Chapter 138 – Treating to a Meal
There was another more important reason; Yan Xiaosi wanted Yan Shuyun to become an apprentice at the Xu Family Fur Shop.
It was a rare and valuable opportunity and it would be a pity to miss it.
“Gurgle gurgle.”
The sound of hunger echoed in her stomach.
Looking at the sun overhead, she realized it was past noon.
The food they had eaten early in the morning at the county court had already been digested.
“Big brother Dazhuang, do you have anything to do? If not, let’s go to the restaurant for lunch.”
Tian Dazhuang had come to Daxing Town today just to help them load and unload the cart.
Having carried the firewood back and forth, he was very hungry. Hearing Yan Xiaosi suggest going to a restaurant for lunch, he couldn’t help but swallow.
“Xiaosi, let’s not go to the restaurant. The food there is quite expensive.”
Yan Xiaosi walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and said, “Big brother Dazhuang, just tell me if you’re hungry and want to eat. Don’t beat around the bush like a shy maiden.”
Tian Dazhuang’s honest face turned somewhat red.
“I’m definitely hungry after eating early in the morning.”
“If you’re hungry, let’s go to the restaurant. You’ve helped our family a lot today. We will treat you.”
Yan Xiaosi swiftly climbed onto the cart.
Recalling the taste of the steamed meat at the steamed meat rice restaurant, Yan Xiaosi licked her lips hungrily and said to Ms. Zhong and her sisters, “Mom, big sister, second sister, third sister, how about we go to Aunt Yu’s steamed meat buns restaurant for our meal?”
Ms. Zhong and his sisters climbed onto the cart one after another.
After thinking for a moment, Ms. Zhong responded to Yan Xiaosi, “Xiaosi, Aunt Yu’s restaurant now only does business at the dock. Can we go there to eat?”
They only do business at the dock now?
Yan Xiaosi was surprised, but she was really craving the delicious, tender, and greasy-but-not-oily steamed meat buns.
“We’ll know if we can eat there when we go and see. If Aunt Yu’s place isn’t serving, we’ll go somewhere else.”
Ms. Zhong didn’t say anything else.
Seeing Tian Dazhuang still standing there, Yan Xiaosi waved at him from the cart.
“Big brother Dazhuang, what are you still standing there for? Get on quickly.”
“Yes, Dazhuang, you’ve been helping us all morning. We can’t let you go back hungry.”
Hearing Ms. Zhong say this, Tian Dazhuang gave a hearty laugh and climbed onto the cart.
He had already been to the steamed meat rice restaurant once, and after getting on the cart, he drove directly to the steamed meat buns restaurant.
In a short while, the six of them arrived at the restaurant.
Because all the food had been taken to sell at the dock, Aunt Yu wasn’t catering to customers anymore, so the front of the restaurant was quite desolate.
Aunt Yu was squatting in front of the restaurant washing dishes. When she saw Tian Dazhuang stop the cart, she quickly put down her work, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked over to them.
“Big sister, have you sold all your hairpins?”
Ms. Zhong nodded and replied, “We have sold all of them. The kids are hungry, so we thought we would come to your restaurant for lunch.”
Yan Xiaosi’s gaze wandered around, and not seeing the restaurant owner, she casually asked a question.
“Aunt Yu, isn’t Uncle Yu in the restaurant?”
As Aunt Yu invited the six of them into the restaurant, she replied to Yan Xiaosi, “The boss has gone to the dock to sell food and hasn’t come back yet. If you all want to have lunch, I will have to cook for you.”
Upon entering Aunt Yu’s restaurant, Yan Xiaosi looked around.
The small restaurant wasn’t very big, but it was very clean, and there were four square tables in the hall.
Aunt Yu led the six of them to one of the square tables, poured tea, and politely said, “Big sister, you can have tea here first, I’ll go and cook for you.”
“Aunt Yu, do you still have steamed meat buns?”
Seeing Yan Xiaosi’s greedy look, Aunt Yu laughed and said, “Yes, it’s nice to see you appreciate our steamed meat. I’ll make sure you have your fill today.”
“Aunt Yu, we’ve seen each other back and forth, and we’re familiar with each other, you can just call me Xiaosi.”
Aunt Yu left for the kitchen, and in no time, a strong aroma of cooking wafted out from the kitchen.
Tian Dazhuang, who was already hungry, couldn’t help but have his stomach grumble at the smell of the cooking.
“Xiaosi, this restaurant may be small, but the food smells delicious.”
Yan Shuqin said, “Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu are both honest people. They cook seriously, so the taste certainly won’t be bad.”
After a quarter of an hour, Aunt Yu came out of the kitchen carrying a few dishes.
She had cooked five dishes in total: garlic eggplant, braised green beans, braised potatoes, vegetable tofu soup, some seasonal vegetables, along with a large bowl of steamed meat, making it six dishes in total.
Aunt Yu served all the food and said to Ms. Zhong, “We only have these vegetables at home. Big sister, please make do.”
The six dishes were full of color, fragrance, and taste, and Yan Xiaosi couldn’t wait to start eating.
After tasting a piece of garlic eggplant, Yan Xiaosi found it to be a delight. The garlic eggplant was oily but not greasy, with the fragrance of garlic and eggplant lingering on her tongue. To cook the garlic eggplant to this level was indeed the work of a master chef.
“Aunt Yu, this garlic eggplant is really delicious, you’ve made the eggplant taste like meat.”
Hearing Yan Xiaosi’s praises, Ms. Zhong, the Yan sisters, and Tian Dazhuang also couldn’t wait to start eating.
The food was delicious, and the six of them were extremely hungry, so they quickly finished all the dishes on the table.
After filling their bellies, Ms. Zhong called over Aunt Yu to pay for the meal.
“Aunt Yu, how much is this meal? Can you give us the total?”
Aunt Yu waved her hand, “It’s just a few vegetable dishes, it won’t cost much. Big sister, it’s my treat.”
Ms. Zhong felt a little embarrassed.
“Aunt Yu, how could that be right?”
“Big sister, we have a relationship. You shouldn’t be so polite with me.”
One insisting on paying, the other refusing to accept, the two of them chatted for a while, it was really a waste of time.
Yan Xiaosi couldn’t help but interrupt their conversation, saying, “Mother, since Aunt Yu is kindly treating us, you shouldn’t refuse any longer.”
“Aunt Yu, thank you for treating us to a meal, but I have a few words to say to you.”
Just at this moment, Uncle Yu finished selling the food and returned from the dock.
Uncle Yu placed the cart he used to push the food at the door, stepped in with big strides, saying as he walked, “Minglan, all of today’s food has been sold out. The business was very good. We should make more for tomorrow.”
Aunt Yu’s full name was Tang Minglan.
Hearing Uncle Yu’s words, Mrs. Tang’s face brightened, she quickly said to Uncle Yu, “Boss, big sister and her group have come.”
Only then did Uncle Yu notice that there were strangers in the house. He looked at Yan Xiaosi carefully, and quickly recognized him.
“So it’s you, young man, thank you very much. If it weren’t for your advice, my small restaurant wouldn’t have survived.”
Faced with Uncle Yu’s grateful look, Yan Xiaosi gave a slight smile, saying, “Uncle Yu, you don’t have to be polite. Aunt Yu has already thanked me.”
