"Good morning, boss!"
"Ruan Wen~ you're back, haven't seen you guys for almost half a year, right? Still the chopped meat rice rolls?" The boss, who was originally wiping the table, brightened up when he saw the three people who suddenly appeared in the store.
"Right, one without green onions, and two with pickled long beans." Xu Qingfan smiled knowingly at the boss, proficiently serving himself some of the complimentary white porridge.
Wu Lingyu and Xia Xiaoxiao just nodded slightly and sat down before picking up their teacups and chopsticks to sterilize them.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, by eight o'clock, the breakfast shop was already full of people, including many neighbors from Lianhua Courtyard.
"You're in high school now, right? How are your studies going?"
"I feel like I last saw Xiao Fan when he was still in split pants; how time flies, now you're so big."
"All of you are attending Licheng Middle School, right? You're bound to be successful in the future!"
Xu Qingfan politely responded to the uncles and aunties, not delving into conversation. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone went back to their own breakfasts.
"Here, Brother Fan." Wu Lingyu handed Xu Qingfan the sterilized utensils, with the chopsticks resting inside the teacup.
"Thank you, Yu." He took them and poured himself a cup of tea.
Xu Qingfan had never known what type of tea leaves were used for the tea from the big pot in the breakfast shop, but one thing was certain: all the long-standing, old establishments almost always served this kind of tea.
The color was a light brown, not quite like green tea nor like black tea. To call it herbal tea would be inaccurate, for it wasn't that bitter.
"Your rice rolls are ready. The price for the chopped meat version has gone up by one yuan." The boss reminded them on his way out.
Xu Qingfan smiled back, "Alright."
He had always gauged inflation by the price of rice rolls.
In 2002, when he first returned, chopped meat rice rolls were one yuan. They went up by one yuan in 2008 and, now in 2011, had gone up another yuan.
Before Xu Qingfan was reborn, the price for chopped meat rice rolls had already risen to six yuan, coincidentally tripling just like housing prices.
"What are you thinking about, Brother Fan?" Wu Lingyu asked curiously when she saw him spacing out with chopsticks in hand.
Xu Qingfan shook his head, "Just thinking about when we first met. Rice rolls were only one yuan back then, and now, in the blink of an eye, they've tripled just like our age."
Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at him with a sense of pride, thinking: We've known each other since we were born; it's not just triple!
"I met Brother Fan when I was six years old, it hasn't even tripled yet." Despite saying so, Wu Lingyu was still quite pleased.
"It'll be triple by the time we're in our third year of high school, eat up your rice rolls." Xu Qingfan ruffled her hair.
Feeling like he couldn't neglect Xia Xiaoxiao, he added, "After we finish eating, do you want to go back and see? The rock you gave me is still at home."
Xia Xiaoxiao gave him a disdainful look: So you still remember the rock I gave you at home! I thought you had forgotten.
The last time they moved, she had asked this stinky dog to take the rock with him, but Xu Qingfan said it was too heavy and to get it next time. There was no follow-up.
"Whatever." Although Xia Xiaoxiao did want to go back and see as well, she spoke in indifferent tone.
As the three of them reminisced about the amusing incidents from elementary school, a plate of rice rolls was quickly finished.
Scraping the bits of meat fallen onto the plate into the white porridge and stirring it made another delicious bowl of lean meat congee.
After getting sick of eating, finishing with a cup of the aforementioned tea was the perfect way to end the meal. Only locals from Hong Kong would understand its value as a breakfast.
After paying, Xu Qingfan picked up the toothpick container and took one, placing it in his mouth.
It wasn't that the rice rolls were stuck in his teeth, it was just that after eating, whether it was porridge or anything else, he always felt uncomfortable if he didn't have a toothpick in his mouth.
"Goodbye, boss." Xu Qingfan waved with a smile.
"Come back often, huh." The boss nodded and went back to his busy task of steaming rice rolls.
After leaving the breakfast shop, they turned right and directly arrived at the entrance of Lianhua Courtyard.
The banyan tree was still lush, the courtyard looking just as it did in their memories, but the dogs that used to nap on the cement and the elderly who used to cool off under the tree were nowhere to be seen.
The courtyard was already in this state before they moved away, so this scene didn't evoke many emotions from them.
"Ruan Wen said she's coming to find us, she's on her way out now." After reading the message in the group chat, Xia Xiaoxiao put away her phone.
The chat wasn't very active; aside from Xiao Ruawen asking where they were because she wanted to join, no one else had spoken up.
"Wanning and Yiyi are probably still asleep, haven't checked their phones yet." Xu Qingfan also took a glance at his phone and, seeing that Wanning and Yiyi hadn't said anything, he speculated logically.
"Right, Ruan Wen promised to treat us to a big meal, I almost forgot such an important thing." He slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered.
"Why don't we buy our own groceries and cook?" Wu Lingyu suggested.
It wasn't that she wanted to save Xiao Ruawen some money; it was just that in Li City, a small place tucked in the mountains, the only thing that might be considered a big meal seemed to be the equally tucked-away rural farmsteads.
"We haven't cooked for ourselves in a long time," Yu added.
The three of them walked and talked, soon arriving on the third floor.
"Tell Ruan Wen that if we're cooking at home, I'm definitely getting coral trout and king crab." Xu Qingfan pinched Yu's face with both hands, and then turned to unlock the door.
Xia Xiaoxiao followed him inside. As for the rock, this time she was determined to make sure Xu Qingfan took it home!
"Seems like my mom didn't totally give up on the place, huh? The house is pretty clean." Xu Qingfan pinched his nose, expecting to be engulfed in dust, but the cleanliness of the house was even better than his bedroom where he slept.