small town story

Chapter 1 Small Town

At five o'clock in summer, the sky is already bright.

Accompanied by the sound of the rolling shutter door rattling up, an oversized truck slowly drove forward from the road.

Su Youqin got out from under the unraised rolling door, stood in front of the door and quietly watched the road being run over by the big truck. The unheated wind in the morning twirled her hair, and her bangs on her forehead were parted, revealing a thumb Large and small scars, the scars are red and purple, very conspicuous, if you look closely, there are traces of lines on the edges of the scars, like insect feet, a little scary.

A car honked its horn and overtook the large truck.

Su Youqin took a step back.There was a slight itching on the right cheek, and she raised her hand to touch it. There was also a scar here, which was a little smaller than the scar on the forehead, and the color was lighter, pinkish.

A thin pedestrian walked on the sidewalk beside the road with a basket on his back.Seeing Su Youqin standing in the open space in front of the door, he looked at her curiously.

With a click, the automatic rolling door rose to the top, and the incandescent light in the room illuminated the front of the door, connecting it with the street lights.There are two rows of eight tables against the wall in the room, and one can tell that this is a restaurant.

Su Youqin returned to the house, first pushed out the mobile steamer cart placed behind the rolling shutter door, walked to the kitchen surrounded by transparent glass at the innermost part of the house, pushed out the five steamed buns and steamed buns that had been placed in the big steamer, and put them in the steamer In the car, turn on the gas and start steaming the steamed buns.

Then she pushed the desktop electric baking pan to the other side, went to the kitchen and pushed out the oil cake noodles that had been cut and placed on the mobile table, turned on the electric baking pan, and spread out four pancakes while waiting for the pan to heat up.

The sky gradually brightened, and there were more pedestrians and vehicles on the road.

The four pancakes had just been scooped up from the baking pan, when a black miscellaneous car was parked on the side of the road, a short and fat man in a gray T-shirt got out of the car, and greeted Su Youqin: "Youqin."

This person is Zhu Cheng, Su Youqin's childhood playmate.

Zhu Cheng didn't go to university, and after graduating from vocational high school, he returned home to start a business with his parents. He got married and had children early. Before he turned [-], he already showed signs of getting fatter in middle age.

Su Youqin stopped and smiled slightly at Zhu Cheng.

"I'm the first customer of our store today, right? I want two brown sugar buns, one vegetable bun, two pancakes, and three cups of soy milk. Take them away." Standing in front of the steamer cart, Zhu Cheng took out his mobile phone and pointed at the two. Scan the QR code: "12 yuan?"

Su Youqin nodded, took off the food plastic gloves, put the oil cakes into paper bags, walked to the side of the steamer cart to pack the buns, picked up the soy milk from the table next to it, and handed it to the man together.

Zhu Cheng quickly took it, "School is about to start, you can't do it alone. I heard Mangzi said that you want to hire someone to help?"

Su Youqin nodded. She went to a chicken farm to buy eggs a few days ago, and told Mangzi, the owner of the chicken farm, what she wanted to recruit. Mangzi said to help her.

"Obviously there is a cousin, in her 40s, from the village of the Ninth Brigade, who wants to come to the town to find a job, do you want it? She used to help in the junior high school cafeteria, one thousand a month, including food and housing."

Su Youqin took out her mobile phone, opened Zhu Cheng's WeChat, quickly typed a paragraph, and sent it to him: "Yes. I'll give her [-] yuan, including two meals. However, I can't provide accommodation."

Zhu Cheng raised his head and smiled and said, "No problem, she has a place to live. Her son came back last year to buy a small second-hand set in the town. Tomorrow is the market day. I'll let her come and have a look. If it suits you, stay. If it doesn't suit you, stay." does not matter."

Su Youqin smiled again, and sent him a "thank you" bow emoticon package.

Zhu Cheng put the mobile phone into the pocket with money on his side: "Why are you being polite to me. I'll go first and go to the city to receive the goods."

Su Youqin nodded, waved to Zhu Cheng, and watched him get into the car.It wasn't until the black car drove away that she looked back and continued spreading oil cakes.

It was getting brighter and the street lights went out.The natural white light of the sky enveloped Su Youqin.With the sound of pancakes sizzling on the hot oil, the town gradually woke up.

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The name of the town is Pingcun, but I don't know where the name comes from.

I heard that Pingcun was just a village nearly a hundred years ago. Later, with the change of the division of administrative regions, Pingcun was changed into a township because of its location.

