EFB Chapter 19 I Want to Be a Big Star
Chapter 19 I Want to Be a Big Star
He had only been standing at the shop entrance for two minutes when the owner poked his head out from inside: "Xiao Lin, you're here?"
"Brother Zhang, busy?" He found a table by the window and sat down. He had been to this restaurant several times. Sometimes he would pack a few skewers for a late-night snack after finishing work late, and sometimes he would treat the stagehands and lighting crew to a meal. He had become quite familiar with the owner, Brother Zhang.
"Just had a break," Brother Zhang said, wiping his hands as he walked over and handed over the menu. "What would you like to eat today? The usual?"
"Almost," she said, taking the menu but not looking at it. She immediately ordered the dishes: "Ten skewers of butter, five skewers of lamb, ten skewers each of chicken cartilage and chicken skin, all medium spicy, with lots of cumin." These were Tian Xiwei's favorites. The girl couldn't live without spicy food, and she especially loved the smoky aroma of butter.
"Okay." Brother Zhang remembered, then asked, "Anything else?"
"Five more skewers of grilled taro, five skewers of grilled corn, and three skewers of ham sausage with lots of starch, all without chili and with less salt." This is Liu Haochun's preference.
"OK."
"Add three more skewers of dried tofu and sweet potato noodles, two with houttuynia cordata for extra spice, and one without houttuynia cordata to keep it mild." He added, "Also, a serving of garlic eggplant and garlic crucian carp, with plenty of garlic in the eggplant and no chili in the crucian carp."
Brother Zhang jotted it down in his notebook, then looked up and smiled: "Bringing friends today? You've gone into such detail."
"Yes, there are two young girls, one can handle spicy food, and the other can't. Please make sure they're not mixed up, Brother Zhang."
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Brother Zhang patted his chest confidently. "You've patronized my business so many times, how could you not handle something this simple?"
"Thanks, Brother Zhang."
"Wait a minute, it'll be ready soon."
Leaning back in my chair, I watched the pedestrians outside the window. A moment later, I saw two little girls turning the corner from the street.
Tian Xiwei walked ahead, holding a cup of milk tea and slurping it loudly, while Liu Haochun followed behind, carrying two cups of milk tea.
"Brother Feng!" Tian Xi saw him from afar, waving her milk tea as she ran over and plopped down opposite him. "We're here! We passed a milk tea shop on the way, and Hao Chun treated us to milk tea!"
Liu Haochun also came over, placed the two cups of milk tea he was carrying on the table, and said softly, "Brother Feng, I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I bought the pearl and coconut flavors. You can choose whichever you prefer."
"Anything's fine, I'm not picky." He casually picked up a cup of tapioca pearls, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and found the sweetness just right. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Tian Xiwei had been staring at the kitchen for a while, her nose twitching. "It smells so good! Brother Feng, did you order any butter skewers?"
"I ordered it, you'll get your share." He flicked her forehead with his hand. "What's the rush? It'll be ready soon."
"Hehe." Tian Xi touched her forehead and smiled, revealing her little tiger teeth.
Before long, Brother Zhang came over with a tray, first putting down a plate of spicy food: "Butter, mutton, and chicken feet, these are for you."
"Thank you, boss!" Tian Xi's eyes lit up. She immediately picked up a skewer of butter, blew on it, and popped it into her mouth. It was so hot she gasped for breath, but she couldn't bear to spit it out. "Wow, it smells so good! This is the taste!"
Next was Liu Haochun's portion. The roasted taro was white and tender, the corn was roasted to a golden brown, and the ham sausage was fragrant and crispy. "This one doesn't have any chili peppers, so you can eat it without worry."
"Thank you, boss." Liu Haochun thanked him softly, picked up a string of corn, and nibbled on it. She felt a warmth in her heart. Brother Feng actually remembered that she liked to eat these and even specially told her not to put any chili in them.
