Goldfield
Chapter 91: Advance Payments

Brother Liu sharply caught the fleeting expression that flashed in Xiaocao's eyes. Does he seem surprised? He barely held back his desire to rub the scar on his face and a puzzling feeling of doubt enveloped his heart. Didn't they meet each other yesterday afternoon? Just then, the little girl was so frightened by the scar on her face that her face turned deathly pale. Why was her reaction today to her face, which was frightening enough to make a child cry, just a surprise? He must have misinterpreted his expression!

He glanced at Xiaocao at a glance and thought of saying something. In the end, he decided to shut up and turned slowly walking towards the area where people were selling breakfast. Xiaocao looked around him and realized that there was no one in sight and quickly followed behind him. He definitely did not want to stay in the area alone. If that group of bastards suddenly returned looking for blood, then he was dead meat on their hands.

Ever since Xiaocao left for such a long time, Yu Hai started to restlessly wait for him at the noodle shop. When she saw her daughter back with a tail between her legs next to a fierce-looking man with scars on her face, her first thought was that her beloved daughter was being bullied. He quickly limped forward and pushed his daughter behind him. He looked at Old Six vigilantly and said, “Don't be afraid, son. Dad is here and I will definitely not let anyone bother you! ”

Xiaocao simultaneously felt touched and intrigued by his protective attitude. He smilingly apologized to Brother Six, pulled his father back to the bench to sit down, and explained, “Dad, Brother Six didn't give me any trouble. Instead, he just saved me from the bullies! ”

Afterwards, she extensively sketched out what had happened during the thrilling scenario to her father. Yu Hai pulled out his hand and examined it from head to toe. Only after he didn't find anything wrong did he relax a little and said, “Dock is so messed up, so in the future you're not allowed to wander around recklessly! Brother, I was rude to you before, but thank you so much for saving my daughter! ”

Brother Six's face was as expressionless as before, and he simply nodded his head lightly in response. He opened his mouth for the first time and spoke with Old Liu, “I want a bowl of noodles in soup without peanut flour noodles ..”

Old Liu quickly tore off a piece of dough from a small bowl and skillfully rolled and cut the dough into pieces. In a short time, a bowl of delicious noodles was completed.

Right now, Yu Hai hurriedly took out some of the boiled pork head meat and some of the pickled fish from the basket. He then placed the two in front of Brother Six's bowl and said, “Brother, eat these two dishes with your noodles. Think of it as a sign of my gratitude for saving my daughter's life early. ”

Brother Six slightly raised his eyebrows but did not reject the offer. However, when he finished eating and left, he had placed two copper coins on the table. When Yu Hai saw the coin, he wanted to chase after the man to return the money but was stopped by Xiaocao who said, “Dad, let it be. He did not lack these two copper coins. Get ready, harbor workers almost time for a break to eat! ”

Sure enough, when they looked towards the pier, they saw a group of rude old men blabbering and laughing as they walked. Some more impatient people walked quickly along the way and started calling Xiaocao from afar, “Xiaocao, give me two servings of boiled pork head meat, I want the fatty part!”

“Xiaocao, Xiaocao! I want one serving of pork intestine and one tripe. ”.

“Do you have any fish from yesterday? I want two of those! ”

…

Despite having heard from his son describing the situation over and over again, Yu Hai was shocked when he saw it in person.

However, Xiaocao has gotten used to this and calmly dealt with the crowd while also advertising his new product, “Uncle Hao, today I also made a new type of food. This is called blood sausage, do you want to buy a serving to try? ”

“You have a new type of boiled food? Give me a serving of blood sausage! ” shouted a young man. He was behind the crowd of people surrounding him, and, despite his jumping-and-go efforts to get to the front, he could not get in.

“Give me a part to try too!”

