After dinner, An’an went upstairs again with Li Shuo to play at Qi Dongmei’s house. Qiao Man was in her room taking a phone call, appearing to have something important to handle.
The “Two Meis,” Xiong and Qi, sat in Qiao Man’s living room, feeling apprehensive.
Xiong Mei pursed her lips and remained silent, her eyelids drooping with a gloomy expression. The usually talkative Qi Dongmei was also acting out of character today, constantly sipping water and hardly saying a word.
They knew that the reason Qiao Man called them here today was surely because the contract had expired, and they were about to go their separate ways.
Xiong Mei had eventually taken early retirement at forty-five as a contract worker. At that time, she didn’t have a retirement pension; she could only start collecting it when she reached the official retirement age.
Back then, her family had two children to raise, and Old Cheng’s salary was often delayed. The police station was busy every day, and she had to take care of the household while hunting for work. She had worked as a cleaner and a kitchen helper, returning home so exhausted that she fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes. In her forties, she looked as worn out as someone in their fifties or sixties.
She had finally reached full retirement, but her heart had felt empty these past few years—until she was “sweet-talked” by Qiao Man into signing a contract. These recent days had been the most fulfilling of her life.
Not only that, she could now confidently buy her granddaughter the blind boxes she liked, rather than losing her temper every time they went to the mall.
She knew this day would come sooner or later, but because of various reasons, the day of their “breakup” had been postponed, giving her a glimmer of hope.
But a breakup was inevitable.
She hadn’t even eaten dinner. After listening to Old Cheng comfort her for a long time, she finally managed to look somewhat calm.
In contrast, Qi Dongmei was struggling to stay composed.
When they first arrived, Qiao Man was on the phone and told them to make themselves comfortable.
Qi Dongmei stood up to look out the window one moment, sat down to drink water the next, and then had to use the bathroom. She was fidgeting so much that Xiong Mei, sitting beside her, lost the mood to even dwell on her own worries.
Sure enough, when Qi Dongmei finally sat down, she couldn’t help but whisper to Xiong Mei, “Damei, do you think Little Man called us here because… because she wants to disband?”
Although she only took a twenty percent share, she had been a temporary worker at a factory when she was young and didn’t have a penny of retirement pension. This money was a significant source of income for her.
Xiong Mei was already irritated. The only reason she had been able to get along with Qi Dongmei these past few days was because they had to work together. Now that the partnership was ending, she didn’t want to hold back anymore and stung her with cold words: “This matter doesn’t have much to do with you anyway. It was Little Qiao and I who signed the contract originally. What are you getting so anxious about?”
These words were harsh, but Qi Dongmei knew Xiong Mei was in a terrible mood and didn’t take it to heart. She sighed: “I just feel that having a steady income is really nice. Life at home has been much better lately. And I really can’t bear to let go. You have no idea—Zhao Jianguo respects me so much now. My daughter stopped nagging about me running around all day; instead, she’s teaching her twins to look after An’an and Li Shuo because ‘Grandma is busy with her career.’
Listen to that—’busy with her career.’ Hehe, to think I’d one day hear that said about me. I, Qi Dongmei, have a career!”
Xiong Mei gave a cold snort. Qi Dongmei ignored it and continued: “I’m most afraid of being trapped at home. Now that I’m running out every day, my health is actually much better than before. Tell me, if Little Man stops delivering breakfast to those people, will they be okay with it?”
“If they’re not okay with it, what can you do? Who are you going to snitch to this time? Whose lapdog are you going to be? Just like when you snitched to my supervisor that we had a second child, which eventually got Old Cheng demoted so that he was still just a regular officer by the time he retired!”
“Xiong Mei, what kind of craze has come over you? What do those two things have to do with each other?” Qi Dongmei was furious at the insult and stood straight up. “I already told you, I wasn’t the one who snitched back then!”
“Then why was it you I saw at the door of the factory director’s office? The very next day, a public notice criticizing me was posted in the factory, and the Family Planning Office showed up at my house!”
Qi Dongmei plopped back down and fell silent.
“Say something! You’ve got a guilty conscience now, don’t you!”
Qi Dongmei suddenly spoke: “I didn’t even enter the director’s office. I just saw Sister Ren from our group coming out of there and went over to ask her what she was doing. The next day, your notice was posted, and she was promoted from a temporary worker to a permanent state worker. I finally realized what had happened.
I even went to pick a fight with her, but after seeing the situation at her house, in the end, I…”
Xiong Mei was speechless. Sister Ren had passed away a few years ago. It was only after she died that everyone learned her husband had lost his legs in a car accident and her son had cerebral palsy; the entire family had relied solely on her wage.
The two women stopped talking and lowered their heads to wipe away tears. A moment later, they were hugging each other and wailing: “Oh, our bitter lives!”
When Qiao Man stepped out of the bedroom, this was the scene she walked into, giving her quite a fright.
She had faintly heard crying while in the bedroom. Why were these two crying while saying sorry to each other?
