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Do smart people really love eating bad food?
Ever since Li Lanlan came back to life, Wang Dashan hadn’t had a chance to taste the food she’d cooked, so he had no idea that her cooking skills had actually improved.
Li Lanlan hadn’t failed to notice Wang Dashan’s gaze, but she felt no guilt whatsoever. She was simply being herself; she wasn’t afraid of anyone. Besides, this was her own talent—she didn’t care if anyone questioned her.
As for making excuses for her skills, as is often done in reincarnation novels, Li Lanlan had no need for that. If asked, she’d simply say it was a natural gift.
With a mom who cooked so well, she didn’t care about any doubting voices.
After buying groceries, Li Lanlan sat on the edge of the tricycle while Wang Dashan pedaled back. He still felt a bit uneasy.
“Lanlan, are we really going to be able to sell this?”
“You’re coming along tomorrow anyway, so just go take a look yourself. See if you can sell it. Hmph!”
Wang Dashan thought Li Lanlan was angry, so he quickly apologized. “It’s not that I don’t believe you—I’m just worried we won’t be able to sell it, that’s all.”
“Put your mind at ease. If we couldn’t sell them, do you think I’d be able to rent a place for five hundred a month?”
Wang Dashan had only just arrived and hadn’t had a chance to ask about household expenses yet. Upon hearing “five hundred a month,” he slammed on the brakes.
He nearly jolted Li Lanlan off the bike. Once she regained her balance, she twisted his waist hard.
“Ouch!” Wang Dashan sucked in a sharp breath from the pain. Luckily, they’d just reached the doorstep, so nothing serious happened.
Li Lanlan hopped off the bike and unloaded some lightweight seasonings and dried goods, leaving the rest for Wang Dashan to carry down.
There happened to be an empty room that wasn’t currently occupied, so they stored the vegetables and other supplies there.
Since Wang Dashan was there, they might as well set up shop for lunch. Li Lanlan thought for a moment; with the hot weather, selling cold noodles and cold rice sheets would be the best option.
But she didn’t plan to make the noodles and rice sheets herself. She’d tried it a few times before, and it was simply too time-consuming—requiring constant steaming—so she mainly focused on preparing the sauce.
Eventually, she settled on a regular supplier. Their quality was good; although the price was a bit higher, you get what you pay for.
After running this food business for about two months, she’d picked up a few tips. The most important things in the food business are cleanliness, hygiene, and great taste.
As long as she stuck firmly to these points, business wouldn’t be too bad!
Li Lanlan told Wang Dashan to wash and prep the vegetables while she went to prepare dinner for the family.
She simmered some broth, used store-bought noodles, and quickly whipped up a pot of braised noodles. Wang Dashan took a taste, and the flavor was truly impressive.
It was hard to believe Li Lanlan had made it—it was simply that delicious, almost on par with her mother-in-law’s cooking.
He didn’t think much of it, assuming his wife’s culinary instincts had finally kicked in!
At this point, Wang Dashan hadn’t yet been weighed down by the burdens of life. Although things weren’t exactly easy, there was still hope for the future.
After dinner, the couple discussed it again. They needed to find a daycare center. Although they could occasionally have the older child watch the younger one—that’s how things were done in the countryside—
playfulness is a child’s nature, and she didn’t want to shift what was originally the parents’ responsibility onto the child.
Besides, it wouldn’t cost much. When she had returned earlier, she’d asked Sister Caixia about it; there was an internal daycare center in the compound, and it was free for residents.
But since they weren’t residents, they still had to pay a nominal fee—about a hundred yuan a month per child.
Even so, not just anyone could get in. Bai Zhigang happened to work in logistics and had some influence in this matter, so he managed to secure a few spots for them.
It had already been decided that the two younger children would be sent to the nurturing class.
The second child is already over three years old and ready for the pre-K class, while the eldest will be starting first grade in the second half of the year, so the kindergarten class is perfect for him.
Plus, due to special circumstances here, they can pick up the children as late as 8:00 p.m. every day—which is a huge help.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t dare bring so many children here; there’s no one to watch them. In her previous life, when she went out to work, she had to lock the children at home.
It’s not that she isn’t worried, but since there’s no one to help watch the children—neither back home nor where she works—she has no choice but to bring them along to work. She really has no other option.
It costs a bit of money now, but it’s money well spent!
After Li Lanlan and Wang Dashan helped the children wash up, the family got ready for bed. Although the eldest and the second child’s room is right next to theirs, the two older ones were still afraid.
Wang Dashan comforted the two younger ones, while Li Lanlan stayed with the two older ones, and they didn’t return to their own room until all the children were asleep.
Early the next morning, the couple got everything ready and took the children to register at the daycare, letting the teachers know when they would pick them up.
The older ones were fine. They had been told the day before that they were coming to daycare today and weren’t allowed to cry. Once it was made clear, they agreed, and today they showed no signs of crying.
But the younger ones couldn’t understand much yet and kept crying. Li Lanlan steeled herself, handed them directly to the teacher, and, pulling Wang Dashan along, turned and walked away.
