Chapter 38

Chapter 38

No!

We mustn't stereotype!

Who says a lady's hands can't be well-defined, slender, and strong?

The lady in room number one has just such a pair of hands!

Yes!

It's not that unusual.

Xiaoyu stopped doubting and, with his left hand holding Minghe's chubby hand and his right hand holding Danzi's, said, "Let's go home and eat dumplings!"

"Time for dumplings!" Minghe exclaimed excitedly.

"Hurry, hurry!" Danzi chimed in with excitement.

After reaching the first floor, the uncle and nephews joyfully ran together, oblivious to the slightly opened window of room number one on the second floor.

Back at Xiaohzi's breakfast shop, they had just set the dishes, soup, and dumplings on the table when Song Sanwu arrived.

"Uncle Sanwu!" Danzi greeted him with great enthusiasm.

Minghe followed suit.

Xiaoyu stood up and asked, "Uncle Sanwu, have you eaten?"

"I was about to eat, but your aunt insisted I come over right now to bring you something." Song Sanwu pulled out three peace talismans. "She got these today on the mountain with a group of people. They say if you give them away on New Year's Eve, they'll ensure safety for the next year."

"Thank you, auntie, and thank you, big brother Sanwu," Xiaoyu said, smiling as he took them.

Danzi quickly asked, "Uncle Sanwu, what's Yaya doing?"

Yaya is the pet name of the daughter of Song Sanwu and Yue Niang. It was given by a fortune-teller, signifying 'elegance' and 'standard.'

However, the fortune-teller mentioned that Yaya had a unique destiny and hasn’t yet determined a suitable formal name for her.

Yue Niang and the Liu family trust the fortune-teller and are patiently waiting for the right name.

Although Song Sanwu thinks the fortune-teller is talking nonsense, he finds the nickname Yaya quite pleasant. Whenever someone mentions Yaya, his eyes and brows naturally curve up in a smile. He says, "What can she do? She either eats or sleeps!"

"Is she eating or sleeping now?" Danzi asked curiously.

Song Sanwu replied, "She’s sleeping right now."

Danzi looked up, "Again? When can she play with me?"

Song Sanwu chuckled, "She'll be able to call out and follow you around by next spring."

"Then I’ll visit her again tomorrow."

"Sure," Song Sanwu's gaze shifted to the table, "Wow, Xiaoyu brother, your New Year's Eve dinner looks great!"

"Have you forgotten? I’m a chef," Xiaoyu invited, "Why don’t you eat here?"

"No, no, my wife has already prepared dinner," Song Sanwu declined, waving his hands.

Xiaoyu didn’t insist further but expressed his gratitude for the help he received from Song Sanwu and Yue Niang over the past few months, "Sanwu brother, are you going to pay a New Year visit tomorrow?"

Song Sanwu, having no relatives nearby, planned to visit his in-laws with Yue Niang after New Year's Day, "Not tomorrow, we’ll go to my in-laws on the fourth day."

Xiaoyu said, "Then we’ll visit you and your wife tomorrow for New Year."

"Great!" Song Sanwu promptly agreed, "We’ll wait for you. It’s cold, and the dishes cool quickly, so eat up. I’ll be going now."

After Song Sanwu left, Xiaoyu closed the shop door, brought the charcoal stove to the hall, and started the New Year’s Eve dinner with the children.

"So many dishes, which one should we eat first?" Minghe wondered aloud.

Danzi picked up his chopsticks, "I’ll start with the chicken!"

"I'll have the braised pork!" Minghe announced.

"Uncle, you should eat too," both children urged together.

Xiaoyu responded with a smile.

"Uncle, the chicken is so delicious," Danzi said, squinting his eyes contentedly.

Minghe swayed as he spoke, "The braised pork is so tasty."

"Uncle, these potatoes were scooped out."

"I peeled the onions."

"Uncle, the dumplings you made are unbeatably delicious."

"Uncle, you should eat too."

“……”

Outside, heavy snowflakes fell like goose feathers, but inside Xiaohzi's breakfast shop, there was a warm and cozy atmosphere. Xiaoyu's ears were filled with the soft and tender voices of Minghe and Danzi. After his grandmother passed away in his previous life, he had spent all the holidays alone. Never did he imagine that, after traveling through time, he would have two family members.

