Zhou Cheng was immediately filled with confidence and encouraged by Xi Shaoyuan’s words, “That’s good to hear. If Shaoyuan says it’s good after tasting so many fine foods, it must sell well.”
He happily packed up a bowl of noodles and asked his wife to take it downstairs for the Xi family’s driver to enjoy.
After eating and drinking his fill, Xi Shaoyuan thanked the Zhou family and left.
—
At the hospital.
As soon as Tan Ming arrived, he was intubated and sent to the ICU for hypothermia treatment. His mother turned as white as a sheet in fright, staying by his side the entire day, forgetting even to thank the people who had helped him.
The final diagnosis revealed that Tan Ming had suffered a cardiac arrest due to an electrolyte imbalance caused by extreme fatigue, leading to chest pain and difficulty breathing. After being treated with several IV drips, he gradually recovered.
Tan Ming’s mother, having shed her usual elegant demeanour, was on the verge of slapping him off the hospital bed. “Fatigue, my foot! You stayed up all night playing video games, skipped lunch to go play basketball, and nearly killed yourself! Do you want the Tan family to end with you?”
By this time, she had already reviewed the school’s surveillance footage, which had scared her half to death.
The video showed her son collapsing alone on the basketball court. With the school on break and it being lunchtime, the area was deserted with hardly anyone around. If not for the girl who suddenly appeared and found him—
Tan Ming’s mother didn’t dare to think about what might have happened.
The girl had dropped her books and rushed to Tan Ming, decisively pulling out her phone to call for help. She performed CPR for several minutes before Xi Shaoyuan and Xu Qing finally arrived.
She smacked Tan Ming’s leg, “If it weren’t for your classmate, you wouldn’t be here right now, do you understand?”
Tan Ming, still in a daze, weakly responded with a “Mm.”
A week later, after fully recovering and being forced into a healthier routine by his parents, Tan Ming’s family personally took him to thank Zhou Xiu for saving his life. The Tan family driver carefully navigated the narrow, bumpy road at a snail’s pace.
Tan Ming frowned, shocked.
“Is this really where Zhou Xiu lives?”
“Are we sure we’re on the right road?” he asked.
His mother replied, “We’re sure. And when we see her, be polite, Ming Ming. Understand?”
The car pulled up in front of Zhou Xiu’s building. Tan Ming, carrying a basket of fruit, climbed the dim, outdated staircase. His mother knocked on the door, and a girl opened it.
Tan Ming entered Zhou Xiu’s small, cramped home, which felt so crowded there was hardly anywhere to step.
Zhou Xiu had already washed up and was getting ready to go out with her parents to set up the noodle stand. It was the weekend, and there were no biology classes. The necessary permits and paperwork had been processed, so Zhou Xiu was helping her parents with the stall.
Zhou Cheng, still groggy, looked at the unexpected guests with confusion.
“Sorry to drop by unannounced,” Tan Ming’s father said.
Tan Ming’s mother stepped forward and addressed Zhou Xiu, “Zhou Xiu, I didn’t have a chance to properly thank you at the hospital. Ming Ming has recovered now, so we’re here to express our gratitude. Ming Ming, say something.”
Tan Ming awkwardly placed the fruit basket on the table, mumbling, “Thank you.”
Zhou Xiu was startled; she hadn’t expected Tan Ming’s family to find her home.
Tan Ming’s father handed a bank card to Zhou Cheng, “We didn’t know how else to thank your daughter, so this is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it.”
Zhou Cheng was completely bewildered.
Zhou Xiu briefly explained the incident from a few days ago to her father.
Zhou Cheng chuckled and waved it off, “It was nothing, really. Just lending a hand, no need for this.”
Tan Ming’s parents exchanged a glance, surprised at his refusal.
Perhaps he didn’t realize how much money was on that card.
Tan Ming’s father said, “There’s 300,000 yuan on this card. It’s not much, but we hope it can help you.”
Three hundred thousand yuan… Liu Mei’s hands slowed down as she picked up items, her mind spinning. If she weren’t holding onto the two-yuan bowls, she might have dropped them in shock.
Zhou Cheng, still bewildered, repeated, “Three hundred thousand?”
