Chapter 50

Chapter 50

When the two arrived at the shop, Xu Meng was already prepared. What she wanted to teach today were pork meatballs and crispy fried pork slices.

Zhang Mingqing had tasted the crispy pork at Xu Meng’s house before and found it delicious. Now that Xu Meng was willing to teach, she didn’t hesitate to learn. Many cooks knew how to make this dish, but none could make it as well as Xu Meng—hers was truly the best.

This was Xu Meng’s specialty. In her past life, she had loved crispy pork but couldn’t eat fatty meat due to high cholesterol, so she had come up with several lean meat recipes—one being crispy pork and the other pork meatballs. However, since crispy pork was oily, she only made it occasionally to satisfy cravings.

The crispy pork was made with all lean meat, while the pork meatballs had a small amount of fat mixed in.

Once the ingredients were ready, Xu Meng began demonstrating the process.

The crispy pork was fairly simple—the key was controlling the heat when roasting Sichuan peppercorns. The fire couldn’t be too strong, but the pan had to be hot enough. The other crucial factor was the batter ratio. Once these were mastered, the rest was easy. Fortunately, Wang Jiahui was a clever woman with some culinary skills and picked it up after just one demonstration.

The pork meatballs, however, were trickier. The pork had to be minced into a fine paste and worked until springy.

Luckily, the shop had a meat grinder, saving them the trouble of chopping by hand.

"Pork meatballs can be pricey to make, so you can add some starch and tendon, but don’t overdo it, or you'll lose the pork flavor," Xu Meng advised, letting Zhang Mingqing and the others taste the meatballs. Today’s batch had 30% starch mixed in.

She had always loved this dish, though she preferred it not made with pure meat.

The pork meatballs were boiled directly in clear broth. Zhang Mingqing took a bite and immediately found them perfectly springy. The juices flooded her mouth—smooth, springy, and full of flavor without the greasiness of pure pork. "These are delicious."

"You can make a larger batch of these meatballs and store them in the fridge for several days, but for the best texture, it’s better to make them fresh. This recipe can also be adapted for beef or fish meatballs—just see which sells better."

After working half a day in the kitchen, Xu Meng felt more exhausted than ever and just wanted to go home.

When Zhang Mingqing offered to take her back, she didn’t refuse.

But as soon as they stepped out of the shop, they saw Han Jiming standing at the entrance, chatting with a classmate. The moment he spotted Xu Meng, he looked surprised. After exchanging a few more words with his friend, he walked over. Seeing Xu Meng looking worn out and drooping, he asked,

"What’s wrong?"

Zhang Mingqing recognized the young man—he was the one who had brought Xu Meng to the shop last time.

Tall, exceptionally good-looking, and somewhat familiar-looking, she thought.

Well, the last part could be ignored. She had seen him once before, so that must be why he seemed familiar.

Han Jiming’s looks instantly won over Zhang Mingqing, who was far from old-fashioned. She'd even teased Xu Meng before, saying that if she met a decent guy, she should go for it while you can… or something along those lines.

Zhang Mingqing smiled. "She’s been helping at my shop all afternoon—she’s just tired."

Han Jiming wasn’t new to Xu Meng’s struggles. Back when she and her mother had moved out, she'd been selling watermelons at the train station.

"Want me to take you home?"

Xu Meng glanced at Zhang Mingqing. The shop was opening tomorrow, and she'd surely be busy. She nodded, first turning to Zhang Mingqing. "Should I head back first?"

Zhang Mingqing smirked mischievously and winked at her.

Han Jiming told Xu Meng to wait and hurried off to get his bike from the school.

Within five minutes, a motorcycle came roaring up in front of Xu Meng. Han Jiming handed her a helmet.

"Hold on well," he said as the bike slowly got moving toward her home. "But don’t fall asleep."

The steady vibration of the motorcycle was practically lulling her to sleep.

Xu Meng managed to hold on at first, but as drowsiness set in, she remained vaguely aware of the fact that she was on a motorcycle. Her hands unconsciously tightened around the waist of the person in front of her, and she leaned against his back.

All Han Jiming could feel were the prominent curves of the girl and the slender arms wrapped around his waist. Instantly, his back stiffened, and he pulled over to the side of the road.

Planting one foot on the ground, Han Jiming felt through his pockets but found no cigarettes. Instead, he sensed the restless shifting of the person behind him.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to wait by the roadside until he felt Xu Meng gradually wake up. Only then did the bike slowly get moving again.

