The story of a cook

Chapter 453 Mother and Daughter

On the third day after the salary was paid, Lao Zhao told me that he could take a day off tomorrow.I didn't expect this, because I didn't notice the rest item when I signed the agreement with the old man.Lao Zhao said that as long as employees who have worked for one month have one day off, one day a month, I have been here for two months, and I can take one day off.

I have been working all the time, and suddenly I have a break and don't know what to do.Call Lin Yan and ask if she is at home.She said no, at the mother-in-law's house, the mother-in-law went out to catch pigs these two days, and she was looking after the house at the mother-in-law's house.It was originally planned that if she would go home at home, it would be useless if she didn't go home, since she would not see her son.

Not far from the dormitory is Sanba Square. There is a newsstand beside the square. I often buy novels there.It's okay to rest, let's go to the square and see if there are any new novels by the way.

It's almost June [-]st, the weather is warm, and there are many people in the square, both adults and children.

Standing on the square for a while, basking in the sun, I feel very comfortable.Every day at this time, I sweat profusely in the kitchen, and I can’t enjoy the sun’s rays at all. It’s hard to enjoy it once, and I can’t miss it.

A middle-aged woman with a haggard face is holding a little girl by the hand. The little girl's face is covered with dirt and hasn't been washed for several days.

The middle-aged woman came to the front and said in Mandarin that she could understand: "Give me some money, the child hasn't eaten for several days, give me some money to buy food for the child."

Looking at the little girl, who is only five or six years old, looking at me with big eyes, very clear and full of hope.

He touched his pocket, took out five yuan and handed it to the middle-aged woman. The middle-aged woman bowed and thanked: "Thank you, thank you, a good person will have a safe life."

The middle-aged woman took the little girl away, and went to find the next target of charity.

A kind lady came to me and said, "Young man, why are you paying me? That's a liar."

I smiled and said, "I won't give it next time."

"They're just pretending, they're richer than us," said the aunt.

I nodded and said nothing.I can't say that I am in a good mood today and I am willing to give it.

Look at the sky, the sky is blue and the sun is hot.

It's summer.

I feel a little hungry, and I want to buy something to go back to eat. There is still wine in the dormitory.Before going back, go to the newsstand to see if there is a new novel and buy a copy, and read it while drinking.

The owner of the newsstand already knew me, and told me that there is a book that is very good-looking and fantasy.I picked it up and flipped through two pages, but I didn't feel any good or bad. I thought it would be fine to just read one, because it's for sleep aid anyway.I accidentally saw the latest issue of "Oriental Cuisine" magazine in the corner of the pavilion.

"Do you still have "Oriental Cuisine"?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, but few people buy it." The boss said.

Taking "Oriental Cuisine" in his hand, he flipped through two pages and asked, "Do you have this issue?"

"All of them, do you want them?" the boss asked.

I said, "Yes, I will fetch it from you every month from now on."

When I came from home, I brought two copies of "Oriental Cuisine" from last year, and I read them several times. I always wanted to read this year's one, but I didn't. I didn't expect to find it here.

"Oriental Cuisine" not only reports the latest food trends, but also develops many new dishes. It also introduces some very popular restaurants and their management models. It is very useful for chefs and can learn a lot from it. s things.

I bought the novel and "Oriental Cuisine" introduced by the boss, and then went to buy food.

The street behind the square is full of snacks and everything.There are noodles and dumplings, as well as rice noodles, fire, cold noodles, dog meat, side dishes and so on.Stop at a stall selling salted fish pancakes.

On the steps in front of the stall sat a mother and daughter who I gave five yuan to. The little girl was sitting there holding a big pancake in one hand and a fried salted fish in the other. Kind of gobbled it up.The middle-aged woman held a big pancake in one hand and ate a few mouthfuls, and in the other hand held a tea mug filled with water, watching the little girl eat with distressed and relieved eyes.

That look is like a mother's.

The little girl ate a little fast, choked and coughed twice, the middle-aged woman hurriedly handed the tea mug to the little girl's mouth, the little girl drank two sips of water, and stopped coughing.

The little girl handed the salted fish to the middle-aged woman's mouth. The middle-aged woman only took a small bite, then turned her head away and took a bite of the big pancake.The little girl brought the salted fish to the mouth of the middle-aged woman. The middle-aged woman shook her head, drank a sip of water without saying a word, then put the tea mug on the steps, and brought the little girl to her side. The little girl leaned against the middle-aged woman. On women, continue to eat big pancakes and salted fish.

The warm sunlight fell on the middle-aged woman and the little girl. For a moment, there was an illusion that the middle-aged woman was emitting a soft light full of maternal love, covering the little girl, and the little girl was also shining, like an angel.

Without disturbing them, he went to the stall and bought a large salted fish pancake, then touched the remaining change in his pocket, and walked up to them.The little girl seemed to recognize me and smiled at me.

What kind of a smile is this, innocent, pure, carefree, and full of sadness that makes people cry——
He gave the remaining change to the middle-aged woman, turned around and left.

The moment I turned around, I knew I was in tears.

I said to the little girl in my heart, the uncle only has this little money, and I will give it all to you. I really want to give you more, but the uncle has nothing on him.

