The lonely foodie

On the day of the winter solstice, according to the custom of the southerners, they eat mutton and drink mutton soup, which can not only nourish and maintain health, but also keep warm.

Old man Fang planned to go to the vegetable market to buy mutton early in the morning. "Eating mutton and mutton soup on the winter solstice day will keep you from getting cold all winter." He shook his head and said.

In the past, the old man seldom celebrated festivals, and it was boring to live alone.Last Christmas, he spent Christmas with Dajian Dakang, Erha and Persian cat. He bought a super-valued family bucket at KFC.

But this year is different. There are so many things living in the house all at once, making their brains hurt from the quarrel, and they have to gag their mouths with food all the time.

With hands behind their backs, head shaking, humming a hometown opera, they leisurely went to the vegetable market.

Spring has flowers and autumn has moon

Cool breeze in summer and snow in winter

Don't worry about your own business

It's a good time in the world

The flowers in spring and the snow in winter are not in the mood to look at Lao Qi. He is very sad now. Mala Tang’s business is going from bad to worse. There is an unlucky ostrich behind him chasing after him. Thinking about life at the door of the porridge shop.

Fat sister was busy with breakfast, and seeing Lao Qi's ghostly appearance, she was not in the mood to use Douyin anymore.

Lifting his trouser legs, he planned to squat down and chat with Lao Qi about his life, and help him look into the future by the way.

But... I squatted for a long time... I gave up because I was too fat, turned around and went into the house and moved a chair out.

The winter sun in the south is also warm, and the two just chatted while basking in that corner of the sun.

The fat sister put her chubby hands on her knees and said to Lao Qi, "If you want me to say, you just set up one store, and when you have money in your hand, you will start a few other stores, and if this continues, 5 Every store must die.”

Lao Qi stood up, fumbled for a cigarette from his trouser pocket, and searched for a long time, but couldn't find the lighter. He sighed and squatted down, curling up the unlit cigarette in his hand.

"Tell me, which store to buy?" Lao Qi asked.

Fat sister looked up at Seven Star Mala Tang with the closed door, and pointed at it with her fat hand, "That's it. Now this store is suffering the most, and it is also this store that can make the most money."

Lao Qi followed Fat Sister's hand and saw that the signboard of Qixing Malatang had been covered with a layer of dust. Against the light, it was gray, and his heart was even more opaque.

"I know you don't want to." The fat lady said, "But this is how business is done. What did you call it before, a junk thing?"

Lao Qi raised his hand and took a puff of the cigarette, only to find that the cigarette was not lit at all, "If it doesn't break, it won't stand." Lao Qi sighed.

There is no way to build the new without destroying the old.

Wang Yiming and his cousin were going to spend the winter solstice in the evening, so Mo Bai told old man Fang to buy some mutton, and luckily in the morning, he bought a mandarin fish by the Ming Lake, and walked towards the shop happily.

Seeing Lao Qi and Fat Sister, he smiled and raised the fish in his hand to them, "Come to eat fish at home tonight?"

"Hey." Lao Qi hurriedly waved his hand, responded in a panic, and asked casually, "Brother Mobai, do you have a lighter?"

There really was a lighter in Mo Bai's pocket, Yu Guili didn't let Old Man Fang smoke, and hid it in Mo Bai's pocket during breakfast.

He took out the lighter and shook it, Lao Qi hurriedly stood up to pick it up, the two stood on the side of the road, waiting for Lao Qi to light a cigarette, Mo Bai took the lighter and put it in his pocket.

Seeing that Mobai was wearing a gray down jacket, Lao Qi frowned, "Don't carry the lighter like that, it will explode when the temperature is too high. A student who used to come to my store to eat Mala Tang put the lighter in his trousers pocket, good guy , the eggs were almost fried.”

Mo Bai quickly took out the lighter and handed it to Lao Qi, "I'll see you off."

Lao Qi took it with a smile, and put it in his trouser pocket. During this conversation, he remembered those things in the store before, and sighed again with his eyebrows drooping.

