The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 36 The taste of home
...Every taste of hometown is a unique memory, which contains people's attachment and longing for their hometown; in this land, every kind of food carries family emotions and affection.

…Excerpt from "A Bite of China," Episode 2: The Taste of Home…

The area that Hu Biao planned to set up his stall was an alley in Majuqiao.

He naturally had his own considerations in choosing this place as his future business location.

About a hundred meters to the left of here, there is a middle school of medium size, where most of the students are day students.

The students who go to and from evening self-study every night are a pretty good source of customers.

In addition, there are several old residential areas in the surrounding area, where various white-collar workers and men who work daily wages live, and there are quite a few of them.

Anyway, there aren't many people in this alley during the day, but it becomes very lively in the evening.

Look! Hu Biao rode his tricycle and hurried here just as it was getting dark. He found that many mobile stalls had already started business early.

There are mobile phone films, barbecue, fried rice, fried noodles, braised food, juice, milk tea, ring tossing, and three pairs of socks for ten yuan. It can be said that there is everything. It is a completely spontaneously formed small night market.

Not daring to delay, Hu Biao quickly began to look for a place to set up his stall.

Unfortunately, we arrived a little late and the good spots were gone. Even when there were some empty seats and we were about to stop, the stall owner next to us was shouting that the place was occupied.

After being driven away several times in a row, Hu Biao felt somewhat annoyed.

I simply went a long way forward and set up my stall in a corner about 20 to 30 meters away from the nearest stall in the night market, where the street lights were broken.

Isn't it just a lack of lights? Qian Wei also installed a few rechargeable LED lights on his car, which do not affect business when they are turned on.

While Hu Biao was busy looking for a place to put the simple foldable tables and plastic benches on the sidewalk behind the stall.

Suddenly, I heard a sentence:
"Hey! Isn't this Hu Biao? Why are you thinking of doing this?"

Hu Biao turned his head and saw three young men who were also doing temporary work at Majuqiao.

Hu Biao didn't know their names because many people here hang out, but not all of them use their ID cards. He only knew the nicknames of the three of them, namely Four Eyes, Iron Rooster, and Big Monkey.

Because we are all young, and the key is that we have similar ideas about lying down, so generally speaking, we have a good relationship. We occasionally get together for a meal and go to the Internet cafe to play games together.

Facing the inquiries of these former lying partners, Hu Biao gave a half-truthful explanation:

"There are more and more people doing odd jobs in Majuqiao now, and it's getting harder and harder to find work. I'm pretty good at making oil-splashed noodles and roujiamo, so I'm planning to try selling them for a few days."

Although he said so, Hu Biao thought of the future when he said it, and there was a light in his eyes unconsciously.

After hearing Hu Biao's explanation, and more importantly, seeing the light in this kid's eyes, the expressions of the three people immediately became complicated. They were filled with all kinds of emotions, including annoyance, envy, disbelief, etc., and even they couldn't tell what they were.

But in the end, Four Eyes yelled out:
"What the hell? How many people make a fortune from this kind of small business? They just make a little money by overdrawing their bodies, and then when they get old, they spend all the money on medical treatment. If they eat and spend everything, good health is no better than anything else.

It just so happens that I have the money today, more than 800 yuan.

Why don't we go to Lao Ma's restaurant and have some lamb rib hotpot, each with a few bottles of wine? Afterwards, we'll go online together, and we'll cover the internet fees, cigarettes, drinks, and snacks."

If it were in the past, Hu Biao would have run away quickly if he had such a free opportunity, but now he has no interest at all.

He didn't dare to say that he understood the mentality of all the odd jobs in Majuqiao, but he did know the mentality of some people:
Although they talk all kinds of nonsense, which guy lying down doesn't know in his heart that this is not a good thing?
It's just that I have lost my courage and can't cheer up.

Now when I see someone trying to climb out of the mud, I instinctively want to grab that person and continue to lie down and play dirty with me.

It’s just like when Hu Biao heard someone wanted to quit smoking, he would always enthusiastically give him cigarettes.

Hu Biao shook his head and replied with a smile, "No! I have to get up early tomorrow to buy groceries and noodles, so I won't go. You guys eat well and have fun."

"You idiot, you don't know how to take advantage of the opportunity."

