Chapter 40: Sold Out

The next day was Saturday. Hua Youcai and his son went about their usual business. Their daughter didn’t need their help; she handled everything herself.

Making the buns for sale at noon didn’t interfere with Hua Yuanyuan’s other chores.

She fed the chickens and pigs, and finished the work in the greenhouse by a little after nine. Then she mixed the dough and waited for the bun filling to be chopped and the dough to rise.

At 11:20, the buns were ready. After letting them cool slightly,

she put them in a basket lined with a mattress and a layer of white cloth. The buns were carefully covered.

She called her father and younger brother back from the fields. While they were coming, she fed the chickens and pigs.

The three of them changed into clean clothes. Hua Fangfang pushed the cart with the basket tied to the back.

Hua Yuanyuan carried a bag with other miscellaneous items.

On the way, she gave them some instructions.

“Don’t touch the buns directly with your hands. Even if someone looks clean, they might not buy them if they think your hands are dirty.”

“Always use parchment paper when handling the buns. It’s more hygienic.”

“Buns can be bought with money or food coupons. One bun costs ten cents, or four liang of food coupons.”

“Don’t touch your face or head unnecessarily. Don’t keep touching yourself here and there. Understand?”

…

Hua Fangfang thought his sister’s requirements were too much. “Sister, let’s switch roles. I’ll collect the money, and you can help with the buns.”

“Next time. If you do well this time, you can collect the money next time.”

“Okay, sister, we have a deal.”

“Alright, Dad, what about you?”

“Dad won’t collect money. It’s best if I don’t do anything at all; I’ll just watch.”

The siblings laughed.

“Dad, we don’t need you if there aren’t many people; my younger brother is enough. Or, if there’s nobody, the three of us will just sit idle. Dad, you choose?”

Hua Youcai…

The three arrived at the school gate at 11:50, just in time for the noon dismissal at 12:00.

Hua Youcai looked at the new mattress lining the basket and felt heartbroken. His daughter was so wasteful.

At twelve o’clock, the school bell rang.

Ding ding—

As the bell rang, students poured out of the classroom like sheep escaping a pen.

In a short while, the school gate was filled with people.

The elementary school students were from their village and the nearby military family housing area. They went home carrying their own schoolbags without their parents picking them up.

Besides Hua Yuanyuan selling buns, there were several other vendors.

One sold snacks: maltose and candied haws were stuck on the back of his bicycle, and his side baskets contained popcorn.

Another sold small toys. What a business mind!

As the students passed them, they looked curiously. Hua Yuanyuan realized that they didn’t know what they were selling.

Quickly, she took out a bun, broke it in half, revealing the full filling.

Green cabbage, large chunks of meat, dried shrimp, steaming hot.

“Buns! Large buns with cabbage, shrimp, and meat filling! Ten cents each, or food coupons are also accepted.”

Hua Yuanyuan didn’t need to practice; she shouted directly.

Her crisp, clear voice, with a smiling face, caught the attention of passing students.

“Classmates, freshly baked hot buns! Want to try one?”

“With meat and shrimp, it’s delicious!”

Many elementary school students, attracted by the smell, stopped and surrounded them, their eyes saying, “I want to eat it!”

They unconsciously swallowed their saliva; it looked delicious.

The next group of students were middle schoolers, some boarders and some day students, pushing their bicycles.

Boarding students went home on Saturday noon and returned on Sunday afternoon.

They usually stayed at school. If they wanted to go home during the week, they could ask for leave.

Those who lived nearby, a ten- to twenty-minute bike ride away, could go home for lunch if they didn’t mind the trouble.

They could also go home to sleep after evening self-study, but it was tiring—going to bed late and getting up early, and they couldn’t miss morning and evening self-study.

Middle school students from Shili Village and the military family housing area were all day students.

Hua Yuanyuan shouted once, wanting her father and brother to learn to shout, but the two men shook their heads and refused.

Humph!

Little guys, still want to collect money? No way.

She picked up the broken bun and ate it, shouting as she ate.

“Buns! Delicious buns with cabbage, meat, and shrimp filling…”

“How much?”

A thin boy with a schoolbag stopped with a few classmates.

“Ten cents with money, or four liang of food coupons.”

The group sniffed. It smelled so good!

“I’ll take one, four liang of food coupons.”

“Me too!”

“I want two.”

“Okay!”

Hua Yuanyuan stepped aside to collect the money, and Hua Fangfang quickly helped with the buns.

When a student tried to pick up a bun with his hand, Hua Yuanyuan stopped him.

“Xiao Fang, use some paper.”

“Yes, yes.”

The students had their own lunch boxes, but Hua Yuanyuan had prepared some cut parchment paper, which she had brought from her hometown before the New Year.

After buying the buns, these students ate them right there.

This was free advertising!

They ate happily, commenting as they ate.

“So delicious! Much better than the buns in the cafeteria.”

“Yeah, the meat is huge!”

“Lots of shrimp, too. It’s all cabbage, but why does the cabbage taste so good?”

…

Soon, they were sold out.

“None left?”

“I didn’t get one!”

“Sorry, classmates, we’re sold out. Come back next Monday.”

“But we won’t make too many on Monday. We’re still in the trial phase, afraid we won’t sell them all. If you want to eat them, come early. We’ll also have free soup and pickles.”

“Free soup?”

“Yes, free soup and pickles. Bring your own lunch boxes!”

“Got it.”

Although the students who didn’t buy any were disappointed, seeing others eat the buns made them crave them. They decided to come early next Monday and run out as soon as the bell rang.

They steamed twenty buns, broke one open as a sample (and ate it themselves), and sold nineteen, earning twenty cents and six pound and eight liang of food coupons.

At home, Hua Fangfang started the fire, Hua Youcai chopped green onions, and Hua Yuanyuan sat on a stool, muttering.

Hua Yuanyuan hadn’t expected to sell out all the buns on the first day, so she hadn’t made many, planning to eat any leftovers for lunch.

But they sold out in minutes, and she had to make lunch again.

“Dad, are you relieved now? I told you we could sell them, didn’t I?”

Hua Youcai smiled sheepishly. He and his son couldn’t do it like his daughter.

They couldn’t shout.

“Daughter, Dad can’t shout.”

“Sister, I can’t shout either.”

Hua Yuanyuan… Two grown men, why are they so shy? What’s there to be embarrassed about?

She really didn’t understand.

“Since you can’t shout, I won’t force you. Then there’s nothing we can do. Just listen to me!”

The two happily agreed; they didn’t have to worry about being forced to shout.

Hua Yuanyuan tied up the bag containing the money and food coupons, and suddenly thought of something. Tomorrow was Sunday. Would Hao Li come?