The environment is quite nice, and there are many customers. It doesn’t seem like an ordinary little shop. The taste of this shop should be pretty good.
Yue Qing thought to herself, her initial impression of “Galaxy Snack Shop” had changed somewhat.
“Fen-jie! You’re here! Come over here quickly, I have a lot of delicious food here.”
Yue Qing hadn’t even finished surveying the snack shop when her mother pulled her aside.
A middle-aged woman who looked about the same age as Yue Qing’s mother warmly waved to them.
“Today is my birthday. My daughter took a day off to accompany me for a stroll…”
“Fen-jie, happy birthday! Is this your daughter? She’s really beautiful.”
The “Fen-jie” the woman referred to was naturally Yue Qing’s mother.
Seeing her daughter being praised, Yue Qing’s mother smiled.
“Ah-Lan, what delicious things do they have here? Give me an introduction! My daughter and I are both here for the first time…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” The woman said, “Our staff gets a special price for buying snacks, up to a maximum of five hundred yuan per month…”
After hiring the middle-aged women as employees, Yu Bai discovered that they also loved the snacks in his shop. Every day, they would buy some out of their own pockets to take home.
As a result, Yu Bai introduced an internal employee price, allowing all employees to purchase snacks at a cost-close price. They could buy up to five hundred yuan worth each month. After exceeding five hundred yuan, the snacks would revert to their original price.
The middle-aged women bought the snacks to bring home and share with their children, so the five hundred yuan monthly purchase price was more than sufficient.
“Is this really okay? We should still buy at the original price…”
“It’s your birthday today, and I didn’t prepare any gifts in advance.” The woman said, “In my family, only my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson like to eat snacks, so even if I buy snacks for a whole month, I won’t exceed five hundred yuan… I’ll let you buy snacks at my employee price. You can save quite a bit of money.”
Yue Qing’s mother finally agreed.
Yue Qing’s mother and the middle-aged woman chatted on the side, while Yue Qing stood in front of the snack glass counter, looking down at the wide variety of snacks inside.
Boneless chicken feet, braised delicacies, milk dates… These were all popular snacks that Yue Qing often saw in the office and shared by colleagues.
Yue Qing had tried them a few times, and these trendy snacks were mostly mass-produced products with similar flavors.
Today was the last working day of the week. Inside “Galaxy Snack Shop”, most of the customers were retirees who had nothing to do at home. Yue Qing could only see a few young people here and there.
She estimated that this snack shop probably attracted business from the older generation, those who were older, not very familiar with the internet, and didn’t often eat trendy snacks.
After all, most young people had already tried these snacks and were no longer fascinated by them.
“Qing Qing, what kind of snack do you want to eat? Mom will buy it for you!”
Her mother’s voice interrupted Yue Qing’s speculation.
Yue Qing frowned, “Mom, it’s your birthday today. Why are you asking me what I want to eat? Just order the snacks you like.”
Her mother paused, and then realization dawned, “Right, right. I almost forgot today is my birthday. But I’m afraid that if I order what I like, you won’t enjoy them…”
“You can order whatever you like, I’ll eat it.”
Yue Qing didn’t mention her own preferences.
Because she hadn’t really eaten snacks much since childhood, how could she have a preference for them?
And the trendy snacks in the glass counter, she had already tried many of them in the office. They didn’t pique her interest at all.
Hearing Yue Qing’s words, the smile on her mother’s face faded slightly.
“Alright.”
Her mother said, then looked around but didn’t see her father.
Her mother asked, “Where did your dad go? Why isn’t he with us?”
Yue Qing’s sharp eyes spotted her father at the freshly made snack window, “He went over there.”
Her mother said, “I’ll buy the snacks here. You and your dad can find a seat. We can eat snacks and rest here for a while.”
Yue Qing nodded in agreement and turned to walk toward the window where the snacks were being prepared.
When Yue Qing entered “Galaxy Snack Shop” for the first time, a faint, pleasant aroma filled the air.
The aroma was sweet and carried a familiar sensation that Yue Qing couldn’t quite place.
It wasn’t until she approached the window where the snacks were being freshly made that the aroma became even more pronounced.
Yue Qing then realized that this was a fragrance of sweetness with a hint of wine… Wasn’t this the smell of sweet rice wine?
As a true native of J City, from a young age, Yue Qing had attended various wedding banquets and feasts with her parents. Among all the dishes on the table, her favorite was the pot of steaming hot sweet rice wine balls served at the end of the meal.
These sweet rice wine balls had none of the bitter taste of alcohol; they emitted a subtle wine fragrance that was particularly alluring.
And among those sweet rice wine balls, the ones that were soft, cute, and about half the size of a pinky finger joint were Yue Qing’s absolute favorite.
The sweetness and softness of the rice balls, when chewed carefully, would release the delightful aroma of glutinous rice wine.
Yue Qing thought.
No wonder her dad went to the window where the snacks were being freshly made; he must have been drawn by the fragrance of sweet rice wine.
Yue Qing’s dad didn’t have any bad habits, but he did enjoy a bit of alcohol on ordinary days.
However, recently, her dad was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and his alcohol consumption was strictly controlled by Yue Qing’s mom.
“Dad.”
Yue Qing stood behind her dad and suddenly spoke.
Yue Qing’s dad was startled, “Good daughter, why did you suddenly come here? Where’s your mom?”
“My mom is picking snacks. What are you looking at here?”
