| TBBOTOF | 168
Tang Xu, who couldn't sit still, was planning to stay in town for six or seven days to help with the shop's business, along with Wei Dong.
Tang Li made breakfast, Liu Yao was cooking braised dishes in the courtyard, and Wei Dong was helping out with odd jobs.
"When are you going?"
"Tomorrow, I'm going to pay the rent and collect the field rent."
Tang Xu nodded, "What business did you say you wanted to do earlier?"
Wei Dong actually had an idea, but it wasn't fully formed yet; he needed to go there himself first.
"I'll tell you when I get back."
Tang Xu acknowledged with an "oh" and didn't ask further.
The two of them kept their money separately, but all the banknotes were kept with him, though he hadn't counted how much there was; he just knew there was a lot.
If Wei Dong needed money, he would tell him.
"Brother, I want to sell braised soup noodles at noon." Tang Li placed the porridge on the table, her forehead slightly sweaty, but her smile was particularly confident. "The braised dishes at home sell well, they’re almost sold out by noon. Auntie and I discussed it, and we plan to offer both flatbreads and noodles."
"Are there really that many people coming to eat?" Tang Xu wasn't really sure how many people were in town, but seeing how busy it got on market days, there seemed to be quite a lot.
However, the problem is that if they start selling noodles at noon, they would need to open every day, and then the issue of how much to sell arises.
If they prepare too much, it might not be sold out, which would not only involve more work but also result in waste. If they prepare too little, they might not have enough to sell.
Since the braised dishes create a sense of scarcity, it might not be ideal to limit the noodles as well.
“There are indeed a lot of people,” Tang Li said as she set the table. “On one side, there are two warehouses belonging to big merchants. There are a lot of workers over there, and they’re expected to handle their own meals, so there’s no free meals.”
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow and turned to Wei Dong, asking, “Yongning Town isn’t a major traffic hub. The last time I went to the county with you, I noticed there were several post stations nearby.”
Wei Dong nodded, “It’s closer to nearby towns and villages. Merchants usually choose to rest in such areas. Selling noodles should be feasible, but the price shouldn’t be too high.”
“Not expensive. Three wen per bowl. I’ve asked at several noodle stalls, and the prices are three wen for plain noodles and five wen for meat noodles.” Wang Cuicui adjusted Xiao Bao in her arms and fed him a spoonful of porridge.
Xiao Bao reached for the spoon himself, glanced at his older brother sitting on the high chair, pouted, and pointed, “I want.”
He meant he also wanted to sit on his own.
Wang Cuicui looked at Xiao Bao and then at the chubby baby, who was eating happily, and gently said, “You have yours; your brother’s is the same as yours.”
She thought Xiao Bao wanted the porridge.
Xiao Bao pointed at the high chair and called out, “Want, want!”
After shouting, he began to kick his legs, wanting to get down.
Wang Cuicui was startled and quickly hugged Xiao Bao tightly, saying, “Don’t move, don’t move, Grandma will get it for you, Grandma will get it.”
As she spoke, she reached for her own bowl of porridge that she hadn’t eaten yet. Seeing her movement, Xiao Bap immediately raised his hand and patted her arm.
Although he was small and not very strong, it was clear he was very eager and clearly upset.
Tang Xu, noticing the commotion while talking with Tang Li, turned his head to see Xiao Bao’s actions and quickly reached out to stop him, “Don’t hit Grandma.”
Seeing his dad looking at him, Xiao Bao quickly extended his hand to point at the high chair, saying, “Want!”
He raised his voice and spoke forcefully.
Tang Xu said, “You also want to use a chair to eat by yourself?”
Xiao Bao stared at him without speaking.
Tang Xu patted Wei Dong’s arm, “Ah Dong, bring over the high chair we have for Xiao Bao. He also wants to sit in one,” then turned to Wang Cuicui, “Auntie, don’t worry about it. He wants to sit in a high chair just like his brother, no need to change the porridge.”
