When Ye Daxian heard the whole story, he was instantly displeased.
"Three hundred yuan? How dare that rotten brat?! No way, I’m going right now to tear up that damn note."
"Don’t go, don't go!" Lin Qiujiao hurriedly pulled Ye Daxian back. She felt that the boy was not someone to be trifled with; at such a young age, he was even more terrifying than his mother.
Fortunately, Xiao Xi didn't like him anymore.
Ye Congxi also warned him, "Dad, if you go there, the three-hundred-yuan debt might turn into six hundred."
In Pengcheng, the monthly salary of an ordinary worker was currently about three hundred yuan, but that required working in a factory from morning till night with overtime.
Lin Qiujiao took a piece of paper and crunched the numbers. Suddenly, she said happily, "Look, Daxian, if the two of us work in the factory every day this month, we can scrape it together."
Factories had part-time jobs that paid daily, mostly five yuan a day. It wasn't easy; you had to stand there all day assembling parts, and by the end of the day, you couldn't even straighten your back.
Just thinking about it made Lin Qiujiao feel exhausted.
But Daxian couldn't go to jail.
She would just have to grit her teeth and endure this month, and then she would lie down for an entire month!
Ye Congxi threw cold water on her: "Mom, that’s only to pay back Jiang Wenchuan’s money. What about our food? What about the rent due in half a month? And who’s paying for my tuition when school starts?"
Lin Qiujiao was deflated by this trio of questions.
Then she asked in surprise, "Xiao Xi, you're willing to go to school?"
The Original Owner had hated studying and clamored to drop out every day. Later, when Jiang Wenchuan transferred to her school, she was so dazzled by his good looks that she temporarily abandoned her plan to quit. Just two days ago, she had been on a hunger strike, shouting that she wouldn't go back.
Ye Congxi used a universal excuse: "Yes, I want to go to school. Jiang Wenchuan is the top of the class, so I have to study hard and surpass him to become number one." She couldn't very well go through life without even a high school education.
Lin Qiujiao sighed and wiped her tears.
It turned out the movies were right—a heartbreak really could cause a complete change in personality.
If she weren't the girl's mother and absolutely certain she wouldn't mistake her own child, she would have suspected her daughter had been swapped.
"That’s right! We won't just be first in the class, we’ll be first in the whole school!" Ye Daxian was fired up, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists. "Don't worry about the tuition. Can't your dad just go collect some protection money? I see other gangs doing it all the time."
Ye Congxi: "…" Shamate was one thing, but now he was talking about gangs.
"No collecting protection money," Ye Congxi said with a very serious expression. "Dad, think about it. Everyone on this street knows Jiang Wenchuan sent you to the police station. If you do those things again and they follow Jiang Wenchuan's lead by calling the police, one person means a three-hundred-yuan payout, two people means six hundred, three people means nine hundred… If you can't pay it, you can calculate for yourself how long you'll have to stay in prison."
Ye Daxian shuddered, as if seeing a vision of himself rotting in a cell, growing mushrooms in a dark corner.
He hurriedly took a sip of the Tomato Noodles soup to calm his nerves.
"Then… then what do we do?"
Seeing that the timing was right, Ye Congxi immediately brought out her idea. "Dad, what do you think of my cooking? If I took it out to sell, would anyone buy it?"
In the end, Lin Qiujiao hadn't been able to resist the aroma of the Tomato Noodles.
She was slurping down half a bowl with her chopsticks, her eyes squinting in bliss from the flavor. She nearly choked when she heard this. "Xiao Xi, you want to go out and sell noodles?"
Ye Congxi shook her head. "We can’t afford to rent a storefront right now, so we can only make it at home and take it out to sell. Noodles get soggy easily, so I plan to cook congee—specifically, Shredded Chicken Congee."
Pengcheng was part of Yue Province, and the people here had a habit of eating congee in the morning.