Yue Qing’s dad glanced at his bright-eyed daughter and chuckled somewhat nervously, “What else could I be looking at? I’m looking at snacks!”
“What snacks are you looking at?” Yue Qing raised an eyebrow.
Yue Qing’s dad hesitated, “Nothing special. Just… Good daughter, now that it’s lunchtime, do you think we need some hot snacks?”
“But,” Yue Qing’s dad patted his pockets with a somewhat embarrassed expression, “My money is with your mom…”
“In that case, I’ll treat you!” Yue Qing offered.
Yue Qing’s dad’s eyes lit up, “Really?”
“Absolutely,” Yue Qing smiled, “Do you want teppanyaki? Crispy rice cakes? Potato hot dog skewers…”
Yue Qing listed nearly all the snacks available at the window, but intentionally left out the words “sweet rice wine balls.”
Seeing that his daughter had picked up on his thoughts, Yue Qing’s dad’s smile gradually faded.
All he wanted was the “sweet rice wine balls”! Who knew, since being diagnosed with high blood pressure, he hadn’t had a drop of alcohol! He could hardly bear these days!
Just as Yue Qing’s dad was turning red with embarrassment, hesitating whether to mention “sweet rice wine balls” or not, a soft and sweet voice, like the melody of a spring, sounded beside them.
“Sister! Sister! I know what your dad wants to eat!”
The sound of the young voice was as clear and melodious as a bubbling stream.
Yue Qing lowered her head slightly and met a pair of round ink-black eyes.
Now it was early March.
Early March marked the arrival of spring, yet the chill of winter hadn’t completely dissipated.
Though the snack shop was air-conditioned, the little child was still clad in a thick snow-white down vest, as if his parents were afraid he might catch a cold.
The snow-white down vest accentuated the cuteness of the child’s round face, making it look even more adorable, like pure white snow.
With a three-headed figure, the child resembled a round white dumpling, and his chubby cheeks felt soft and supple to the touch, much like glutinous rice dumplings.
Seeing the adorable appearance of the child, Yue Qing’s smile widened.
“Really?”
Xing Xing nodded vigorously, and his chubby cheeks trembled slightly with his movements.
Yue Qing smiled, “Then tell me, what does my dad want to eat?”
Yue Qing’s dad looked nervously at Xing Xing.
How could a child who seemed to appear out of nowhere know his thoughts?
With a curvy brow and twinkling eyes, Xing Xing’s cheeks revealed two beautiful, watery dimples.
“Uncle! Uncle wants to eat wine… wine… sweet rice wine balls!”
Yue Qing’s dad was surprised, “How did you know?”
Xing Xing blinked, “Because Uncle was staring at the sweet rice wine balls in the bowls of the aunties and uncles next to him!”
Hehe! Xing Xing saw it all!
Every day, Xing Xing stayed in the shop with Yu Bai. When he got tired, he would take a nap in the small rest area of the shop.
After waking up, Xing Xing would walk around the windows where the older ladies worked.
Lately, Yu Bai had been controlling Xing Xing’s diet, and there were many snacks that Xing Xing couldn’t eat.
But in the eyes of the older ladies, “the little one will never get fat” seemed to be a consensus they had reached.
So, when Yu Bai was busy, the older ladies would sneakily give Xing Xing a bite or two of snacks.
After finishing the snacks, Xing Xing continued to stroll around the shop for about half an hour.
He would walk while digesting the snacks, occasionally helping the customers in the shop by telling them what kinds of snacks were sold at different windows.
“Galaxy Snack Shop” was located at Sanjiaokou, and most of the customers in the shop were Yu Bai’s regulars and nearby residents, so they were familiar with Xing Xing and interacted with him harmoniously.
With familiar customers in the shop, the older ladies at the snack windows, and Yu Bai keeping an eye on things, he wasn’t worried that Xing Xing might be abducted during this half-hour.
Just a moment ago, while Xing Xing was wandering around the shop, he noticed a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair standing near the freshly made snack window for quite a while.
The man didn’t buy anything; he just kept staring at the window with unblinking eyes.
Xing Xing thought this man was having trouble deciding on a snack to buy, so just as he was about to approach to help, he overheard the conversation between Yue Qing and her dad.
After the past few days of practice, Xing Xing had become acquainted with all the numbers and even knew how to compare them. He also knew that sweet rice wine balls were the cheapest among the freshly made snacks in the shop.
The man’s money had all been confiscated by his wife, and he couldn’t even afford a portion of sweet rice wine balls!
How pitiful!
Xing Xing gently tugged on Yue Qing’s finger with his small paw—because he was short, he could only reach up to her hand.
“Sister, the man is so pitiful. Can you buy him sweet rice wine balls? Sweet rice wine balls are the cheapest snacks in the shop, not expensive…”
While saying this, Xing Xing glanced at Yue Qing’s dad, and his round eyes revealed a hint of compassion.
Yue Qing’s dad: ???
Author’s note:
Current Xing Xing: The man is so pitiful, he has to hand over money…
Future Xing Xing: Dad! Let’s take away the bad uncle’s pocket money!
——
P.S. It’s my birthday~ It’s quite memorable today.
Due to the pandemic, the originally planned restaurant was closed, so I had to cancel my plans and order takeout for dinner.
I hope this wave of the pandemic passes quickly.
My dad couldn’t even buy groceries at the supermarket today┭┮﹏┭┮
