Chen Xiaolin was already full after eating half a watermelon. She planned to first rest a bit in her space villa and only go to practice martial arts after her stomach felt less stuffed.
Lying on the sofa for a while, Chen Xiaolin dozed off, drifting into a light sleep.
She was soon woken up by a full bladder. After going to the bathroom, she was completely awake.
She tried to rest a little longer, but sleep wouldn’t come. So she went to her room, changed into her martial arts outfit, and started practicing her punches. Chen Xiaolin’s boxing skills had now reached a small level of proficiency. If anyone knew she had only been practicing for two or three days, they would undoubtedly call her a genius!
After practicing about ten rounds, she finally stopped. She had been experimenting with combining her footwork with her punches, and the results were very satisfying. Her punches were now fast, precise, and powerful. Her mixed hard-and-soft style of boxing surged with energy, and her footwork had become so quick that no one could see how she was striking—she could knock an opponent away with a single punch in minutes.
After a short rest post-training, Chen Xiaolin hurried to take a shower. Sweating so much felt uncomfortable.
Once clean, she felt hungry again; the watermelon she had eaten earlier had already been digested. She suddenly craved bobo chicken, especially chicken wing tips—they were absolutely delicious. She went to the storage room and took out a portion of bobo chicken, a cup of iced milk tea, and some washed strawberries.
After finishing the bobo chicken and drinking the iced milk tea, Chen Xiaolin belched contentedly. The strawberries would have to wait for next time.
Luckily, Chen Xiaolin practiced martial arts every day. Otherwise, with her eating habits, she’d soon become very overweight.
The next morning, Chen Xiaolin woke up early. She planned to have breakfast at the state-run restaurant.
She strolled leisurely to the restaurant, only to see a long line outside.
“Hey, uncle, why are so many people here today?” Chen Xiaolin tapped the man in front of her, curious—this was the first time she’d seen the state-run restaurant this crowded.
“Today they have beef sesame flatbreads, so people started lining up early. I don’t know how many are left now, and if I can’t get any, my wife will nag me again,” the man said, swallowing as he thought about the beef. He had arrived late today, and seeing people buying multiple pieces ahead of him, he worried he might leave empty-handed.
Chen Xiaolin understood his longing; in this era, cows were mainly labor animals, and beef was rare. Craving it was natural.
She decided to wait a bit longer, hoping more flatbreads would be available. After all, food stored in her space wouldn’t spoil.
Finally, it was her turn. She saw there were only five flatbreads left in the tray, but a long line remained behind her. She sighed, deciding to buy two for herself to try and leave three for the others.
Chen Xiaolin took her two flatbreads and a bowl of tofu pudding and found a seat in the restaurant.
Hmm, the beef flatbread was truly delicious. She wondered if the chef would help her make some. She planned to ask when she left.
Chewing slowly, she finished her breakfast. By then, the crowd at the restaurant had thinned. She quietly approached the ordering counter.
“Sister, the beef flatbreads today are so delicious. I wonder which chef made them,” Chen Xiaolin said, offering a hair clip she had bought wholesale in Yiwu to the staff member.
“Wow! This hair clip is beautiful! Are you really giving it to me?” He Cuihong, who had been dazedly standing aside, suddenly saw the sparkling clip before her.
Chen Xiaolin nodded generously. She had plenty—back in her past life at Yiwu Small Commodities Market, they were a dime each, and she had bought a lot. She probably wouldn’t even use them all in this lifetime.
“You like today’s flatbreads? These are my dad’s specialty. Aren’t they delicious? His pork and preserved vegetable flatbreads are pretty good too,” He Cuihong said confidently. She had eaten these flatbreads since childhood and never tired of them—a testament to her father’s culinary skills.
“Could you ask your dad if he could make some for me? I’ll provide the beef, pork, and flour myself. I’ll pay a labor fee he’ll be happy with,” Chen Xiaolin whispered to He Cuihong.
“Wait a moment, I’ll ask my dad,” He Cuihong said, pocketing the hair clip, and went into the kitchen.
After a while, she returned with a middle-aged man.
“Hello, young lady. Come with me,” said Chef He, the state-run restaurant’s pastry chef. Occasionally, he helped make food for others to earn extra money. When he heard from Cuihong that someone wanted his help with flatbreads, he quickly came out.
Chen Xiaolin followed Chef He to a secluded corner outside the restaurant.
“Chef He, I want 500 beef flatbreads and 500 pork-and-chive flatbreads. How much flour and meat will I need?” she asked, planning to make extra since she would be staying in the countryside for seven years.
“About 80 pounds of flour, around 20 pounds each of beef and pork, and 10 pounds of chives. I’ll use up all the ingredients you provide. Labor will be five yuan. If that’s okay, you can deliver the meat and flour to the kitchen back door by noon,” Chef He said. He could make all 1,000 flatbreads with his son and daughter by 9 p.m.
“Sounds good. When can I pick them up?” For Chen Xiaolin, five yuan was nothing. If the money went toward food, it was worth it.
“Come by 9 p.m. at the back door of the kitchen. Bring extra baskets or wooden trays for the flatbreads,” Chef He advised before returning to the kitchen.
Chen Xiaolin saw it was only a little past 9 a.m., plenty of time before delivering the meat. She decided to stop by the local government office to ask Aunt Liu for help with household registration.
Passing a bookstore, she suddenly remembered that translators were often in demand. Maybe she could take a look.
Entering, she saw the elderly manager dozing off.
“Grandpa, does your bookstore hire translators?”
“Do you know English?” Wang Bowen looked up. Seeing a little girl asking him, he doubted that someone so young could handle translation.