Wang Cuicui, who was scooping porridge from a large bowl into a small one, paused upon hearing this, “It’s my fault, I didn’t understand. Look how anxious Xiao Bao is.”
Tang Xu smiled, “It’s nothing, don’t blame yourself. He’s small and can’t express himself well. Auntie, don’t take it to heart.”
“Baobei, give Grandma a rub. You hurt Grandma.” He placed Xiao Bao’s hand on Wang Cuicui’s arm.
Xiao Bao moved his hand to rub Wang Cuicui’s arm, then pouted and blew on it, calling out sweetly, “Grandma~”
Wang Cuicui hugged him and gently rocked him, her eyes full of affection, “Grandma isn’t hurt, my Xiao Bao is growing up. You don’t need Grandma to hold you while you eat anymore.”
Wei Dong cleaned and brought over the high chair, which had been specially made with a guard to ensure the child wouldn’t fall.
Tang Xu had designed the chair himself, and the carpenter, after making it, said he wouldn’t charge for it. He only asked if Tang Xu could give him a chance to make a batch to sell. In the future, if Tang Xu had any new ideas, he would make them for free.
Tang Xu was amazed; he hadn’t expected such a thing.
Later, Wei Dong explained that high chairs with built-in tables were uncommon in their area. The usual ones were trapezoidal and larger, typically used when children were three or four years old.
He had never seen one for one or two-year-olds.
Before, Xiao Bao hadn’t used the chair because he was too soft and lazy, and he couldn’t sit up straight.
Unlike his two older brothers, who seemed full of strength.
For the first time eating at the table in his own chair, Xiao Bao was beaming, swinging his little legs, and eating porridge much faster.
“Eat slowly, eat slowly, don’t choke.” Wang Cuicui held a soft cloth, wiping Xiao Bao’s mouth and carefully making sure nothing fell onto his clothes.
Tang Xu came back into the room with three bibs and put them on one by one.
“Auntie, don’t worry about him. Let him eat by himself.”
The chubby child, now wearing a bib, looked up and said with dissatisfaction, “I don’t need it.”
“You don’t need it? Are you going to wash your own clothes?” Tang Xu pointed to a small stain on his chest. “Will you wash it?”
The chubby child looked up at Tang Xu, his eyes darting around before he nodded, “I’ll wash it!”
Tang Xu would never refuse a child's request, so washing was fine. He took off the bib and put it aside.
The chubby child wiggled his neck, pleased to be free of the bib, and continued eating.
Er Bao looked at his older brother, then at his younger brother, and tugged at his own bib.
Tang Xu smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? Do you also want to wash your own clothes?”
Er Bao shook his head, his intuition told him that his dad’s smile wasn’t genuine.
Er Bao knew when to listen. He shook his head and patted his own bib, saying, “I wear it!”
After the meal, Tang Xu changed the clothes of the three children.
The chubby child had a large grease stain on his chest from when he was eating a pie. It shone under the sunlight.
Tang Xu handed him his clothes and nodded toward the courtyard, “Go find a spot in the yard to wash it. Make sure to clean it well, and if it’s still greasy, wash it a bit more.”
The chubby child didn’t yet realize the seriousness of the situation. He was extremely excited to play with water and wash clothes for the first time.
As a result, when it was time for lunch, the chubby child sat on a small stool, basking in the sun while energetically scrubbing at the grease stain on his clothes.
His current outfit was also soaked through.
From the initial excitement of playing with water to now, with his hands red from scrubbing, it hadn’t even been half an hour.
The chubby child, feeling wronged, looked towards Tang Xu, who was feeding Xiao Bao nearby, and called out, “Dad, I can’t finish washing.”
“You asked for it yourself, so you wash it yourself. If you can’t finish, just keep washing,” Tang Xu said, determined to give him a lesson.
The chubby child felt more and more aggrieved and began to cry loudly, his face upturned and tears streaming down.
The crying was quite loud, and tears were falling in big droplets.
Tang Xu remained expressionless and stern.
Wang Cuicui couldn’t stand it and quickly went over to comfort him, saying, “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Stop washing, Grandma will do it, Grandma will wash it.”
