Fourteen Beijing Steamed Buns
Li Wei thought it over and over and it seemed feasible. Looking at the time, there was still time to ferment the dough. She quickly took down the scale hanging on the wall, weighed out five jin of flour, mixed it with warm water, and placed the basin on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) covered with a cotton quilt to ferment.
She did this kind of work a lot after she grew up. Even after she started working and rented a place to live, and the food in restaurants and canteens became bland, she still often cooked for herself, making things she liked. Her cooking skills were quite good. Although she had bought some basic cookbooks, she never specifically studied them. You could only say she had a natural talent for being a housewife.
At first, Li Wei planned to make steamed buns, since it was relatively simple; all she needed to do was add some sugar. But after calming down and thinking about it, she realized it wasn't a good idea. Steamed buns might not be as popular as twisted dough sticks or bread. After all, twisted dough sticks and bread were glistening with oil, golden brown, and exuded a fragrant aroma. Steamed buns, apart from being a bit white, looked rather dull and didn't have such an appealing appearance. Thinking of this, Li Wei felt a chill in her heart. It seemed she had underestimated the matter.
After careful consideration, Li Wei decided to try a different product: meat buns!
First, she considered the ingredients: flour, vegetables, meat, oil, salt, and seasonings. She had the flour and fresh cabbage from her own garden, but she needed to buy the meat. Li Wei had also considered making vegetarian buns, but felt they weren't much better than twisted dough sticks, so she decided to add some meat, even though it would increase the cost considerably. As for oil, salt, and seasonings, Li Wei checked her inventory; she had them all at home, but not much, so she would have to buy some more.
Li Wei took out a pen and roughly calculated the cost: flour was 40 cents a pound, oil was about 2 yuan, meat was 1.1 yuan a pound a few days ago, and the amount of seasonings, salt, and baking soda was not large, so she estimated it to be 50 cents. She would adjust the price difference when it came to actual operation.
In addition, there are scallions and garlic for seasoning. We grow them at home and have plenty. These things are cheap now, and if you use a small amount, they probably won't cost much, just a few cents the price of cabbage. Even if they are expensive, it won't be much more.
The firewood needed for steaming buns is negligible; it's cheap. I heard that one dollar can buy a huge, rickety horse-drawn cart piled high on the ground, the size of three houses, enough to burn for half a year.
However, Li Wei did a rough calculation and found that if each bread or twisted dough stick required two ounces of flour and each bun sold for two cents, then making twenty-five buns would only yield twenty-five buns, leaving a slight surplus of a few cents.
However, those are already extra-large buns. Of course, we can't make them that big, considering the weight of the filling. Conservatively speaking, we can make at least thirty, and a profit of one yuan should be no problem.
Although Li Wei used to earn several thousand yuan a day, she doesn't underestimate this one yuan at all. Her father's daily wage is just over one yuan, and her mother's is less than one yuan a day, both of which are earned through a full day's work.
Without further ado, he grabbed a small cloth bag. He pulled out twenty yuan from his secret hiding place—a deserted rat's den. He took out ten yuan and put the other ten back in.
I'm now recalling something a senior female colleague once said: "Women need to have their own savings." This saying is supposedly a conclusion drawn from thousands of years of experience by countless women. Looking at it now, it seems so true.
Now many men, and even some in their workplaces, are starting to learn this.
But for men, that's called hiding money. For workplaces, it's called a "secret stash."
A cool breeze greeted me as I stepped outside. The temperature had dropped noticeably. It really is true that each autumn rain brings a chill.
They arrived at the town's supply and marketing cooperative's grocery store. Li Wei decided to buy meat first. She asked around and learned that nowadays, meat wasn't sold in such a low price range as spare ribs, lean meat, and fatty meat. Quite the opposite! The cuts with thick fat for rendering oil were the most expensive. Bone-in cuts, without a doubt, had to be sold with fatty meat; otherwise, nobody would want them.
Li Wei compromised and bought a piece of pork belly. She originally wanted to buy just enough for today, but the butcher saw that Li Wei was asking questions and studying things in detail. Although the child was young, she seemed quite professional and capable of making decisions. He didn't have high hopes and said that he would give Li Wei a discount on the last piece of pork belly. If she bought it all, he would sell it to her for 1.05 cents per pound.
Li Wei was genuinely tempted. This piece must weigh four or five pounds, and she couldn't use that much at once, so...
Li Wei made up her mind: "If you sell it to me for nine cents a pound, I'll buy it all; otherwise, I'll just weigh half a pound." Li Wei deliberately said less to lower the price.