That’s a lot of money. Zhou Cheng had worked hard his entire life and probably hadn’t saved up that much.
He stared at the three well-dressed, well-groomed guests who looked like the big bosses who came to inspect construction sites.
Zhou Cheng pushed the card back to them, “No, no need for that. It’s nothing, really. They’re classmates, after all. Xiu’er did what she should have. Xiu’er, let’s go set up the stall.”
Tan Ming’s mother took back the card, realizing that using money to show their gratitude might have been the wrong approach.
Before coming here, she had already looked into Zhou Xiu’s situation and even asked Du Feiyang about her.
Du Feiyang had replied, “Xiu Xiu is really smart and kind. Our class only improved because we used her notes to study. But Ming Ming doesn’t seem to like her much and didn’t use her notes for the final exams.”
From the surveillance footage, she had seen that Zhou Xiu had been incredibly calm and composed during the rescue. If it had been anyone else, Tan Ming might not have been so lucky.
Tan Ming’s mother patted his shoulder and suddenly said, “You’re setting up a stall? How about letting Ming Ming help out?”
Standing off to the side, Tan Ming’s face slowly filled with confusion, “???”
Zhou Xiu quickly shook her head to decline.
Zhou Cheng also shook his head vigorously, “That won’t do. We can’t have him doing such work.”
Tan Ming’s father chimed in, “It’s no trouble at all. Ming Ming’s taller than me. Let him do some heavy lifting for you. He can handle it.”
Tan Ming stood there, speechless.
His parents patted his shoulder and left, the sound of their car’s engine faintly echoing from downstairs as they quickly disappeared.
The three members of the Zhou family began carrying various ingredients, snacks, bowls, chopsticks, and folding tables and chairs downstairs.
There were four tables and several chairs, all quite heavy. Zhou Cheng’s legs weren’t in the best shape, so he could only slowly carry the bowls down the stairs. Zhou Xiu and Liu Mei were left to move the tables.
Seeing this, Tan Ming silently picked up two tables and carried them downstairs.
Zhou Cheng pulled the goods in a tricycle, planning to set up the noodle stall at the entrance of the urban village.
Zhou Cheng struggled to pedal, so Liu Mei took over, but the heavily loaded tricycle was too much for her. Zhou Cheng and Zhou Xiu had to push from behind. Watching this, Tan Ming couldn’t bear it any longer and offered to help.
Tan Ming pedalled the tricycle all the way to the village entrance, where an open space awaited them. By the time they arrived, his forehead was covered in sweat, despite the winter chill.
Zhou Cheng praised him, “You’re strong! Your legs have power. Much better than mine.”
He had thought Tan Ming was a pampered young master, but he turned out to be quite capable.
Tan Ming hadn’t expected to be doing this kind of work. Luckily, no one he knew was around, or he might be remembered for this forever.
Zhou Cheng and Liu Mei got the chicken broth boiling, set up the tables and chairs, and prepared the bowls and chopsticks.
Zhou Cheng sliced the paper-thin noodles he had prepared at home, cutting them into fine strands. He slowly cooked a bowl of noodles for both Tan Ming and Zhou Xiu.
“Xiu’er, have a bowl of noodles. Ming Ming, would you like some?”
Tan Ming had already eaten breakfast at home, but as a growing teenage boy, he was always hungry. The aroma of the noodles was irresistible, so he nodded.
Zhou Xiu quickly finished her bowl and started helping her father with the stall.
As morning commuters passed by, they caught a whiff of the noodle stall’s enticing aroma. The stall appeared clean and hygienic, and the sight of a handsome, well-dressed young man sitting there made the place look even more inviting.
If someone like that was eating at this stall, the food must be good, they thought. Soon, customers began trickling in.
Zhou Cheng nervously rubbed his hands together, worried that their business might fail after all the preparations.
But to his surprise, within a short time, customers were already sitting down to eat.
The customers slurped their noodles, which were fine, smooth, and pleasantly textured. The broth was clear and flavourful, rich with the taste of chicken. Unlike the watered-down soups at other stalls, this one had been made with generous ingredients. In the cold winter, it was incredibly satisfying.
