Huang Ling’s company didn’t require employees to clock in, claiming to have flexible working hours. Previously, when things were quiet, everyone was quite self-disciplined. Recently, however, the company had been promoting “cost reduction and efficiency.” If they arrived a little late in the morning, they would be warned by Manager Feng from HR, and not working overtime in the evening was considered having an “insaturated workload.”
Manager Feng didn’t show up this morning, so Huang Ling and her colleagues took the opportunity to eat breakfast in the pantry and quietly gossip about her.
“It’s fine when she comes in late, but last time I was five minutes late for something, she ran into me at clock-out time and made a snide remark about how ‘young people are so carefree,'” a colleague said as she stuffed a bun into the microwave. She took a sip of Huang Ling’s soy milk. “This soy milk is quite fragrant. It’s homemade, right? Very authentic. Where did you buy it?”
Huang Ling yawned. “Right by my place, next to the stall where I buy buns. That’s nothing. Do you remember Xiao Hui, who sat behind you? Do you know why she was fired? They said she was caught three times spending more than ten minutes in the bathroom. It sounds ridiculous!”
The colleague’s jaw dropped. “Are they crazy? Could it be they wanted to fire Xiao Hui anyway and just looked for an excuse?”
Huang Ling’s head drooped. “Who knows. I feel like I can’t keep going either. Feng the Demon has been picking on me lately too. She’s probably looking for a reason to kick me out.”
A faint aroma wafted from the microwave, and the colleague’s mind began to wander. Without thinking, she said, “Then just wait for them to fire you and take the severance pay. Honestly, who even wants this crappy job? At worst, just go back home.”
Huang Ling gave a bitter smile. She wasn’t a local, and her family wasn’t well-off to begin with. She also had a younger brother. She had studied her heart out to escape that home and had circled around to end up in Jiangcheng, the city furthest from her house. She had finally managed to heal herself and didn’t want to go back.
The colleague realized her slip of the tongue and sighed, comforting her: “It’s okay, just look for another job. I’ll help you keep an eye out. But maybe it’s not what you think… By the way, didn’t your roommate just move out? How about I sublet with you?”
Huang Ling was puzzled. “Isn’t your family from here?”
“Just to have a sanctuary. If I’m unhappy at home, I can go stay there. Anyway, the rent on your side is cheap.” The colleague’s eyes were fixed on the microwave. “Besides, isn’t there a snack street over there? If I get a craving, I can just walk over and buy food. Hehe.”
With a “ding,” the buns were heated.
The colleague couldn’t wait to take the buns out. Ignoring the heat, she tossed one from hand to hand before passing it to Huang Ling. “If it’s not enough, I have bread too.”
Having said that, she ignored how hot it was, gave it a couple of quick blows, and took a huge bite.
The colleague’s eyes lit up instantly. “Hiss—so, mhm—so, so delicious…”
Although it was very hot, the inside of the bun skin was soaked in lard, and the meat filling was succulent and savory.
Usually, pork fillings from outside have too much fat; the first bite is fragrant, but the second is greasy. The buns from this stall were just right. Part of the oil from the fat was fully absorbed by the bun skin, making the skin delicious rather than bland. The cabbage itself didn’t have much flavor, but once it soaked up the oil and salt from the meat filling, it neutralized the greasiness.
Moreover, these buns smelled incredible.
“I give this bun a 99. The 1-point deduction is because the microwave dried it out a bit,” the colleague judged with a look of pure satisfaction after taking another bite.
This colleague loved to eat, so Huang Ling trusted her word. She blew on her bun faster and quickly stuffed it into her mouth—it was delicious!
Her appetite was piqued and her mood improved significantly. Huang Ling suddenly felt that one bun wasn’t enough.
“This is the moment I realize how uncultured we both are; all we can say is ‘delicious.'” The colleague was a bit reluctant to take the next bite and asked Huang Ling to distract herself, “Does she only sell them in the morning? Are you buying more tomorrow?”
Huang Ling nodded and was about to answer when she saw Manager Feng from HR walking in, carrying a bag and wearing a black coat. She glanced at the two of them and frowned.
