"Is Brother Jian going to work?" Qin Xiangnuan handed the pancake to Jian Zhiqing, who took it and started eating it on the spot.
"Uh-huh," he took a bite, "Getting ready for work. Do you have any water?" he asked Qin Xiangnuan. The pancake is delicious, too bad there’s no porridge, otherwise having a bowl would keep me full all morning.
"Yes," Qin Xiangnuan took the thermos from the side and just as she picked up the cup, her expression turned somewhat awkward.
"Sorry, Brother Jian, I only have one cup."
"No problem, I’m in good health, no diseases," Jian Zhiqing extended his hand to Qin Xiangnuan, "Give it to me."
Qin Xiangnuan poured a cup of water for Jian Zhiqing, who took it and sipped from the cup.
Meanwhile, his eyes kept scanning the surroundings. Qin Xiangnuan’s pancakes were indeed good, and her business was booming; she barely had any downtime.
By the time one pancake was finished, Jian Zhiqing didn’t mention paying, and of course, Qin Xiangnuan didn’t request it, it’s just 30 cents after all, she never thought to ask for it, and she trusted that Jian Zhiqing wouldn’t cheat her.
Sure enough, Jian Zhiqing glanced at his wristwatch, then pulled out his wallet and directly took out fifty yuan.
Qin Xiangnuan accepted it, just about to give change, when Jian Zhiqing stopped her.
"No need for change."
"Uh?" Qin Xiangnuan didn’t understand, the pancake was only forty cents, why no change? She wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of others lightly, besides, this fifty yuan, in the future, could be gone with one supermarket trip, but now it’s many people’s half-month salary.
"Consider it a share of the costs," Jian Zhiqing gave the cup back to Qin Xiangnuan, "I’m off to work, I’ll come again at noon."
By noon, Qin Xiangnuan had pondered for a long time but still didn’t grasp what he meant. She sells breakfast, and by noon she’s usually gone. Even if he came, he wouldn’t be able to get another lotus leaf pancake anymore.
She intended to ask for clarification, but Jian Zhiqing had already left. Only that trailing piece of his clothing gradually vanished from her sight.
"Can I get a Conghua pancake with vegetables?"
At this moment, a customer came over, and Qin Xiangnuan reined in her surplus thoughts and began focusing on cooking her pancakes and running her business.
Today the weather is nice, although foggy in the morning, but after the fog, the sun also rose slowly from the east. People who did morning exercises were gradually heading home, and Qin Xiangnuan’s business was quite good today, nearly everything was sold out. She had packed up and was just about to ride her tricycle but then she got off again.
She remembered, Jian Zhiqing said he would come at noon.
But even if he were to show up, there was nothing left to eat.
She didn’t know if he was being foolish, or she was, to actually start waiting there.
By this time, the sun had already warmly settled on people, breaking through the morning’s fog, with a stretch of visible blue sky and white clouds in the distance.
She really felt foolish standing here, as if she must wait for someone to come—what for? To help her pedal the tricycle? Thinking this, she stopped agonizing over it, rode her tricycle, and headed home, planning to buy some vegetables at the market on the way to make noodles.
Opening the door, the house was very quiet. Since she was the only one living there, it also seemed very spacious. Her day was quite simple: selling pancakes in the morning, coming back at noon, cooking some meal for herself, then working on the system, embroidering the Qingming River Painting, knitting sweaters, sewing clothes—her days always busy, feeling both slow and fast.