Morning light filtered through the thin window paper, and He Mingyu woke from her dream with a start.
Outside, the sky was a hazy, pale gray, and scattered birdsong could be heard in the distance. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, hurriedly sitting up. It was the Bathing Buddha Festival today; it would be difficult to even find a place to stand outside the Daxiangguo Temple, let alone set up a stall if she were late. Her “corporate slave” instincts activated, and she hurriedly threw on her outer robe and slipped into her shoes before rushing outside.
Pushing open the bedroom door, her gaze habitually swept toward the corner of the courtyard. Hmm, it’s empty…
Empty?! No! Where is the pushcart?!
Before she could react, the kitchen curtain moved, and Wu Chunlan poked her head out, saying gently, “Awake? There’s porridge and pancakes warming on the stove; eat while they’re hot.”
“Mother,” He Mingyu said, walking quickly toward the eaves to get her willow twig and salt, “where is our cart?”
Wu Chunlan wiped her hands, her brow relaxing. “Don’t worry. Around the ‘ugly’ hour, Shitou got up quietly and pushed the cart to Daxiangguo Temple to stake out a spot. He left a message specifically telling me to let you sleep in a little longer, as you’ve been tired these past few days.” She paused, her tone filled with relief, “That child has really grown up. He even started the fire in the bread oven. I just checked; it’s perfect for use now.”
He Mingyu felt a warmth in her heart. Shitou was a child who was extremely observant, always getting things done without a word. Except for his lack of communication skills, he was almost flawless. She looked up at the sky; the eastern horizon was already turning a pale fish-belly white, and it was indeed getting late. She rinsed her mouth quickly, too hurried to eat slowly, and ran straight to the bread oven in the corner of the courtyard.
The oven was built with blue bricks inside, reinforced on the outside with yellow mud and wheat straw, shaped like an inverted, thick, large ceramic bowl. At this moment, embers still glowed inside, and a wave of heat hit her as she approached.
The wisdom of the ancestors was beyond doubt. What did it matter if there was no electricity or oven? First, stack dry firewood and charcoal inside the bread oven and burn it for half an hour; then, clean it out, and the 300°C oven would remain hot for another half hour.
He Mingyu turned back to the room and brought out the dough she had fermented the previous night and kept in a cool place. After a night of rising, the dough had puffed up, becoming plump and white.
Her hands moved nimbly; she rolled the dough into long strips, cut it into uniform pieces with a sharp knife, wrapped the golden apricots and cherries that Wu Chunlan had sliced inside, and rolled them into smooth, small balls the size of longan fruit. She placed them neatly on an iron sheet brushed with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Once they rose to the size of lychees, she skillfully slid the iron sheet into the oven and sealed the opening.
Only then did she find the time to return to the kitchen, gulping down a bowl of porridge and eating half a pancake with stir-fried crown daisy and eggs. By the time she finished, a strange fragrance had begun to waft through the courtyard—not the scent of steaming vapor or the savory aroma of cicada-wing buns, but something more mellow, a toasted, caramel-sweet fragrance that wove itself straight into one’s nose.
The beauty of bread lies in the moment it comes out of the oven: the crust slightly crisp, the inside soft and moist. Before the heat dissipates, the harmony of the wheat and the filling is perfect. He Mingyu understood this well and had made the buns extremely small; each batch took less than a quarter of an hour to bake thoroughly in the oven.
Estimating that the time was right, she put on thick cloth gloves and opened the oven. The heat surged out, accompanied by an increasingly rich sweet aroma. The little dough balls on the iron sheet had expanded into golden, round little breads, their surfaces forming a thin, shiny, slightly browned crisp crust under the high heat.
She used a special long wooden spatula to quickly shovel them into an oversized bamboo basket lined with thick cotton cloth, covering it tightly to keep the heat from escaping.
She repeated this four or five times. By the time both bamboo baskets were tightly covered, beads of sweat had formed on her temples, and her face was flushed red from the heat.
