Chapter 26: Vegetable-Stuffed Buns, My Absolute Favorite!

Setting up a stall to sell steamed buns near one's own apartment complex has one major downside: most of the neighbors and customers are all in the same group chat.

Ever since Chen Zhou sent a couple of messages to introduce himself as the stall owner, he had become the person most frequently tagged, right after Property Manager Gao.

The questions were always the same: "What time are you setting up?" "Why didn't you come yesterday?" "Do you have any new fillings?"

Out of politeness, Chen Zhou would reply whenever he saw them. Sometimes, he would even have Ms. Lin roleplay as an unrelated resident to occasionally answer everyone’s questions. This was just a minor annoyance that came with being widely popular among his customers.

However, once Chen Zhou hopped on his cart and arrived at his spot, he no longer needed to chat with the group members online. Those who liked his buns would come on their own.

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere had been harmonious for too long, or because the group had become lively again, but Property Manager Gao, who had been lurking in the residents' group, decided to try to reassert his presence. He pasted a message into the group: "Please do not post advertisements or other irrelevant content."

A resident, "Zihan’s Mom," immediately replied: "I think these buns are quite delicious, so I don't think it counts as an advertisement."

[Property Manager Gao has recalled a message.]

It happened so fast that people didn't even see what the manager had sent. It truly was a case of "one thing subduing another."

The neighbors had a deep impression of Zihan’s Mom. She was the one who had originally questioned whether Chen Zhou was using lymph-node meat. The gossipy group members, naturally, were not about to miss a chance to witness the "truth is delicious" law in action.

"Zihan’s Mom, does that mean you’ve tried them yourself?"
"Are they made with real ingredients?"
"What was it you said back then?"

Unable to bear the taunts, Zihan’s Mom switched to voice messages: "I love eating them, so what! I’m going to buy his new green pepper and eggplant buns today. To be honest, I’m already on my way, and I’ll definitely be ahead of you all!"

As soon as those voice messages went out, the group went silent. Property Manager Gao, who had just recalled his message, was so startled by the first voice clip that he quickly shut off his phone. He then complained to the security guard, Liu Ming, beside him: "Did you hear that? That lady is the most troublesome person in the Sunshine City complex. Whoever can handle her is truly no ordinary person."

Young Liu wasn't in the group, but he had vaguely heard something about buns in the voice message. He asked the manager, "Brother Gao, have you tried the buns sold at the south gate?"

Gao Tianyuan shook his head. "I've passed by, but I haven't bought any. Why? Are they that good?"

Young Liu, naturally, couldn't help but give a full recommendation. "Everyone on the security team has tried them. The taste is absolutely top-notch."

...

When Chen Zhou was busy at his stall, he didn't have time to look at his phone. Just as the buns were fresh out of the steamer, a woman walking with a gust of wind arrived. She looked furious, and her sun-protective jacket billowed with every step she took. She looked like someone not to be trifled with, and her tone was even fiercer: "I want this whole steamer!"

Chen Zhou reminded her, "These aren't the pork ones; they're vegetable fillings—eggplant and green pepper."

The customer nodded, "That's exactly what I want. I'll take all the ones that are steamed."

"Alright, one moment." Chen Zhou was a bit puzzled. Who was she angry with over a bun? Was she turning her grief and indignation into an appetite? Of course, as a mature stall owner, not prying into customers' privacy was part of his basic professional standard. He shifted his attention back to the buns, packed them into a bag, and handed them over with a polite, "Take care."

Zihan’s Mom took the buns without hearing a word of what the owner said. She walked away, her bag swishing with every brisk step. She only paused briefly halfway.

She sniffed the aroma of the buns. Unlike the pork ones, the filling made of eggplant and green pepper emitted a fresher, more fragrant scent. She had already eaten the pure meat ones a few times, so the vegetable filling felt even more tempting now.

Then, Zihan’s Mom simply stopped. "I love eating them, so what!"

She opened the bag, grabbed one with her hand, and started eating right there on the street. The shape of the bun was standard, as always. When she bit into it, the filling was completely different from the pork one. The pale yellow eggplant and the vibrant green and red peppers were colorful and pleasing to the eye. The light brown juices had seeped into the snowy white bun dough.

As she tasted it, the eggplant was smooth and soft, gently brushing against her tongue, with just the right amount of oiliness providing a delicate texture. The green peppers still retained a slightly firm, crunchy texture, but as soon as her teeth touched them, they crumbled in her mouth. Both were wrapped in the soft dough, blending together to create the most summery-tasting bun.

"Mmm, this filling is delicious too!"

Zihan’s Mom finished more than half the bun in just a few bites. Finally, she couldn't help but take a photo and send it back to the residents' group.

"Look at this, such refreshing vegetable buns. You can tell just by eating them that they’re made with real ingredients."

...

While working at the stall, Chen Zhou couldn't help but think about the stray cat mentioned in his "intelligence report."

"Even though it's just a regular 'customer' from the report, it's still quite interesting that it’s a cat."

He figured this feline customer wouldn't dare approach while there were so many people around. It wasn't until later, when the customers thinned out and the streetlights flickered on, that Chen Zhou spotted it nearby. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a mixed breed. It resembled a local tabby, but its face was much rounder.

The feline customer stood a short distance away, silently observing Chen Zhou and his bun stall. Seeing this, Chen Zhou used the primitive language of early human-cat interaction: "Psst, psst, psst~"

No reaction.

"Kitty?"

The feline customer remained unmoved. It was quite aloof... well, he’d have to try a foreign language. Chen Zhou called out again: "Hello Kitty?"

Hey, the feline customer actually responded to that!

Who would have thought it was a mixed-heritage cat? The little creature swept its tail, tucked its front paws, and sat firmly on the ground. There was something in its posture that vaguely mirrored the customers waiting for buns at the stall.

Seeing this, Chen Zhou couldn't help but smile. He picked out a pork bun and broke it in half. "If you have the heart for it, have this half."

Afraid that dropping it on the ground would be dirty, and afraid that walking over would scare it, Chen Zhou put the bun in a plastic bag and tossed it gently. The half-bun tumbled through the air in a perfect arc and landed softly in front of the feline customer.

The feline customer had the heart for it. After carefully inspecting what was in front of it, it snatched the meat filling in one bite and bolted!

Chen Zhou couldn't even stop it by calling "Hello Kitty."

Just then, Taotao came out with Ms. Lin and witnessed the whole process. The little girl squatted down to look at the remaining bun skin, feeling quite dissatisfied with the feline customer's behavior: "Daddy, it didn't finish it all! It's a bad kitty!"