulled his companions over.
"Wow, there are so many shops selling food, toys, and even school supplies. This is great!" Parents also started talking about it and brought their children to various shops.
Inside the bun shop, Huang's mother was busy greeting customers while directing her aunt-in-law, "Sister-in-law, refill those steamers over there. Business is so good today!"
My aunt-in-law responded and put the buns into the steamer skillfully.
Amidst the steam, the aroma of buns fills the air, making one's mouth water.
"Mom, your buns are so delicious!" Huang Wenrong and his friends were having breakfast in the store and were full of praise.
"Of course, your mother's cooking skills are amazing." My aunt-in-law replied with a smile.
In the stationery store, there is a wide variety of stationery, as well as many cute headwear and exquisite ornaments, which are dazzling.
Several young girls were circling the counter, their eyes sparkling: "This hairpin is so beautiful! I want this!"
My uncle handed it over with a smile: "I'm glad you like it. Buy a few more to wear."
Grandpa’s store is a crowded place. It not only sells children’s favorite snacks, but also daily necessities needed by adults. However, funny scenes sometimes occur.
A student was about to buy snacks when he suddenly saw his head teacher coming in and hurriedly hid aside.
After buying cigarettes, the head teacher smiled and said to the students, "You're avoiding me on the first day of school? Didn't you finish your holiday homework? Come on, I'll check it."
The student's face fell, and he followed his head teacher, dragging his schoolbag.
The fried skewers shop run by Brother Hu was booming. His hard work over the past few days had finally paid off. A variety of meat and vegetable skewers sizzled in the frying pan, golden and crispy, and the air was filled with a mouth-watering aroma. Brother Hu and Brother Gui were both incredibly busy, but even so, the line was still long.
"Boss, give me ten skewers!" a student shouted loudly, already waiting there with money in his hand.
"Okay, wait a moment!" Brother Hu operated the oil pan skillfully, and soon handed the steaming hot fried skewers to the students.
Just a few days after school started, Xu Mengyao's snack bar had become a popular place in the city. Not only did students from the two schools visit it every day, but residents of several nearby housing estates were also loyal repeat customers.
Wenxia has been hanging out in the fried skewers shop at noon and in the evening for five consecutive days. Her love for fried skewers has reached its peak.
"Brother Hu, your fried skewers skills are amazing. I'd love to eat them three times a day."
Wenxia stood aside, staring at the fried skewers that had just come out of the pan, with greasy stains still hanging from the corners of his mouth.
Xu Mengyao pulled her pigtails and said, "You still want to eat three meals a day? You forgot how many days you haven't pooped. From today on, you can only eat once every three days. Go home and eat. I specially asked grandma to fry you a plate of green leafy vegetables to reduce your internal heat."
Although Wenxia was somewhat unwilling to accept it, he had no choice but to obey the instructions and walked home, looking back every few steps.
In order to relieve the pressure on the fried skewers shop, Xu Mengyao decided to let Shaozi fry some French fries in the noodle shop, and asked them to fry a pot of popcorn in advance and put it in the canteen when school was about to end. In this way, the students who flocked to the fried skewers shop after school were divided into three teams.
While Xiaomei was helping to greet the guests, she said to Xu Mengyao, "Your trick really works. Now that the students have been divided into different groups, we have a lot more ease."
She is the first person to come to the store to help out every day, like a brick in a revolution, moving wherever she is needed. Although she is busy every day, she has become more and more cheerful, and her face is always smiling.
Xu Mengyao nodded, feeling relieved that the pressure on the fried skewers shop had been eased. She looked over at her grandparents, who were busy at the store. Grandpa was smiling as he distributed popcorn to the children, while Grandma was tidying up the shelves, both of them beaming with happiness.
"Grandpa, did you drink secretly? Why do you look so happy?" Xu Mengyao joked.
Grandpa laughed heartily and said, "This life is even more exciting than drinking! I used to work so hard on the farm but couldn't make much money. Now I can make money sitting in the store with my whole family around me. This feeling is better than anything else!"
Grandma echoed, "Yes, it's all thanks to Juanzi that our family has such a good life today."
At this time, Xiaolong from my eldest uncle's family and the two children from my younger uncle's family also returned from school. They excitedly ran into their grandfather and father's shop and helped out. The whole store was filled with laughter and joy. The family became more united and harmonious because of the operation of these small shops.
Every night, Xu Mengyao would sit with her elder sister and Xiaomei to carefully calculate the day's accounts. Xiaomei always presented the accounts clearly and quickly, accurately, and clearly to everyone.
"Xiaomei, you are awesome. You will be responsible for managing our finances from now on." Xu Mengyao said with a smile.
Xiaomei said shyly: "It's all right, don't worry, I will continue to work hard."
Huang Wenrong counted the bills without looking up and said, "Luckily, one of the stores is still closed, otherwise I would spend more time doing the bills every day than doing my homework."
Huang's father rode his motorcycle to and from work every day, never complaining about the arduous journey. He polished his motorcycle to a shine upon his return. Sometimes he would bring Huang's mother over from the mining area to have a meal with his granddaughter and in-laws. Sometimes, after work, he would take Huang's mother out for a ride. On his days off, he would ride his motorcycle with his uncle to Pengcheng to restock supplies.
Grandma often joked, "Your motorcycle was well worth buying. It took a lot of effort."
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