Xu Meng felt as if she had only dozed off briefly, but by the time they arrived home, it was already eight o’clock.

As dusk fell, she felt uneasy.

Uncertain how long she had slept, the thought that Han Jiming might have been waiting by the roadside all this time made her ask after getting off the bike, "Why didn’t you wake me up?"

Balancing on one leg, Han Jiming’s bright eyes locked onto hers and he suddenly grinned. "I tried, but someone was snoring like a little pig—out cold. I had no choice but to wait."

His face was too close. Xu Meng had to carefully control her breathing to avoid exhaling warm air onto him, yet her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, pounding wildly in her chest. She instinctively took a step back, but Han Jiming leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them again.

Just then, Han Jiming abruptly withdrew his intense proximity, straightening up with a serious expression. "We’re here. Go on inside."

Xu Meng let out a relieved breath. "Mm."

Han Jiming asked again, "When are you going back next week?"

Xu Meng: "Huh?"

Her large eyes blinked at him in confusion.

Han Jiming: "I’ll pick you up next week."

With that, the motorcycle sped off.

Just as Xu Meng turned to leave, she spotted Feng Yanwen coming out of the alley.

*Did he see Mom just now?* she wondered silently.

Feng Yanwen had just stepped out of the alley, catching only the tail end of the departing motorcycle. Relieved to see her daughter standing there, she put the clothes she was holding over Xu Meng’s shoulders. "When you didn't come home for dinner, I went out looking for you a few times. I even called Aunt Zhang, but she said you’d left ages ago. I was so worried! Let’s call her now to let her know you’re back."

Xu Meng checked the time—it was already 7:30.

She had left the shop a little past five. How long had she slept on the bike?!

No wonder she felt so refreshed—she must have been asleep forever. And Han Jiming… he should've just woken her up instead of waiting over an hour by the roadside. The thought made her feel guilty. She had been far too careless.

Fortunately, Feng Yanwen didn’t make a big deal about it. The two found a phone booth and called Zhang Mingqing first.

Hearing that Xu Meng had returned, Zhang Mingqing also breathed a sigh of relief. If she hadn't considered the possibility that Xu Meng might be out on a date, she would’ve rushed out to search for her earlier.

What matters is she's safe.

Young couples staying out late—that’s perfectly normal.

———

At the same time Xu Meng arrived home, Han Jiming had just got home.

He'd barely parked his motorcycle when he saw Han Cheng returning from outside.

The moment Han Cheng spotted Han Jiming, his smile disappeared. He hesitated for a few seconds before he finally approached Han Jiming.

"Why are you back so late?" Han Cheng's smile faded slightly.

Han Jiming didn’t answer his question. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and suddenly looked at Han Cheng. "Heard your place is being renovated?"

"Yeah," Han Cheng replied. "You probably didn’t know, but your mom came back today. The family had dinner together this afternoon. Too bad you weren’t there. Auntie was furious and still is. Maybe you should wait a bit before going in, let her cool down first."

His own mother had returned from Singapore, yet he was the last to find out.

Han Jiming’s smile froze, his gaze sharpening like a honed blade, piercing and cold. "Mom doesn’t know you have this side to you, does she?"

His hand shot out, fingers aimed at Han Cheng’s throat. Han Cheng stiffened as if nailed in place, but Han Jiming only feigned the motion, adjusting and smoothing Han Cheng’s collar instead.

Seeing Han Cheng too tense to move, Han Jiming smirked slightly and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Don’t worry so much, always treating me like some rival. I know exactly what little schemes you’ve got brewing. And that partner of yours—"

He added maliciously, "Suits you just fine—not that I'd ever want them."

——————

Early in the morning, Zhang Mingqing rushed to the market, buying dozens of pounds of pork bones, a stewing hen, and a large haul of ingredients, loading everything into her car in one go.

There were no parking spots near the food street, so Zhang Mingqing rarely drove there. She gave a quick honk outside the shop, and several people rushed out—some with carts, others just grabbing armfuls.

Wang Jiahui had also arrived early. She’d discussed things with her husband that morning, who assured her to focus on work. Their eldest was away at college, while the younger one was in middle school, leaving and returning early—basically self-sufficient.

"For Tingting, no need to pack her breakfast. Just give her an extra dollar a day to buy food outside." Then, considering her daughter’s growing appetite, she added, "Make it two dollars. She’ll need snacks at night too."

