Requiem Chapter 8: Dining Table for Two
After walking around the area, Yin Hui realized that he had agreed too early. It was 11:30 now, and most small supermarkets were closed. The big supermarkets were too far away and inconvenient. Just as he was thinking about postponing the treat until tomorrow night, Tang Yan grabbed his arm and said, "Let's go! Let's go to the vegetable market."
Vegetable market? Yin Hui touched his head. Ever since that woman left, he had never felt like going to the vegetable market again. He never expected that today, in order to thank a woman, he would walk into the market again.
The market is not big, it is located in a residential area, not far from the apartment they share. There are few vendors at night, and some are preparing to close their stalls. Tang Yan said that in the past, she would go to the market every day after work, buy two vegetables she liked, and cook for herself at home.
Going to the vegetable market with a woman is a warm thing, and it also has a kind of family warmth. Tang Yan, like other housewives, bargains with the vegetable vendors. Although the difference is only a few dimes, in the eyes of women, this is also a manifestation of housekeeping.
"Auntie, how much are the tomatoes?"
"Five yuan a pound." Seeing that there was a business coming to her door, the old lady greeted enthusiastically: "Look at my small persimmons, they are very tender! They were just picked this morning, they are sweet and crispy. Girl, try some."
Tang Yan didn't hesitate to take the small tomato handed over by the old lady. After tasting it, she praised: "Hmm, it's really sweet and crisp. But it's only four yuan in the supermarket! Auntie, can you give me a discount?"
The vendors in the market, some bought goods from the Urban and Rural Development Zone and sold them here, and many came from the surrounding villages to sell things. Some of them were quite simple. And this old woman was obviously such a person. She did not doubt Tang Yan's words, but hesitated for a moment and asked: "Girl, these are harmless tomatoes! The market is about to close. If you buy more, I will give you a discount of fifty cents."
Yin Hui was helpless. He had just asked about the price. The tomatoes of this old woman were the best and the cheapest. This girl was actually exploiting her. She was so old. Is it easy to sell a few fruits? He wanted to say something, but when he saw Tang Yan's happy expression when bargaining, he couldn't bear to ruin her mood.
Tang Yan held up two fingers and said, "Then I'll buy these, okay?"
"Two kilograms? That's too little. How about you buy five kilograms and I'll give you four yuan. Is that okay with you?" The old woman was also a business expert. She decided to have a big sale and determine the profit based on sales volume.
"Ah! Five catties, that's too much. How long will it take me to finish eating so much? How about I buy three catties at four dollars a catty?"
"That won't work. Girl! Then I'll pay for it."
The two of them were bargaining back and forth for a few cents, having a lot of fun.
After ten minutes of verbal battle, Tang Yan finally bought two kilograms of tomatoes at a price of 3.8 yuan per kilogram, which made the old woman shake her head in frustration and keep saying, "What a loss, what a loss."
Tang Yan was very happy to have bought the best tomatoes at the cheapest price. As if it was something worth showing off, she happily said while holding the bag: "Haha! Isn't it great!"
Yin Hui was speechless. What was there to be proud of with two kilograms of vegetables? It even made the old lady feel heartbroken. She probably thought that she would close the stall soon, otherwise Tang Yan would never buy such good tomatoes at such a price.
Tang Yan handed the tomatoes to Yin Hui and prepared to pay. She looked left and right, but found that there was no change at all, only 100 yuan notes.
Yin Hui thought sadly, this guy is a rich man! But, will this girl be despised by the old woman? Such a rich man actually argued with her for a few cents for so long.
"Hey, do you have any change?" Tang Yan nudged Yin Hui with her elbow and whispered, "I just got my salary, I don't have any change."
Yin Hui smiled bitterly, shrugged his shoulders, and opened both of his trouser pockets, answering this serious question with vivid expressions. Sorry, he is not a person who likes to put bank cards, banknotes, and passbooks into his pockets. The only Mao Zedong note has already been accepted by the unscrupulous bar owner.
"Is that so?" Tang Yan's smiling face began to feel a little embarrassed. She began to doubt whether the guy in front of her deliberately wanted to see her make a fool of herself. So, she couldn't help but look at Yin Hun a few more times. The more she looked, the more they resembled each other, and the more she looked, the more this was possible.
"Ahem..." Yin Hui coughed twice: "Hey, why are you looking at me? Do you suspect that I am deliberately trying to make fun of you?"
"Hey! You've confessed yourself."
