“Lamb soup, stewed noodles, handmade dumplings…” As soon as the food stall owner saw customers coming, he immediately came out with a beaming smile, reciting the menu while wiping down Henry Walker’s table again and again with the cloth in his hand.

“I’ll have a bowl of stewed noodles first.” Without waiting for the old man to continue, Henry Walker waved his hand and spoke to the owner.

“Alright, just take a rest, it’ll be ready in a moment!” the old man replied cheerfully, and got busy by the big pot.

Feeling bored, Henry Walker sat on the bench and looked around. As he was glancing about, he overheard two dark-skinned middle-aged men at the next table, speaking in low voices.

“Brother, has your son been released yet?” One of the men glanced around before quietly asking his companion, though his rough voice was hard to suppress.

“He’s out. Got fined two hundred yuan, but at least it’s over. My son got beaten up, and in the end, we had to pay the other guy two hundred yuan. Brother, what kind of world is this!” The one sighing was a man in his forties, but the marks of time were already etched on his face.

The man sitting across from him listened to his companion’s complaints, put down his coarse porcelain bowl, and comforted him: “Big brother, just let it go. Spending money to avoid disaster, losing money brings peace. After all, the other guy is the township chief Qin’s brother-in-law. Being able to get your son out for two hundred yuan is already a stroke of luck!”

“I heard there’s a new Party secretary in the township. Do you think we could go to him and file a complaint against that Li Santai?” The middle-aged man, still a bit unwilling, pulled out a paper-wrapped cigarette from somewhere and asked tentatively.

“Go to him? Forget it! That secretary is just a college kid who doesn’t know a thing. I heard no one in the township listens to him. Our village chief said he’s even less useful than a village liaison officer. At least the liaison officer is familiar with the village, but no one pays any attention to the new secretary!”

“Not even as good as a liaison officer? That can’t be. No matter what, he’s still sitting in the secretary’s seat. How could a secretary be so useless?” The man opened his mouth in surprise, his yellowed teeth faintly visible under the dim light.

“Brother, you still don’t believe it? As for your situation, I think you’d better just let it go and treat it as a lesson learned. If you really make a fuss and things get out of hand, it’ll be hard to clean up the mess.” The man, having finished the last few strands of stewed noodles, picked up his porcelain bowl again and advised his companion.

“Sigh, I guess that’s all I can do.” The middle-aged man sounded a bit bitter and helpless as he said this.

The moment Henry Walker heard their conversation, he felt a chill seep into his bones, stabbing right through him. These two men had completely awakened memories of his own past failures. But just as he was about to join in, the food stall owner came over with a big bowl of stewed noodles.

On top of the noodles was a small handful of fresh, tender cilantro, bright green and appetizing, making Henry Walker’s mouth water. He couldn’t think of anything else, so he scooped up a chopstickful of the bright red lamb fat from the bowl on the table and started eating heartily.

Delicious, truly delicious. Maybe it was because he was hungry, or maybe it was because food from that era hadn’t been tainted by feed additives and tasted purer. Henry Walker picked up the bowl and soon was sweating all over from eating.

“Boss, two bowls of dumplings, one vegetarian!” A crisp voice suddenly rang out by Henry Walker’s ear. Instinctively, Henry Walker turned his head and saw two people sitting down across from him.

Why does this voice sound so familiar? Henry Walker couldn’t help but look up, and saw that it was the female teacher from Hongling Village, Evan Irving, sitting right across from him!

At this moment, Evan Irving was wearing a deep red, short-sleeved, fitted top, her shiny black hair draped over her shoulders. Her curvy figure and long legs made her look especially attractive and full of charm.

As Henry Walker looked at Evan Irving, she happened to turn and look at him too. Their eyes met almost as if it had been planned in advance—an instant connection! Neither of them looked away, and after a moment of direct eye contact, Evan Irving suddenly realized her own loss of composure. Embarrassed, she quickly shifted her gaze away.

Chapter 0008: People are iron, food is steel—skip a meal and you’ll be starving

“Teacher Yi, look, it’s the uncle who drove us to the clinic!” Jack, sitting next to Evan Irving, called out to her in delight.

Henry Walker had originally wanted to greet the teacher and student, but that brief moment of eye contact just now had left Evan Irving visibly flustered, and Henry Walker’s palms were sweating from the charm in her eyes, feeling a bit out of control like a river in flood. Fortunately, Jack’s words snapped him out of it, and he quietly composed himself before nodding openly to Evan Irving and saying, “Hello!”

“Y-you… hello, Wang… big brother, today, I really can’t thank you enough!” Evan Irving stammered, her face flushed with embarrassment as she spoke to Henry Walker.