Little Server

At the thought of this, Xiaoguo had an idea.

“Aye, wait a minute.”

The shop assistants stopped what they were doing and looked at the boss in panic.

The boss was also shocked by her sudden voice, perhaps due to his guilty conscience. But judging from the sheepish look on his face, it was obvious that he had done something dishonest.

Xiaoguo kept her expression neutral and smiled. “I think I have changed my mind. This one feels a little big. My little donkey might have difficulty pulling it.”

“Oh, oh, oh, sure, sure!”

Without thinking, the boss nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The shop assistants sighed helplessly and took down everything again. Fortunately, they hadn’t done much so it was easy to dismantle everything.

One of the shop assistants glanced in the boss’ direction and whispered to his colleague.

“Tell me, what is the boss trying to do?”

“Sigh, stop talking. He’ll hear you later.”

“Hmpff! He is trying to take advantage of her just because she’s a woman. To think that he was planning to install a second-hand carriage for her and was even prepared to make her pay the price of a new one. How wicked!”

“Alright, alright. Isn’t it a good thing that she’s requesting another carriage? Stop talking. If the boss hears you, your salary will be deducted again!”

The shop assistant, who had spoken at first, was gloating at this moment. He nodded and shut his mouth. He was happy to see his boss suffer—he totally deserved it!

Xiaoguo strolled in front with the boss following behind her. He kept wiping his sweat with a handkerchief and looked nervously at the woman in front of him. He wondered if she had noticed something amiss.

Xiaoguo wasn’t planning to say it to his face. It didn’t seem wise to embarrass the other party. After all, this was the only shop within a ten-mile radius that sold carriages. She was a lone woman, and all the shop staff were burly men. If they were up to any dirty tricks, she had no chance of winning. She shouldn’t burn her bridges while she is still here.

Xiaoguo walked around. She even asked carefully for the price when she saw something suitable. It really looked like she was going to pick another design.

Although it looked like that on the surface, her ultimate goal was to find the one she saw previously. Regardless of the price or the size, it was the one she liked most.

Just as expected, the carriage she had taken a fancy to was still in its original position.

Xiaoguo looked around and pretended to look apologetic. She came to the carriage and pointed at it. “Forget it. I’ll take this one.”

It was obvious what the boss was feeling at this moment, but there was nothing he could do. He could only instruct the shop assistants to get the carriage out and install it for Xiaoguo.

He had gone through all that trouble for nothing. The carriage with the deformed wheels still remained unsold. It was returned to its corner to gather dust.

Xiaoguo had also taught the boss a lesson. Don’t underestimate women, especially their sixth sense and bargaining power.

Xiaoguo handed the money to the boss and left happily in the new donkey cart.

The depressed boss was left behind—in his hand was a 30 per cent discounted price for the carriage. He was also left to endure the ridicule of the shop assistants behind him.

Xiaoguo sat in the new carriage and enjoyed the comfortable ride. She sighed in satisfaction. Her donkey cart was just perfect!

–

After being abandoned by Xiaoguo, Zhuang Zhuang followed Qin Anming around. Whatever his uncle did, he just followed.

“Good boy, Zhuang Zhuang. Go sit at the counter and play. You can work on the accounts with Uncle Xu.”

Qin Anming stopped in his tracks helplessly and grabbed the little tail behind him. Ignoring his objections, he stuffed the boy behind the counter and instructed Uncle Xu to help keep an eye on him. With that, he turned around and got back to work.

“Don’t worry.” Uncle Xu nodded and put down his abacus. He stopped Zhuang Zhuang, who was about to follow behind Qin Anming and sneak away. He lowered his head and said, “The shop is very crowded now. Your uncle is worried about you bumping into things. Wait here obediently.”

Although Zhuang Zhuang snorted indignantly, he sat down obediently. He crossed his arms and pursed his lips. It was obvious that he was feeling unhappy at this moment.

It was peak hour in the restaurant, and there was an endless stream of people eating. After all, this was a noodle shop. Bowls of hot noodle soup were being served everywhere in the restaurant. If Zhuang Zhuang accidentally bumped into anyone and got scalded, how are they going to explain it to Xiaoguo?