Although these two family members were just over three years old, their companionship and trust along the way had given him endless strength, enabling him to persevere through setbacks and fatigue. A wave of emotion surged in his heart unexpectedly.

During the New Year's Eve vigil, he specially prepared red envelopes for the two children.

"Uncle, is this for me?" Minghe asked, holding the red envelope.

"Yes," Xiaoyu replied.

"There's little money inside," Danzi said.

"How much little money?" Minghe inquired.

"Ten copper coins, so shiny," Danzi said, pouring the coins out of the red envelope.

"Wow! They're so new!" Minghe exclaimed.

Xiaoyu had specially cleaned the coins for the children, "You can buy whatever you like with them – candied haws, glutinous rice cakes, sugar figurines."

"I want to drink mutton soup," Danzi said.

Minghe pointed out, "Ten coins won't be enough."

"It will be enough if I don't get the meat," Danzi reasoned.

After thinking for a moment, Minghe agreed, "You're right."

The children weren't the least bit dissatisfied with having only ten copper coins; they were so endearing.

Xiaoyu then took out new clothes, shoes, and hats for all three of them to wear the next day to welcome the New Year. Although they planned to stay up late for the New Year's Eve vigil, the uncle and nephews couldn't stay awake and fell asleep together.

When they woke up, it was already daylight, and the oil lamp was still burning.

Minghe, seeing the oil in the lamp almost burnt out, felt quite distressed.

"Minghe, don't be so frugal. We didn't stay up for New Year's Eve, but the oil lamp did for us. We should thank it," Xiaoyu said while dressing the children.

Hearing this, Minghe immediately changed his attitude and began thanking the oil lamp.

After getting dressed and having breakfast, Xiaoyu opened the shop and noticed a food box at the door. He remembered that they had forgotten to retrieve the box after delivering dumplings to room number one yesterday.

It turned out the lady from room number one had brought it over.

How kind of her.

He wanted to thank the lady from room number one for returning the box, but Shuiqing Inn was still closed. When he picked up the box and took it back to the kitchen, he found a note inside with two characters written in strong, forceful strokes – "Thank You."

This lady truly possesses strength!

Indeed, only someone daring enough to flee from a marriage could be so different.

He kept the note and then played in the snow with the children in the courtyard for a while, until Danzi urged him to visit Yaya.

He packed up some snacks, cured meat, and eggs, and took the children to pay a New Year's visit to Song Sanwu and Yue Niang.

Song Sanwu, holding his child, and Yue Niang happily welcomed them.

"It's enough that you came; why did you bring so much stuff?" Yue Niang ushered Xiaoyu into the main room.

"How can we come empty-handed during the New Year?" Xiaoyu replied as he placed the items on the table.

Minghe and Danzi had already gone to see Yaya.

"Yaya, Yaya," Danzi called nonstop, "I'm Brother Danzi."

"I'm Brother Minghe," Minghe added.

"Minghe, do you think Yaya is pretty?" Song Sanwu had a special fondness for Minghe.

"Tongtong is prettier," Minghe replied.

"I think Yaya is pretty. I will marry her when I grow up," Danzi declared.

Song Sanwu burst into laughter.

Yue Niang scolded, "Always talking nonsense, you don't act like an elder at all. Talking about marriage and weddings, why can't you let them just play nicely? Look at Danzi; even he knows about marriage."

Song Sanwu immediately behaved himself upon hearing this.

Yue Niang rolled her eyes at Song Sanwu, but when she turned to Xiaoyu, she smiled, "Xiaoyu, sit here. I'll go cook."

"I can help," Xiaoyu offered.

"No need, you're a guest. Guests shouldn't cook."

"We're all family here."

Yue Niang smiled upon hearing this, nodding in agreement, "Okay."

Xiaoyu then followed Yue Niang into the kitchen.

After a flurry of activity, six dishes and one soup were ready.

When braised chicken with mushrooms and potatoes, braised crucian carp, sweet and sour pork loin, tofu with eggs, blanched greens, and winter melon and pork rib soup were placed on the table, Song Sanwu exclaimed, "Wife, your cooking skills have improved remarkably!"

"Xiaoyu made these dishes." Originally, Yue Niang was cooking, but when she turned around and saw Xiaoyu skillfully handling chicken, fish, meat, eggs, and vegetables, she recalled the delicious meals he had made before. She decided to let him take over while she assisted.

"It looks and smells great, I bet the taste is fantastic too," Song Sanwu remarked.

