After dinner, it was time for Xie Yuan to take a walk alone. Although he did not like sports, he was driven by the increasingly strong fitness atmosphere in society and knew that walking was good for health.
Today, Xie Yuan did not go to his usual park, but walked to the pedestrian street as planned in the afternoon. He first came to the door of Tian Shan's flower shop. The door of the shop was closed and it was dark inside. At this time, Tian Shan was tutoring Yaoyao at home.
Doing homework. Since the closure of extracurricular tutoring classes, Tian Shan has stopped operating in the evening. She will spend two hours in the evening checking Yaoyao's homework and helping her to make up for the knowledge that she has not mastered in class. Although Yaoyao is only four years old now
However, the fourth-grade courses are not as simple as imagined for adults. Tian Shan, who graduated from a prestigious university, also has to spend some time.
Xie Yuan stood at the door of Tian Shan's flower shop and looked across. As expected, Hongqu Dumpling House was opposite the flower shop, but it was not directly opposite, but two rooms were staggered. Opposite there was a row of bright neon signs.
In the middle, the signboard of Hongqu Dumpling House is relatively dim. If you don't pay special attention, it is not easy to distinguish it from a distance.
The crowds on the pedestrian street were bustling. Although the temperature brought a lot of inconvenience to people, it still did not stop people from shopping and leisure. Xie Yuan walked through the crowd and walked to the door of Hongqu Dumpling House. He glanced inside and saw that although it was already
It was close to 8 o'clock in the evening, and there were still three or five people eating in the dumpling house.
At night in early summer, the temperature is suitable and there are few mosquitoes. The glass door of the dumpling house is wide open, seemingly for ventilation and to attract customers. The dumpling house is not large, with only one room front. There are four pictures on each side of the glass door.
Beyond the dining table is a long counter that separates the dining room and the kitchen. Above the counter is a glass partition used to close the space. There is a window in the middle of the counter for taking meals. In the kitchen partition
On the left hand side, there is a narrow staircase leading to the second floor. At the entrance of the staircase, there is a note for customers to stop, telling them that it is not a business place.
Xie Yuan walked into the dumpling shop and took a look around. He saw the types and prices of dumplings posted on the wall and above the glass partition in the kitchen. From the posted content, it can be seen that this shop does not offer anything other than dumplings and tea eggs.
The content is there. The color of the walls looks a little dark due to time, but there is no trace of dust. There are no other debris on the dining table or the floor. The whole store looks neat and clean.
"Boss, please sit down, what kind of stuffing do you want to eat?" A middle-aged man wearing a chef's hat and a white overalls asked Xie Yuan from the window of the kitchen partition.
"Oh, what kind of stuffing is there?" Xie Yuan had just finished his meal and had not thought about this problem.
"It's written on the wall. Please take a look. Except for mushroom meat, there are several other fillings available now." The owner of the dumpling restaurant said enthusiastically.
Xie Yuan glanced at the wall again, and then said:
“Then let’s have the leek and egg version.”
"Okay, please sit down and wait for a while." The boss agreed and went to serve the dumplings.
Xie Yuan stood outside the counter and glanced inside. He saw that on the left side of the kitchen was the door to the outside, the pot for making dumplings, the sink and the tea cutting board. On the right side was the panel for making dumplings and the freezer. The counter.
There are some washed dishes on the left side, and on the right side of the counter is a cash register. Next to the food pick-up window, there is a payment code.
Xie Yuan did not find a place to sit, but stood in front of the glass partition and chatted with the boss.
"Are you alone? You didn't ask anyone to help you."
"Hey, there's no need to look for anyone. I'm not busy here, so I just make a living." The boss replied without raising his head.
"Where is the boss from?"
"From Jiangbei."
Xie Yuan heard the boss's tone of voice, and it sounded like he had a Jiangbei accent. Looking at the boss's busy figure, Xie Yuan noticed that the boss's face under the chef's hat did not have the shrewdness and calculation of a small businessman, but a kind of indifference.
The demeanor of dealing with it.
At this time, an elderly customer walked to the window and said inside:
"Boss, check out."
"Okay, your 20 yuan." The boss put down the spoon in his hand, wiped his hands on his apron and walked over.
The customer took out a 50-yuan note from his pocket and handed it over. The boss took it and walked to the cash register. He clicked on the screen a few times. The money box under the cash register opened automatically, and the boss took the 50-yuan note.
Put it in, take out three 10-yuan bills, and close the box. At this time, the printer connected to the cash register "squeaked" and a receipt spit out. The boss tore off the receipt and along with the three 10-yuan bills
The banknotes are handed to the customer together.
The customer took it, put the banknote into his pocket, and the receipt was placed casually on the counter.
After a while, Xie Yuan's dumplings were ready. The boss filled them and put them on the counter. The bowl holding the dumplings happened to be pressed against the receipt. Xie Yuan picked up the dumpling bowl and saw that the receipt was pressed under the bottom of the bowl.
An arc is drawn.
"Please take it easy." After the boss said this, he swept the receipt to the cash register.
The dumplings really taste good. Although Xie Yuan came here after eating, he still tasted them slowly when he encountered such delicious dumplings. Seeing the scene just now, Xie Yuan understood why there was a "
An arc of 1 cm wide, because the circle at the bottom of the bowl is also 1 cm wide.
