Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 217: Niu Wa

"Boss, come into our shop and have a meal. We have cold-mixed pork, meat and egg wontons, and homemade bacon. They're all delicious." A woman in an apron looked at Hou Xiaoge and asked, then came out to greet him warmly.

"Okay, we'll eat at your house. Bring up the delicious food. But the meat should be leaner. We can't eat too fatty ones." Hou Xiaoge also walked in.

"Okay, boss, please take a seat!"

The proprietress quickly wiped the tables and chairs with a rag, then quickly asked her son to help Hou Xiaoge tie the horse to the hitching post at the door, and then she excitedly ran in to let her husband cook.

Although Hou Xiaoge had eaten a leg of lamb a few hours ago, he now had an unusually large appetite and could eat two or three kilograms without even having to fill a gap.

The first thing that came up was a pot of tea made from local tea leaves grown in the mountains, a plate of cold white meat, and a plate of red oil pig ears.

Hou Xiaoge didn't hesitate to pick up the chopsticks and started eating.

In less than twenty minutes, the table was filled with seven or eight dishes.

When Hou Xiaoge was eating, he did not let the kid who led the way eat with him, mainly because the kid was a bit dirty and his hands were all dirty. He couldn't eat by himself after sitting at the table.

"Boss lady, pick up some vegetables from me and make a big bowl of rice for the kid." Looking at the boy standing aside swallowing his saliva, Hou Xiaoge shouted to the boss lady beside him with a smile.

"Hey! That's good. Niu Wa has met a good person today." The proprietress smiled warmly at Hou Xiaoge, then asked her son to look after Hou Xiaoge while she went to the back to scoop rice.

Hou Xiaoge also saw the mother and daughter making faces at each other. They were afraid that he would eat half of the food and run away on horseback. It was just a few dollars, and he was not willing to lose face like that.

He shook his head, smiled, and continued to taste the food.

After getting used to Qin Province's delicacies, occasionally tasting food from other places is also a different flavor.

Especially the red oil from Sichuan Province is really good. It combines the fragrance of Qin Province's green peppers and has its own spicy taste. Eating it in this weather can really drive away the cold, which is also a characteristic of people living in the mountains.

After a while, the proprietress came with a large ceramic bowl, which contained at least half a pound of rice.

"Come on, give this pork leg flower to little brother! I don't like eating it." Hou Xiaoge said, pointing at the pig's leg flower that had hardly moved.

"Get it!"

The proprietress directly put a big pig's trotter in another bowl, and then picked out some fat that Hou Xiaoge had pushed aside.

"Niu Wa, come and eat here, don't stand next to the boss!" The proprietress took the bowl and pulled the child aside.

Hou Xiaoge met this little guide outside the town. He was catching mice everywhere, but there were mountains everywhere and he couldn't catch up.

Niu Wa must have been hungry by now, as he held a bowl that was almost as big as his head and began to wolf it down.

"Come here, Niu Wa, here's your guide fee." After Hou Xiaoge had his fill, he called over the child who was licking the bowl nearby.

"I don't want this money, just treat me to a delicious meal." The child shook his head repeatedly.

"Here, I don't mind a dime. The meal is a reward for you." Hou Xiaoge took out a small dollar from his pocket and threw it to Niu Wa.

The small dollar is a smaller version of the big dollar, equivalent to one dollar and one cent in later coins, but much smaller in size.

"thank you boss!"

Niu Wa bowed to Hou Xiaoge, but did not run away. He continued to stand aside waiting for Hou Xiaoge's instructions.

"Madam, how much is the total?" There was no napkin, so Hou Xiaoge took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth without using it.

"One dollar and fifty cents in silver dollars, or fifteen thousand French francs." The proprietress looked at Hou Xiaoge enthusiastically, hoping to give him silver dollars.

When Hou Xiaoge came out, the legal currency had already been emptied, and now the paper money was the customs gold coupons and foreign exchange. The exchange rate between the customs gold coupons and the big money was about the same, so he took out a 1.5 yuan customs gold coupon and handed it over.

