The cost and profit of making Portuguese egg tarts were roughly split fifty-fifty. After factoring in gas, tart trays, paper boxes, poster design fees, and other costs, each egg tart made about one yuan in profit.
So over that half-month or so, just from the egg tarts alone, after deducting costs, Tao Tao’s family bakery had earned 1,800 yuan!
During this time, Tao Tao also led Yu Luan in catching up on their summer homework every day. Yu Luan was fast with math—she had him focus on the math problems first, and he finished them all in just over half an hour!
He was also picking up Chinese character recognition and vocabulary pretty quickly. Although his handwriting was slow, under Tao Tao’s relentless cheerleading of “Great job! Amazing!” she would erase every poorly written character and have him rewrite it. Now, his writing was straight and even, with consistent spacing—much better than what was in his earlier exercise books.
The only problem was that he couldn’t do picture-based composition or reading comprehension at all!
Tao Tao was about to scratch her head bald trying to teach him. Looking at Yu Luan’s clear, bewildered eyes staring back at her, she could only resign herself to fate. Since school was about to start, she’d just have to write it for him!
She and Yu Luan also often went to Lili’s place to play with her puppy, or joined Lili and Zhang Jiaming with nets to catch longhorn beetles. More often than not, they ended up helplessly watching the shop and selling egg tarts for Tao Guangzhi, who kept sneaking off to go dancing.
Actually, she had initially worried that her dad might get too tired making egg tarts every day, so she’d thoughtfully offered: “Dad, after you finish these, go rest. I’ll watch the shop for you.”
Every time she said that, she’d notice Aunt Yu looking at her with a hesitant, almost meaningful expression.
Later, Tao Tao finally understood what that look meant.
She was totally wasting her concern!
Tao Guangzhi was the type of person who, given an inch, would take a mile. Once he started resting, there was no end to it! There was absolutely no need for Tao Tao to worry—he’d take the initiative to give himself a day off every other day!
One day he’d say he was taking Aunt Yu to the countryside to pick those flat green oranges that could sour your teeth; another day he’d announce he was taking the whole family to the seaside to row boats and dig for clams; then he’d say his second uncle had bought a new motorcycle and he was taking Aunt Yu for a ride…
In her daze, Tao Tao couldn’t even tell if it was her summer vacation or her dad’s.
Several times, he’d bake just one batch of egg tarts, leave Yu Luan and Tao Tao at the shop, and take off with his wife! He’d tell Tao Tao to close up after selling that batch and let her and Yu Luan go play on their own.
How could she just ignore that?
Tao Tao felt like marching into the kitchen and whacking her dad over the head with a rolling pin.
One batch was definitely not enough—it sold out before noon. Tao Tao had no choice but to stand on a little stool and call Yu Luan over to help. The two little ones, like pitiful assembly-line workers, bustled back and forth in front of the counter, kneading the dough in several rounds, huffing and puffing until they managed to bake another batch.
Tao Tao wasn’t some heartless taskmaster. She just wanted to make the most of this good business period to earn more money—at least to build the shop’s reputation. That way, when the big waves of the future came crashing down, her family… would have a foothold.
Last time, Zhang Jiaming had quietly come over and told her that Happy West Bakery had also launched a flaky-crust egg tart. His mom had bought some twice, but perhaps because the recipe was different, everyone in his family thought they didn’t taste as good as Tao Tao’s.
Plus, the two batches tasted different—one was too sweet, the other not sweet enough.
The baker at Happy West Bakery was probably still experimenting.
Tao Tao’s recipe was based on the KFC flavor from the future, with slight adjustments. Back then, she’d spent nearly half a year just to barely replicate it. KFC’s recipe was a true-blue classic—authentic and delicious.
She believed the egg tart ratio wasn’t so easy to copy, and that there would still be a long-tail effect.
Old Man Zhang, for instance, swore that when he ate Happy West Bakery’s egg tarts, he could taste lard. He was certain that shop was mixing lard with shortening, nowhere near as solid as Tao Tao’s ingredients.
Zhang Jiaming solemnly gnawed on his popsicle and said, “My grandpa said he still supports your family’s Portuguese egg tarts and told my mom not to buy those knockoffs from Happy West Bakery anymore.”