Now, the community of Pingcun Town governs three community streets in the center of the town and more than a dozen surrounding villages.

There is a provincial road in Pingcun Town that passes through the center of the town.More than [-] years ago, at the beginning of the construction of the provincial road, some villagers in the surrounding villages moved to the side of the provincial road and lived along the provincial road. Later, the center of the town gradually became three streets, one was a highway street along the provincial road, and the other was a farmer’s market. The main street is Shangdong Street, and the last one is Xiaxi Street next to Shangdong Street where the government is located.

The highway street is nearly 2000 meters long, and the town center primary school and middle school are located on the highway street.

Su Youqin was born on the side of the road, less than 100 meters away from the gate of the primary school and more than 300 meters away from the gate of the middle school.

Thanks to the good location, Grandpa Su Youqin opened a breakfast shop in his family's store after he retired from the school's logistics office, selling only breakfast.

When Grandpa Su was young, he was a well-known master chef in the town. He was always invited to cook for weddings and weddings in eight villages.Grandpa has been working in the school kitchen for 30 to [-] years, and all the children who come to school in the town know him. After decades, Grandpa Su has become a well-known Master Su in Pingcun Town.

When Su Youqin was in school, most of the teachers said in front of her: "When I was in school, I ate and studied in the hands of Master Su."

The breakfast shop opened by Grandpa Su uses traditional self-made old noodles, which are different from steamed buns and steamed buns made from yeast products that many breakfast shops are trying to save.

When the breakfast shop opened, the business was very good, but the breakfast shop had only been open for five years. Three years ago, Grandpa Su died of illness, and the breakfast shop closed.

Grandpa always liked to say that his skill of holding a spoon was not passed on to his son and daughter, but was learned by his granddaughter Su Youqin who grew up with him.But Su Youqin got good grades in school, went to high school and university, and stayed in a big city to work. This skill was useless.

The world is unpredictable, who would have thought that in the third year after his grandfather passed away, Su Youqin, who returned to the small town due to a disaster, reopened the breakfast shop and began to support herself with the craftsmanship left by her grandfather.

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It's still summer vacation, at nine o'clock in the morning, the two hundred steamed buns that Su Youqin prepared today were sold out, she turned off the gas, and was about to sandwich the last two pancakes in the electric baking pan, when a deliberately low voice came from the sidewalk : "Ha, there is a store here, wow, beauty!"

The lively female voice fell straight into Su Youqin's mind. When she looked up, two young girls came into her sight.

The girl standing in front is tall and tall, wearing a T-shirt and denim shorts, with a ponytail. She has fair skin, clear eyes and a smile. She said the sentence just now; the girl behind her is a little shorter, slightly fat, with a Her face was small, and she looked at Su Youqin with surprise and inquiry in her eyes - she stood a little to the right and saw the scar on Su Youqin's right cheek.

After the car accident, Su Youqin had seen the girl's gaze many times, and she was used to it.Smiling at the two girls, he put his head down and put the two pancakes into paper bags.

"Mr. Shen? Good morning." The clear and crisp child's voice came from the side of the electric baking pan.

Su Youqin raised her head, and Miao Miao, the little granddaughter of Grandpa He's house diagonally across the door, was standing behind the electric baking pan, holding a ten-yuan bill in her hand, and greeted the two girls on the side of the road. The girl with ponytail smiled and waved to Miao Miao, and said kindly: " Good morning, He Xiaomiao, what are you doing here?"

Miao Miao has just entered the second grade of elementary school. The little girl is thin and small, but very cute. She points to Su Youqin: "I'm here to buy breakfast from my sister." She paused and asked: "Mr. Shen, have you had breakfast yet?" ?”

"Not yet, what's delicious here, can you introduce it to the teacher?" The girl with ponytail stepped forward a few steps, walked to the open space in front of the store, and turned her eyes around Su Youqin and the store.

"My sister's buns are delicious." Miao Miao said loudly, looking at Su Youqin expectantly with her bright eyes.

Su Youqin smiled slightly, pointed at the steamer and shook her head.

"Ah, it's sold out again today." The light in Miao Miao's eyes dimmed, "Then what else is there to eat?"

Su Youqin glanced at the pancakes in the paper bag in front of her.The light in Miaomiao's eyes lit up again: "Then I want a pancake and a bowl of porridge, sister, is there any porridge?"

