Volume 7: Frost Chapter 31 Watching the Store
The door of the bookstore was pushed open.
Chen Nan looked up and saw Yunyun walking in carrying a light pink transparent backpack. She quickly walked to Chen Nan, took off the backpack and placed it on the table beside her.
Chen Nan saw the sweat on her forehead and asked, "Did you come back by yourself? Didn't your dad send you back?"
"My aunt called and said my cousin was not feeling well, so he went to see me. I asked him to take me to the subway station because I wanted to go home for dinner." Yunyun looked at Jiang You's painting and was also surprised. "Did you draw this?"
"yes."
"Is this a ship?" Yunyun asked, pointing to a certain place in the painting.
Following Yunyun's finger, Chen Nan noticed that there were some black spots between the waves and the reefs. They looked like gravel, but upon closer inspection they looked like ships.
"It's a boat." Jiang You gave the answer.
"Is anyone on board?"
"Yes ," Jiang You pointed at the reef with his paintbrush, "This used to be an island with some people living here. The houses they built were very beautiful and shiny."
"Is there internet on the island?" Yunyun asked after thinking for a moment.
"No," Jiang You put down his paintbrush and leaned back in his chair. "So they started building a boat in order to get online, but before they were finished, the tsunami came."
"Did they escape?" Yunyun asked.
"Escaped, I guess."
Chen Nan glanced at the time, walked a few steps outside, and then said to Xiao Liu, "Xiao Liu, go back. It's almost six o'clock."
Xiao Liu said, "Sister Nan, let me watch the store tonight, and you can take Yunyun home for dinner."
"No, you can go back."
"Okay." Xiao Liu didn't insist. She tidied up the bookshelf, put away the things, and then said goodbye and left.
Jiang You stood up, stretched his body for a while and said, "You guys go back and eat, I'll watch over here."
“What’s the use…”
"Go ahead, and bring me some," Jiang You walked behind the counter, looked around, and then said, "Don't worry, Sister Nan, I've run this shop for several years."
"Okay, then what do you want to eat?" Chen Nan asked.
"Potatoes." Jiang You said.
“Just potatoes?”
"Well, it's fine to cook it this way. I want to eat potatoes."
"Okay, then I'll take Yunyun back first. How about I," Chen Nan hesitated, "how about I take Xiaomo back and bring him over after dinner?"
"Okay, I'll talk to Lao Lin."
"I'm going to find my brother." Yunyun put on her backpack and walked out happily.
Chen Nan shook her head and said, "I'm leaving now. If you're hungry, there are snacks in the drawer. You can make your own drinks."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
After Chen Nan took Yunyun away, Jiang You saw that there were not many people in the store, so he walked out of the counter. After walking around, he picked out a book with a terrifying title and binding. The title of the book was "Calling Souls", and the cover was a black background with gray paper-cut figures and a white and red title.
He walked back to the counter with the book and opened the drawer, which contained half a bag of pine nuts, a few slices of peach cake, and a can of dried kumquats with rock sugar. Jiang You ate while reading, stopping from time to time to count the money, make a drink, and take a look at the oil painting teaching.
After the students bought the paintings and left, the teacher walked to the counter and asked Jiang You, "Are you also doing business on this street?"
"Yes, it's over there," Jiang You pointed in the direction of the insect house, "Just go straight out of here and turn the corner and you'll find it. What's your name?"
"My last name is Ke, you can just call me Lao Ke."
"Okay, my name is Jiang You."
"Are you studying oil painting?" Lao Ke asked.
"I've learned a little bit, right? Am I good at drawing?"
"I thought you were a student at the Academy of Fine Arts, but your technique doesn't look like you have received professional training."
"I'm just drawing for fun. My son is learning." Jiang You said as he took out his phone. He opened the album and showed Jiang Mo's drawing to Lao Ke. "How is it? Pretty talented, right?"
Lao Ke took the phone and looked at it carefully. Then he asked, "Did you find a teacher for him?"
"Not yet. He is still young. Let him develop freely first."
As he was talking, Chen Nan walked in carrying a lunch bag.
Seeing her come in, Lao Ke returned to the oil painting area on his own accord, while Jiang You walked over quickly. He took the bag and walked quickly to a table. After sitting down, he took out the lunch box and said, "If you don't come, I'll starve to death."
There were three Lock & Lock containers in the lunch bag. One contained rice, one contained two dishes, minced meat, eggplant and shrimp, and one contained two slightly burnt cakes with ham inside. Jiang You first picked up a cake and took a bite. It was a potato cake, burnt on the outside and tender on the inside, with a hint of onion.
"Did you do this?" Jiang You asked.
"Didn't you say you wanted potatoes?"
"It's delicious. How is it made?"
"It's quite simple. Peel the potatoes, slice them and steam them. Chop the ham and put them together. Add soy sauce, salt, pepper and flour and knead them together. Make them into pancakes and fry them in oil. Finally, sprinkle some chopped green onions," Chen Nan sat in front of him. "It tastes better when it's crispy right out of the pan."
Jiang You put the eggplant in the rice and gobbled it up while saying, "Next time you make it, I'll wait by the side and eat one as soon as it's out of the pot."
Chen Nan laughed out loud, and then she said, "Just now when I passed by your store, Xiaomo ran in by himself. I wanted to bring him here."
"I was thinking about playing games."
"It's not good for boys to stay at home all the time. Last time we went to Ocean Park, I thought he was quite happy."
"I think so too," Jiang You looked up at Chen Nan, "I might have to take him out soon."
"Where are you going?" Chen Nan asked.
"It's not decided yet, probably for a week to half a month," Jiang You said as he peeled shrimps, "Take him out for a walk, because next year when he goes to school, it won't be so convenient."
"Yes."
"My classmate's wife seems to be about to give birth." Jiang You said suddenly.
"The last time you went to a wedding?"
"Yes, it's him, Zhao Shiqi. He plans to hold a full-moon banquet on October 1st," Jiang You finished the last bite of rice. "Are you going to the time and space? If you are, we can go together."
"They are all your classmates, so maybe it's not a bit..."
"I'm going to bring some minced ginger over," Jiang You put down his chopsticks, "You know, it's hard for all of us to get together. It's hard to say what we can drink and so on."
Chen Nan glared at him gently, "His wife just came out of confinement, and you guys are dragging him to drink."
"Don't take him, don't take him," Jiang You waved his hand, "The other three of us will play, it's a rare opportunity, you go, help me take care of Jiang Mo."
Chen Nan shook his head. "No, Yunyun..."
"Take Yunyun with you. It's a good opportunity to stay in Zhuzhou for a few more days and have some fun." Seeing Chen Nan's expression relax a little, Jiang You said, "After the National Day, when Yunyun goes to school, other children will tell them that their parents took them to such and such place to see the huge crowds..."
"Then I'll talk to Xiao Liu," Chen Nan made a decision, "and let my mom take over for a few days, and it should be enough."
After dinner, Jiang You stayed with Chen Nan until closing time.