Tao Tao gave an awkward chuckle at that.
Hehe, actually, her family also used lard and shortening… Butter wasn’t as cheap back then as it would be in the future. If they used all butter, the cost would be unsustainable even at 5.5 yuan each.
Happy West Bakery probably knew theirs weren’t as good as Tao Tao’s, so they sold theirs for two yuan each—five cents cheaper—which still attracted quite a few customers.
Perhaps because of this new competitor, as the start of school approached, the egg tart business had dropped from its peak to a relatively stable sales volume. Now, including pre-orders, they were only selling about a hundred a day.
Tao Tao fell into thought upon hearing this.
They’ve started lowering prices.
This Happy West Bakery owner really knew how to do business better than her dad.
With competitors already in the egg tart market, customer traffic and market share would only become more divided. Happy West was just the first to imitate—others would surely follow, and eventually, it would turn into an all-out price war.
Earlier, they could ignore it, but now her family had to come up with something new.
So—why not take advantage of the current momentum, while they’d built up some reputation and business hadn’t yet declined, and ride the wave of the egg tart’s popularity by launching a new product?
That would shift the competition from the same product to a broader category… But what kind of new bread should her family introduce next?
Tao Tao hadn’t figured that out yet, and another equally important matter had arrived.
She and Yu Luan were starting school tomorrow!
Tao Tao touched her new school uniform with a hint of nostalgia.
It had been so long since she’d worn a school uniform.
When she was little, she thought it was ugly, but now looking at it, the color scheme was actually quite refreshing, and it was loose and comfortable.
The top was a blue-and-white collared T-shirt, and the bottoms were dark blue knee-length shorts. Rumor had it that this year, the school uniform had been standardized across all primary and middle schools in the town—same colors, fabric, and style. The only differences between elementary and middle school uniforms were the white stripes on the pant legs and the school emblem stitched on the chest.
Tao Guangzhi and Yu Meizhen had been running around busy since two days before school started. First, they followed the school’s instructions and took Tao Tao and Yu Luan to check out their new classrooms.
The township elementary school wasn’t that big—just three teaching buildings and two small playgrounds. One playground was used for flag-raising and basketball, and the other was a track-and-field area with a cement running track surrounding a patch of bare lawn. In the open spaces between the teaching buildings, they’d also squeezed in some cement ping-pong tables.
Each teaching building was only four or five stories tall, and every classroom had wooden doors and windows painted green.
Tao Tao was promoted to second grade and still in Class 1, but she’d moved from the first floor to the second—the first classroom right by the stairwell.
She was very pleased with the location—perfect for racing to the cafeteria at lunch!
Zhangxi Town Central Elementary did have a cafeteria, housed in a single-story building across from the teaching buildings. Students could bring their own rice to steam, or choose to buy meal tickets to eat at school. Meal tickets could be purchased weekly or monthly, and if you didn’t want them anymore, you could get a refund.
Parents who didn’t mind the trouble could also pick their kids up for lunch—it was entirely voluntary.
Tao Tao had been eating at school since first grade. Rao Lili and Teacher Luo also ate at the school cafeteria, and word had it that Principal Huang himself ate there every day. Tao Guangzhi figured if the food was good enough for the teachers and the principal, it must be decent.
So he felt at ease letting Tao Tao have lunch at school.
Besides, going back and forth at noon was too much trouble. It wasn’t that he minded making four trips a day to pick her up—after all, he didn’t even do that… Ever since Tao Tao started first grade and learned the way after a few tries, she’d worn her key around her neck and walked to and from school with her friends.
He just thought the sun was too brutal—walking home at noon would give anyone heatstroke.
After checking out the classrooms and the cafeteria, it was time for the big class cleaning.
Parents and students together came into the school to scrub desks, chairs, ceiling fans, windows, and blackboards. The younger kids couldn’t really handle the cleaning on their own—they’d end up swinging brooms at each other or turning it into a water fight.
The parents were the real workforce.
Among all the dads, Tao Guangzhi was the tallest. He climbed onto desks to clean the doors, windows, blackboards, and the blades of the two ceiling fans.
