" Pea yellow cake that melts in your mouth. I still want to eat it after eating it…" At the corner of the street and alley, Xu Xiulan stood in front of a cart and shouted.
The Qing Dynasty's "Du Men Zhu Zhi Ci" said: "The three money-makers sell good flowers, cut cakes and ghost legs, and eat a bowl of sweet porridge in the morning before eating tea soup and noodle tea; Cold fruit fried cake sweet ears, hanging furnace sesame seed cake Ai Wo Wo, fork fire just sold, but also heard hard noodles called cake;"A full plate of shumai wontons and new glutinous rice balls…" This kind of hawking could be seen on the roadside. Old Beijing called it "meeting food."
" Hello, boss, give me a bowl." Xia Yufeng carried the box over and asked the boss for a bowl. He was really starving.
"Alright, child, you're the first customer today. I'll give you more food. Sit down for a while.”Xu Xiulan said enthusiastically. From her smile, it could be seen that her understanding of life was obviously more happy. She worked hard to set up a stall to earn living expenses, but after deducting living expenses, she was still earning happiness. The customer's satisfied smile was perhaps her greatest joy and happiness. Sometimes, people could really be very simple and easily satisfied. In fact, everyone could do this, but some people couldn't let go, just like Xia Yufeng.
"Alright, your yellow pea cake. Hurry up and eat it while it's hot. Let's see how Auntie's cooking is.”Xu Xiulan placed the yellow pea cake on Xia Yufeng's table and looked at him with a blissful smile.
Xia Yufeng scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and put it into his mouth. Indeed, it melted in his mouth and was very fresh and delicious. It seemed that Xu Xiulan's " advertisement " wasn't just for show.
"Yes, it's delicious. Thank you!" Xia Yufeng smiled at her.
"Child, your accent doesn't sound like you're from the north. Are you traveling to Beijing with a suitcase?”As Xu Xiulan spoke, she wiped the table with a rag and sat down next to Xia Yufeng.
" Yes, I'm from Hunan. I came to Beijing to look for a job," Xia Yufeng quickly swallowed and replied.
"Have you found a job yet?"
"No, I just got off the car. I'll start looking tomorrow.”After saying that, Xia Yufeng scooped up another spoonful and sent it to his mouth. He blew on it and swallowed it.
"It's very difficult to find a job in Beijing. Look at me. I have to set up a food stall here to make a living. Sigh, everyone said that Beijing was a place to make money. How could it be so simple?”Xu Xiulan let out a long sigh.
Xia Yufeng didn't answer her. He ate while thinking. Was it really difficult to find a job in Beijing? Perhaps it was. If it was so difficult to find it in Shen Zhen, it would probably be even harder to find it in Beijing. However, since he had already reached this step, he could only continue. Whether it was difficult or not, he would talk about it after he worked hard.
"You just arrived today, so you're not familiar with this place. How about this? I have an empty room at my house. If you feel that you can trust me, I'll rent it to you. Money was easy to negotiate. It was empty anyway.”Xu Xiulan looked at Xia Yufeng in a daze.
"Thank you, Auntie, but I don't have a job yet, so can you lower the price? Can you increase it when I find a job?”Xia Yufeng did not reject her suggestion. He knew a little about the situation in Beijing.
If this was in a city like Guangzhou, Xia Yufeng might have immediately rejected his boss 'suggestion. Everyone knew that it was best to find a place to live near work, but there was no choice in Beijing. No matter if you worked in the First or Second Ring Road, the average salaryman had to find a place outside the Fifth Ring Road. Far, that was for sure. Therefore, it was completely understandable for them to have a suitable and cheap place to live before the job was confirmed. Not to mention that this residence was in the Second Ring Road. Where else could he find such a good thing?
"No problem. I knew at first glance that you're a good kid. It's not easy for you to come to Beijing alone at such a young age to find a job. It's almost noon now. After you finish eating, Auntie will bring you back." After Xia Yufeng finished eating, Xu Xiulan quickly put away her stall and pushed the cart into the alley. After a few turns, they entered a courtyard house.
Xu Xiulan parked the cart under a tall parasol tree and began to unload the pots and pans from the cart onto the ground.
"Auntie, let me help you." Xia Yufeng put down the box in his hand and walked to the car.
" No need, I can do it myself. You can go in. This door is the one." Xu Xiulan pointed to one of the doors. Xia Yufeng followed the direction of her finger and saw the home that was about to be his home.
It was similar to what he saw on television. The walls were made of green bricks and the pillars were painted red. It looked very simple. These few houses formed a Siheyuan. There were many flowers and plants planted in flower pots of various sizes in the courtyard.
"There's no hurry. I'll help you unload the things first!”After looking around, Xia Yufeng still felt that he should help Xu Xiulan unload the things first.
