Back then, Tao Tao had found him utterly annoying. She thought he was a coward.
But… when the power went out and the thunder clapped, Tao Tao herself was actually a little scared too. The problem was, she was a very stubborn child. Even though she was so frightened that she didn’t dare go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she still pretended to be fearless and tough.
She’d be dying to go, but if you asked her, she’d say, “Not scared! Not scared at all!”
So every time Yu Luan crept over to her room, she was actually secretly relieved.
But she’d never admit it, not in a million years. Come daylight, she’d immediately revert to her super-stubborn, ultra-combative state, hating Auntie Yu and Yu Luan more than anyone.
Tao Tao sighed. The thunder was growing more distant. She gently patted Yu Luan, who still couldn’t help flinching at every clap, and lay back down herself. She quickly grew sleepy. Just as she was drifting off, she felt a small, chubby hand reach over from under the blanket and grasp her thumb.
Then, suddenly, another unusually loud clap of thunder—it sounded like it had exploded right above the roof.
“Sister!”
Yu Luan jolted under the blanket and, tangled in it, scrambled and crawled his way over to Tao Tao.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Tao Tao, eyes still closed, covered his ears for a while. Eventually, everything around them grew quiet, even the rain seemed to soften. The thunder probably wouldn’t come back… She let go of his ears. But after a moment, she started feeling hot and stuffy. Yu Luan’s nervous, warm breath was puffing against her arm.
She pushed him away slightly. “It’s fine now. You’re so hot. Move over a bit.”
Yu Luan obediently scooted his little bottom over. But before long, with a soft rustle, his warm body cautiously edged back toward her. Remembering that Tao Tao had said she was hot, he didn’t dare get too close. He just curled up into a tiny ball beside her.
Tao Tao was too sleepy to open her eyes. She let him stay.
And so, two little kids, holding hands and leaning shoulder to shoulder, fell asleep together in the noisy summer thunderstorm night.
In the morning, Tao Tao was jolted awake by the sound of Tao Guangzhi rushing into her room in a panic: “Oh! Here, here! Wifey! Xiao Luan is in Putao’s room!”
Yu Meizhen also hurried upstairs. When she saw him, she leaned against the doorframe and let out a long breath.
She’d been terrified.
Earlier that morning, Auntie Yu had gone to wake Yu Luan. Seeing his door open and no one inside had scared her half to death. She called out several times with no answer, then quickly woke Tao Guangzhi. One searched downstairs, the other upstairs.
“You two nearly scared the soul right out of me,” Tao Guangzhi grumbled.
Neither he nor Yu Meizhen had imagined that the two kids would suddenly become close enough to share a room. They’d searched the entire house before finally thinking to check Tao Tao’s room.
“It poured last night, Dad. The power went out—didn’t you know? Taro was too scared to sleep alone. This is called being helpful, okay?” Tao Tao, grumpy from being woken up, rubbed her eyes and sat up. She tried to pull her left hand but couldn’t. She looked down.
Yu Luan was still holding her hand. He’d been woken up too, but he was too sleepy to open his eyes. He grunted twice like a little pig and buried his face back in the pillow.
His grip was so tight that her palm was sweaty. He’d held on even while sleeping.
Her hand was numb. She quickly pulled it out and shook it.
The moment her palm was empty, Yu Luan, still drowsy, also sat up clutching the blanket.
He was so tired that his eyes were vacant.
“Alright, alright. Go brush your teeth first.” Tao Guangzhi shook his head. He really couldn’t understand these kids’ on-again, off-again friendships. He herded them both downstairs to wash up and eat breakfast.
Yu Meizhen took Yu Luan to change clothes first. The reason she’d woken her son so early was that she needed to take him back to her mother’s home—to visit Yu Luan’s grandmother on the island.
Yu Luan’s grandmother lived in Lipu Village, which was under the jurisdiction of Zhangxi Town. Lipu Village was on a small island, and transportation was very inconvenient. Biking to the ferry dock took half an hour, and there were only two ferry trips in the morning. So every time they went, they had to time it carefully.
“Your big uncle called and said Grandma isn’t feeling well. We need to catch the early boat today. Hurry, hurry…” Yu Meizhen anxiously pulled Yu Luan back to her room.
Yu Luan was pulled along for a few steps, several tufts of unruly hair sticking up on his head. He looked back at Tao Tao.