There were already people nearby selling Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee. Tingzai Congee and Claypot Congee required more sophisticated ingredients; with their family’s savings of twenty yuan at most, the costs would be hard to keep down. The essence of Freshly Boiled Congee was the "freshly boiled" part; if it wasn't served straight from the heat, it wouldn't be authentic. Chicken Emperor Congee and Pork Liver Congee weren't suitable for a stall because the texture of the eggs and pork liver would deteriorate if left sitting too long.
After thinking it over, only Shredded Chicken Congee was suitable.
The base flavor could be extracted by simmering chicken bones. Ye Congxi hadn't visited a Nineties Era wet market yet, but logically, chicken bones shouldn't be expensive.
"Will this work?" They had never sold anything before, and Ye Daxian felt nervous. But looking at his daughter’s serious face, he relented. "…Alright, let's try selling congee then. Tell me what you need your dad to do."
The debt was his fault because he had hit someone. He couldn't be a dead weight anymore; otherwise, if he really got sent to jail by a brat, where would he hide his face?
Ye Congxi was satisfied with his resolve. "First, let's go to the vegetable market. It’s best if we can get chicken bones. We'll start stewing them tonight. The congee will only be fragrant if the broth is rich."
"Okay." Ye Daxian pushed his bicycle. There was a soft cushion tied to the back seat, so it wasn't uncomfortable for Ye Congxi's bottom.
"We'll go to the Big Market; things are cheaper there."
Zhang Apo’s area was just a small market, frequented only by those looking for convenience nearby.
If people had the time, they were much more willing to travel the extra kilometer to the Big Market.
Most of the lights in the vegetable market had already dimmed, with only a few stalls left packing up.
Ye Congxi went to the row where they sold poultry. "Boss, how much for the chicken bones?"
The stall owner saw she was just a young girl and instinctively said, "One yuan eighty per jin."
Ye Congxi did the math in her head—it was a rip-off.
"You're already closing up, and there's about two jin here. Let's just call it two yuan for the lot."
The owner was about to say no, but then he looked up and saw the yellow-haired Shamate father standing behind Ye Congxi. "…Fine."
Ye Congxi also picked up two nearby chicken legs. Back at home, she put the chicken bones into a basin.
"Dad, wash the chicken bones and then chop them into pieces. Do you know how to chop?"
Ye Daxian fished out the chicken carcasses and rinsed them under the tap. "Is chopping things ever hard? Back in the day, I took a watermelon knife and on the streets—"
Ye Congxi ignored his boasting and went inside to find the rice.
"…" Ye Daxian continued to wash the chicken carcasses in silence.
Ye Congxi found a bag of rice in the cupboard.
Her family almost never cooked. The oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar had only been bought because the Original Owner wanted to try making "love bento" strategies to chase someone.
Of course, those strategies had failed in the end.
"Mom, I want to take a bath." Ye Congxi put the rice in a basin to soak and stood up to wipe her hands.
"I'll have your dad boil some hot water."
The house didn't have a water heater. Their previous "immersion heater" had melted the water bucket when it exploded, so they relied entirely on honeycomb briquettes for heating water now.
Lin Qiujiao directed Ye Daxian to carry the hot water into the bathroom. She picked up a bright red plastic ladle and scooped half a bucket of hot water to mix with the cold.
The weather was hot now, so they didn't need very hot water, just as long as it wasn't too cold. The mother and daughter each got half a bucket.
As for Ye Daxian, it didn't matter; he was thick-skinned and wasn't afraid of a cold shower.
Lin Qiujiao placed a basin over the mouth of the bucket, afraid the steam would escape too quickly.
She turned around and was startled by her own reflection in the small round mirror on the wall. "Oh my, I look like a ghost right now. So ugly."
Ye Congxi leaned over. "You're not ugly. My mom is the most beautiful."
Lin Qiujiao chuckled and hugged her daughter. "My daughter is beautiful too, just like me. By the way, while you and your dad were at the market, I rummaged around the house and found two yuan. I put it in the metal box for you."
Ye Congxi had solemnly declared that until the debt was paid off, she would be in charge of the family’s money.
