Chapter 73 (073) The Sesame Seed Cake [Second Update]
Lou Da and his wife Feng Huijuan carried their loads home.
The two remained silent the whole way, the burden on their shoulders heavy and painful.
Lou Da wanted to say something, but didn't know how.
The car accident a few years ago had already exhausted this family. His wife spent half a year in the hospital, and he himself was in and out of the intensive care unit several times. He was only able to survive by sheer luck.
The party at fault was fully responsible, but their family was even poorer than their own, and the compensation they offered was minimal. The two borrowed from all their relatives, experiencing firsthand the coldness of human relationships.
After being discharged from the hospital, Lou Da was not fully recovered and was deaf in one ear. Feng Huijuan looked sickly and was clearly recovering from a serious illness.
The two children spent half a year moving between various relatives, and they would burst into tears whenever they saw their parents.
The family had nothing left but the persimmon grove, besides their house.
Suddenly, rumors started circulating in the village that a developer was coming to acquire the land, offering a certain amount of compensation per acre, and that if valuable trees were planted there, the compensation would be even higher.
Lou Da and his wife were hoping that one day they could at least pay off the tens of thousands of yuan they owed to their relatives in the bank, not necessarily to become rich and powerful.
But as the days went by, news of the demolition seemed endless, and the imminent hardship made it impossible for them to stand up straight.
The guys in the building also had some complaints.
“Big brother, you said you were in the hospital back then, and none of us could watch you die. But the younger brothers weren’t having an easy time either. Yes, we’ve all moved to the city, but you don’t know how expensive it is there. There’s the kids’ tutoring fees, our own insurance money, and the elderly needing care… It’s not easy for us either.”
Yes, it's not easy for anyone.
Lou Da wasn't the kind of person who would forget kindness after receiving a favor; he could only apologize again and again, begging for more time.
His relatives knew he had a heavy burden, so they said a few harsh words and left.
Lou Da and his wife stood at their doorstep, their pockets containing only a few dozen yuan they had earned that day.
There are many tourists at Qingtang Mountain, but most of them are exhausted after coming down the mountain, so how can they have the energy to buy persimmons to eat?
Of the string of small vendors set up at the foot of the mountain, only a few were doing good business.
If you're talking about souvenirs, there are souvenir shops on the top of Qingtang Mountain.
If you're looking for food and drinks, there are small shops all along the way up the mountain.
What haven't tourists seen or eaten?
Why would anyone linger for an ordinary persimmon?
"Juan...I want to go out and work."
Lou Da hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, and his mood settled down.
“I’ve made up my mind. The children can’t be without their mother, and your health isn’t good either, so you shouldn’t go out. I’m planning to go west. They don’t discriminate when it comes to working in the mines. My hearing is perfectly fine. I can earn at least seven or eight thousand a month there, plus food and lodging. Once we save up all the money, we can pay it off in a year or two…”
Feng Huijuan didn't speak for a while before speaking, her voice slightly nasal.
"You can't even talk back properly. You can't hear me when you're down in the mine. Are you planning to leave for a few months and then expect us, your mother and the three of us, to collect your compensation?"
Feng Huijuan's words were harsh, but Lou Da managed a forced smile.
"That's okay..."
If he could exchange his life for money, his wife and children would have a secure future.
Feng Huijuan: "Stop talking, I don't want to hear this."
They fought so hard for their lives, and now they're going to give them away. They've already overcome so many hardships; are they really going to be separated forever?
Feng Huijuan: "If it doesn't work out, let's just sell the forest."
This grove of trees, if it can't be sold at a high price, twenty or thirty thousand should be fine.
It can at least hold on for a while longer.
Lou Da looked out at the woods not far away. It was night in the mountains. Last night was the Mid-Autumn Festival again. The moon on the sixteenth was rounder than the one on the fifteenth. The cool moonlight enveloped the branches. The persimmons were round and plump, but they couldn't bring him any good fortune.
