When Huang Bing and Huang Ying arrived at the factory gate on their bicycles, they were just in time for the factory to close.
The rolling wave of bicycles pushed them to the side, making it impossible for them to move their bicycles.
"Wow, there are so many workers in this textile factory!" Huang Ying exclaimed. "I thought factories in rural towns wouldn't have many workers."
"What do you know? This is a major foreign exchange earner in Jiazhou. They make all the money!" Huang Bing rolled his eyes at her, his gaze falling on the sweet-skinned duck stall nearby.
Before he could speak, a handful of braised peanuts was shoved into his hand.
"Try some, homemade braised peanuts, still warm." Zhao Minghui said with a smile, handing Huang Ying a handful as well.
"Thank you, boss." Huang Ying smiled brightly, immediately peeled a peanut and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up, and she nodded, saying, "Delicious! It smells so good, and the peanuts are plump and big. It's warm and delicious."
"You have such a sweet tongue, little girl." Zhao Minghui was pleased and gave her another handful. "Give you some more, keep them handy to eat slowly."
"No need, no need. How much is it per jin? I'll weigh some." Huang Ying refused to take, stopped the bicycle, and said, "If it's delicious, then I really have to buy it. Otherwise, it's just polite talk."
Zhao Minghui smiled and said, "Forty five cents a jin, weigh one jin?"
"Selling it so cheaply? My family is big, one jin isn't enough to share. Give me a yuan's worth." Huang Ying took out a yuan from her wallet.
"Okay!" Zhao Minghui immediately grabbed an oil paper bag for her to pack. This girl was not only sweet-talking, but also generous.
"It smells quite good." Huang Bing peeled a peanut and popped it into his mouth, looking at the brightly smiling Huang Ying. He suddenly seemed to understand why everyone liked her.
Sweet-talking, good at complimenting, and capable.
Although a bit chubby, she was adorably chubby, with a round face and no aggressiveness at all.
In comparison… it seemed that he, being thin, wasn't as well-liked.
"Boss, how much is one of these sweet-skinned ducks?" Huang Ying asked, carrying two bags of braised peanuts.
"We're selling authentic Mucheng sweet-skinned ducks by weight, 1.6 yuan per jin (500g). This one is only about two jin." Zhao Minghui said, holding a knife. "Would you like a piece to try?"
"No, no, I'll buy it next time." Huang Ying quickly waved her hand. "Your sweet-skinned duck looks delicious. The sugar on the surface is clearly maltose, and the color of the oil is beautiful, a bright red—it's authentic! And you're selling it cheaper than in Jiazhou. In Jiazhou, any random stall charges 1.8 or 2 yuan per jin (500g), and yours is more genuine."
"You know so much! It's okay if you don't buy it, I'll cut you a piece to try." Zhao Minghui's knife was already itching to strike.
"No! I can't live with myself if I try it and don't buy it." Huang Ying shook her head firmly: "I'm not planning on eating sweet-skinned duck today."
"Okay, then come next time." Zhao Minghui smiled and put down the knife. He had figured it out, this girl was kind-hearted and sweet-talking, but she had her own ideas. If she said no, she really meant no, he couldn't force her.
"Next time for sure, we will go eat first." Huang Ying nodded with a smile, and seeing that the traffic had thinned out, she pushed her bicycle toward Zhou Erwa Restaurant.
Two long queues had formed at the braised meat stall in front of the restaurant, each with more than ten people. This scene shocked Huang Bing and Huang Ying:
"So many people queuing?"
Even Zhao Ji Braised Food, the most popular stall in Jiazhou City, had never seen such a scene.
"Look, this is the power of taste!" Huang Ying exclaimed, looking at the two long queues. "As long as your taste is good enough, low prices can't beat you. At most, they'll steal some low value customers. True gourmets are willing to pay extra for the taste."
"Do you think I could make money if I set up a stall selling Zhou Yan's braised food?" Huang Bing pondered, stroking his chin.
Huang Ying looked at him seriously and said, "With your knife skills, you shouldn't waste good food. You can cut ear pieces as thick as erasers, it's a complete waste."
"Huang Ying! You're so awful..." Huang Bing gritted his teeth, almost dying of anger.
"Aunt Zhao, have some peanuts!" Huang Ying greeted Zhao Tieying as she entered the shop, grabbing a handful of peanuts and stuffing them into her apron pocket.
"Oh, thank you so much, my dear." Zhao Tieying said with a smile. "Hurry up, there's a seat over there in the corner, perfect for you two siblings."
"Sure!" Huang Ying replied, quickly going over to sit down. On the way, she also slipped a handful of peanuts to Zhao Hong, and grabbed a large handful for the two uncles drinking nearby. "Here, braised peanuts to go with your drinks, the more you drink, the better."
The two uncles were flattered. They looked at Huang Ying, then at the bottles on the table. One of them picked up a bottle and asked, "Little girl, would you like a drink?"
"No, I'm going to ride my bicycle later, I can't drive drunk." Huang Ying waved her hand and smiled. "Thank you, uncle."