Su Youqin nodded.Miao Miao waved to Teacher Shen who had been standing by and watched, and pointed to the shop: "Mr. Shen, I'm going to have breakfast first."

The ponytail girl smiled and nodded, Miao Miao walked into the store, took a bowl of porridge by herself, and sat down.Su Youqin put the pancake back into a small bamboo basket, and gave it to the little girl. When she returned to the door, she saw the two girls still standing there, and looked at them suspiciously.

Su Youqin couldn't greet them, so she had to pick up the tablet next to her, quickly typed and handed it out: "Sorry, breakfast is sold out."

"Ah, I know." The ponytail girl replied naturally, her eyes paused on Su Youqin's face for a second, and then she smiled and said, "Did you rent this store to open a store? I'm Shen Qianyao, a teacher at the elementary school next door."

There was obvious inquiry and curiosity in Shen Qianyao's eyes. Su Youqin was dissatisfied and slowly put away the smile on her face. She didn't want to explain too much, so she nodded.

Since she was in high school, Su Youqin has been slowly leaving the small town where she was born and raised. Later, she went to the north to go to university, and after graduation, she worked in a first-tier city. Gradually disconnected.Except for the neighbors around and some elders who have known since childhood, others, especially the young people who have worked in the small town over the years, do not know Su Youqin.

Shen Qianyao wanted to ask again, but Su Youqin lowered her head and went about her own business.

"Qianyao, let's go." The girl who was with Shen Qianyao called her, Shen Qianyao answered, looked at Su Youqin again, turned around and walked towards the school with the girl.She had just left when a tricycle pulling vegetables was parked on the side of the road in front of the door, and a thin woman got out of the tricycle. The woman had a dark complexion and small facial features. Looking carefully, she was not very old: "Youqin, I brought you food."

Su Youqin looked up and saw that it was Mingming, Zhu Cheng's wife, and hurried forward to help.

Mingming pulled a large bag from the tricycle, which contained three bundles of cowpeas and a large bundle of green onions.She waved Su Youqin away: "No, get out of the way, I'll come. This bag is not strong, break it carefully, I'll take it directly to the kitchen."

Su Youqin had no choice but to get out of the way.He followed Mingming into the kitchen, watched her put down her things, took out her mobile phone from her pocket, and transferred her money for vegetables.Mingming heard the sound of payment coming from the bag beside her, she walked outside and said, "I saw Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Shi just now. Is she coming for breakfast?"

Su Youqin shook her head.

There was no one else in the store except Miao Miao, who was eating quietly. She walked to the door and stopped: "Oh, I thought she was here for breakfast. Both Teacher Shen and Teacher Shi were transferred to elementary school last year. Teacher Shen is A person from the city who graduated from a graduate school and used to work in a primary school in the city, and is now the person with the highest education in the primary school here. She is about the same age as us."

Mingming often delivers food in schools, hospitals and the government, and knows many people.

Seeing that Su Youqin was listening carefully, Mingming continued: "In the past two years, many young people have come to the town, including schools, governments, and hospitals. I can't hang out with them. You can hang out with them when you have time. Playing. These young people love to play. I saw them playing at the entrance of the village before. What kind of games are they playing with their eyes closed? Oh, yes, kill with closed eyes?... No, kill werewolves."

Su Youqin smiled when she heard that she was killing with her eyes closed.

Mingming also laughed: "Anyway, you are back now, and you will stay in the town for a short time, and play more with young people. If you really feel that there is nothing to do in the town, you can go to the city to play, let Zhu Cheng take you there , it’s only about thirty minutes by car.”

Even though he is small in stature, he has a bold temper.She married into the town from the farthest mountain village under the jurisdiction of Pingcun Town, and helped Zhu Cheng expand his business a lot.Su Youqin just came back a few months ago, and she was obviously brought by Zhu Cheng for a visit. After that, she often came to chat with Su Youqin.Su Youqin opened a shop and organized the store, obviously helping a lot.

Su Youqin was very grateful to Mingming.

Seeing Mingming's sincere suggestion, Su Youqin nodded, sent her to the tricycle, and watched the tricycle go away.

After Miao Miao finished her meal and left, Su Youqin cleaned up the shop, put the things away one by one, closed the shutter door, and went up to the second-floor apartment from the side stairs.

In the years when Pingcun Township developed the fastest more than ten years ago, most people in Gonglu Street demolished two or three-story brick houses and built small buildings with six or seven floors, leaving their stores and one or two houses behind. , the other floors are sold to people in distant villages.

