Fifteen faces with noble features
Li Wei arrived at the school playground five minutes before school ended. After observing the area, she parked her bicycle next to the exercise platform, facing the classrooms. Unloading the ice cream box was hard work; she could easily fall and roll around on the ground, but thankfully, nothing went wrong.
As Li Wei finished setting out the steamed bun box and was wiping the sweat from her forehead with her wide sleeves, a pleasant voice suddenly rang out.
"Excuse me, what kind of filling do the steamed buns have, and how much do they cost?"
"A heavenly sound!" Li Wei quickly put down her sleeves and saw that it was Ms. Kong, their school's beautiful music teacher. She quickly lowered her voice and replied, "Oh, pork and cabbage filling, two cents each."
"Oh, give me two."
Li Wei pulled a white plastic bag out of the pocket of her white coat. She only had one of these, which she used as gloves to hand steamed buns to customers. In her new life, she couldn't stand handling food directly with her bare hands.
However, Teacher Kong was clearly satisfied with her approach. Looking at the equally white popsicle box and the white gauze wrapping the buns inside, she praised, "Master, you're very hygienic. If the buns taste good, I'll buy them from you again tomorrow, and I'll recommend them to all the teachers."
Li Wei was overjoyed. She had never sold anything before in her life, and this was a great success.
He continued in a low voice, "Thank you, Teacher Kong. You'll know as soon as you taste it that my Beijing steamed buns are made with a secret recipe from a relative in Beijing. I guarantee you'll want two after just one bite, hehe."
Teacher Kong took the steamed bun but didn't leave: "Oh, you know me?"
"Um... well... no, actually I live nearby, but my family is really struggling. I have two young children to support. You see, I'm so thin and small, I can't do heavy work, so I have to do some small business to make ends meet."
"Oh, I see. What's your surname?" Teacher Kong asked casually, without giving it much thought.
"Um... no need for formalities. My surname is... Li." (Sweat) Teacher Kong, I'm just a steamed bun seller. Don't worry so much about me, okay? You're scaring people half to death.
I guess Teacher Kong was worried the warm buns in his hands would get cold. This time he didn't say much, just nodded and left.
Li Wei held the four jiao (0.4 yuan) she had just earned from selling steamed buns. While excited, she realized she had overlooked something: she had forgotten to bring change. Luckily, Teacher Kong had given her small change. But thinking about it, it shouldn't be a big problem. After all, students usually bring small change from their parents for lunch; they almost never bring large bills, probably to prevent the children from spending it recklessly or losing it.
Teacher Kong had just left when the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Within minutes, students began pouring out of the classrooms. The lower grades were in the row of classrooms in the back. The upper grades (fifth grade and above) and the teachers' offices were in the front.
The school had twelve classes. At that time, each family had many children, and there were only two villages nearby. Yet, each class had nearly fifty students, so the school had almost six hundred students in total. More than ten years later, each grade had only one class with about twenty students, all thanks to the one-child policy.
While selling steamed buns, Li Wei kept an eye out for Li Lin and Li Lianhui to come out. However, her good luck had clearly run out after Teacher Kong came to buy them. Several minutes had passed since class ended, and she hadn't sold a single bun. Watching the dense crowd of students passing by, Li Wei was extremely anxious. What would she do if she couldn't sell any? Even if there were only a few left, she could take them home to eat.
Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly saw Li Lin and Li Lianhui emerge from the doorway of the first-row classroom. Behind them were Wu Feng and several other classmates from their class. Li Wei held her breath, wanting to see how the two younger ones would behave without her around; after all, she usually took care of them, along with the six students sitting in front and behind them.
Li Lin pulled Li Lianhui along and ran quickly towards Li Wei, shouting as she ran, "Hurry up, hurry up! If we're late, we won't be able to buy any fried dough twists. Don't you dislike bread? Hurry up!"
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. It was alright; Li Lin still knew how to take care of her younger brother. However, what was wrong with that girl's eyes? Didn't she see that there were steamed buns for sale here? Li Wei didn't dare to call out; she didn't want to be discovered.
However, as if hearing Li Wei's inner cry, Li Lianhui, who had just passed in front of her, suddenly stopped moving.
"Second sister, I want to eat steamed buns." Li Lianhui missed his grandfather's steamed buns very much.
Li Wei almost burst into tears. "Little brother, I promise I'll treat you better from now on. I won't hit you anymore even if you can't write."
Li Lin turned around and saw Li Wei's steamed bun box. A little reluctantly, she said, "Little brother, don't you eat fried dough twists? Steamed buns aren't as good as fried dough twists. There's no sugar in the steamed buns, so they're not sweet."
Li Wei really wanted to rush up and slap Li Lin twice. She knew it! Li Lin had been at odds with her since they were little, especially after they grew up. She had framed Li Lin many times, making Li Lin the foil for the men Li Lin liked. She was a real jerk!
Li Wei hurriedly encouraged Li Lianhui: "Steamed buns! Big steamed buns with pork and cabbage filling! They taste even better than the steamed buns Grandpa and Grandma make! Steamed buns! Two cents each!"