Huang Bing covered his face. How come she could chat with just anyone?
That's right, she's always been a chatterbox. She could sit on a small stool by the restaurant entrance and talk to everyone who came by all day.
She really hasn't changed at all…
"Sister Yingying." Zhou Momo approached, holding a paper bag, and offering it to Huang Ying like a treasure: "Rice candy, have some."
"Oh my, Momo is the best to me! Even the rice candy you thought of is for me." Huang Ying reached out and took a piece, chewing on it with a crunchy sound, nodding with a smile: "Mmm, so sweet and fragrant! Thank you."
"You're welcome." Zhou Momo smiled happily, then handed the bag to Huang Bing, "You have some too."
"Me too?" Huang Bing was a little surprised.
"Yes." The little one nodded obediently.
Huang Bing smiled, picked up a piece, took a bite, and indeed it was fragrant and crunchy.
Their Uncle always brings them a big bag of Suji rice candy every year, but it never tastes as sweet as it used to.
The two ordered food, and Zhou Momo sat next to Huang Ying, the two chattering away.
Huang Bing rested his chin on his hand, leaning against the table, unable to suppress a laugh.
Two childish fools, two chatterboxes, they were a perfect match.
Aunt Zhao, taking a moment from her busy schedule, poured them two large bowls of warm water.
The two thanked her and gulped down the water.
After cycling over ten kilometers, they were drenched in sweat and definitely thirsty.
As soon as the food arrived, Zhou Momo immediately disappeared.
"You have so much candy, why didn't you bring her a couple?" Huang Bing asked, looking at Huang Ying.
"Momo is only three and a half years old. Too much sugar will cause cavities." Huang Ying picked up a piece of pork liver with her chopsticks and said with a smile, "Besides, I got fat from eating too much sugar. Look how cute she is now. It's good for her to eat less sugar. She's already sweet enough."
Huang Bing glanced at the half-eaten rice candy beside her, his brow furrowing slightly. Was this really Huang Ying?
Due to a tight budget for dinner, they only ordered one serving of spicy stir-fried pork liver, one serving of stir-fried pork cracklings with cabbage, and a bowl of cross-legged beef.
Huang Bing insisted on having the cross-legged beef, and he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but after drinking the soup at noon, he felt that he had more energy to pedal his bicycle.
After finishing the soup, Huang Bing shamelessly went to get another bowl and drank it all by himself.
Huang Ying was full after eating only one bowl of rice, which was quite unusual for her, as she usually ate three bowls without stopping.
Huang Bing, on the other hand, had a much larger appetite. He finished one and a half bowls of beef soup and ate two more bowls of rice, even using the leftover pork cracklings from the plate to mix with his rice.
"What's wrong with you? You're full after eating so little?" Huang Bing put down his chopsticks, touching his slightly protruding belly, and looked at Huang Ying with some confusion.
"I don't know? I just feel full..." Huang Ying also looked puzzled, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "Could it be that I drank too much water?"
"It's fine, you eat less so I can eat more." Huang Bing laughed.
The two paid the bill, feeling incredibly full, so they pushed their bicycles along the riverbank for a walk before riding home.
When they got home, Zhao Shulan was eating a pig's trotter while watching TV, while Huang He sat at the table beside, three plates of braised meat in front of him, a delicate white liquor glass in his hand, also enjoying his meal.
Without having to worry about what the childs eat, the couple's life suddenly became much more leisurely and carefree.
The pig's trotter was steamed, soft and tender, and incredibly fragrant. Zhao Shulan had specially saved it for dinner, eating while watching her show, her smile softening.
"Mom~"
"Mom?"
"Mom—"
The two of them called out as soon as they entered the house.
"Are you two trying to kill me?!" Zhao Shulan glared at the two of them. "Go take a bath and stop screaming, you're giving me a headache!"
The two quickly shut their mouths, exchanged glances, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Dad, I brought you some braised peanuts to go with your drinks." Huang Ying tore open the remaining packet of braised peanuts for Huang He and placed it on the table.
"Zhou Yan braised them?" Huang He's eyes lit up.
"No, it's from a roadside stall. I think the taste is still okay, so I brought it for you." Huang Ying smiled and shook her head.
Huang He peeled open a peanut, and three large, plump peanut kernels rolled into his hand. He threw them into his mouth, chewed them, and nodded, saying, "Hmm, not bad, and quite fragrant."
"My daughter is so good, she remembers her dad." Huang He said with a smile, not forgetting to nudge his son, who was leaning against the wall, preparing to go upstairs.
"Dad, I actually wanted to buy you one too, but I'm short of money, I really can't find an extra penny." Huang Bing said, spreading his hands, his smile revealing a hint of impoverished helplessness.
"Anyway, you're never short of money when you go out drinking. You're good at drinking with others, so why don't you just have a couple of drinks with your dad at home?" Huang He teased, looking at him. "Do I need a cup of yours, or a pair of chopsticks? Can you afford eight yuan bottles of Maotai when you go out? Or can you afford such good braised meat?"