But when it comes to actually selling it, Lou Da is reluctant to part with it.
That was the woodland he had looked at since he was a child, the persimmon tree that had watched him grow up, get married, and have children.
We'll see.
He'll go to the city tomorrow to look for work; if he can find something, he won't have to go down into the mine. But even so, neither he nor his wife felt truly confident.
They had been to the city many times, but no matter how many people they looked for, they all wanted people who were healthy. Even if they patted their chests and guaranteed that they had recovered, not many bosses dared to hire them.
The two men entered the house and unloaded their loads.
The light bulb outside the foyer suddenly turned on, and the two children rushed out.
"Dad, Mom, we sold so many persimmons today!"
"Two hundred jin!"
Lou Da and his wife were taken aback and quickly pulled their child aside to ask for details.
Lou Yue nestled in her mother's arms, gesturing with obvious pride. Her older sister had praised her when she left, saying she had led the way well.
Lou Heng excitedly announced that all the persimmons that had hatched had been sold out.
"That lady said she's going to take them back to make persimmon cakes to sell, and if they sell well, she'll come back to buy more!"
Lou Da and his wife looked at each other, both somewhat incredulous.
It was as if gold had fallen from the sky; their first reaction was that it was a lie.
"He's not a liar, he was brought by Third Grandma, Yuzhen's classmate! Her family owns a restaurant!"
Lou Heng quickly pulled out 250 yuan: "That lady even gave me money for the basket!"
With the money clearly displayed in front of them, Lou Da and Feng Huijuan were stunned for a moment, then their hearts began to pound.
"Dad, I picked some more persimmons and started hatching them. That older sister might want even more sometime soon."
Lou Da clutched the money, adding it together with the few dozen yuan he had earned that day, totaling over three hundred yuan in cash, which suddenly gave him a glimmer of hope.
"Really? Someone actually wants our persimmons?"
If all the persimmons in the forest could find a market, then...
Lou Da remained silent, while Feng Huijuan, holding her daughter, poured cold water on the situation.
"It's not necessarily true; small businesses are tough these days."
Besides, winter is just around the corner, so what kind of persimmon cake can sell well all the time?
Lou Da's initially passionate heart was doused with cold water, and he instantly calmed down.
Feng Huijuan said with a wry smile, "I'm not trying to be a downer, but think about the demolition and relocation issue?"
The most painful thing for a person is not being poor all the time, but being given hope and then having it taken away.
The village has been clamoring for demolition and relocation. A few years ago, my two younger brothers even came back and rebuilt the wall that had collapsed. If they hadn't been short of money, they would have been thinking of building a three or four-story house on top of it.
But then? The news about the demolition just disappeared. When someone went to ask the relevant authorities, they were all amused and said it was nothing at all.
"Besides, how much money do you get from demolition compensation these days? It's not like it was years ago."
Having experienced disappointment many times, Feng Huijuan instinctively tried to calm her husband down this time.
Selling 200 jin of persimmons is already a good thing; otherwise, with one fruit after another falling to the ground, the money is one thing, but the main thing is that it's heartbreaking.
Lou Da rubbed his face: "No matter what, I'll add their contact information first."
Good or bad, it's already like this. Let's just hope that the young girl can make the business a success.
*****
On the other side, Wen's father and mother were also dumbfounded when they saw their daughter and her classmates carrying more than ten baskets of persimmons home, not knowing what to do.
Wen Fan said she wanted to buy persimmons, but who would have thought she would buy so many!
Father Wen quickly cleared out several large buckets to hold the persimmons, carefully handling them for fear of breaking the skin. Even so, many of the ripe persimmons were squeezed and oozed some red juice.
Wen's mother warmly welcomed her daughter's classmates and invited them to stay for dinner.
"No, Auntie, we're not hungry!"
It's still going strong right now.
One by one, they said goodbye to Wen Fan: "We're leaving!"
Wen Fan waved his hand: "I'll bring you persimmon cakes when school starts."
