"People in front, please move back a bit. There's still plenty of space in the back, keep moving back!"
"Don't rush to get on, this is the last bus of the day. Please be considerate of each other."
"Board through the front door, exit through the back door. Buy your tickets as you board!"
Ming Mei watched as passengers were packed like sardines in the bus, and called out again: "There's still plenty of space in the back, squeeze in a bit more..."
The people still trying to board looked through the windows at the tightly packed crowd inside, thinking to themselves that this pretty ticket collector was lying - the back was just as crowded as a tin of sardines, without an inch of space. But despite these thoughts, they still shuffled backward, trying their best to squeeze in.
If they didn't move back, the people below wouldn't be able to board either.
In these times, there were still many simple and honest people.
"Squeeze in a bit more..." Ming Mei called out a couple more times, then picked up her thermos. The hot water she had added at noon was running low. She swirled the pear honey throat drops inside and screwed the cap back on. Last bus of the day, and then off work!
Ming Mei took a deep breath and continued calling: "Please be considerate of each other~"
Seeing that everyone had finally managed to squeeze onto the bus, Ming Mei raised her hand to signal, and the driver closed the doors with a screech. The bus finally moved forward. Ming Mei's route happened to be a popular one, passing through Wangfujing. This line was usually manageable, but during holidays, it would be packed like ants, absolutely crowded.
The bus stopped at each station, and as more and more passengers got off, Ming Mei finally breathed a sigh of relief. At last, her shift was ending.
Winter nights came early, and Ming Mei got off work a bit later than most people. By the time she walked home, it was completely dark. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she could smell the cooking from many households, though tonight there wasn't the delicious fish aroma from yesterday.
The Zhuang family's two children were sitting on small stools by the door. As soon as they saw Ming Mei, they happily called out: "Auntie's home!"
Though the two children weren't actually very familiar with Ming Mei, they still knew she was family, different from the neighbors. So when Ming Mei came home, they were both excited and happy.
Although Hutou was already six years old, he was still just a child. With no adults at home and no dinner ready, while all his little friends had gone home to eat, he felt a bit lost and didn't know what to do.
Seeing Ming Mei, he immediately ran forward.
Ming Mei was walking with a slight jog, her cheeks flushed red. She quickly went up to them and said, "Why aren't you inside? What are you doing sitting by the door? Come in quickly."
She led them inside and turned on the light.
The room suddenly brightened up, and Ming Mei asked: "You must be hungry, right?"
Hutou nodded a bit shyly, while Xiao Yanzi, being younger and not understanding such hesitation, said softly: "Xiao Yanzi is hungry, there's no one at home, no food."
Ming Mei: "Alright then, auntie will cook for you."
She put down her things and opened the cupboard, saying: "What should we make? Let me see... how about some flat noodle soup? What do you think?" She thought that on such a cold day, when everyone comes home, they'd need some hot soup to warm up.
Hutou and Xiao Yanzi had never been asked for their opinion before. The two looked at each other seriously and nodded: "Okay."
Ming Mei: "Good, then flat noodle soup it is. We'll add some vegetables too. Do you know where the vegetables are kept?"
Hutou immediately said: "I know, they're in the cellar."
Ming Mei: "Then let's add some Chinese cabbage."
She looked at the household supplies, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Tell me... if I put an egg in the flat noodle soup, will your grandmother scold me?"
Hutou: "!!!"
Xiao Yanzi: *gulp* - the sound of swallowing saliva.
Ming Mei blinked her big eyes and asked the children: "Do you think we can add it?"
Hutou couldn't help but swallow his saliva too. He was really craving it, but... he looked at his aunt. Aunt trusted them enough to ask their opinion on everything, he couldn't lie. Lying wasn't what good children did.
He said softly: "...she will."
Ming Mei: "What?"
Hutou: "Grandmother will scold us."
His egg... his egg flew away.
Ming Mei immediately drooped her head, even her braids seemed to lose their spirit, and she sighed softly: "Ah~"
Hutou also: "Ah~"
Xiao Yanzi, not really understanding, copied in her baby voice: "Ah~"
Ming Mei looked at Hutou, then at Xiao Yanzi, thought for a moment and said: "Today the family went out to do something important."
Hutou looked up.
Ming Mei: "On such a cold day, going out to do important things, they'll all be frozen when they come back. Since they'll be frozen, they should eat something good to replenish their nutrition. You need nutrition to avoid getting sick from the cold wind, right?"
Hutou: "Eh???"
Xiao Yanzi: "..." Didn't understand.
Ming Mei held up one finger, making a "one" gesture, and said: "We'll just use one egg, to add some nutrition. This is very reasonable, isn't it? It's not wasteful, don't you agree?"
Hutou and Xiao Yanzi both nodded.
Ming Mei continued: "If your grandmother scolds me, can you help speak up for me?"
Hutou nodded eagerly: "Yes!!!"
He patted his chest and promised: "I'm a man!"
Ming Mei: "Pff!"
Xiao Yanzi also learned from her brother, patting her chest and promising: "Yes!"
