NOVPUB
Chapter 138: Chapter 138 Newly Arrived Country Bumpkin
Tong Yao was counting time. She had been waiting at the station for more than twenty minutes. Her face was flushed from the heat. She finally saw Si Boyi arrive, sighing inwardly at how convenient it was to live in the 21st century, where digital communications were readily available. She didn’t have to wait like a fool under the scorching sun like she had.
Unfortunately, Si Chen of the 21st century was now an old man and missed the golden age of entrepreneurship. After these months of grappling with life, Tong Yao leaned more towards their current life.
She had been alone for too long in her previous life. Now, experiencing the warmth of others caring for her, she didn’t want to shoulder the burdens of life alone anymore.
"Sister-in-law, Xiaohui, you two have been waiting here for a quite some time!" Si Boyi greeted, holding a large cloth bag and looking at the red faces of Tong Yao and Si Xiaohui, feeling a bit guilty.
In such hot weather, Tong Yao’s skin was already tanning under the sun.
"Not too long." Tong Yao shook her head. Though young, she was quite organized in her work. "You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s go find a restaurant and eat."
"I... I’ve eaten already." Si Boyi mumbled, his face turning slightly red. He was too shy to let Tong Yao take him out for a meal. He was quite a traditionalist, and felt that the man should pay when dining out with a woman. But he had brought only ten yuan with him. He had given five yuan to Zhang Lijuan and spent another fifty cents on the bus fare. Now, he only had a little over four yuan to his name.
City prices were high. He feared this money wouldn’t be enough to pay restaurant bills. If it weren’t, he would suffer the embarrassment of being unable to pay.
Even if it were just enough, he, as a grown man, couldn’t be without a little spare cash on him. If he needed something small, he certainly couldn’t ask Tong Yao for money.
"Second brother, when did you have your meal?" Si Xiaohui debunked his lie. "You left home at a little past eight, right? It’s almost noon now. We are here to have lunch."
"I..." Si Boyi’s face turned even redder. Now that he was in the city, he felt he didn’t belong. Unlike in the countryside, where he felt at ease, he became nervous in the city and stammered over his words.
The saying that a small amount of money can ruin a hero held truth. Without money, it was impossible to survive in the city.
Seeing Si Boyi’s embarrassed and flushed face, Tong Yao had a guess about what was going on. However, she didn’t address it and instead tried to lighten the mood. "Hah! This being your first day in the city, I, as your sister-in-law, must treat you to a meal. Otherwise, when your brother asks about it in the evening, he’ll accuse me of being stingy if he finds out I didn’t offer you a meal."
After hearing this, Si Boyi felt a bit relieved. But he was naturally frugal and felt uncomfortable letting Tong Yao splurge. "City restaurant meals are expensive. Why don’t we just buy some steamed buns instead?" he suggested.
"Second brother, our sister–in–law makes seventy to eighty yuan a day from her store. We can afford a meal in a restaurant once in a while. Don’t be like a country bumpkin, constantly complaining about how expensive everything is. Anybody can tell you’ve just come from the countryside," said Si Xiaohui dismissively. A rare chance to enjoy a meal in a restaurant and she wasn’t about to let her second brother spoil it.
For Si Xiaohui, who was used to homemade meals, dining in a restaurant was a luxury. Once she accumulated enough money, she’d treat herself to a fancy restaurant meal now and again, ordering whatever she fancied.
"..."
Si Boyi felt his face burning with embarrassment at Xiaohui’s words.
"It’s not shameful to come from the countryside. After all, city folks are eating what’s grown by the countryside. Don’t you start despising your rural roots," Tong Yao refuted Si Xiaohui sternly, leaving her without a comeback.
Si Xiaohui didn’t mind the retort. Her second brother had arrived, and she felt happy knowing that their lives in the city would get better with both siblings working here.
"Let’s eat at this place. They have a fan." Tong Yao took them to a small restaurant near the bus station where a fan was running. The weather was sweltering, and dining in the cool breeze of a fan was a pleasant relief. After standing under the sun for over twenty minutes, they needed the fan to prevent heatstroke.
Due to the recent high temperatures, not many dared to venture out under the blazing sun at noon. So the restaurant was doing rather poor business. Not a single patron was inside, and the owner was sitting under a fan reading a novel. Upon seeing the three of them enter, he quickly closed his book and cheerfully asked what they’d like to order.
"Pickled fish, spicy chicken, braised pork, stir-fried meat with chili, and a bowl of tomato egg soup."
Tong Yao ordered four meat dishes in one breath, startling Si Boyi. He had a stunned look on his face for quite a while. After the restaurant owner had left, he murmured softly.
"Sister-in-law, won’t we be unable to finish so many meat dishes?"
He was thinking about how much money so much meat would cost. Even though he wasn’t the one paying, Si Boyi didn’t want Tong Yao to overspend. He knew the value of money from his difficult upbringing.
Si Xiaohui also found it strange. "Sister-in-law, don’t you usually prefer combinations of meat and vegetables?"
To be honest, Si Xiaohui, who had rarely had meat to eat back at home, wouldn’t get tired of having meat in every meal. She was simply curious about Tong Yao’s sudden change of heart.
Tong Yao pulled out a chair and sat down, her big eyes twinkling. "My appetite has been quite good lately. You two should eat more. Don’t worry about the cost. Whatever we’re spending now, we can earn it back once our shop opens."
In actuality, Tong Yao didn’t fancy eating such greasy food in the summer. She knew that Si Boyi and Si Xiaohui were different, hence she ordered that many meat dishes. She was sure that if she were to order three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, Si Boyi would only eat the vegetable dish.
Now that he had been toiling in their hometown for over twenty years and was in the city, Tong Yao couldn’t promise that she could make him rich, but at least he wouldn’t go hungry. When she lived with the Si family for half a year, Si Boyi had always been kind to her, and she remembered his kindness.
Treating Si Boyi to a hearty meal now was not a loss. The profit Si Boyi would generate in the future would undoubtedly be more than the cost of this meal.
"Sister-in-law, in the future, let me do any dirty or tiring work. Although I don’t have any special skills, I’m strong and can work hard." Si Boyi was earnest and not simple-minded. He likely guessed something was going on. He was touched, but being a man of few words, he couldn’t express his gratitude eloquently. So he decided to reciprocate Tong Yao’s kindness through his actions.
"You can sit first." Tong Yao motioned for Si Boyi to sit down, otherwise, his large figure would block the breeze.
"Oh, okay."
Si Boyi responded with a shy smile, bent down to sit, but had nowhere to put his bag. He looked around for a place and finally put it down by his feet.
"Second brother, what have you brought? You’re carrying such a big bag!" Si Xiaohui inquired, her head tilted in curiousity. Si Boyi had only a couple of outfits that he wore alternately. Before Tong Yao came to live with them, he’d been in the habit of going shirtless in the summer to spare his clothes. Now that he was in the city, he was carrying such a large bag. She wondered what kind of valuable item he had in it.
"Our mother asked me to bring your clothes, and some dried vegetables and bean paste." Si Boyi replied, slightly embarrassed. He and his family had grown up eating these foods and had developed a taste for them. But Tong Yao, having lived comfortably in the city all her life, wouldn’t appreciate these things. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
When she lived in the village, Tong Yao would frown at the sight of these items on her plate, so Lijuan would often cook something special for her.
