Chapter 92: A Chance Encounter

First day on the job.

Jing Xi dressed neatly and energetically.

She first headed to the village office to take care of her accounting work and check in with Xie Aiguo about the accountant recruitment process.

As soon as she arrived and opened the office door, Xie Aiguo walked in right behind her.

“Morning, Village Chief.”

“Morning! Xiao Jing, is your house finished?”

“Yes, I just moved in!”

Xie Aiguo nodded. “That’s great. I heard from your aunt that it turned out really well. How’s your budget holding up?”

Jing Xi sighed. “Just barely enough—my pockets are cleaner than my face now!”

Xie Aiguo let out a hearty laugh. “Haha, that’s normal! Just save up again! So, have you decided what to do next? Are you going back to school or starting a small business?”

Jing Xi said, “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m planning to open a shop, so I’m going to learn a trade. How’s the accountant hiring going on your end?”

Xie Aiguo pointed south. “There’s a suitable young woman from our village, a vocational school graduate. She should be coming by in the next few days to check things out.”

“Alright, just let me know in advance when she’s coming. As for me, I’ll be heading to town this afternoon and every day from now on to learn the trade. If you ever need anything, just tell me in advance, and I’ll handle it in the morning before I leave.”

Xie Aiguo poured her a cup of tea. “There’s nothing urgent. Just focus on your work! It’s the busy farming season, so the village office doesn’t have much going on. Just keep the accounts and funds in order.”

“Got it, Village Chief!”

After staying at the office for a little while longer, Jing Xi locked up the cabinet and left, heading straight to Lao Zhao’s Bun Shop in town.

Today, she had specifically worn practical clothes for work.

When she arrived at the small courtyard, she found the couple busy and barely managing to eat their meal. Seeing her, they quickly greeted her and asked if she wanted to eat.

Jing Xi shook her head. “I already ate. You two take your time, I’ll just wait.”

After they finished their meal, Tian Jun took her on a tour of the kitchen to familiarize herself with the setup.

Jing Xi was surprised to see that Zhao Shunli had actually built his own dough-mixing machine. The machine helped knead the dough, and once processed, it only needed a little hand-kneading before being cut into portions. It saved a lot of time and effort compared to manual kneading.

Even with this machine, the couple was still incredibly busy.

Tian Jun demonstrated how to operate the machine and explained the ratio of flour to water.

“We always use hot water—boiling hot. This makes the dough soft and easy to rise. The buns turn out fluffy and can absorb meat juices without leaking.”

“Don’t add too much water at once—add it gradually while mixing. If you accidentally add too much, just sprinkle in a bit more flour to adjust.”

“This is the steam stove. Each batch steams ten trays at a time. When opening the lid, always wear gloves, or the steam can burn your hands. Keep your face away from the steam—better yet, wear a mask.”

“Once the water boils, it takes about half an hour to steam ten trays. In the mornings, we sell out in just an hour. So while we’re selling, we have to keep wrapping new buns and getting the next batch ready for steaming.”

“Zhao handles most of the steaming. Meanwhile, we’ll cook porridge, slice pickled vegetables, and set up tables, chairs, and utensils.”

As Jing Xi listened, she realized there was a lot more to running a small shop than she had expected.

Especially the steam stove—stacked with ten trays, it was taller than her! No wonder Tian Jun had to stand on a small stool to fetch buns for customers.

Seeing how seriously Jing Xi was paying attention, Tian Jun smiled. “Xiao Jing, my husband said you already know how to steam buns and mantou?”

Jing Xi nodded, feeling a little shy. “Yes, but I’ve only ever made them at home, at most ten or twenty at a time. I’ve never made them in such large quantities like here.”

Tian Jun took her to wash her hands and gave her a hat, mask, and a clean apron. “Alright, give it a try. Steam a batch of mantou first, so I can see your skill level. Don’t worry—if they turn out bad, we’ll just keep them for ourselves.”

Jing Xi’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Tian Jun to trust her so much on her very first day.

“Sister-in-law, are you sure?”

“Of course! Don’t worry! Even if they’re not perfect, you won’t have to pay for them—we’ll just eat them ourselves.”

Since she put it that way, Jing Xi had no reason to refuse.

“Alright!”

She got to work immediately.

Following Tian Jun’s instructions, she mixed the dough and prepared a batch of mantou.

She made twenty in total. Before steaming, Tian Jun carefully observed her technique and was quite satisfied.

She hadn’t expected such a young girl to be so skilled already.

While they waited for the mantou to steam, Tian Jun casually asked about Jing Xi’s family background.

When she learned that Jing Xi had no parents or relatives and was a complete orphan, her heart overflowed with sympathy.

Even her tone softened significantly, which made Jing Xi feel a little awkward.

“It’s alright, I’m used to it! Really, it’s no big deal!”

Tian Jun asked, “So, are you living alone now?”

“Yes!”

“Living alone in the countryside—be careful with everything.”

Jing Xi nodded.

As they chatted, the time for steaming the mantou was almost up.

Just as they were about to lift the steamer lid, someone came by to place an advance order for buns.

“Twenty pork, ten cabbage, ten radish, and a box of pickled vegetables.”

Jing Xi found the voice oddly familiar. She walked to the courtyard entrance and saw that it was Zhou Jiwen.

When Zhou Jiwen saw her coming out, he was equally surprised.

“Brother Zhao… Xiao Jing? What are you doing here?”

Zhao Shunli asked, “Oh? You two know each other?”

Jing Xi smiled. “Yes, we do. It’s been a while, Officer Zhou!”

Zhou Jiwen raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re Brother Zhao’s newly hired assistant?”

“I wouldn’t call myself an assistant—I’m here as an apprentice!”

Zhou Jiwen gave her a thumbs-up. “Nice! Looking forward to the day I can eat buns steamed by you!”

Jing Xi nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

“I have something to do, so I’ll head out first! Brother Zhao, I’ll pick up my order at five. Jing Xi, see you later!”

After bidding farewell, Zhou Jiwen hopped on his bicycle and rode off.

Jing Xi had always thought Zhou Jiwen was quite handsome. Compared to Li Tao, he had a more refined and scholarly air about him, but his physical fitness was just as strong.

He was also about two years younger than Li Tao.

Back in the kitchen, Tian Jun was ready to open the steamer and check the results.

As the steam escaped, plump, white mantou instantly came into view!

Tian Jun and Zhao Shunli were momentarily stunned. Then, they both felt as if they had struck gold.

“My goodness, Xiao Jing! Do you even need to learn? These are better than the ones we make!”

Zhao Shunli was even more direct—he grabbed a pair of chopsticks, picked up a mantou, and tore it open. The layers inside were firm yet soft, fluffy and evenly shaped.

Then, he took a bite—delicious!

So good!

Did this girl even need training?

Jing Xi remained humble. “You two must be joking. There’s no way mine are better than yours.”

“We’re not joking! These are genuinely excellent! Xiao Jing, you were born for this!”

Jing Xi’s face turned red from the praise.

But in truth, it wasn’t talent—it was experience.

Back then, when she had nothing to do, she used to experiment with making all kinds of dough-based foods at home.

So, she already knew the basics.

She just had never made them this well before.

This time, though, she had truly outdone herself. It was probably because Tian Jun had given her the perfect ingredient ratio, or maybe the kneading machine had done a great job. Plus, the steamer had excellent steam circulation—everything had aligned perfectly.

That’s why this batch of mantou turned out so well.

Tian Jun nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, we’ll sell the rest of these in the afternoon. Xiao Jing, let’s try steaming some buns next! You can wrap them with me while Old Zhao kneads the dough and portions it out.”

“No problem!”