Departure

Zhuang Zhuang enthusiastically went to prepare the fire. Xiaoguo poured the soup into a pot, and added all the noodles and fish balls when the soup started boiling. She also rinsed two stalks of baby bok choy and put them into the boiling soup. The greens were taken out shortly and served in a bowl. Zhuang Zhuang ran into the dining room with chopsticks in his hands.

At the dining table, Zhuang Zhuang blew hard at his food. Without waiting for the food to cool completely, he started wolfing down his meal. The potato starch noodles were smooth and springy. Every single strand of noodles had fully absorbed the rich flavor of the bone soup. Zhuang Zhuang picked up a fish ball and stuffed it whole into his mouth. It was absolutely delicious.

Xiaoguo added a large spoonful of chili oil into her bowl of soup, and took a sip of the broth. The flavors in her mouth were delightful. This was the taste she had been thinking about. Xiaoguo eagerly took a few more mouthfuls of soup. When they had finished eating, they were both drenched in sweat. Xiaoguo stopped Zhuang Zhuang from washing the dishes and told him to cool himself down before leaving the dining room. He could catch a cold if he were to go out while perspiring.

Zhuang Zhuang climbed into bed and thought about asking his mother for a story. However, he stopped himself when he was reminded of the fact that she had to wake up early the next day. He sat obediently beside Xiaoguo, leaning against her. Very soon, he fell asleep.

Xiaoguo patted Zhuang Zhuang till he fell asleep completely. Shortly after, she dozed off too.

It was still dark when Xiaoguo got up the next morning. She went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Zhuang Zhuang. When breakfast was made, she kept the food warm by leaving it on the stove over a small flame. Judging from the amount of food she had made, there should be enough for lunch as well. Before leaving the house, Xiaoguo fed the donkey, loaded all the food onto the cart, and locked the door. It was still dark when she set off.

She had initially wanted to send Zhuang Zhuang to Mrs. Yang’s house, but Zhuang Zhuang insisted on waiting for her at home. Xiaoguo had no choice but to let him be. Although she was a little worried, she knew that Zhuang Zhuang was a sensible little boy. He had promised to stay home, eat on time, and wait for her return. Hearing his words of assurances, she left the house feeling more at ease. She did think of bringing Zhuang Zhuang with her, but if she got too busy, she might not have time to look out for him at all. She didn’t want anything to happen to him.

Xiaoguo rode the donkey cart to the market. There were not many people around at this time, and there were only a few stalls. The last time she was here, she had found out that anyone could set up a stall here. One just had to come early to reserve a spot. Xiaoguo didn’t stop the cart and continued cruising around the marketplace.

Before Xiaoguo left her house for the marketplace, she had gathered everything she needed with the exception of cutlery. There weren’t that many bowls at home, and even if there were, she didn’t want to bring those for everyone to use. It wasn’t realistic to buy them either. After paying for the donkey cart, she had no money left for anything else.

After thinking for some time, Xiaoguo recalled a place that she had passed by the last time. Mrs. Yang had said that it was the most populated area other than the market place. The families there were quite well-off. Xiaoguo decided to give it a try. If she were to sell the noodles there, the villagers could just bring their own cutlery to her stall then bring the noodles back home to eat. This would solve the problem of having no cutlery and seating for her customers. It was killing two birds with one stone.

She arrived at the place after a while. The villagers were still asleep and the street was quiet. Xiaoguo stopped the cart and carried down the big pot and stove. She lit a fire and began heating up the soup. In a short time, the aroma of the soup started wafting out. Xiaoguo lifted the pot lid to allow the inviting smell to travel through the alley ways. Then she took her time to prepare the other ingredients. She was confident of her soup base. She had added her secret mix of spices and the taste was absolutely divine.

Xiaoguo waited patiently for her customers to arrive. She took out the noodles and loosened the bundles methodically. Even though they were made the night before, the noodles strands were not clumpy at all.

After a short while, the dark row of houses were lit up with flickering candles simultaneously. Standing by the donkey cart, Xiaoguo could hear some sounds from around the corner of the street. A small smile tugged at her lips.

Here we go.

She thought to herself.

After a moment of silence, a woman appeared from around the corner. She walked purposefully towards the donkey cart—her eyes sizing up everything in front of her. She looked at Xiaoguo and the pot, but her eyes finally settled on the latter. “Oh my,” she exclaimed to herself. She could smell this from her home. Now that she was up close, it smelled even better.

“Ahem, little woman, what are you selling?”

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