"Don't do that! Don't you see how innocent my clear eyes are?"
"I didn't see that!" Tang Yan curled her lips and took out a hundred-yuan bill from her wallet: "Auntie, here you go!"
The old woman was startled and said with her mouth wide open: "Girl, don't you have any change? How can I find the change?"
Tang Yan didn't even think about it, and directly stuffed the money into the old woman's pocket, saying, "Then you don't need to change it."
"What?" The old woman was dumbfounded . Is this girl crazy? She spent 100 yuan to buy two kilograms of tomatoes. If she is so generous, why did she bargain just now?
When the old woman came to her senses, Tang Yan and the others had already left. The old woman could only helplessly put the money into her pocket and shook her head. From beginning to end, she did not understand what Tang Yan was thinking.
When they were a little further away, Yin Hui asked Tang Yan, "Little Tangtang, you are out of your mind! All the bargaining you put in just now was in vain? Fifty yuan a pound of tomatoes, you really are a rich man!"
Tang Yan rolled her eyes and said unhappily, "What do you understand? It's not easy for an old lady to come and sell things every morning at such an old age. Besides, I bargain just for fun, you don't understand this. You are such a heartless person!"
Yin Hui's head was filled with black lines. Damn, is it because I am unkind, or is it because you are a rich man with weird tastes?
As midnight was approaching, some vendors who had been working all night had already started to pack up and leave. The two of them took the opportunity to sweep around and finally bought everything they needed before the end of the day.
Tang Yan said that her favorite dish is shredded pork with fish flavor, and she must try Yin Hui’s cooking skills to see what kind of shredded pork with fish flavor he can make.
As a famous Sichuan dish, fish-flavored pork shreds are not easy to make. To make it authentic, some details that are easy to overlook are necessary, such as the size of the pork shreds, marinating, material selection, and thickening of the sauce.
Yin Hui did not disappoint Tang Yan's expectations and worked hard to cook some of her favorite dishes, such as boiled pork slices, shredded pork with fish flavor, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. While Yin Hui was cooking, she stood at the kitchen door and watched him busy in the kitchen.
"A man looks so handsome when he's busy." Tang Yan looked at Yin Hun and praised.
Yin Hui put down the soup spoon: "In fact, women are more beautiful when they cook."
Tang Yan pouted unconvincedly : "That's your men's excuse for not liking to cook."
"hehe!"
In fact, Yin Hui himself was not quite sure whether this was an excuse for men's laziness, but he believed that if Tang Yan was busy in the kitchen, she must be a beautiful angel.
The meal was ready. Looking at the dishes on the table that were cooked by Yin Hun himself, Tang Yan was a little bit unconvinced that a grown man could have such good cooking skills.
"How is it? I didn't lie to you! I said I can cook. Come, try the boiled pork slices." Yin Hun picked up some boiled pork slices for Tang Yan and put them in her bowl.
Tang Yan took a bite, gave him a thumbs up and praised him.
"Eat slowly, don't burn yourself."
"It's great, better than my mom's cooking."
"Why are you comparing me with your mother? She is much older than me!" Tang Yan sneered and said, "I am comparing your skills, not your ages!"
Seeing Tang Yan wolfing down her food, Yin Hui felt very satisfied. Men are like this, they always like to show off in front of women. After this meal, she will definitely fall in love with my cooking skills, right? Yin Hui thought conceitedly.
If one day, that person can also eat the food I cook by myself and wolf it down like Tang Yan is doing now, what a happy thing that would be!
"Yin Hui, your girlfriend taught you all this, right?" Tang Yan suddenly asked curiously.
After hearing her words, Yin Hui felt sad. Can she teach me? He didn't want to mention her anymore. He didn't expect that people around him would always mention his previous life intentionally or unintentionally.
"I don't have a girlfriend."
Tang Yan looked up at Yin Hui in astonishment: "No? So they broke up!"
"She left me."
"Just leave! What's the big deal? You can find someone better than her. Let her regret missing out on a good man like you one day."
"Well, just comfort me!"
"No, no one can explain the feeling clearly. When your destiny comes, someone will naturally fall in love with you." Tang Yan smiled and picked up a piece of food for Yin Hun.
Yin Hun paused, slowly raised his head and looked at Tang Yan.
Her eyes are longing for love. At night, even the strongest woman will be vulnerable. Tang Yan is a career-oriented woman, but in front of herself, she is also gentle and considerate.
