Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 205 - 200: An Incredibly Simple-Minded Villain
Early next morning, the noise outside woke Lin Qiao. She looked at the sky outside; it was gray and foggy, it must be almost 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
She turned her head to look at Song Tingfan beside her. He just happened to open his eyes and sat up, saying hoarsely, "Sister-in-law."
His hair was a mess, hanging on the side, matching his just-awoken expression, making him look a bit naive and cute. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile, "Keep the cloth bundle safe, you’re going to the private school exam later."
"Okay."
Song Tingfan noticed her gaze, reached up to smooth his hair, and at the same time glanced worriedly at his sister-in-law.
Was he really ugly just now?
The sister-in-law liked him to look handsome.
Luckily, Lin Qiao didn’t know what he was thinking, otherwise, she would have burst out laughing. As she was combing her hair, Song Tingfan went downstairs to boil water. By the time she came down, the water was almost hot.
He took a square cloth, put it in the basin, wet it, wrung it slightly, and handed it to her. After she wiped her face, he put it in the basin, rubbed it two or three times, wrung it dry, and washed his own face.
After opening the shop door, the voice of the woman next door came, "Come and make the dough, my back hurts."
Then came the man’s voice, "Coming, coming, I told you to rest, you just wouldn’t."
Lin Qiao was really curious about this couple who had been tossing about most of the night. She took a glance while pouring water, and saw a thirty-something couple. Ha, they were at their youthful and vigorous prime.
Understood.
Understood.
"Sister-in-law, what are you looking at?"
Song Tingfan followed her gaze and looked over. His eyes landed on the dough-making, and he instinctively thought she wanted to eat buns, "I’ll be right back." He said and hurried out.
Lin Qiao didn’t even have time to ask him before he was out of sight. Fortunately, he was grown-up now, so he shouldn’t get into any trouble. She wasn’t worried and returned to the shop to steam cakes.
The dough was already fermenting from last night.
Just after steaming three baskets and putting the lids on, Song Tingfan returned. He was panting and handed her a paper package, "Sister-in-law, for you to eat."
Looking at the steaming buns, Lin Qiao glanced at him, "..."
Could he have thought she wanted to eat buns earlier?
A villain with a simple mind.
No wonder he asked yesterday if she could fall asleep.
She reached out, took one, blew on it twice, and took a bite.
Seeing her cheeks move, Song Tingfan’s eyes and eyebrows slightly curled up, then he picked up a mantou and started chomping down.
"Didn’t buy buns?"
Seeing this, Lin Qiao took a look at the paper package. There was one bun left inside, clearly an extra for her.
Buns were too expensive, costing two cents each. Song Tingfan wanted to save a bit, so he lied, "I like eating mantou."
"No need to bluff, eat this leftover one. You’ve got to eat well before the exam later."
Under Lin Qiao’s gaze, Song Tingfan reluctantly ate that bun. Worried that she hadn’t eaten enough, he ran out to buy two more.
But Lin Qiao didn’t have time to eat anymore. As soon as she set out the noodles, someone wanted to eat. Although it was meant to be cold noodles, hot noodles were fine too.
Not many people were eating noodles, only four or five, but it was a good start.
Song Tingfan helped clear the bowls and chopsticks. He wanted to wash them before leaving but had to go for the private school exam. He took his cloth bundle, "Sister-in-law, I’m going to the exam."
"Wait, I’ll walk you there." Lin Qiao hadn’t even taken off her apron, hurriedly closed the shop, and sent him to the private school.
Luckily the private school wasn’t far, just a short walk away, Lin Qiao signaled him not to be nervous, "Just do it like usual."
"It doesn’t matter how well you do, just do your best."
She patted him on the shoulder, "I’ll cook fish for you at noon."
"Okay." Song Tingfan nodded.
Once he went inside, Lin Qiao rushed back to open the shop, but before she got close, she saw Li Guifen with a basket on her back, knocking on the door, probably getting no response, peeking through the door gap.
