The next day, as soon as Li Hehua set up his stall, he was greeted by people applying for an apprenticeship.
The visitors were a brother and sister, a rare pair of twins, a boy and a girl. They were about thirteen or fourteen years old, skinny, and wearing coarse linen clothes with countless patches on them. Their shoes were so worn that their toes could be seen.
The brother and sister were very embarrassed, holding their hands tightly, and looked at Li Hehua nervously, obviously it was their first time to find work. Finally, the elder brother stood up and talked to Li Hehua, he asked: "Excuse me...Excuse me, are you recruiting apprentices here?"
Seeing the brother and sister so embarrassed, Li Hehua smiled kindly, trying to make them relax, and said, "Yes, we are recruiting apprentices here. Do you want to come and try?"
The boy nodded. "Well, my sister and I want to give it a try. Can we... can we?"
Li Hehua didn't ask directly if it was possible, but asked with a smile: "Can you cook? Have you ever cooked?"
The boy nodded, "Yes, I have done it. My sister and I can do it. My father taught us. He also said that we did a good job."
The girl nodded aside.
Li Hehua asked, "Your father? Is your father good at cooking?"
Mentioning this, the boy rarely let go of his restraint, revealed a proud expression, and said: "My father is very capable, he used to be a chef in a restaurant in the city, the food he cooks is delicious, whenever he is free, he teaches me and my sister, but..." At this point, he suddenly couldn't continue, and his eyes turned red.
Li Hehua guessed that the brother and sister's family had experienced a major change, otherwise the two children would not be as poor as they are now. But after all, this was someone else's family affair, so she didn't ask too much.
However, since the father of these two children is the chef of a restaurant in the city, his cooking skills should not be too bad. If he really taught these two children, they would definitely learn how to cook.
So, Li Hehua did not ask about their fathers anymore, and directly said: "Then each of you can make me a bowl of noodles. I want to taste your cooking skills before making a decision."
The brother and sister looked at each other and nodded.
Li Hehua lit the stove, put the pot on the stove, took out the noodles and seasonings, then stepped aside to give the brother and sister their place.
The elder brother came first. He put boiling water into the pot and boiled it. While the water was boiling, he scooped out a bowl of broth for cooking noodles with a soup bowl, added soy sauce, salt, sugar, garlic leaves and a small spoonful of lard into it, and then stirred it. When it was done, he put it aside for later use.
At this time, the water in the pot was boiling. The boy put the noodles into the boiling water and cooked them. After a while, he took out the noodles and put them into the broth. A simple bowl of noodles was ready.
The noodles I made were plain noodles.
Watching the boy's actions, Li Hehua smiled and nodded secretly. It can be seen that the boy is indeed good at cooking. He made the noodles in the right order. He was quite calm at a young age and did not panic at all. He also had very good hygiene habits when cooking. I just don't know how it tastes...
Li Hehua picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. It was moderately salty and delicious, and the noodles were refreshing. Overall, the taste and cooking time were very good. If I had to give a score, I would give it seven points, which is already very good for most people.
However, Li Hehua did not rush to express his opinion, but looked at the girl and said, "It's your turn, let's start."
The little girl was a little shy. She nodded gently, walked to the stove, and made a bowl of plain noodles using the same steps as the boy. Li Hehua tasted it and it tasted good, but a little worse than his brother's.
Li Hehua thought for a moment and asked the girl, "Can you make pastries?"
The girl opened her eyes wide, hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently and said, "I can do it, but I only know how to do one thing. My father taught me. I can't do the others."
"So what would you do?"
“I can make red bean cake.”
Li Hehua smiled. Red bean cake happened to be one of the types of cakes she sold. She just didn’t know how well the girl made it, or whether she had the insight to make cakes.
However, I don’t have the tools and ingredients to make pastries at hand, so it’s unlikely for the girl to try making them now. She can only wait until after closing the stall.
So, Li Hehua said, "I want to see how good you are at making pastries, but I am not able to do it right now. You can only wait until the stall is closed and come home with me to make them. Are you willing?"
The brother and sister looked at each other and communicated silently. After a moment, the boy nodded and said, "Okay, we'll wait for you to close the stall."
