Chapter 379: Chapter 366: Acquaintances, Three of Them

Watching others enjoy the delicious food, passers-by couldn’t help but want to give it a try.

But the long tables and benches were finite. You’d have to wait for others to finish before your turn. Everyone lined up at the door; and there were some folks who didn’t mind eating while squatting on the side, just as happy.

Not full with one bowl? No problem, you can order a large one.

The regular portion costs two coins, but for three coins, you could get the amount of two bowls in a large one.

Still not satisfied? No problem either. There’s Guokui available in the shop, to munch on and fill up your stomach.

Can’t handle spicy? That’s absolutely fine. The clear soup with river shrimp is also delicious in its own way.

In short, on the first day of operation, the hot and sour noodle stall was bustling, with Zhang Xiangrong and others busy beyond description.

Even with Zhuang Qingning around to help, there was hardly any time for rest.

This situation lasted until the afternoon when the crowd at the market started to disperse, only then did the hustle at the noodle stall subside a bit.

Zhang Xiangrong thought that while money was important, health couldn’t be neglected by working themselves to exhaustion. So, they closed up and decided to restart in the late afternoon.

Mrs. Liu had already prepared dinner in the backyard. Small wontons, filled with river shrimp and minced meat, were ready for everyone to enjoy.

She scooped a generous portion for Zhuang Qingning, “Eat more, I see you’re losing weight from all this busyness.”

“It’s not that I’ve lost weight, I’ve grown taller which is why I appear leaner.” Zhuang Qingning received the bowl and took a bite, “As for the wonton, no one makes it better than Auntie. I can’t replicate this taste.”

“Oh, you flatter me. You’re just trying to make this old woman happy.”

Zhuang Qingning being able to make delicious tofu and teach Zhang Xiangrong how to make hot and sour noodles and Guokui, Mrs Liu has every reason to believe it’s just courteous words from her.

Even though she knew, she was still very pleased deep inside.

While chatting, Mrs Liu added a couple more wontons to Zhuang Qingning’s bowl, and then added a bit more soup.

To not let down Mrs Liu’s kindness, Zhuang Qingning drank all the soup and wonton from the bowl before finally setting it down.

After finishing the wontons, she took a short break and had a chat with Mrs Liu and others before heading home.

There was still some time before Zhuang Sifu would deliver the goods, so Zhuang Qingning decided to look around the street to see if there was any bullock cart she could hitch a ride on.

She had just stepped out of the gate and before she could find a bullock cart, she recognized a familiar face.

In fact, three of them.

One of them, with a fierce face, was holding another man by the collar and roaring, “Hurry up and give me the money. If you don’t hand it over, you’ll see what this fist tastes like!”

The man being gripped by the collar was trembling out of fear, his legs shaking so much he could barely stand. After a while, he stammered in response, “I’ll give, I’ll give…please spare me…”

With that, he reached into his pocket for his money pouch.

“That’s more like it.” Hu Da snorted coldly, releasing his grip on the man’s collar and pushing him away.

Hu Da was a big burly guy and the force of his push sent the man tumbling onto the ground. He took a while to get up and from his pouch, he took out two pieces of silver, hands trembling as he raised them over his head to give them to Hu Da.

Hu Da took the silver pieces, weighed it in his hand and satisfied, handed them over to Hu Er standing beside him. Hu Da spat on the ground and shook his fist, “Next time you don’t come clean with the money, you’ll pay with your head!” “Yes, yes, yes.” The man looked at Hu Da’s fist, and his face turned white. He nodded hastily, backed away a couple of steps with a smiling face, then quickly turned around and ran away.

“Hmph, the bastard runs faster than a rabbit.” Hu Da grunted.

Hu San nodded in agreement, “Exactly, the rabbit doesn’t run as fast as him.”

“Whatever, as long as we got the money back…” Hu Er bit the silver a few times to confirm its authenticity. His face lit up with a smile as he was about to put the money away. However, he was taken aback when he lifted his head and saw Zhuang Qingning standing not too far away.

“What’s wrong, Hu Er? Did the silver piece hurt your teeth?” said Hu Da, patting Hu Er on the shoulder and laughing.

“He’s probably thinking about where he’s going to spend it, he’s so excited he doesn’t know what to say…” Hu San chuckled, flashing a glance at Zhuang Qingning and the smile on his face froze and then completely disappeared. He stood there quietly, not knowing what to do.

Seeing Hu Er and Hu San’s sudden silence and their pale faces, Hu Da was a bit displeased and growled, “What’s wrong with you two? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost…”

Oh no! Not only did they bump into the person they least wanted to see, but he also cursed her as soon as he opened his mouth.

Today was not going to end well.

Hu Er, feeling miserable, tugged at Hu Da’s sleeve, “Big brother, check out who’s behind you…”

“Check what? Even if I’ve looked behind, what could she…?” Hu Da grumbled at Hu Er and turned around. As he saw Zhuang Qingning raising her eyebrows, the dissatisfaction on his face was replaced by a bootlicking smile, “Manager Zhuang, it’s you. What can we do to help you?”

“Nothing.” Zhuang Qingning casually responded. “You guys can go about your business.”

With that said, she saw a bullock cart seemingly ready to pull out. So, she headed that way to ask if the cart’s route conveniently aligned with her journey.

“Ah, yes, we’re busy…”

Before Hu Da could finish, his words got stuck in his throat.

Hold on…

What did Manager Zhuang mean by that? Did she think that…

Hu Da slapped his forehead, then quickly trotted off after Zhuang Qingning.

Hu Er and Hu San were most afraid of seeing Zhuang Qingning. But when they saw Hu Da giving chase, they hastily followed him.

“Hey, Manager Zhuang.” Hu Da quickly caught up to Zhuang Qingning, with a forced smile on his face, “Manager Zhuang, that…that thing just now was not what you thought it was…”

“It’s okay, whatever goes is fine.” Zhuang Qingning was more concerned about the bullock cart going away, and had no interest in dealing with Hu Da at the

moment.