txolops Chapter 102 Tangtang's Little Disappointment
Chapter 102 Tangtang's Little Disappointment
Yintai Plaza is at its busiest time of day after 5:30 pm.
The gentle breeze of early summer evening dispelled the lingering heat of the day, and a long queue had already formed in front of Lin Chen's fried rice stall.
"Next! To go or eat here?"
Wang Hai, holding a takeout box, greeted them.
"Pack it all up! Hai-ge, give me extra of that chilled, sweet and sour radish, it's so muggy today, I'm really looking forward to this radish to whet my appetite and make me want to eat more!"
The regular customer at the front of the line called out with a smile.
"That won't do. Rules are rules."
Wang Hai chuckled and used a slotted spoon to scoop out a spoonful of crystal-clear white radish chunks from the large, cold stainless steel bucket next to him. "Brother Chen pickled thirty catties of radishes today. Each portion is pre-portioned, so everyone gets a share. There won't be any more!"
Take your food and be careful on your way!
The line moved forward little by little.
A dozen minutes later, it was Secretary Chen's turn in line.
"Hello, one serving of fried rice with broken pieces, to go."
The woman spoke first.
Wang Hai picked up a plastic takeout box, looked up, and immediately burst out laughing.
"Oh, isn't this Secretary Chen!"
Wang Hai greeted her, glancing behind her as he filled his bowl with rice. "Why are you the only one queuing up today?"
"Didn't President Su come with you?"
Secretary Chen explained, "President Su has a very important board meeting this afternoon. He's still in the meeting room listening to the report, and it probably won't be over for another two or three hours."
She didn't eat much at noon, and just now she specifically asked me to come down and get her a serving of Mr. Lin's fried rice.
At this point, Secretary Chen added, "By the way, please pack the chilled radish separately for me, and make sure the broth doesn't leak out."
President Su specifically instructed that we must bring this.
"The big boss works really hard too."
Wang Hai nodded, then turned to Lin Chen, who was tossing the food in a wok, and called out, "Brother Chen, President Su is still in a meeting and can't leave, so Secretary Chen came to pack it up for her!"
Lin Chen overheard the conversation.
He simply nodded slightly, his hands continuing to stir-fry the rice in the pot without pausing.
Next to the stall, Tangtang, who had been sitting obediently on her special little stool, was holding a small plastic basket full of disposable spoons.
The little girl froze instantly when she heard the words "Secretary Chen".
Her big, dark eyes immediately darted anxiously around the crowd behind Secretary Chen.
No. That familiar tall figure is not there.
Tangtang pursed her little mouth slightly, and her two little hands unconsciously gripped the edge of the plastic basket.
"Aunt Chen..."
Tangtang tilted her little face up and asked in her sweet, childish voice, "Is the pretty auntie really not coming today?"
Secretary Chen lowered his head and looked at the little girl sitting there obediently.
Seeing the light in Tangtang's big eyes quickly dim, Secretary Chen's heart softened.
She bent down slightly, making her gaze level with the little girl's, and said in a very gentle voice, "Tangtang, President Su really wanted to come down and see you today, but there are so many people waiting for her in the conference room, she just couldn't leave."
"Oh……"
Tangtang lowered her head and pouted her little mouth in grievance.
I waited all afternoon with great anticipation, and even during my craft class with Teacher Liu at kindergarten that day, I was thinking about the scene of delivering the windmill painting.
Now, suddenly hearing that the pretty auntie can't come, the child's unique sense of loss is impossible to hide.
Lin Chen packed the fried rice into a takeout box next to him.
He turned around, looked at his daughter's disappointed face, and a trace of heartache flashed in his deep eyes.
Lin Chen walked to Tangtang's side, slowly squatted down, reached out and gently rubbed Tangtang's fluffy little head.
"Don't be sad, Tangtang."
Lin Chen said, "The pretty auntie is working hard, just like Daddy has to set up a fried rice stall every day."
Although Auntie didn't come in person, she specifically asked Aunt Chen to buy fried rice, which shows she's thinking of Tangtang, right?
Hearing her father's words, Tangtang looked up.
The little girl sniffed and nodded very sensibly.
"Hmm... I know, it must be very tiring for you to attend meetings, beautiful auntie."
Tangtang's voice was soft, but very earnest.
"Should Tangtang still give the gift she prepared to the pretty auntie?"
Lin Chen asked gently, "It's a gift!"
Tangtang immediately perked up at the mention of gifts.
She quickly stood up from the small stool, ran to the tricycle, squatted down, and opened the small schoolbag.
The little girl carefully reached in with both hands and touched the transparent plastic folder.
She carefully pulled the folder out, bit by bit, afraid of wrinkling the drawing paper inside.
Tangtang held the folder containing the windmill painting in both hands, turned around, and walked to Secretary Chen.
She tilted her rosy little face up and handed over the folder as if entrusting it to an important treasure.
"Aunt Chen, this is a big windmill I drew. It's a return gift I promised to give to the pretty aunt."
Tangtang's eyes were incredibly sincere. "Could you please take this to the pretty auntie for me?"
Secretary Chen looked at the little girl who was only up to his thigh, and at the brightly colored and carefully crafted painting that the little girl was holding in her hands. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.
"sure!"
Secretary Chen immediately stood up straight and extended both hands to take the transparent folder from Tangtang's hands.
"Auntie promises you that as soon as I get back to the building, I will immediately hand over the big windmill that Tangtang drew to President Su, making sure it's perfectly flat."
Secretary Chen smiled and promised, "President Su will be very happy when she sees this painting."
"Really?"
Tangtang's eyes lit up again.
"Auntie isn't lying to you, really."
Secretary Chen nodded.
"Thank you, Aunt Chen!"
Tangtang smiled happily, revealing two cute little tiger teeth.
Although she was a little disappointed that she couldn't give the painting to the pretty aunt in person, Tangtang was happy again as long as the aunt could see her painting.
At this moment, Wang Hai had already packed the food.
"President Su's meal has been packed up."
Lin Chen walked over and handed the packed plastic bag to Secretary Chen.
"The chilled radish inside is a generous portion, and it's individually sealed."
Lin Chen instructed, "Tell her that fried rice will taste worse when it gets cold, so tell her to eat it while it's hot."
If your stomach is still upset, eat two pieces of radish to line it up first.
Secretary Chen took the plastic bag.
"Okay, Mr. Lin, I will definitely convey your instructions."
Thank you.
Secretary Chen politely thanked him, carrying the fried rice in one hand and carefully holding the transparent folder containing the painting in the other, then turned and walked out of the line, heading quickly towards the Yintai Building.
Goodbye, Aunt Chen!
Tangtang stood next to the tricycle and waved her little hand vigorously at Secretary Chen's back.
Tangtang only looked away after Secretary Chen's figure disappeared through the building's revolving doors.
The little girl turned her head, sat back down on her little stool, picked up her small plastic basket, and her sweet, childlike voice rang out again in front of the stall.
"Brother, here's a spoon!"