Thirty-five-year-old Ciel was a mid-level welder. Earning a decent wage, he would occasionally drop by the small food stalls outside the factory area after work to buy some food to bring home for his two daughters.
Lately, however, his daughters had become somewhat picky eaters, complaining that the things he brought home were always the same few items and that they were sick of them. Yesterday, his younger daughter took first place in her school exams and specifically requested that he buy something different and delicious, which gave Ciel a slight headache.
Never mind the stalls around the factory area—even across the entire Fourth Ring, the items sold by vendors were all virtually identical. Where was he supposed to find something new?
As Ciel walked outward, he anxiously scouted the stall carts on both sides of the street, seeing, as expected, snacks he had purchased countless times before.
“Step right up, take a look! Piping hot, deliciously fragrant Dengzhan cakes!”
“Packed with rich filling!”
“Free samples available for tasting!”
A clear, crisp call reached Ciel’s ears. The fresh name “Dengzhan cake” gave his spirits a lift, and following the sound, he arrived in front of a new stall.
The stall owner was a young girl—quite pretty, too—though Ciel’s attention was quickly drawn to the item she handed over.
“Free samples of our new item! Feel free to try a bite—it definitely won’t disappoint!”
Ciel’s eyes lit up.
The circular snack on the plate had been sliced into several pieces, each pierced with a toothpick.
The golden-brown crust was visibly fried to a crisp, and the aroma wafting toward his nose made him swallow his saliva directly, his stomach rumbling twice in response.
“Thank you, I’ll try one then.”
Ciel offered a polite reply, hesitated briefly over the plate, and selected a piece with chive filling.
It couldn’t be helped; his younger daughter disliked radishes, always complaining that they had a strange taste.
Upon entering his mouth, a intense fragrance of chives surged into Ciel’s head, filling his mouth completely with heat and flavor.
He chewed a bit more.
Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a savory and fragrant flavor overflowed between his teeth, with rich oils moisturizing his whole mouth. Before Ciel could savor it for more than a few seconds, his tongue involuntarily sent the food down into his stomach, leaving him craving more.
“Give me three of these.”
Ciel opened his eyes, rubbing his hands together with excitement.
“Alright! The radish flavor is also a classic—would you like to try that as well?”
Ciel hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, I’ll give it a try.”
Picking up a small piece of radish filling, as soon as he brought it to his lips, heat carrying the distinct sweet aroma of radish rushed straight into his nostrils. Ciel’s eyes sparkled, and he impatiently popped the snack into his mouth, closing his eyes to savor it carefully.
Biting through the crispy outer shell, then breaking through the soft, moist inner layer of dough, his teeth crushed through the crisp and sweet shredded radish. A breath of the open wild overflowed from his mouth, sweeping through Ciel’s entire body.
It was as if he could see the snow-white radish pulled from the soil in his textbooks—plump, juicy, and vividly fresh.
Restraining the urge to swallow immediately, Ciel carefully ground and savored the layers of flour fragrance, radish aroma, green onion scent, and rich oil in his mouth, bite by bite, before finally opening his eyes after a long pause.
“Give me another three—no, four of the radish ones.”
Ciel was certain his family would love this.
“That will be twenty-five Yuan in total. Here you go.”
Each Dengzhan cake was sizable, making the paper bag feel pleasantly heavy.
Ciel paid the money briskly and hurried home in high spirits, holding the bag tightly.
His younger daughter was already home from school, and by the time Ciel arrived, the little girl was waiting anxiously.
“Here, Daddy bought you something delicious today—something you’ve never had before!”
Ciel brought out the food. Having just reheated it in a microwave while passing by the community’s public kitchen, it was still steaming hot.
His wife and elder daughter gathered around as well.
“Why did you buy so much? Must have cost a lot, right?”
Seeing nearly two plates filled with golden pastries, his wife offered a mild complaint, but her attention was quickly diverted by a wave of aroma.
“What is this? How can it smell so good?”
“It’s called Dengzhan cake. Hurry and try some, it’s delicious.”
Ciel handed one piece each to his wife and two daughters.
The food was a bit hot to touch, so after blowing on it a few times, they carefully took a bite.
“How is it?”
Ciel looked at his wife and daughters with anticipation.
“Mmm, delicious!”
“There’s so much filling!”
“It’s even better than the egg burgers Daddy bought before!”
Egg burgers were sandwiches with fried eggs inside, which had been the younger daughter’s favorite until today.
The younger daughter’s red lips were glistened with oil, shining with a pretty sheen as she took bite after bite of the Dengzhan cake in her hands.
“Daddy, so radishes are this delicious! I love it!”
Ciel grinned and patted his younger daughter’s head. His elder daughter and wife were a bit more reserved, but judging by their expressions, they were clearly enjoying the delicacy in their hands immensely.
Ciel was overjoyed.
Truth be told, on the way back he had felt a bit of regret over buying so much, but now he had no such thoughts left. So what if he spent a little extra money? Usually frugal, it didn’t hurt to indulge once in a while.
The Dengzhan cakes were substantial; two were enough to fill up a child.
Ciel shared one with his wife, and after each drinking a bowl of grain slurry, they saved the remaining Dengzhan cakes for the children to eat next time.
Ciel’s salary was one thousand Yuan a month, which was considered a high income in the Fourth Ring.
However, raising two children still required saving wherever possible, so their daily diet consisted mainly of powder slurry.
Though he spent a fair amount of money today, seeing the children eat so happily made Ciel feel it was entirely worth it.
Mm, he would buy from this stall again next time.
And after Ciel patronized Ning He’s stall, the Dengzhan cake business proceeded smoothly. One customer after another, drawn by the aroma, wandered over. Every single person who sampled a piece placed an order—ranging from a single cake to three or four—unable to resist the temptation of such delicious flavor.
After sharing with their families at home or savoring it alone, their feelings matched Ciel’s exactly.
So worth it!
Not to mention how delicious it was, the portion size was generous as well. Packed with vegetables, rich in aroma and flavor, healthy and tasty—family members had nothing but praise.
They would definitely buy again next time!
Ning He’s first day running the stall ended in complete success with everything sold out.
Although part of it was due to intentionally preparing less stock for her first day, it was still a resounding success.
After saying goodbye to Uncle Cam, Ning He pushed her cart home in high spirits, not feeling a bit of fatigue despite the hour-long walk.
Back home, Ning He immediately calculated her earnings for the day.
She sold thirty radish-filled and forty-five chive-filled cakes in total, bringing in two hundred and fifty-five Yuan.
The vegetables cost nothing, while she used most of the 2L cooking oil and about half of the ten-jin bag of flour. After deducting the daily stall fee of eight Yuan and the cost of paper bags, her expenses came to around one hundred Yuan.
Which meant her net daily income reached one hundred and fifty Yuan.
With twelve days left until the end of the month, as long as she could maintain this sales volume, she would be able to gather enough money.
Provided, of course, that her vegetable yields could keep up.
She hadn’t planted many radishes earlier, estimating that she would run out in another five or six days, so she needed to replant right away. The chives were fine; after harvesting one batch, they would regrow quickly.
In addition, other mature vegetables urgently needed to be harvested; letting them grow any longer would make them tough.
However, without a refrigerator at home, storing them was also a problem.
Ning He calculated the immediate plans ahead, scrubbed the stall cart clean, gulped down a bowl of powder slurry, and lay down.
Having eaten two Dengzhan cakes herself in the afternoon to satisfy her cravings, her stomach finally had some oil and fats in it, making for a deeply satisfying night’s sleep.
The next day, Ning He went out early in the morning, carrying the cash she had just earned.