The ex-boyfriend who came back with Su Youqin said that Pingcun Town only looks at the road street section, which has the taste of an old county on the [-]th line.

This building was built by my aunt for my grandparents. I kept the shop and the second floor for my own living, and sold all the upper four floors.

Su Youqin grew up with her grandparents, and lived with her grandparents after school and work. After so many years, she has gotten used to it.

Her parents and younger brother live in the southeast coastal city, and Su Youqin usually doesn't go to her parents' house.

This house is not big, more than [-] square meters, two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen and one bathroom. Most of the things in the house were added by Su Youqin over the years, and the decoration is the style chosen by her aunt on Su Youqin's suggestion. Su Youqin likes living here very much.

The breakfast shop requires getting up at three in the morning.

Su Youqin went up to the second floor, washed up again, lay back on the bed and continued to sleep until after one o'clock in the afternoon.

There is still one week left for school to start. Today, I was adjusting the bell. The sound was very loud. Accompanied by the familiar wake-up bell, Su Youqin opened her eyes. For a moment, she forgot her age and didn't know where she was, until she saw the bed beside the pillow. A book, only to wake up.She turned over and got up, and finished her lunch with yesterday's cold rice and cold dishes.

I didn't feel it when I went upstairs at ten o'clock in the morning. Now at noon, the sun outside the house is dazzling, the cicadas are singing, and the air seems to be so hot that it is smoking.

Su Youqin turned on the air conditioner in the living room, turned on the TV, sat on the sofa with a laptop under a blanket, and opened PPT and documents.Two days ago, the ex-leader sent her several materials, asking her to help out with a planning plan, 500 yuan, and if the plan passed, she would also be given a commission.

Su Youqin picked it up without saying a word.

When Su Youqin left the company, he was very sad from the boss to the leader.But the inability to speak is a big problem for those who work in the company. Meetings and exchanges anytime and anywhere require language to express every point of view.

Su Youqin was aware of her situation and understood her boss, so she offered to resign on her own initiative.

The boss was also benevolent, not only paid Su Youqin's salary for several months of recuperation, but also paid her two more months' salary, and last month he also gave her a commission for a two-year project she worked on last year.All in all, it can be regarded as a year-end bonus.

The money was saved by Su Youqin. She didn't know when her voice would recover. If there was a day when she could recover, she would still leave the town. At that time, she needed money to find a suitable place for herself. Home.

Su Youqin always felt that the connection between herself and the town was not that deep.

This small town cannot accommodate the people who left that generation. Over the years, it has gradually changed, accepting other people, and the people raised since childhood have gradually become foreigners.

It is not known who abandoned whom.

It took most of the afternoon to do the PPT.Su Youqin didn't pause until the WeChat alert sounded, and picked up her phone. It was a message from Lin Ling, a friend from college, asking her how she was doing and whether her voice had recovered.

Su Youqin quickly replied to the message, got up and went to the kitchen to make porridge for herself.

The weather was hot, and only cold porridge could be eaten. When the water was boiling, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Since she came back, except for Mingming, few people came to her house. She put down the pot and spoon, stood in front of the cat, and saw the girl who was with Shen Qianyao in the morning standing at the door.

Teacher Shi who clearly said?

Su Youqin opened the door, and the girl outside was stunned for a moment: "Ah, it's you?!"

Su Youqin nodded slightly and looked at her suspiciously.

The girl regained her senses and quickly explained: "Hi, I'm Shi Mi. We just met this morning. At the breakfast shop downstairs, Mr. Shen was talking to you."

Su Youqin looked up and typed quickly on the phone memo: "I know, Teacher Shi, what's the matter?"

Shi Mi narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the screen handed to him, and realized belatedly: "You...you can't talk?"

Su Youqin's mood faded by two points, then recovered quickly, and nodded.My inner affection for the teacher in front of me weakened.As a teacher, if you ask so directly in front of others, will you expose your scars in the same way when facing students?Emotional intelligence doesn't seem to be enough.

After realizing that her question was a little impolite, Shi Mi smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I don't know. Yes, this." She handed over the envelope behind her, "This is the introduction and introduction of the garden activities after the school starts. Invitation letter, we will hold a garden party before the National Day holiday, I hope all parents have time to visit."

Garden party?

