Literary Heroes of the Republic of China

At noon that day, they really ate braised pork and white rice.

The braised pork is made of pork belly, each piece is shiny, and it looks very appetizing. The white rice is made of high-quality rice, which has a sweet taste when chewed.

For the first time, Mu Qiong knew that rice could be so delicious.

Because of his health, he has always paid attention to nutritional balance, and always eats with meat and vegetables, but today, he turned a blind eye to the vegetables fried by the cook, and finally took a breather after eating two bowls of rice with pork belly.

When he first came to the store, he couldn't compete with others for eating meat, and he could only grab one piece of meat for a bowl, but now, the cook and helper Xiao Wang began to give way to him.For example, there were two pieces of meat left in the bowl, so they stopped eating, and it happened that Boss Chen and Mu Qiong had a piece of meat each.

Mu Qiong added the third bowl of rice, and started to eat slowly with the last piece of meat and stir-fried vegetables. As for Xiao Wang, he asked other people, and after confirming that they didn't want it, he poured the thick oil and red sauce soup of braised pork on the table. In your own rice bowl, eat bibimbap.

The four of them ate and drank while there were no guests, and Boss Chen said: "Mu Qiong, there are no people around now, so don't go out and stand there, help me get a job advertisement in the store, and recruit two waiters." Yes. After writing, stick it to the door with paste.”

Mu Qiong agreed.

Boss Chen said again: "I'll go out and buy something, and then we'll try the... burger you mentioned."

Although Boss Chen is not young, he is still very enterprising. He does things vigorously and quickly, and hurried out after speaking.

After he went out, Mu Qiong took out a piece of white paper that he had bought earlier, and began to write the recruitment notice.

At this time, the helper Xiao Wang found time to come to him: "Brother Mu, the person who was talking to you outside before was the owner of the western restaurant next door."

Mu Qiong felt that something was wrong after talking to the man in his thirties before, but now he is not surprised to hear Xiao Wang say that.

He wondered, Boss Chen told him not to go out and stand in the room to write the recruitment notice, probably to separate him from the owner of the western restaurant next door...

Xiao Wang didn't say much, just mentioned this and continued to work.Mu Qiong listened to Xiaoxiao, and continued to write the recruitment notice. After finishing writing, he found the paste from the kitchen and posted it outside.

This batter was made by Boss Chen when the shop was being renovated. Compared with the batter that Mu Qiong had eaten many times before, it was boiled for a long time and thicker...

It can also be eaten. Mu Qiong always remembers that in the comic "San Mao's Wandering Story" he read when he was a child, there was a scene where San Mao was so hungry and ate paste.

As soon as Mu Qiong pasted the recruitment advertisement on the door with paste, Boss Chen came back with some seasonings and a bag of eggs.

"Come on, let's try your burger." Boss Chen said hurriedly.

Boss Chen was in a hurry, but there were too many things in the store, and he hadn't been able to make the burger well. Everyone was busy until dark, and finally had a chance to try it.

The cook specially baked some semi-circular bread, Boss Chen cut it open, sandwiched a piece of fried pork cutlet in the middle, and put some minced meat sauce they poured on the stir-fried vegetables, the burger was ready.

In the end, Boss Chen cut the first hamburger in their shop into four and asked everyone to take one to taste.

"This bun is delicious." Helper Xiao Wang liked it very much.

The cook became much calmer: "What buns! Foreigners' buns are not called buns, but this one is called a hamburger! I also think it's delicious."

Mu Qiong was even more calm. He felt that the taste of this Chinese burger...was really good.

"This hamburger is better than the new style, and it can't be sold anywhere else...We can change the sauce and make it into other flavors." Boss Chen said: "It's a pity that foreigners' salad dressing is too expensive, otherwise you can buy some go in."

"The tonkatsu inside can be replaced with fried chicken." Mu Qiong suggested.

"This is not acceptable, chicken is too expensive! But you don't need to put fried pork chops in braised pork chops or fried pork chops." Boss Chen said, there are no farms these days, and the price of chickens is not cheap, and you can only buy whole chickens Buy, there is no way to just buy chicken legs, chicken wings or chicken breasts.

Mu Qiong didn't expect it at first, but after Boss Chen said it, he also figured it out.

In addition to tonkatsu burgers, Boss Chen also made fried egg burgers, which taste equally good.

"When we recruit people, we will launch these two burgers... I think, let's launch something else, such as fried small fish or something." Boss Chen smacked his mouth: "Small crucian carp or something pickled After making it, wrap it in batter and fry it, it's very delicious!"

Boss Chen still had a lot of ideas, everyone agreed, and then started to eat hamburger buns that the cook had baked too much or not baked with the braised pork that was specially set aside for lunch.

They put the braised pork in the bun and it became a braised pork burger.

It was very late when Mu Qiong left Boss Chen's place that day. He ran to the tram stop and finally caught the last tram. When he got off the tram, he walked and ran all the way... When he arrived at Yao's house , he was sweating profusely and panting non-stop.

But he felt a little relieved for no reason.

He couldn't run like this before!

As soon as he opened the door of Yao's house, Mu Qiong saw Mu Changyu.

"Brother! We ate white rice today, and steamed meatloaf while cooking. It was delicious!" Mu Changyu said happily when he saw Mu Qiong, "I left it for you!"

Mu Qiong's heart warmed up: "I ate two meals of braised pork today, and I don't eat meat pies. You can eat it yourself." Zhu Wanwan probably won't buy a lot of meat, and they probably won't have enough for themselves.