The butcher was surprised that such a young child like Li Wei knew how to bargain. He knew that these days it was a seller's market, and if it were an adult, he would have immediately turned hostile. But a child might not be able to afford it, and besides, this was his last piece of meat. He figured it was better to sell it and go home early. So he nodded, "Okay, ninety-five cents, otherwise I'll lose money."
Li Wei's attitude was firm: "Nine cents, take it or leave it."
The big man chuckled: "Oh ho, you little rascal are quite clever. I'm in a good mood today, so if you really can buy them all, I'll sell them to you for nine cents."
Without saying a word, Li Wei pulled out a huge sum of ten yuan: "Weigh it."
Li Wei, who originally planned to buy a little over a pound of meat, ended up buying four pounds and six ounces. For some reason, the butcher gave her two large pork bones as a freebie, even though there wasn't a single bit of meat left. Li Wei was still quite happy, though. Although these bones didn't replace meat, they could replace oil. If cooked properly, the bone broth could be added to fillings, replacing some of the oil and adding extra flavor.
So on the spot, I asked Uncle Dahan to go all the way and split each big bone into four pieces so that the marrow oil inside could be extracted as soon as possible.
The big man was heartbroken; his butcher's knife needed sharpening again. He wondered whose child it was, causing so much trouble. He regretted it; why had he given him such a big bone? Even if he fed it to a dog, the dog would be grateful, but it wouldn't ask him to chop it into eight pieces!
Carrying the meat and bones, Li Wei also bought salt, seasonings, and baking soda, spending less than two yuan. Today, she spent a total of six yuan and four cents.
Li Wei had just entered the village carrying her things when she was stopped by a large pile of tree branches. After going around to take a look, she saw Grandma Luo squatting on the ground.
The old woman was holding Luo San's hand with one hand and gripping the rope binding the branches around her shoulders with the other, struggling to stand up. Unfortunately, the heavy bundle of branches was too much for her to bear, and she couldn't get up no matter how hard she tried.
Li Wei quickly put down her things and rushed over: "Grandma Luo, let me help you."
Putting aside others, the most sensible person in the Luo family is Grandma Luo.
Li Wei helped lift the old lady up with a strong push, and she finally managed to get up. Li Wei followed her back and learned that Grandma Luo had taken Luo San out for a walk. They saw a lot of branches on the ground in the woods, so they went back to get a rope and gathered a bundle. When they reached the village entrance, they were too tired to walk and rested for a while, but they were a little too weak to get up again.
Li Wei and Grandma Luo walked and talked. Li Wei noticed that Grandma Luo had tied Luo San's chest with a rope, with one end held by Grandma Luo's hand, and was also carrying tree branches on her back. She looked exhausted. Li Wei asked, puzzled, "Grandma Luo, why are you tying Xiao San up? Wouldn't it be easier for you to walk by yourself?"
Grandma Luo sighed helplessly, "Oh dear, you can't let go of this little one. If you do, he'll disappear. When he was little, I could carry him on my back, but now that he's older, I can't carry him anymore. My legs can't keep up with him."
Li Wei was still somewhat incredulous. She took the rope from Grandma Luo's hand, intending to help lighten her burden. But in the brief moment she wasn't paying attention and was talking to Grandma Luo, Luo San pulled on the rope and ran off. Li Wei only felt the rope slip in her hand, and then she saw Luo San kicking up his heels and running like a little donkey. If the ground hadn't been a bit damp from yesterday's rain, a cloud of dust would probably have risen from behind!
Li Wei was dumbfounded. As expected of the child of Luo Sanjiu, the notorious local thug, and Luo Sanjiu's wife, the village's famous shrew, he was simply fierce!
Li Wei instantly flew into a rage. "You little brat, if your grandma can't catch you, I certainly can! Don't underestimate me, don't treat me like a god!"
Without saying a word, Li Wei put down her bag and chased after him.
Although Luo San'er was mischievous and active, he was only a little over four years old, so he was no match for Li Wei. Li Wei grabbed him by the back of the neck in a few steps, and Luo San'er struggled but couldn't move his legs. Li Wei said fiercely, "Kid, dare to run? If I catch you again, I'll have your older brother deal with you after school tonight. Behave yourself, and also, behave yourself with your grandma, or you'll exhaust her. I wonder who will cook for you and take you for a walk with the dog!"
After Li Wei finished speaking, she forcefully pulled the rope off Luo San'er and wrapped it around her own arm a few times. "Little brat, if I let you break free again this time, I'll change my surname to yours."
Luo San'er stared at Li Wei with wide eyes and a pout, looking angry, but he didn't shout. Li Wei sensed that this little brat seemed a bit unconvinced. Hehe!
