Chapter Eighty-Three: A Chance Encounter

  In the first few days after the holiday, I slept a lot to make up for the long-term lack of sleep. Later, I felt bored and went with Qiaoyi to help out in their respective shops in town, basically getting up early and returning late, and the days passed quite substantially.

  That day, the sun was shining brightly, and I went to town with Qiu again to help out. We first went to my family's clothing store and found that my mom and aunt were busy making clothes. Of course, they were making winter clothes now. I had asked my older sister to buy some woolen fabric in the city and designed several coats, both long and short versions. With Chinese New Year approaching, there were naturally more people coming to make new clothes, plus our store already had a good reputation, so this period of time became the golden time for our store again.

  However, I was only in charge of designing things, so naturally I didn't need to make clothes myself. We wandered around for a bit and then left, because we hadn't even had breakfast yet, and of course we wanted to go try Second Aunt's spicy noodle soup.

  Erniang's noodle shop is not far from the clothing store, they are all on the same street. When we went there, the shop was already crowded with people. The storefront is not big, but it's not small either. The layout is still what Erniang asked me to design, I don't know why she trusted me so much, probably because of the mixed noodle recipe I provided her, making her think I'm that smart? Hehe, being unconditionally trusted by someone feels really great!

  As I entered, I designed the cash register, and Qiao Ying, Qiao Hui's sister, was busy with it. Originally, this sister was an apprentice in a factory in the town, but Aunt Er saw that the store at home lacked people, and of course, collecting money had to be done by family members, so she immediately let Qiao Ying come back. The order form is posted on the wall behind the cash register, and several copies are also placed on the counter for customers to check. Napkins are also essential and are placed on the cash register, and customers can take them after finishing their meal. Since it's a noodle restaurant, of course, there couldn't be only one type of noodle dish, Aunt Er has an extremely strong talent for cooking, I casually mentioned a few types of noodles that I knew, and she actually made them all.

  In the hall, there were over a dozen tables and stools, with big and small tables. On the tables, there were vinegar, chili oil, pickled vegetables, chopsticks and so on. At first, my aunt was worried that this would be too wasteful, but I said that the guests who came to eat weren't fools, they knew how much to take, so it wouldn't be wasted. After trying it out for a few days, indeed nothing went to waste, and my aunt did it this way from then on. Actually, such arrangements were very ordinary many years later, but now they seem somewhat special, and it's precisely these special and considerate designs that made the noodle shop's business more and more prosperous.

  The kitchen is even more dazzling, as it adopts a fully transparent mode. Behind the hall, there is a half-height counter with various ingredients on top, and the entire set of kitchen equipment is behind the counter. Customers can watch their ordered dishes being prepared step by step, making them feel at ease while eating, and thus enjoying their meal even more.

  As for the decorations, it was a piece of cake. I brought Cui Hua, Lu Qi and several others to paint the murals on the walls over the course of several days. The paintings depicted plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos, chrysanthemums, high mountains and flowing water, creating a beautiful atmosphere that would allow people to enjoy their noodles with relish. When we arrived, it was peak hour for customers, with all tables fully occupied. Second Aunt was extremely busy in the kitchen, assisted by several helpers who were relatives of her family, including Cui Hua's cousins, all in their early twenties and at a great age for working. Second Aunt had invited them because they worked efficiently. Some helped out in the kitchen while others tidied up the main hall, each one busily going about their tasks.

  We arrived at the checkout counter, Qiao Hui called out to her sister, Qiao Ying saw us and immediately smiled and said: "Have you come? What do you want to eat today? Two sisters?" I took a look at the main hall, it seemed like there were no seats left, so I said: "Let's wait for a bit, there are too many people now, let's go out for a walk and come back later!" Qiao Ying looked around and nodded in agreement: "Okay! You two come back later then!" After walking around outside for a while, our stomachs were growling with hunger, so we hurried back.

