He only ate a few pieces of pig’s blood from the stew because he thought the cabbage, which had absorbed all the flavor, tasted even better.
Xie Pei noticed that Zhu Mingyue truly preferred cabbage, so he quickly finished the remaining pig’s blood and left some cabbage leaves for him in the pot.
Before long, the two of them had cleaned out the entire pot of stew. Meanwhile, the steamer beside them was releasing more and more hot steam.
When the time was right, Zhu Mingyue lifted the lid.
The steamed buns inside were white, round, and plump, pressed tightly together. When he poked one, a small dent immediately appeared. They looked soft and fluffy, making people like them at first sight.
He placed one of the buns bought from outside beside his homemade buns.
As expected, comparison made all the difference.
The buns sold outside were made with mixed flour and had not fermented properly, making them look yellowish and hard.
Compared to them, his buns were clearly on a completely different level.
He casually tore one open.
Hot meat juice flowed onto his hand, scalding him so badly that he quickly dropped the bun onto the stove and sucked on his finger to ease the pain.
Xie Pei reached over from behind him, picked up the bun, blew on it a few times, and handed it back.
Zhu Mingyue did not take it. Looking surprised, he asked,
“Doesn’t it burn your hand?”
“It’s fine. Not hot.”
Zhu Mingyue glanced at Xie Pei’s hands and saw thick calluses covering his palms. No wonder he was not afraid of the heat.
He waved his hand.
“You eat first. I’ll have one later.”
Xie Pei glanced at him but said nothing. A few bites later, the bun was gone.
Once his hand stopped hurting, Zhu Mingyue rinsed it with cool water, picked up another bun, blew on it a few times, and took a big bite.
He immediately closed his eyes in happiness.
This was what a real steamed bun should taste like.
It tasted exactly like the buns he used to buy outside his university before early morning classes.
The filling was packed tightly inside. The meat was firm and springy, while the shredded cabbage balanced the richness perfectly. One bite filled his mouth with a sweet and savory flavor that lingered pleasantly.
He quickly finished one bun and reached for another.
Then he looked down and discovered there were only five buns left.
Looking at Xie Pei, he saw that half a bun disappeared every time the young man opened his mouth.
“Do you like these buns?” Zhu Mingyue asked softly.
Xie Pei nodded.
Another bun disappeared almost instantly.
Watching this, Zhu Mingyue felt nervous and quickly continued.
“Then which tastes better? The buns I made or the ones sold outside?”
As soon as he asked, he felt slightly embarrassed.
It was almost like asking a child whether they loved their father or mother more.
Xie Pei did not answer immediately.
Instead, he pointed at the basin.
“You’re not eating anymore?”
Zhu Mingyue shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m already full.”
Unlike Xie Pei, whose stomach seemed bottomless.
Hearing that, Xie Pei ate the bun Zhu Mingyue had set down earlier. The remaining four buns were stored in the cupboard.
“Yours taste better,” Xie Pei suddenly said as he closed the cupboard door.
“Really?” Zhu Mingyue asked excitedly.
“Mm.”
Xie Pei answered calmly.
He was telling the truth.
The best food he had ever eaten in his life had been made by this young sister-in-law who looked even younger than him.
Receiving such praise, Zhu Mingyue rubbed his hands together and grinned happily.
Xie Pei looked up.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
Feeling shy, Zhu Mingyue finally spoke.
“Then I’ll say it directly. I want to sell steamed buns in town. What do you think?”
Afraid of being rejected, he quickly added,
“Of course, all the money earned will go toward the household. I won’t keep even a single coin for myself.”
Xie Pei fell silent.
His expression remained calm, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Seeing no response, Zhu Mingyue felt awkward and secretly glanced at him.
“Selling buns means getting up very early.”
Xie Pei finally spoke.
“I can get up early!” Zhu Mingyue immediately replied.
“The town is far away.”
“That’s fine. I can walk.”
If he could not handle such a small hardship, how could he make money?
Zhu Mingyue thought Xie Pei would continue objecting.
Instead, Xie Pei simply said,
“Do as you like.”
Zhu Mingyue was overjoyed.
“You mean you agree?”
Xie Pei did not answer directly.
“You don’t know the roads in town. Come with me when you set up your stall.”
Zhu Mingyue nodded excitedly.
He was the type of person who acted immediately once he made a decision.
At the beginning of the Hour of Yin the next morning, around 3–5 a.m., he got out of bed.
Everything around him was pitch black.
He searched everywhere but could not find a candle.
Feeling his way along the wall, he left his room and headed toward the kitchen to light the oil lamp.
“Ow!”
He suddenly crashed into something hard in the darkness and cried out.
He clearly remembered that there should be nothing blocking the kitchen entrance.
What had he hit?
He stretched out both hands and felt around.