After finishing her bath, Ye Congxi had her father put the sliced ginger, chicken bones, and chicken legs together. They added water, put it on the stove, and covered the pot.
The honeycomb briquettes didn't need a high flame; just a bit of residual heat would do.
After giving the instructions, Ye Congxi collapsed onto the bed.
This body was quite weak; she would have to train it well, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to lift two stir-fry pans in the future.
Thinking this, she drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, Ye Congxi stared at the ceiling with its peeling paint for a long time before remembering where she was. She hurriedly got up to check the chicken bone broth.
The house consisted of one bedroom and a living room plus a small yard. Ye Congxi slept in the bedroom, while Ye Daxian and Lin Qiujiao slept in the living room behind a curtain.
The kitchen was in the yard. Ye Congxi lifted the lid, and the chicken carcass soup that had been stewing all night was golden and rich, with circles of oil floating on top.
Ye Congxi scooped up a mouthful to taste it. It was decent.
The soup might be a bit greasy if drunk alone, but it was perfect for making congee.
Actually, she wasn't quite satisfied with the rice; it wasn't fragrant enough.
Once they earned some money, she would definitely switch to better rice.
Ye Congxi fished out the chicken legs to cool, then poured in the rice that had soaked overnight. The pot began to bubble, and the rice congee soon bloomed.
Ye Congxi removed one honeycomb briquette to lower the heat, slowly letting the congee simmer and absorb the flavors.
Taking advantage of this time, she shredded the chicken legs and stirred the meat back into the pot, finishing it off with a handful of chopped green onions. Done.
In the living room, the couple, who had been sleeping sprawled out every which way, woke up in a daze. Before their eyes were even fully open, their noses were already twitching as they instinctively inhaled the aroma.
"Time to get up and have congee! Dad, after eating, you still need to go buy lunch boxes."
Ye Congxi came in carrying a bowl of Shredded Chicken Congee. This one was hers; her parents' portions were still outside.
The couple dithered for a moment before scrambling up.
The Shredded Chicken Congee smelled exceptionally fragrant. The scent was rich but didn't feel heavy, and though it seemed light, the fresh savoriness was incredibly potent.
As soon as the congee entered their mouths, the thick rice was silky and fragrant, and the chicken shreds were tender and smooth. The umami swirled on their tongues. Ye Daxian and Lin Qiujiao both widened their eyes instantly.
"Daughter, you're amazing! I used to hear people say that even if you pay to be an apprentice in a restaurant, you might not learn real skills. But you actually managed to cook such delicious congee just by following what the books taught." Lin Qiujiao wasn't even "drinking" the congee anymore; she was shoveling it down, not even caring if it was hot.
Ye Daxian's bowl was already empty. He got up to refill it, and Lin Qiujiao followed right behind him.
When they were about to go for a third bowl, Ye Congxi quickly stopped them. "We need to save some to sell!" Don't eat it all.
The two felt a bit disappointed, licking their lips longingly.
Ye Congxi assigned the tasks: "Dad, go buy lunch boxes—the round ones, about this big. Buy at least thirty. Mom, you go wash the dishes. Once we’ve paid off the debt, we can eat as much as we want."
This shot of adrenaline immediately lifted their spirits.
Even Lin Qiujiao, who usually hated working the most, hummed a song as she scrubbed the dishes. The Shredded Chicken Congee was truly delicious; once the debt was paid, she wanted to drink it every day.
Ye Daxian came back with the lunch boxes and packed the congee bowl by bowl. When the last lid was closed, he noted, "It really is exactly thirty bowls."
Of course it was; she had carefully controlled the portions. "Dad, take these to the factory entrance to sell. One yuan per bowl."
"One yuan? Got it!" Ye Daxian patted his chest. "Then I'm off."
Lin Qiujiao cheered him on: "Daxian! Good luck!" She wasn't going; there were no stools at the stall, and it would be far too tiring.
Ye Daxian packed the congee into a foam box, tied it with rope, and pushed the handcart out the door.
As soon as he stepped out, he ran right into Zhang Apo.