Finishing a bowl of soup left them feeling warm all over.
Before long, all four tables were filled with customers.
Zhou Xiu busily served noodles and cleaned tables. As soon as one customer left, another took their place, barely giving the seat a chance to cool.
Tan Ming, unused to such dirty and exhausting work, stood awkwardly on the side, silently averting his gaze.
Zhou Xiu didn’t expect someone like Tan Ming, a rich second-generation kid, to want to do this kind of service work. The fact that he had pedalled the tricycle was probably his limit.
They stayed busy until after nine o’clock when the noodle stall finally quieted down. Zhou Xiu pulled out her vocabulary book to study, glancing at Tan Ming.
“You can go home now,” she said.
Tan Ming didn’t respond. Although his expression was calm, his feelings were complicated.
He couldn’t believe Zhou Xiu’s family was struggling this much. Given what she had gone through at school, any other student would have been crushed with insecurity and likely transferred schools.
But Zhou Xiu had relied on her strength to smack down anyone who had wronged her. The confidence she displayed at school made it hard to connect her with her humble background.
While it was quiet, Zhou Xiu studied English for a while. As noon approached, the stall suddenly saw an influx of customers.
Most of them were workers from nearby construction sites, market vendors, or white-collar workers from nearby offices.
It was the weekend, so there were plenty of people around, and Zhou Cheng’s hands never stopped moving.
He happily passed bowls of noodles to his wife.
Liu Mei handled the money, counting and making change. But with so much money coming in, the couple started getting flustered, counting and recounting the same bills.
In this area, they were nothing like Zhou Xiu.
One white-collar worker ordered eight bowls of noodles for his office. One bowl had a fried egg, another had chicken feet, and there were various other combinations with mushrooms, braised eggs, shredded chicken, chicken legs, and wings. It was amazing he could keep track of it all—
One bowl was eight yuan, a fried or braised egg was two yuan, mushrooms were two, shredded chicken was three, wings were three and a half, and legs were five yuan… Zhou Cheng’s head started to ache just hearing it.
He pulled out a calculator to add it up.
But before he could start, Zhou Xiu had already calculated the total in her head, “That’s eighty-nine and a half yuan. Here’s ten and a half yuan in change.”
Liu Mei quickly took the hundred-yuan bill, handed back the change, and put the rest in the cash box.
The young office worker looked skeptical, “Are you sure you got that right, boss?”
He hadn’t even finished speaking before she had given the total. What kind of math wizardry was this?
Zhou Cheng grinned and said, “No mistake. My daughter is spot on with her math. She’s never been wrong. You can check for yourself if you don’t believe it.”
As Liu Mei handed over the change, Zhou Cheng skilfully prepared the noodles.
The young office worker didn’t trust it, so he double-checked with a calculator. After confirming the total, he silently closed his mouth.
Wow, impressive.
Tan Ming, who had been quietly watching from the side, was also stunned.
By one o’clock, they had sold out of noodles. Zhou Cheng hadn’t expected business to be so good. Liu Mei, unwilling to let this opportunity pass, went home to make another batch of noodles. By the time the five o’clock rush hit, they had sold out again.
Zhou Cheng told his wife and daughter, “Xiu’er, Xiu’er’s mom, let’s pack up and head home.”
He then happily took out a hundred yuan from the cash bag and handed it to Tan Ming.
“Thanks for your help today. Use this to buy yourself some snacks or drinks.”
Zhou Xiu quietly turned away, unable to watch.
Tan Ming accepted the money and tucked it into his wallet, “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll be going home now.”
But before leaving, Tan Ming took the tricycle back to the base of Zhou Xiu’s building.
Now more familiar with the task, Tan Ming pedalled smoothly. This time, the tricycle was loaded with empty soup containers, tables, chairs, and utensils, much lighter than before.
The golden rays of the setting sun bathed everything in a warm glow. The sunset painted the sky with fiery hues, wrapping it in soft light.
The golden light fell on the young man pedalling the tricycle, on the girl standing tall beside him, and on the slightly hunched backs of the middle-aged couple, creating a lively, heart-warming scene. After pedalling for a while, the tricycle came to a stop. They were home.
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