txolops Chapter 72 Weekend Rest
Chapter 72 Weekend Rest
As night deepens, the streetlights in the narrow alleys of the urban village glow dimly.
"Whoosh—" The tricycle stopped downstairs at the rental house.
Wang Hai deftly pulled out the car keys and jumped out of the car.
Lin Chen sat in the passenger seat, carefully supporting the sleeping Tangtang and adjusting his position.
"Brother Chen, you carry Tangtang upstairs first. Leave these two empty buckets and the folding table to me; I can carry them up by myself."
Wang Hai lowered his voice and, as he spoke, walked to the back of the truck bed and untied the thick rope securing it.
Lin Chen nodded, without refusing.
He carried his daughter in his arms, trying to keep his steps steady, and walked towards the dark stairwell.
The old rental building has no elevator, and the motion-activated lights in the hallway are unreliable.
Lin Chen could only rely on the faint moonlight filtering in from outside to climb the steps one by one.
Tangtang in his arms seemed to sense the bumpy ride and rubbed against Lin Chen's broad shoulder, her little mouth pouting slightly.
Lin Chen immediately stopped and stood at the corner of the stairs, gently swaying his arms twice, as if he were coaxing a baby to sleep.
Only when the little girl in his arms relaxed her brows and began to breathe evenly and deeply again did he continue to climb up quietly.
Pushing open his somewhat rusty security door, Lin Chen walked straight into the bedroom.
He gently laid Tangtang flat on the crib.
The little girl sank into the soft pillow, rolled over, and found a comfortable position.
Lin Chen squatted down beside the bed.
He first reached out and untied Tangtang's little shoes, then gently took them off and placed them under the bed.
Lin Chen pulled over the thin blanket next to him and carefully covered Tangtang with it.
He bent down and carefully tucked the blanket in, making sure there was no draft, leaving only half of his daughter's rosy, sleeping face exposed.
"Daddy..."
In her sleep, Tangtang's little mouth opened and closed slightly, muttering a mumbled, indistinct word, and a small hand peeked out from under the covers.
"Dad's here."
Lin Chen responded softly, reached out, took his daughter's small hand, and put it back in the quilt.
After staring at his daughter for a while to make sure she was sleeping soundly, Lin Chen stood up, tiptoed out of the bedroom, closed the door, leaving only a narrow gap for ventilation.
At that moment, a noise came from the living room.
Wang Hai had already moved two large stainless steel buckets to the side of the sink.
"Splash—" Wang Hai turned on the tap, and the sound of water filled the rented room.
He rolled up his sleeves, squeezed out a large amount of dish soap, and began scrubbing the grease at the bottom of the soup pot with a brush.
Lin Chen walked over and picked up another rag to help.
"Hey, Brother Chen, don't do it, go and rest!"
Wang Hai shielded himself with his elbow, lowered his voice and laughed, "These are just two empty buckets, I can clean them with a few quick swipes."
You've been standing in front of the stove all night; your wrists must be aching. I've only been handing out spoons and packing bags; I have plenty of strength."
Lin Chen ignored him, took the thermos that had contained rice, filled it with some water, and began to clean out the rice residue.
The two worked in perfect harmony, neither speaking loudly; the only sounds in the room were the running water and the brush rubbing against the stainless steel.
The washing was completed in about ten minutes.
Wang Hai straightened up, turned the tap off completely, and placed the two clean buckets upside down on the drain rack.
He took two tissues, wiped the water stains off his hands, and walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Lin Chen poured two glasses of warm water, walked over, pushed one of them in front of Wang Hai, and sat down opposite him.
"Phew—" Wang Hai picked up his cup, took a big gulp of water, and let out a long sigh of relief. "Brother Chen, these 150 servings sold out really fast today."
In less than three hours, not a single crumb was left.
I see people in that group still complaining about not being able to buy it.
Lin Chen held the water glass in both hands, glanced down at his palms which were a little red from holding the spatula for a long time, and replied, "Mm."
Wang Hai put down his water glass, looked up at Lin Chen, and tentatively asked, "By the way, Brother Chen, when I was packing up just now, I only sent a notification in the group that we were sold out for today, and I didn't mention the arrangements for tomorrow."
Tomorrow is Saturday, should we continue operating this stall?
Lin Chen raised his head and looked at the half-open bedroom door.
"I won't be setting up my stall tomorrow."
Lin Chen spoke up.
"Not going out?"
Although Wang Hai had a vague idea, he still asked a question.
"Yeah, I'll rest this weekend."
Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, looked at Wang Hai, and said in a gentler tone, "These past few days I've been setting up my stall, leaving early and returning late every day, busy preparing ingredients and frying rice. I haven't had much time to properly spend with Tangtang."
She'd been talking about it for the past couple of days, saying she wanted to go to the city park to see the big windmills this weekend.
Upon hearing this reason, Wang Hai immediately slapped his thigh and nodded in strong agreement.
"That's true! There's no end to how much money you can make."
Wang Hai lowered his voice, afraid of disturbing Tangtang inside the house, "Tangtang is such a sensible child. She comes with us to the square every day and sits for two or three hours without crying or making a fuss. She even helps to hand out spoons to the guests."
We should take her out for some fun and make her happy.
"Yes. So the stalls will be closed for the next two days this weekend."
Lin Chen finalized his plan.
Wang Hai stretched and leaned back in his chair, a relaxed smile on his face.
"Alright! Since you've spoken, Brother Chen, I'll benefit from this and get two days off too!"
Wang Hai said with a smile, "To be honest, every night this week I've been smelling the aroma of fried rice in the square, and I've been dreaming about packing takeout boxes."
"I'm taking advantage of the weekend to sleep in all day and catch up on my sleep!"
"Yes, you've worked hard these past few days. Go back and get some rest."
We'll prepare again next Monday at the usual time.
Lin Chen said.
"Alright!"
Wang Hai stood up, picked up the thin jacket draped over the chair next to him, and put it on. "Well, Brother Chen, since I'm not setting up a stall tomorrow and don't need to get up early to buy groceries, I'll head back first. I won't disturb you two's rest any longer."
Taking the little girl to the park tomorrow will be tiring, so you should go to bed early too!
"I send you."
Lin Chen stood up.
"No need, no need, it's just a couple of steps."
Wang Hai waved his hand, walked to the security door, put his hand on the doorknob, turned around and said, "If anyone in the group asks, I'll just tell them it's the weekend."
"Just go back as you said."
Lin Chen nodded.
"Alright, Brother Chen, wait a minute! See you tomorrow—no, see you on Monday!"
Wang Hai grinned, gently opened the security door, and walked out.
See you Monday.
With a soft "click," the iron gate closed and locked again.
Lin Chen turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only a dim orange night light in the entryway.
He walked to the bedroom door, gently pushed it open, and took one last look in the dim light.
Tangtang was sleeping soundly, her small nose twitching evenly with her breathing.
Lin Chen stood by the door for a moment, a barely perceptible, gentle smile curving his lips.
He closed the door and went to the bathroom.
As night deepened, the hustle and bustle of a busy week gradually dissipated, and the rented room welcomed the quietest time of the weekend.