Chapter 28: Borrowing Money

  A night of wild thoughts, a night of bewildering dreams. When the first rays of sunlight shone on my window at dawn, I woke up naturally and with a clear head. For this life that Wind and I share, I must speed up the pace of change so as not to leave any regrets. As for Mo's kindness towards me, I will remember it in my heart; since I won't be able to repay her in this lifetime, let's wait till the next one!

  I quickly got dressed, washed up and came to the kitchen. I saw my mom cooking porridge. She looked at me in surprise: "Wow, where did this sun come from? My little sleepyhead is actually getting up so early?" I smiled: "Hey, mom, people need to keep making progress! Where's dad? Didn't he sneak out?" "I was wondering," my mom said with a smile. "You little rascal, you're afraid your dad won't take you to town, aren't you?"

  "Isn't that right? It's not often that we go to town, so of course I have to make the most of it!" I said with a pout. "But you still got up too early," my mom kindly reminded me. "Your dad was thinking of sending your brother to school this afternoon and then asking around about the store situation in town." "Huh?" I was greatly disappointed, "Will we have time this afternoon? Town is so far from home, just traveling will take a few hours, how can we possibly ask around?"

  I gloomily turned back to my room. No way, I couldn't wait, looking at Dad's attitude, it was unclear when he would be done. I thought quietly, today Dad's main goal was to send Second Brother to school, actually Second Brother was already so big that he didn't need Dad to send him, and there wasn't much luggage either. Ah, go find Second Brother then! Rushed to Second Brother's room, just knowing he hadn't gotten up yet, rarely coming home of course he would sleep in a bit.

  I tiptoed forward, hehe, Second Brother, I'm here! I stretched out my little finger to dig into his ear, and Second Brother turned over and continued sleeping. Hmm, still not awake? I pinched his nose and flipped his eyelids. This should wake him up now! The tyrannical princess is hard to provoke, the king will be shattered into a million pieces. "Little Sleepyhead, why did you get up so early?" Second Brother finally opened his bleary eyes. "It can't be afternoon yet, right?" Second Brother yawned repeatedly.

  I shook my second brother: "Second brother, wait a bit before sleeping. I have something to ask you." "Say it, what's up?" he continued yawning. "Today, I'm going with Dad to the town to look at the storefront, you know, right? This is an important matter, right?" I said clearly, and my second brother nodded repeatedly: "Right, I know." "But Dad says we have to wait until this afternoon to send you to school first before inquiring about the storefront. Do you think that's enough time? Definitely not enough, right?" I asked patiently.

  "Oh, what do you mean?" "I think I'll go to town now and take care of the shop today. I'll also bring back the fabric for the first batch of clothes we need to make. You see, there's a lot to do, and it won't be possible this afternoon." "That's easy to handle, so you can go now, and I'll just go to school this afternoon myself." Second brother patted my shoulder, "Good little sister, second brother will take care of you, hurry up and tell Mom and Dad!" I was overjoyed: "Second brother is really great! You can keep sleeping, little sister won't disturb you anymore!"

  I walked into the kitchen with a spring in my step and exclaimed, "Dad, let's go now! Second brother said he'll go to school by himself this afternoon, so you don't need to send him." Dad was also in the kitchen, looking at me with an excited expression, and said helplessly, "You're really eager to go, huh? Going in the afternoon is the same, just ask around, it won't take long." "You just don't understand," I said confidently. "My task today is very heavy, I need to check out the store, select fabric, and investigate public sentiment. One afternoon isn't enough time for all that!" Besides, with the roads closed to traffic now, relying on our own two feet to get there, it'll probably take three hours back and forth."

  My mother said beside me, "Xiaoyun is right, since we've decided to open a store, let's go take a look. Xiaoyi is big enough now, he can go to school by himself, you don't have to worry about it." "Mom, you're the best! Long live mom!" I excitedly hugged my mother. "I want to ask Qiaohui if she wants to go? She said yesterday that she also wanted to go, is that okay?" My mother patted me on the head, "Go ahead, two people can keep each other company."

  I skipped and jumped out of the house, heading to Qiaohui's home. It just so happened that Auntie Er said she wanted to lend me money, and if everything went smoothly today, I would bring back both the shop and fabric money, so as not to make a wasted trip. Having made up my mind, when I arrived at Qiaohui's house, I didn't go to her room, but instead headed straight for the kitchen, thinking that Auntie Er was definitely busy in there.

  As expected, wasn't that Second Aunt busily stirring and cooking on the stove? Hmm, there's a delicious smell, what tasty dish is Second Aunt making again? I snuck in quietly and stood behind Second Aunt to take a peek. The pot was boiling with noodles, probably hand-pulled noodles. Second Aunt was chopping scallions, garlic, and so on. Next to her was also a bowl of fermented bean paste.

  "Huh? Are you making zha jiang mian? I couldn't help but exclaim: "Zha jiang mian!" Second Aunt was startled by my shout, she patted her chest and laughed saying: "Oh my, Xiao Yun, you scared me to death!" I gently patted Second Aunt's back and repeatedly said: "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Then I asked in a flattering tone: "Second Aunt, are you making zha jiang mian?"

  "Ah, yes, Little Cloud, you've come just in time. Come and take a look, am I doing it right?" Second Aunt was getting excited. I hastily nodded: "Yes, absolutely! Second Aunt is indeed a foodie, nothing can stump her." The noodles are done when they're 80% cooked, Second Aunt, quickly scoop them up and drain the water." I took up the ladle to stir the noodles in the pot, and Second Aunt hurried over to scoop out the noodles.

  "Now, wash the pot clean, pour in oil and prepare to stir-fry." I instructed from the side. After all, it was her first time making this dish, so Auntie Er was still a bit flustered, but she followed my instructions to add ginger and garlic and continue stir-frying, finally adding scallions. Wow, the aroma wafted up to my nose. I didn't expect Auntie Er to succeed on her first try.

  "I sincerely admire: 'Second Aunt, if you don't become a chef, it's such a waste, you're simply a genius!'"

  Second Aunt burst out laughing: "Xiao Yun, you're really good at talking. Tell me, didn't you come over today to see if Second Aunt can make fried noodles?" I felt a bit embarrassed: "Second Aunt, it's like this, I wanted to invite her to go into town with me." "Oh, are we going now? She hasn't gotten up yet?"

  "Little Cloud, you're so young and already know how to do great things for the family. I support you," said Second Aunt, looking at me with a smile. "Wait here, I'll go get some money for you." She quickly walked into the back room and came out after a while, holding a small cloth bag. She opened it and took out five 20-yuan bills, handing them to me. "This is 100 yuan, which should be enough for you to open a small shop," she said. I took the money from Second Aunt, feeling touched in my heart. "Second Aunt, you're so kind!" Second Aunt smiled and said, "This is my savings from the past few years. Since there's only one child in our family who studies, we naturally live a bit better. You do well, and I believe you'll succeed. Go call Little Hui now, and you two come eat fried noodles together."