Yang Xiulan was serving food. Han Fang spotted Li Long at once, delight spreading across her face, and tugged at her mother.
After finishing serving the customer, Yang Xiulan looked up, saw Li Long, and smiled. She wiped her hands on her apron and asked when he came over:
"Uncle, have you eaten? I've just made some soup rice. It's nice and clean. Shall I get you a bowl?"
"No need, Sister Yang. I've just eaten." Li Long led the horse and cart over to her pushcart and stopped, then said:
"There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Go ahead, Uncle." Seeing how serious Li Long looked, Yang Xiulan grew a little nervous.
"Well, my girlfriend's been pretty busy lately. Sometimes she might not have time to cook at noon or in the afternoon. Since you cook every day anyway, I thought she could eat here, and we could count her meals toward your rent. How does that sound?"
"Sure... no, no, that won't do. I have to pay the rent. How much could one more person eat?" Yang Xiulan nodded at first, then shook her head vigorously. "We're already so grateful that you've taken the two of us in. If you waive the rent too, we won't know how to repay you..."
"We can talk about the rent later, then. She might start eating at your place in the next couple of days. Just make whatever you normally do. Ordinary home cooking is fine; there's no need for anything fancy. She can eat whatever you eat. My girlfriend isn't picky."
With that settled, Li Long asked Han Fang about her studies, then said goodbye and went to buy grain. He was heading into the mountains today. The road would be covered in snow and bound to be