Chapter 8

Wang Mengmei handed Jian Li a stuffed pancake, hot and fresh, with a fried egg and a pinch of stir-fried shredded potatoes inside. The crispy exterior gave way to a tender egg filling, and the potatoes were perfectly soft with a slight stickiness—exactly the texture Jian Li liked.

Wang Mengmei, rapid as a firecracker, urged her:
“Hurry up, hop on your dad’s bike!”

The family split up—Wang Mengmei went to open their store, while Jian Feng had arranged a shift swap to take his daughter to the doctor. By the time Jian Li finished eating the pancake, Jian Feng patted the back seat of the bike.
“Hop on.”

This was the first time Jian Li had left the residential compound since her rebirth.
She curiously observed the surroundings as they passed—potholed roads kicked up dust, bicycles were everywhere, and green buses rumbled by occasionally. Private cars were scarce, mostly old Santana models or fast-driving red Xiali taxis.

It was summer, and everyone wore light clothes. White polyester shirts and dark-blue pleated skirts were common, as were pink transparent plastic sandals.
Jian Li thought: A bit tacky.

Glancing down at her own feet, she sighed—Well, I’m wearing the same kind of sandals too. She discreetly pulled her feet back, feeling self-conscious. Today she wore long sleeves and floor-length pants, hiding her skin since puberty had made her abandon revealing clothes.

She frowned. I’ll have to ask Mom to make me some cooler outfits when I get home. It’s only July, and there are two more months of summer to endure. I don’t want to collapse from heatstroke.

When they arrived at the hospital, Jian Feng parked the bike, receiving a makeshift parking token—a playing card split in two. One half stayed with the bike; the other, an old man handed to Jian Feng.
“Parking fee: twenty cents.”

Twenty cents was steep, but leaving a bike unguarded wasn’t an option. Bike theft was rampant, especially around hospitals, where wallets and bicycles disappeared without a trace.

Father and daughter registered for a general medicine appointment. After a check-up, the doctor had Jian Li step on the scale:
“176 pounds.”

The doctor adjusted his glasses, a trace of helplessness in his tone:
“Her weight hasn’t dropped much. Do you want to continue medication or take a break?”

He added thoughtfully, “Frankly, I recommend a pause. Hormonal weight gain can take time to stabilize. With proper diet and exercise, she’ll gradually lose weight. Rushing won’t help.”

Jian Li nodded furiously, eager to stop the medication. The doctor’s words resonated deeply.
“Dad, I agree! No more medicine. I promise I’ll work hard and exercise!”

Jian Feng stroked her head, pained.
“You’re worried about the cost, aren’t you? Don’t be. We can afford it. I’ll make sure you get better.”

For half a year, Jian Feng had watched his once-sociable daughter withdraw. She used to have friends, but after gaining weight, they drifted away. Her growing isolation weighed heavily on his heart. Guilt gnawed at him—if only he had sought better doctors sooner. Misdiagnosis led to ineffective treatment and her spiraling self-esteem.

He clung to the belief that medication would cure her. Yet Jian Li, armed with memories of her past life, knew the truth. Her biggest battle wasn’t metabolic but psychological. Obsessive dieting, yo-yo weight loss, and relentless self-criticism had taken a toll before she eventually embraced herself and regained a healthy weight. But the years of damage had weakened her body, perhaps even contributing to her early demise from overwork.

“Dad, really—no more!”
She pointed to the scale.
“Get me one for home. Let me prove I can do it this summer. If I don’t succeed, then we’ll consider medicine again.”

The doctor agreed.
“She’s right—gradual weight loss works better for her age.”

Reluctantly, Jian Feng accepted the doctor’s suggestion, taking the referral slip with a sigh.
“One and a half months—then come back for a follow-up,” the doctor reminded.

Jian Li pounded her chest.
“I’ll make it happen!”

After years of battling weight, she was determined to turn things around this time.

Leaving the hospital, Jian Feng handed her the parking ticket.
“Wait for me at the bike. I’ll be right back.”

She watched him head to the second floor, watermelon in hand. Shrugging, she made her way to the parking lot, a popsicle in hand as she squatted by the bikes.

In ten minutes, Jian Feng returned, visibly downcast.
“Let’s go.”