While washing the blackboard, Rao Lili sidled over, wringing out her rag, and whispered to Tao Tao: “Grape, your dad is so tall! I’m so jealous. Look at my dad—he’d probably have to stack two desks and still not reach the top of the blackboard. No wonder his students call him ‘Landmine’!”
Tao Tao nearly burst out laughing.
Rao Lili’s dad was also a teacher, but he taught middle school geography at Zhangxi Town Middle School. He was short, hence the nickname “Landmine”—which, ahem, was quite fitting.
Watching Tao Guangzhi effortlessly scrub the blackboard until it gleamed, Tao Tao felt a little proud too.
She was going to grow tall too!
Back then, the blackboards were large slabs embedded into the walls—one in the front and one in the back. They couldn’t be slid around, and they weren’t green; they were proper black blackboards. On the left and right sides of the blackboard, there were grids painted in white, used for writing the daily class schedule and the names of the students on duty.
The desks weren’t the individual iron ones that would come later. They were large rectangular wooden desks shared by two students, with long wooden benches. You had to be careful sitting on those benches—you couldn’t sit on the very edge. Otherwise, if your deskmate got called on to answer a question and stood up suddenly, the bench would tip and send you tumbling to the floor.
These desks and chairs were the hardest to scrub. Yu Meizhen and the other parents had been at it for ages and still couldn’t get them clean. Many desks were already battered and worn, with holes gouged and words carved into them. Crumbs of pencil shavings, eraser bits, food scraps—everything was wedged deep into the wooden cracks.
And you couldn’t even shake them out!
Since the seat numbers hadn’t been assigned yet, Yu Meizhen snuck a few discreet marks onto the newer desks and quietly told Tao Tao to grab those good ones when it came time to move the furniture on the first day.
Tao Tao nodded helplessly, hoping she’d be able to recognize them later.
After that, Yu Meizhen and a few other moms took down the coarse fabric curtains from the classroom windows and split them up, agreeing to take them home to wash and bring back to hang later.
That same day, they also brought home the school uniforms, textbooks, and Xinhua dictionaries.
Tao Tao’s first-grade uniform had already been reduced to rags. Although the uniforms were durable, the color scheme—in Tao Guangzhi’s eyes—was anything but stain-proof. And Tao Tao was an active kid. By the end of the year, her uniform was covered in everything: marker stains, grease spots, pencil marks, test paper ink smudges, and more—layered on thick and stubbornly set.
Last year, Tao Guangzhi had nearly lost his mind scrubbing Tao Tao’s uniform every day. This year, armed with experience, he ordered two extra sets for both kids as spares. If they couldn’t be washed clean, he’d just cut them up into rags—no way was he putting himself through that again.
He also had the foresight to order the fall uniforms in advance. Although Zhangxi Town could keep wearing short sleeves all the way until the end of November, once November hit, the weather became unpredictable—often going from 10°C in the morning to over 30°C at noon, or from 30°C one day to 17–18°C the next.
Having the fall jackets ready ahead of time meant they wouldn’t be caught off guard by sudden cold snaps.
As soon as Aunt Yu got home, she had Tao Tao and Yu Luan stand up straight to try on their uniforms one by one. She took in the loose waistbands, rubbed wax on the sticky zippers to make them glide smoothly, and even trimmed off every stray thread. After washing them, she ironed each piece until it was crisp and neat, with the seams pressed perfectly straight.
The first day of school arrived quickly.
The school was close by—just cross the street and walk half a block.
Tao Tao and Yu Luan, wearing their new school uniforms and carrying backpacks that Yu Meizhen had scrubbed spotless with soap, called out to Rao Lili and Zhang Jiaming and walked to school on their own.
Zhang Jiaming had a carton of fresh milk that his mom had forced into his hand, and he was frowning as he drank it while walking.
Along the way, there were many other kids in school uniforms heading in the same direction. This was an era of free-range parenting—most families didn’t escort their children to school, and the school gate was never congested with traffic, because… well, there weren’t any cars.
