Chapter Seven: The Community Bun Stall, A Small Flame Ignites

Lin Yifan chilled two glasses of sour plum juice, planning to bring them over to Chen Zhou after dinner with their child, and lend a hand.

Just as she was about to head out and picked up her phone, she noticed dozens of unread messages flooding the neighborhood owners’ group chat.

It was probably about the property management...

There had been a recent commotion with some residents; even the property manager hadn’t dared to show up in the group chat. Maybe there was some explanation now? No wonder the security guard had been so polite today.

Lin Yifan hoped they might lower the property fees.

But upon opening the chat, she realized the messages had nothing to do with the property management at all.

“There's a new steamed bun stall at the south gate of the community, and the buns taste pretty good. Neighbors should give them a try.”

“Picked some up after work, my kid loves them! [Covering mouth laughing emoji]”

[Image]

“Just looking at them makes my mouth water. It has to be made by someone who knows their craft!”

Chen Taotao tugged at Mrs. Lin, who was standing still at the door, “Mom, what are you looking at? You keep smiling at your phone.”

Lin Yifan replied, “Your dad’s steamed buns are really popular.”

She was about to type a little promotion for their buns.

Unexpectedly, a critical comment popped up.

It was from the resident who had caused trouble before. Lin Yifan remembered her distinct chibi avatar vividly.

“Tsk, tsk, buns sold outside—can they really be good? They all use lymph meat. I never let my kid eat that.”

Though Lin Yifan was gentle by nature, she felt a flash of irritation.

Most residents bought their groceries from the Happy Market, where her husband also bought pork. How could they be using lymph meat?

And why shouldn’t her child eat them?

This person just opened her mouth and came out with nonsense.

“I need to find evidence to clear this up.”

Though Mrs. Lin was unusually ruffled, she remained reasonable.

Before she could call Chen Zhou to ask for the meat receipt, a neighbor who had tried the buns beat her to it, defending the stall.

@Zihan’s Mom: “What you’re saying isn’t right. The guy selling the buns lives right across from me, and he’s also a resident here. I’ve seen him go buy meat and groceries many times. It’s definitely not lymph meat.”

Upon learning that the bun vendor was also a neighbor, the residents naturally grew more trusting and supportive.

Zihan’s Mom fell silent, and the chat returned to a warm and friendly tone. Inspired by the buns, some even shared pictures of their dinners.

...

Meanwhile, at the south gate bun stall—

Chen Zhou had been prepared to break even or even lose money on this first day. If the buns didn’t sell well, he planned to give free samples to passersby just to build some clientele.

But to his surprise, the buns were quite popular.

Since the first batch came out, people had been asking and buying one after another.

“Boss, how much for these buns?”

“They look good. How many in a basket? Oh, ten? I’ll take a basket then...”

By the time Lin Yifan and Taotao arrived, all the buns made from four jin of flour were sold out.

She had already seen in the group chat that the fresh meat buns were well-liked, so she wasn’t too surprised by Chen Zhou’s success.

What touched her was the sweat soaking through his shirt on his back.

“You must be overheated,” she said gently.

Chen Zhou accepted the sour plum juice.

Gulp, gulp, gulp~

The slight chill from the ice made it refreshing.

“Dad, you’re amazing!” their little girl clapped in admiration.

Chen Zhou looked down at her and asked, “Isn’t Dad awesome for selling out all the buns?”

“Yes!” Taotao nodded emphatically.

But then she shook her head.

Seeing the puzzled look on the adults’ faces, she picked up the sour plum juice and mimicked the gulping sound, “Dad also go gulp, gulp, gulp~”

That explained it—Taotao had learned that from her mother.

Chen Zhou and his wife packed up the steamers and baskets, tallying up today’s bun sales.

“One jin of flour costs 4.5 yuan.”

“We used a five-jin bag at home earlier, but it’s all gone now. Buying a bigger bag might be cheaper.”

“One packet of yeast and half a packet of milk.”

“Let’s say two yuan for those.”

“One jin of meat filling costs 13.5 yuan. By the way, buy your meat from Yongjia Fresh Market. The owner is nice and the meat is fresh.”

“Okay.”

“Used one yuan worth of scallions. One liang of dry flour makes about three buns, so one jin yields roughly thirty buns.”

Lin Yifan glanced at the sign and followed Chen Zhou’s calculation, “So the material cost per bun is just 0.7 yuan. Four jin of flour makes 120 buns, so the gross profit is 216 yuan.”

“Let’s say 210 yuan, I gave two buns to the security guard, Xiao Liu.”

Only then did Lin Yifan understand why the security guard had been so courteous today. “No wonder the young guard was even helping me find a parking spot. His name’s Xiao Liu, huh?”

“He’s a nice guy. He even invited me inside to cool off in the air conditioning since he was busy with customers.”

For their first day at the stall, Chen Zhou hadn’t prepared too much.

Even so, the income exceeded what he earned at the design institute.

“If I sell more in the evening and set up again in the morning, I could make a few hundred yuan a day.”

“All your hard-earned money!” Lin Yifan teased.

Just the evening stall alone, Chen Zhou said he’d been busy all afternoon and still planned to get up early to make breakfast buns. How would he get enough rest?

...Why did it feel like his wife was a bit upset?

Chen Zhou had noticed that this morning.

His wife often had little moods, though she usually didn’t show them clearly.

After marriage and especially after having a child, Chen Zhou had grown so used to her presence that he tended to overlook these subtle fluctuations.

The news from the morning customers reminded him.

He smiled and asked:

“Why are you a little unhappy when we made money today?”

Lin Yifan took out her phone and showed him the story behind it all.

Chen Zhou saw how the neighbors in the group chat appreciated his buns and felt pleased.

“That’s great, everyone likes them... Oh no!”

Any wife would be upset if her husband, who had worked hard making buns with quality ingredients, was wrongly accused of using lymph meat.

Especially when it was her own husband.

Yet Chen Zhou, the one who was actually wronged, had become the one comforting others.

“Don’t be angry. People buying buns have their worries; it’s not like they’re deliberately targeting us.” ...That avatar of Zihan’s Mom isn’t friendly. She’s probably the one leading the calls to replace the property management too, like she’s equally targeting everyone.

Lin Yifan nodded.

She also reminded Chen Zhou to post a simple video of bun-making in the neighborhood chat and display where he bought the meat on the food cart to reassure customers.

Most importantly, don’t forget to deliver some buns to the neighbors across the hall tomorrow.

Lin Yifan’s mood brightened quickly.

This matter was clearly behind them.

But she noticed Chen Zhou had changed quite a bit in recent days and was curious:

“You’re cooking better now. Should I dig up a chef’s certificate at home or something?”

Chen Zhou pulled his wife into the passenger seat of the snack cart, held their daughter in his arms, and said earnestly:

“I’m just working hard and learning on my own, okay?”

As twilight deepened, the family drove their little cart back to their nearby community.

“Watch out for the speed bump!”

*Clunk, clunk*

“Dad, this is fun!”