“I want to drink some too, smelling this,” Xia Li said.
“Another bowl is fine. Give me that congee to drink.”
“That works too. Boss, another bowl of Shen Tang,” Xia Li shouted.
“Just a moment, it’ll be ready soon,” the boss replied.
The breakfast stall here was doing really good business, with people coming to eat non-stop.
In just this short while, the young boss had already served five or six customers.
“Boss, business is good,” Guo Xuyang said with a smile.
“It’s alright, enough for the whole family to eat and drink.”
“Is this a residential area?”
“Yes. Behind this residential area is a maternal and child health hospital, and to the east is a wet market. People buying groceries in the morning also grab some breakfast on their way back.”
The young boss said as he put down the Shen Tang.
“Boss, take the fried dough sticks yourself. They taste best fresh from the fryer. Here are two eggs.”
“Aren’t you all family?”
“We are family. We’re just too busy, so the fried dough sticks are fried on demand.
Those fried in advance are for takeout. Otherwise, they’d be too hot to carry.”
“It’s fine. I’ll get them.” Xia Li stood up to get the fried dough sticks.
Outside this breakfast stall, four small long tables were set up.
Guo Xuyang and Xia Li occupied one, and the other three small long tables were also full.
When Xia Li went over, two people were already queuing.
“I’ve been waiting for quite a while, why do you get to take yours first?” a middle-aged woman’s voice.
“Mine is for takeout, these will get cold,”
An older man said somewhat angrily.
“But there should be a first-come, first-served rule,” the middle-aged woman retorted.
“What’s all the fuss? It’s just one fried dough stick. Just let him have it,” said the old man frying the dough sticks.
He seemed to be the young boss’s father.
“You can’t say that. I’ve been here for a while too. Who gets up so early for breakfast on weekdays?”
The middle-aged woman was speaking the truth; weekday mornings are usually rushed.
As an old man, whether he arrived a little earlier or later shouldn’t be a matter of urgency. His actions were really inappropriate.
“You can just take them right away, why do you have to wait to take them all at once?” the old man frying the dough sticks said.
“Aren’t they too hot? I’m afraid of getting burned.”
“There are small baskets specifically for holding the fried dough sticks. You clearly don’t come here often.”
Hearing the old man frying the dough sticks, Xia Li noticed several greasy, shiny small baskets placed on the other side of the fryer.
However, she didn’t go to get one.
Mainly, these small baskets were too unsightly. It was unclear how long it had been since they were last washed.
When eating out, one cannot be too particular.
If judged by home hygiene standards, nothing from outside could be eaten.
Out of sight, out of mind. It was no wonder the middle-aged woman didn’t want to take one of those baskets.
“Mom, are you ready? I’m almost out of time,” a girl who looked like a middle school student called from another table.
“Coming, coming.” The middle-aged woman, no longer arguing with the old man, directly grabbed three fried dough sticks and went over.
“Why only three? What are you eating?” the girl asked.
“It’s fine. You eat first. Mom isn’t that hungry. After you’re full, I’ll buy two steamed buns to eat at the unit,” the middle-aged woman said.
“Okay then,” the girl said, picking up a fried dough stick and eating it.
The middle-aged woman probably intended to buy four, but the old man took one.
Xia Li waited for five or six minutes before getting her fried dough sticks.
She handed two fried dough sticks to the middle-aged woman, saying, “Sister, I took two extra. Here you go.”
“Thank you, thank you. No need, my child’s time is almost up. I have to take her to school.”
The middle-aged woman quickly declined.
“I took extra anyway, I can’t possibly eat them all. Two fried dough sticks won’t delay you by much, it’s very quick.”
Xia Li placed the fried dough sticks in front of the middle-aged woman.
“That’s very kind of you,” the middle-aged woman said.
“You’re welcome.” Xia Li returned to Guo Xuyang’s side and sat down. “You must be hungry. Here you go.”
“I’ve almost finished my Shen Tang,” Guo Xuyang said. “You should eat quickly too. Shen Tang gets fishy when it cools down.”
“Mm.”
When the two looked up after eating, the mother and daughter had already left.
“Are you full?” Guo Xuyang asked.
“I’m stuffed,” Xia Li said, patting her stomach.
“As long as you’re full. Boss, how much is it?”
“That lady just paid for it,” the young boss said.
“This… this is really not good,” Guo Xuyang said.
“It’s not much money. It’s just the lady’s gesture of goodwill. I wanted to ask you earlier, but the lady wouldn’t let me ask.” the young boss said.
“This favor…” Guo Xuyang said, trailing off.
If he said more, it would seem like he was blaming the young boss.
“We’re leaving then, boss. You carry on,” Guo Xuyang said, bidding farewell and getting up to leave.
“I didn’t expect a small act of kindness in the morning to result in a free meal. I should do more good deeds in the future,” Xia Li said with a giggle.
“Do not refrain from doing good, however small; do not indulge in evil, however small. This morning’s matter was really nothing.”
“That lady is also a considerate person.”
“That old man really acted inappropriately. How do they say it, it’s not that the old are becoming bad, but the bad are becoming old.”
“You can’t say that. Perhaps the old man had something urgent? Perhaps he was rushing to take his grandson somewhere? It’s hard to say.”
“Even if he was in a hurry, shouldn’t there still be a first-come, first-served rule? Otherwise, wouldn’t it be chaos?”
“Let’s not talk about it. Shall we go take a look at the back? The breakfast boss just mentioned there’s a maternal and child health hospital behind,” Xia Li said.
“Alright. Let’s go take a look.”
When the two arrived at the hospital, the doctors were just starting to come in.
“We came out a bit early today,” Guo Xuyang said.
“You’re preoccupied with something.
By the way, should we reserve a bed in advance today?
Otherwise, if Xiao Hong goes to the hospital to find a bed, it might not be available.” Xia Li said.
“We haven’t been to this maternal and child health hospital before, let’s take a look first.
I don’t know what the medical standards here are like.”
“Okay then. We can look around inside later.” The two spoke as they walked towards the information desk.
A young girl had just taken her position at the information desk. Seeing them approach, she smiled and asked, “Can I help you with anything?”
“Hello, could you tell me which floor the obstetrics department is on?” Xia Li asked.
“The obstetrics department is on the second floor. Please go straight ahead, turn right, and go up to the second floor,” the young girl said with a smile.
“Thank you.”
As they spoke, the two started walking upstairs.
However, before they even reached the second floor, they saw a middle-aged woman chasing after them, panting.
“Excuse me, I’m going to be late.”
The two quickly moved aside to let her pass.
“Isn’t that the lady from earlier?” Xia Li exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes. She looks rushed, she must be late.”
“No wonder she was in such a hurry this morning. So she’s a doctor at this hospital.”
“I just don’t know which department she’s in. Remember to pay her back for the breakfast later,” Guo Xuyang said.
“I know. Do I need you to tell me this?” Xia Li asked with a mock scolding.
The two spoke as they arrived at the entrance of the obstetrics department.