Tao Tao thought it was no big deal and nodded casually. “Sure, go ahead.”
Yu Luan heard this too, and happily reached out to hold Tao Tao’s fingers.
He hated his cousin and didn’t want to go to his grandmother’s house either.
Having said his piece, there was no need to return to Lipu. He was completely satisfied, and his eyes were once again drawn to the preview for the next episode of the cartoon playing on the TV. He held Tao Tao’s hand and started watching.
It seemed that all he wanted was for someone to know about his grievances and feelings—just being able to voice them was enough. He didn’t care whether Tao Tao would actually stand up for him.
Besides… Taro seemed to really like holding hands with others.
Tao Tao squeezed his soft palm in return. He didn’t look chubby, but his hand was thick and fleshy—so squishy and fun to play with.
She also thought to herself, if Taro wanted to follow her, then let him. She didn’t mind the trouble, after all… she was no longer that stubborn child from before.
Her crisp reply finally put Yu Meizhen’s mind at ease about one thing. Her eldest brother and sister-in-law had left so resolutely, and Meilan was unreliable, so she could only count on herself to help take care of their mother.
But she didn’t want to take Yu Luan back to Lipu. She was worried that if she let her guard down even a little, the little one would get bullied again. It was better to just leave him at home.
Especially since Tao Tao had agreed so readily—it really moved Yu Meizhen.
Little Luan was right—his sister really was the best!
“Thank you so much, Grape.” Yu Meizhen smiled and thanked Tao Tao, then led Yu Luan—who had finally finished watching the commercial and the full next-episode preview—upstairs to bathe.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have budged from his spot.
Just then, the landline phone in the shop rang. Tao Guangzhi was too busy to answer, so he called out for Tao Tao to go pick it up. On the other end of the line was actually her aunt.
“Hello! Guangzhi!”
“Hello, Auntie. Dad’s busy inside.” Tao Tao greeted her politely, but inside she was very nervous. She had completely forgotten that Tao Guangzhi had already dropped by her uncle’s house that morning with egg tarts, and she anxiously wondered—could her aunt be calling to press for payment again?
“Oh, it’s Grape! Okay, okay, tell your dad that when he came this morning to ask about your little brother’s school transfer, your uncle already talked to Principal Huang about it. Tell him to get all the necessary documents ready—like the student registration card, transfer application, and so on. On the first day of school registration, he can just go straight to Principal Huang.”
Tao Tao acknowledged it. “Got it, thank you, Auntie.”
“And also, those egg tarts he brought today—your uncle and I both thought they were delicious, so we sent some over to our director for a taste. He was very pleased and made a decision on the spot: he wants your dad to bake a hundred egg tarts and deliver them to our coal yard before 10:30 tomorrow morning. We have three very important client meetings tomorrow, and we’ll be using them as tea snacks. I already told the director that we’ll pay the regular price—2.5 yuan each. Tell your dad to do a good job and not cut any corners, or else we won’t get another chance like this in the future. He absolutely must seize this opportunity.”
Her aunt said solemnly over the phone.
“Really? That’s great! Thank you, Auntie!” Tao Tao’s eyes lit up immediately. A hundred of them! That’s 250 yuan! If this deal goes through, it would almost match what her dad used to make in a month. This was a big order!
And her aunt also said there could be more opportunities in the future.
Tao Tao believed that—it wasn’t just empty talk.
Her uncle, Tao Guangfa, was the deputy director at the coal yard, and he had gotten her aunt—who used to work as a salesclerk at a supermarket—a job there. She was now in charge of procurement for the coal yard’s cafeteria and the guesthouse restaurant. A large portion of the food supplies and outsourcing contracts now went through her.
Although she was just a small procurement officer with a modest salary and low rank, seemingly insignificant, positions like hers were especially lucrative. The flexibility in purchasing prices fell within her purview, and just that little bit of authority came with plenty of perks.
Still, her aunt was quite law-abiding and professional. She was competent at her job and knew how to handle people, maintaining good relationships with suppliers big and small. Tao Tao remembered that in later years, the coal yard went through several changes of top management, and her uncle was even demoted to a regular clerk due to poor political alignment, but her aunt managed to keep her position all along.