Sensing someone nearby, the two suddenly stopped crying and looked at Qiao Man while sobbing.
“Man… ah… is it… time to… break up?”
Qi Dongmei was crying so hard that tears and snot were running down her face. Qiao Man quickly handed them tissues, caught between laughter and tears: “You two were crying because of that?”
Xiong Mei felt embarrassed after all and lowered her head to wipe her eyes. “No, we were just settling some old grudges. Why did you want to see us?”
Qiao Man finally went into the bedroom to get a document folder. “This is a contract from Qiwei Technology. They want to order breakfast from us. Our partnership is likely going to be extended again.”
After great sorrow came great joy. This time even Xiong Mei began to stammer: “How… how many orders is this?!”
“They have 254 employees. Two buns per person—one meat and one veggie—plus a drink. The meal budget is twenty yuan per person per day. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s stable every day. This is a six-month contract. If the cooperation goes well, we’ll sign yearly after that.”
Qi Dongmei flipped through the contract aimlessly; she couldn’t understand it anyway, so she quickly handed it to Xiong Mei. “Qiwei Technology! I know them, I know them! My daughter said their benefits are quite good for Jiang City. She even wanted my son-in-law to apply, but they didn’t want him—said they wanted college graduates.”
At this point, Qi Dongmei grinned: “I didn’t expect that I’d infiltrate Qiwei Technology before my son-in-law. Haha!”
Qiao Man watched the two of them crying one minute and laughing the next like children. She reminded them: “Auntie Xiong, I won’t be setting up the street stall for the next few days. I’ll work with you. You can wrap over four hundred buns an hour now, but it’s going to be exhausting. We’ll eventually need to hire people. You two keep an eye out—they must be reliable and clean. Remember to have them get a health certificate.”
She then said to Qi Dongmei: “Auntie Qi, you aren’t seventy yet, are you? How about getting a driver’s license?”
“You’re not working with us anymore?”
“Why get a driver’s license?”
The two spoke in unison. Qiao Man smiled. “This level of income is simply not enough. I have other things to do.”
This money was just enough for her to get a second-hand insulated food cart, and not even the kind with a proper canopy.
Jiang City was in the north, and winter was too cold. Although there was a fire for heat, it would start getting freezing come December. Especially after the Winter Solstice, in the bitter “Three-Nines” cold, not only would you not want to take your hands out, but the fillings would freeze solid.
Others might take a break, but she couldn’t. Besides raising An’an, the Qiao Family Restaurant was waiting for her.
That was Qiao Ya’s greatest wish.
Before that, she had to earn enough money to take over a shop in the food street.
That way, she’d be close to An’an, and she wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
Toward this goal, Qiao Man began to paint a vision for the two elderly women: “In the future, I’ll only come by every once in a while to teach new products. The rest will depend on you two. We’ll need to sign another contract, and the profit-sharing ratio will have to change to be fair to you both.”
Coming from an apocalyptic world, Qiao Man did not easily trust anyone, nor would she easily recruit partners. Spending so many days with these two had made her believe that the people here were mostly kind, especially the neighbors in Happiness Community.
Of course, there were occasionally those who liked to take small advantages, like Auntie Sun. But when Qiao Man first arrived, Auntie Sun had also told her how to save on water and electricity.
Qiao Man didn’t hide things from the two women and told them her plan.
Qi Dongmei was puzzled: “Little Man, actually, I can deliver goods in your Uncle Zhao’s ‘Old Man’s Joy’ (small electric mobility vehicle). It’s not cold in winter. No need to drive a car, right?”
Qiao Man smiled slightly. “When we grow big and open a shop in the future, all of Jiang City will be eating our buns. You’ll be ‘President Qi’ then; it wouldn’t look right to go out in an ‘Old Man’s Joy.'”
The vision-casting concluded. The two Meis, Xiong and Qi, left Qiao Man’s house in a daze—just like the time Xiong Mei had clutched the contract and dizzily handed over five hundred yuan.
Now, those five hundred yuan were no longer just a simple ten thousand or so in profit. They were going to be “Presidents” in the future?!
Is sixty really the age to start a career?!
…
Qiao Man was so busy these past few days that she couldn’t keep a close eye on An’an. She had no idea that An’an was actually being “bullied” by a fellow student at school.
In the morning, An’an and Li Shuo took Qiao Man’s newly made buns to school. Qiao Man thought they were just for the kids to eat, but she didn’t realize that An’an, following Li Shuo’s lead, had actually started a quiet little business.
An’an handed an eggplant and green pepper bun and a custard bun to her deskmate. “These are yours. Six yuan total.”
The deskmate swallowed hard and asked her, “What did you bring today?”
“A new product: lotus root and fresh meat.”
Before the deskmate could say she wanted a taste, Yang Zihan—who had always disliked An’an—arrived. Seeing the buns in their hands, she said disdainfully, “Eating buns again for breakfast? A maternal aunt really isn’t the same as a real mom. My mom is much better; she gives me sandwiches bought from the convenience store. They’re very expensive!”