"Give it a try," Xiaoyu encouraged.

"Perfect timing, Yaya just fell asleep. I'll put her down, and then we can eat."

The three adults and two children gathered around the table.

Song Sanwu and Yue Niang eagerly tried the sweet and sour pork loin. Its glossy, appealing color was new to them. Biting into it, they found it crispy on the outside and tender inside, with a perfect balance of sour and sweet, not too rich. They both exclaimed in surprise, "This is delicious!"

"Then eat more of it," Xiaoyu said.

Not just the sweet and sour pork loin, but every dish Xiaoyu made impressed Song Sanwu and his wife. Eventually, they even mixed the leftover sauce with rice.

They finished the six dishes and soup without leaving a trace.

Song Sanwu and his wife kept praising Xiaoyu's cooking skills.

Xiaoyu, smiling, asked, "So, I can open a restaurant, right?"

"Definitely!" Song Sanwu and his wife agreed in unison.

"I'll start planning for it soon," Xiaoyu announced.

"Are you serious?" Song Sanwu asked.

"Yes," Xiaoyu nodded in confirmation.

"Where are you planning to open it?" Yue Niang inquired.

Xiaoyu replied, "Still in Shuiqing Alley. I've already asked a few neighbors, and there are houses available for rent."

"Why rent someone else's property? Just rent ours. The small building next to yours is ours too," Yue Niang said.

"The one next door is yours?" Xiaoyu was surprised.

Yue Niang asked in return, "Didn't you know?"

"I had no idea."

Yue Niang explained with a smile, "Let me tell you then. The house we live in belongs to your Brother Sanwu. The Xiaohzi breakfast shop you rent was given to me by my father, and the small building next door selling antiques was gifted to me by my grandfather. So all these properties are mine. However, Shuiqing Alley wasn’t popular before, and we couldn’t rent out the breakfast shop, so we didn't bother."

Song Sanwu nodded, "But since you revitalized Shuiqing Alley, attracting diners and lodgers, the antique shop business remained poor. The owner left before New Year's. If you want, you can rent it."

Yue Niang suggested, "Why not combine the breakfast shop and the restaurant by opening up the walls between their courtyards? One for breakfast, and the other as a restaurant, it'd be convenient for mutual traffic."

"Exactly, if the restaurant gets too busy with no seats available, guests can be seated at the breakfast shop," Song Sanwu added.

"And if the breakfast shop is full, guests can go to the restaurant."

"Exactly."

The couple had a beautiful vision.

Xiaoyu felt like someone had handed him a pillow as he was about to doze off, and it was the Songs who offered it. Trusting them completely, he discussed plans with them and visited the two-story building next door in the afternoon.

Indeed! The antique store had been completely cleared out.

"What do you think? Is it suitable for a restaurant?" Yue Niang inquired.

"Absolutely!" Xiaoyu nodded enthusiastically.

Xiaoyu decided on the spot to secure the location for his restaurant.

Yue Niang offered him a very reasonable rent.

Xiaoyu felt somewhat embarrassed by their generosity.

Yue Niang said, "In the future, just give us a discount when we come to eat at your place."

"Sure."

With a major issue resolved, Xiaoyu felt incredibly pleased and spent the entire afternoon at Song Sanwu's house, chatting leisurely with Song Sanwu and Yue Niang.

As night fell, Danzi was still reluctant to go home.

"What are you doing here?" Minghe asked.

Danzi replied, "Yaya hasn't woken up yet. I want to wait until she wakes up and play with her before going home."

Minghe, showing his disdain, said, "She can't walk or talk. What can you play with her?"

"She can blow bubbles!"

"Is she a fish?"

"She's cuter than a fish!"

Danzi was adamant.

Minghe was quite annoyed.

Finally, Yue Niang invited the uncle and nephews to stay for dinner.

Not wanting to impose on the Songs constantly, Xiaoyu decided to go back and bring some ingredients from his place. As he left the Song residence and approached Shuiqing Inn, he remembered the food box the lady from room number one had left at the door.

Since it was on the way, he decided to stop by and say thanks.

He turned the corner, approached Shuiqing Inn, saw light in room number one, and slowly went up. As he approached the door, the light suddenly went out, and the door opened.

He quickly said, "Miss, I'm the owner of Xiaohzi's breakfast shop. I received the food box you left at the door."