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Chapter 42: Yunshu, Sister, This Thing Worked Out!
Xie Yunshu’s footsteps paused for a moment. She gave Lin Cuiping a dark, sharp look. “Lin Cuiping, who do you think is sick in the head?”
“It’s you I’m talking about, what’s wrong?” Inside the old apartment building, Lin Cuiping stood upright again. These were neighbors—she wasn’t afraid!
Xie Yunshu squinted and pulled a pen from her pocket, tossing it into Lin Cuiping’s arms. “If you dare mess with my TV again, I’ll break both your dog legs!”
Lin Cuiping: “!”
Damn Xie Yunshu, always bullying her!
“I’ll do it just to see if you have the guts to break my legs right in front of your mom!” Lin Cuiping got really mad, mumbling angrily behind her teeth: “You’re about to divorce Lu Zhixing soon, yet you still dare talk tough to me? Believe it or not, I’ll…”
Xie Yunshu grabbed her collar with one hand. “Believe what?”
Lin Cuiping’s arrogance immediately deflated: “I’m just talking, how did you end up hitting me so fast? Xie Yunshu, you don’t play fair, do you?”
Annoying!
Xie Yunshu sneered and released her grip. “If you want to watch TV, shut your mouth, or I’ll make sure your ears ring!”
That shut Lin Cuiping up completely.
Haicheng Hospital Family Compound.
When Lu Zhixing came home, it was already late at night. Lu Xueting and Cheng Yuxiang had already left, so no one saw his disheveled appearance.
The room was pitch black, feeling emptier without the TV. But it was like he just realized this…
“Lu Zhixing, I’m only giving you one week. You must get the divorce before the New Year.”
Xie Yunshu’s words still echoed in his ears, but he refused to believe it! His stomach growled. Exhausted, he sat down on the sofa after work. He looked at her cooking, but he hadn’t eaten a thing.
He instinctively checked his pockets. He finally noticed another thing: Xie Yunshu hadn’t come back with him. She left a note and hadn’t asked for the bankbook.
Hunger crept up on him. Forget the lofty ideals of purity and grace — no money meant he was just as miserable as a stray dog.
Of course, Lu Zhixing wasn’t truly short on money. Even without taking money from home, he had wealthy connections who could easily lend him a thousand yuan. The reason he hadn’t given money to Xie Yunshu before was because he never thought she valued money more than him!
Yesterday morning, she earned ten yuan; in the afternoon, she slapped Lu Xueting in anger; in the evening, she slapped Lu Zhixing twice and left a note for over a thousand yuan. Xie Yunshu must have slept very well that night.
The business of selling meals at the alleyway stall had stabilized. About ten customers almost always bought out the food daily. And at the end, she habitually saved some vegetables for Qiangzi, occasionally giving him a piece of meat.
Of course, she didn’t have extra. Because she believed in helping others only within her means.
Qiangzi always bought a one-yuan steamed bun. Now that there were free vegetables, he felt embarrassed to keep freeloading chili and pickled vegetables and occasionally had to shamelessly ask Xie Yunshu to leave him more soup.
This steady routine lasted seven days, and the regulars gradually became familiar with Xie Yunshu.
Li Shengjian reminded her after serving dishes: “There are only about twenty days left until New Year. Our alley is about to close for the holiday. Be careful with your timing, or you’ll have leftover food.”
The New Year break meant no work, basically stopping for about a month — something Xie Yunshu hadn’t thought about before.
She had only been working for about ten days and earned about a hundred yuan. She was thrilled. Even taking a day off felt like a huge loss.
Hearing Li Shengjian’s words, her little face twisted like a bitter gourd. “You guys rest for that long?”
Li Shengjian chuckled: “We’re all working away from home, not seeing our families for half a year. Who doesn’t miss their wife and kids? We work hard all year just to enjoy those two days of New Year.”
Work in the alley was tough, all manual labor — Xie Yunshu deeply understood this.
She worried: “Then where do I sell meals during that month off?”
Li Shengjian smiled: “Yunshu, are you obsessed with money? It’s cold outside. If you don’t sell meals, just rest at home. You’re a pretty girl; you can go buy some nice clothes at the department store!”
Although she had only known her for ten days, Li Shengjian liked this young woman who was a few years older than his own kids. She had a strong, spirited character, wasn’t timid, and spoke straightforwardly.
The alley customers were mostly rough guys who didn’t hold back when talking. Yet she didn’t blush or back down—if someone talked nonsense, she would fire back. This fierce yet clever spirit impressed him.
Anyway, Xie Yunshu’s cooking was delicious, affordable, and satisfying. Lunch had become a big motivation for everyone working there. People live day by day for food; eating well meant a good mood!
So often, when some rude guys tried to flirt with her because she was pretty, they didn’t even need Xie Yunshu to deal with them personally—at night, Li Shengjian and a few brothers would handle it smoothly.
Qiangzi usually waited until last to eat. After Li Shengjian left one day, Qiangzi hesitated before standing up.
“Can I have my food packed in a disposable box tomorrow? Half meat, half veggies, one scoop each?” After saying this, he shyly took out two yuan: “That’s all I have.”
Xie Yunshu glanced at him. Was he craving meat or getting greedy? Usually, he bought one-yuan buns and just ate the free vegetables. Now he wanted both meat and veggies for two yuan?
Seeing Xie Yunshu’s cold look, Qiangzi tried negotiating: “Just this once, okay? And bring me a pair of disposable chopsticks…”
Xie Yunshu almost lost her temper. She snapped: “If you can’t afford meat, then shut your mouth! Using disposable boxes and chopsticks, acting like some office official?”
Qiangzi’s dark face instantly turned bright red. Alone, he had thick skin; in a crowd, he valued his pride and so always lingered to eat last. Nobody knew what nonsense had gotten into him that day.
“Tomorrow, I’ll just eat buns—no veggies or pickles…”
His voice was timid and low, afraid of being overheard and laughed at.
Xie Yunshu stared at him a moment, then suddenly asked: “You want disposable boxes and chopsticks with both meat and veggies—who are you bringing that food home for?”
Qiangzi froze and scratched his head. “Just trying it out.”
Trying what?
Xie Yunshu couldn’t guess. Seeing he didn’t want to say more, she stopped asking, took out the box and chopsticks, packed the food, and handed it over with a cold snort: “Don’t make it a habit!”
Qiangzi grabbed the food and ran quickly inside the alley, not even taking the bun or rice. Xie Yunshu felt confused.
About half an hour later, all the food was sold out. Qiangzi came out excited, his face beaming: “Yunshu sister, it worked! This thing worked out!”