Chen Qiaoyu’s burst of courage didn’t draw any particular attention. The roast chicken vendor skillfully pulled a roast duck from the oven with a fork.
While chopping it up, he asked Chen Qiaoyu, “Want the neck? Want the tail?”
Chen Qiaoyu quickly said, “Yes, I want both.”
She even wished she could pick up the bits and crumbs that fell on the chopping board.
But to avoid revealing that she came from the impoverished, distant 1970s, Chen Qiaoyu silently suppressed that urge.
Her whole body was now filled with energy.
True, she couldn’t spend that 150 yuan back in her time.
But she could spend it here!
Bringing the money back was useless, but she could bring things back!
The 150 yuan she earned today could buy more than seven roast ducks!
Or ten of the smaller roast chickens!
Good heavens!
Chen Qiaoyu felt that in all her years, she had never eaten that many roast chickens!
The vendor took her money and gave her 29 yuan in change. Chen Qiaoyu tucked it away carefully, then carried the bag with the roast duck and left the stall with Zhou Xiaoling.
It was obvious to Zhou Xiaoling that when Chen Qiaoyu looked at the roast duck, her eyes were practically glued to it. She became even more convinced that Chen Qiaoyu must be a girl from some remote, impoverished mountain area.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoling felt a surge of sympathy and protectiveness.
She took Chen Qiaoyu to a malatang stall and said, “Let me treat you to some malatang!”
By now, Chen Qiaoyu had snapped out of her daze. With the remaining 129 yuan clutched in her hand after buying the roast duck, she felt a bit more confident.
She said, “No, no, let me treat you instead. You helped me so much with the work today.”
Chen Qiaoyu had plenty of physical strength, but working wasn’t just about brute force—you also needed to know a lot of other things.
How could Zhou Xiaoling let her treat? She held Chen Qiaoyu down and ordered the food herself.
A mix of meat and vegetables, and of course, she didn’t forget to add two blocks of instant noodle cakes.
Filling!
While the malatang vendor cooked their food, Zhou Xiaoling started talking to Chen Qiaoyu.
“Qiaoyu, don’t be afraid. I know where you came from.”
“Ah?!”
In that instant, Chen Qiaoyu’s heart rate shot up to 220!
She stammered, “H-how do you know?”
Zhou Xiaoling smiled and said, “Because I came from a remote mountain gully too. I left after middle school. My parents wanted me to get engaged to someone to pay for my brother’s schooling. I didn’t want to, so I ran away.”
Zhou Xiaoling lowered her head. “Actually, I don’t hate them. They didn’t want to either. It was all because of poverty.”
“My brother’s grades were better than mine. He was already a senior in high school, and his college entrance exam practice scores were over 650! I struggled just to get through middle school… Our family was already deep in debt trying to support both of us. We just couldn’t afford it anymore.”
“If they supported my brother, once he finished college, he could earn money and help the family.”
Zhou Xiaoling continued, “But I didn’t want to get engaged, so I left with my middle school diploma. I worked while supporting my brother through school. I was a little sad, though… Only after my brother got to college did he find out about student loans. He immediately told me to go back to school, but I didn’t want to anymore.”
Zhou Xiaoling spoke of her past lightly, as if it were nothing, but Chen Qiaoyu could hear the deep regret beneath the surface.
At the same time, she understood—Zhou Xiaoling thought she was just like her, a girl from a very poor, remote mountain village. She had no idea about Chen Qiaoyu’s true origins.
Chen Qiaoyu decided to let the misunderstanding stand and accepted it.
The malatang arrived. Zhou Xiaoling had ordered Chen Qiaoyu a sausage, a skewer of starchy meatball that had a faint meaty flavor, some lotus root slices, crab stick, greens, and at the very bottom, a cooked noodle cake.
This single portion cost fifteen yuan!
Chen Qiaoyu’s heart ached so much it felt like it was bleeding: …I should have just bought two roast chickens instead!
This bowl of noodles and trimmings would have cost only a few mao at a state-run restaurant back home.
And she couldn’t even take it back with her.
Under Zhou Xiaoling’s urging, Chen Qiaoyu ate the malatang seriously, each bite accompanied by silent heartache.
That said, the malatang was surprisingly delicious.
Even though the sausage, meatballs, and crab stick were clearly made from flour, the texture and flavor were very close to real meat.
For Chen Qiaoyu, who rarely ate meat, this was a delicacy of the highest order.
Add the most important seasoning of malatang—the rich, fragrant sesame paste blended with chili oil—and Chen Qiaoyu was sweating all over, her lips numb, yet still unwilling to put down her bowl.
Although it was a little embarrassing, Chen Qiaoyu couldn’t help but drink every last drop of the malatang broth.
Her bowl looked like it had been washed.
Fortunately, Zhou Xiaoling didn’t mind at all. In fact, she started drinking her own broth as well.
As she drank, she said, “I’ve wanted to do this for ages! I was just too embarrassed before.”
Chen Qiaoyu had already come to a realization: saving face was secondary to her. The most important thing was filling her stomach.
The two of them ate one bowl of malatang noodles each, then polished off Zhou Xiaoling’s entire roast chicken.
Chen Qiaoyu even chewed the chicken bones thoroughly and swallowed them.
The bones of these small chickens weren’t hard at all and were easy to eat.
After finishing, Zhou Xiaoling asked Chen Qiaoyu where she lived. Chen Qiaoyu vaguely said, “I live in a village over there…”
Zhou Xiaoling looked in the direction Chen Qiaoyu pointed, but in the dark of night, across streets and between buildings, she couldn’t see anything clearly.
So she said, “Oh, okay. You should head back early. It’s not safe once it gets dark.”
With that, she left Chen Qiaoyu a phone number, then asked, “What’s yours?”
Chen Qiaoyu: “…I don’t have one.”
Zhou Xiaoling was a bit surprised, but after glancing at Chen Qiaoyu’s homespun pants and black cloth shoes, she didn’t say anything.
She only encouraged her: “One step at a time. You’ll have one someday.”
Then she said to Chen Qiaoyu, “Are you coming tomorrow? Go two hundred meters further from where Brother Cheng was recruiting today, and there’s a labor market. They often have odd jobs there. Let’s go together tomorrow!”
Chen Qiaoyu nodded solemnly, then shook her head. “I… I don’t know if I can come tomorrow.”
She really wanted to come, but she didn’t know if she would have this same stroke of luck again tomorrow. She also didn’t know what would await her back home after disappearing for an entire day without reporting for work.
Zhou Xiaoling thought for a moment. Every family had its own troubles. She figured Chen Qiaoyu’s family probably had their own difficulties.
So she borrowed paper and a pen from the small shop owner, wrote down her number and address for Chen Qiaoyu, and said, “If you ever need anything, come find me!”
After saying goodbye to Zhou Xiaoling, the sky hadn’t yet darkened.
Chen Qiaoyu didn’t have a watch, but judging by the sun’s position, she guessed it was around six o’clock.
With that thought, Chen Qiaoyu patted the 129 yuan in her pocket and took a deep breath—who knew if she would ever be able to come back here again? No matter what, she had to spend every last cent of this money today and take back as much as she could!
Having made up her mind, Chen Qiaoyu turned and walked back toward the pedestrian street, filled with a heroic, world-conquering spirit.
She had 129 yuan!