Chapter 20: You Don’t Understand Anything!
Perhaps because of Nie Qiu’s pan-fried dumplings, the barbecue and beverages also sold exceptionally well. People without seats stood directly in front of the barbecue stall, waiting for Nie Qiu to finish making their dumplings. During the wait, if they saw any barbecue they liked, they couldn’t help but ask Nie Aifang to make a few skewers.
Nie Qiu wiped her sweat, packaging items in disposable food containers for customers while collecting money. To be honest, the number of people buying her pan-fried dumplings exceeded her expectations. The couple who left earlier had promoted them further on the road. Almost everyone who tried them praised them, and word spread from one to a hundred, leading to more and more people specifically coming to their barbecue stall for their pan-fried dumplings. Those who had eaten them before would return to buy more. The constant praise made Nie Qiu a little embarrassed. This made Nie Qiu, who disliked the smell of oil smoke, feel less repulsed. After all, everyone likes to hear praise.
In the past, Nie Qiu had heard a lot of praise, but those compliments were laden with too many ostentatious words and too many ulterior motives. For example, parents wanted her to teach their children, praising her excellent education. For example, principals from various universities wanted her to lecture at their schools, praising her lectures as persuasive. The praise she heard before contained too many purposes.
However, among commoners, there weren’t so many hidden agendas. If it’s good, it’s good; if it’s bad, it’s bad. Perhaps there’s scheming and self-interest everywhere, but this kind of natural praise, compared to those who praised her education, actually made her happier.
In less than an hour, Nie Qiu’s pan-fried dumplings were sold out. The night market gradually thinned out as well, as it was nearing midnight. Apart from those heading to entertainment venues, most people would likely choose to go home and sleep at this hour.
Nie Aifang also became free. She took a bottle of iced black tea from the tricycle and handed it to Nie Qiu, “Here, Qiu Qiu, you’ve always wanted to drink iced black tea, haven’t you? For you.”
Wanted to drink it? Does that mean she’s never given it to her before? That’s right, iced black tea has a retail price of three yuan and fifty cents. Although Nie Aifang loved Nie Qiu, there were still times she was reluctant to part with money, after all… their family wasn’t very well-off.
Nie Qiu stood up and picked up the water bottle Nie Aifang brought from the tricycle. She smiled, opened it, and took a sip. She didn’t mind that Nie Aifang had already drunk from it. She just smiled and said, “Mom, I’ll just have boiled water.” Drinking too many beverages is not as good as drinking plain boiled water.
Nie Aifang put the iced black tea back into the packaging box for iced black tea and rubbed Nie Qiu’s head. “Qiu Qiu, I’m sorry…” She couldn’t even fulfill her daughter’s small wish. Thinking about it, Nie Aifang’s eyes almost welled up.
As Nie Aifang rubbed Nie Qiu’s head, she touched the wound where her hair had been pulled out, causing Nie Qiu to gasp involuntarily and let out a soft ‘tsk’.
Upon hearing Nie Qiu’s gasp, Nie Aifang became nervous and asked, “Qiu Qiu, what’s wrong? Does it hurt somewhere?” That sound, to her ears, sounded exactly like a cry of pain.
Nie Qiu recovered and forced a smile. “It’s nothing, Mom. When are we packing up and going home?”
Nie Aifang looked at a man still eating at a table and smiled, “We’ll go home after he leaves.”
Nie Qiu nodded and looked at the man dressed in a particularly strange manner, frowning. She hoped he would finish eating soon and leave. It was already late, and every time Nie Aifang returned home late at night, she looked cautious, clearly afraid of disturbing the people in the residential area.
“I didn’t expect those pan-fried dumplings to be so delicious; I almost swallowed my tongue! I saw that the girl making the dumplings washed her hands very cleanly and didn’t touch the dumplings with her hands, only using tongs! I didn’t expect to find flavors and cleanliness at a roadside stall that rival those of high-end restaurants. I’m going back tomorrow to eat more.”
“Yes, yes! They were so delicious! I saw that the girl would replace the tin foil when it got dirty. So clean and so delicious.”
“How should I put it? It had the flavor of fatty meat without being greasy, the taste of lean meat without being tough to chew, and a hint of carrot juice. Paired with the chopped scallions sprinkled on the pan-fried dumplings, it was simply amazing, so delicious.”
Luo Xu rubbed his sore throat and looked at Li Kai, “A Kai, what do you say? Shall we go try the food at that barbecue stall?”
“Yeah! I heard several people at the KTV talking about how delicious their pan-fried dumplings are. What do you say? Want to go try them?” Wang Chao Lei’s voice was so hoarse it was barely audible.
“I heard they’re also very clean, so it shouldn’t be bad, right?” Zhang Haiyang took a sip of the fruit beer RIO in his hand and smiled, “The brothers all said they’re going to eat. A Kai, do you want to go? Don’t worry, I’ll treat.”
Li Kai smiled, “If you guys are going to eat, how can I not join? Let’s go! Do you know where it is?”
Zhang Haiyang put his arm around Li Kai’s shoulder and smiled, “I already asked. It’s at the bridgehead of the night market. I heard they won’t leave until after midnight, so we should still make it if we go now.”
Li Kai helplessly slapped Zhang Haiyang on the head. Laughing at Zhang Haiyang’s wails, he said, “You already asked? It seems you had this planned all along! Then why did you ask for my opinion?”
Zhang Haiyang rubbed the spot Li Kai had hit and smiled, “I wanted to see if you would offer to treat!”
Li Kai shook his head with a helpless smile, “Alright, alright, I’ll treat, I’ll treat.”
Seven or eight people walked towards the night market together. At this hour, there were very few people in the night market. Most of the vendors had already left, and it was sparse. Some vendors selling small trinkets were already packing up.
“You think you can leave without paying? You dare to steal my money? Are you tired of living?” Nie Qiu grabbed the now-cold iron plate and hit the last customer on the back, making the man stumble and nearly fall to the ground. Nie Qiu wasn’t stupid; she only used the flat side of the plate to hit, not the cutting edge. If she had used the cutting edge, his back would probably have been pierced! This iron plate was not only hard but also only two millimeters thick.
Nie Aifang was not to be outdone. She blocked the man who was holding their money box and stopped him from running, shouting loudly, “Put the money down, and we won’t call the police. If you don’t put it down, be careful, or we’ll call the police.”
“Mom.” Nie Qiu was a little helpless. Call the police? The police nowadays aren’t people’s police, but the rich people’s police. If they called the police, they would only waste more time. They might even have to stay until tomorrow for statements and such. She had school tomorrow, so she didn’t want to waste so much time.
Author’s Note: As of 12 AM last night, a total of twenty-eight votes were added.
Therefore, there is one more chapter.