Mu Qiong was right, Zhu Wanwan did buy very little meat.

The steamed meat patty is made by chopping pork into puree, adding some salt and steaming it directly in the pot. Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu left a third for him, but at most it only looks like two taels of meat.

Mu Qiong refused to eat it, Zhu Wanwan said: "How about this, let's add some water and some pickles to boil, and use it to make rice to eat together."

Mu Qiong did not object to this.Meatloaf is actually minced meat. When cooked with pickled vegetables, it becomes minced meat and pickled vegetable soup. It should be delicious when soaked in rice...

Half a child starved to death, he can eat very well now, and he doesn't mind an extra meal at night.

Mu Changyu likes to toss and eat, so Zhu Wanwan asked her to cook in the kitchen, and she helped Mu Qiong make shoes by candlelight.

Mu Qiong wears leather shoes in the western restaurant, but he always wears cloth shoes on the way back and forth. After running these days, the shoes are extremely dirty, but he has no replacements... Zhu Wanwan thought about making him a new pair to wear instead.

Zhu Wanwan had finished the soles during the day, and now she was making the uppers. At the toes, she sewed a few more pieces of cloth to prevent Mu Qiong from walking too much and the toes would break the shoes.

"Mother, I'll take you and Changyu to go shopping tomorrow morning." Mu Qiong said.

Zhu Wanwan was puzzled: "What to buy? There is no shortage of things at home now..."

"Mother, there is still a shortage of winter clothes at home, and we can buy some more pots and pans." Mu Qiong said, and as he spoke, he took out the silver dollars that Boss Chen gave him today.

Tear off the paper that was tightly sealed with paste on the outside of the silver dollar, revealing the silver dollars inside, there are ten of them.

At this time, ordinary people in Shanghai can get ten silver dollars, but Zhu Wanwan has not seen so much money for a long time: "Qiong'er, where did you get so much money?"

"I made the business of the western restaurant better, and the boss rewarded me with this money." Mu Qiong said, explaining briefly.

"Qiong'er, you are amazing!" Zhu Wanwan looked at her son with admiration.

The corners of Mu Qiong's mouth hooked up.

For ten silver dollars, Zhu Wanwan kept four locks in a box they brought to Shanghai from Suzhou, just in case of emergency, and let Mu Qiong take all the rest: "Qiong Er, take the money, we will send you money tomorrow." Go buy some thick clothes, better buy a coal stove, and buy a spatula..."

While the two were talking, Mu Changyu came back with rice in pickled vegetable soup with minced meat.

She put the cold rice into the soup and boiled it for a while, and it was just right and still warm.

Mu Qiong was sweating from eating, and asked Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu to go outside, scrubbed his body briefly, and then went to bed.

It's inconvenient for him to live in the same room with Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu now. In fact, right now he wants to live in another room the most.

But at the moment, renting a house in a better location in Shanghai costs at least five or six silver dollars a month, and they have no money for the time being.

However, he can look for it first, and move out of here when he gets his salary.

On the second day, Mu Qiong still woke up very early, and went to the nearby market with Zhu Wanwan and Mu Changyu just after dawn.

Farmers in the county town of Shanghai like to sell their own produce early in the morning, and there are many kinds of things in the market.

Some sell firewood, some sell vegetables, some sell fish and chicken, and the shops next to them sell all kinds of daily necessities.

Mu Qiong bought a spatula, a coal stove, some coal cakes, a basket of vegetables and a pumpkin, and a basket for the convenience of loading coal cakes.

He was carrying the coal stove and vegetables, Zhu Wanwan was carrying briquettes, Mu Changyu was carrying pumpkins and some odds and ends, and the whole family walked back full.

"Qiong'er, it's fine for the clothes mother to buy cloth and cotton for you to make, to save money." Zhu Wanwan smiled happily as she had money in her hand.

"Okay." Mu Qiong smiled: "Mother, when you make it for Changyu, you should dress like those female students."

"I know." Zhu Wanwan smiled again, the melancholy that Mu Qiong lingered when she first saw her was gone from her brows, and her face was much ruddy.

On the way back, they passed many shops.

"Mother, wait." Mu Qiong said, and then entered a bookstore next to him.

This is a very small bookstore, incomparable to the bookstores in the concession he had been to before. There are not many things in it, but there are still elementary school textbooks... Mu Qiong took out fifty cents and bought some textbooks.

The textbook at that time was called "Republic Elementary School Textbook", which consisted of six volumes: Chinese, Self-cultivation, English, Arithmetic, Dili, and History.Of course, because there are not enough teachers, in fact, many primary schools only teach Chinese and arithmetic.

"Qiong'er, are you buying books to read? You should read more books." Zhu Wanwan was very happy to see Mu Qiong buying books.

"Mother, this book is not for me, but for you and Changyu." Mu Qiong said.

Zhu Wanwan was taken aback: "Changyu and I don't know a few words, why are you buying us books?" Zhu Wanwan is the daughter of Mu Yongxue's early teacher, and her father is a juren, but their family emphasizes that a woman's lack of talent is virtue, She didn't learn a few words.

So did Mu Changyu.

The Mu family attaches great importance to the cultivation of the male family, so Mu Yongxue can go to Japan to study, and Mu Qiong can study in a new school.

But their family has a completely different attitude towards girls. Since childhood, Mu Changyu seldom even went out.

Of course, Mu Changyu could still read a few characters. The original owner had taught her when she was a child...but she probably didn't recognize as many characters as a first grader.

"I'll teach you how to read." Mu Qiong said with a smile.