Chapter 35: If You Dislike It, Don’t Eat It Later

Chapter 35: If You Think It's Gross, Don't Eat Any Later

They had finished the sea bass, leaving only the sauce in the plate. Wang Xicheng just poured the sauce right into his bowl to mix with his rice. As he ate, he said, "Mom, what sauce did you use? What brand is it? I should get a bottle to take back to the city with me."

"Yeah, Mom, what brand of sauce is it? If we buy a few bottles, the food will be so fragrant even Yanhua might eat more." Shu Yu and Wang Xicheng were truly a couple—one was mixing his rice with the fish sauce, the other with the shrimp sauce, both eating with great relish.

"You can't find this sauce in any supermarket. The sauce I used today came with the rice balls I bought."

As soon as Wu Zhengqiong (female) finished speaking, Wang Xicheng and his wife Shu Yu both let out an 'Ah,' their voices full of disappointment.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, what's with the 'ah'?" Wu Zhengqiong continued. "Ying Xue (female) gave me a jar of sauce. I only used it once. It tasted about the same as the sauce from the rice balls, so I stuck it in the fridge. Take it with you when you head back to the city in a couple days."

Shu Yu said, "Mom, if we take the whole bottle, what will you guys cook with? Let's just take half."

"Take it all. That bottle was specifically saved for you."

Wang Xicheng felt the same way as Shu Yu. Although he also liked the delicious sauce, his parents back home needed it too. He couldn't be that selfish and take it all. "Mom, if we take it all, what will you use for cooking? Let's just take half."

Wu Zhengqiong said, "Don't you worry about that. We can always buy more from Ying Xue. You're the ones in the city, too far from Ying Xue's stall to make it convenient."

Although Wang Xicheng and his wife worked in the city, they lived way out on the edge of the city. For other people in the city, it's a 20-minute drive to town, but for them, it takes over an hour. Plus, due to the nature of their work, they sometimes had to work in closed-off environments, often only getting home every two or three months. However, he'd switched positions this month and could come home more often in the future.

Shu Yu laughed, "I kind of want to go to Ying Xue's stall to eat rice balls. How about we go tomorrow?"

Wang Yanhua piped up, "Mom, I want to go eat rice balls too."

Wang Juguang (male) said, "No rice balls tomorrow or the next day. Ying Xue only runs her stall at lunchtime, Monday through Friday. She takes the weekends off. Next time you're back, I'll buy some ahead of time for you. Then you can try the best rice balls in our town."

When he heard there'd be no rice balls tomorrow, Wang Yanhua instantly got upset. He started whining, "I want to eat them tomorrow!"

Shu Yu patiently explained, "Yanhua, she's not setting up her stall tomorrow. Getting mad about it won't change anything. We'll eat them next time we come home, okay?"

"No! I want to eat them tomorrow!"

The moment Wang Yanhua said that, everyone looked at Wang Juguang.

Wang Juguang said, "You can't eat them tomorrow. If she's not working, how are you supposed to eat any? Yanhua, it's her day off; we can't ask people to work overtime. You get weekends off, right? How would you like it if I made you go to school for class right now?"

Setting up stall hours around the school schedule made sense. Wang Juguang knew where the student lived. If he wanted to, he could swallow his pride and go to her home to ask her to make rice balls specifically for his grandson, but he couldn't and didn't want to do that.

It would be inappropriate to disturb a student at home just because his grandson was crying and asking for rice balls. His wife had already promised the grandson fish again tomorrow, which was easy to solve. The student's family had a stall at the market; he could go get fish there tomorrow. But asking the student to make rice balls at her home was out of the question.

When Wang Yanhua heard his grandfather's explanation, he shook his head and said, "I don't want to go to school for classes."

Wang Juguang said, "Exactly. Be a good boy. Next time you visit, Grandpa will get you rice balls in three different flavors and some grilled meatballs, deal?"

"Okay."

Meanwhile, at the other two households that bought sea bass—the Liu family and the Xue family.

Liu Taiqing didn't just mix the fish sauce into his rice—he even sucked the bones and spines clean. Thinking about his father earlier asking if the fish was worth 500 yuan, he just wanted to say, "It's totally worth it!"

As soon as Xue Kaisheng (male) got home, he handed the sea bass to the cook. He himself was carrying a potted tree in both arms, a bag of water dangling from his fingers, back to his room. He put the tree on his bedroom balcony where he could see it every morning and night.

After watering the qiongtao tree, he called his parents to come home for lunch. His father had originally planned to have lunch at the company, and his mother was out shopping and getting a beauty treatment.

He only had to say one thing, and they were on their way back. That sentence was: "I'm back from Taoxi Town, and I bought a big sea bass."

The Xue family also enjoyed a very happy and satisfying meal.

Previously, Xue's parents would secretly complain about their son being a foodie, but now they only praised him for having good taste.

Also in the East District, in the Min family, living in the same residential complex as the Xue family.

Min Qingfeng and his wife Yan Xiuwen had a son and a daughter: 15-year-old Min Juntao and 13-year-old Min Junru.

As soon as the car stopped, Min Junru got out carrying a large bag of things.

Yan Xiuwen said, "Junru, what are all these bags you're carrying?"

Min Junru said, "Rice balls, grilled meatballs, and juice."

"Made by Grandma?"

"No, I bought them in town."

Min Juntao, standing nearby, frowned and said, "Is there no rice balls or juice in the city? Why did you bring so much home?"

Min Junru raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. "If you're disdainful, then don't eat any later."

Min Juntao said proudly, "Fine, I won't eat. Keep the stuff you randomly bought in town for yourself."

"You said it yourself; I didn't force you," Min Junru said to her brother, then turned to her mother. "Mom, you have to be my witness. Brother said himself he won't eat any."

Seeing the siblings, who hadn't seen each other for a week, start bickering as soon as they met, Yan Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, I'll be your witness."

After entering the house, Min Junru opened the bag inside the small package and took out a box of raw meatballs and fresh shrimp. She said, "Mom, I want stir-fried shrimp and grilled meatballs tonight."

After thinking for a moment, Min Junru added, "Grandpa and Grandma really like the things from this stall too."

Yan Xiuwen said with slight surprise, "You bought these from a roadside stall?"

Min Junru said, "Not a roadside stall; it's a stall at the school gate. Mom, do you look down on things from stalls?"

The corner of Yan Xiuwen's mouth twitched. She thought her daughter's way of speaking really took after her own mother. She said, "I'm just worried that things from stalls might not be hygienic. Haven't you seen on TV? The news used to expose that some oils were gutter oil, very unhygienic."

Min Junru didn't agree with this. She righteously defended the hygiene of the Xuehe Rice Ball stall. "Mom, that was ages ago. Gutter oil is the minority. And Sister Jiang's stall definitely doesn't have any problems. Trust me. Even if you don't trust me, you should trust Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma even said the eggs used in Sister Jiang's rice balls are free-range eggs. A conscientious vendor wouldn't use bad oil."

"They use free-range eggs?" Using free-range eggs for a stall was indeed very conscientious.

"Of course, Grandma certified it. I could also tell the texture was no different from the eggs we usually eat, even better. You'll know once you try it later," Min Junru said happily as she opened the large bag. "Ta-da~ These are all the rice balls I bought. Mom, which flavor do you want to try first?"