Finally, there was the dried tofu, sweet potato noodles, eggplant, and crucian carp. He pushed the skewer without houttuynia cordata and not spicy towards Liu Haochun: "This is for you, try it." Then he pushed the one with houttuynia cordata towards Tian Xiwei, "Yours, didn't you get enough last time?"
"Hehe, Brother Feng really understands me!" Tian Xiwei picked up a sweet potato peel and started eating. The fishy aroma of houttuynia cordata mixed with the spiciness of chili peppers made her smack her lips as she ate.
Liu Haochun picked up the string of dried tofu, took a small bite, and found the tofu to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a slightly sweet sauce. It was indeed more to his liking than the one with houttuynia cordata last time.
"Things about riding the bike today are still pretty funny to think about now." She pushed the eggplant to Liu Haochun, "When you first started riding, your hands were shaking, and I was holding my breath watching from behind."
Liu Haochun blushed and said embarrassedly, "I was too nervous at the time, and I was always afraid of falling and hurting Brother Feng."
"Didn't you ride quite well later? With a few more practices, you'll definitely ride more steadily than Tian Xiwei."
"No way!" Tian Xiwei immediately retorted, her mouth still stuffed with meat. "I ride really fast!"
"What's the use of being fast? I almost crashed into a lamppost."
"That was an accident!" Tian Xi glared at him defiantly, but couldn't help laughing.
Liu Haochun watched them bicker and laughed along. She picked up the skewer of sausages and took a bite.
"By the way," she said, taking a sip of her milk tea and looking at Liu Haochun, "what are Haochun's plans for the future?"
Liu Haochun paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Actually... I used to want to be a dance teacher." She had been practicing dance since she was a child, and her teachers always praised her for her talent. "My mom said that being a teacher is stable, and you can spend every day with children, which is great."
"The dance teacher is good too. You dance so well, your students must be amazing too."
Praised by him, Liu Haochun blushed even more and whispered, "I don't know if I can become... But acting now seems quite interesting."
"Then let's try them all, do whatever you want to do."
Liu Haochun's heart skipped a beat. Yes, why not try everything? Being a dance teacher was great, but the novelty and sense of accomplishment from acting were experiences she'd never had before. A seed was quietly planted in her heart: perhaps becoming an actress wouldn't be so bad?
"Weiwei, what about you?" He turned to Tian Xiwei and asked, "What do you want to do?"
"I want to be a big star!" Tian Xiwei shouted without thinking. "A really, really famous one, so that wherever I go, people recognize me and give me autographs! I also want to act in lots and lots of movies and win lots and lots of awards!"
"If you're ambitious, you'll have to work hard. Becoming a big star isn't easy."
"I know!" Tian Xi nodded vigorously, then asked with a hint of worry, "Brother Feng, will anyone watch our movie? Will I become famous?"
"Definitely. You guys acted so well, people will definitely watch it. When the movie is released, you might walk down the street and someone will point at you and say, 'Isn't that Shi Miao?'"
"Really?" Tian Xiwei's eyes widened even more, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. "Then will I have to wear sunglasses and a mask? Will I get mobbed?" She was already imagining what it would be like to be famous, and she couldn't stop smiling.
"Don't think too far ahead, just focus on filming the scene in front of you." He tapped her on the head. "When you become a big star, don't forget to treat me to barbecue."
"Definitely not!" Tian Xi patted her chest confidently. "I'll treat you to the best barbecue, and you can order whatever you want!"
Liu Haochun listened from the side, feeling a little expectant. If the movie could be seen by many people, would she also be considered a... star?
One skewer of barbecue after another was served, and most of the milk tea had been drunk. Tian Xiwei's mouth was covered in oil, but she kept talking and laughing. Liu Haochun ate politely, but he didn't stop eating either.
Brother Zhang brought over another plate of roasted chicken wings, smiling as he said, "These are for you girls. Eat more, they'll help you grow strong."
"Thank you, boss!" Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun said in unison.