Chapter 171 Li Xiangyang

Chapter 171 Li Xiangyang

Upon entering the small noodle shop, the first thing they noticed was the plaque that read "Capital's Best Noodles." The name was quite grand, but the calligraphy wasn’t great.

To put it bluntly, it was no better than the scribbles of Chenchen, who could barely hold a pen.

As for the craftsmanship, it was obvious that it was carved with a kitchen knife at home.

But the spirit was there, and one could still recognize the words "Capital's Best Noodles."

The boy who had just opened the door was staring straight at Su Taotao and her family when the woman in the floral dress whacked him on the head: "What are you gawking at? If you don't work, you won't eat. Get moving and serve the customers!"

The dark-complexioned boy pouted and muttered, "Zhou Bapi only knows how to exploit child labor," but he still obediently ran over to Su Taotao and her family: "Right this way, folks. Watch your step."

He flashed a smile that could outshine flowers.

Looking at this bowing and scraping "waiter," Su Taotao felt like she had stepped back in time.

They all sat down, and Mo Gong asked, "What else is good here besides the fried sauce noodles?"

The boy shook his head quickly: "There's fermented mung bean milk and stewed pork intestines. The main dish is fried sauce noodles, and that's it."

The stylish woman in the floral dress came out of the kitchen with a spatula and tapped the boy on the head with the handle: "I already told you we have smashed cucumber and cold noodles. You’re no good at studying, and you can’t even serve right. What are you going to do in the future? I’d be embarrassed to send you to the countryside; you’d just be a hassle for the villagers!"

The boy ducked out of the way: "Mom, stop hitting me, or I'll get even dumber!"

Turns out they were mother and son.

The boy looked only a year or two older than Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu, with small, darting eyes that made him look quite clever, nothing like the "dumb" kid his mother described.

Chenchen, who was really tuned into the Beijing accent, asked Su Taotao, "Mommy, what is fermented mung bean milk?"

Su Taotao replied, "It’s fermented mung bean milk with a weird taste. We couldn’t even stand the smell."

Su Taotao not only wouldn’t drink it, she couldn’t even stand the smell. It was one of the few dark cuisines that she, as a foodie, couldn’t accept.

The stylish woman in the floral dress laughed loudly: "You sound like you’re from the south, right? Even many locals can't get used to it.

Usually, it's just me and my husband, and we can't handle the workload, so we only make fried sauce noodles. But now that the kid’s on summer break, we’ve added a few more dishes, all local specialties. Take a look and see what you want to order, and let the kid take your order."

The woman shot the boy a look: "Don’t mess this up."

The boy stuck his tongue out at his mom and asked Su Taotao and her family, "What would you like to eat?"

He peeked into the kitchen, and seeing that his mother wasn't looking, he leaned in and whispered, "My mom only makes fried sauce noodles and stewed pork intestines well. The other stuff is really bad. Be careful."

Mo Gong chuckled: "Then Uncle Mu and I will have the fried sauce noodles. You guys decide what you want."

Su Taotao found the boy with the single eyelids quite amusing and deliberately ignored his advice, saying, "We’ll have two orders of fried sauce noodles, two orders of cold noodles, one order of stewed pork intestines, and one order of smashed cucumber."

The boy blinked: "Didn't I say the other stuff isn't good? Why are you still ordering it?"

The woman in the floral dress came out with the spatula again, chasing after him: "Kid, are you itching for a beating? You're ruining my reputation!"

The boy, seeing that things were going south, quickly ran off: "If the food isn't good, can't I say so?"

The woman was livid: "Don’t listen to the kid. My cooking’s great; feel free to order anything."

"Don’t listen to the kid. He just doesn’t want to work, doesn’t want to serve more customers, and doesn’t even want to wash a few cucumbers."

His dad cleaned the pig intestines and lungs, but he kept pushing the fried sauce noodles and stewed pork, which really annoyed me."

No wonder, Su Taotao thought, the child closed the door right after seeing them, likely because he didn't want too many people around.

This mother and son are quite a pair.

Su Taotao smiled and said, "It's okay, just serve what we ordered earlier."

The woman chuckled, "Alright," then muttered under her breath, "Southerners are so fresh and pretty, these kids look like they've stepped out of a New Year painting, so lovely, unlike my brat, dark and skinny as a monkey."

The place is actually a small courtyard house, a bit run-down from years of neglect, but it has all the traditional architectural elements like a screen wall, corridors, a hanging flower gate, and a backyard.

A Chinese toon tree is planted at the entrance, and inside, there are jujube and persimmon trees. Though the fruits aren't ripe yet, they hang full on the branches, looking quite vibrant.

Chenchen found it all very new and asked Su Taotao, "Mommy, can I look around?"

Su Taotao nodded, "Yes, but just look, don't touch anything."

Chenchen nodded, "Got it, Mommy."

Uncle Mu couldn't sit still any longer and pulled Fu Yuanhang up, "Let's go, we'll take a look too."

The three kids were fascinated by the courtyard house's architecture, looking around everywhere. Fu Yuanhang instinctively took out his notebook to jot down his observations.

A small head popped out from behind Fu Yuanhang, gasping, "Wow, you're amazing! How do you draw so well?"

Fu Yuanhang was so startled he nearly dropped his notebook and brush.

Uncle Mu patted the single-eyelid child's arm, "Why do you walk so quietly? Don't scare people like that. I'm Uncle Mu, what's your name?"

Social butterfly Uncle Mu was in action, introducing himself and asking for the other's name right away.

Making friends with peers is easy, and the single-eyelid child was also a social butterfly. He liked Uncle Mu and the others, so he wasn't shy at all, "I'm Li Xiangyang, a native of the capital. I'll tell you secretly, my mom uses child labor. I'm only twelve, in fourth grade, and she treats me like a worker every day."

Uncle Mu looked at him puzzled, "Twelve? Older than my Ah Hang, we're eleven this year, also in fourth grade."

Li Xiangyang waved his hand, "Hey, I failed last year, so I had to repeat a grade."

He nudged Fu Yuanhang's arm, "Your drawing is really good, what's your name? And the little one?"

"Fu Yuanhang," Fu Yuanhang replied simply.

Chenchen pouted, "I'm not a little one, I'm Chenchen."

Li Xiangyang pinched his fingers, couldn't help but laugh, "So cute." He wanted to pinch him.

Li Xiangyang made three friends at once and originally wanted to show them around his house, but his mom called him with a spatula to serve dishes.

Relying on this "job" to earn pocket money, Li Xiangyang had no choice but to bow to the "evil money," "Wait for me, I'll chat with you after I serve the dishes."