"Ge Ge [1], this dish smells wonderful, and it is really tasty!" Seated at the dining table, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu had eaten until her small mouth is full of sauce. Her slightly plump fingers were trying to use the chopsticks to pick up a piece chicken. When she finally managed to get hold of the chicken, she looked as if she had found a treasure.
The tasty lunch that her Ge Ge had promised her is really great, and is more delicious than whatever she had imagined.
An Jing, who was sitting beside her, immediately got a napkin and wiped w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu"s mouth. An Jing smiled as she said, "Eat slowly. No one will s.n.a.t.c.h the food from you."
"But… but the food that Ge Ge made is so tasty! If we do not eat quickly, when our stomach become full, we cannot eat this tasty food anymore!" w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu was trying to explain to An Jing in her twisted logic. But all she did is to make Ye Chui and An Jing to burst out laughing.
Ye Chui smiled, "An Jing, you also eat quickly. Once this dish cools down, it will not taste as good."
"En." An Jing nodded her head. She picked up a piece of chicken for Ye Chui, then she helped herself. After taking a bite, her face of pure bliss immediately revealed how much she enjoyed the taste of the food. Then she asked Ye Chui in surprise, "Ge Ge, I have never taste such delicious food before! What is the name of this dish?"
"It is call Da Pan Ji (Big Plate Chicken)." Ye Chui smiled and he explained. Of course, he is not willing to reveal that he had crossed over, and immediately elaborated, "I have only recently learned this recipe from someone else. Is it tasty? Then you must eat more. This dish taste really good when paired with the noodles."
After the 3 siblings had finished their meal, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu tummy was swollen. But as a little child, she was hyperactive, and she had already made arrange with her friends in school to play after school in the school grounds. Once she had let go of the pair of chopsticks, she wanted to leave and meet her friends.
An Jing stayed back to a.s.sist Ye Chui to clean up. Later she would a.s.sist Ye Chui to prepare the mutton for sale. Therefore, she could not take w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu to the school. As the school is just two blocks away, she was not worried about her little sister"s safety.
But before w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu left the apartment, An Jing reminded her again, "Watch out for cars when you cross the road! Do not go to other places to play, it is not safe! Also if strangers offered you stuff or candies, do not accept them….."
"Jie Jie [2], I know, I know. You need not remind me." w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu then mischievously smile, "If I meet a bad person, I will definitely recognise them."
"All right, Little Rain is really smart." An Jing smiled as she patted Little Rain on her head.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu grinned, and then she ran off. As she ran off, she did not forget to shout, "See you later, Jie Jie, and big Ge Ge!"
With An Jing help, Ye Chui quickly cleared the table. The two siblings then proceed to prepare the mutton. The skewers are fairly cheap, and only cost $20 for 1,000 skewers.
Ye Chui cut the mutton into bite size pieces. On a big bowl, he had already prepared a marinate comprising of soy sauce, salt, onion ginger, egg etc and had marinated the meat for over 2 hours. Then they would skewer the meat. A single skewer would contain 5 pieces of mutton.
Although it is not a tough job to skewer the meat, there are 1,000 or so skewers to prepare. The sheer numbers made it a daunting task. In one afternoon, they had to finish the task so that Ye Chui could sell the meat in the night market.
Outside of the apartment, on the street, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu was carrying her backpack and skipping happily as she made her way to school. Occasionally, she would reminiscent about the Da Pa Ji (Big Plate Chicken) that she had just eaten, and her mouth is still filled with the lingering flavour of the dish that she just had.
If only she could have a stick of lollipop to finish up, it would be perfect! But when she reached into her pockets, she was dismayed. The pocket was empty - she had already spent all her pocket money yesterday on t.i.tbits, and she had already eaten all the candies that she had bought.
She was about to sigh, when she suddenly a man voice besides her, "Little friend, do you want to eat a lollipop?"
She looked up and saw a fatty about 30 years of age standing in front of her and blocking her way. In his hand, he was holding a lollipop. His plump face was full of smiles as he offered the lollipop. This fatty is none other than the chef, Tian Xiaoduo.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu looked at Tian Xiaoduo, and glanced at the lollipop in his hand. She swallowed hard, and looked to and fro several times. Suddenly she smiled sweetly and replied, "Want!"
Seeing that w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu innocently took the lollipop from his hands, Tian Xiaoduo was delighted. This child is still young and innocent, and did not suspect a thing. He could use this child as a means to get closer to Ye Chui. By building a good relations.h.i.+p with her, then using her to get the recipe from her brother, the plan is perfect! Ye Chui loves his sisters and should not deny their request for the recipe. In this way, he could get hold the recipe!
