At dusk, the rays of the setting sun in the west shine on the city streets, giving the passers-by a light golden glow. People go out in groups of three or two, or rush home in a hurry.
At the corner of a slightly shabby old street, there are few pedestrians around. There are people busy at several stalls near and far. Some have set up lights and are busy opening for the night market, while others are packing up and preparing to go home carrying their loads or pushing carts.
The stall owners at the nearby stalls were talking and laughing, greeting each other. A sturdy man with slightly gray hair was tidying up tables, chairs and benches with a young man, while an old man and a woman came over pushing a two-wheeled wooden cart.
"Oh, Uncle Li, you are here."
The man heard the sound of wheels and looked up at the approaching car and people.
"Wait a moment, we'll clean it up right away."
"Grandpa Li, we'll be fine soon."
The young man also looked up, and when he saw the cars and people, especially when he saw the girl, his hands suddenly became agile.
"Hahahaha, no hurry, Dongdong, go help."
"Um."
The girl responded and walked briskly to the stall to help tidy up. The location of the stall was very good. After the noodle stall closed during the day, their midnight snack stall would be set up here in the evening. The two families got along well and naturally had a good relationship.
Seeing the girl coming over to move the bench, the young guy seemed very attentive.
"Dongdong, I'll do it, hey."
"Hey, mind your own business."
Seeing his son getting close to her, the sturdy man shook his head helplessly and smiled at the old man. The old man smiled and stroked his beard in front of his wooden cart, as if he was used to it.
"Yiqiu is a good kid."
"Hey, Uncle Li, you elders are saying this because you love him. This kid is just too lazy, otherwise he should be studying in a certain academy now."
The young man had very sharp ears and immediately turned around to retort.
"Dad, there are 360 professions and every profession has its own top talent. Being a scholar or an official is not the only way out. Besides, aren't you always worried that our family's craft will be lost? I think it's pretty good now!"
"You little brat, you're just making excuses for your laziness. Hurry up and pack up. Don't keep your Grandpa Li and Dongdong waiting."
"Hahahaha, it's okay, it's okay. It's still early for the night guests to come. I just want to take a rest!"
"Uncle Sun, I'm fine too!"
The girl also said something with a smile, her voice very clear.
"I'm fine too!"
The young man followed up with a sentence.
"You have a fart..."
The sturdy man was about to lecture his son when a voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Shopkeeper, please don't close your stall any more!"
Several people in front of the stall heard the sound and looked over.
The afterglow of the setting sun was blocked by the distant buildings, and the street was slightly dim. Three people walked in at some point. Two of them were wearing tight gray clothes, hats without any accessories, and had no expression on their faces. One was dressed elegantly, but his face was a little pale. The person who spoke was the man in gray on the left.
"Uh, how many people are these?"
During this time period, there are basically no people visiting the stall. Looking at the appearance of these three people, it doesn’t look like they can’t find somewhere else to eat, right
The man looked a little suspicious, and the three of them felt that something was not right just by looking at him, and they instinctively didn't want to have any interaction with him.
"I'm sorry, my three guests, but we have closed the stall today."
The man on the left smiled and took a step forward to explain his purpose.
"Shopkeeper, we have come from afar to eat a bowl of noodles at your stall. Besides, you are just closing the stall. Just put two stools and cook another bowl."
"To be honest, the ingredients left in our stall are not enough to make three bowls of noodles."
The sturdy man fiddled with the cabinet cart for a while, looked at the materials, talked with a smile, and rubbed his apron with his hands.
"Yes, I know that this stall doesn't have much material left at this time."
The old man also said this with a smile.
The gray-clothed man on the right stepped forward and said something expressionlessly.
"Stop talking nonsense, just make noodles, one bowl will be enough, we won't eat it, just make it for him!"
The man in gray pointed at the wealthy man beside him, and his tone was totally unlike that of a servant.
The sturdy man looked at the old man next to him, then smiled and nodded, saying "yes", and hurried to the cabinet cart to work.
"Yiqiu, set up the tables and chairs. Dongdong, go help your grandfather organize his things. We don't need your help here."
The young man quickly nudged the girl next to him with his elbow. The latter looked at him with a little concern, then glanced at the three people of unknown origin, and then quickly walked to her grandfather.
"grandfather... ... "
"It's okay, it's okay. It's just that the distant guest wants to eat noodles."
The old man smiled and comforted his granddaughter, but there was still a hint of worry in the depths of his eyes. He would look at the three people from time to time, but he was not overly prying and only took a quick glance when he was packing up the stall.
At the Sun family's side, everything had been rearranged. Fortunately, the fire had not been completely extinguished. After a little light and some fanning, the stove in the car soon became bright again, and Sun Yiqiu, who was in charge of lighting the fire, had half of his face illuminated by the light.
Three visitors came to a newly set table one after another, but none of them sat down.
The gray-clothed man on the left looked at another small table on the side, where there was a stall curtain that had been half rolled up, with the word "Sun's" written on the exposed part.
