36: Chapter 35: Enemies et Again 36: Chapter 35: Enemies et Again When Xu Niannian called out like that, Wu Lan snapped back to reality and stopped staring at her eyes.
Upon seeing the golden pastries in the basket and taking a light sniff, Wu Lan thought, mmm, they seed to sll quite nice.
“Miss, did you say I could try one?” Wu Lan asked casually.
Xu Niannian quickly replied, “Yes, of course, please have a taste.”
Picking a small piece to hand to Wu Lan, who looked at it and elegantly placed it in her mouth.
Even in this era of poverty, there were still families of privilege.
Wu Lan ca from such a family, where pastries, seen as a delicacy by others, were just snacks to her.
She would receive several batches a month of confections made by the most famous pastry chefs in the capital.
So, Wu Lan didn’t have high expectations for Xu Niannian’s pastries, she simply thought the sll was indeed good and just wanted to try sothing different.
But she wasn’t expecting that the mont she took a bite, her craving would be so intensely triggered.
Delicious, it was simply too delicious.
Having tasted so many pastries, Wu Lan had never encountered any as tasty as this, not even those made by the capital’s master chefs.
The crust was crunchy, the inside soft and smooth, with a lting texture that left a delightful fragrance on her lips and teeth.
Wu Lan closed her eyes in enjoynt, savoring the rich fragrance; the taste was exceptional.
“Miss, how much are you selling these Liuyue Su for?
I’ll take them all.”
If Wu Lan found sothing tasty, she was willing to pay whatever the cost, especially since it wasn’t just ordinarily delicious.
There were eight pastries left in the basket, and Xu Niannian said, “Three dis each, that’s a total of two yuan and forty cents.”
Wu Lan paid without hesitation, thinking to herself that she definitely had to let her son try so when she got ho.
Pah, her son was on a blind date at the mont, and he might have already got under the sheets by now.
Comrade Wu Lan was quite open-minded.
In her opinion, her son had always been so responsible; if he managed to win over the Zhu Family’s daughter today, marriage would practically be a foregone conclusion.
After selling all the pumpkin pastries, Xu Niannian took Xu Zhiqiang to the Departnt Store in the county, as they only had about two pounds of glutinous rice flour left at ho.
She needed to buy so ingredients, and she didn’t want to only sell pumpkin pastries forever; she planned to get other items as well.
Out of 62 pastries, subtracting the one given away and the one eaten, 60 were sold in total, amounting to eighteen yuan.
After accounting for the cost of the glutinous rice flour, she had earned a total of fifteen yuan for the day.
Although it wasn’t as much as what she’d made selling water on that one very busy day, Xu Niannian was quite pleased since it was the equivalent of a month’s salary for a worker in town and because the amount she made today was from a smaller batch.
Moreover, selling pastries was a business she could keep up for the long term.
Of course, Xu Niannian couldn’t always co to the morning market to sell; she wanted to open a shop, but didn’t have enough starting capital yet, so she needed to work even harder.
With the remaining eighteen yuan from before, and having earned another eighteen today, she now had a total of thirty-six yuan in hand.
After purchasing glutinous rice flour and so spices she hadn’t been able to buy last ti at the Departnt Store, which cost her sixteen yuan, she was left with only twenty yuan.
This ti Xu Niannian bought twenty-five pounds of glutinous rice flour, leaving her with plenty to confidently make more batches.
Initially feeling quite satisfied with today’s earnings, once she spent it, Xu Niannian imdiately felt financially tight again.
Continuing like this wasn’t sustainable; she needed to earn a lot of money quickly if she wanted to open a shop in the county.
How could she open a shop with such a small amount of money?
After buying what they needed, Xu Niannian felt so hungry that she could eat an entire cow.
She and Xu Zhiqiang hadn’t had breakfast yet.
Xu Niannian was soone who valued enjoynt; if she made money, she needed to spend it, otherwise, what was the point of making it?