In this ordinary world, there are ordinary people, there is not so much vigor, some are day after day, year after year, with sadness, emotion, unyielding to life and love for beauty yearning.

No one wants to be poor and miserable, but they still experience it.

Seeing the pair of mother and daughter, I couldn't help but think of the scene of my mother begging for food to support the six of us, and the words of my mother, "Mom wants to live!"

That middle-aged woman isn't—what Mom wants is to live!

Bless our great mother——

Back in the dormitory, I was eating big salted fish pancakes, drinking some wine and watching "Oriental Cuisine", when the phone rang, and I saw it was Zhou Xiaomei, so I answered it quickly.

"Uncle, how's it going by the seaside?" She asked.

"It's okay, it's good. Are you busy calling at this hour?" I asked.

"I'm not busy now, I haven't been very busy recently." She said.

"Oh, I'm off today."

"Really, it's good to have a rest, didn't you go out for a stroll?"

"Go out and come back."

"Aren't there many places to play by the seaside?"

"It's quite a lot. I don't want to go out to play. I didn't go anywhere. I just wandered around." I said.

"You too, it's hard to go there, and you don't want to take a break to go shopping." She said.

"The main thing is that you can't spend money on shopping, we have no money." I laughed.

On the phone, she said that she would stop working there until October, and that the boss would switch to higher education instead of catering.When I was still in Binhai, she would also come to Binhai to develop.I said yes, if I was still there, I would transfer her over.She told me that Li Shuang was due to give birth in two months, and that Zhang Li was going back to work in Sita now, saying when she was pregnant and when she would quit.

I asked her how Qiuping was doing now, and she said that Qiuping was fine, and after quitting there, Qiuping was going to do something else with his partner, or do some small business together.

Qiuping is a very caring child, so he can do business.

Chatted with Zhou Xiaomei for a few words, then hung up the phone.

Look at the time, it's almost two o'clock in the afternoon. At this time of the day, Bao Peng is cleaning up the stove, and Bao Peng starts to close the stalls, and he will have a work meal soon.It's so beautiful to rest without going to work. You can sit on the bed and drink a little wine.

A rare day off, be sure to enjoy it.

Continuing to drink, the phone rang again.

This time it was Sister Zhao who called. She said that the children's clothing store will not be busy in June, and that she and Li Yanhua will go to Binhai for a couple of days and come see me.I said yes, I will receive them then.

"Take care of yourself there. It's hot in Binhai in summer. It doesn't cost much to buy an electric fan. I often take out the quilt to dry it in the sun." Sister Zhao said.

"Well, I'm going to buy an electric fan tomorrow." I said.

"Did you bring your own quilt or the hotel's?" she asked.

"The ones from the restaurant are also new." I said.

"That won't work. I buy a set myself. The ones in restaurants are not good, so it doesn't necessarily mean the quality." She said.

I smiled and said, "It's okay, they're all military quilts."

"The army quilts are all counterfeit. I can give you the army quilts."

"It's okay, it's not cold here by the seaside, so it's okay to cover it."

"You're just fooling around. If you have the money to go out and drink, you can buy everything. Don't go out to drink all the time." Sister Zhao instructed.

I said, "Well, I don't go out all the time. Now I drink in the dormitory instead of going out."

"Drink less, don't drink too much."

I promise.

It's like this every time I talk to Sister Zhao on the phone. She cares about me as much as my sister does.

Sometimes I wonder if she was my real sister in my previous life.

Chatted with Sister Zhao for a few more words and put down the phone, thinking that no one would call when I was not resting, as if they knew I was resting today, they would call all the time to see if anyone still called, I couldn’t stop drinking.

Don't say it, there really is.

This time it is the fourth child.

"How about there? The third child." The fourth child asked.

I said, "It's okay, it's fine."

"How is Binhai Seafood doing? Did you learn the basics this time?" he asked.

"It's okay. The seafood here is all live. The cooking method is a bit different from that in the provincial capital. I saw what they do. It's very simple, but they pay attention to the heat." I said.

"You can make live sea cucumber and live abalone?"

"That will be all right, stewed fish is also fine now." I said.

"You can learn it, and teach me when the time comes." He said: "I will go out to study in two days, and go to Harbin."

"What to learn?" I asked.

"Pressure-cooked dishes are produced over there, and Gaba pots are very good. I'm going to learn from them," he said.

"I've heard of pressure cooker dishes, but I haven't seen them. Tell me about them when you're done learning." I said.

"When I finish my studies, I come back to our store. If it sells well, I'll tell you what to do. You can do it in Binhai. Now pressure cookers are popular, and people love to eat them, especially Gaba pots. It’s very popular, and the provincial capital is just starting to sell it now.” He said.

"Go and learn first, tell me what to do after you finish learning, and I will try."

"By the way, do you want a chopping board? I'll get a chopping board here. It works pretty well. If you want it, I'll ask him to come to your place." He said.

I said, "Yes, I am in short supply, let him come."

"Then I'll tell him to go to your place, and he will call you when he arrives."

"Okay, call him."

The kitchen is short of chopping boards. I didn't expect the fourth child to have one. I really don't know which cloud has rain.

(End of this chapter)