??Chapter 670: 670. Two tea eggs_1
Chapter 670: 670. Two tea eggs_1
Zhu Xin’s egg successfully sparked a saliva battle in the dorm—literal saliva.
The subsequent result was the sudden spike in sales at Song Tan’s family store. It was fortunate that the packaging of the marinade bags never stopped, restocked as soon as they sold out… otherwise, there might have been a shortage again.
Take the heat-relief tea, for example; before the Yuxing Grass was ready, hadn’t it run out of stock again?
Now, Tian Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead and finally allowed himself to put down the hoe. Tian Tian at his side kept reminding him:
“Tian Ye, stop working. The teacher already said you should go to class by nine, and it’s already past that.”
Tian Ye drank so water and now at the pond’s edge, he squatted down to help his sister dig up Yuxing Grass:
“No rush. I’ll work a bit more. Their tea bags are out of stock; we need to act fast.”
Seeing that Tian Tian was about to nag again, he added hastily, “The teachers are communicating with the construction team about the water channels and roads today. They’re probably still busy.”
Tian Tian then let it be.
Working in the scorching heat was tough, but it paid well, and most importantly, it was close to ho; a fifteen-minute bike ride was all it took. These days, she was full of enthusiasm every day.
Now with Song Tan’s family short on Yuxing Grass, she worked until her vision blurred before heading ho each day, and she heard that after so ti, she could even help with other tasks!
While putting the Yuxing Grass into a basket, Tian Ye hesitated before asking:
“Sis, I heard their family is hiring a chef for the construction site, four thousand yuan a month… do you think Mom could take the job?”
This sumr break, Tian Ye had matured a lot compared to the past, bringing a clearer plan for the family into focus.
His sister could earn two hundred yuan a day and there weren’t many expenses at ho. Although he hadn’t made any money himself, every evening when he did his exercises, he noticed an improvent in his English grades and even had a clearer idea of what to study.
The tuition for public high schools was not expensive; a few hundred yuan a month was enough for living expenses. Just two more years of perseverance, and once he got into university, he could work sumr jobs. If you work hard enough, you could cover living expenses and tuition…
Although he needed to plan step by step, Tian Ye never felt life had as much promise as now; he could even calculate that in a few years, they would be able to pay off their debts!
Then again…
He pursed his lips, looking at Tian Tian, whose skin was even darker from the sun and cheeks red with heat.
The family had burdened his sister’s marriage prospects, but… he would work even harder in the future!
Four thousand yuan just for cooking; knowing their parents’ personalities, it was hard not to be tempted.
But Tian Tian shook her head.
“Don’t think it’s just cooking. The weather is so hot, and cooking for twenty people isn’t an easy job. Mom’s health hasn’t fully recovered, and though she’s anxious to earn money, it’s not sothing to rush into.”
“You mustn’t bring this up when we get ho.”
Tian Ye fell silent for a while before guiltily saying, “I just thought Mom would be happy knowing there’s work to do…”
“I know…” Tian Tian was about to say sothing when suddenly soone called out from the mountain:
“It’s ten o’clock, aren’t you going back yet?”
It was Xiaosun, the excavator operator, Sun Ziqiang.
Tian Tian wiped away her sweat and checked the ti: indeed, it was ten o’clock. But she felt okay today, so she called back loudly:
“Brother Xiaosun, this work isn’t tiring for , I’ll head back later.”
Sun Ziqiang, who had just co down from the excavator and was almost stead silly by the heat, thought: …
What work isn’t tiring? Just breathing under the sun in this weather is hard.
He clicked his tongue impatiently, “Co back when you’re told, why all this fuss? Song Tan specifically instructed
to tell you not to stay in the fields too long.”
“If you get heatstroke and ruin your health, it’s not worth it—you don’t want to be saddled with illness at such a young age, do you?”
Tian Tian was about to say sothing else, but when she heard the words “illness,” Tian Ye imdiately pulled her up and then snatched the basket from her side:
“Exactly! Sis, let’s go ho!”
Tian Tian couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “Let’s go, let’s go, but let
rinse the mud off this Yuxing Grass by the pond first.”
Doing this would make it easier and save water when they cleaned it at ho later.
While the siblings were talking, Sun Ziqiang, who had been anxiously waiting for them to move for half the day on the mountain, also strode down:
“I told you to leave, why won’t you listen?”
Once he saw the Yuxing Grass in her basket, covered with mud, he understood. He grabbed the basket from Tian Ye, “Hurry up. Finish up and then go ho.”
With his strength and experience in hard labor, he quickly reached the pond’s edge carrying the basket and without a word, dumped the Yuxing Grass back into the water.
The three of them squatted there, scrubbing and washing, and before long, they fished out a fresh, glistening basketful again.
Tian Tian felt a bit embarrassed:
“I’m sorry for troubling you, your own work is hard enough without having to help us.”
“What’s this?” With her being so polite, Sun Ziqiang felt sowhat awkward. He scratched his head:
“Every household has its tough tis. Your family might be in debt, but you’re good people, and debt can always be paid off eventually, right? You can’t rush these things. If you rush and ruin your health, that’s a real loss.”
As he spoke, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag containing two tea eggs—
“Here, Song Tan sent these for you to eat.”
Ah?
Tian Tian was genuinely touched, “We…”
Her salary was not low, and Tian Ye even got tutoring for free, and now they were accepting things from others… Those two eggs might not seem like much, but Tian Tian had seen the packet of marinade at their shop—twenty yuan a pop, with the cost of a tea egg starting at two yuan!
Thinking of this, she felt even more that working hard was the right thing to do.
After hesitating for a mont, and seeing Sun Ziqiang’s impatient urging look, she reached out and took the two tea eggs.
As they walked, she and Tian Ye divided the eggs between them. Peeling the shell, the light brown marbled patterns adorned the tender egg white, and when they took a bite, the rich marinade flavor lded with the taste of the egg, satisfying their empty stomachs and seeming to ease their slight dizziness and blurred vision.
Taking a gulp from the water cup in their basket, that feeling of fullness was just too wonderful!
After all, the hardworking siblings had gotten up at dawn to grab a bite before heading to Song Tan’s, then worked up until noon before heading back…
Indeed, the morning’s hard labor had made them quite hungry.
Rembering this act of kindness, Tian Tian made a special point of thanking Song Tan:
“Song Tan, you are really kind… Thank you for the tea eggs.”
“But, don’t send any more tomorrow. I didn’t think this through before. We’ll cook so eggs at ho tomorrow morning to bring over. Our own stuff is expensive, it’s a waste to give it to us.”
Song Tan: …????
And then seeing Sun Ziqiang’s anxious face, making all sorts of expressions at her side, she instantly understood.
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