"Brother Seven, is something on your mind?" Mo Bai asked.

Fat sister rolled her big black eyes and called to them, "You two don't stand on the side of the road talking, come to the store."

Mo Bai carried the fish and Lao Qi into the porridge shop one after another. The fat sister found a big basin from the back kitchen and put some water in it to raise the mandarin fish first.

Mo Bai's first meal in this world was at a porridge shop, a bowl of mung bean porridge and a scallion pancake, which Ivan bought.

It was the first time I worked here, and I was wearing the old T-shirt of my fat sister's husband, and a pair of sports trousers that turned into cropped trousers.

Lao Qi took the hair ring off Da Liu's daughter-in-law's head and tied him a sky braid. Ivan said he was a Teletubbies.After learning how to surf the Internet, Mo Bai even looked up pictures of Teletubbies, not to mention, there really is something like that.

Two scallion pancakes were found in the trash can...

The grease stains on the tables and chairs and the smell of oily smoke in the air have not changed, but things are different.

Fat Sister wanted Mo Bai to take over Lao Qi's store, and told the matter politely.

Both Qixing Malatang and hot pot restaurants are on the second floor. One is on the first row facing the street, and the other is on the second row facing the lake. A small bridge can be built between the two shops to form a large restaurant. The location is naturally perfect. .

But Mo Bai didn't think so. All the money earned by the hotpot restaurant was wasted in Pan Yi's 8th branch, so he couldn't afford so much money right now.

Even with so much money, Mo Bai doesn't intend to invest in this store.Although the Heping hot pot business is booming now, there are inevitably ups and downs in doing business. He has to find someone to share the risk. Of course, the premise is to share the benefits.

Besides management, Lao Qi is perfect.

Seeing that Mo Bai was silent for a while, Lao Qi thought that the other party was still jealous of the ostrich thing.

That's right, he was unkind first, now that he is in trouble, how can there be any reason to ask others to be loyal?

Seeing a puddle of oil stains on the table, Mo Bai picked up a rag beside him to wipe it, and said to Lao Qi while wiping, "Of course Brother Qi is reluctant to part with this store, so why transfer it to outsiders? Isn't it right to run it yourself?" very good?"

Lao Qi said helplessly, "I have no other choice but to do this."

"Oh." Fat sister saw Mo Bai cleaning the table of her own house, and shouted in shame, "If you can't do it, how can I bother you to do this now? You don't do this thing like cleaning the table and sweeping the floor in your own shop baby?"

"It's not in the way." Mo Bai smiled, and let the fat sister take the rag, "It's better for a restaurant to be clean."

Wang Yiming was moved to tears when he heard this sentence.

"I have an idea, Seventh Brother might as well listen to it." Mo Bai said.

"It's very difficult to start Qixing Malatang again, but what about changing the business? The products sold are different, but the boss is still you."

After hearing this, Lao Qi was a little disappointed. He thought Mo Bai's idea was brilliant, "What do you sell? I'm such a big shop, I can't sell scallion pancakes, right?"

Fat sister gave him a look of resentment, and said to herself, selling hot pot, dear.

Lao Qi came to his senses after saying this, "You mean?"

Mo Bai smiled and nodded, "You use this store as a stake in Heping Hot Pot. The recipe and decoration are all based on Heping Hot Pot. The management is still yours, and the store is still yours."

When Lao Qi slapped his thigh, the slap was so heavy that it hurt him so much.

After speaking, Mo Bai took the fish and said goodbye.

"Isn't this repaying grievances with virtue?" The fat sister murmured.

Lao Qi nodded, and remembered a knowledge point learned in the president's class - win-win cooperation.

There were many people at night, old man Fang bought a lot of mutton, half of it was stewed for soup, and half was used for braised meat.

The mutton was cut into large cubes and just marinated with ginger and cooking wine when someone knocked on the courtyard door.

Ivan and Yu Guili are still busy in the hot pot restaurant at the moment, and Mo Bai is stewing meat in the kitchen, so old man Fang has no choice but to open the door himself.

