Zhao Moting bent down to pick up the washbasin, glancing at the pile of items in Lin Qiao’er’s arms. “Do you need help?”
Lin Qiao’er’s smile stiffened. She didn’t want the slightest connection with this scoundrel right now.
“No need. Please return the washbasin to me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the soap and a few other small items she was holding in her arms tumbled to the ground again.
Lin Qiao’er let out a soft “Ah.”
Zhao Moting bent down, picked them up one by one, and placed them in the washbasin, but showed no intention of returning it to her.
He looked at her leisurely.
Lin Qiao’er flushed red, feeling so embarrassed that her scalp tingled.
Zhao Moting looked at the girl before him, red as an apple, and calmly explained, “When a man helps a woman carry things, it’s called gentlemanly manners abroad.”
Lin Qiao’er inwardly cursed: showing off that he’s studied abroad, how impressive.
Ever since he said those words to her yesterday, her impression of Zhao Moting had plummeted.
From an elegant gentleman to a hypocritical fraud.
She couldn’t be bothered to argue further and turned to walk ahead.
Zhao Moting carried the things and followed behind, the two of them walking in silence.
When they reached the door, Zhao Moting set the items down.
The door next door opened, and a shirtless man walked out.
The man looked toward Lin Qiao’er, squinting as he stared at her face for a long while. Only when he met Zhao Moting’s gaze did he raise an eyebrow and turn back into his room.
Zhao Moting’s expression darkened. He glanced at the closed door and reminded her, “Lock your door at night and be careful.”
Lin Qiao’er nodded, offering a perfunctory “Thank you.”
Today, Lin Qiao’er walked around the streets. There were stalls selling steamed buns, noodles, and dumplings, but she didn’t want to make something commonplace. The competition was fierce, and it wouldn’t earn much money. She needed to make a unique snack.
She decided to sell sauce-flavored flatbread.
The sauce was a secret family recipe passed down from her maternal home, something she had loved since childhood.
At five o’clock the next morning, Lin Qiao’er got up to knead dough and fry the flatbreads.
The flatbreads were fried until golden and crispy, and when sold, they were brushed with a special sauce, making them incredibly fragrant.
She fried fifty at once, laid a piece of white cotton cloth in a bamboo basket, placed the flatbreads inside, covered them with another piece of white cotton cloth, and headed out the door.
Seven o’clock was when workers were heading to their jobs.
Lin Qiao’er walked to the nearest automobile factory.
She had heard that this factory was doing well, and the workers’ wages were high.
She arrived early and secured a good spot.
Next to her was a young man selling fermented bean milk, with a crew cut, tall and thin, dark-skinned, bright-eyed, and a mouthful of neat white teeth. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Fermented bean milk, hot fermented bean milk!”
With his shouts, several workers bought his fermented bean milk.
Lin Qiao’er was shy and hadn’t made a sale for a long while.
She clenched her fists, mustered her courage, and went all out, imitating the young man’s style and shouting, “Sauce-flavored flatbreads for sale, five cents each!”
As soon as she finished shouting, her face flushed red.
After that first shout, she went from being awkward and hesitant to shouting smoothly.
A young woman with straight bangs had just bought fermented bean milk and turned to ask her, “Scallion pancakes only sell for three cents each. Why is your flatbread so expensive?”
Lin Qiao’er smiled and said, “The sauce on my flatbread is a secret family recipe passed down from my home. No one else sells it. Five cents for one, eight cents for two. Would you like to try one?”
The straight-banged woman hesitated. “How about four cents each?”
Lin Qiao’er didn’t respond directly. Instead, she picked up a pair of scissors, cut a small piece of the flatbread brushed with sauce, and handed it over. “Try a sample first.”
The woman with straight bangs didn’t reach out, eyeing her suspiciously.
Lin Qiao’er extended the pancake further. “Free sample, no charge.”
A fragrant aroma drifted into the woman’s nose.
She took it, tasted it, and her eyes lit up.
Delicious.
She pulled out eight cents. “Give me two.”
Lin Qiao’er deftly wrapped two pancakes and handed them over.
People tend to follow the crowd.
Once someone bought, others gathered around too.
The straight-banged woman’s coworkers all took out money to buy.
The young man nearby had been smelling the aroma for a while, swallowing his saliva as he approached. “Comrade, I’ll trade you two cups of soybean milk for one pancake, okay?”
Lin Qiao’er looked up, glanced at him, and smiled. “Okay.”
She packed a pancake and handed it over.
The young man took a bite and mumbled with his mouth full, “I’m Zhou Jianjun. I have lots of siblings at home, and I’m the eldest. I stopped studying after elementary school to support the family. Your pancakes are really good. If you haven’t sold out by the time you pack up, I’ll buy a few to take home for my younger siblings to try.”
Lin Qiao’er took a sip of the soybean milk and also praised, “Your soybean milk is really fresh, no bean smell at all.”
As the two were talking, a deep, pleasant male voice came from above:
“Mo Ting, want me to bring you a cup of soybean milk?”
Lin Qiao’er looked up.
Her gaze met Zhao Moting’s, who was pushing a Phoenix bicycle not far away. She quickly lowered her head, pretending not to see him.