Huang Ling thought she was going to scold them again, but to her surprise, she suddenly smiled at Huang Ling. “Xiao Huang, why aren’t you eating something better for breakfast? At your age, you should really nourish your body. Eating more bird’s nest is good for the skin.”
After saying that, she pressed her finger against her nose. “Remember to turn on the ventilation.”
Then she left.
Huang Ling and her colleague, Xiao Chang, were bewildered. They looked at each other, quickly stuffed the rest of the buns into their mouths, and returned to their workstations.
·
After Huang Ling left, Qiao Man sold many more. Just as she had told Xiong Mei, most young people would buy a bun at her stall because it was convenient, inexpensive, and hot—who wouldn’t want that? They also took Qiao Man’s advice and bought a cup of something to drink from the “Big Sister” next to her.
The lady selling porridge was extremely grateful to Qiao Man. She scooped another cup of Eight-Treasure Porridge and handed it to Qiao Man to warm her hands. Qiao Man didn’t refuse and suggested the lady move her cart closer to her. This would be more convenient and save them from running back and forth.
A smile spread across the lady’s face, which was reddened from the cold. She said cheerfully, “Alright!”
She also had An’an sit between her and Qiao Man, near her food cart where it was warmer.
Taking advantage of the current lack of customers, Qiao Man took a sip of the Eight-Treasure Porridge. She could tell it was homemade with generous ingredients and no messy additives. It was just slightly undercooked, though no one except a very discerning palate would notice.
She wondered for a moment why the lady’s porridge was so good yet wasn’t selling—
The vendors here weren’t fools; no one would let a business opportunity pass, and everyone sold complementary items. The stalls selling fried dough sticks and pancakes had soy milk and tofu pudding; the egg pancake stalls had heat-insulated boxes filled with cups of prepared soy milk; the sauce-flavored pancake stall even brought its own spicy soup… People would just pick up a cup while buying their breakfast, and no one would specifically come just for porridge.
Furthermore, the soy milk at those breakfast stalls was a yuan cheaper than the lady’s porridge.
Regardless of whether it was made from powder, most of the morning crowd was just looking for a bargain.
Qiao Man thought for a bit and said to the lady, “Big Sister, let’s exchange WeChat. I’ll be selling here for a while. Let’s partner up like we did today in the future, how about it?”
The lady was delighted, of course. She excitedly reached for her phone, her thick, frost-nipped fingers fumbling clumsily across the screen. Qiao Man couldn’t bear to watch and helped her operate it.
“I… I really don’t know what to say. Thank you!” Tears welled up in the lady’s eyes, which she quickly wiped away. She said, “I don’t have much ability, but you can drink porridge at my place for free. I’ll provide as much as you want!”
Qiao Man wasn’t quite used to this. “That’s not necessary. I won’t always be at the stall. If I’m not coming, I’ll message you on WeChat. Just don’t blame me.”
The lady nodded repeatedly. “How could I! Just knowing you and making some money makes me feel like I’ve truly benefited from you. Who would have thought?”
Who would have thought? She had started out just seeing a young girl with a child and thinking they were pitiful, believing the girl wouldn’t be out at a morning stall unless she was desperate. She had given her a cup of milk oatmeal porridge, and in return, she received such a blessing.
Watching the lady wipe her tears, Qiao Man hesitated for a moment but decided to speak up: “When you simmer this Eight-Treasure Porridge, it would be better if you cooked it for five minutes longer and reduced the sugar a bit. However, I suggest you look for other options as well.”
She explained the reasons to the lady, who fell into deep thought.
Qiao Man wouldn’t be running a stall forever; she intended to buy back the Qiao Family Restaurant!
For some reason, whenever others had told the lady these things before, she would always say, “I only know how to make porridge, I don’t know anything else.” When business was bad, she was both angry and helpless. But hearing Qiao Man say it today, she actually started to think seriously.
“Okay!” The lady nodded solemnly, then said sheepishly to Qiao Man, “Sister, I’m not very bright. There are things I can’t figure out or think of. I see you have good ideas. If I get stuck, can I ask you?”