Huang Bing paused, looking at the three plates of braised meat on the table and the Maotai beside, and realized it made sense.
"Dad, wait for me! I'll take a shower and then come drink with you!" Huang Bing turned and ran upstairs.
That night, Huang Bing's brothers, who never saw him, wandered the streets of Jiazhou again and again, like lost souls.
"Drinking with me? You're way behind." Huang He looked at his son, who was slumped on the sofa, laughed, threw a blanket over him, and staggered upstairs.
"You reek of alcohol! Go sleep in your son's room, don't come near me!"
…
"Guo Guo, shall I tell you another story?" Zhou Momo squatted by the bedside, looking at Zhou Yan.
"No need, I'm already fast asleep…" Zhou Yan didn't dare open his eyes, his head buzzing, filled with the Sichuan and Chongqing fairy tales Zhou Momo had told him.
The amount is too much, it won't be digested in one night.
"Guo Guo, shall I sing you a song?" Zhou Momo said again.
"Okay..." Zhou Yan replied, afraid of dampening Zhou Momo's enthusiasm.
"Red carrots, so sweet, seeing them means it's almost New Year's.
New Year's is so much fun, ladles of soup, chopsticks nibbling away..."
Zhou Momo cleared her throat and began to sing, her soft, baby voice in a Sichuan accent. She sang two lines and Zhou Yan fell asleep.
After the little one finished singing and saw that Zhou Yan didn't move, she leaned forward and touched his nose. She felt warm breath and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Guo Guo is asleep. Now it's Mommy and Daddy's turn." Zhou Momo climbed off the bed, put on her shoes, and even tiptoed to the door to turn off the light.
Soon, Aunt Zhao's somewhat irritable voice came from the next room.
"Good heavens~ Aren't you going to sleep yet? I'm never letting you take a nap again..."
...
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Comrade Little Zhou and Comrade Old Zhou went out to buy groceries.
They ordered two extra pig heads for Feiyan Restaurant today.
"Zhou Yan, the amount of pig heads you need is increasing everyday, and I can't supply enough for you. I can only get six from the surrounding towns at most. If you need more, I'll have to talk to my cousin who slaughters pigs in Jiazhou in advance and ask him to help me find a way." Zhang Laosan said to Zhou Yan while helping to load the pork into the basket. "But if we have them delivered to Suji, it will cost an extra 50 cents for transportation. That's the price for a truckload of ten or less."
"Okay, I'll let you know in advance when I need more than five, and then I'll ask your cousin to help me buy and deliver them." Zhou Yan nodded and smiled, "But you have to make it clear to him that he shouldn't send any diseased pigs, sick pigs, old sows, or pig heads that don't look good. You know how discerning I am when it comes to pork. If I don't like it, I definitely won't take it, and it'll be a waste to send it away.
Not only will he not get paid for the delivery fee, but he'll also lose money on the pig heads. As long as the pork is good, I'll pay in cash, not a penny on credit. You've been butchers for decades, you can tell the difference between good and bad."
"Don't worry, if it can't get past my hurdle, I won't give it to you." Zhang Laosan assured, patting his chest.
Zhou Yan is now his biggest customer at his butcher stall, ordering dozens of jin of ribs, second cut pork, and pig heads everyday, and his orders are consistent.
Originally, he would rest one day after slaughtering pigs for three days, but because of Zhou Yan, he's forced to switch to a single day off on Sundays.
Zhou Yan isn't old, but his judgment of meat is truly accurate.
If the meat quality is even slightly subpar, he'll turn around and leave without a second thought, not even bothering to argue.
He's now very selective about the pork he chooses, afraid that Zhou Yan won't be satisfied, resulting in a loss of dozens of jin of sales.
He gets the pig heads from his competitors at a lower price, making a 10 cents profit per jin when he sells them to Zhou Yan. Five pig heads would earn him an extra 2.5 yuan—that's a very lucrative business.
"Okay, then we'll head back now." Zhou Yan replied, having secured the pig head supply, which relieved him of a worry.
He bought boneless pig's head meat for sixty cents a jin anyway. As for the price Zhang Laosan paid from his competitors and how much profit he made, that was entirely up to Zhang Laosan's skill.
Zhang Laosan always picked good pig's heads, a butcher with over twenty years of experience, he could tell the quality of pork at a glance.
Zhou Yan was happy to save himself that trouble. Otherwise, just finding butchers everywhere to buy pig's heads from one by one would keep him busy all morning, not to mention haggling with various vendors.
That's the value of a food supplier!
On the way back, Comrade Old Zhou looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Zhou Yan, I can't understand the book you borrowed this time. Does the library have 'Water Margin'? Could you borrow a copy for me next time?"
"Okay, I'll borrow it for you this afternoon." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. He was a little confused after reading "Fortress Besieged" let alone Comrade Old Zhou.
Thinking of Old Wang, the gatekeeper at the library entrance, Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile.
He wonder what book this master will recommend to him today.
—