Ming Mei smiled: "Alright then, I trust you."
She took out the cornmeal, and then an egg from the cabinet, instructing Hutou: "Go to the cellar and bring me a Chinese cabbage."
Hutou: "Right away!"
He darted out like lightning, and Ming Mei quickly got to work. Actually, for a family of eight, old and young, one egg in the flat noodles was really very little, just enough to add a hint of flavor.
But if she used more, Ming Mei worried her mother-in-law would explode.
Eggs were precious in most households, and even in Ming Mei's relatively well-off family home, they were treated as treasures.
Sometimes, you couldn't buy them even if you had money.
Ming Mei quickly got to work. In these times, there wasn't a girl who couldn't cook, and not just girls - even most boys knew how to cook. Though when it came to making elaborate dishes, Ming Mei certainly couldn't manage that, but she could handle simple flat noodle soup like this.
Flat noodle soup cooks quickly, and it was ready in no time. The three people left at home, one adult and two children, each held a bowl and slurped away happily. When Hutou saw the egg flowers in his bowl, his joy was almost enough to make him wag an imaginary tail.
"You Surs, get out here! Get out here!"
Just as the three were enjoying their soup, a domineering shout came from outside. Ming Mei immediately rushed to the door, opening it a crack to look outside. Hutou quietly came up behind her, and Xiao Yanzi quietly followed suit. Three heads, from top to bottom, all peered through the crack at the people in the courtyard.
The person in the courtyard was none other than the battle-ready Madam Zhou Li. With her hands on her hips and a mean expression on her face, she stood at the door of neighbor Madam Su's family, jumping up and down in fury: "Madam Su, Wang Xiangxiu, get out here, get out here! Don't think hiding inside will solve anything! You won't come out? If you don't come out, I'll go to the residents' committee. Your family can't just bully people like this. Were you born but not raised properly? Your little beast stole from our family, are you going to deal with this or not!"
At this point, Wang Xiangxiu finally opened the door. Looking at Madam Zhou Li with both grievance and indignation, she said: "Madam Zhou, is this how you speak to people? Even if my family has no man now, you can't talk like this. You say we're bullying people, but I think you're the one doing the bullying, coming to our door and cursing like this. This isn't how decent people behave."
"That's right, Madam Zhou, you're going too far. How can you talk like this? This is pure bullying."
"Madam Zhou Li has always been overbearing, isn't she just bullying a young widow?"
"I think Madam Zhou Li is deliberately picking a fight. She just hates Wang Xiangxiu."
The onlookers whispered among themselves. Compared to Madam Zhou Li's mean and domineering behavior, they didn't even need to know the reason - they automatically assumed the old shrew was bullying the young widow.
Madam Zhou Li spat and cursed: "What's it to you? What do you know? Why are you butting in? Serves you right!"
After she finished scolding, she turned and said, "Who are you trying to impress with your act, you little wretch? Your three brats came to my house and stole my peanuts. Look here, this big bag of peanuts was completely cleaned out by these little devils. They're truly inhuman! These are oil crops, and we only get a limited quota each year. Your three little troublemakers have ruined mine, and you're saying I can't come to your door demanding an explanation? Pay up, you need to compensate me!"
Wang Xiangxiu, with tears in her eyes, said, "Madam Zhou Li, what are you saying? How could my children do such a thing? They're well-behaved kids. I know you don't like me, but you can't wrongly accuse my children!"
"You still won't admit it? Call all the children in the courtyard out here, ask them if your three brats weren't eating peanuts at the doorway this afternoon. Those were mine!" Madam Zhou Li continued to stamp her feet in anger, shouting, "Don't think you can act like nothing happened. Hutou, Hutou, come out here! Tell us what you saw!"
As Madam Zhou Li was ready to call for witnesses at the slightest disagreement, Ming Mei quickly and decisively closed the door.
She wasn't familiar with the people in the courtyard, but from what her mother-in-law had told her, she knew none of them were easy to deal with. With no one else at home now, she wasn't about to get involved in this mess. After firmly closing the door, she lowered her voice and asked quietly, "Did you two see what happened?"
Hutou nodded and said, "Yes, I saw it!"
The child innocently said, "Grandma Zhou left the peanuts outside her door, and Jinlai and Yinlai just ran over and took them. Grandma Zhou saw them take them, and she even smiled!" At this point, Hutou scratched his head in confusion, "I don't know why Grandma Zhou was smiling."
Ming Mei: "???"
She smiled?
Since when did this old lady smile?
Besides, why would she smile when her things were being stolen?
Hutou pouted, "Jinlai said if I barked like a dog, he'd give me one peanut to eat. I'm a man, I'm not a dog, I don't want to! I don't want to eat those stolen peanuts!"
Ming Mei's expression darkened upon hearing this, thinking to herself about how these children were being raised.
What little brats!
She ruffled Hutou's hair and said, "You're right not to want them. We don't take stolen things! What nonsense - when your grandmother comes back, we'll report this!"
Hutou: "Okay!"
Xiao Yanzi quickly chimed in: "Okay~"
