"Today weâre actually kind of lucky, that kid Tong Li is hurt even worse than Mom, I heard he has a severe spinal dislocation and might need surgery," Aunt Wang is still trembling at the thought of the chaotic situation today.
"Serves him right. Not long ago he got married and brought his young bride to the stall. Our takeout prices are all about the same, a few cents difference is no big deal. But they went ahead and offered their food ten cents cheaper than others, and even gave two quail eggs as a bonus every day. Heâs clever, almost stole all the hospital business, no wonder the hospitalâs not happy. Oh well, it doesnât matter whoâs right or wrong, itâs only a matter of time before the hospital gets dissatisfied. They are public, weâre private, without connections and power, thereâs no way to compete with them. Mom thinks we should switch to regular takeout. If weâre earning less, then weâre earning less." Last year, my daughter already talked about how outside takeout from the hospital isnât a long-term solution. To be able to last this long is already quite good.
Back in Huai Town, they had gone through a shop smashing incident, which scared Liang Hongmei, who knew they had no background. And whatâs more, theyâre in the big city now, plenty of people here have connections, they canât compete. And they were borrowing someone elseâs place for their business in the first place.
"Well, if we donât do it, we donât do it." Without the takeout business, the profit from the casserole shop certainly wonât be as good as before.
"Are you hurt? They didnât hit you, did they?" Sheâs seen the thugs before, domineering and unreasonable, relying on their backing, regardless of consequences, Lin Wan looked at Zhang Shuhua and Aunt Wang.
"No."
Liang Hongmei meant for Lin Wan to go to the casserole shop, but Lin Wan wasnât in the mood to go, directly telling Zhang Shuhua and Aunt Wang to go home and rest.
"Mom, letâs not go today. Missing one day of work, letâs just take it as a rest day. You sleep for a while, Iâll cook some congee for you. Donât think about anything these days, just focus on recovering."
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In the evening, when Lin Yinghui came back and saw Mom had sprained her ankle, he asked and learned what had happened. "Mom, if takeout isnât allowed, then we wonât do it. Our family doesnât lack that bit of money right now. If someone causes trouble in the future, make sure you stay far away. If we lose stuff, let it be lost. Health is more important. We canât have days like today anymore, itâs fortunate Aunt Wang and Shuhua were there. What would you do if you were alone?"
"I know." Her son and daughter caring for her made Liang Hongmei warm and grateful inside.
The next morning, Lin Wan rode her bike back home early to tell Grandma what happened, assuring her not to worry. She packed a few clothes too since she wouldnât be back for the next few days because she had to take care of her mom.
Grandma gave Lin Wan all the leftover eggs at home to take and nourish her mom.
Lin Wan tried to refuse for a while but couldnât, so she accepted them, thinking she would buy more when coming back.
Lin Wan boiled a thermos of water for Mom, placed it by her hand, found a chamber pot for the house, locked the door, and went to the casserole shop.
Without takeout, there was more leisure after preparing the shopâs ingredients. Summer meant not many people ate outside, and today was pathetically few. Lin Wan guessed the hospital cafeteria might be having a promotion, otherwise business wouldnât be this bad.
A little after ten, after Lin Wan finished preparing the shop, she thought of visiting Tong Li at the hospital. But who knew that his new wife would bring two people and come to her store.
"Itâs this shop, theyâre the ones who pushed Tong Li," Tong Liâs wife said to an old woman beside her, then rolled up her sleeves like a bandit and started smashing things in the shop.
"You sons of bitches harmed my Tong Li, making him hospitalized for surgery, and you have the nerve to continue business? Iâll let you do business; Iâll let you do business!"
"What are you doing, stop it!" Lin Wan and Zhang Shuhua stepped up, trying to stop the old woman.
Beside them, Tong Liâs wife and the other middle-aged woman naturally wouldnât let them get close.
One of them started grappling with Lin Wan and Zhang Shuhua.
Zhang Shuhua was strong, facing the middle-aged woman without any fear, taking her down with a few moves. Lin Wan was even tougher, working daily, naturally not having issues with a spoiled city girl. She precisely pinched the places on her that hurt the most, without hitting her face.
Of course, while pinching her, Lin Wan also guarded against getting hit herself, but couldnât completely avoid it. She ended up with a few red scratch marks on her face.