"I will report your situation to Coach Ni as it is. It’s up to him to decide whether you stay or leave." Wang Ke gleefully criticized Xiao Xian in front of over twenty people, and the five hundred post-training shots were also changed to practicing dribbling and basic layups.
Xiao Xian considered the suggestion from the substitute player and decided not to show off her dunking skills yet. Practicing dribbling and layups were not bad either. Keep a low profile, she thought, and wait until Coach Ni returned. However, Zhang Yiyi seed very worried, constantly teaching Xiao Xian so tips for practicing basics that she had learned at the sports school.
It wasn’t until 5:30 pm, both famished and weak, that they finished practicing. Xiao Xian could barely ensure she didn’t lose control of the ball while dribbling. As for shooting, Zhang Yiyi also said that shooting relies not only on accuracy but also on touch, an area where Xiao Xian still lacked.
The canteen had run out of food early, and they still had to catch the 6:30 pm evening self-study session. They had no choice but to eat on the comrcial street.
Due to the rush, Zhang Yiyi didn’t pick restaurants deliberately. She didn’t squeeze into crowded places but chose a newly opened "Sichuan food stall" run by a middle-aged couple, around forty, from Sichuan.
"I’m starving. There used to be a master chef in Tianjin who cooked delicious spicy dishes," said Zhang Yiyi, looking at the nu. The small shop on the comrcial street wasn’t big, having only six tables in total. The tables were all made from rough wood, sanded smooth on the edges, and seed to be handcrafted by the male owner without polish, giving off a pleasant wood scent.
A nu was posted on the wall, listing stir-fried rice cakes, noodles, and a variety of small stir-fried dishes.
In other restaurants, there were regular custors having a good ti, but this couple’s newly opened place looked dull, and they hadn’t learned to promote by handing out flyers outside. One was squatting down washing chili peppers, the other boiling prepared spiced at. Their shop seed quite deserted.
"Boss, can you make sour soup fish?" Xiao Xian, just finished with sports, rembered the sour soup fish she ate a few years ago in Bai Family Ancient Town after getting a whiff of the freshly cut chili peppers.
The boss’s wife cutting chili peppers looked up, her nose red; raw chili pepper is pungent, "Young student, we run a Sichuan food stall, Guizhou dishes won’t taste authentic even if we make them. How about you try our Sichuan style boiled fish? We Sichuanese cook it really well. If you like, I can have my husband prepare a big pot for you. You don’t have to order anything else. One pot of fish will be enough for three bowls of rice."
Hearing that there was boiled fish to eat, and persuaded by the boss’s wife’s straightforward manner, Zhang Yiyi ordered a pot. The boss’s wife casually chatted with them.
It turned out that this couple’s daughter was accepted into a university in Beijing this year. Both parents had been farming at ho until a few years ago. When their only daughter ca to Beijing, they decided to move to Beijing with her. Unfortunately, with low education and being of an awkward age, they found no one wanted them for employnt. Later, they heard that a food stall was being transferred on Sacred Heart Middle School’s comrcial street, so they took it over. Today was just the second day of their opening.
"My child used to love the boiled fish her dad cooked the most. The chili peppers and Szechuan peppercorns we use in the shop are brought from our hotown. They taste amazing when fried in oil," the boss’s wife put a bowl of freshly made chili sauce in front of Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi.
This was not the artificial color-infused chili sauce from ordinary restaurants, but oil-fried, leaving the chili peppers dark red and glossy with seeds floating and sinking, aromatic and pungent.
"Boss’s wife, did you make this chili sauce here?" Xiao Xian looked at the simple Sichuanese couple and was reminded of Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin from Ge Village. The simplicity of mountain people was sothing even the chili scent couldn’t conceal.
"Of course not. People here in the north aren’t used to eating chilis. If we made it here, passing students and teachers would be in tears from the pungency. We brought it from our hotown. This afternoon, my husband was still considering whether to learn from the people in the south and add so sweetness to the spice to make it more acceptable," the boss’s wife shook her head, denying it. They’ve rented the place for half a year, and if it continued like this, they couldn’t sustain it.
"Don’t worry about choking others. Those who don’t eat spicy won’t co to this area. If they like spicy, the sll of your chilis will attract them like fishy sll attracts a cat," Xiao Xian thought that just like the fragrance of good wine isn’t afraid of a hidden alley, authentic chili needs to be tasted by those who appreciate it. Otherwise, waiting here for repeat custors could take ages.
"It’s so spicy," Zhang Yiyi took a small spoonful and tasted it, her eyebrows and nose twisting together from the spiciness, "but it’s very authentic. My dad loves spicy food the most. If he knew there was such an authentic food stall here, he would definitely co and try it."
"Don’t change it. If you change it, it will just be like any other shop on the street," the pot of boiled fish was already served, with fiery red chili oil, white fish at, and an enticing aroma that instantly whetted the appetite of Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi. Without hesitation, their chopsticks went at it, and in less than half an hour, both had consud three bowls of rice, and the fish was devoured cleanly.
"We’ll co back to eat tomorrow and bring Lin Xiang and Lin Ya too," Zhang Yiyi said contently, burping. Xiao Xian nodded in agreent.
In a few days, the word had spread that the Sichuan food stall on the comrcial street made authentic boiled fish. The pungent sll of frying their chili and peppercorns could fill the whole street, but the people who loved spicy food loved it even more.
Business at the food stall was booming. But the couple rembered the goodwill of Xiao Xian and her friends, and each ti they saw them, they would generously add more to their servings.
Finally, it was the end of the month, just past 4 pm, when Feng Xing and Zhuo Feng were already waiting in that small Alto car outside the gate of Sacred Heart Middle School.
Xiao Xian got into the car and saw Zhuo Feng’s face was pale, and looking at Feng Xing, noticed a few scratches under his right ear. Could it be that the couple had a quarrel and even ca to blows? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to co to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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