When I was in elementary school, at around 4 p.m., there would be people selling fried skewers and grilled skewers at the intersection.

Fried chicken legs were very expensive at that time, costing three and a half yuan.

Kebabs cost three skewers for one dollar.

I only have one yuan of pocket money every day, and I also spend fifty cents to buy other snacks such as spicy ice packs at school at noon.

I have never bought fried chicken legs before, so I can only wait for my father to buy them for me when he is in a good mood.

You can still refrain from buying mutton kebabs as snacks at noon occasionally, and buy them after school to satisfy yourself.

The mutton kebabs are really fragrant. Although I don’t know if they are real mutton, they are fat and thin, roasted with oil, and sprinkled with chili powder and cumin powder. The aroma seems to explode in your face with a "pop" sound.

superior.

At that time, mutton kebabs were so attractive to me that even if I licked a cumin grain from between my teeth before going to bed at night, I would still have to think about it for a long time.

One day, I spent 50 cents at noon. I planned to go to the fried skewers stall after school to buy a skewer to satisfy my craving.

But when I walked to the kebab stall, the aroma turned into long worms and went straight to my nose.

But I was unwilling to give in. Three skewers cost one dollar, and I could only buy one skewer for 50 cents. It was a loss.

But I really wanted to eat it, but I couldn't move forward at all, so I told myself, forget it, just one skewer, and the fried kebabs are also one skewer, although the fried skewers have more meat than the mutton skewers.

Uncle, I want a kebab of mutton.

After saying that, I handed over the 50 cents. I still remember that it was a crumpled 50 cent piece of paper and pen, with a small piece missing from the upper left corner.

The uncle took the 5 cents and said with a frown, "How can I sell it for 5 cents? That's all. I'll grill you two skewers. I won't sell it for 5 cents next time."

I jumped up with joy. I could eat two skewers for 5 cents!

After a while, I walked back happily holding a bunch of mutton skewers in each hand.

Those two skewers of kebabs, coupled with my excited expression that day, were probably the best two skewers of kebabs I have ever eaten in my life.

Later, when I was working, on a holiday afternoon, I went to the town to do errands, and my nose twitched when I smelled the long-lost aroma.

It's still the same intersection, but it's not as busy.

He is still the same uncle, but now he has become an ancient man.

The grill is not the rusty grill it was before, but it is still a charcoal grill.

Master, give me 30 mutton skewers.

How much does it cost now?

Three yuan for a bunch, 10 yuan for 4 bunches.

Why don't you give me forty skewers?

Okay, 40 skewers then. Old man, how many years have you been selling these? I bought them from you when I was a kid. At that time, three skewers only cost 1 yuan.

Haha, that was 20 years ago.

I haven't always been a stall owner. Back then, I was able to send my children to college by running a stall.

He also paid him a down payment by setting up a stall.

I stayed there until my grandson was born, and then I went to the city where my grandson came from. Now that I am old and want to come back, I feel panicked.

When I came back, I had nothing to do and was very busy.

The old man was old and kept talking for a long time.

The action was also slow, and it took nearly half an hour to grill 40 skewers.

The fragrance is still the same as in memory, but the taste is not as vivid as in memory.

There is too much cumin, which makes it a bit bitter.

There is less chili powder and the smell of mutton is not covered up.

The meat is probably not mutton. The mutton smell is too obvious, but the meat is not as delicate as mutton. It only has the mutton smell and no mutton aroma.

The heat was too high, the outside was a little burnt, but the inside was dry and tasteless.

I was a little disappointed. After eating two sticks, I ordered a box to pack.

I don’t know how long the old man can keep serving it, but I think I will probably never be able to eat the delicious mutton skewers that the little boy ran home with his schoolbag on his back, jumping and excited, with his hands raised in the air.

Of course, maybe today's old man and the original uncle actually taste exactly the same when grilled.

It’s just that the ignorant boy he once grew up into is the greasy middle-aged uncle he is today.

Of course the uncle has eaten more delicious food than the boy, but the boy's easy-to-satisfy mentality is beyond the reach of the uncle.