“You guys up front, don't buy too much at once and leave me his blood sausage, ah! I firmly believe in Xiaocao's cooking skills! ”’

…

The father and son pair work together to receive the money until their hands start to stiffen with effort. They were busy for more than an hour without any chance to take a break. The crowd gradually dispersed when the basket had only one-tenth of the original amount of boiled food.

At this point, Old Liu's noodle stall was also full of people at the table who were eating noodles. The father and son pair could only find rocks by the roadside to sit on and rest their feet. Grandma Liu was busy but sent them both a steaming bowl of hot noodle soup. He smiled and said, “Yu Hai, Xiaocao, you two must be thirsty, right? Drink a bowl full of noodle soup and let it wet your throat. ”

“Thank you, Granny Liu. There's no need to wait for us, I'm sure there's something else you should do, right? ” Xiaocao took two bowls from the old woman and gave one of them to his father. The other he held in his hand as he took a small gulp from the bowl.

At this time, Xiaocao noticed that the Eldest Uncle, Liu Pei, Second Uncle, Liu Han, and his eldest male cousin, Liu Zhiwei, were eating porridge near the food stall. He put down his bowl of soup and took some of the fish pickles, blood sausages, and boiled pork head meat to bring there.

“Oldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Eldest Cousin, all of you are having breakfast now..Second Uncle, did you also come to the dock to look for work today?” Xiaocao greeted the men warmly. In the previous two days, he had only seen Eldest Uncle with the Eldest Cousin in the area. This was the first time he had seen Second Uncle at the pier.

Liu Pei and Liu Han raised their heads and grinned at him, “Hei, Xiaocao. How's business today? Look, your head is full of sweat, you must be tired right? ”

The honest and timid Liu Han shook his hand hurriedly and said, “Your oldest aunt has worried us some salty vegetables. Earlier I noticed that your boiled food sells here, so you have to keep that food to make money. Your family is in desperate need of money right now.. ”.

Xiaocao smiled, “I made too much food today, so there is still nothing left in the basket! When we remodeled the house, Oldest Uncle and Second Uncle were very helpful to us. It is right and necessary that I repay your kindness with my feelings of respect. Please take the food. Oldest Cousin, you should try this pickled fish, I'm sure you'll definitely like the taste. ”

The three men from the Liu Family only brought some pancakes made from coarse grains and three salted radishes from home for breakfast. In the porridge stall, they also bought three bowls of peanut soup for one copper coin each. Although Liu Zhiwei had a tall and imposing figure, he was only around fourteen to fifteen years old. This was a time when a boy like him was constantly hungry for food to eat.

Had the person who sold the boiled food to one copper coin been partially not Xiaocao, he would have left early to queue for food. Occasionally, he saw fellow dock workers eating the stewed food vigorously, and he could smell it tempting and appetizing. Those were the times when he could barely hold the saliva in his mouth.

When he realized that Xiaocao had opened the oiled paper package and the savory smell of the boiled food hit his nose, Liu Zhiwei had to swallow the saliva that flooded his mouth. He glanced at his father and older uncle. His eyes flashed with the exact same envious expression as Little Shitou whenever she wanted to eat something.

Xiaocao suppressed his urge to laugh out loud and took the pancakes from his hands. He unfolded it and placed a piece of stir-fried fish and a few pieces of fatty pork head meat in the middle. He then gently put the food back in his hand and said, “Oldest cousin, try it! These are all made by me. ”.

Back at the noodle shop, Yu Hai asked a few more customers to come to him to buy food. After that, other than the portion of boiled food provided for Foreman Sun, the rest of the food had already been pretty much sold. He put the basket back on the wheelbarrow and walked over to where Xiaocao and the others were. He also urged people when he got there, “Oldest brother-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, it was only worth three copper coins of food. Xiaocao showed her respect to you, so just eat a little! ”

Seeing that they cannot refuse the offer, they, Liu Pei and Liu Han each used a pair of chopsticks to pick up a piece of boiled pork head meat and put it in their mouths to slowly savor. A burst of delicacy struck their tongues. They had never eaten anything so delicious, so it prompted the two of them to praise the food endlessly. The two brothers then tried just one or two bites of the other two dishes. They left behind leftovers for Liu Zhiwei to eat, as he was still a teenager.

