novelslam Chapter 34 The Troublemaker Arrives
Chapter 34 The Troublemaker Arrives
Silent all night.
The next morning, Wei Yinghong's fried dough stick workshop started work.
She mixed pumpkin puree into the dough last night and kneaded it.
This morning she specially fried some smaller pumpkin pancakes.
If you leave a fried dough stick for too long, the outer crust will lose its crispness and the taste will be greatly reduced.
Pumpkin pancakes, even after the outer crust loses its crispness, retain a soft, bread-like texture and can be stored for a long time.
On Lu Yuan's side, Wei Yinghong also instructed him to make dumplings for the morning staff meal.
They said dumplings for boarding and noodles for disembarking, after all, Zhaoyan was going on a long journey, and they wanted good luck.
But when it comes to dumplings, no matter how skilled one person is, they can't make enough for more than a dozen people.
So after Lu Yuan prepared the filling, his aunt, second aunt, and Aunt Li transformed into ruthless dumpling-making machines, frantically making dumplings.
The dumplings are filled with beef and mutton. The beef is too dry, so we need to add some mutton to enhance the flavor of the fat.
People in northern China rarely eat dumplings except during the Spring Festival.
Firstly, it's troublesome to wrap them up, and secondly, meat is expensive, so I'm reluctant to eat it.
This morning, when we were having dumplings, Lu Yuan specially asked his father to invite his eldest uncle and second uncle over.
Even my uncle, who recently switched to being a sheep trader, stayed behind to try and get some dumplings.
After all, the women and children had eaten, but the men hadn't, which was a bit pitiful.
So at 10 a.m., the whole family gathered around the restaurant to eat dumplings, just like it was Chinese New Year.
Zhao Yan sat among the crowd, feeling as if she had joined a large family.
She noticed that the Lu family was always cheerful, and although the restaurant was making a lot of money, it hadn't changed their lives yet.
Everyone was dressed simply, with no makeup on their faces and no jewelry around their necks.
But when they talked about the days to come, their eyes lit up.
The troubles in the city seem to have nothing to do with them.
The dumplings were also delicious; the beef and lamb flavor was wonderful, oily but not greasy at all.
It has the texture of beef fibers when you chew it, and the more you chew it, the more fragrant it becomes.
In particular, Lu Yuan's special red oil dipping sauce is incredibly fragrant. Taking a bite and then dipping it in elevates the flavor to another level.
Zhaoyan, who has never liked dumplings since she was a child, ate 20 dumplings this morning, which is a whole pound!
When Zhao Yan left Lu Yuan's house, she felt her face was a little hot. She was a little annoyed at herself for eating so much these past two days.
Watching the jeep drive further and further away, the old woman looked at Wei Yinghong and teased her:
"She's not even your wife yet, and you're already so reluctant to let her go?"
Wei Yinghong didn't refute, but instead sighed softly and said:
"It would be a lie to say I don't have those kinds of thoughts. But what I really want is for a good teacher to stay here. This girl is great, and I'm just worried she won't be able to stay."
When the topic of volunteer teachers came up, the three sisters-in-law fell silent.
In the 90s, the gap between the east and west was far greater than it will be in 2026.
Many volunteer teachers come to Northwest China full of enthusiasm, but ultimately succumb to reality and secretly return to the city one night.
After all, the villagers were living a very modest life and couldn't offer them much better conditions.
He eats potatoes and cabbage at every meal, his water tastes salty and alkaline, and he vomits bile every time he goes to the dry toilet.
Sometimes, even while the children are in class, their parents will come and force them to go to work or get married.
Their understanding was irreparably impacted, and this immense shock shattered their ideals.
Ni Ping starred in a movie called "Beautiful Big Feet," which vividly portrayed the ecology of Northwest China.
Wei Yinghong was even more afraid that the girl who had come to teach in the rural area would leave again, so she had been very hospitable to Zhaoyan these past two days.
