At the mont he tasted the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce, Ma Yong’s thoughts drifted far away...
To eight years ago.
Back then, he had just started university.
At the start of the school year, he was carrying a bag of luggage alone, with the admission notice and three thousand yuan his parents had scrimped and saved, he went from a remote small town to the bustling Yanjing all by himself.
But before he even had the chance to properly appreciate the splendor of this dream city...
He was already struggling with the high tuition and ensuing living expenses and other issues.
Every day felt like a two-headed dragon.
Overwhelming and frustrating!
Eventually, with the suggestion and help of teachers, he applied for a university student loan and finally paid the tuition.
He put all his thoughts and efforts into studying.
But those high-flying scores weren’t enough to satisfy his hungry stomach.
He lived in poverty!
Once again troubled by money problems.
All he could do was take a part-ti job outside of his studies.
But even after working several jobs, and keeping himself constantly busy, he could barely make ends et.
In his sophomore year...
The teacher who had looked after him noticed that he had a good voice and recomnded him for a voice-over job for TV dramas.
To be honest, the voice-over work was quite tough.
Each session took several hours, sotis working until the early morning hours.
As for the salary, it wasn’t particularly high either.
Overall, it was just slightly better than the wages from his previous odd jobs.
But whenever he heard his own voice in a TV show, he felt a sense of accomplishnt, and he found the work genuinely interesting.
So he kept at it.
He recalled one night.
When he finished the final voice-over session, it was near midnight.
The familiar streets seed deserted, the lights were no longer bright, most of the shops had closed, and there were few pedestrians or vehicles, lacking the hustle and bustle of early evening, the quiet atmosphere was rather serene.
His stomach, long empty, started to sing the "gugu" song of hunger involuntarily.
"Better find a place to eat first!"
He patted his rumbling tummy, glanced around, and tried to find a small diner to fill his stomach, so it wouldn’t keep growling.
Perhaps because it was late, many of the street shops were already closed, leaving just one or two little restaurants open.
He walked into the nearest small shabby eatery, ready to make do with any food.
"Hello..."
Entering the shop, he didn’t see the owner or a chef.
Only a girl, lying on a dining table, intently doing her howork.
Seeing this, he decided not to disturb her and was about to leave.
But just as he was turning around, the girl called out: "Are you here to eat?"
The girl’s voice was pleasant to hear, making him stop and turn back with a smile, nodding: "Yes, I am."
"What would you like to eat?"
The girl smiled brightly, revealing two cute little canine teeth.
Not thinking the girl would be able to cook, he instinctively blurted out: "Uh... anything, as long as it fills up."
"We don’t have ’anything’ here."
The girl was amused by his words and couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth: "My parents aren’t here due to so last-minute matters. If you don’t mind, I can make you a Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce and so white rice, how does that sound?"
He looked at the price list on the wall—a small portion of vegetarian Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce for 10 yuan, a large portion for 15, and white rice for 2 yuan a bowl.
The price wasn’t extravagant. A bit pricey for him, but still affordable.
He nodded in agreent: "Then I’ll have the small portion of vegetarian Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce!"
"Alright, you sit for a bit, it’ll be ready soon."
saying this, the girl set aside her howork and went to the kitchen to start cooking.
He sat quietly in a dining chair waiting.
The girl’s howork spread out on the table beside him, from high school sophomore year, had math, English, and history subjects.
Feeling bored, he leaned over to take a glance at her howork.
He noticed a major math problem on her howork was done incorrectly.
He decided to tell her about it when she returned.
Soon enough.
A rich aroma of garlic sauce wafted from the kitchen, making his stomach growl even more.
"Here’s your Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce and white rice!"
Before long, the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce and white rice were brought to the table by the girl, along with a bowl of seaweed and egg soup.
He pointed to the seaweed soup, saying: " I didn’t order this..."
"It’s complintary..."
She smiled nonchalantly before returning to her seat and resud her howork.
"Thanks..."
He didn’t argue, thanked her, then promptly reminded: "You got that big math problem wrong."
With his prompt, the girl found her mistake and quickly corrected it.
He picked up his chopsticks, devouring the al eagerly.
But gradually, he slowed down.
This richly colored vegetarian Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce, despite being vegetarian, gave him the taste of long-missed at.
Its value far surpassed its price.
The garlic sauce was authentic and rich.
The flavor perated the mushroom shreds.
Leaving a lingering aftertaste.
It tasted really good.
He thought.
And so, he savored the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce as if it were a rare delicacy, finishing it slowly.
After the al, he took out money, but instead of taking it, the girl asked: "Was it delicious?"
He nodded: "Delicious, very delicious!"
"Then I won’t charge you for the al."
She shook her hand, refusing: "It’s my first ti making Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce for soone. It’s rare to hear such praise, I’m really happy, so I won’t charge you. Besides, you helped with my mistake, I should thank you."
Not charging wouldn’t do...
This would be like a free al...
At first, he was adamantly against it, but couldn’t resist the girl’s insistence and had to leave not paying.
Afterward.
Occasionally after finishing voice-over work late at night, he would co to this eatery to have a small portion of Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce.
Sotis it was the owner who cooked for him, sotis it was the girl.
The girl’s dishes were far superior to the owner’s.
But the girl could only make it for him when the owner and his wife were absent.
And she never accepted money from him.
This made him feel quite embarrassed.
As repaynt.
He took on the responsibility of tutoring the girl in math, often helping her with problems and questions.
But in his senior year...
The girl got into a university and went to the south, leaving him in the north.
Before she left, she specially made him Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce one last ti and said to him: "Your voice is really nice."
After graduating senior year, several TV station legal programs offered him jobs, recalling the girl’s words, he decided to go work in a TV station as a host for a legal program.
The program received a positive response, and his recognition increased.
But later on, due to various reasons, he resigned and left his old employer.
Then transferred over to the local TV station here...
"Yong, what are you thinking about? Why did you stop eating?"
Lin Hongyi noticed him lost in thought and couldn’t help but ask.
Ma Yong ca back to his senses, smiling: "Nothing, just the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce is so good, I was too imrsed in enjoying it."
Then continued to pick a chopstick of Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce and started eating again.
Wondering if he’ll ever et her again in the future...
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