Li Hehua nodded, "Okay, it's still early to close the stall, you can go back first and come back after noon."
The boy did not leave immediately after hearing this. Instead, he looked at Li Hehua's stall and said to Li Hehua, "Can we not leave? My sister and I can help you. We can do anything." When his father was alive, he often said that an apprentice must be diligent and have an eye for things. He cannot wait for the master to tell him everything, otherwise there will be no way out. Now, if he and his sister want to get this opportunity, they must work hard and not be lazy. Although the boss may not need them in the end, it is not wrong to do more work.
Li Hehua didn't expect that the two children would take the initiative to ask to stay and help. They haven't confirmed whether they can stay yet. If she doesn't want them in the end, this work will be in vain.
These two kids are willing to work hard and endure hardships...
Li Hehua thought about it for a moment, and finally agreed, "Okay, sure, then you can help me clean the table. After the guests finish eating, clean the table for new guests to sit down."
The two children nodded, and then imitated Dahe and Xiaoyuan to clean up the table, with quick hands and feet and careful and conscientious manner.
Li Hehua looked at them and smiled.
The two men followed Li Hehua until the stall was closed in the afternoon. They did not stop for a break because they were not waiters or apprentices of the stall. They worked even harder than Dahe Xiaoyuan.
Li He felt that regardless of their cooking skills, it seemed that the two children had good personalities and were hardworking.
If the little girl has an understanding of making pastries, both of them can be accepted. In this case, the brother and sister are rare good candidates.
When most of the guests had left, Li Hehua made a bowl of rice for everyone, including the two children. "Come on, come on, eat. You must be hungry."
Dahe cheered, took his portion of rice and started eating, Xiaoyuan did the same, only the brother and sister didn't dare to pick up their chopsticks, with uneasiness in their eyes, they didn't expect the boss to cook for them, this was white rice with meat in it. Can the helpers eat such good food?
Seeing that the two of them were not moving their chopsticks, Li Hehua said with a smile, "You two should eat quickly. You have been helping me with work for half a day. You must be hungry. You are welcome."
The brother and sister looked at the food, smelled the fragrance, swallowed their saliva, but were still a little hesitant.
Li Hehua simply stretched out his hands to press the shoulders of the two men to let them sit down, and handed them the chopsticks. "Okay, eat quickly, this is what you deserve for helping me work."
The two finally believed it was true. They squeezed the chopsticks in their hands, looked at each other, and lowered their heads to eat.
After just taking a bite, the boy looked at Li Hehua in surprise, with an expression of disbelief, and the girl was the same.
Li Hehua asked, "What's wrong?"
The boy said with admiration and amazement in his eyes, "The food you cook is delicious." It's better than what his father cooks. He originally thought that no one could cook better than his father.
Before coming, he actually thought that the boss was looking for apprentices just to find people to do the work, and taking in apprentices was just a cover. After all, the boss was so young, how could he take in apprentices? Those who could take in apprentices were all chefs who had been working for many years.
Now it seems that this is not the case, and the boss's skills are more than enough to make him qualified to accept apprentices.
So is the boss really looking for an apprentice to teach people cooking skills? Then wouldn't he and his sister be able to learn to be so good?
At this moment, light flashed in the boy's eyes.
Li Hehua didn't know that the boy had so much in mind, he just smiled and said: "If it tastes good, then eat more, but you have to eat until you are full, and then add more if you are not full."
In the end, under the temptation of delicious food, there was not even a grain of extra rice on the plates of the group of people, and they ate everything up.
After dinner, the two children helped Li Hehua close the stall and then followed her back to the courtyard.
Li Hehua took out flour and red beans and asked the two children to make cakes.
To make pastries, one must first knead the dough, which really tests one's pastry-making skills. If one cannot knead the dough well, it will definitely not work. Therefore, when Li Hehua saw that the dough kneaded by the two children was smooth and chewy, he nodded in his heart. It seemed that the father of the two children had indeed put a lot of effort into teaching them.
These two children can be taken in.
