【036】90s cook 36

Given that she couldn't quite grasp the taste preferences of Southern people yet, Gong Mingxia decided to start with Northern flavors.

After drafting the menu, she picked out tomorrow's dishes: Braised Pork Belly, Fish-flavored shredded pork, and Green Pepper Eggs. These were the three meat dishes, but since the Braised Pork Belly was costly, tomorrow Green Pepper Eggs wouldn't come with a fried egg; for vegetable dishes, vinegar potato shreds, spicy sour bean sprouts, and Stir-fried Green Vegetables with Mushrooms; cold dishes were spicy sour cucumber slices and Scallion Tofu.

It's important to mention the Braised Pork Belly. Each customer would only get two pieces because the diced pieces were not small and the simmering costs were high, so it might be difficult to earn back what she spent tomorrow. Considering today's success, tomorrow there would also be a pot of noodles, a pot of rice, and adding a pot of soup, the soup temporarily set as nori egg drop soup.

The ingredients for tomorrow's cooking all needed to be fresh, so Gong Mingxia was not going to hassle with the Market later.

Checking the time, it was already five or six in the evening, her daughter was still asleep, and she went into the kitchen to simmer some plain porridge. Just as she had covered the lid, she heard her own door ringing.

She was puzzled because they didn't know anyone here.

She carefully opened the inner wooden door. The security door outside was still closed as she peeked through the gap, "Who is it?"

An old lady appeared in her line of sight. Gong Mingxia recognized her after a moment, somewhat familiar, "Aunt, who are you looking for?"

"My surname is Wang, I live right across from your house. I saw you coming back and wanted to ask if you had five yuan. I'm a bit short of change,"

With that reminder from the old lady, she immediately recognized her, "Oh, Aunt Wang, please come in, come in."

Mrs. Wang didn't decline and walked straight in. She also shut the iron door behind her and closed the wooden door. While Gong Mingxia went to fetch the money from inside, Mrs. Wang had no qualms and naturally sat down on the sofa, silently observing the home.

Since the last tenant vacated the place, the house had been quite messy. Unexpectedly, this woman was quite able to clean up. Although there were quite a few baskets of vegetables in the living room, it was still orderly and neat. The coffee table was wiped clean, and the floor wasn't dirty, clearly a diligent person.

Gong Mingxia came out of the room and was momentarily stunned to see Aunt Wang sitting on the sofa, but quickly walked over with a smile.

"Aunt, I got you five one-yuan notes, so it's easier for you to make change. Here, why don't you count?"

"Ah, we're all neighbors, why count? Should I write you an IOU?"

Gong Mingxia quickly waved her hands, "No need, Aunt, why so formal? If you need anything in the future, just let me know. I usually get back by around two or three in the afternoon,"

Aunt Wang wasn't in a rush to leave but glanced toward the room, "Is your daughter asleep?"

Gong Mingxia shyly nodded, "She was so tired, she fell asleep as soon as we got back. I still haven't had the time to look for a kindergarten for her yet, so there's no one to look after her during the day, she has to stay with me,"

Aunt Wang inadvertently asked, "Where is the child's father?"

Gong Mingxia's face turned somber, and she shook her head, "We divorced, I've been divorced for five years,"

"Five years? Your daughter looks about five years old?"

"Yes, she is a little over five," More words were unnecessary. The old lady was not inquisitive. However, perhaps truly feeling it was hard for Gong Mingxia to haul her daughter around the stalls, she suggested,

"Actually, there is a kindergarten in our community. If you want to send your child there, I can speak to them for you,"

"Aunt, I don't have the local registration here,"

"I know, don't worry. I'm very familiar with the kindergarten director. Although it's a public kindergarten, we can get in through connections. I'm just not sure about the nursery fees. My grandson is grown up now, so it's been many years since I last paid any attention to this."