Although these pots and pans were all filled with things, it was not a problem for Xia Yufeng, who was more than 1.8 meters tall and had worked on the construction site before. After a while, everything was unloaded. Xu Xiulan called Xia Yufeng into the house.
The furniture in the room was quite complete, but it was not very new or good. It was arranged neatly, making the room look spacious and clean.
" Drink a glass of water." Xu Xiulan placed the things on the table and quickly took two glasses of water, handing one to Xia Yufeng.
"Auntie, do you live alone?" Xia Yufeng asked as he looked around the house.
"No, I'm with my daughter. She's studying at the Celestial Music Academy and is a sophomore this year. She would go home every week. Today was Friday, so she would be home in the afternoon.”When Xu Xiulan talked about her daughter, her face immediately filled with a happy smile. It was obvious that this daughter was her pride. Indeed, those who could enter the Celestial Music Academy were all talented students, at least Xia Yufeng couldn't.
"Oh! By the way, Auntie, I still don't know how to address you.”Only then did Xia Yufeng remember that he still didn't know the landlord's name. Since they were going to live together in the future, he couldn't just call her " Auntie ".
"My name is Xu Xiulan. You can call me Aunt Lan in the future.”
"Alright, I'll have to trouble Auntie Lan in the future. My name is Xia Yufeng, from Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province. Auntie Lan, you can call me Xiao Xia from now on."
"Hunan is good. Your Hunan TV Station is doing very well. It's number one in the country's viewership ratings, hehe. My daughter is always clamoring to participate in the Happy Girls.”Auntie Lan said with a smile.
"Oh, I was so busy talking that I forgot to show you the room. " Come on…" Xu Xiulan picked up Xia Yufeng's luggage and brought him into the house.
"You can stay in this room from now on. This is my guest room, but my house usually doesn't have many guests. This room is rarely used all year round.”Auntie Lan placed the things on the table and said to herself.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, auntie. Hehe."
Xia Yufeng began to size up the room. Although this was the back room, because there was a lake behind it, the lighting was not too dark. It was also because of the lake that the environment in this room was relatively quieter. Xia Yufeng liked this very much. He thought about how nice it felt to be able to see the lake and duckweed when he opened the window.
"Oh, by the way, Auntie Lan, how do you think we should calculate the rent? I also want to mention that before I find a job, can I have a meal with you?”Xia Yufeng looked at Auntie Lan. In fact, Xia Yufeng also knew that it was not good to eat at her house, but he was unfamiliar with this place and did not have much money on him, so he had to be careful. No matter what, eating here was much cheaper than eating outside. Besides, Xia Yufeng didn't care about food.
"En, no problem. But you've seen my family's situation. The living conditions are not good. If you don't mind, you can eat with us. It's just an extra pair of chopsticks.”
"Thank you, Auntie Lan. What about the rent?"
"Actually, this house isn't worth much. What do you think? 800 yuan a month for food and accommodation."
"Alright, Auntie Lan, thank you. This is 700 yuan. I'll pay you first." Xia Yufeng took out eight red notes from his bag and handed them to Auntie Lan.
"I'm really sorry, I'll take your money.”Auntie Lan accepted the 800 yuan in embarrassment.
Actually, 800 yuan for food and accommodation was not a lot. Even a few square meters cubicle outside the Fifth Ring Road cost more than 500 yuan. After all, this was the Second Ring Road. More importantly, they could eat here. The food guaranteed that Xia Yufeng's heart was much more at ease. At least for this month, he had food, water, and a place to sleep.
"Alright, Auntie Lan won't disturb you anymore. You must be tired after sitting in the car for a whole day. I'll get the blanket to help you make the bed and help you clean up. Go outside and watch TV first!" Auntie Lan said as she began to take action.
Auntie Lan was busy in the room. Xia Yufeng went to the living room and turned on the TV. The channels kept changing. Not long after, Auntie Lan came out of the room.
"Xiao Xia, your room is ready. You can go and rest. "I'll go make lunch. I'll call you when it's ready," Auntie Lan said as she walked to Xia Yufeng with a towel and a basin of water.
"Auntie Lan, I'm indeed a little tired. I didn't sleep much in the car. Then I'm going to sleep. Well, I won't be eating lunch. Have you forgotten that I just finished your yellow pea cake? Haha!"
"If you don't eat later, you'll have to wait until night time.”
"It's okay. I'm asleep. How can I be hungry? Alright, Auntie Lan, I'm going to rest."”With that, he entered the house. He took out the things in the box and arranged them properly.
After sitting in the car for more than a day, although she had slept in the car, it was only in a daze. Xia Yufeng took off his clothes and lay on the bed. He fell asleep soon after.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]