“Oh, we’re all family—your aunt wants your family to do well too, so we can all prosper together! Now, did you remember everything I just said?” She still didn’t feel comfortable leaving such an important task to a child like Tao Tao. “Repeat it back to me first!”
Tao Tao recited it fluently: “Tell Dad to get Yu Luan’s transfer documents ready, and on registration day, go straight to Principal Huang. Most importantly, tomorrow before 10:30 AM, make a hundred egg tarts and deliver them to the coal yard at 2.5 yuan each, and tell Dad to do a good job.”
“Right, right, right! Our Grape is getting more capable by the day. So it’s settled then. Your aunt has things to do, so I’ll hang up now. No, no, no need to thank me—we’re family! Mm-hmm, yeah, come over and visit when you’re free. Okay, okay, bye, mm-hmm, yeah, bye…”
As soon as Tao Tao put down the phone, she rushed inside excitedly and told her dad the news. But to her surprise, Tao Guangzhi didn’t share her joy about making big money. Instead, he rolled his eyes and wailed, “A hundred? That many?”
Wasn’t that asking for his life?
He was already tired after baking three batches today!
“Dad! Are you really going to turn away money when it comes knocking?” Tao Tao was exasperated too. Any guilt she had felt toward her dad earlier evaporated instantly. She narrowed her eyes and emphasized each word: “This is something Auntie specifically asked for—and she made sure to tell you to do a good job.”
“I know, I know! Ugh, what a hard life…” Tao Guangzhi was just complaining out loud. He was most afraid of his older brother and sister-in-law—he wouldn’t dare mess up his own brother’s business even if he had a lion’s heart. So with a sigh, he went back to chopping vegetables and preparing soup for dinner.
Tao Tao turned her head and noticed the large oven was already preheating, and the egg tart mixture was already prepared on the counter. It seemed her dad was getting more and more skilled at making Portuguese egg tarts. In no time, the tart shells would be ready to freeze, and all that was left was to pour in the egg mixture and pop them in to bake.
She didn’t say anything more.
Tao Guangzhi was very fortunate. Although he was born in an era of poverty and hardship, he was the youngest child of his parents. He had two older brothers and two older sisters above him. Because of that, despite being born in the 1960s, his father had never even worked the land!
Tao Tao often thought that her dad’s early life could probably be written into a novel titled “The 1970s: My Beloved Little Brother” or something like that. Her uncle was a full ten years older than her dad, so that was probably how he ended up with such an easygoing, laid-back personality.
By a little past five in the evening, the Portuguese egg tarts were finally out of the oven again.
Just as Tao Guangzhi brought out a fresh batch, the golden, flaky crust still steaming, the rich, sweet aroma mixed with the scent of milk once again wafted out across half the alley.
This was peak hour—workers were getting off duty, families were having dinner, and the sun had just set, making the weather finally cooler. But the light in the sky was still bright, and many children had taken the chance to come out and play.
Kids of all ages were running wild through the alley—some kicking shuttlecocks, some jumping rope, and a few older kids huddled together, using scavenged chalk to draw lines on the open ground and playing a game called “Breakthrough.”
Laughter and chatter filled the air everywhere. Evenings like this were always lively and bustling.
As soon as the egg tarts came out of the oven, they naturally drew a crowd. Uncles and aunties just getting off work, children—drawn by the smell—gathered around in twos and threes.
“Hey, Guangzhi, I heard you came up with something new!” Granny Chen, who lived at the end of the alley, had eaten dinner early and was now taking her little grandchild for a walk. Curiosity piqued, she squeezed to the front, peered at the steaming egg tarts on the large stainless-steel baking tray, and then spotted the chilled yogurt sitting next to them. “Oh, you’ve got yogurt too!”
“Yeah, Granny. Here, freshly baked egg tarts with yogurt—perfect for this kind of weather. You can eat as many as you want without getting sick of them, and no worries about getting heaty either.” Tao Guangzhi smiled and enthusiastically repeated his daughter’s sales pitch.