Of course, I didn't forget to change my voice, making it a bit deeper.
Li Lianhui felt that the voice sounded so familiar, so he pulled his second sister over.
As Li Lin felt a sense of familiarity, she also felt as if a cool autumn breeze was blowing behind her, like the feeling when her sister was about to beat her up.
In the end, Li Lin couldn't persuade Li Lianhui otherwise, so she bought two big steamed buns and went back to the classroom to eat them. However, what Li Lin said before leaving scared Li Wei so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.
"Hey, you're wearing the same shoes as my sister, and pants too."
Why does that brat have such sharp eyes!
I don't know if Mom brought a thermos of cold boiled water for the two of us.
With Li Lin and the others helping Li Wei open her shop, things started to improve. Students gradually came to buy steamed buns. Although they weren't selling like hotcakes, Li Wei didn't bring many buns to begin with, and the student base was huge. Thirty to six hundred, meaning one in twenty people bought a bun, and they sold out.
However, the situation was much better. Less than twenty minutes after class ended, the steamed buns were sold out. Some people even came over to ask about them, but unfortunately, they were all gone.
Li Wei happily pushed her bicycle and empty box home.
As soon as he got home, he pulled out all the money from the large pocket of his white coat—almost all small bills—and spread it out on the kang (a heated brick bed). He then threw off his white hat and mask and, like a miser, began counting the money. He didn't even need to count; it was thirty-two steamed buns, totaling six yuan and forty cents, not a penny less.
I roughly calculated the costs, and I made a net profit of almost 2 yuan today. Haha, I'm rich! Tomorrow…
Li Wei decided to continue pretending to be sick tomorrow, at least to sell for one more day, and then figure out what to do next. She had to make back the money she spent on meat and seasonings. Yes, she would make more tomorrow. With today's foundation, she should be able to sell even better.
However, there were a few things that needed to be taken care of immediately. First, the bicycle needed to be washed and cleaned, then returned to Wu Feng's mother, and she begged to borrow it again tomorrow at noon. Wu Feng's mother was quite pleased that Li Wei had cleaned the bicycle so thoroughly, and agreed to lend it to her again tomorrow.
Upon returning home, Li Wei immediately wrapped up the bone broth and pork and hid them away. Luckily, the weather was cool now, so they would be fine after a day or two. However, just in case, Li Wei placed them in a cool, secluded corner of the west room and covered them with a cloth. After doing this, she immediately opened all the doors to let the smell of the buns and bone broth waft out. This smell was now considered illegal in the house; if her mother smelled it, she would definitely investigate.
Li Wei, who was resting on the kang (a heated brick bed) while idly sitting there, was taking stock of the things she would need for tomorrow when she suddenly realized that she had forgotten an important ingredient: flour!
These were buns made with the little flour her mother had secretly used. If her mother came back and found the flour gone, and Li Wei said the mice had stolen it, her mother would never believe her, and all her efforts to maintain appearances would be wasted. Besides, she needed it to make buns tomorrow. She immediately got up, grabbed the money and the flour bag, and without saying a word, went to buy flour.
Li Wei's father, Li Zhaoxing, had a non-agricultural household registration and received a monthly ration of rice, wheat flour, and cheap coarse grains. However, the amount of flour was limited, and Li Wei knew without a doubt that it was all gone. So there was no need for her to even look for the ration book.
However, she did know someone at the grain store in town—her aunt, one of the suspects who caused her to travel back to her childhood!
My maternal uncle's family name is Chen. His father, Uncle Chen, is the manager of a grain store, and his wife also works there. My uncle works at the town's police station and has a good relationship with my father.
Another incident that left a deep impression on Li Wei was when she was five or six years old. She didn't know what had happened, but it seemed her uncle, Uncle Chen, had provoked her and stormed home. While Uncle Chen was pumping water from the small well at home, he was caught off guard and struck hard on the back by Li Wei, who had returned home with a thick, threaded steel bar!
It is said that Uncle Chen had a lump the size of an egg on the back of his head! He was also confused for a while before he returned to normal.
From then on, Li Wei felt a little guilty and flustered whenever she saw the Chen family. However, after her aunt hit her with her bicycle, Li Wei felt much better.
Do you think that aunt might have done it on purpose?
Li Wei had also made some sordid speculations, but while others might be, her aunt, being both beautiful and kind, was definitely not. Besides, at that time, she hadn't even married into the family yet; they weren't even officially a couple.
They soon arrived at the grain store in town. Upon entering, they saw that it was their aunt standing behind the counter. They quickly greeted her, "Auntie, I'd like to buy some flour."
When Li Wei's aunt saw her arrive, she smiled warmly and asked, "Xiao Ming, why didn't you go to school today?"
Li Wei was startled. How could she have forgotten about being sick? Oh dear!
She coughed twice and said in a low voice, "Oh dear, Aunt, I caught a cold. I was just feeling a little better and was thinking of going out to buy some flour for my mom. You know how busy my mom and dad are every day."
The aunt looked at Li Wei and found it amusing: "That's true, but can you even lift it?"