Lin Qiao quickly called out, "Mom."
Her sudden voice startled Li Guifen, but seeing it was her, she sighed with relief, "I thought you were still sleeping, I’ve been calling with no answer."
"No, I just went with Little Uncle to his exam."
"Tingfan was here yesterday?"
"Yes."
Lin Qiao pushed open the door to let her in, then poured a bowl of water for her to drink and said, "You haven’t had breakfast, right? I’ll go buy some buns for you."
Li Guifen waved her hand, took out two big bowls from the basket, "Why eat buns when I have food here. Your dad packed it for us, just heat it up."
If it weren’t for farm work today, Lin Han would have come along.
Fearing they hadn’t eaten, he cooked before dawn.
Seeing the big bowl of meat, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile wryly, feeling warmth in her heart, "I’ve eaten." She said and went to heat the food.
"Even if you’ve eaten, you should eat more to have strength."
Li Guifen looked at the greens in the basin, "Do you need those washed?"
"You rest for a while, I’ll wash them later."
"I’m not tired."
Watching the woman crouch and wash the vegetables, Lin Qiao felt a bit complicated inside, but she didn’t think much of it.
Li Guifen treated her well, so she treated her well in return.
That’s just the way she is, treating people how they treat her.
Although she was good to the Song An and Lin families, she actually knew in her heart that she was genuinely sincere only with Li Guifen and Lin Han.
After hurriedly eating, the cakes were done steaming. Lin Qiao set them on the counter, then sprinkled some with peach blossom powder, though only partially.
After finishing these, she cooked the cold noodles and set them aside to cool.
During this time, a few people came by to ask what it was, and Lin Qiao took out the sliced sample cake for them to taste. They were "startled" after hearing the price.
Lin Qiao remained composed, but Li Guifen muttered in dissatisfaction, "If you can’t afford it, don’t taste, seriously, these cakes are all made of eggs."
"It’s alright."
Lin Qiao picked a bowl of cold noodles and mixed it, then tasted it and found it quite good. She picked a bite and fed it to Li Guifen.
Li Guifen glanced at her and opened her mouth to eat, "Daughter, it’s delicious."
"If it’s delicious, eat more." Lin Qiao put the remaining cold noodles into her hands and then prepared to mix another bowl.
At this point, an uncle came over, pointing at the big bowl of noodles, "What is this?"
Before Lin Qiao could speak, Li Guifen enthusiastically said, "Cold mixed noodles, they’re delicious. If it’s not good, you don’t need to pay, you can try some, we haven’t touched much of this." As she spoke, she handed him a new pair of chopsticks.
The uncle picked a bite and found it quite nice, "How much for a bowl?"
Li Guifen didn’t know the price, so she looked at Lin Qiao. Lin Qiao said, "Same price as hot noodles, two taels and seven cents, three taels and nine cents."
"Then give me a bowl of three taels." The uncle went to sit at a table in the shop.
Li Guifen quickly poured tea for him, smiling, "It’ll be ready soon, just wait a moment."
Lin Qiao worked quickly, mixing it in no time, and Li Guifen brought it over.
Perhaps it was the beginning, but several more people came to eat noodles. As Li Guifen washed the dishes, she looked at the cake on the counter, only having sold one piece.
She couldn’t help but worry it wouldn’t sell.
But she worried for nothing because, after 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., more people came to the market, and many bought cakes. Once these cakes sold out, they even steamed another batch.
The two of them were busy selling cakes and cold noodles, exhausted. Li Guifen was alright, just a helper, but her daughter was busy everywhere.
Finally, when there were fewer people, she told her to rest for a while, "Daughter, you must be exhausted, rest for a bit."
"Not tired."
Lin Qiao was indeed exhausted, but that’s business.
As she was about to clear the tables, she saw Liu Fuzhu coming with things, "Boss."
Liu Fuzhu smiled and nodded, examining the shop, giving a refreshing feeling, she said, "Your shop is well arranged."