After the stingy man cursed, he left with the other two people cursing.

Faced with the scolding from these people, Hu Biao had no intention of refutation, because he knew that he could definitely climb out of this quagmire with his own hands and skills.

Then, just when Hu Biao was full of confidence, he heard a sentence:
"You look a little unfamiliar, young man. You just came here to set up a stall today. You know the rules, right? You have to take away the garbage when the stall closes, and you have to pay a sanitation fee of ten yuan every day." Turning around, he saw an old lady wearing a red armband looking at him.

After Hu Biao came to his senses, he slapped his head and suddenly felt a severe headache.

Ten yuan a day for sanitation is not expensive, and he is willing to pay it. The key is that he has not yet had time to open the business, so how can he afford ten yuan?

Three minutes later, after Hu Biao's nodding farewell, the aunt who promised to come back later to collect the money left with a look of disgrace on her face and a look of disgrace on her nose.

Hu Biao took a deep breath and glanced at the price written on the car window:
The price of plain noodles with oil splash is 12 yuan, the price of noodles with meat is 18 yuan, and the price of roujiamo is 12 yuan. For a roadside stall, these prices are definitely high.

There is no other way! In order to make the food taste good, he buys the freshest and best ingredients in the market.

Moreover, for example, the braised meat in Roujiamo, one pound of fresh meat only makes up seven taels of braised meat, but he puts at least two taels in a Roujiamo, which is the real deal.

If it is sold too cheaply, there will be no profit at all.

More importantly, he firmly believed that the skills he learned from the old squad leader were definitely worth the price.

Fortunately, he still had enough confidence in selling it, so he immediately used his secret weapon: he opened the lid of the small pot of braised meat that was placed on a small liquefied gas stove.

Suddenly, the long alley was filled with the aroma of various foods.

This meaty aroma is still the most overbearing among them...

*******
"Hey! What smells so good? It's so familiar. It reminds me of the taste of my mom's stew when I was a kid."

When Huang Weimin smelled this odor, he instinctively stopped and walked towards a fried noodle stall he often visited on weekdays.

Ignoring the stall owner's forced smile, I continued walking down the alley following the aroma of meat.

After walking for a few minutes and exiting the night market, I saw a stall I had never seen before, selling oil-splashed noodles and roujiamo. My eyes were immediately filled with indescribable surprise.

It's a surprise, because Huang Weimin, 35 years old this year, is still single. He is a real Chang'an native and grew up eating these noodles.

Although the capital city is very big, it is not easy to live in it, and his salary of 20,000 seems like a lot.

Even though I live in Majuqiao to save on rent, my workplace is within the Third Ring Road, which means I spend a long time commuting every day and don't have much left every month.

In order to earn more overtime pay, I haven't been home for more than two years and have not tasted the real food of my hometown.

After taking a look at the prices, Huang Weimin felt that the stall was not cheap at all. He said to the handsome young boss:

"I want a bowl of noodles with vegetable oil and a steamed bun with meat. I want chili pepper when I cut the meat."

After sitting down, he was surprised to find that although these stools and tables were the cheapest second-hand goods, they were extremely clean and without any grease.

The young boss didn't say anything and just got busy.

The movements of rolling and cutting noodles were incredibly neat and tidy, showing the demeanor of a master chef; when the noodles were being cooked, he took out a large piece of meat and chopped it up with a "dang dang" sound, which was full of rhythm.

Especially after the noodles are cooked and added with various vegetables and chili powder.

When a spoonful of hot oil was poured on the noodle for three times in a row, the sizzling sound gave Huang Weimin the illusion that he was sitting in a time-honored noodle shop in his hometown.

When the noodles and roujiamo were served, he couldn't wait to take a bite of the noodles first.

Then a 35-year-old man who worked thousands of miles away from home burst into tears.

It wasn't because Hu Biao added onions to the noodles, nor was it because the noodles tasted more fragrant than the meat. It could be said that these were the best oil-splashed noodles he had ever eaten in his life.

Instead, Huang Weimin tasted the flavor of his hometown.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to Guanzhong, to the yellow land where he was born and raised. He missed home, his parents...

　PS: Tomorrow's plot is about traveling through time again
　　
　
(End of this chapter)