Zhuang Zhuang understood their intentions. Although it was hard to sit still, he didn’t leave and caused trouble. He knew that it was for his own good.

He placed his hands on his cheeks and looked at the dining crowd with his big eyes. He watched people come through the door, ordered their food, paid the bills, and then left the shop.

One moment, he would prick up his ears to listen to their conversation. The next moment, he would observe their table manners.

Qin Anming was so busy that he couldn’t leave the shop floor. But he still took the time to look at Zhuang Zhuang every few seconds. He was relieved to see him remain behind the counter.

Just as Zhuang Zhuang was getting bored and watching one group leave, his gaze was suddenly attracted by the old couple loitering at the door.

There was no other reason. Zhuang Zhuang had sharp ears. Although they were a distance away, and the shop was noisy, he could guess their conversation just by reading their lips.

After Zhuang Zhuang figured out what they were saying, he patted Uncle Xu who was beside him, and gestured for him to look at the door. However, there was someone queuing up to settle the bill, so Uncle Xu couldn’t be bothered with him. Without looking back, he said, “I’ll play with you later.”

Seeing that Uncle Xu was ignoring him, Zhuang Zhuang could only turn around and call out to Qin Anming. “Uncle? Uncle?”

However, there were too many people in the shop and it was noisy. As soon as Zhuang Zhuang spoke, his voice was drowned immediately by the surrounding voices. When he saw Qin Anming enter the kitchen, he had no choice but to ask the others for help. Unfortunately, no one responded.

Seeing that the couple was about to leave, Zhuang Zhuang got anxious. He disregarded the fact that he was not supposed to leave the counter. Pushing open the small door at the counter, he ran towards the door.

With much difficulty, he managed to maneuver through the crowd to reach the door. He was just in time to stop the old couple from leaving.

“Grandpa, Grandma, are you intending to eat here?”

“Oh?”

The couple, who was about to leave, thought that they were hearing things. They looked around but did not see anyone. Just as they were feeling puzzled, they suddenly felt someone tugging at their pants. They looked down curiously and saw the little man panting heavily.

“Grandpa, Grandma, are you intending to eat here?”

Seeing that the two of them were not answering him, Zhuang Zhuang asked them again patiently. After seeing them nod, he smiled. He took the initiative to introduce the noodles in the shop.

“There are two types of noodles in our noodle shop—malatang and herbal noodles.” Zhuang Zhuang held the hands of the two of them and pointed to the right. “For Malatang, you can select the ingredients you want. Look, this wall is filled with Malatang ingredients. After choosing the items you want, they will be charged by weight. On this side, there are various types of noodle soups. You can go into the shop and take a look. The price and selections are all displayed on the wall.”

The two seniors looked at each other with a hint of interest in their eyes. Apart from their interest in food, they were also interested in Zhuang Zhuang.

The old man coughed and was about to say something.

However, Zhuang Zhuang did not give them time to think. He helped the two elders into the health center and arranged for them to sit down. He took the initiative to say, “I recommend grandpa to choose the almond pear soup noodles. It has medicinal properties that help with coughs and clearing phlegm. For granny, I recommend the Chinese ginseng black chicken soup noodles. It is nourishing for the body.”

After getting the consent of the woman, the old man turned around and said lovingly to Zhuang Zhuang, “Then we’ll go with your recommendations.”

“Okay!”

Zhuang Zhuang was a little excited to receive an order. He ran happily to the counter and shouted, “Sister Ruyi, Sister Ruyi!”

The counter was very high. When Ruyi heard the commotion, she leaned out and saw Zhuang Zhuang. She asked curiously, “What’s wrong, Zhuang Zhuang?”

“The two elders have made an order. One serving of almond pear soup noodles and one serving of Chinese ginseng black chicken noodle soup.”

Zhuang Zhuang pointed to a corner near the wall. Ruyi looked over and saw the old couple with gray hair sitting in the shop. “Okay!”