The object stood perfectly still and felt solid.
Wait.
Why did it feel like a person?
Confused, he boldly squeezed it.
A muffled groan reached his ears.
Before he could react, someone firmly grabbed his wrist.
Breaking free, Zhu Mingyue nervously asked,
“Xie Pei? Is that you?”
If it was not Xie Pei, he would have to scream for help. A thief in the house would be a disaster.
No one answered.
After some rustling sounds, a faint light illuminated the kitchen.
The moment he saw Xie Pei’s face, Zhu Mingyue sighed in relief.
“You scared me to death. I thought it was a thief.”
But halfway through speaking, his smile disappeared.
Xie Pei’s face looked extremely dark.
Only then did Zhu Mingyue remember.
The thing he had touched seemed to have been Xie Pei’s chest.
Not only had he touched it, he had even tried to squeeze it.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Lowering his head in embarrassment, he stammered,
“S-Sorry. I wasn’t trying to touch you on purpose. I didn’t know it was you.”
“If it had been someone else, would you have touched them too?” Xie Pei asked with a frown.
“No! Of course not!”
Zhu Mingyue shook his head frantically.
“I didn’t know you were a person. No, I mean I didn’t know I had bumped into a person.”
Trying too hard to explain, he became more and more confused.
Eventually, he simply gave up and closed his mouth.
How was he supposed to explain?
He really had not been trying to take advantage of Xie Pei.
Besides, Xie Pei’s chest was hard as a rock and not pleasant to squeeze at all.
If he wanted to squeeze someone’s chest, he would prefer a muscular body.
Whether Xie Pei believed him or not, the young man did not pursue the matter further.
The two remained peaceful despite saying very little.
For the first day of business, Zhu Mingyue decided to be cautious.
He would make only fifty buns to test the market.
Even that was a big gamble.
He used up nearly all the flour they had.
In the end, he made twenty-four meat buns and thirty vegetable buns.
To improve the flavor, he mixed pork fat into the vegetable filling.
He also reheated the four leftover buns from yesterday.
After eating breakfast, the two set off carrying two wooden buckets full of buns.
The buns were wrapped tightly in white cloth.
To keep them warm, Xie Pei even contributed an old worn-out cotton quilt.
Xie Pei had not been exaggerating.
The town really was far away.
They left before dawn in complete darkness.
By the time they arrived, the sky was already bright.
Zhu Mingyue’s legs ached so badly that he immediately sat down on a stone block and refused to move.
He did not want to walk any farther.
Looking around, he tried to persuade Xie Pei.
“This place looks pretty good. There are lots of people here. Why don’t we sell the buns right here?”
Xie Pei had originally planned to take him to the busiest street in town.
Seeing how exhausted he was, he did not insist.
He removed the quilt and placed the buckets on the ground.
Neither of them had ever done business before.
One sat while the other stood, guarding the buckets like two fools.
Many people passed by.
Some stopped briefly in front of them.
But they were not interested in the buns.
Most had only noticed Zhu Mingyue’s attractive appearance.
After walking closer and realizing he was a man, they all left with disappointed expressions.
Zhu Mingyue: …
Was his face really more interesting than the buns?
Could these people stop staring at him and look at the big, soft buns instead?
The buns were cooling down by the minute.
Finally, he stood up.
Forget it!
“Steamed buns for sale! Big, soft, fluffy steamed buns! Meat buns and vegetable buns! Come and buy!”
At first, he felt embarrassed shouting.
But the more he shouted, the more confident he became.
Surprisingly, it worked.
A woman and her child soon approached the stall.
Pointing at the buns, the woman asked how much they cost.
“Three coins for a meat bun and two coins for a vegetable bun,” Zhu Mingyue answered with a smile.
“So expensive?”
The woman hesitated after hearing the price.
“They’re not expensive. You can ask around. Other vendors charge about the same. My meat buns cost one coin more because they’re made with real pork.”
Just as he finished speaking, the child hiding behind the woman sucked on his finger and said in a childish voice,
“Mom, I want a meat bun!”
A long string of drool hung from his mouth onto his clothes.
The woman clearly loved her child very much.
Although she truly felt the buns were expensive, she still bought one meat bun and one vegetable bun.
Zhu Mingyue happily accepted the five coins and handed the child one bun from each bucket.
The child immediately leaned forward to take a bite.
Fortunately, his mother quickly stopped him.
Taking the buns, she thanked Zhu Mingyue and led the child away.
After they left, Zhu Mingyue handed the five coins to Xie Pei and resumed shouting.
Their second customer was a young man.
He was already used to buying buns and did not think the prices were unreasonable.
When he heard there were meat-filled buns, he became interested and bought one to try.
The third customer was a middle-aged scholar.
He also bought one meat bun and one vegetable bun.