“I won’t ask for free!” the lady immediately added. “If I make money under your guidance, I’ll give you half… half of the first month’s profit!”
Qiao Man waved her hand. “No need. I’ll help if I can, but I’m no deity; I don’t know everything.”
With her worries settled, the lady cheerfully asked An’an, “What’s your name, and how old are you?”
An’an had been sitting nearby the whole time, quietly listening to her aunt talk to the “Grandma” next to them. She took a bite of a delicious bun and a sip of sweet milk oatmeal porridge, eating with great relish while listening to their conversation.
Although she didn’t fully understand, she found it very interesting—selling buns with her aunt in the early morning. Even though the wind was chilly, she didn’t feel it was a hardship at all. This was much better than before!
Hearing “Grandma’s” words, An’an glanced at her aunt, then summoned her courage and said loudly, “My big name is Qiao Yanning, and my nickname is An’an. I’m six and a half years old. I used to go to Class 2, Grade 1 at Jiangcheng Third Elementary School, but in the future, I’ll be a student in Class 3, Grade 1 at Xingfu Elementary School!”
Her aunt had made her practice this. She had to introduce herself at the new school, and her aunt was afraid she would be too quiet or timid and get bullied by other children.
Her voice was so loud it startled the lady. Just as she was about to praise the child, she suddenly heard a young boy’s voice nearby: “You’re in Class 1-3 too! How come I’ve never seen you?”
A middle-aged woman and a six-year-old boy were standing in front of Qiao Man’s bun stall. The woman was wearing a heavy police coat and looked at her son with disdain. “Didn’t you hear the little girl say she’s transferring there? Are you even my son? How can you be so silly?”
The boy didn’t care at all. He grinned at his mother and said, “Do you know why I’m not smart today? It’s because you didn’t give me breakfast. Back when my grandma hadn’t sprained her ankle, I could eat a huge feast every morning. I could solve every math problem then, and I was spot on with mental math every time!”
The middle-aged woman frowned and interrupted the little chatterbox. “Enough, enough. I’ll buy you buns to shut you up.”
She asked Qiao Man for twenty meat buns and twenty vegetarian ones, saying they were for her colleagues. She stuffed two into her son’s hands, noticed the porridge stall nearby, and went to order fifteen cups of porridge.
Turning around, she saw that her son had already slipped behind the bun stall to chat with the little girl. Her vision went dark. “Li Shuo! Are you looking for trouble? Get out here!”
The middle-aged woman and the boy, Li Shuo, left. But the woman didn’t know that in that short time, her son had already confessed to An’an that they had a cat at home and that the cat had just become a “eunuch” two days ago.
Throughout the morning, most of their buns and porridge were sold.
The lady usually left around nine o’clock, but this time she followed Qiao Man’s advice and stayed until noon. There was another wave of people after ten, mostly those who were off or didn’t work and were out to buy brunch. By noon, Qiao Man only had a few buns left, and the lady’s porridge was almost gone.
Qiao Man and the lady agreed on what time to meet tomorrow, then she packed up the stall and took An’an back.
She felt An’an’s small hands and forehead; they were warm, which relieved most of her worries. All along the way, she listened to An’an’s little mouth chattering non-stop, as if she had been infected by Li Shuo.
“Auntie, did you know? Li Shuo’s house is across from Grandma Xiong’s! His mom’s name is Wang Yuwei—’Wei’ as in ‘majestic’—and she works at the Public Security Bureau. She’s a police officer!”
Qiao Man nodded in surprise. “What a coincidence.”
“He said they came to buy them because they heard from Grandma Xiong that there were delicious buns here!” An’an looked up at her aunt. Her aunt wasn’t angry or frowning; on the contrary, she couldn’t help but smile.
As An’an was wondering why, she suddenly saw two people arguing ahead. “Isn’t that Grandma Xiong?”
Qiao Man recognized her. Not only that, she also recognized the other person as her upstairs neighbor, Auntie Qi, who had asked her about the chicken soup yesterday.