Thinking about this, Tian Xiaoduo immediately tried to build a good rapport with w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu. "Are you going to school? May I walk you there?"
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu immediately nodded her head, "Ok. Uncle, you are a nice person."
"Hehehe…." Tian Xiaoduo grinned. The feeling of being praised by a child is quite comfortable. He asked, "Then you should tell me where your school is, ok?"
"Over there! Uncle, I show you the way." w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu replied in her sweet and adorable voice.
Under w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu"s guidance, Tian Xiaoduo walked with her towards the former"s school. On the way there, Tian Xiaoduo tried to display his friendliness and build a close relations.h.i.+p with w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu.
As they pa.s.sed by a supermarket, Tian Xiaoduo also pulled w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu into the supermarket and brought her a heap of t.i.tbits. w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu did not stand on ceremony, and immediately chose all the t.i.tbits that she wanted to eat but did not have the pocket money to purchase.
When they exited from the supermarket, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu"s hands were filled with several big, heavy bags of t.i.tbits.
Tian Xiaoduo could not care less about this amount of monies. Looking at w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu sweet smile, he was very pleased. In his mind, he was thinking that he had succeed in building a good rapport with w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, and could easily trick her to get the recipe from her brother. Just listen to her sweet voice as she called me "uncle"…. En, where are we?
Just as Tian Xiaoduo was thinking about all these, he suddenly stopped in surprise. He discovered that w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu had already stopped moving. But this is not a school. Rather, it is a ….. police station?
Just as he was puzzled and scratching his head in wonder, he suddenly saw the adorable w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu smiled mischievously, then the little girl suddenly hollered at the top of her voice, "Uncle Policemen, quick come and save me! There is a strange man that wants to kidnap me!"
Tian Xiaoduo turned green with shock, and immediately grabbed w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu by her shoulders, "What are you talking about?"
Two of the policemen were returning to the police station after their lunch. They heard the cry for help and looking at the violent manner in which the fatty grabbed the little girl"s shoulder, they believed the little girl. They immediately rushed up, and pull Tian Xiaoduo away from w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, "What are you doing!" They shouted.
"I am not trying to kidnap her, I just want….." In a panic, Tian Xiaoduo immediately tried to explain.
"Uncle policemen, I really do not know who this fatty is, and have never met him before in my life. Just now, he gave me a lollipop out of the blue, and even purchased so many t.i.tbits to try to get me to follow him. He definitely is up to no good…" w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu begins to bawl and cry.
"Uncle policemen, I am so scared!" Saying this, she immediately try to wipe her crocodile tears.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu is really adorable, and looking at her, the two policemen heart almost melted. One of the policeman immediately squatted down and comfort her, "Little lady, do not be scared. The bad guy had already been arrested by uncle."
"Misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!" Tian Xiaoduo immediately tried to explain.
"You better behave yourself!" the other policemen immediately and discreetly hit Tian Xiaoduo on his stomach, "For no reasons at all you suddenly give a child a lollipop and also purchased so many t.i.tbits to tempt a kid to follow you? Your intent is very clear! We really hate thugs like you that pick on children! Watch how we handle thugs like you!"
"I….. I…. I really am framed….."
Tian Xiaoduo face revealed his grievance that he could not speak about. He was arrested and locked in a jail cell within the police station. When he looked back at w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, he saw her smiling sweetly at the policemen. There was no trace of her tears despite her crying so pitifully just a moment ago.
When she saw him looking at her, she even happily shook the heavy bags of t.i.tbits and grinned, as if she was showing off the spoils of war. This little girl is the devil in disgust! Tian Xiaoduo thought.
At about 6pm, Ye Chui cooked and left some dinner for his two sister on the dining table. He then proceeded to push his tricycle towards the night market.
Just as he reached the junction of the street, he saw An Jing returning home after fetching w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu home from school.
Once she met Ye Chui, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu skipped and ran towards him, and with an expression of pride on her face, she cooed, "Ge Ge, Ge Ge, today I caught a strange, bad guy!"
Notes:[1] 哥哥Ge Ge means big brother. I could have used the term big brother, but I thought it would be more interesting to leave it as Ge Ge. Just like in j.a.panese manga or anime, they would use the term "Aniki" even in translations. Or in Korean web comics or drama, they would purposely translate it as "Hyung" or "Oppa". It is a good way to learn about Chinese culture.
[2] 姐姐 Jie Jie means elder sister. As above in [1], I left it as it is. In j.a.panese, the term is called "Onesan" or Onee Chan (a more friendly term), and in Korean novels, it is referred as "Unnie".