The red bean cakes made by the two children tasted pretty good, but the sweetness and hardness were not well controlled, and there was a lot of room for improvement, but for her, it was enough. In the future, as long as she taught well, it would not be a problem to make the taste similar to hers.
Therefore, Li Hehua made the decision directly: "You have done a great job. You two have passed the test. I will accept you two as my apprentices. You will learn from me in the future. When you are able to become a master, you will be solely responsible for snacks and pastries."
The two children were in disbelief at first, and then burst into intense surprise, their eyes red with excitement. The boy thanked them and said, "Thank you, my sister and I will do our best."
Li Hehua patted their shoulders to show encouragement, "Okay. I haven't asked you two what your names are yet."
The boy said: "My name is Zhou Qing and my sister is Zhou Hong."
Li Hehua: "Okay, from now on I will call you Xiaoqing and Xiaohong, and you don't have to call me boss anymore, just call me master. From now on I will teach you, Xiaoqing, how to make snacks, and Xiaohong, how to make cakes."
Xiaoqing and Xiaohong looked at each other and called Li Hehua "Master."
Li Hehua suddenly felt very emotional. She didn't expect that she would accept an apprentice here. If her grandfather knew about this, she wondered what he would say to her. He would probably laugh and scold her, and then support her.
Since they are all my apprentices now, I have to say what I should say in advance. Li Hehua said, "To be my apprentice, there are some rules to follow. Let me tell you first. First of all, you cannot teach others privately what I teach you unless I agree. Then, you must work hard for me. If you don't want to work for me, you must tell me a month in advance, not at the last minute. Finally, you can't work for me and work for others at the same time. Can you do this?"
Xiaoqing and Xiaohong nodded without thinking, "Master, don't worry, we can definitely do what you said. If we can't, you can do whatever you want."
Li Hehua: "It's good that you can do it. Then I will tell you about your future arrangements. You will follow me all day long. Currently you are in the learning stage, so I will pay you ten cents a day. When you can become a master in the future, the salary will be more than this."
Such treatment is something that apprentices can only dream of. Brother and sister Zhou Qing and Zhou Hong feel that they are very lucky to have someone with such great cooking skills teaching them. Now they even get paid. Other apprentices do not get paid, and they also have to pay tribute to their master from time to time.
The two felt like they were dreaming and were dizzy. They couldn't believe that such a good thing could happen to them.
If someone like this doesn't do his job well, then isn't there something wrong with his brain?
Seeing that the two children were determined, Li Hehua treated them as his own family. He asked about their family situation and learned that their father had died unexpectedly and the family had to move back to the old house in the town. As a result, not long after, their mother could not bear the hard life and remarried with the last money in the family, leaving the two siblings to struggle to make ends meet with no one to take care of them.
Li Hehua touched the two children's heads lovingly and said, "Then come to the master if you have any problems in the future. You can also treat this place as your home. You don't have to cook at home anymore. You can eat three meals a day with the master, and the master will not miss a bite of food for you."
Zhou Qing and Zhou Hong's eyes couldn't help but turn red.
Since the decision had been made, Li Hehua kept the brother and sister that afternoon to help her prepare tomorrow's ingredients and cakes to sell. Xiaohong watched and learned to make cakes beside her, while Xiaoqing learned to knead the dough and mix various fillings. Li Hehua told them the key to making delicious cakes one by one, and then asked them to try it themselves, and she would point out any mistakes. So, the two of them officially started learning.
When it was time for Shulin to finish school, Li Hehua asked the two to follow Mrs. Xie to help, while she went to the academy to pick up Shulin and take him home.
The little fellow saw her waiting outside the door at a glance, and immediately let go of Master Gu's hand and ran towards her with his short legs. However, halfway through the run, he remembered that he had forgotten to greet the master and say goodbye, so he braked immediately. The brake made his little body shake, and he fell down with a thud.
Li Hehua was startled and immediately ran towards the little guy, but Gu Zhijin arrived first and helped the little guy up.
Li Hehua asked hurriedly: "Shulin, how are you? Are you injured?"
Gu Zhijin checked it and was relieved to see that nothing was wrong. He handed the little guy to her and said, "It's okay, he didn't fall. Don't worry."
