txolops Chapter 147 Tangtang's Little Paper Boat and Little Rabbit
Chapter 147 Tangtang's Little Paper Boat and Little Rabbit
10:30 a.m., in an urban village.
The bread truck slowly pulled up in front of the rental apartment.
Wang Hai took the car keys, opened the car door, and jumped out.
He walked around to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and let out a long sigh of relief when he saw the kitchen utensils and boxes of takeout containers crammed full.
"Brother Chen, are we going to move all this stuff up to the second floor?"
Wang Hai rolled up his sleeves, looked at the several large boxes of thickened packing containers, and couldn't help but scratch his head in worry.
The rental room on the second floor wasn't big to begin with; if we crammed it all in, there wouldn't even be room to put our feet down.
"No need to move everything."
Lin Chen opened the car door and got out. He glanced inside the car and said, "The five boxes of takeout containers, spoons, and the three newly bought sets of folding tables and chairs can be left in the car. There's no need to carry them upstairs."
We usually need a vehicle to transport goods when setting up our stall on Fridays.
"That's right! The bread cart is a ready-made warehouse!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Hai said, "Brother Chen, you're the one who understands things best. Otherwise, climbing up and down these stairs today would have exhausted me half to death."
"Move the two rice cookers and that large thermos upstairs."
New cookware must be thoroughly cleaned with boiling water beforehand.
Lin Chen gave the instructions, then picked up the insulated container with both hands and carried it up.
"Alright! I'll get the rice cooker!"
Wang Hai picked up a rice cooker and followed Lin Chen up the stairs to the second floor.
The two made three trips back and forth, carrying all the large items that needed cleaning into the kitchen on the second floor.
After unpacking the cardboard boxes and placing the new cookware against the wall, the kitchen suddenly felt a bit cramped.
"call"
Wang Hai walked to the sink and washed his hands. "The big items are done."
"Brother Chen, it's past eleven o'clock now. Shall we take a break and prepare some food?"
"Take a ten-minute break and prepare all the side dishes for tonight's stall."
Lin Chen wiped his hands with a towel, his tone calm.
"no problem!"
After catching their breath, the two of them got straight to their usual food preparation routine without any unnecessary chatter.
Time slips away quietly amidst our busy lives.
……
4:20 PM.
The two packed all the ingredients needed for tonight's stall into food storage containers and cleaned the kitchen countertop.
Lin Chen washed his hands and dried them with a towel.
"Let's go pick Tangtang up from school."
Lin Chen picked up the car keys hanging on the wall.
"Let's go!"
Wang Hai responded.
The two went downstairs and got into the van.
The car drove out of the urban village and headed towards Qiming Bilingual Kindergarten.
……
At 4:30 pm, at the entrance of Qiming Bilingual Kindergarten.
The school bell rang on time.
A number of parents had already gathered outside the gate to pick up their children, and they were standing in twos and threes outside the pick-up and drop-off area waiting.
Wang Hai parked the bread truck across the street, Lin Chen got out of the car, and the two walked together across the zebra crossing to the kindergarten gate.
A few minutes later, the children from each class, led by their teachers, came out in long lines one after another.
"Daddy! Fatty Uncle!"
Among the crowd, Tangtang, who was wearing a school uniform, spotted Lin Chen at a glance.
The little girl, carrying a small schoolbag on her back and holding something in both hands, happily ran over with her short legs.
Teacher Liu followed behind Tangtang with a smile, watching her rush towards Lin Chen.
"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Liu."
Lin Chen bent down, reached out to protect his daughter, and nodded to Teacher Liu.
"Mr. Lin, you're too kind. Tangtang did a wonderful job in her craft class today."
Teacher Liu responded with a smile, then turned around to take care of the other children.
Lin Chen looked down at his daughter.
He noticed that Tangtang was holding a brightly colored little object in each of her two little hands, protecting it tightly.
"Tangtang, what treasure are you holding? Why are you being so careful?"
Wang Hai leaned closer and asked curiously.
Upon hearing Uncle Pang's question, Tangtang immediately raised her two little hands high, as if presenting a treasure, and handed them to Lin Chen and Wang Hai.
"Daddy, Uncle Fatty, look!"
This is what I made in my craft class today!
Tangtang's big eyes sparkled, and her tone was full of pride.
Lin Chen looked closely. In Tangtang's left hand, she held a small paper boat folded from pink cardstock. Although the edges were not folded very neatly, the shape was already very complete.
In her right hand, she was holding a small animal made of white and orange clay.
"Wow, this clay sculpture is quite unique."
Wang Hai carefully examined the object in Tangtang's right hand, looking at its two long white ears and round body, and said with a smile, "Uncle Fatty, guess what Tangtang is making? It's a little rabbit, isn't it?"
"right!"
Tangtang nodded when she saw that Uncle Pang had guessed correctly right away.
Then she brought the clay sculpture closer to Wang Hai's eyes, pointing to the small clump of orange clay near the rabbit's mouth.
"Uncle Fatty, look, the little rabbit is still eating carrots!"
A huge carrot!
Tangtang explained the details of her creation in a very serious manner.
"Oh, so this orange one is a carrot!"
Wang Hai praised, "Tangtang is so skillful, she even managed to sculpt a rabbit eating a radish!"
Much better than Uncle Fatty was when he was a kid. Uncle Fatty couldn't even mold a ball into a perfect round shape back then.
Tangtang was so happy to receive the praise that she showed her two little tiger teeth.
Then she turned her head and looked at Lin Chen with expectant eyes.
"Daddy, aren't the paper boats and bunnies I folded pretty?"
Lin Chen looked at the two small handicrafts in his daughter's hands.
While this may seem like the simplest origami and modeling clay to an adult, it represents an entire afternoon of focus and effort for a four-year-old.
"It's very beautiful."
Lin Chen reached out and gently patted Tangtang's little head. "The paper boat is folded very well, and the little rabbit is very cute."
Tangtang listened very attentively in class today.
"hey-hey!"
With her father's approval, Tangtang was completely satisfied. She held her creation even tighter in her little hands, exclaiming, "I'm going to take the little paper boat and bunny home and put them next to the TV!"
"Okay, let's set it up when we get home."
Lin Chen picked Tangtang up with one hand and used his other hand to cover her little hand holding the handicraft to prevent her from being pushed by the crowd. "Come on, let's go home and move our things to get ready to set up our stall."
"Um!"
Tangtang nodded obediently.
The three returned to the van.
Wang Hai started the car and drove back to the rented room.
Back downstairs, Lin Chen and Wang Haiyi carried the stainless steel bucket filled with broth, the rice cooker with white rice, the food storage containers for side dishes, and the folding tables and chairs they would use for their stall that day onto the bread cart and the electric tricycle.
……
Around 5 p.m., the flower beds outside Yintai Plaza.
The evening breeze rustled the leaves of the trees around the square, and the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the open space in a warm golden glow.
The two cars were parked in the same spot, one in front of the other.
Lin Chen and Wang Hai unloaded the tools.
Folding tables and chairs were set up, condiment boxes and side dish bowls were arranged, and the queuing barriers were pulled apart.
The two went through the entire process smoothly and effortlessly, without any unnecessary words or actions.
Wang Hai placed the last box of chopped scallions on the table and looked around.
The office workers in the surrounding buildings had not yet completely left work, but several people were already waiting by the flower bed, looking expectantly at the stalls.
Lin Chen stood in front of the stove.
He reached out and turned on the valve of the gas cylinder.
"boom"
Flames leaped up.
"Brother Chen, it's almost time."
Wang Hai stood beside the stall with a smile.