Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wang Yunmei quickly stood up and greeted him. She walked out as she answered, “Liangzi is here!”
The moment the door opened, the person called Liangzi carried a big bucket in. He had a cold aura around him but had a smile on his face. “Auntie Mei, Uncle Wu said that the tofu was pressed well today, so this soy milk is good too.”
After putting down the bucket, Liangzi turned around and went out again. “There’s another bucket, Auntie Mei!”
When the two buckets of soy milk were brought in, the person called Liangzi finally had time to catch his breath. Wang Yunmei liked this child called Liangzi, so she immediately greeted him. “You must be tired, right? I just happened to have oil here. Quickly sit down. Auntie Mei will fry two fried dough sticks for you to eat.”
As if they were very familiar with each other, Liangzi didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down.
Jian Ai was the one who brought out the fried dough sticks. Liang Zi had never seen Jian Ai before. He was stunned for a moment before he reacted and smiled. “You are Auntie Mei’s daughter, right?”
Jian Ai looked at the boy with canine teeth and smiled. “Are you Uncle Wu’s son?”
When Liangzi heard this, it was as if he had heard something incredible. He hurriedly widened his eyes and shook his head. “No, no. Uncle Wu’s son is my big brother. I was sent by my big brother to help Uncle Wu deliver soy milk to your house every day!”
Although Jian Ai had never met Uncle Wu’s son, she was very familiar with Uncle Wu. Uncle Wu’s house wasn’t far from her own, but it was famous around the area because Uncle Wu’s braised tofu was the best. Uncle Wu had people deliver the soy milk he made every day to their breakfast stall. A bowl of soy milk costs thirty cents, and a bucket could be sold for twenty yuan. Uncle Wu only collected two yuan per bucket.
There was no difference in receiving the two yuan. However, Uncle Wu was very considerate. He saw that it was not easy for Wang Yunmei to take care of two children alone, so he wanted to help her. However, if she did not want a single cent, he was afraid that Wang Yunmei would feel uncomfortable, and he was even more afraid that the neighbors would gossip about her. Therefore, he symbolically collected two yuan per bucket.
It turned out that Liangzi was not Uncle Wu’s son. Seeing his reaction, Jian Ai could not help but laugh. “You call him big brother. People who don’t know might think that Uncle Wu’s son is a gangster!”
When Liangzi heard this, he paused. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He hurriedly took a bite of the fried dough stick since he didn’t want to be scalded, but then he grimaced in pain. He didn’t forget to nod and praise, “Delicious. It’s so fragrant!”
After eating the fried dough sticks, Liangzi stuck his head out to bid farewell to them. Then, he turned to Wang Yunmei and said, “Auntie Mei, Uncle Wu said that you shouldn’t leave later after you’ve closed your stall. He’s coming over to tell you something.”
“Alright, take care on the road. Tell Old Wu that I’ll be waiting for him in the stall,” Wang Yunmei answered.
Not long after Liangzi left, the stall started to serve customers. Wang Yunmei was in charge of fried dough sticks and fried cakes. Jian Yu was in charge of making soy milk and porridge. Jian Ai was in charge of receiving and collecting money.
Many of the guests were residents of this area. Although Jian Ai could not name them, many of them were familiar faces. Naturally, these people recognized Jian Ai. They all knew that Wang Yunmei was pretty, her son was handsome, and her daughter was also beautiful.
“Boss, look at how beautiful your son and daughter are. Your daughter looks exactly like you. She’s very pretty and sensible. She’ll be filial in the future,” a nearby auntie said to Wang Yunmei as she paid the bill.
When Wang Yunmei heard that, she smiled and said, “Thank you, Big Sister, for your kind words!”
The peak hour for breakfast was only two hours. After 8 am, the customers became sparse.