The chubby boy cried harder, still glancing at Tang Xu.
The look seemed to say, “Dad hasn’t said anything.”
Wang Cuicui looked at Tang Xu helplessly and said, “Why argue with a little child? He doesn’t understand all this.”
“He doesn’t understand, so I need to make him understand. Otherwise, if he wears clean clothes and doesn’t learn to appreciate them, he’ll end up needing me to wash clothes for him every day,” Tang Xu said, glaring at the chubby boy.
Seeing him crying so sadly, Tang Xu also felt uncomfortable.
Tang Erhu came over and said, “He’ll definitely remember this and won’t dare to do it again. You hurry and put Xiao Bao to sleep. I can see that he’s getting tired.”
The chubby child, protected in his grandparents' embrace, looked at Tang Xu with tear-streaked cheeks.
Tang Xu snorted, and the chubby boy’s plump body shook a bit.
“Did you learn your lesson?”
The chubby child quickly nodded, “Yes.”
Tang Xu didn’t say anything more and took Xiao Bao back inside the house.
The chubby boy watched his dad’s back, and once he was inside, quickly raised his little hand to show his grandparents the red, sore spots.
Wang Cuicui sighed in sympathy, and Tang Erhu patted his head, saying, “Next time, don’t go against your dad. If he wants to discipline you, it’s not going to be easy.”
The chubby boy pouted and murmured, raising his hand and waving it a couple of times.
Wei Dong, standing nearby, said, “If you forget again next time, your dad will probably make you wash clothes again.”
“I’ll remember!” The chubby boy looked at him very seriously, “Next time, I’ll wear a bib when I eat.”
Although it wasn’t very comfortable, it kept his clothes clean!
“Do I need to wash the bib?” the chubby boy asked again.
Wei Dong chuckled and ruffled his son’s hair, “No, you don’t need to wash it.”
The chubby boy patted his little chest and sighed in relief.
Er Bao ran out of the house and charged towards his older brother, calling out, “Brother!”
The chubby boy looked at him, “Huh?”
“Here!” Er Bao shoved a piece of clothing into his brother’s arms and then turned and ran off in a hurry.
Wang Cuicui quickly changed the chubby boy into the dry clothes and felt his forehead, asking, “Are you cold?”
“I’m not cold,” the chubby boy shook his head. “Grandma, I’m hot.”
He was sweating from washing the clothes.
Tang Erhu laughed heartily and pulled him into his arms, “Come on, let’s see what your brother is up to now.”
Wang Cuicui went to the sink to wash the clothes.
Wei Dong came over and said, “Auntie, I’ll wash them.”
“No need, no need. You rest for a while. You chopped so much firewood this morning. I’ll handle these clothes in a few minutes,” Wang Cuicui said.
Wei Dong thanked her and went inside.
The yard was small. Tang Erhu and the chubby boy were watching Er Bao at the only small patch of vegetable garden in the yard, where he was digging with his butt sticking up.
His shoes were covered in muddy grime.
Tang Erhu was somewhat puzzled. The plot of land was originally meant for winter vegetables, but they hadn’t planted any seeds yet, and the soil hadn’t been watered.
Without watering, how could there be mud?
“Er Bao, I’m here!” The chubby boy’s eyes lit up as he grabbed a small stick and joined the digging effort.
However, after a while of digging, he sniffed the mud on his hands and found it smelled awful.
“What is this smell grandpa?” The chubby boy raised his hand and tried to shove the mud in his grandfather’s face.
Tang Erhu, sitting on a small stool, was caught off guard and got a handful of mud on his face.
“!”
“Er Bao!”
Er Bao was startled and didn’t understand why his grandfather shouted so loudly.
“You’re playing with dirty mud!” Tang Erhu spat a couple of times, the mud had gotten into his mouth, and it tasted foul.
Er Bao then pulled down his pants and peed on the vegetable patch.
It was urine!
1 Comments
Hahahahahha.. hahahhahah ahaha..
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