Jian Li glanced up at the hospital’s inpatient wing, piecing it together. Her paternal grandmother, rumored to be unwell, must be hospitalized there.

Jian Feng hurried to work after dropping off Jian Li at home.

Jian Li wandered around the house, touching this and that, before finally heading to the market around noon.

When she arrived, her mother was busy at the stall, unusually crowded with three customers standing in front of it.

A small frying pan had appeared on the stove in their shop, sizzling with hot julienned green beans and potatoes. Her mother, sweating profusely, was frying eggs.

She cut open a larger-than-usual sesame pancake, stuffed it with a fried egg, added a few chopsticks of vegetable fillings, and offered an optional salted duck egg for extra flavor.

Each pancake with fillings cost 0.50 yuan, while adding a duck egg brought the price to 0.80 yuan.

Jian Li stared in astonishment, watching her mother spontaneously diversify her offerings.

Wang Mengmei was too busy to talk, hopping from one task to another.

More customers came, not in a constant stream but one after another, keeping her on her feet until after 1 p.m.

Finally, when business slowed down, Wang Mengmei sat behind the counter, counting her earnings.

Usually, she sold just 20 or so pancakes in a day, but this lunch rush alone had brought in sales of more than 20, with seven or eight salted duck eggs sold, too!

In just one meal’s time, she had made over 12 yuan.

Wang Mengmei had earned wages before, working at a factory where her highest monthly salary reached more than 200 yuan. But this money felt different.

She did some quick mental math: by now, she had already made 15 yuan today. Even if the evening crowd wasn’t as busy, she could still earn around 20 yuan for the day.

At that rate, she’d make about 600 yuan in a month. After subtracting costs, she could pocket at least 300 to 400 yuan.

This little stall had never seemed so lucrative to her before. She pinched her thigh to make sure she wasn’t dreaming and burst into laughter.

Watching her mother’s silly grin, Jian Li couldn’t help but smile, too.

“Mom, what made you think of selling stuffed pancakes?”

She hadn’t suggested it, so it surprised her that her mother had come up with it on her own.

Wang Mengmei rolled her eyes. “You think I’m that clueless? Haven’t you seen those vendors outside the high school? It’s simple to make.”

Although she’d seen it before, it hadn’t occurred to her to sell it at the market.

She had always thought outside food was overpriced and unhygienic. Why buy from others when she could make it herself? A homemade stuffed pancake cost just two or three cents to prepare, while vendors charged five or eight cents—highway robbery!

As a customer, she hated wasteful spending. But as a seller, she found the profit very satisfying.

Jian Li muttered, “Of course.”

The food business often operated with at least a 50% profit margin. In the future, when processed ingredients dominated the market, profits could quadruple.

Excited, Wang Mengmei said, “Tomorrow, I’ll make more pancakes. If we don’t sell out at night, I’ll take them to the school gate by the factory.”

Only rising seniors were attending classes over the summer, and her friend’s child mentioned that no vendors showed up in the evenings, leaving students hungry on their way home.

With newfound enthusiasm, Wang Mengmei was ready to fill the gap.

Jian Li watched her mother with a mix of surprise and admiration.

In her past life, her mother’s face had been full of bitterness by the time she went to college. Financial struggles had weighed down the family, filling her father with regret and her mother with unspoken resentment.

The years of hardship had hardened her mother, making her cautious and skeptical of anything new, distrustful of even her own family.

That image had been so deeply ingrained that Jian Li forgot her mother wasn’t always like that.

Right now, she was still resourceful and full of drive, unafraid to explore unconventional paths.

“Are you sure selling at the school gate will work? Aren’t there already established vendors? What if there’s trouble over territory? Should I and Dad go with you?”

“No need!”

“Do you think I’m stupid? The students are on summer break now, except for seniors. Xiao Fang’s daughter said there’s no one selling food at night, and she’s been going home hungry. I’ll just sell through the summer. When school starts, I’ll stop.”

She lifted her chin proudly. “Why fight over space? If I can’t sell there, I’ll find somewhere else in this big city!”

Wang Mengmei brushed it off and refused her daughter’s offer to help.

“Don’t cause any more trouble around me. Since we’ve already been to the hospital, the day after tomorrow, you can go spend your summer break at your grandma’s!”

That way, she wouldn’t have to watch her daughter bouncing around, making her hands itch to give her a smack.