Xie Wei had heard that the bakery had opened and came over to take a look, intending to show some support.
Unexpectedly, the bakery business was so good that the egg cakes had already sold out. And this was already the final batch of the day.
There was no helping it. The Logistics Department hadn’t sent much supply to begin with, and it had to last an entire month. More importantly, on the first day, the key was to build reputation—let many people see it but not be able to buy it. That would make them look forward to it even more.
Su Man turned and took out a small paper packet, handing it to him. “You didn’t come to the meal I invited you to last time. This is my thank you.”
Thinking of that meal, Xie Wei inwardly cursed Qi Xiaoyuan in frustration. Only after eating the egg cakes made by Su Man did his anger finally fade.
His eyes casually drifted to the bakery signboard, and he stared at it for a long time, feeling it looked familiar.
“Su Man, where did you get this signboard?”
Su Man replied: “It was already like this when we came this morning. It should’ve been arranged by the Military Unit.”
Xie Wei narrowed his eyes. Arranged by the Military Unit? Why did it look so much like his grandfather’s handwriting?
Division Commander Liu’s calligraphy was highly prized. Many people offered money and still couldn’t buy it—only those with close relationships could get his writing…
Su Man smiled and said: “Not only was the sign changed, even the door lock was replaced with a new one, and the doors and windows were repaired. We didn’t even plan to open today, but the Military Unit supported our bakery so much. We’ll definitely work hard.”
The Logistics Department actually had that much kindness?
Since when did they ever act without being chased? Normally, they would strictly follow procedures. How could they proactively do something good without Su Man even going to them?
Xie Wei suddenly thought of something.
That night, he had been called by his grandfather for a talk—again about urging him to marry. He had only been released when it was almost lights-out. When he returned to the dormitory, Qi Xiaoyuan still hadn’t come back. One of the roommates had said that Qi Xiaoyuan had taken a box of fruit canned goods to visit someone.
Thinking about it now, could Qi Xiaoyuan have done all this for Su Man?!
Was it for those characters he went to his grandfather, or did he go through the Logistics Department?
The more Xie Wei thought about it, the more amusing he found it. A person like Qi Xiaoyuan actually did something like this.
In reality, Xie Wei had overthought it. That night after leaving Su Man, Qi Xiaoyuan had felt irritated and couldn’t sleep, so he went to check on the bakery situation.
The next day, he made time to handle the matter personally. He didn’t go through the Logistics Department at all. At first, he even wanted to write the sign himself, but worried his handwriting would embarrass Su Man, so he thought of Division Commander Liu instead.
Xie Wei felt he had already figured it out completely—but he had no intention of telling Su Man. Watching her fail to realize it was Qi Xiaoyuan’s doing somehow felt quite satisfying.
Before leaving, he even echoed Su Man’s words in agreement. “Yes, the Military Unit is really supporting your bakery work.”
Today was the bakery’s first day of opening. Since the egg cakes were already sold out, Su Man announced that they would close early.
So everyone cleaned up together, then began settling the day’s accounts.
Li Qingqing stared nervously at the way Yang Su counted money. She was already very happy learning to make egg cakes today, but she still hoped they had made a profit—only then could the bakery continue operating.
Su Man had a rough idea. She leaned back lazily in her chair waiting to get off work. In the 21st century, she used to dream of getting off work before sunset. Now she had finally achieved it.
After Yang Su finished counting the money, Li Qingqing couldn’t help asking: “How is it? How much did we earn?”
“Don’t rush, we still need to calculate costs.“ Yang Su said.
She then opened the ledger again, recording the unit prices and quantities of supplies used that day, and added the day’s revenue.
Su Man nodded in satisfaction. As expected of the person she had chosen—truly capable. In the future, she could leave finances entirely to Yang Su and feel at ease.
“After deducting utilities and other costs, today’s net profit is 5 yuan 4 jiao 7 fen.”
The moment Yang Su said this, Li Qingqing jumped up in excitement. “That much?! If we split it three ways, each of us earned more than a yuan—more than a food factory salary!”
Thinking of the food factory job she had lost, Li Qingqing suddenly no longer felt regretful. If she had gone there, how could she have worked in the bakery? How could she have learned to make egg cakes?
Yang Su was also happy. This was the result of all three of their labor today. She looked at Su Man, only to find her much calmer. Yang Su sighed inwardly—she was still too impatient.
“Don’t be happy too soon. Today is just the first day. Many people are willing to try something new at first, but that won’t necessarily last. Don’t set your expectations too high.”
This was just how business worked. Su Man wasn’t trying to discourage them, only worried they would be disappointed later.
“And this money can’t be touched for now. The organization said everything must wait three months. That means we might face the worst-case scenario—the bakery could be shut down then. Not only would you lose your jobs, you might even work for nothing for three months without wages.”
Su Man was laying out the worst-case scenario in advance. Even though she was quite confident, she didn’t want kindness to end in resentment later. What she needed were true partners who could stand together in trust.
Li Qingqing said unhappily: “We already knew that. Even if we worked for free, I’d still be earning. Besides, I believe in you. I feel like you can accomplish anything.”
Yang Su nodded as well. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be staying at home, afraid to go out. I also believe in you.”
A genuine smile slowly rose on Su Man’s lips.
The evening sunlight poured through the window onto their smiling faces, warmth filling the room. The sweet scent of egg cakes lingered in the air.
Qi Xiaoyuan had been out on urgent business and only returned in the afternoon, so he hadn’t heard anything about the bakery.
When he reached the bakery entrance and saw no one buying egg cakes, he assumed business was bad today.
Seeing the small blackboard on the wall, he realized egg cakes had been sold that day. He pressed his lips together, touched the money in his pocket, and walked to the door. “Are there any egg cakes left?”
Su Man looked over. “No.”
Yang Su nudged Su Man’s shoulder. “What about the portion you kept?”
Su Man shrugged. “I gave it to Xie Wei. You weren’t here then.”
Qi Xiaoyuan listened with a blank expression, unreadable.
Yang Su, however, felt awkward for him. She knew about the arranged engagement between Regiment Commander Qi and Su Man, and also about the rumors outside—but she felt Qi Xiaoyuan didn’t seem like someone who disliked Su Man.
She quickly took out the small portion she had saved and handed it to him. “Our business was really good today. Everything got sold out.”
She had originally planned to take it home for Zhou Zheng, but now he would just have to eat it tomorrow instead.
Qi Xiaoyuan took the egg cakes but didn’t open them immediately. Instead, he looked at Su Man and said: “You’ve been busy all day. Don’t cook dinner anymore. Let’s eat at the canteen.”
Su Man replied: “No. I already agreed with Yang Su to go to the canteen together.”
Yang Su glanced at her in surprise, her eyes seeming to ask, when did we agree on that?
But she didn’t expose her. She simply looked at the two of them and stayed silent.