  "If I said we'd run into each other, and indeed we did." As soon as I walked in the door, I heard someone calling me. I looked around to see who it was, and it turned out to be Bao'er, along with Lu Qi - what were Xiao Yang and Pang Yu doing here? How did they all happen to arrive at the same time? Chuiyi and I exchanged a puzzled glance as we walked over. "How did you all end up coming together?" I asked Xiao Yang, who was now sitting at a large table that had just opened up in the shop. Xiao Yang chuckled: "We just happened to run into each other outside." "Cloud Boss, I said we'd meet again, and look, we have! Haha!" Pang Yu was still as playful as ever.

  Bao'er laughed particularly: "I've come several times, but I always fail to meet you. It's really Brother Lu who has good luck, he came and met you all at once! You guys are really fated!" Lu Qi smiled ambiguously at me: "Of course we're extremely fated, otherwise how could we be classmates? What do you think, Little Yu?"

  I rolled my eyes at him: "If that's the case, then there are too many people with fate in this world. You just know how to talk nonsense!" He shrank back, putting on a pitiful look: "Listening to Little Yuer, I don't dare, I won't talk nonsense anymore!"

  Bao'er burst out laughing: "Ruo Yun, you're still the one with a way out, I've never seen Big Brother like this before! Haha, it's too much fun. No wonder the adults always say 'one thing subdues another', they must be talking about you two!"

  I couldn't help but laugh and cry, seeing that they hadn't even started eating yet. I quickly changed the subject: "What are you guys having today? It's rare to meet up, so I'll treat you all today!" Chui hastily smiled and said: "You guys, don't fight over it, since everyone came to my store today, of course, I'm treating!" I nodded in agreement: "Oh, that makes sense, I wouldn't dare steal the host's thunder, let's just listen to Boss Xiao!" Everyone burst out laughing. As we spoke, Chui ran off to make arrangements, and I sat down to chat with them.

  "Ugh, this holiday is so boring, all day eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, I'm almost becoming a pig!" Bao'er has really gained weight lately, her original small face has become round and chubby, with her mouth pouting out, it's really cute. I chuckled: "What's to be afraid of, chubby Bao'er is even cuter!"

  "It's actually quite fun where I am," said Xiao Yang. "What? Fun, where?" Bao'er perked up and asked eagerly. We also looked at Xiao Yang together. He saw us staring at him and his face turned red again. After coughing twice, he said: "I mean, I want to invite everyone to my home to play, my home is in the mountains, now there are wild chickens in the mountains, we can go catch wild chickens."

  "Wow, catching wild chickens! I love it. It must be especially fun. What else is fun? Tell me quickly!" Bao'er was indeed an impatient person and couldn't wait any longer. "Also, there's a forest farm on the mountain, where some trees are evergreen all year round, and the scenery isn't bad either. There are also several caves on the mountain, which were said to be where troops fought against the devils during the war, and it was also said that a long time ago, a mountain bandit king lived there. Do you want to go explore?"

  "Why is it an adventure? Haven't you been there either?" I asked. "Not really, I've been to a few small caves, but there's one big cave I haven't been to," Xiao Yang said seriously, "Actually, I've wanted to go for a long time, but the grown-ups won't let me go in alone, and that big cave is also quite far from my home, so..." "Looks like it's going to be interesting! Little Ruo Ruo, why don't we go take a look?" Lu Qi said with a sly smile, "Who knows, maybe we'll even find some treasure in the mountain cave!" "Brother, you've been watching too many movies! Treasure? Don't be ridiculous!" Bao Er teased.

  As we were talking, Qiao Wei came with a large tray, several big bowls of hot mixed noodles arrived, my eyes lit up, and I felt my stomach growling too. I quickly invited everyone to start eating. "It's so delicious! Although I've already eaten here several times, it still feels really good!" Bao Er exclaimed while eating. The others nodded in agreement. Everyone was having a great time eating. After finishing the mixed noodles, Qiao Wei considerately brought over several cups of soy milk, truly providing excellent service! We all gave her a thumbs up and praised her, making her blush with embarrassment.