After Liu Pei finished breakfast, he saw the legs of his sister-in-law. With sincere concern, he asked, “Last-lately I've been a bit busy, so I don't have time to visit you. Does your foot give you any problems after walking this far? ”

Yu Hai slapped his left leg a few times and smirked, “No problem at all! The doctor in town even told me to walk a little more when I had time! It was all thanks to Xiaocao for massaging my legs every night. Otherwise, I don't think my legs will heal quickly! Who knows, maybe after more time has passed, I can also go to the dock to find a job. ”

The two brothers of the Liu Family praised their sister and brother-in-law for raising a submissive and sweet daughter. Yu Hai felt happier hearing the praise than he felt because his own legs got better.

A small group of people chatted longer until it was time to start working again. Yu Hai and his daughter were also well rested during this interlude. They left a portion of the stash of stewed food for Foreman Sun at Old Liu's noodle shop and prepared to go to the city with their wheelbarrow to buy some items at the city market.

At this point, Brother Liu who looked serious came over. He threw a few pieces of silver at Xiaocao and said, “Tomorrow I have an important client coming. Can you help me prepare food for them? ”

Xiaocao looked at the money in his hand and estimated its value at about two taels. He went on to ask for more details about his client. How many people does he plan to entertain? Are they southern or northern? Do they have any special tastes or demands regarding their food? Brother Six answered his questions one by one. Afterwards, Xiaocao had a good idea of what he needed to prepare.

At this moment, Foreman Sun hurriedly rushed over from the dock to here and clearly did not take the time to catch his breath. He looked at the silver piece in Xiaocao's hand and frowned, “What happened, Xiaocao? Is there someone trying to cause you trouble here? If so, don't be ashamed to tell me. You have me behind you! ”

Brother Six looked at him with an invisible smile on his face until Foreman Sun started to feel uneasy. Only then did Brother Six speak, “Mandor Sun, I know what you are thinking! The bigger the head, the bigger the hat you have to wear! Beware of biting more than you can chew! Xiaocao is someone who does business with everyone and is not just a tool for you to use to bring in clients! Old Sun, a future customer is not someone you can steal just because you want to! ”

Mandor Sun rubbed his nose in embarrassment and said, “Ah Liuzi, don't be so petty! Xiaocao has helped me a little, so I'm afraid he's being bullied by others..

Brother Liu looked at him disinterestedly and then looked back at Xiaocao. He said, “Then I will count on you tomorrow ..” After that, he turned around and left the area.

Mandor Sun was offended by his attitude and sneered while grumbling softly, “What is he so proud of? If I had come to the dock to work two years earlier, then I wouldn't have dealt with your bluff — Xiaocao, what did that stupid Liuzi want from you to do for him? He gave you so much money, he didn't ask you to do anything illegal, did he? ”

Xiaocao looked at him with a faint smile on his face and said, “Older Uncle Sun, he just admires my culinary talent and wants me to make a delicious meal for him tomorrow. He gave me this money to buy the ingredients .. Older uncle, the boiled food you ordered is already in Grandpa Liu's place. It's getting late, I have to go to town and replenish my spice supplies. ”

Xiaocao's clear and bright eyes seemed to pierce through Foreman Sun's small scheme, and he replied with a hint of embarrassment, “Then go! This is the money I have to pay for food .. ”

It's not a special market day at the market on the dock today, so there aren't many people exploring. Most of the shops were open in the market, and Butcher Wang's butcher shop was one of the stalls open.

“Xiaocao, are you here to buy pig heads and pig offal again? How's business today? This uncle has heard that one of your copper coins for each meat dish is very popular on the dock “So Wang smiled kindly as he greeted him