Hi~ I’m sorry I was so busy with school these past few weeks. Don’t worry, I’ll try to translate on weekends or when I’m free. You can join the Knoxt Discord if you want to get reminders when I update a chapter. Again, this chapter is quite long (almost 6k words) so I’ll divide it. I also uploaded pictures of food in this chapter (you can hover your mouse on the superscript to see them), I hope you enjoy them!
At nine o’clock in the morning, Lin Jiayin woke up and sat up like a salted fish.1咸鱼 – literally translated as “salted fish.” It’s slang that pertains to people who feel tired, sluggish, and have no intention of doing anything.
She pulled open the curtain. The sun shines in from the balcony, illuminating the whole bedroom warmly.
She took out her phone under the pillow. Shen Zhan actually responded to her last night—only ten minutes after the last WeChat message was sent.
She was so sleepy last night that her face already hit the pillow after she sent the message.
He responded with two simple words.
[Good night]
Lin Jiayin grabbed her long messy hair. She pulled a stray of hair, revealing a half-awake and a half-confused face.
She rubbed her eyes and started typing.
[The sun already came out and I just woke up. Have you gotten up?]
After five minutes of not receiving a reply, Lin Jiayin climbed out of the bed.
While wearing cute strawberry-patterned pajamas, she stood on the balcony to stretch her waist.
Lin Jiayin has a small stature and a slim body. Her arms and legs are as thin as chopsticks, but it doesn’t look disturbing if a person stared at them.
“Tao Mo, do you want to go to the dance studio with me?” Lin Jiayin asked in a low voice after basking in the sun. She stood under Tao Mo’s bed.
Tao Mo was silent.
After a while, the curtains opened. Half of her head poked out, “Today is Sunday.”
“The dance competition will be next month,” Lin Jiayin said.
Tao Mo closed her eyes and said, “I’m so sleepy.”
“You obviously went to bed very early last night.” Lin Jiayin was surprised.
Tao Mo said, “Well.” She continued to browse Taobao last night and actually slept late.
Lin Jiayin raised her head: “Get up and go with me. Didn’t Teacher Wang also suggested that you practice more?”
Tao Mo retracted her head and closed the curtains. Her voice muffled: “Go ahead. I won’t go with you. ”
Lin Jiayin had to go to the dance studio alone.
At the beginning of this semester, Tao Mo said that she must enhance her professional dancing skills. Tao Mo asked Lin Jiayin to remind herself to practice with her every week.
However, after three weeks of Lin Jiayin’s reminders, Tao Mo never visited the studio again. Lin Jiayin would do everything possible to coax her at the beginning, but Tao Mo would find all kinds of various reasons just to escape practice.
Until now, Lin Jiayin would still call her every time before going to the studio because she promised Tao Mo.
Lin Jiayin danced alone in the dance studio for two hours in the morning and five hours in the afternoon.
Lin Jiayin jumped so hard. Sweat covered her whole figure and she looked like she was fished out from the water.
Lin Jiayin’s thoughts were still full of her unfinished dancing routine. If it wasn’t for Uncle Dahai, she could still continue.
Lin Jiayin first went back to the dormitory to take a bath and change her clothes. Afterward, she rode a bicycle to Uncle Dahai’s barbecue shop.
The sky in the month of June was relatively cloudy. When Lin Jiayin arrived, the dense red-stained clouds2Basically, what the author used here is 火烧云 which literally means “fire cloud.” Apparently, it refers to the red clouds that appear at sunrise or sunset. I used a different term to describe it because I can’t seem to find a more accurate translation. If you have a suggestion, feel free to comment. due to the sunset above her head had not yet dispersed.
From a long distance, she saw Uncle Dahai moving the chairs. There were a dozen or so of blue plastic old chairs overlapping each other. She watched Uncle Dahai lean down and catch his breath with his mouth open.
Lin Jiayin pedaled faster and stopped in front of Uncle Dahai.
Cheng Dahai held up again the stack with his arms. His head stuck out from behind the chairs: “Is it Jiayin?”
Lin Jiayin stopped the bicycle and hurriedly helped Cheng Dahai carry it over.
“I’m getting old. I’m out of breath after doing simple things.” After putting down the chairs, Cheng Dahai panted with his hands on his hips.
Lin Jiayin: “No, Uncle Dahai is still young.”
Cheng Dahai sighed: “Back in the old days, this uncle of yours could lift this kind of weight with just a hand.”
Lin Jiayin curled her lips: “You’re bragging about that again.”
She turned her head and glanced at the shop. It was a small shop less than five square meters. Two freezers took up half of the space, and the rest were for tables, chairs, and barbecue racks.
“Hey, hey. Don’t come, I’ll do them.” Cheng Dahai stopped her, “How can a little girl like you carry heavy things. Just sit and play. Wait for your uncle to grill you some barbecue.”
Lin Jiayin raised her arm, “Who said I can’t carry them?”
Although her arms are thin, the biceps obviously bulged when she exerted pressure and they look strong.
Lin Jiayin said clearly: “I have muscles.”
Cheng Dahai smiled and went with her.
Cheng Dahai pulled out a plastic chair and sat down. He smoked a cigarette while watching Lin Jiayin move the tables and chairs.
Although she still looks small after she grew up, the girl is really not weak.
She’s also very stubborn.