The black and thin cousin stood outside the door.

"Sister, who are you looking for?" Old Man Fang asked.

The cousin's face became even darker, "Who is your eldest sister?"

"Fang Li is my eldest sister." Old man Fang said, "But she has been dead for many years."

Mo Bai was afraid that the two of them would fight if they continued talking, and he was marinating the meat with both hands, so he raised his soy sauce and shouted outside, "Wang Yiming, Wang Yiming."

Wang Yiming had just parked the car, and ran all the way when he heard the shout, trying to persuade the two of them to go back to the house.

A dog and two cats sat neatly in the small garden watching the fun, and they were both disappointed to see that there was no fight.

"This cat is pregnant." Cousin pointed to Big Persia, and spoke with eloquence.

Old man Fang squatted on the blue bricks, pouted his buttocks and observed for a long time, then turned to Mo Bai, "Didn't Yu Guili say she was fat?"

Feeling guilty, Mo Bai hurried into the kitchen.

Stir-fry shallots, aniseed and fragrant leaves on high heat, throw in large pieces of mutton and stir-fry until the oil and fragrance are released, add the prepared yellow sauce, bring to a boil on high heat, and simmer on low heat.

I found some dried chilies and cardamom in the cupboard, and glanced at Wang Yiming who was standing next to me.

"Peel the garlic, hurry up."

Wang Yiming agreed, and bowed to look for Suan. Just as he found it, the courtyard door rang again.

"Open the door." Mo Bai ordered again.

Wang Yiming looked at Suan and then at the door, not knowing whether to open the door first or peel the garlic first, and finally opened the door while peeling the garlic.

“Lamb dumplings!”

As soon as the door opened, Zhang Yan faced Zhang Yan's exaggerated smiling face.

Zhang Yan thought it was Mo Bai who opened the door, but unexpectedly it was a [-] million peeling garlic. The mutton dumpling in his hand retracted a bit, and he greeted him with some embarrassment.

Wang Yiming took the dumpling from Zhang Yan's hand, and stuffed the garlic into her hand, "Just so you're here, go help in the kitchen."

Zhang Yan looked around and saw that Mo Bai was the only one busy in the kitchen, and nodded gratefully to Wang Yiming.

It's not easy for Wang Yiming in the kitchen to go in again. If he goes in again, it will be a light bulb, the kind that is bright and bright.I had to squat by the pond with the two cats to watch the fish, and eavesdrop on a corner by the way.

Zhang Yan said, "Wow, what kind of fish is this?"

Mo Bai: "Mandarin fish."

Zhang Yan: "This is mandarin fish? It looks so fierce."

Mobai...

Wang Yiming propped his knees and sighed, Zhang Yan, you are a food blogger, if you keep pretending, your character will collapse.

The two cats were afraid that Wang Yiming would snatch their fish, so they stared at him covetously, which made Wang Yiming's back feel chills. Thinking about it, wouldn't it be cool to squat in the yard in the winter?

Stand up and go into the restaurant.

The floor heating is turned on in the restaurant, the temperature is not low, but the atmosphere is cold...and stiff.

The TV series "The First Half of My Life" was being replayed on TV. My cousin and old man Fang were both holding arms, one with a dark face and the other with a white face, and no one paid attention to the other.

Wang Yiming cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"You came just in time." Cousin pointed to old man Fang and said to him, "This old man actually likes Ling Ling. Tell me, is Ling Ling a vixen? Destroying other people's families."

"Hmm." Wang Yiming nodded.

"Luo Zijun is not a thing." Fang old man said, "I can only spend money, but I can't do anything. Who will marry such a wife after eight lifetimes of bad luck."

"Hmm." Wang Yiming nodded again.

"Do you have a point of view?" The cousin glared at him.

The point is that he hasn't watched "The First Half of My Life", and he doesn't know Luo Zijun and Ling Ling.

Wang Yiming: The city is too difficult, I want to go back to the mountains.