The sound of the two children crying followed them, calling out “Mommy, Mommy” over and over. Li Lanlan felt so sad she started crying too, but she couldn’t turn back, so she steeled herself and kept walking.
Only when she could no longer hear the crying behind her did she feel a little better. Li Lanlan took the handkerchief Wang Dashan handed her, wiped away her tears, and the couple walked back in silence.
The delivery of cold noodles and cold rice noodles was almost here. Wang Dashan rode his bike out to meet it, while Li Lanlan stayed inside to prepare the dipping sauce.
Once the sauce was ready, she let it cool and poured it into a plastic bucket.
Li Lanlan was also teaching Wang Dashan the correct proportions for the sauce. She had bought spoons of different sizes to measure the ingredients, which made the process go faster.
The two of them each ate a bowl of liangpi with steamed buns as an early lunch, and by a little past eleven, they were already pushing the cart out the door.
After introducing Wang Dashan to Li Fangfang, and once the two of them had mostly finished setting up, the midday rush began.
When it was busy, Li Lanlan served the food and Wang Dashan handled the payments; when it was slower, Wang Dashan served and Li Lanlan took the money.
Wang Dashan picked it up pretty quickly and was already quite proficient in no time. Working together, they sold almost everything in about an hour, leaving just a little bit. If they didn’t sell it all, they’d just eat it themselves.
That’s just how it is in the food business—you eat whatever’s left over; there’s no picking and choosing.
By now, most of the other food vendors nearby had sold out and gone home, but Li Lanlan and her husband decided to wait a little longer to see if anyone else wanted to buy. After all, every meal sold meant more money.
Once it’s in their stomachs, it’ll just turn into poop.
A man rushed out of the office building and headed straight for Li Lanlan’s stall.
Li Lanlan thought he was there to buy something, so she greeted him warmly, but his first words startled her.
“Sis, do you want to be a teacher for a training class? An English training class!”
Li Yanqing had heard a colleague in the office mention that the lady downstairs who sold such delicious food had finally set up her stall, so he rushed out as fast as he could.
Li Yanqing had noticed Li Lanlan when she was having those two kids take an English spelling test earlier—especially since she knew how to do the test in both Chinese and English, and she read the English words with remarkable fluency.
Could it be that she, like him, was a hidden genius?
She had clearly put a lot of effort into her English. If others knew about this—a woman selling liangpi speaking fluent English—they surely wouldn’t believe it.
But Li Yanqing was different. He had dropped out of high school before graduating, spent two years loafing around at home, and later, upon hearing that English tutoring was a lucrative business, he drilled himself relentlessly in the language and was admitted on a special exemption.
As it turned out, he was quite impressive. Not only was he an excellent teacher, but he was also witty and humorous, completely sparking his students’ interest in English.
The English scores of the students he taught shot up like bunches of chives in a field, one crop after another.
He made a fortune in no time. Just like those who excel in their studies and go into politics, or those who excel in the performing arts and go into politics, he was promoted to a junior manager.
But the others resented him. They wondered: how dare a high school dropout teach them, college graduates?
This was 1998. Universities hadn’t yet begun expanding enrollment, and the government still guaranteed job placements for graduates. They had certainly come here to climb the career ladder, not to work under someone who had dropped out of high school.
The head of this training institution was still relatively young at the time and strongly encouraged internal competition, believing that teamwork was more efficient.
Although not all of his colleagues looked down on him, those who did recognize his abilities wouldn’t join his team.
They had better options, which meant that even though Li Yanqing had been promoted, he was currently operating as a one-man show.
It wasn’t that he thought academic credentials weren’t important, but in the workplace, shouldn’t ability be the deciding factor?
Even if his educational background wasn’t as impressive as theirs, his ability was certainly no worse—in fact, it was far superior. Hadn’t he noticed that more and more students were signing up for his classes?
What does this prove? It proves that parents and students don’t care if you’re a black cat or a white cat—as long as you can catch mice and improve their English grades, you’re a good cat!
So when he went out to grab lunch that day and happened to run into this hidden gem, he wanted to get to know her. But the very next day, she didn’t show up.
On top of that, with so many students taking summer classes, he still hadn’t found the right person, and he was getting more and more worried by the day!
So when he heard this good news today, he rushed downstairs as fast as he could—he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
“Ma’am, here’s my business card. I run an English tutoring class in this building. I heard you giving those two kids an English dictation the other day—you were so fluent! Would you be interested in working with us?”
As long as the older sister was willing to come, Li Yanqing wasn’t worried at all about getting her hired.
Things weren’t as large-scale, standardized, or bureaucratic back then. As a team leader, recruiting a few employees for his own team was no problem at all!
And if anyone tried to make a fuss about it, he’d just tell them to go out and recruit people themselves!
He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by that. He’d always been known for his sharp tongue, though he didn’t resort to personal attacks lightly. Most of the time, he was actually quite mild-mannered and easygoing!