As lunchtime approached, Lu Wen arrived at the restaurant with several of his brothers from the Lu family.
They were all dressed in black employee uniforms, and each of them was tall and strong.
Lu Wen greeted Lu Yuan and said:
"Xiao Yuan, I've brought your younger brothers. You all know them."
Lu Yuan looked at his brothers; he could name them all, but they weren't very close. They were young men from other groups.
"Okay, you'll work as waiters for now, serving food and clearing tables. Auntie will teach you how to do it in a bit. We'll all pay you 600 a month."
When the younger brothers heard that they would receive 600 yuan a month, their eyes lit up, and they immediately started nodding their heads like they were pounding garlic.
Lu Yuan then said to the three women, "Aunties, please help my mother fry dough cakes for the next couple of days. I'll make other arrangements later."
The mealtime arrived as scheduled, and there were still many people.
In the past two days, we've gradually gained some regular customers, including Mr. Wang, some short-distance drivers, and leaders from nearby factories.
They usually arrive earlier than individual diners who are passing by, and by 11:30, the front hall is almost full.
Today we have a very special group of guests: a woman who looks very haggard, with a skinny little girl.
The two of them ordered the cheapest braised mutton and two bowls of rice, and ate slowly and deliberately.
The woman doted on the child, first placing several slices of meat on top of the rice for the little girl, and gently reminding her, "Eat slowly, be careful it's hot."
The little girl had big eyes, and her tiny, dark hands gripped the chopsticks. She picked at a piece of meat, and her eyes lit up instantly: "Mommy, it smells so good!"
The woman smiled with satisfaction, patted the little girl's head, and said, "Eat quietly, don't talk."
When the shop was full and people were still coming in, the woman suddenly slammed her hand on the table, making a loud noise.
Those eating and those waiting in line all turned to look at the woman, wondering what was wrong with her.
The woman was not afraid of the gazes of so many people; her face was full of anger.
"Where's the boss? Boss, come out here!"
The two new Lu brothers, Lu Fa and Lu Qiang, immediately ran over and asked:
"Hello, is there any problem?"
The woman pushed the bowl in front of her to the center of the table and pointed to the middle of the bowl, saying:
"Look what's inside!"
Lu Fa and Lu Qiang brought their faces close and discovered a tuft of hair in the leftover soup.
The hair roots were still attached to a piece of scalp, which looked disgusting.
When Lu Fa and Lu Qiang looked up, the woman immediately lashed out:
"Your braised pork costs 18 yuan, and there was even a tuft of hair in it! It's disgusting!"
"Do you think there's some misunderstanding?" Lu Fa asked sincerely.
"What's the misunderstanding?" the woman persisted. "The hair is right in the bowl, can't you see?"
"I know the hair is in the bowl, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's our hair," Lu Fa explained.
The woman's eyes widened in anger as she retorted, "Listen to what you're saying! Is it your hair or ours?"
Then the woman used chopsticks to lift her hair and gestured in the air:
"Look everyone, it's so short, it's clearly a man's hair."
Some diners put down their chopsticks and whispered among themselves.
The woman and the little girl both have long hair, while the one with short hair is obviously a waitress or someone working in the kitchen.
Seeing that everyone's attention had been drawn to her, the woman immediately burst into tears:
"Why am I so unlucky? My husband ran away, my child is sick, I used the last of our money to give my child some meat, and yet you still bully me!"
The little girl heard her mother crying and started crying too.
The sight of the orphaned mother and child, looking so pitiful, drew sympathetic glances from everyone.
Lu Fa and Lu Qiang had just come of age this year and had never experienced such a scene before. They stood there somewhat at a loss.
Just then, Lu Yuan led Lu Jie out of the kitchen, walked straight to the woman, and carefully looked at the hair in her bowl.
Then Lu Yuan sneered and said sternly, "I feel sorry for you and your daughter, so I'll give you a chance. Admit your mistake in public, and I'll pretend nothing happened."