The gold coupons from the 32nd year of the Republic of China were still relatively strong, and the proprietress was delighted when she took the money.

"Let's go, Niu Wa, you should go back too!" After going out, Hou Xiaoge jumped on the horse and waved to the little guide Niu Wa beside him to make way.

"Boss, can I follow you? I can herd cattle and horses, too." Niu Wa gritted his teeth and said courageously.

"Oh! You've only known me for a short while, and you want to go with me? Aren't you afraid that I will sell you out?" Hou Xiaoge leaned forward and looked at Niu Wa with a smile.

"Nest, nest, I can have enough food following the boss." Niu Wa said in a low voice.

“Boss, this kid wants to follow you, just take him away!

Niu Wa's father went to fight the Japanese six years ago, leaving only the two of them at home to depend on each other.

Two years ago, Niu Wa's mother fell into a ditch while fetching water in winter and died. The only child was left, and he had to eat at many people's homes.

Nowadays, every family doesn’t have much food, so this child is hungry and full at one meal.” The lady boss looked at Gou Wa pitifully and explained to Hou Xiaoge.

When Hou Xiaoge heard that Niu Wa was actually a descendant of the Sichuan Army, he felt sad. This child would not be able to wait for his father to return and would become an orphan.

“Alas! I’m from Qin Province and I’m on a business trip now, so it’s not convenient.

You are also the boss's wife, you can also help the child by washing the pots and pans every day." However, he really couldn't take care of the child, so he could only express his feelings to the boss's wife.

"Boss, even though we own a restaurant, we don't see a big customer like you in a year. Usually, when customers come, they just eat some dandan noodles to satisfy their cravings.

Even so, every month we have to pay protection fees to the black marketeers and street gangsters, and we don’t make any money all year round.” Hou Xiaoge seemed to have touched the boss’s wife’s sore spot, and she started to complain bitterly.

Well, it seems that the people of the Land of Abundance don’t have an easy life either!

"Okay, got it. Niu Wa, come with me!" Hou Xiaoge waved and led his people away.

Because there were people on the street, the horse walked slowly.

"Niu Wa, are you the only orphan in this town? Are there any other orphans?" Hou Xiaoge asked when they arrived at the entrance of the town.

"A lot, a lot! There are dozens of people in our town." Niu Wa said seriously.

"Well, I'll give you a task. Here are two dollars. Ask which kid wants to follow you to live somewhere else.

If anyone wants to go, just take some money and feed them, and then come to Lu County.

I will wait for you for a day in Lu County, 20 miles away. If you are not here tomorrow morning, I will leave." Hou Xiaoge took out two silver dollars and threw them into Niu Wa's hand.

Two dollars can buy forty or fifty white steamed buns, which is a lot of money. It is not only a test for others, but also a test for Niu Wa.

If Niu Wa wants to go, Hou Xiaoge will make arrangements for him. If he doesn't want to go, the two dollars will be considered as a token of sympathy for the families of the Sichuan Army.

"Boss, can I have enough food following you?" Niu Wa asked with all his courage without taking the money.

"Listen to the boss and you can have enough food to eat." Hou Xiaoge smiled and threw the money to Niu Wa, then whipped the horse and galloped out of the town.

After Hou Xiaoge left, Niu Wa picked up the money on the ground, chased the horse for a while, and then returned to the town in frustration.

"Niu Wa, didn't you go out with the big boss to enjoy the good life? Why doesn't the boss want you anymore?" The town is not big, and the people who got the news from the boss's wife teased Niu Wa when they saw him coming back in a daze.

"The boss is leaving!" Niu Wa said in a low voice.

"Ugh!"

"It seems that Niu Wa is not blessed!"

"Niu Wa is so dirty, how can the boss want him?"

……

At the same time, there were people who sympathized and people who laughed at others, and all kinds of life were revealed.