We wouldn't have been able to bring these baskets back today without the help of our classmates.
After everyone had left, Wen's mother asked her daughter what she really wanted to do.
"With so many persimmons, they'll spoil in a few days."
It's distressing to look at.
Wen Fan took a big gulp of water before slowly saying, "Mom, do you think we could add another stall in front of our shop?"
Wen’s father and Wen’s mother:? ? ?
Wen Fan looked at Yao Qingqin again and thought to himself, "It's not just about the stall; we also need to add at least one more employee."
...
On the last morning of the holiday, Zhao Qiqi rode her mountain bike to school.
The car was parked in the shed at the entrance, and Zhao Qiqi looked at the school's wide but deserted gate with a look of utter despair.
Great, the senior high school students started school a day early, and the school gate was deserted with not even a breakfast stall!
Zhao Qiqi felt like she was a bitter gourd, as bitter as could be.
Not wanting to eat at the school cafeteria, Zhao Qiqi searched around the shops near the school gate.
The breakfast stalls were closed, she didn't like jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), and the egg crepes were locked in her car...
Why?
Zhao Qiqi suddenly noticed that there was an extra stall.
This stall seemed to be doing other business as well, as the vehicle didn't have the large, prominent markings that other small vehicles had. On it sat a huge, gleaming electric griddle, and in front of the vehicle was only a small blackboard.
Zhao Qiqi sniffed the aroma and thought it might be pan-fried buns?
Only when I got closer could I see clearly that there were two lines of text written on the blackboard.
[Fresh meat sesame cake, persimmon and osmanthus cake, six yuan each]
Next to the electric griddle were two bamboo baskets, each containing two or three pancakes that had already been cooked.
Zhao Qiqi wasn't very interested in the pork sesame cake, but the persimmon and osmanthus cake...
It looks delicious?
Zhao Qiqi walked to the stall. She had arrived early, but there weren't many customers yet. As soon as she approached, the stall owner greeted her warmly.
"Hey kid, what would you like? A sesame seed cake or a persimmon cake?"
Zhao Qiqi's gaze fell on the electric griddle, where golden-brown flatbreads emitted a rich aroma of wheat. Next to the griddle were two large bowls of dough, as well as two small bowls of meat filling and sugar filling.
What kind of filling is in this persimmon cake?
The stall owner said enthusiastically, "This one has osmanthus, sesame, and peanut filling, and it also comes with brown sugar."
Upon hearing the mention of brown sugar, Zhao Qiqi's heart skipped a beat. She was currently in her special period, and brown sugar filling seemed like a good option.
"I'll have a persimmon cake."
Zhao Qiqi swiped her phone for six yuan, and the stall owner deftly scooped a hot pancake from the electric griddle and handed it to her.
Zhao Qiqi held it in her hand and then had the mind to examine it closely.
The meat pie and the persimmon cake are obviously different colors of crust. The meat pie is the normal color of a leavened bread, with a hint of yellow, while the persimmon cake is just like a persimmon, with a red crust and a sweet aroma when you get close.
Zhao Qiqi ate as she walked into the school, but after a while, she couldn't walk any further.
The persimmon cakes were piping hot, with a chewy, thick, leavened crust. One bite revealed a pool of honey-like filling; the sweet filling melted in the heat, flowing out thick and creamy. The filling itself was slightly grainy, with a nutty, sweet aroma that instantly warmed the heart. Accompanying this honey-like flavor were the scents of persimmons and osmanthus, as if pulling one into the blazing autumn sun, the rising sweet fragrance almost intoxicating.
Zhao Qiqi found herself increasingly addicted to the sesame seed cake. The brown sugar syrup warmed her body, and one could imagine how wonderful it would be to have one in the morning on a colder day.
As Zhao Qiqi entered the classroom, she took out her phone to send a message to her friend.
You absolutely can't imagine how delicious the sesame seed cakes sold at the shop near our school are!
[Hurry up, it's on that street right outside, in front of Wen's Restaurant!]
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