It seems that to prove that she has a lot of strength, Lin Jiayin stacked a dozen chairs together and lifted them up with one hand. She also lifted a table with her other arm.
Obviously, what she’s doing is a little strenuous. A few more trips while lifting less is much easier.
“Uncle Dahai, I told you I can do it!” Lin Jiayin raised her chin.
Cheng Dahai stretched out his hand to shake off the cigarette ash. He gave her a thumbs-up, “Our Jiayin is really great!”
Lin Jiayin smiled happily.
Cheng Dahai shook his head and smiled again.
Jiayin is exactly the same as her mother, Lin Yuwan.
Although Lin Yuwan is not Jiayin’s biological mother, their personalities are carved out from the same stone.
They’re both optimistic, loves to laugh, and will not be discouraged no matter how difficult the situation is.
Thinking of this, Cheng Dahai took another cigarette and looked into the distance with sadness.
If Lin Yuwan was still alive, how good it would be? Jiayin would definitely laugh happier.
“Uncle Dahai, are you going to grill the barbecue now?” Lin Jiayin ran to him and asked.
Cheng Dahai extinguished the cigarette, crushed it with his feet, and then stood up. “Sit down, I’ll do it. The grill is full of charcoal. It won’t be easy to wash your white clothes if they are stained.”
Lin Jiayin: “Then I will just arrange the table and chairs.”
Cheng Dahai nodded helplessly: “Okay, don’t exhaust yourself.”
As the night fell, the deserted streets during the day became lively.
A dim light was hung up at the food stall, and the smoke from the barbecue racks rose into the sky.
Dahai’s barbecue shop ushered in waves of customers.
Xiao Li, who usually works part-time in the shop, didn’t come because he was too busy today. Fortunately, Lin Jiayin came.
Cheng Dahai was grilling skewers in front of the barbecue grill, and Lin Jiayin hurriedly took orders, poured tea, and got beer.
It was busy until 10 o’clock. After a short rest, another large group of guests was welcomed. It was a few several families who came in together for a barbecue. There are eight adults and four children.
Lin Jiayin took out a pen and paper from her apron after drinking tea.
The middle-aged uncle took the menu and squinted. After reading it for a while, he turned to everyone and said: “You can order what you want to eat.”
“You order—you can do the ordering.”
“That tofu skin3tofu skin 
is delicious, give me a few more of that.”
“I’ll eat whatever you order. Anyway, it’s your treat.”
“…”
While the other adults were chattering, the uncle began to order.
“Twenty skewers of chicken wings and drumsticks4chicken wings & drumsticks skewers
, fifty skewers of lamb and beef skewers5lamb skewers
, ribs—”
“Can you finish eating 20 skewers of chicken wings and chicken legs?” The middle-aged woman sitting next to the uncle clicked her tongue, “Don’t order too much and waste them after. Just ten skewers are enough.”
“Ten skewers are not enough. I’ll count them—one, two, three… eleven people, at least eleven skewers,” said the woman who sat the farthest.
Another woman who looked a little younger said, “Isn’t that Dongdong in our family is also counted as a human being? He wants to eat it too. Chicken wings and legs—he can eat both.”
The child in her arms shouted: “Mom, I want to eat chicken legs!”
The other children began to scream.
“I want to eat chicken feet.6grilled chicken feet
”
“I want to eat ham sausage.7grilled ham sausage
”
“I want to eat meat, eat meat!”
“Eat, eat! Uncle, give me some too.”
Each of their parents also responded.
“Little girl, 14 skewers of chicken wings and drumsticks, three skewers of chicken feet, lamb, and beef…”
After the young woman ordered, the uncle’s wife glanced at her, “We can’t finish eating that much!” Then she looked at Lin Jiayin, “I’ll order! Count the number I ordered.” She pointed while counting.
Lin Jiayin stood under the light while writing with her head down.
When Lin Jiayin repeated the order to double-check, the uncle’s wife was dissatisfied again.
“Did you not remember? Didn’t I say ten skewers of beef? Who said we are ordering fifteen skewers?”
Lin Jiayin was stunned for a moment, “That sister said it.” She looked at the woman who was coaxing the child.
“Not only the number of lamb skewers, but the vegetarian dishes are also wrong. Didn’t I also order a grilled eggplant8grilled eggplant
? Why didn’t you take note of it!”
Lin Jiayin added that again.
It’s really the combination of adults and children that make her head dizzy.
After ten minutes, the dishes were finally ordered.
The woman returned the menu to her and said displeasedly: “This person looks so pretty but it seems that she can’t do a simple thing like taking down orders.”
Lin Jiayin didn’t say a word and pursed her lips.
Another woman interrupted and said, “Most of the good-looking people don’t have a good brain. What is it called again on the Internet?”
“A flower vase.”
“Oh, yes, yes. It’s a flower vase.9花瓶 or flower vase. They use it to describe women who look good but have no intellect to match it.”
Lin Jiayin: “…”
Lin Jiayin walked to the grill silently and hung the menu on the nail.
Cheng Dahai turned over the grilled meat skewers, and the corners of his mouth flattened in the corners.
Cheng Dahai asked: “What’s wrong?”
Lin Jiayin shook her head.
Cheng Dahai glanced at her: “Don’t take it to heart.”
I mean, it’s not her fault this time that they’re so chaotic when ordering… Anyway, I enjoyed searching for pictures of food while translating this HAHA
