35: Chapter 35: Go Eat Beef Noodles 35: Chapter 35: Go Eat Beef Noodles An Hao listened and chuckled to herself but didn’t burst the bubble.
Whether she truly wished to attend university or harbored other intentions, probably only she knew best.
Song Yueqin and An Ping exchanged a few verbal jabs.
Seeing An Hao’s indifferent expression, Yueqin found it incredibly unbelievable and was utterly baffled.
What on earth was going on with An Hao?
Customers came to buy things in fits and starts, making it impossible for Yueqin to find an opportunity to have a proper conversation with An Hao.
The weather was so cold that water turned to ice.
Yueqin, unable to stand the freezing temperature any longer, urged An Hao, “When will you return?”
“There’s still plenty of time.
If you’re cold, go back first!” An Hao had no desire to chat more with Yueqin.
“Alright then, I’ll be off.
If there’s nothing up, I’ll come to hang out with you!”
An Hao hummed indifferently and continued to organize her stall.
After Song Yueqin left, An Hao sold out all of her goods.
“Count how much we made today?” An Hao asked An Ping as she rubbed her frozen hands.
“One, two, three…” An Ping couldn’t wait to start counting, “Seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five yuan!
Taking the cost from the last earnings, this time we’ve made a clean seventy-five yuan!”
An Ping’s voice trembled with excitement as he thrust the money into An Hao’s hand: “Don’t believe me, count it yourself!”
An Hao counted and found it indeed to be the case.
She immediately took out five yuan and gave it to An Ping: “This is your share!”
“So much!” An Ping accepted the money, grinning from ear to ear.
An Hao pocketed the rest of the money and after some thought, decided it was not good to go back without explanation, so she divided it into two parts: Fifty for one portion and twenty for the other.
After the siblings packed up their stall, it was already afternoon.
An Ping, a growing lad, was famished.
He pulled out a dry pancake from the food bag and wolfed it down with a swig of cold water.
The hard, cold pancake made him stretch his neck as he swallowed, and An Hao watched her brother with a hint of pity.
She felt the money in her pocket, clenched her teeth, and pulled An Ping along: “Stop eating that, I’ll take you for noodles!”
An Ping, startled at first, became ecstatic and jumped up: “Sis, are we going to that beef noodle place in town?”
“Mhm!” An Hao nodded.
Let’s hurry!” An Ping jammed the pancake back into the food bag and merrily hopped along with An Hao to the noodle shop.
At the noodle shop, An Hao ordered two bowls of beef noodles.
The hefty bowls of beef noodles had al dente noodles and a rich broth, costing fifty cents each.
An Hao ate her fill from a large bowl, even slurping up the last drops of broth, leaving her with a pleasantly round, full stomach, and she let out a satisfying belch.
An Ping was at an age where he could eat a horse, and one bowl wasn’t enough.
He ate another, fully content only after two hearty servings of noodles.
Leaving the noodle shop, it was getting late, and An Hao and An Ping rode back in a villager’s oxcart.
That evening, just as the siblings reached their doorstep, they encountered An Shuchao squatting at the gate, puffing on his pipe alone.
“Dad, why are you outside in such cold weather instead of at home?” An Hao asked casually.
“Ah!” An Shuchao sighed.
“The house is too crowded, I came out for some air!”
Seeing his demeanor, An Hao knew that guests had arrived at home, and they must be the kind to give him a headache: “Has my second brother returned?”
An Shuchao shook his head: “No!
It’s your stepmother’s mother and her brother’s family who have come!”
“What?” An Hao’s eyes widened.
Like locusts, that family could consume and create chaos; now that it was just before the New Year, they had arrived.
Were they planning not to leave?
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