Chapter 22: New Year's Eve Drunken Mountain Is Busy
Zheng Qiu's elder brother did know the owner of a restaurant called Zuishanlou, which was at the entrance of the market.
Zuishanlou has a famous dish, Fushan Zuiyu, which is marinated with fish and three kinds of rice wine. It is said that this dish is full of mellow aroma when eaten, but it has a strong aftertaste after eating, and people with poor capacity for alcohol will not be able to walk out of the gate of Zuishanlou.
Once the stove in Zuishanlou's kitchen burned down, and Brother Zheng Qiu went to repair it with bricks on his back. It was also at that time that he met the shopkeeper of Zuishanlou.
The shopkeeper is thin, but his belly is quite big, as if he had a pillow stuffed in his clothes. But the shopkeeper is very nice. When he heard that Zheng Qiu's family needed money, he arranged a waiter's errand in less than a day. At the same time, he also said that he would take good care of Zheng Qiu and prevent the child from being bullied.
Yunyou's mental state is much better than before, not only willing to talk to other people, but also offered to learn how to weave clothes from Zheng Qiu's mother. Zheng Qiu's mother was very happy. Every day at dinner, she praised Yunyou's ingenuity and kept talking about how smart she was and how fast she learned.
As for the master, every morning, he would pack the newly woven clothes, carry bamboo baskets to the market to set up a street stall, and send Zheng Qiu to Zuishan Tower by the way.
Time passed quickly, and it was the end of the year in a blink of an eye. Goose feathers and heavy snow fell one after another, and there was a vast expanse of whiteness between the sky and the earth. Fish lanterns are hung in front of every household in Bihe Town. On the open space in the middle of the market, fish dolls more than two feet high are piled up with snow.
At this moment, Zheng Qiu's family is also filled with joy. Just ten days ago, they paid off the medicine they owed. The doctor also gave a finger-sized ginseng and asked them to nourish Yunyou.
"What? How can I do that! I can't go, I can't go." Hearing Zheng Qiu say that he still has to go to Zuishanlou during the New Year's Pass, his mother shook her head and refused on the spot.
"But the shopkeeper said to give double wages." Zheng Qiu scratched his head, trying to convince his mother.
"No, not to mention double doses, and triple doses. Now that the medical bills have been paid off, the family doesn't need you to work so hard."
"Mother, the second brother is not all for wages." The eldest brother spoke out to help Zheng Qiu, "Many people have gone home during the New Year's Eve, and the shopkeeper is currently short-handed. The second brother is also there to help, and it can be regarded as a favor from the shopkeeper."
Crack, Zheng Qiu's mother tapped her chopsticks: "Eat your meal."
Then she turned to Zheng Qiu: "Son, is it like what your elder brother said, are you going to pay back the shopkeeper's favor?"
Zheng Qiu rolled her eyes, as if her mother didn't disapprove of what the elder brother said, so she followed what the elder brother said: "Well, well, it's to pay back the favor. The shopkeeper has done us a great favor, so we must pay it back."
"Then you can't go every day. It's not like the New Year's Eve if you go here every day."
What the elder brother said was true, and my mother didn't directly reject it this time. Zheng Qiu struck while the iron was hot, and hurriedly added: "Mom, don't worry, I have discussed it with the shopkeeper, and I will only go for half a day each time."
"Half a day?" Zheng Qiu's mother hesitated.
"It's really only half a day."
After thinking for a while, my mother finally nodded and agreed: "Then I can only go for half a day."
"Thank you mother!" Zheng Qiu hurried forward to give her a hug.
The next day, Zheng Qiu came to Zuishan Tower early in the thick snow. "Shopkeeper, here I come! I've made an agreement with my family."
Seeing that it was Zheng Qiu, the shopkeeper's face was full of smiles: "Oh, our Zheng Qiu is the best. It's freezing, go to the kitchen to drink some hot water before starting work."