Wu Chunlan had already helped Yingzi wash up and get dressed. The little girl knew they were going to “do big business” outside the temple and was so excited her face was glowing. He Mingyu tied the large and small bamboo baskets with cloth straps; she carried the large one in front of her chest, hugging it tightly, and made sure Yingzi had the smaller one strapped securely to her back.
“Mother, I leave the house to you.” He Mingyu instructed Wu Chunlan, “I’ve prepared the dough in a cool place. Just follow what I taught you yesterday, use the carved wooden molds to cut the shapes, and send them into the oven to bake at the right time. I’ve already started the fire; you just need to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t go out.”
Wu Chunlan nodded repeatedly. Looking at the magical bread oven, she had been confused when He Mingyu insisted on building it a few days ago, but now it seemed it would truly be put to great use.
He Mingyu gave a few more instructions and set off with Yingzi. The morning breeze was slightly cool, but the bamboo basket held against her chest was warmed by the little breads, helping to drive away the chill.
By the time they hurried to the vicinity of Daxiangguo Temple, it was only a quarter past five in the morning, but the scene before them took He Mingyu by surprise.
This—this is—
This was essentially the scene of a popular tourist attraction during a Golden Week holiday!
The square in front of the temple and the connecting streets were already teeming with people. Voices roared like a tidal wave; pious men and women rubbed shoulders, and all kinds of pennants and banners fluttered in the wind. The air was filled with a thick scent of incense, and the sound of bells and chanting drifted faintly from the depths of the temple. The vendors had already occupied the best spots, with the cries of peddlers, sounds of haggling, and greetings merging into one.
He Mingyu clutched the bamboo basket against her chest even tighter and said to Yingzi, who was clinging to her side, “Yingzi, stay close to elder sister; don’t let go.” The two of them were like two little fish swimming against the current, struggling to push forward through the torrent of people.
“Sister, there are so many people!” Yingzi looked up, her face bright and excited, both afraid of the crushing crowd and attracted by the dazzling variety of stalls around them.
“It’s the Bathing Buddha Festival today; it must be the busiest day in all of Bianjing.” He Mingyu guarded her sister while standing on tiptoe to look around. “We must find Shitou and our cart quickly.”
“Can Brother find a good spot?”
“Shitou is reliable; he will definitely find one.” He Mingyu said with certainty. Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a spot diagonally opposite. By an old locust tree where the crowd was slightly thinner, their familiar little pushcart was parked steadily. Standing by the cart was the figure of a lean young man—who else could it be but Shitou?
“Over there!” He Mingyu felt a surge of joy and pulled Yingzi, struggling to squeeze through.
Shitou had been stretching his neck, scanning the crowd. Seeing them, he clearly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly came forward to take the heavy bamboo baskets from their arms.
“Sister, Yingzi, you’re here.” He had a light sheen of sweat on his face. “I’ve been watching the cart the whole time.”
He Mingyu felt an even greater warmth in her heart. She took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. “You’ve worked so hard this morning. Go back and eat, and take a nap. I expect you can just bring the food Mother bakes in an hour or two.”
Shitou wiped his sweat. “Sister, I’m not tired. Do you think this spot is okay?”
Only then did she carefully examine the location he had chosen. The pushcart was diagonally opposite the Daxiangguo Temple, visible at a glance to all the pilgrims and visitors coming from this street. It avoided the most congested area of the front square, where competition among vendors was also fiercest, instead appearing quieter and allowing people to stop and look closely. The morning sun was just rising, casting golden light and warming the back of the cart, heating He Mingyu’s back without being blinding.
“This position was chosen perfectly, thanks to you today.” He Mingyu praised, “If you hadn’t come early, I’m afraid we would still be spinning in circles in the crowd.”
Hearing this, Shitou smiled shyly. “As long as you are satisfied, Sister. I’ll take the big bamboo basket back once the stall is set up.”