Their daughter, now in eighth grade, had suddenly developed a huge appetite, matching her older brother’s portions back in the day.

Her husband, aware of her concerns, said, "She’d love the extra cash for takeout. Plenty of places to choose from. With me at home, your precious girl won’t go hungry."

Wang Jiahui scoffed and reminded him, "Don’t go running your mouth about Mingqing’s shop to the family. You know how my aunt is—everything’s always about her son."

"She opened a shop but didn’t hire family, and instead brought you in?" Her husband didn’t understand. "He’s her own brother, still drifting around with no real job. An able-bodied guy just sitting around—why pay strangers when family’s free?"

He sympathized with his mother-in-law and aunt—both favoring sons over daughters.

Not that he thought Zhang Mingqing should help her useless brother, but seeing her spend hundreds hiring outsiders made him wonder why she wouldn’t just use him. Family’s always better than strangers, right?

Wang Jiahui thought her husband was being dense. "Let someone like him near the shop?" she said. "Slacking would be the best-case scenario. Stealing from the shop would be the real problem. Believe me, even if Mingqing owned a gold mine, Mingda would empty it."

Her husband immediately grasped her point, breaking out in a cold sweat. Thankfully, he’d kept his mouth shut yesterday when he ran into Zhang Mingda on the street. He’d almost said something, but Zhang Mingda had already dashed off with his no-good friends.

Her husband gave her a ride to the bus stop on his bike before leaving.

By the time Wang Jiahui arrived at the shop, the groceries were already inside. Liu Jingyuan was in the kitchen simmering stock.

The servers were washing vegetables, pre-soaking things like dried tofu skin. Zhang Mingqing had bought fresh fried tofu sticks from the morning market, and the servers were breaking them into pieces as instructed.

They ran two shifts—morning until noon, and afternoon until closing, including cleanup and dishes. That way, the shop didn’t need separate prep or dishwashing hires.

Luckily, everyone was hardworking. They worked long hours without grumbling.

Zhang Mingqing was also easygoing. If someone had morning school runs, she’d swap them to the afternoon shift. If they had evening plans, they could come in the morning. The shop had an easy, family vibe, and everyone got along well.

"Go ahead with your tasks. I’ll get to work in the kitchen," Wang Jiahui said, tossing her jacket onto a chair and carrying the pork inside.

Zhang Mingqing called after her, "Had breakfast yet? Xiao Liu’s whipping up noodles later. Want a bowl?"

Wang Jiahui hated wasting money on store-bought buns, so she had yesterday's leftovers for breakfast. Coincidentally, there wasn't much left, so she wasn't full either. With just one look from her, Zhang Mingqing immediately understood what she meant and yelled to the kitchen for an extra bowl of noodles. She added, "Like I said, we feed you here. Come eat at the shop from now on, but the food will be simple. No time for fancy stuff like yeast buns or handmade dumplings. When we're busy, it’s just dried noodles."

Hot noodles? Can't complain about that!

Wang Jiahui didn’t waste any time and carried the meat to the kitchen to wash it.

She'd done plenty of kitchen work at home, so it wasn’t too strenuous for her.

Meanwhile, Liu Jingyuan whipped up the noodle seasoning. By the time Wang Jiahui finished washing the meat, bowls of noodles were ready.

With so many people, they could only cook two bowls at a time.

Since Wang Jiahui had work to do, she and Liu Jingyuan ate the last bowl.

The noodles were seasoned simply with just oil and salt, the most basic condiments, but they smelled amazing. On this slightly chilly morning, the warmth spread from her mouth to her stomach, comforting her. Even though they were just dried noodles, they tasted better than handmade noodles cooked by others.

"Sis Wang, you probably don’t know, but Liu used to work at a noodle shop for a few years before our boss lady stole him away. He’s really good at making broth."

"Sis Wang, try these greens. It’s delicious when blanched."

Most of the colleagues here didn’t know Wang Jiahui was the boss lady’s relative. They just thought she was new and wanted to take extra care of her. This made Wang Jiahui feel at home fast.

After the meal, everyone dispersed and went about their tasks in an orderly manner.

At this time, the produce truck from Xiangxiang Wok across the street also parked by the roadside.

The chubby manager settled the payment with the driver and directed the staff to unload the vegetables, but his eyes were fixed on the shop opposite. The boss lady had said they must drive the other shop out of business within three months and take over the place, but this boss lady was quite resilient. After all this trouble, today they were restocking again?

He was curious how long they could keep this up.