Has that gift been stored on this counter? Maybe someone came here to eat dumplings with a gift, and put the gift on the counter while eating dumplings? Xie Yuan thought.
Because there is some overflowing dumpling soup at the bottom of the bowl, some soup will remain on top when pressed on the receipt. The soup is sticky, and if a box is pressed on the receipt, it may stick to the bottom of the box.
Xie Yuan tried to touch the soup at the bottom of the bowl with his fingers. It was a little sticky, but it shouldn't be enough to stick the receipt to it for a long time. How did the receipt get between the packaging box and the colored paper?
That's not right! Xie Yuan suddenly remembered that Tian Shan said that the gift was bought online. Online delivery must have outer packaging, and the express delivery is directly sent to the flower shop. After entering the flower shop, take off the outer packaging of the gift.
, why did you come to the dumpling restaurant?
Xie Yuan ate the dumplings slowly, while the boss was still busy in the kitchen. Not only was Xie Yuan’s mystery not solved, but he was becoming more and more confused. Receipts, packaging boxes, colored paper, online shopping, and Tian Shan personally wrapped the flower paper.
Questions were intertwined in Xie Yuan's brain. How can these be connected in series? What is going on? Xie Yuan glanced at his phone and saw that it was getting late, so he decided to finish off the remaining dumplings on the plate first.
Think about those things later.
At this time, there was only one customer left in the dumpling house, Xie Yuan. The boss tidied up the kitchen and came to the restaurant to wipe the tables. He first used a wet rag to put the garbage left by the guests on the table into the trash can.
, and then wiped the table with a dry rag. Xie Yuan felt that the owner of this dumpling restaurant was very careful, which was different from other restaurant owners. Most people just wiped it casually with a wet rag, leaving a table full of water.
The beads are on top. When guests come, if you don't pay attention, they will get on the cuffs.
"Aren't your wife and children here with you?" Xie Yuan asked the boss.
"Oh, no, I'm at my hometown." The boss smiled and said.
"It's hard to be alone, right?"
"It doesn't feel hard, I'm used to it." The boss took the wet rag inside and washed it in the sink, then came out and continued wiping the table.
Watching the owner of the dumpling restaurant working, Xie Yuan suddenly had a feeling that the owner of the dumpling restaurant was not an ordinary restaurant owner. Behind his appearance and behavior, there should be a person with a story.
Is this person related to the birthday gift? Maybe it was because he was too full. At this time, Xie Yuan's mind was like a bowl of mush and he couldn't figure it out.
After Xie Yuan finished eating the dumplings on his plate, his stomach was already full. He stood up and walked to the counter with his big belly. He turned his back to the boss and scanned the payment code. He took the opportunity to put the receipt on the counter into his pocket.
Because he was too full, Xie Yuan wandered outside for a while, maybe because he was tired. After he came back, he washed himself and went to bed early. Xie Yuan's mind was full of receipts, boxes, colored paper, etc., and he felt sleepy.
His sleep was not restful. In the middle of the night, he suddenly woke up.
The room was unusually quiet, with his wife Tian Shan breathing evenly beside him, and the moonlight outside the window shining silently on the windowsill. Xie Yuan seemed to be in an empty wilderness at this time, and he felt that his mind was particularly clear. What should he do before going to bed?
The problem that was troubling him was cleared up at this moment, and he sat up from the bed suddenly.
If the gift was wrapped in colored paper at the dumpling house, everything would be explained clearly. No matter who bought the gift or where it was bought from, that gift must have been placed on the counter of the dumpling house. The wrapping paper was also
It must have been done at that counter. The gift was placed on the counter, with the receipt pressed underneath, because the receipt was stained with the soup from the dumplings and stuck to the bottom of the packaging box. It doesn’t matter who the packaging person is.
, must first spread the colored paper on the counter, then pick up the gift packaging box and place it on the floral paper. At this time, the receipt followed the gift packaging box to between the floral paper and the packaging.
Who will be the person wrapping the package? Who will be buying the gift? Tian Shan? The owner of the dumpling restaurant? Others? Xie Yuan felt that these questions were beginning to get confused again. He began to feel dizzy and felt the moonlight on the window sill.
Spinning, he felt that Tian Shan beside him was also spinning. He put his head on his knees and hugged her with both hands.
That night, he did not sleep again, but spent the night smoking on the sofa. He knew that he might have found the truth, but he just didn't dare to admit it. He didn't know how to face the future, how to
How to face Tian Shan, how to face Yaoyao, how to face the dumpling restaurant opposite Tian Shan's flower shop.
He wanted to make a choice for himself. Choose to question Tian Shan? Or choose to suffer in silence? Choose a new life path? Or choose the current life?
At dawn, a ray of morning light shone into his heart from the window. He suddenly had another thought. This receipt might not mean anything. He did not see with his own eyes that Tian Shan was connected with the owner of the dumpling restaurant. When he found out the actual
evidence, and then make a decision.
So he opened the window to let the smoke in the room drift out, walked to the kitchen, washed his face, washed away the fatigue and tears on his face, and started making breakfast.