sbdcsierra Chapter 78: Was I bullied at the academy?
Chapter 78: Was I bullied at the academy?
Lin Xi happily returned to the kitchen after cutting a basket of fresh, tender green chives from the old house to make chive pancakes.
As for making vermicelli or something, it was getting late, and he had no desire to cook it. Instead, he was in a good mood in the kitchen, humming a little tune while holding a spatula.
"Give me two more servings of scallions~ Let me fry the crucian carp into pancakes, don't let the marinated ribs melt. You're making tofu pudding, how am I supposed to remember that! I forgot to remove the chicken ribs, and Chestnut told me to forget the mackerel. Chestnut said the crucian carp will cry, it won't eat because it's burnt~~"
The sound was so clear that Jiang Yuandao, who was delivering eggs, could hear it clearly from the gate of the courtyard.
"Hey, Uncle, you're here! Come in quickly!" Gao Mengli, who had been idly sitting in the courtyard, saw Jiang Yuandao walk in!
Jiang Yuandao heard the melancholy in Lin Xi's "singing" and frowned as he looked at Gao Mengli. "Nephew's wife, if you don't have enough scallions, tell your uncle. My family grows a lot, and I'll bring you some tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Gao Mengli was taken aback at first, then realized what he meant and burst out laughing. She quickly waved her hand at Jiang Yuandao, "Uncle, it's not that there aren't enough scallions, he's just singing nonsense, don't mind him!"
Gao Mengli took the basket from Jiang Yuandao's back, picked up the eggs and put them in the bamboo basket, then turned to the kitchen and called out, "Xixi, take out some coins to pay your uncle."
Lin Xi stopped howling in the kitchen when he heard Gao Mengli call him. He quickly responded, wiped his hands on his apron, and ran out of the kitchen.
He counted out the coins and handed them to his uncle. "Uncle, count them. By the way, Uncle, in a few days the elm seeds will be old and the locust flowers will have withered, so we won't be selling elm seeds or locust flower egg pancakes anymore."
"Huh?" Jiang Yuandao, who was happily about to take the copper coin, suddenly froze in mid-air.
I thought selling eggs would be a way to make money, but it turned out to be a short-lived success, with the bloom lasting too long to last.
My heart is breaking...
Lin Xi took her uncle's hand and placed the copper coin in it. "Uncle, you can grow some chives. We'll make some chive dumplings and other chive dishes. Please continue to send eggs as usual. We ordered a stove for making jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes) a few days ago. We'll need more eggs than before."
Chives grow quickly; once you cut one crop, another grows back.
The produce grown by my uncle's family, plus what the old house next door grows, is almost enough to supply his family's small stall.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuandao's heart, which had been dead, immediately revived!
The night-blooming cereus of Yanba immediately reopened, its "smiling face like a flower"!
He grinned at Lin Xi, "Okay, I'll go back and plant them right away. I promise I won't delay your business. I'll be going now!"
After saying that, he slung his basket over his shoulder and hurried away, as if he wanted to teleport to his own land to start planting vegetables.
After all, these two are impulsive and unpredictable; he needs to earn his first pot of gold first.
Watching his uncle's hurried departure, Lin Xi called out loudly, "Hey, Uncle—"
He wanted to invite Jiang Yuandao to stay for dinner, but when he got to the courtyard gate, he couldn't find the old man anywhere.
"Xixi, what's burnt?" Gao Mengli had just finished putting the eggs away when she suddenly smelled a burnt odor and frowned.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xi's expression changed drastically. "Shaft! My leek dumplings!"
Lin Xi shouted as she rushed into the kitchen like a gust of wind.
Gao Mengli quickly put down the eggs she was holding and ran inside. She saw that some of the chive pancakes in the pot, which should have been golden and crispy, had turned black, with wisps of smoke rising from them.
That's the downside of cooking these days—you can't manually turn off the stove...
Finally, the three chickens in the yard got to eat the blackened egg and chive pancakes.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi were able to enjoy the golden and crispy chive boxes again!
After finishing my meal, I didn't forget to bring a bowl over to the old house next door, since you can't just get free chives.
The next day, they set up their stall as usual.
However, as it was nearing the end of the day, Jiang noticed a little boy with a face covered in soot and hands covered in dirt hiding in the crowd.
His gaze darted away, he seemed to want to speak but hesitated, yet remained silent.
Out of curiosity, she couldn't help but take a second look, and tugged at Gao Mengli's sleeve beside her, "Eldest sister, look how pitiful that child is... could you... could you..."
Gao Mengli followed Jiang's gaze and saw the little boy. Her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of pity flashed in her eyes.
Those eyes looked innocent and pitiful, but why did they seem so familiar?
"Mother, I'll go ask her."
After saying that, she put down what she was holding and walked towards the little boy.
When the little boy saw Gao Mengli approaching, his heart tightened, his skin tensed, and his eyes darted away. He quickly backed away.
Lin Xi had just put the dumplings into the pot when he saw Gao Mengli walk into the queue of customers with a look of sympathy and curiosity, as if she was looking for something. He followed her out of curiosity.
The little boy was already nervous when he saw Gao Mengli approaching, but now that Lin Xi was also there, he was even more frightened and turned to run away.
The little boy, who was about to run away, tripped over a stone by the roadside in his panic and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch~"
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi quickly stepped forward to check.
The two knelt down and gently helped the little boy up from the ground. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
The two of them were the first to notice his bruised knee. They rolled up his trouser leg, checked it, and found that there was no broken skin, so they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why are you running away...???"
Gao Mengli looked up, about to ask a question, when she saw those eyes that were all too familiar. That made her utter the last word through gritted teeth, her face burning with rage.
Lin Xi sensed something was wrong, looked up, clenched her fists, stood up, stared intently at the little boy, and gave a forced smile.
"Hey...hey, Dad, Mom! Long time no see~" Da Niu, seeing that he had been discovered, braced himself and quickly called out twice, trying to awaken the maternal and paternal love in their hearts.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to escape this mixed doubles beating today!
Gao Mengli was trembling with anger, pointing at Da Niu and yelling, "Lin Da Niu, are you itching for a beating? Now you know to call us? You brat, why are you running away?"
Lin Xi was also furious. "Lin Daniu, are you being chased by a ghost? What are you running for?"
Da Niu shrank his neck, looking at Lin Xi and Gao Mengli with a fawning expression. Although he wasn't completely obstinate, he was quite stubborn. "Father, Mother, I just... I was so excited to see you that I ran the wrong way! Hehe... I'll go back to the academy right now!"
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi glared at Da Niu, waved their hands, and signaled him to get back quickly.
But suddenly the two of them realized, oh right, it's not a holiday, why is Da Niu "outside"?
Seeing his filthy appearance, the two immediately had a bad feeling. Could it be that he had been bullied at the academy?