“What are you looking at me for? Remember to brush your teeth properly. Go on, hurry up!” Tao Tao yawned, waved at him, then went to brush her own teeth. Afterwards, she casually grabbed a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts to put on.
Breakfast was simple: thick, warm sweet potato congee that had already cooled down, served with pickled mustard greens, preserved radish, and fermented bean curd. Tao Guangzhi had also fried an egg for each of them to go with the congee.
Summer mornings were already scorching hot, so Tao Tao particularly enjoyed eating cold congee like this.
The family ate their breakfast noisily, slurping away. Soon after, Auntie Yu hurriedly packed up the various canned goods and pie gift boxes that Tao Guangzhi had insisted on giving her, loaded Yu Luan onto her bike, and pedaled off.
Tao Guangzhi saw his wife off to the end of the street. When he returned, he first made a phone call to order some egg tart cups to be delivered. After cleaning up the dishes, he couldn’t wait any longer. He slapped two yuan down on the table and told Tao Tao to make the egg tarts from yesterday again.
He’d gone dancing yesterday with the intention of taking today off, so he had plenty of free time.
Tao Tao stuffed the money into her pocket and went into the kitchen. She pretended to knead the dough slowly, clumsily cracking eggs. Tao Guangzhi couldn’t stand watching her. “Watching you work is more tiring than doing it myself. I’ll do it, I’ll do it. You just tell me what to do. What did you add yesterday?”
“I don’t remember. I just grabbed whatever I saw and added it…”
Pretending not to remember, Tao Tao opened the cabinets, took things out one by one, and only managed to list all the ingredients after fumbling around and repeating herself.
Tao Guangzhi had zero suspicion of his own daughter; it would never cross his mind that reincarnation was even possible. Besides, Tao Tao spoke as incoherently as ever. Figuring out the sequence and approximate proportions of this so-called Macau Portuguese egg tart from her was like solving a riddle.
This only made him more convinced that Tao Tao had stumbled upon the recipe by sheer luck.
And so, with Tao Tao deliberately playing dumb and acting cute, Tao Guangzhi ended up baking thirty Portuguese egg tarts in one go. Since they were making them, no point in being stingy—he planned to give some to the neighbors and relatives, and while he was at it, brag to everyone he knew about how amazing his daughter was!
Wahahaha… He couldn’t help laughing triumphantly in his heart. His daughter was just like him—a baking prodigy!
This time, he used the large oven, only heating one layer.
As for things like temperature control, Tao Guangzhi didn’t need to ask Tao Tao. He was much more experienced with this gas oven than she was.
The fragrance gradually filled the air. Portuguese egg tarts really smelled incredibly good.
After more than twenty minutes of baking, Tao Guangzhi eagerly opened the oven door.
A rich, milky aroma rushed out. Not a single tart was ruined. The crusts were even flakier than the ones Tao Tao had made the day before. Every tart had prominent caramelized spots, golden and shiny, looking absolutely perfect.
“Success on the first try! Amazing!” Tao Tao laid on the flattery thickly, then casually suggested, “Hey, Dad, don’t you think these egg tarts smell better and taste better? You could try selling them, you know? They’re even easier to make.”
Tao Guangzhi was a little tempted. This was a completely different kind of egg tart from the old-fashioned ones. It looked great, tasted great, and had a flashy reputation to boot—Portuguese egg tarts from Macau. How fashionable!
But the cost was much higher than old-fashioned egg tarts. Butter was expensive! There was no way he could sell them cheaply. They’d have to be at least two and a half yuan each, while regular egg tarts only cost one yuan.
Would anyone buy them?
Tao Tao could tell what her dad was thinking with one look.
The spring breeze of reform and opening up had already blown across the land. Doing business was no longer just about being cheap and affordable. From this year onward, the market would only become more competitive. The advertising industry was about to explode. Whether big business or small shop, quality, branding, and marketing were the three factors that would determine if a shop survived.
Just as she was thinking about how to suggest that Tao Guangzhi pursue differentiation, someone poked their head in through the shop entrance and asked:
“Oh wow, that smells amazing! Guangzhi, what kind of pastries are you making that smell so good?”
Tao Guangzhi leaned out to see who it was, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Tao Tao looked as well, and her eyes lit up.