mijobooks Chapter 184 Grilled Cold Noodles by Xia Qing
Chapter 184 Grilled Cold Noodles by Xia Qing
Xia remained silent, pointed to the bucket of winter melon tea, and handed over the bottle, her eyes filled with a cautious pleading.
The volunteer quickly took the bottle, turned on the tap, and filled it to the brim.
Not content with that, they filled another cup with a disposable paper cup and handed it over as well.
Xia was a little surprised. She took the paper cup with both hands, and the moment her fingertips touched the cup, she visibly relaxed.
She bowed to the volunteer and quickly walked across the street.
Chen Yuan sipped his winter melon tea while munching on a steamed bun.
The girl walked to a simple, secondhand tricycle. Inside the back of the tricycle was a stall selling grilled cold noodles. The griddle was gleaming, and the sauce jars were neatly arranged. Next to it was a faded sunshade.
Besides him, there was also an elderly woman with gray hair, who was hunched over picking up the bamboo skewers on the ground.
Xia handed the winter melon tea to the old lady's lips and pointed towards the tea barrel. The old lady patted her hand, a smile in her eyes, and the two sat under the shade of the tree, sipping the tea slowly.
The volunteer who had just finished refilling his mung bean soup looked in the direction Chen Yuan was looking.
"This little girl's name is Xia Qing, the 'Qing' in 'green grass'."
"This little girl has had a tough life. She was born with hearing impairment and can't speak properly. Her parents passed away early, and she was raised by her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother is old and her legs are not strong. Now this little girl is the one who runs this stall."
"This girl is so frugal, she can't even bear to buy a bottle of water. She usually brings her own food and water, but today she probably ran out of water and it was too hot, so she mustered up the courage to ask us for something to drink."
A female volunteer nearby echoed this sentiment after hearing it.
"Her maternal grandmother is very particular and never lets her take advantage of us. She even refuses the water we offer for free."
"It really doesn't matter, it's just a bottle of water. Besides, if you don't drink water in this hot weather, you'll get heatstroke."
Chen Yuan listened to their back-and-forth conversation and fell silent.
No wonder the little girl didn't say a word; that's why.
At the same time, Chen Yuan also noticed other people setting up stalls near his breakfast shop.
So he took the initiative to speak.
"I wasn't prepared today. How about this, starting tomorrow, our shop will serve winter melon tea and mung bean soup. Everyone here, not just tourists, can drink them."
"It's getting hotter and hotter, so be careful not to get heatstroke."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding volunteers immediately became excited. One of the older volunteers, who looked somewhat like a leader, immediately spoke up.
"That's great, but we can't let you pay for it. I'll submit an application to the higher-ups later."
Chen Yuan said, "Sure, but could you please apply for permission to use ice? My shop's refrigerator is only so big, it can't freeze much ice."
"No problem, there are several milk tea and beverage shops on this street, they definitely have ice, we can ask them for some," the volunteer said.
Chen Yuan had been busy all morning and ate a few bites of food to fill his stomach.
Because the sun was too strong, he decided to drive back later.
He started chatting with a retired teacher surnamed Zhou who was over fifty years old.
Teacher Zhou was thinking about Xia Qing, so she quickly steered the conversation towards her.
"This young lady is really something, but she's a really nice person and incredibly efficient. She grills cold noodles, mixes sauces, calculates bills, and collects money—she doesn't need anyone's help and has never made a mistake."
"She has a good temper. Even when customers are in a hurry, she doesn't get angry. She always has a smile on her face."
"Most importantly, this kid has a lot of backbone."
Teacher Zhou paused, lowered her voice, but her gaze remained fixed on Xia Qing, who was not far away.
"The neighborhood committee wanted to apply for poverty relief for her a while ago, but she refused. We retired folks wanted to chip in to buy her a new stove, but she absolutely refused to accept that either."
"She said she's grown up now, can earn money, and can't take other people's things for free. Where can you find such a good kid these days?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan suddenly understood the implied meaning in the other person's words.
He was hesitating about whether to help when the system notification sounded again.
[Congratulations, host, for unlocking a side quest.]
[Target: Xia Qing, owner of a grilled cold noodle stall.]
[Help the task recipients stabilize their livelihoods.]
[Condition for achievement: Daily profit exceeds 1000 yuan.]
A thousand yuan?
Before Chen Yuan could even process the number, the system suddenly sent another notification.
[Note: Please choose the intervention method carefully.]
[Accept side quests?]
[Reward: Random.]
After thinking it over, Chen Yuan decided to accept the mission.
For him, helping to increase daily profits to over 1000 yuan is not a difficult task at all.
Given the current traffic flow on his street, as long as he attracts customers or even does a bundled sale, making 1000 yuan is not a problem at all.
But at the same time, the system's prompts also lingered in his mind.
Choose the intervention method carefully.
In other words, you can't hurt the other person's self-esteem, so...
Just as Chen Yuan was still thinking, Teacher Zhou spoke.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm such a chatterbox, I just start talking and I don't know where I'm going with the conversation. Sorry, Xiao Chen."
As she spoke, Teacher Zhou abruptly changed the subject.
"How's your dad's back? I heard he's a teacher too. Being a teacher is tough. I've had a herniated disc for years."
"It's alright, I've already had surgery. How's your back?"
"My back is just so-so. As long as I don't lift heavy things or do a lot of manual labor, it's fine."
"Oh dear, being a teacher must be so hard. You need to take good care of yourselves, especially at your age. You must pay more attention to your health."
"Yes, yes, that's true."
While chatting, Chen Yuan observed Xia Qing's stall.
Very few people came.
Chen Yuan also witnessed Xia Qing's entire production process.
Just then, Zhang Liping, an old neighbor, arrived.
Zhang Liping is known in the neighborhood for her warm heart, kindness, and love of helping others.
When volunteers were recruited, she naturally couldn't stay idle, so she came.
Chen Yuan called out to him, handed him a cup of winter melon tea, and said in a calm tone.
"Sister Zhang, I just noticed that grilled cold noodle stall. It's quite clean. The griddle is sparkling clean, and the sauce bottles aren't as dirty as some other places. I even saw her grandma picking up bamboo skewers from the ground."
"Oh, you're absolutely right! Boss Chen, you can see it too, that kid is indeed clean and efficient."
Zhang Liping took the water, her eyes sparkling.
"It's her mouth... you know, it doesn't attract customers. Otherwise, there would be more than just these few people."