"Thank you shopkeeper," Zheng Qiu said while patting snowflakes on his body, "Shopkeeper, don't forget what you said last time. I don't want the salary during the New Year's Eve. After the New Year's Eve, I will bring my family here for dinner. You treat me."
"Don't worry, Zheng Qiu, I've written this down in black and white, and I'll definitely invite you and serve good food when the time comes."
"Then I'm going to the kitchen, shopkeeper, you are busy."
Because it was the end of the new year, there were a lot of people coming to Zuishanlou to eat, and all the tables were filled with banquets, and more than 200 plates of drunken fish in Photovoltaic Mountain were sold.
Zheng Qiu kept running out of the kitchen and running in again, without resting for a moment during the whole noon.
The meal time gradually passed, and the guests who finished eating left one after another, and less than half of the remaining tables in the Zuishan Building were still occupied by guests.
"Child, come here!" The shopkeeper came to the door of the kitchen and stopped Zheng Qiu who was about to go in to serve the dishes.
Zheng Qiu wiped his sweat, wondering what the shopkeeper meant.
"You're exhausted. That's fine. Leave the rest to the other guys. You can rest for a while and go home."
"Shopkeeper, I still have strength, and the big brothers haven't rested yet."
The shopkeeper pushed him to a chair and sat down. "How old are they? How old are you? Come here today, be obedient, or I won't treat you."
"Don't, don't, I'm obedient, obedient."
"That's right, go back and rest early."
Sitting on the chair and rubbing his sore legs, Zheng Qiu felt embarrassed to rest here all the time. So he put on his padded jacket and left Zuishan Tower with his hands in his pockets.
It started to snow again outside, very heavy, and the snow on the road became thicker, stepping on it did not reach the calf. There was a strong wind blowing on the street, and the blown snowflakes hit the head and covered the face. Zheng Qiu pulled his collar, shrunk his neck and rushed forward.
Suddenly, his head shook, as if he had hit something. Before he had time to look up, a wave of air came towards his face and directly lifted him out. Fell to the ground with a thud, Zheng Qiu rolled somersaults one after another, and rolled another two or three feet.
Keke, he spit out a mouth full of snowflakes, wiped his face and sat up little by little. Fortunately, the snow was thick on the ground, otherwise it would have cost half my life.
"What are you doing!" A childish female voice sounded from the front. Zheng Qiu raised his head and found that it was a girl in a long robe with a purple pattern and a white background.
The girl was not tall, with two long braids and a big golden bell hanging around her neck. She also looked about ten years old. The girl folded her hands and looked at Zheng Qiu angrily, her eyes seemed to eat him.
"What are you looking at? This is what happens when you run into Miss Ben. Do you have any objections?"
Zheng Qiu immediately came to his senses, this girl must be a cultivator, and he couldn't afford to offend a cultivator. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Zheng Qiu quickly got up and bowed to apologize.
"Junior Sister, Junior Sister!" A young man came up behind him. He was wearing a robe with blue stripes and a white background. He was much taller than the girl.
Seeing the situation here, the young man ran to Zheng Qiu and asked, "Are you okay, are you injured?"
Zheng Qiu hurriedly shook his head: "It's okay, I'm fine, I'm not hurt..."
"Hmph! Brother, why didn't you ask me first, and instead ran to care about others!" The girl raised her foot and kicked the snow hard, wow, and a large piece was raised.
"It's fine." The boy nodded to Zheng Qiu, and hurried back to the girl, "Junior Sister, calm down, you will suffer if you lose your temper outside."
"A loss? I've already suffered a loss, okay! He hit me first."
"Junior Sister, I know, I know that you have suffered a disadvantage. Junior Sister, you have shot so hard, so don't bother with him anymore, he is just an ordinary child."
"Brother, what do you mean, I am also a child!"
"That's right, senior brother is stupid, senior brother didn't notice, okay, okay, let's not get wet in the snow..." The boy bent over, persuading and pulling the girl away.