Baba: [Little master, one steamed bun isn’t enough. Our family is big, we need to take more steamed buns.]
Upon hearing this, Pang Fu got up from Fourth Brother Fu’s embrace, dashed out of the cave entrance, and went to fetch more steamed buns.
Her small frame was agile, and no one managed to stop her.
Fourth Brother Fu chased her to the cave entrance but could only poke his head out.
Outside, it was completely dark, with only a faint moonlight to see by.
His little daughter’s figure vanished in a flash, leaving Fourth Brother Fu extremely worried.
“It seems like the backyard out there. The place Fufu went to must be the canteen.”
Fourth Brother Fu pulled his head back: “There’s no one at the back now. Fufu must have gone to get more food.”
Everyone was amused and exasperated—the little dumpling really knew how to find things.
Sure enough, after a short while, the little dumpling came running back, holding a large steamed bun in each hand. Without looking at who it was, she stuffed them into the hands of the nearest person.
“Eat yummy.”
After handing them out, she ran off again.
Because Baba said it still wasn’t enough.
Unfortunately, she was small, didn’t know how to use tools, and wasn’t very strong, so she could only carry two at a time with her chubby little hands.
The little one knew her way around and wasn’t bothered by the dim light at all.
There weren’t many steamed buns left in the canteen—only eight.
The little dumpling made four trips, and they were all gone.
Staring at the empty large iron pot, Pang Fu was bewildered: “No more yummy.”
She still thought this was quite fun.
Baba could sense the outside world and couldn’t bear to see his little master disappointed, so he helped search the canteen for edible items.
It seemed there were no cooked foods left, but in a corner basket, there were raw cabbage, radishes, yam beans, and sweet potatoes.
According to Ancient Earth records, these could be eaten raw.
Baba: [Little master, those over there are edible.]
“Are they yummy?”
Baba: [Yes, they’re yummy. Little master, hurry and take them.]
Pang Fu excitedly ran over, picked up a yam bean almost as big as her head, drooling with delight, and dashed back.
Everyone was waiting at the cave entrance for the little dumpling to return.
This time, the little dumpling didn’t hand things over outside the cave. Instead, she hugged the large yam bean and grunted as she squeezed her way inside.
Halfway through, she was lifted up by her armpits.
Pang Fu blinked her big eyes in confusion, then met Fourth Brother Fu’s smiling face and immediately grinned back: “Yummy.”
She struggled to lift the large yam bean to show Fourth Brother Fu, but it was too heavy, and the little dumpling was too small. Her face flushed red with effort, but she couldn’t lift it, and it fell with a thud.
Fourth Brother Fu, whose foot was hit…
His smile gradually became strained. It didn’t hurt, really, not at all.
Third Master Fu chuckled as he picked it up: “Oh, a big yam bean. Good thing it didn’t break.”
He glanced at Fourth Brother Fu’s foot, his smile deepening.
“Our Fufu is really amazing, isn’t she? She managed to bring back such a big yam bean.”
Upon hearing this, Pang Fu immediately puffed out her little chest: “Amazing, yummy.”
Qingqing Yin snatched her daughter from Fourth Brother Fu’s hands, hugged her close, and nuzzled her: “Baby is amazing.”
The little dumpling was so pleased she wiggled her little feet.
The old man chuckled as he weighed the large yam bean in his hand—it must have been four or five pounds. The little one was quite strong.
“These things are enough. Everyone, share and eat them. Don’t leave any leftovers.”
The family quickly nodded, politely sharing the food among themselves.
Each steamed bun was half the size of a head and very dense.
The Fu Family had seventeen members, and with eight steamed buns in total, it averaged out to one bun for every two people.
Pang Fu’s family of three took only one bun. Fourth Brother Fu broke the steamed bun, feeding a bite to his daughter, then a bite to his wife, and finally taking a bite himself, feeling exceptionally happy.
Each person also received a piece of jicama, crisp, sweet, and juicy—exceptionally delicious.
The Fu Family had never eaten such humble fare before, yet they felt a warmth they had never experienced.
On their first night locked in the small dark room, the seventeen members of the Fu Family, thanks to Pang Fu, ate and drank their fill and passed the night peacefully.
Early the next morning, the backyard of the small dark room was bustling with noise.
