Chapter 44 There's no such thing as a free lunch

Tao Ji Snack Shop now sells until about nine o'clock in the morning. After cleaning the kitchen, they start preparing wontons for lunch. They start welcoming customers around eleven o'clock and continue until one or two o'clock in the afternoon. Without time to rest, Tang Cuihua rushes to her literacy class. She rushes back at five o'clock to help wrap wontons. By the time she finishes, it's almost seven or eight o'clock before closing up shop.

In those days, there was no nightlife, no streetlights, and the streets were deserted after dark. Before nine o'clock, we would clean up and start carrying out the bed boards to make the beds.

We washed up in a small toilet behind the storefront; the conditions were terrible, but it wasn't worth renting another place.

Before going to bed, they have to prepare the dough for the next day. They have to get up before dawn to make steamed buns and wontons. Working non-stop is unbearable for anyone, so they take turns resting. That's how they manage to maintain a daily income of 10,000 to 30,000 yuan.

After opening the shop for a month or so, the two women, who were already not fat, lost even more weight. They ate at irregular times every day, eating whatever was left over. Zhao Lingli always felt embarrassed and wanted to give Cuihua some wages as compensation, but Cuihua refused.

“Auntie, I’m working so hard now not for the money. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would have become of the three of us sisters. We said from the beginning that all we wanted was a place to live and enough to eat. We didn’t want anything else.”

Zhao Lingli was touched by her sincerity and stopped bringing it up. However, the two became closer and more united as a result.

Although it's a snack shop, the people you come into contact with are all sorts of people. There's not only a hospital nearby, but also a small commercial area that has been around since the Republic of China era. So, back when tickets weren't required, there were quite a few people who came to shop. It was normal for them to come to the snack street to grab a bite to eat when they got tired of shopping.

This leads them to encounter many difficult people. Not only do these people try to skip out on their meals by taking advantage of their busy schedules, but the worst part is when they add something to your food and then demand that everyone come and judge the situation. Although Zhao Lingli had heard of this before, she had never encountered such situations since she only sold snacks and drinks. So, after choosing to accept her bad luck, these people actually came back even more brazenly.

They didn't expect Cuihua to have such a good eye, recognizing them at a glance, so when they were announcing the names of the dishes, Cuihua simply shouted out.

"That's all. There's a wonton shop on the left after you go out. Why don't you go check it out?"

The man could tell from her expression that she had been recognized. Instead of blushing, he slammed his fist on the table and yelled at her.

"What kind of attitude is this? We just sat down and hadn't even warmed up yet, and you're already kicking us out? Is this how you do business? What? You're out of food? It's only this late and you're already out of food? You're keeping your door open even when you're out of food, are you deliberately trying to humiliate us?"

Cuihua's smile vanished instantly. She raised her eyebrows with a half-smile, glanced at the guest beside her, and explained.

"Last time, after they finished their meal, they put a cockroach in their food. The four of them spent 30,000 yuan, and they ordered all the most expensive dishes in our restaurant. We had just opened and didn't want to cause trouble, so we waived their bill. But look, they're here again. Since they found a cockroach in their food last time, why do they dare to come back? Or are you planning to try something different this time and continue to eat for free?"

"Or do you think our memory is so bad that we've forgotten what the four of you look like? Let me tell you, I'll remember you even if you were ashes. Because of this one meal, my aunt and I worked for nothing all day. Didn't we get enough of a free meal? Don't keep trying to fleece us. Or are you being manipulated by someone who wants to squeeze us out of the business because we're doing well?"

The two men and two women opposite probably didn't expect that as soon as they entered the door, Cuihua would start cursing them without any mercy. Seeing that the guests' eyes were starting to look at them with disgust, the man rolled his eyes and wanted to take the initiative. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"What nonsense are you spouting, girl? Do you have any evidence? You come here accusing us of putting the cockroaches there? We can't remember and we went to the wrong house, okay? And you dare to accuse us of taking advantage of you?"

Cuihua glared at him and said, "Whether you put the cockroaches in or not, I don't care, because it's all in the past. But we don't welcome you here for dinner today."

"Welcome! Of course we welcome you! Come, sit down! Since you've already come all this way, we should be more than happy to welcome you. Look, we have pork and scallion wontons, chive and egg buns, carrot and tofu buns, and braised eggs and tofu. You get free millet porridge with every bun you eat. What would you like to eat? Cuihua, what are you standing there for? Quickly get them a pot of water. You must be thirsty after walking so far."

After Zhao Lingli finished wrapping the last basket of buns, she came out with a grin. With a few quick words, she managed to keep the group there, politely and sincerely asking them what they wanted to eat. The group felt uneasy under her gaze. One of the girls, who looked the youngest, tugged hard at the arm of the man next to her, indicating that she wanted to leave. However, the man, who hadn't eaten in a long time, ignored her. Annoyed by being grabbed, he turned and glared fiercely at the woman.

Cuihua stood behind, observing everything discreetly. After the four people nervously submitted their meal request, Zhao Lingli took her notebook to the kitchen. Cuihua couldn't help but ask, "Why are we still entertaining them? They're clearly here to cause trouble. They ate one meal, and now they want a free second one!"

Zhao Lingli patted the back of her hand, whispered something in her ear, and then took out 10,000 yuan. Cuihua happily took the money and ran out the back door without even taking off her apron.

Zhao Lingli deliberately brought out their food slowly and deliberately, then stood to their right rear, watching them eat with a smile.

While the group was eating, their eyes were constantly darting around, clearly exchanging glances. When the other diners paid their bills, they all felt that this group didn't seem like good people. "Boss lady, you'd better be careful. Look at that big guy, don't let him try to cheat or hit you later."

After Zhao Lingli thanked them, someone else came in and ordered food, so she went into the kitchen to start working. The four people who were eating over there saw that she had left and that Cuihua hadn't come out, and they started to gloat.

"If only this old woman had been nicer earlier, it would have been fine. Bro, what should we do today? I'm almost finished eating, I need to get inside before she comes out, how about that? Or should we go for something even tougher? Look at their attitude just now, they might not be so easy to fool next time, so let's just make a big batch this time?"