In this small town, there were no buses, no taxis, and no traffic lights. The roads were filled mostly with bicycles, rickshaws, and motorcycles. Occasionally, you’d spot a car or two parked inside the open iron gates of government offices like the bank, the post office, or the township government.
Even though it was already September, Zhangxi Town was still stuck in summer. The mango trees along Shengli Street were heavy with small green mangoes, and the cacophony of cicadas droned on relentlessly from the branches. Many breakfast stalls were still open along the roadside, with oil smoke rising from deep-frying dough sticks. The aroma wafted through the air as they walked—so fragrant.
Rao Lili and Zhang Jiaming clutched their backpack straps and started singing as they strolled along:
“The sun shines bright, the flowers smile at me, the little bird says, ‘Early, early, early—why are you carrying a bomb pack? I’m going to blow up the school, the teacher doesn’t know. You pull the fuse, I’ll run fast—boom! The school is gone!'”
Tao Tao burst out laughing.
Oh my god—who came up with these bizarre nursery rhymes? They spread by word of mouth and never died out. There were also classics like “Whose head is like a ball, kicked all the way to the department store…” and “First-graders are thieves, second-graders are crooks…” Every kid knew them by heart.
The weirdest part was that you remembered them perfectly even after growing up!
As soon as Rao Lili started singing, Tao Tao couldn’t help but join in mentally.
Only Yu Luan looked confused.
He was the only exception—having never had friends, he’d never learned any nursery rhymes either.
After finishing the song, Zhang Jiaming whined to Rao Lili, “Why am I always the one pulling the fuse while you run? Can’t we pull it together and run together?”
“Na na na, not taking you with us! You can’t outrun us!” Rao Lili, who had been looking at something just a moment ago, suddenly went berserk upon hearing this. Laughing like a maniac, she grabbed Tao Tao’s hand and dashed forward.
Tao Tao was yanked along for a few steps, nearly tripping. The wind hit her face, and she couldn’t help but laugh like a child too. She quickly turned back to reach for Yu Luan, who was quietly walking in the shadows behind her.
Why blow up the school? And why were they running now?
He hadn’t blown anything up.
Seeing his sister’s hand reaching out to him, this well-behaved child looked up at Tao Tao with a blank expression.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she faced the brilliant sunlight and took hold of his bewildered little hand.
“Run, Taro!”
Yu Luan didn’t quite understand, but he instinctively started running alongside her.
“Hey, hey, hey… wait for me! Wait for me!” Zhang Jiaming scrambled after them in a panic.
“Don’t let him catch up!” Rao Lili shrieked and ran even faster.
“Rao Lili!” Zhang Jiaming was on the verge of tears.
“Lili, don’t tease him…” Tao Tao felt a bit sorry for him and was about to slow down to wait for Zhang Jiaming when Rao Lili, her face twisted in urgency, said anxiously:
“Grape, don’t look back! Run! Zhang Jiaming’s mom is sneaking behind him again—hiding behind that utility pole watching!”
Tao Tao: “…”
Goosebumps rose all over her. She remembered—it was the same in her previous life!
The school was close, and the town was small, so almost all parents were too lazy to pick up their kids. But Zhang Jiaming’s mom was the exception—she loved picking him up and dropping him off. However, Zhang Jiaming hated it and would cry and fuss, insisting on walking with his classmates.
His mom reluctantly agreed to let him go on his own, but she’d often secretly follow him all the way to school, wanting to know what he did on the way—whether he played around, snuck snacks, or hung out with bad students… She kept this up all the way until he finished middle school.
She stopped after he started high school—only because she rented a room right next to the No. 1 High School to live with him and keep an eye on him.
Tao Tao shuddered and pulled Yu Luan to run even faster.
The group chased and frolicked through the green shade cast by the mango trees. The hot summer wind billowed through their loose uniforms. As she ran, Tao Tao suddenly glanced back.
The summer was thick and lush, with dappled light dancing everywhere. On the rooftops of the old houses along the roadside, bougainvillea cascaded down like purple waterfalls—so vivid, so startlingly bright, just like the childhood she had once squandered so recklessly.
As she ran, Tao Tao thought to herself:
Now, she would remember those sparkling days—she would hold on to them for sure.