Before he even finished speaking, a few young people who had just gotten off work and were both hungry and hot wandered over curiously. After a quick glance, they seemed interested and asked about the price. “Boss, two egg tarts! And a bottle of yogurt—how much?”
“Yogurt is one yuan, egg tarts are 2.5 each, two would be five, so total is six yuan.”
“That’s pretty expensive.” The two young people exchanged a frown but still paid for it. After taking their bag, their expressions remained a bit sour, with a look that said we got ripped off and won’t be coming back. They walked off in silence.
But others who had already heard about it from family or friends came one after another to buy. Among them were a few female teacher friends that Teacher Luo had enthusiastically brought along.
“Hi boss! I’ll take three egg tarts and two bottles of yogurt!”
“I’ll have the same set too.”
With more people coming, Tao Guangzhi started to get flustered, so Tao Tao came out from inside to help collect payments.
Yu Luan had taken a bath and changed clothes. When he saw Tao Tao outside, he quietly followed her out.
Soon, the shop entrance was packed with people, creating quite a lively scene. The crowd attracted even more curious onlookers, all wanting to know what was drawing so many buyers.
Tao Guangzhi watched the egg tarts in the tray dwindle one by one. Familiar neighbors and outsiders alike were almost all carrying an egg tart in one hand and a yogurt bottle in the other. Some people couldn’t resist taking a bite of the tart right at the alley entrance, smacking their lips in satisfaction, then twisting open the yogurt for a big sip, even licking the lid clean. Between sips, they remarked to their companions, “So cool and refreshing—it’s really nice!”
Tao Guangzhi had only baked the third batch to appease the kids and hadn’t given much thought to pairing them with yogurt. But now, the small doubts in his mind gradually turned into surprise and delight.
Tao Tao was right again!
Selling them together really moved a lot more product.
The yogurt that had been sitting untouched in the freezer inside had simply been moved to a different spot, and suddenly it had become a hot item, selling like crazy!
Selling intermittently like this until 7 PM, the whole batch of egg tarts was sold out once more, and the yogurt that had filled the freezer was more than half gone. Interestingly, just after the tarts sold out, the two young people who had originally felt ripped off came back. Seeing the tarts were gone, they actually looked regretful and asked, “Ah, should’ve bought more… Boss, can we just buy the yogurt then?”
Of course they could! He’d be thrilled to sell even more yogurt. Although these yogurts were bought wholesale and sold cheap, their profit margin was actually slightly higher than his Portuguese egg tarts.
Tao Guangzhi grumbled and complained, but his face was sore from smiling as he collected the money.
Hehe, it tasted so good.
Some people finished eating and came back specifically to ask for Tao Guangzhi’s phone number to place pre-orders. Eating 2.5-yuan egg tarts every day was definitely not affordable, but if they were for gifting, they were actually a great budget-friendly choice.
Sold out again.
Tao Tao was also thrilled. This was her first attempt since returning to her childhood. She had some confidence, but deep down, she couldn’t help feeling nervous. Now that the market had once again verified that this approach worked, she finally felt at ease.
During the rush, besides helping collect payments quickly, she had also been guiding Yu Luan to help fold the paper packaging boxes.
The two worked like little assembly-line workers—one peeling off the plastic wrap, the other folding the boxes. At first, Tao Tao worried that Yu Luan wouldn’t know how to fold them, but surprisingly, after just two seconds of observation—really, it seemed like only two seconds—before she even had time to explain, he quickly folded along the dotted lines and snapped the tabs together. A neat, three-dimensional little box appeared before her eyes, making Tao Tao gape in surprise.
She silently handed him another one.
He folded it swiftly again.
After finishing, he looked up at her with bright eyes, waiting for another.
Is his brain 3D or something… Tao Tao stared blankly and handed him a more complicated rectangular large box. This larger packaging could hold eight Portuguese tarts and required an extra layer of cardboard tart tray inside.
But even with the increased difficulty, Yu Luan only needed a few more glances before he swiftly folded that one too.