Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Since it was Shen Yu's first day to set up the stall, he did not prepare too much dough and fillings. In total, he steamed four baskets of pork and green onion filling, four baskets of vegetable and mushroom filling, and four baskets of red bean paste and candied date filling.

She thought that it was summer and the weather was hot, so people would want to eat something light early in the morning, and the fragrant and refreshing vegetable and mushroom filling would definitely be popular.

What she didn't expect was that the customers who came because of the aroma were all here for the meat buns and red bean paste buns, and they would buy one of the ones with vegetable and mushroom fillings to try them, but no one would buy just the ones with vegetable and mushroom fillings.

As the steamed buns with the other two fillings were sold out one by one, few people were interested in the ones with vegetable and mushroom fillings. Dozens of green vegetable and mushroom buns were piled up in a corner of the winnowing basket, looking a little lonely.

Shen Yu was afraid that the hot weather would cause the buns to go bad if they were not sold out, so he simply shouted: "Buy five and get one free. Fragrant and refreshing green vegetable and mushroom buns. Buy a meat bun and get a vegetable bun for free!"

It would be a waste if I didn’t give away these free buns. I sold more than a dozen vegetable and mushroom buns.

By the time the sun began to rise, the buns in Shen Yu's basket were almost sold out before closing time.

The juicy meat buns were sold out first, followed by the red bean paste and candied date buns. Finally, a few customers who had no choice complained that they had waited in line but could not buy meat buns and were about to leave unhappily.

Shen Yu stopped the guests with a smile, picked up a vegetable bun, held it with a lotus leaf and cut it into two halves, letting the waiting guests taste the bun.

The two customers at the front of the line took the vegetable buns reluctantly, but after taking a bite, the expressions on their faces changed from reluctance to surprise. They didn't expect that the green-looking vegetable buns would taste so smooth and fresh, with a fresh fragrance. The vegetables were crispy, the mushrooms were tender, and there were also grains of oily gluten, which was fragrant and chewy.

The two people were still chewing the vegetable buns in their mouths, and they pointed to the dozen or so vegetable buns in the basket and gestured with their hands, saying that one person wanted four and the other wanted five.

The guests who were watching them eat at the back saw this and realized that the vegetable buns were also delicious, so they started buying some as well. Each of them had three or four buns and immediately divided up all the buns in the basket.

Shen Yu even deliberately charged each person one less coin for a bun, counted out six coins each and put them back into the guests' hands.

Several customers who bought vegetable buns got this unexpected discount and left with smiles on their faces, looking very happy.

A thin old man in a long gown seemed to have difficulty walking. He walked a few steps with a cane and then slowly came back, holding a lotus leaf bun and asked Shen Yu: "Girl, will you come here to set up a food stall tomorrow? I didn't buy any meat buns today. Can you leave a few for me tomorrow? My wife at home wants to eat meat buns but she can't bear to buy the soft lamb ones. Come here tomorrow and buy a few of your buns for her to try."

Shen Yu smiled and asked, "Uncle, I will set up a stall here tomorrow. What time will you come? I will save it for you first. If you are late, I am afraid it will be gone."

The old man looked at the rising sun and said with some embarrassment: "My legs and feet are sensitive to cold. It's too cold in the morning so I can't go out too early. Can I come and get it at this time tomorrow?"

The sun had risen by then, and it was so bright that it was blinding.

It’s getting late, and the food stalls will be closed soon.

Shen Yu saw that the old man had difficulty walking, so he guessed that his home should be not far away, so he simply asked: "Old man, you see, the sun has risen, and soon the caravans from the market will come in and out in large numbers, and this place will be given up. I can't wait for you here all the time. How about this, where do you live? If it's not far away, I will close my stall tomorrow and send it to you.

The old man was a little disappointed at first when he heard that Shen Yu was in a hurry to close the stall and couldn't wait for him to come over. Unexpectedly, Shen Yu said that he was willing to send it over after closing the stall. His face showed surprise and gratitude.

He introduced himself gratefully, "Thank you very much, young lady. I live in Hulu Lane on the street in front of the market. It's the third house from the entrance of the lane, Yang's house."

Shen Yu asked in detail how to get there. It turned out that Huluhulu Lane was not far from here. It was just across an alley from Willow Lane. The alley was like a big-bellied, crooked-mouthed gourd. It had a small entrance but a large interior, so people called it Hulu.

Shen Yu wrote down the address. Old Man Yang insisted on paying for the buns first. He took out his purse, counted out the money for five buns, and handed it over.

Shen Yu originally wanted to collect the money after the buns were delivered tomorrow, but Li next to him was quick to reach out and take it, agreeing without hesitation.

Seeing this, Shen Yu had no choice but to give up. After Uncle Yang paid for the buns, he picked up the lotus leaf bag with confidence and walked away slowly with his crutches.

Shen Yu and Li began to prepare to close the stall. The old woman at the porridge stall next to them said enviously, "Girl, your buns are really good. It only took a short while and they were all sold out. You must have made a lot of money."

Shen Yu said modestly: "Aunt, I didn't prepare much today, so I sold it out quickly. I didn't make much money, but it's just hard-earned money to support my family."

The old man at the porridge stall said happily, "Girl, your buns are selling well, and my porridge stall has benefited from it. I sold more than ten bowls of porridge today. You must come back to set up shop tomorrow."

Shen Yu nodded in agreement, and he and Li dismantled the table and moved the empty buckets into the car.

The old man watched from the side and kindly gave advice: "Girl, you don't have to push the firewood and water from home. They are heavy and unstable. Every day at 3:00 pm, people push carts to the market here to sell water and firewood. A large bucket of water only costs a few coins. There are both firewood and coal. Firewood is cheaper, while coal is more durable but more expensive. You can buy either one, which is very convenient."

After hearing this, Shen Yu said to the old man gratefully: "Thank you for your advice, uncle. It would be much easier if I didn't have to bring some water from home."

The old man said enthusiastically: "Do you want water tomorrow? If so, I will tell Zhang Wu, the water seller, and he will wait for you to come over."

Shen Yu agreed without thinking. At this time, all the equipment for setting up the stall was packed up, and the family pushed the cart back home.

When they arrived at Willow Alley and entered the yard, Li parked the car and breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat off her head with her sleeve, looked at her three children, and said with emotion, "We are finally home. I still feel like I am dreaming. I didn't expect our buns to sell so well."

Shen Yu had been tense since he started setting up his stall. As soon as he got home, he relaxed and suddenly felt sore all over.

The family closed the gate, went into the house, and sat on low stools around the table, not wanting to move at all.

After resting for a while, Shen Yu felt thirsty and hungry. He stood up, took the teapot and bowls, and poured a bowl of cold tea for everyone.

Just after picking up the bowl and taking a sip, Li cried out, put down the bowl and ran out of the house.

The three siblings looked at Li in confusion as she ran out like a gust of wind, rummaged through the cart, and then came back in hurriedly holding a wooden box, with a very happy look on her face.