“You’re full of shit! I put a full eight big steamed buns in the pot. You ate them and now deny it, even accusing me of skimming off the top. I, Wang the Fatty, have been a cook for so many years, and wherever I go, I stand tall and straight. I dare say I’ve never taken a single cent dishonestly. Can you say the same?”
The Red Armband workers here dared not make such a claim—if they didn’t skim, they had nothing to gain.
But they truly hadn’t eaten the steamed buns last night. Hmph, that old geezer clearly took them and still dares to lie through his teeth.
“You say you put them there? Where are they? We work ourselves to the bone all day. If we really ate them, would we have time to argue with you over a few steamed buns here? If you didn’t skim, how did you get so fat? You think you can fool ghosts?”
Everyone knows that cooks have the most opportunities for skimming. How dare he claim he didn’t take anything? Even ghosts wouldn’t believe that.
Wang the Fatty flew into a rage upon hearing this. His bulk was something he was born with—even during the hardest years, he never lost weight. How dare these brats use his size to pin such a big accusation on him?
“You bunch of no-good bastards! Don’t think I don’t know about the wicked things you’ve done. What ‘working yourselves to the bone’? It’s all fucking evil deeds. If you don’t care about a few steamed buns, why are you arguing with me? Why come here yelling like ghosts first thing in the morning? You’re worse than dogs—dare to eat but not admit it. Pah!”
“You damn fatty, you’re asking for death!”
“You’re asking for it!”
A fight was about to break out.
Inside the small dark room, the Fu Family exchanged glances, looking guiltily at Little Fufu, who was sleeping and drooling.
Old Master Fu spoke up: “Hide the jicama peels well. Don’t let anyone find them.”
Everyone hurriedly nodded in agreement.
No one knew when the commotion in the backyard ended. In any case, Pang Fu slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up.
The first thing she did upon waking was to reach for Fanfan.
Last night, Fourth Brother Fu couldn’t sleep. After his daughter fell asleep, he cleaned her bottle inside and out. Although it wasn’t perfectly clean, it was much better than before—at least you could tell it was transparent now.
As soon as his daughter reached out, he knew she was looking for Fanfan and quickly handed it over.
“Fufu, are you awake? Do you want something yummy to eat?”
He hadn’t been willing to eat his share of jicama last night, saving it for his daughter and wife.
Pang Fu’s little head was still foggy. Baba was singing her a wake-up song—a particularly cheerful Ancient Earth tune that Baba had searched for a long time to find something satisfactory.
His little master had too much trouble getting up in the morning, so Baba made sure to wake her up on time every day, urging her to go find food so she wouldn’t starve.
[“Vast horizons are my love, flowers bloom beneath the rolling green hills…”]
Listening to the familiar music, Pang Fu’s little chubby legs wiggled as she woke up: “Flowers bloom…”
Everyone: ???
The little dumpling was getting into it, her little head swaying along: “Sway… embrace… sea…”
Her tiny baby voice babbled incoherently, not a single word clear, but it didn’t hinder her excitement at all.
Swaying, she even stood up and wiggled her bottom, her chubby little paws dancing along, her mouth humming indistinctly—unclear, but undeniably joyful.
The Fu Family enjoyed a song-and-dance performance first thing in the morning, laughing until tears streamed down their faces.
As the song ended, she earned a round of applause, and the little dumpling was so pleased she bounced several times.
Several people reached out simultaneously to scoop up Pang Fu for a cuddle, but the cunning Third Master Fu snatched her first.
Hugging his chubby niece tightly, he planted a big kiss on her cheek: “Our Fufu is just too amazing, isn’t she? She dances so beautifully.”
Pang Fu grinned widely, giggling with delight, drool streaming down as she straightened her little back proudly: “Awesome.”
Fourth Brother Fu was green with envy—this was his daughter, yet Third Master Fu always managed to steal her away.
Glaring at Third Master Fu, he snatched back his plump daughter: “Fufu, have some jicama. Daddy saved it especially for you.”
Pang Fu’s eyes lit up: “Yummy.”
“That’s right, yummy. Eat up.”
Pang Fu bared her tiny teeth, crunching on the crisp, sweet jicama with pure bliss.
The others had also secretly saved some snacks, and early in the morning, they shared another round, finally finishing off everything they had gathered the night before.