She's got the airs of a real landlady!
Hmph, I hate all exploiting classes!
Fang Qiming said he wanted to eat fried rice with egg. I stood by the pot holding the egg and thought for a full ten minutes: should I put the rice in first or the egg in first?
Who cares, let's just stir-fry them all together!
When the dark, murky pot was served, Fang Qiming and Xie Anxuan were both dumbfounded.
Xie Anxuan took a sip of water and said, "I don't really feel like eating. I'm going to school now."
Fang Qiming picked up a few grains of rice coated with egg with his chopsticks and said, "Are you sure this is egg fried rice?"
"Eat it or don't, it's up to you!" I said to him with a long face, then turned around and went to do the laundry.
"Su Yuanyuan! What kind of service is this? I'm going to dock your pay!"
****
Doing laundry is no problem for me either. I just tossed everything into the washing machine, added two spoonfuls of detergent, stirred it all, and it was done! After that, there was nothing more for me to do. I rummaged through the refrigerator and found a big box of fresh grapes, then snuggled up on the sofa with them to watch TV.
The North is great! There's heating in winter, so no matter how cold it is outside, it's warm and cozy inside.
I wonder where Qu Ling is right now. Has he eaten enough? Is he in a heated room? As I thought about it, my eyes welled up with tears.
Qu Ling, where are you?
Fang Qiming went to work during the day, Xie Anxuan went to school, and I was home alone with nothing to do. I was too lazy to cook lunch, so I saw many takeout restaurant numbers written on my calendar. I randomly picked the number of a noodle shop and called it, ordering a bowl of noodles.
When the noodles were brought upstairs, I realized I had no money. Just as I was about to shamelessly explain to the delivery guy, he dropped the noodles down and left.
"Hey! You...you haven't collected the money for the noodles yet?"
The young man glanced back and laughed, "Don't you settle your accounts at the end of the month? The boss keeps track!"
"Oh...I see!" I thought for a long time while holding the noodles with soybean paste. "Do you have anything else besides noodles with soybean paste?"
"Yes! My family makes the best roast duck! We also have Dongpo pork and braised pork hock with rock sugar, those are our signature dishes."
"Then could you please make another trip and bring me one of each of the dishes I mentioned earlier?"
"Great!" With a beaming smile, the young man ran into the elevator.
Hehe, didn't Fang Qiming say he'd cover all my meals and lodging? Well then he'll have to cover whatever I eat!
Rock sugar braised pork knuckle, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
While eating braised pork knuckle with soybean paste noodles, a new idea suddenly popped into my head. Since I have food, lodging, and a stable income in Beijing, why should I rush back? I might as well stay here, work part-time, and look for Qu Ling at the same time!
Sigh, as expected, I, Su Yuanyuan, am still a lucky person. Even when I'm down on my luck, I can still find a way out!
Because I had been thinking about Qu Ling for too long, I only realized that I had forgotten something very important when Fang Qiming and Xie Anxuan came back in the evening: dinner.
"Yuanyuan! Is dinner ready?" Fang Qiming, dressed in a suit and tie, looked completely different from his casual clothes yesterday. He threw his briefcase on the table, flopped onto the sofa, and yelled.
"Uh... wait a little longer!" I rushed to the kitchen. There was still some leftover food from lunch, but I couldn't take it out for them. There was also a tube of noodles in the cupboard, so I could cook some noodles for them!
I poured the leftovers into the pot and cooked them with the noodles. The heat was probably too high, because when I lifted the lid, it had turned into a pot of mushy noodles.
With a heavy heart, Xie Anxuan served the noodles to the table. He glanced at them and immediately stood up, saying, "I've already eaten outside. Please enjoy your meal."
Fang Qiming stared at the pot of mushy porridge, his lips twitching as he said, "Yuanyuan, is it because I didn't lend you money that you're trying to poison me?"
"Is it really necessary? You're my benefactor, I'm grateful to you more than ever!" I ladled a bowl of soft noodles and placed it in front of Fang Qiming. "My benefactor, please have some!"
"I...I've already eaten out, enjoy your meal!" Fang Qiming fled in panic at my mushy noodles.
"Hey! You can eat a little more even if you've already eaten!" I grabbed him and held the bowl of noodles right under his nose.
"Ugh~~" Fang Qiming turned his head away in disgust. "I'm going to the balcony for a smoke. You can eat by yourself!"
I pursed my lips and let go of him, then picked up my chopsticks and took a bite of the mushy noodles. It tasted really good! It had the sweetness of braised pork knuckle with rock sugar and the aroma of Dongpo pork. It was simply a top-notch noodle dish! What a pair of guys with no taste.
I was eating noodles alone when I suddenly heard Fang Qiming scream from the balcony.
"Ah—my shirt! My coat! Su Yuanyuan!!!" Fang Qiming stormed back into the living room, cigarette in hand. "Why did you wash all my clothes until they were all stained?"
"No way, it's smudged? Maybe your washing machine is faulty and spun the clothes." I focused on eating my noodles and ignored him.
"What? You put all your clothes in the washing machine to wash them all at once?"
"Of course! Saving is a virtue, and I will never waste water and electricity."
"Su Yuanyuan!" Fang Qiming screamed, clutching his head. "How could I have picked you up like this?!"
He rushed back to his room while shouting. After a while, he came out with a wad of cash in his hand. He looked at me with a very sincere expression, stuffed the money into my hand, and said, "Miss Yuanyuan, this is for your travel expenses. Please buy a ticket back tomorrow! This money is enough for you not only to buy a sleeper ticket, but also for a plane ticket! You don't need to pay it back; it's an unconditional donation from me! Really!"
I pushed the money back into his hand, smiling but firmly replying, "No!"
"Why?" Fang Qiming screamed in agony.
"I've made up my mind! I'll work as your nanny. The pay is a bit low and the place is a bit small, but I'm willing to put up with it because you're a nice person. Fang Qiming, have you finished your cigarette? Come and eat some noodles!"
"Ah—" Fang Qiming screamed and ran back to his room.
The saying "It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away" probably describes Fang Qiming and me perfectly.
Oh, Fang, you're such a good person! I'll definitely repay you by doing my housework well!