Li Wei sighed as she walked. These past two years, Uncle Luo and Aunt Luo had been constantly away, supposedly running a small business, only returning home every ten days or so. Grandma Luo had been left to manage everything at home. Aunt Luo wasn't entirely satisfied; they used to occasionally argue when they were at home. Now she knew how good the elderly were. Unlike her own home, if Grandma were here, she wouldn't have been reduced to a maid.
Alas, we are blessed but do not know it.
Once home, Li Wei got busy, boiling bones, washing and chopping vegetables and meat to make filling. It smelled delicious, very fragrant. Then she mixed the flour with baking soda.
Kneading dough is a skill that requires experience. After the dough has fermented and turned sour, knead the baking soda (dissolved in water) into the dough until it is evenly mixed. Smell the sourness; it should be barely noticeable. Then, cut a large opening in the dough with a knife. The cut surface should be filled with small holes the size of sesame seeds. Smell the cut surface again; the aroma should be consistent throughout.
With everything prepared, Li Wei checked the time and, seeing it was almost time, quickly rolled out the dough and started wrapping. First, she cut the dough into roughly equal-sized pieces. She had planned to divide it into thirty portions, but having not gotten the size right and also worried about losing money by dividing it too small, she ended up with three extra pieces, making thirty-three in total.
Li Wei busied herself inside and out, steaming two large pots of thirty-three big buns. She tried one herself first, and wow, it tasted great! But the buns were really big; they felt heavier than a twisted dough stick. Looking at the remaining filling, she realized she needed to work on the ratio of dough to filling.
Then another problem arose: how was she going to sell them at school? She searched around the east and west rooms but couldn't find the right tools. Sigh, if only she had a box for selling popsicles... Wait a minute, Wu Feng's mom sells popsicles in the summer, maybe she could go see if she could borrow it.
To be honest, it's hard to say what would happen if someone else went. Wu Feng's stingy mother really has to think it over. But after Wu Feng started school, she spoke highly of Li Wei to her parents. Wu Feng was honest, and if it weren't for Li Wei protecting her, she would definitely be bullied, especially by those two lively Luo boys in the front yard, who made Wu Feng cry quite a few times.
So Wu Feng's mother casually asked and lent Li Wei the nicely decorated box. Li Wei's excuse was that she wanted to put food in it and was afraid it would get cold.
The plywood box wasn't heavy, and Li Wei could carry it, but it might be a problem if it contained more than thirty steamed buns. Not wanting to bother two people at once, she then borrowed a bicycle. This was a big item, and Li Wei promised to return it around noon, which made Wu Feng's mother less willing to let her take it.
This is because Li Wei is usually quite sensible. Otherwise, if it were an adult, let alone a child, Wu Feng's mother would have to check who it was, whether their ancestors had any bad records, whether their background was clean, examine their character, verify the reason, and see if they had any suspicious behavior recently...
Even if I pass the background check, it still depends on whether my mother is in a good mood.
So, even though it's just a simple matter of borrowing a bicycle, Li Wei was quite excited to see the personal charm it reflected.
So, Li Wei took a blanket and two cotton pads that she and her siblings used when they were little, put them in the box to keep them warm, took out a piece of white paper, and pasted the four eye-catching words "ice popsicle" on the outside of the white painted box, and wrote the two words "baozi" in red chalk. Finally, she looked at it and felt that it was too monotonous, so she decided to give the baozi a more catchy name.
Li Wei pondered for a while, finally remembering Tianjin Goubuli steamed buns. She thought, "Let's call them Tianjin steamed buns." But even someone with less than a second-grade education might not recognize the character "津" (jin). Tianjin, Shanghai…right, Li Wei didn't hesitate to write down "Beijing," making it "Beijing steamed buns." They're related to Peking duck.
Speaking of Beijing, it's quite relevant to their lives. In winter, there's a type of black corduroy cotton shoe called Beijing cotton shoe. Children are usually proud to wear Beijing cotton shoes, so it's a familiar concept.
As for summer, isn't there a nursery rhyme that goes like this:
The rain was pouring down when I received a call from Beijing. They wanted me to join the army, but I'm not old enough yet.
Beijing, what an enchanting place; Beijing steamed buns, what enchanting buns! This is it!
After packing the buns, Li Wei also packaged them herself. She found a white coat that her mother wore when she worked for someone else. The hem was too long, so she simply sewed a section up. As for the size, so be it. She then took out a white hat and white mask and put them on. What a standard food service worker!
More importantly, it would be bad if the twins or other acquaintances saw them.
Pushing her bicycle with a box of Beijing steamed buns on it, Li Wei, already drenched in sweat, thought to herself, "This cold should be getting better soon. It's been so hard for me."
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