When Su Youqin was in elementary school, the country was advocating the all-round development of students' morality, intelligence, physique, art and labor, and the school would also hold garden parties.However, only students could participate in the garden party at that time, and the school teachers would set up a lot of game booths. The students took the game coupons to play, and they could exchange for victory cards when they won. The victory cards could be exchanged for snacks, pens, small toys, etc. at the exchange office.

After so many years, the garden party is still held, and parents can also participate?

Su Youqin took the envelope and opened it. Seeing that she was interested, Shi Mi quickly explained: "On the day of the garden party, each class will prepare performances, and students above the third grade will also sell their own handicrafts and food, and visitors can buy them. "

Um?Su Youqin quickly scanned the introduction of the garden party on the letterhead. This kind of gameplay is not like the garden party he attended when he was a child, but more like the school festival in the animation of the neighboring country.Originally, she shouldn't have said this opinion, but it may be that the heat outside the house is too hot. It is very hot in front of her, but she feels the cool air from the air conditioner behind her, and her mind is between hot and cold, so she typed her opinion on her mobile phone. come out.

After Shi Mi read the words clearly, the corners of her mouth drooped slightly, and she said in embarrassment, "It's a bit like it."

Su Youqin realized that she was busy, she sighed secretly, as an elementary school in Shibaxian Town, it is already very good to be able to hold this kind of garden party for the children, why bother to point out such a thing.Many children from the village may not be able to go to the city to play once a year.This kind of garden party can at least add some memories to their growing lives.

Su Youqin accepted the invitation.Leave your contact information and offer to come to me if you need anything.

Shi Mi thanked her again and again, seeing sweat appearing on her forehead, Su Youqin told her to wait a moment, turned around and went to the kitchen refrigerator to get her a bottle of herbal tea, she thanked again, and suddenly a voice came from downstairs: "Shi Mi, it's not good yet. ?"

"Here we come." Shi Mi replied towards the stairs, saying goodbye to Su Youqin: "We will send you the specific time by SMS when the time comes, remember to check."

Su Youqin nodded, a sound of footsteps came from downstairs, she turned her head to see that Shen Qianyao was halfway up the steps, and looked up.

Meeting Su Youqin's gaze, Shen Qianyao smiled quickly: "It's you." Her gaze fell on the herbal tea in Shi Mi's hand, and she quickly stepped up the steps: "I even bought herbal tea, hurry up, give me a sip, So hot."

She was still outside the house just now, as soon as Su Youqin approached the door, Su Youqin felt a burst of heat, seeing her going straight to get the herbal tea in Shi Mi's hand, Su Youqin raised his hand and grabbed her.

The three were stunned.

Su Youqin was the first to react, let go of her hand, turned around and walked into the room, after walking two steps, turned around and made a beckoning gesture to let them in, and went to the refrigerator to get another bottle of herbal tea.

When they returned to the living room, the two were still standing by the door, and Shen Qianyao was looking into the room curiously.

Su Youqin handed her the herbal tea, and Shen Qianyao quickly thanked her and accepted it: "Are you really here to rent a house to open a shop in the town? You also rented this house?"

There was still sweat oozing from her forehead, and she smiled so brightly that Su Youqin was too embarrassed to lie to her again, so she had to tell her that this was her home.

Shen Qianyao: "You came back from outside, haven't you seen you before?"

Su Youqin nodded.

Shen Qianyao lingered on Su Youqin's face for a few seconds, then saw the computer screen showing the PPT on the coffee table, and said with a smile: "We have time to play together. Let's say goodbye first, thank you for the herbal tea." She retreated out the door, Shi Mi also said goodbye to Su Youqin again, and Su Youqin watched the two go down the stairs and closed the door.

Shen Qianyao and Shi Mi walked to the next building.

It was nearly five o'clock, and there was not even a cloud in the sky, and the sun was still scorching hot, and the small truck passing by at high speed set off a burst of dust and hot wind.

Shen Qianyao unscrewed the bottle cap, silently swallowed her saliva, and said suddenly: "She is so pretty."

Shi Mi was uncomfortably hot, and she was able to pick up Shen Qianyao's words: "It's a pity that I have such obvious scars on my face, and I can't speak yet."

Shen Qianyao didn't answer, thinking of Su Youqin's exquisite facial features and the scar that was obviously not born in her mind, she raised her head and drank a big mouthful of herbal tea.

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The author has something to say:

Pure reality.

Emotions are not cruel.

Although Teacher Shen will attack more, but mutual attack.

It will be updated once after writing 6000 words, you can save it as a favorite.