“It’s okay, I can carry it. I can carry Li Lin and Li Lianhui, who are both so heavy, so I can carry them. I only need to buy a little over ten kilograms.”
"Oh right, your dad seems to have bought everything on the ration book, right?" Auntie suddenly remembered and said.
Li Wei said a little embarrassedly, "Auntie, if it's really not possible, could you buy me some grain at a discounted price? I have three kids who are growing, and my mom says they need to eat more refined grains. You can get them what you think is best. Oh, by the way, Auntie, you ride a bicycle to work, right? I remember the bicycle you were riding when you bumped into me last time was parked outside the grain store."
Sigh, poverty makes people lose their ambition. Just to save a little money, I had to go through my aunt's small intestine.
My aunt couldn't hold back any longer and laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you don't need to remind me. Alright, I'll move some for you from someone else so you won't keep nagging."
After saying that, he took out a few grain ration books from under the counter and flipped through them: "Not much, just sixteen catties, is that enough?"
"That's enough, thank you, Auntie. By the way, Auntie, how much is the flour per pound now?"
"It's not much different, just a few cents."
"Oh." Li Wei couldn't remember clearly. It seemed like only a few years had passed before no one used grain ration coupons anymore, and everyone started buying grain at negotiated prices. Maybe it was just a matter of the last year or two, but she really couldn't remember. She had never paid attention to people's livelihoods since she was a child.
But now, she runs her own small business, and she can save a few cents on a dozen kilograms of flour, so she'll try to make it cheaper.
Afterwards, her aunt lent Li Wei her bicycle to carry flour, and only then did Li Wei go home.
She said, "What a beautiful and kind-hearted woman my aunt is!"
Li Wei went home, unloaded the flour from the truck, and put it in the usual spot in the west room. But seeing the flour bag was clearly two-thirds full, she knew her mother would notice it as soon as she entered the room, which wasn't a good idea. Then she thought, "Oh right, there's still some leftover filling for steamed buns. I'll just make some more dough and steam the buns before my mother gets home from work tonight, so she won't have to check the west room. Of course, I'll still have to cover it up a bit."
So, Li Wei kneaded some more dough and put it to rest. She was quite tired after finishing, being young and still recovering from a cold. She pulled up a small blanket and a pillow, snuggled next to the washbasin, and tried to sleep for a while on the heated kang (traditional heated brick bed). She needed a good night's sleep, as she would have to pretend to be sick that night.
In the evening, after Li Lin and Li Lianhui finished school, Li Wei first supervised them as they did their homework. Meanwhile, her aunt took the bicycle away. She quickly steamed some buns, adding extra minced meat, of course. She had already decided where the meat would come from; she had no choice but to buy it since she wanted buns. As for the money? Well, she'd saved up her allowance.
In this way, before their parents came home from get off work, all the housework was done, and Li Lin and Li Lianhui ate their steamed buns and went to play.
Li Wei continued to lie on the kang (a heated brick bed), pretending to be sick! Her grandmother always said an old saying: "Children don't pretend to be sick."
It means that if a child is sickly and doesn't like to move, he must be sick. Otherwise, he would definitely get up and play. In other words, children don't like to lie still.
Now it depends on how well her mother accepts her maternal grandmother's education; it shouldn't be too bad. Her mother seems to have said something like that yesterday.
And so, Li Wei rested at home for another day the next day, and Li Lin was excused from school.
She had to make the steamed buns as instructed, but this time she made a little too many—ten pounds of flour—which exhausted her. Fortunately, hard work pays off, and they sold out by noon. Several teachers came to buy some, which made Li Wei quite happy.
Looking at the pile of small bills when she got back, Li Wei knew she couldn't continue like this. If she didn't go to school soon, her parents would definitely take her to the hospital for a checkup. It was only because Li Wei had a history of strongly insisting on going to school and was usually quite sensible that she would skip school for two days straight due to a minor cold. Besides, faking illness was quite tiring.
But, but, selling steamed buns is really lucrative, I really can't bear to give it up.
So, Li Wei tried to persuade her mother again that evening, but unfortunately, her mother had just changed to a job she was quite happy with and was working very hard at it, so it was no use!
Li Wei was worried. What should she do? Was the money-making opportunity she had finally discovered going to die out? Absolutely not!
The next day, Li Wei was still thinking about this when she went to school. Surprisingly, it reminded her of someone: her maternal grandfather.
Her maternal grandfather's job didn't really have much of a future; the company closed down after a few years. Later, he went to work as a cook in the high school cafeteria, and that was about it.
Without further ado, at noon she bought some fried dough twists for Li Lin and Li Lianhui, and a few extra pieces of candy for the two of them, giving them all her instructions. Without even eating, she rushed to the grain store in town to borrow her aunt's bicycle, and rode off to the distillery to find her grandfather.
Since her maternal grandfather and father worked at the same company, and her father hadn't been away on business these past few days, Li Wei slipped right into the canteen as soon as she entered the factory gate.
Upon seeing her maternal grandfather, she immediately said, "Grandpa, I've come to bring you good news! The other day, the blind man in our village saw you and said that you have a noble appearance."
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