The hole in the pushcart where the iron pot used to sit was now covered with a polished, wide wooden board. On the table of the cart, three open bamboo baskets were placed side-by-side, lined with a thick layer of plain white cotton cloth, which provided insulation and looked clean.
He Mingyu poured the still-warm little breads from the bamboo basket into the bamboo baskets. Two baskets were filled with golden, glossy Honey-Brewed Golden Apricot Buns, and the third basket contained little breads with a faint, reddish-brown skin—those were the cherry-flavored ones, their fragrance more rich and complex.
Seeing that the small bamboo basket was empty, Shitou nimbly poured the remaining little breads from the large bamboo basket into it, covered it tightly, and tucked it under the cart. He then picked up the large bamboo basket and said his goodbyes to the two of them before quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Just as He Mingyu had finished organizing the buns, before Yingzi even had a chance to call out, the unique sweet fragrance had already attracted several well-dressed women who had been traveling together to offer incense.
One of them, a plump woman in her thirties wearing pearl hair ornaments, was the first to stop. She twitched her nose, curiously looking at the round, golden little items in the bamboo basket. “Young lady, what is this rare treat you are selling? The scent is quite enticing.”
He Mingyu immediately beamed and introduced them, “You ladies have a sharp eye. This is my family’s ancestral craft. I use premium vegetable oil and fine flour, slowly baking them in a specially made oven.
“Look, these golden ones are called ‘Honey-Brewed Golden Apricot Buns.’ They are wrapped with the first harvest of golden apricots from this spring, lightly pickled in honey. They are twenty-eight wen per jin. These slightly reddish ones are called ‘Exquisite Cherry Buns,’ filled with fresh cherry pulp. They are slightly tart, refreshing, and sweet—the perfect taste for this season. They are thirty-eight wen per jin.”
Seeing the interest on the women’s faces, she continued, “It’s the Bathing Buddha Festival today; it’s good to have a lucky start.”
Without waiting for the ladies to haggle, He Mingyu used a clean wooden clip to take a few little breads from the golden bamboo basket and handed one to each of the ladies. “You are our first distinguished guests of the day. If you don’t mind, please taste them first. Whether you buy them or not doesn’t matter.”
The women were taken aback and exchanged glances, their faces showing both surprise and joy. It was rare to find a vendor so generous in offering samples. The plump woman was the first to take one. It was warm and soft in her hand, and she carefully took a bite.
Her teeth broke through that thin, slightly crisp crust, revealing an unexpectedly fluffy interior that almost melted in her mouth. Even better, when she reached the center, a burst of crystal-clear golden apricot bits flowed out. The natural fruit acidity of the apricot blended perfectly with the faint honey, refreshing yet mellow, intertwining with the fruity aroma of the bread to create a rich, delightful flavor profile she had never experienced before.
This was He Mingyu’s secret weapon: she would take the washed and peeled apricot skins, bake them dry in the oven, and then grind them finely in a stone mortar to mix with the flour for fermentation. This gave the bread both the aroma of wheat and a lingering hint of fruity fragrance. The golden apricots were sweet, and she deliberately cut them into small pieces, simmering half with a little honey to make an apricot jam, then mixing it with fresh apricot bits after it cooled to make the texture even richer.
“This…” The woman’s eyes widened slightly as she savored the taste, showing undisguised delight. “It’s soft, chewy, and the filling inside is like flowing nectar? It’s full of sweet fragrance, yet it’s not cloying at all.”
The other ladies also tasted them, nodding in amazement.
Seeing that the time was ripe, He Mingyu added another log to the fire with a smile: “Since you ladies are my very first customers for the opening today, if you buy a jin, I will not only round down the change, but I will also add an extra three as a token of my heart.”
Once these words were out, how could the ladies hesitate? The taste was truly unique and delicious; even if bought to let their families taste, or as tea snacks for offering to the Buddha, it was extremely decent and appropriate.
The plump woman immediately spoke up: “You are straightforward, young lady! Then pack one jin of the golden apricot ones and one jin of the cherry ones for me!”