So, she decided to treat herself and Xu Zhiqiang, who had co with her.
She decided to take Xu Zhiqiang to a restaurant.
She planned to dine at a state-owned restaurant.
Private businesses were now allowed, but Xu Niannian still wanted to visit the legendary state-owned restaurant from the eighties.
However, an awkward situation arose when Xu Niannian rembered that you still needed coupons to eat at a state-owned restaurant.
Private businesses had been permitted, and many places had already stopped using coupons.
But at state-owned restaurants, you needed grain coupons, and if you wanted at, you also needed at coupons.
Originally planning to just grab a bite anywhere, Xu Niannian caught the longing look in Xu Zhiqiang’s eyes.
A place like a state-owned restaurant existed only in stories for Xu Zhiqiang.
He never imagined he’d have the chance to dine in one.
So, when Xu Niannian suggested they eat at a state-owned restaurant, Xu Zhiqiang forgot to refuse.
Out of options, Xu Niannian could only wait at the restaurant entrance, hoping soone would be willing to exchange their coupons for money.
She only intended to try her luck, but to her surprise, she actually found soone willing to make the trade.
It was a man in his forties.
Xu Niannian rely hinted at the exchange, and he imdiately agreed.
Happy with a pound of grain coupons and four liang of at coupons, they went in.
There were several empty tables in the hall, and Xu Niannian chose the one closest to the window, a square table.
They ordered one at dish and one vegetarian dish, and Xu Niannian and Xu Zhiqiang happily started eating.
It was Xu Zhiqiang’s first ti eating plain white rice; such enticingly white rice was indescribable.
He ate voraciously, wolfing down his food.
Watching him eat with such joy, Xu Niannian’s appetite grew.
Yet she noticed that Xu Zhiqiang kept picking the vegetables and never once touched the braised pork.
Xu Niannian certainly didn’t think he disliked the at; she knew he was reluctant to eat it.
With no other choice, Xu Niannian had to put several pieces of at into his bowl.
Xu Zhiqiang paused, swallowing the rice in his mouth, and with red eyes awkwardly said to Xu Niannian, “Sis, you eat it.
You earned this money, and it should be you who enjoys it.”
“Tsk, what kind of logic is that?
Don’t listen to mom’s nonsense.
If Sis tells you to eat, you eat.
Besides, didn’t you help Sis out, too?
Without your help, it wouldn’t have been so easy for ,” she countered.
Xu Zhiqiang gripped his chopsticks tightly; he knew Xu Niannian was comforting him.
Today, he hadn’t actually been much help—it was all her effort.
Seeing that Xu Niannian truly cared for him, Xu Zhiqiang didn’t say anything more, took the at with reddened eyes, and started eating it large bites.
Xu Niannian finished eating before Xu Zhiqiang because she hadn’t eaten much.
Waiting for Xu Zhiqiang, Xu Niannian had the opportunity to take a good look at what a state-owned restaurant from the eighties was really like.
There wasn’t anything particularly special about it.
After looking around, Xu Niannian noticed a beautiful girl sitting at the front seat, wearing a white dacron shirt, fanning herself with a small fragrant fan and looking displeased.
She glanced toward the entrance from ti to ti.
Just then, a sudden urge to urinate struck Xu Niannian, so she stopped looking and asked the head chef where the restroom was.
There weren’t any restrooms in the state-owned restaurant, a rarity indeed for restaurants of the era to have one.
Fortunately, there was a public restroom across the street.
Following the direction given by the head chef, Xu Niannian found the public restroom.
In her urgency, she forgot to look up at the signs for the n’s and won’s sections.
After all, she assud that at this ti, restrooms were generally unisex.
But as soon as she rushed in, she bumped right into soone’s chest.
The firm chest made Xu Niannian realize she had definitely run into a man.
She quickly looked up.
“It’s you!”
“It’s you!”
Both exclaid in unison, surprised to see each other.
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