Shulin also shook his head and stretched out his little hand to show Li Hehua that he was fine.
Seeing that he was really fine, Li Hehua breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to hold him in his arms.
The little girl threw herself into Li Hehua's arms and rubbed her neck affectionately.
Li Hehua tapped his nose and said, "Why were you so careless just now? You should run slower next time and don't stop in a hurry, okay? Otherwise your mom will spank you~" Children have unstable steps and poor balance, so they can fall easily. No one has ever told him to avoid running and braking suddenly.
Shulin blinked his eyes and touched his little butt subconsciously. Fearing that he would be spanked, he pouting his lips, kissed Li Hehua on the cheek, and then looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Li Hehua couldn't help but laugh. This little guy has now learned to put his knowledge into practice. He just learned the trick of kissing her yesterday, and today he knows how to kiss her to please her. He knows that if he kisses her, she won't teach him a lesson, right?
Li Hehua hugged him and shook him upside down, saying, "Okay, if you kiss me, I won't spank you."
The little guy smiled, revealing a mouthful of tiny teeth, and looked a little proud.
The little guy has never had such an arrogant expression.
Li Hehua was touched by his cute appearance and bent down to kiss his little forehead.
After being intimate with his mother enough, the little guy remembered something. He stretched his head to look around, his eyes searching for something.
"What's wrong, Shulin? What are you reading?" Li Hehua asked.
The little guy opened his eyes and tried hard to look, but he didn't find what he wanted to see, and his little mouth pouted slightly.
He pondered silently for a moment, lowered his head, took out his small purse from his arms, clumsily opened the purse with his little hands, and showed the purse to Li Hehua.
Li Hehua was puzzled and looked into her purse, only to see dozens of small copper coins inside. These were the pocket money she gave him, and the little guy put them all in his purse.
"What's wrong? Why are you showing me your purse?"
The little guy frowned, looking a little unhappy. He reached his hand into his purse, grabbed something, then took it out and opened his hand to show Li Hehua.
There is nothing in my hand.
Li Hehua stared at the little guy's empty palms, and suddenly understood what he meant. The smile on his lips gradually disappeared.
The little guy used to take out the money Zhang Tieshan gave her from his own little purse, but now he has nothing left.
The little guy is asking his dad.
Before, Zhang Tieshan would come to see Shulin every two or three days, so Shulin was used to seeing his father every two days. This time, Zhang Tieshan didn't show up for so many days, and Shulin suddenly didn't see his father for so many days. He couldn't help but miss him in his heart, and didn't understand why his father didn't come to see him?
Li Hehua didn't understand what happened to Zhang Tieshan. Why didn't he even come to see his son? How many days had passed? Even if he had something to do, he should have finished it by then.
He is not the kind of person who would forget his children.
Li Hehua touched his chest, and the familiar feeling of panic surged up in his heart again.
These past few days, even though I had convinced myself again and again that it was better for him not to come and that there was nothing strange about it, I still felt anxious and uneasy.
She didn't understand what was going on, but she always felt vaguely that it was related to Zhang Tieshan, because whenever she thought of him, the feeling of panic that she had managed to ignore would reappear.
Just like now, when Shulin mentioned his father, her heart became flustered again and she felt very uncomfortable.
She had a vague feeling that something might have happened to Zhang Tieshan. Although she told herself again and again not to think too much, she just couldn't suppress the thought and kept thinking about it.
Li Hehua never believed in superstition before, but after she inexplicably traveled through time and space to come here, she had to believe it.
Is this feeling of panic in my heart now a hint?
Although she didn't know where the panic in her heart came from, it hadn't disappeared after so many days. Shouldn't she ignore it? Shouldn't she go and see what happened? Even if nothing happened, at least she could find out where Zhang Tieshan went and answer the little guy's questions.
After thinking it over again and again, Li Hehua decided to go to Sheungshui Village tomorrow to see what was going on after closing his stall.
However, before Li Hehua had time to go to Shangshui Village, someone came to find her. It was Zhang Tieshan's good friend Luo Er.
"Something happened to Tieshan!"
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