“This is it, right?”
The wealthy man with a pale face had a complicated expression and nodded gently after a long time.
“This is definitely the place.”
The voice was somewhat quiet, and seemed to contain many emotions. After saying this, the man turned his head and looked at the cabinet cart.
"Shopkeeper, a bowl of mixed noodles."
"Okay, a bowl of mixed noodles~~~uh..."
After the habitual shout, the strong man's voice paused, and then he added embarrassedly.
"Sir, I'm really sorry. I just said that there are not many ingredients left. There are enough noodles, but not enough mutton offal. The amount of offal noodles will inevitably be..."
"It's okay, just put less in, then go on."
The man finally smiled, seemed to sigh, and then slowly sat down.
"Hey, sir, please wait a moment. Please take a seat... Yiqiu, let's have some tea."
"oh oh!"
The young man hurried over with the teapot and the tea tray, neatly placed the tea bowls, and then poured tea for the three people. From time to time, he would observe the three people with the corner of his eyes, but he didn't dare to be too obvious.
When the two men in gray saw that the tea was ready, they sat down one on the left and one on the right. They picked up the tea bowls, smelled the tea, and put them down again without taking a sip. So the wealthy man sitting in the middle picked up the tea bowl and started drinking.
Not far away, Dongdong looked at this side with some concern, then looked at her grandfather, who just shook his head slightly and asked her to tidy up the things on the stall.
The father and son of the Sun family were not slow in their movements. Even Sun Yiqiu was very efficient at this moment. Soon, the sound of noodles coming out of the pot could be heard from the kitchen cart.
A man in gray watched the stall owner pick up braised offal from a ceramic bowl with chopsticks. He suddenly frowned, turned his head to look at the people waiting for noodles, then stood up and walked a few steps to the cart.
When the Sun family father and son looked up, they saw a gloomy face with narrow eyes.
"Humph! How dare you fool us with lies? There is clearly a lot of food left in your pottery basin. If it is not enough for a bowl, you should put it all into the noodle bowl, but you still left most of it. You agreed to this deal, but you are still so greedy. You are so bold!"
The voice of the man in gray was low at first, but it became a little sharp at the end, causing pain in the eardrums of Sun and his son. Dongdong on the other side couldn't help but cover his ears.
A feeling of terror came over them, and when they heard the voice, they all felt cold all over and had goose bumps all over their bodies.
"Sir, sir, you misunderstood, you misunderstood! It's all my fault for not explaining it clearly. It's not that I intentionally deceived you. This is, this is us..."
"Don't scare the store owner. This is the rule of Sun's noodle stall."
The Sun family was so cold that they could not speak clearly. Before they could finish their words, the diners waiting over there spoke for them.
"This noodle stall has always had a rule that a portion of the food must be kept when closing the stall. It is not sold to anyone who comes, but it is not that they don't want to give me food."
"Yes, yes, that's it... Just as this guest said..."
Sun spoke incoherently. As she spoke, white air came out of the corners of her mouth. Her lips were slightly blue. She was very cold, and her son beside her was shivering all over.
"Yeah?"
"Yes, yes!"
Sun moved aside, made way behind the cart, and pointed to a location.
The man in gray turned sideways and took a look. There was a nail on the back of the cabinet cart, and on it hung a wooden sign that looked a bit old, with three words engraved on it: "Keep a copy."
"It seems that I really wronged you to wait, hehe."
The man in gray sneered and returned to the table.
Only then did Sun and his son feel their body temperature rising again, and their backs were covered in cold sweat. The people in front of the stall understood that the person they met must be no ordinary person, and a very evil one.
This kind of thing is usually just heard in operas and stories, but this time it happened. However, those who have been setting up stalls for many years still have some composure. The Sun family didn't say much and still prepared food. It didn't matter whether it was money or not, they just hoped that the other party would finish eating and leave quickly.
At the same time, Sun couldn't help but look at the diner a few more times.
The Sun family's small noodle stall was not very eye-catching, and those who knew the rules should be regular customers, but they had no impression of this person at all.
"Here it comes, sir, please have some!"
The man personally carried the plates to the table and served the noodles to the diners, while his son followed closely, standing guard beside his father with full vigilance.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, this bowl, I missed it so much!"
The elegant man showed a look of delight, picked up his chopsticks and started eating noodles, while another man in gray clothes on the side was looking at the Sun family carefully.
"Hehe, interesting, interesting. I was mistaken just now. I didn't expect that the owner and the staff of this remote little noodle stall are all blessed people. Although they are not rich, they seem to be honest and kind..."
"Um?"
Another man in gray also began to look closely at the father and son of the Sun family, while the latter shrank back and dared only smile apologetically.
"Sir, you are joking. Sir, you are joking. It's just that the craftsmanship handed down from our ancestors is pretty good. Although there have been several twists and turns, it has never been cut off for dozens of generations..."