A Small Business
Chang Wei, Liu Yan, and Zhao Xu were not particularly popular in their class, so Fang Chang’an had already expected that their “business” on the first day would not be very good. However, he was still surprised when the three of them came up after the second evening study session with less than a hundred buns sold in total.
Class Four was already nearing saturation, with pre-orders just over two hundred and seventy, a few more than yesterday. On Liu Cheng’s end, several classes had joined, and even Class Eight next door was involved, pushing the number past four hundred.
Adding in more than a hundred from Class One, the total had already surpassed nine hundred.
At this time, people still held relatively conservative views about spending money. Even in town, for most residents, eating out was considered wasteful and unnecessarily expensive. If a shop could keep this volume of business daily, it would be thriving even in the main street.
Yet, Fang Chang’an and his friends had to deliver all these orders at once. For a shop whose business was once bleak, such a workload was unprecedented.
Even Shen Mo noticed something was off and quietly asked, “Will you be able to finish in time?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Fang Chang’an shook his head, once again missing his phone—lack of instant communication was a major issue. “But compared to today, there are over a hundred more tomorrow. Since there’s no morning exercise, if we go early, we should make it.”
Shen Mo nodded. Seeing him a bit troubled, she didn’t bother him further and went back to her reading.
After evening self-study, Shen Mo tidied her desk, slung her backpack over her shoulders, waved goodbye to Fang Chang’an, and headed home with her aunt.
Cheng Mengfei, as usual, dropped her at her grandparents’ house. Before they even entered, they could hear a heated argument inside. Both the adult and the child tensed up immediately.
“Have you ever been there? Have you tried it yourself?”
“Is sitting in the office all day, drinking tea and reading the newspaper, really so impressive?”
“You—you people! Sitting in the office all day, sitting in cars, going from one meeting to another—what’s the point? Have you tried the food?”
“Why don’t you take your cadre friends to eat in the school cafeteria? Ask the principal to eat there! Would he?”
This was Shen Chengyan’s voice, more agitated and forceful than Shen Mo could ever recall. Then, an older man’s anger, barely restrained: “Just do what you’re supposed to do! Fulfill your duties!”
“And what exactly are my duties? Who defined them? I quit, I’m done! What duties do I have left?”
“Quit? Who approved your resignation, huh?”
“Whether you approve or not, I’ve resigned. Either I quit, or you fire me—say I’ve broken discipline, punish me! I don’t care anymore—I’ve spent half my life listening to you. I want to live for myself now!”
“I’m not a child, not a puppet, and certainly not your tool for fulfilling your own dreams!”
Cheng Mengfei parked the car, gave Shen Mo a look, and hurried inside. They ran right into Shen Chengyan storming out. When he saw his wife and niece, he paused, then forced a smile and said, “Mo-mo, you’re back?”
Cheng Mengfei tried to soothe him quietly, “Let’s talk this out calmly…”
“What’s there to talk about? Let’s go home!”
Shen Chengyan grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Cheng Mengfei called out, “Why are you pulling me? Dad, Mom…”
Peng Shuyu came out of the house, looking slightly helpless. She waved her hand and said, “It’s all right, go home for now and cool off.”
“No need to cool off. I’ve been calm for over twenty years!” Shen Chengyan declared before Cheng Mengfei could reply. She was helpless and said, “All right, we’ll go home first. Please talk to my dad, don’t take it to heart… Mo-mo, go inside.”
Peng Shuyu nodded, watching the young couple leave, then led Shen Mo back inside.
Shen Baoguo was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought.
Peng Shuyu patted her granddaughter’s head. Shen Mo blinked, walked over, and softly called, “Grandpa.”
Shen Baoguo looked at her, and his aged face brightened with a smile. He patted the seat beside him, motioning for her to sit.
Shen Mo came over and sat down. Under the lamp’s light, she studied her grandfather’s expression for a couple of seconds, then unexpectedly broke into a grin, a dimple appearing on her left cheek. “Grandpa, you’re not angry, are you?”
Peng Shuyu was taken aback and glanced at her husband of over thirty years. Even Shen Baoguo seemed surprised, putting on a stern face and pretending, “Who says Grandpa isn’t angry?”
Shen Mo wasn’t afraid at all. She clung to his arm and giggled, “I said so!”
The old man patted her head and finally broke into genuine laughter, then sighed and explained to the still-bewildered Peng Shuyu, “Of course I’m angry. How could I not be?”
“But I’m almost sixty, and Chengyan is nearly thirty now—at the age when a man should stand on his own. If he were still a child, then I’d really be worried!”
“Now… the children are grown, and parents can’t control everything anymore.”
Only then did Peng Shuyu relax, but she grumbled, “Then why did you get so worked up just now? You scared me and Feifei half to death. I thought you two were going to sever ties.”
“He wouldn’t dare!”
Shen Baoguo straightened his back, then slumped down again, leaning into the sofa with a sigh. “If I don’t lose my temper a bit, with his personality, how would he ever know what he’s doing? Without pressure, where does motivation come from…”
“His heart isn’t in the job anyway. If he wants to quit, let him.”
Peng Shuyu shot him a glare. “Making trouble for nothing!”
Shen Baoguo smiled faintly, clearly used to her scolding and not minding in the least. He muttered, “But all he does every day is mess around with stocks. Now suddenly he wants to do business—selling buns to students, even eating in the cafeteria himself…”
“How would I know?” Peng Shuyu poured a cup of hot water, set it on the table, then sat on the sofa and opened a copy of “On the Art of Literature,” making her stance clear that she wasn’t getting involved.
Shen Baoguo looked down and asked his granddaughter, “Mo-mo, do you know anything about this?”
Shen Mo blinked, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head vigorously. “No, I don’t.”
The old man smiled, “Really?”
She nodded hard.
He laughed. “Then who was that boy who had dinner with you all this evening?”
“Fang Chang’an!”
In the classroom, Fang Chang’an was still reading when Wang Ke suddenly poked him and whispered. When he turned to look, the girl said softly, “I’m going back to the dormitory first.”
“Not running today?” Fang Chang’an was a bit puzzled. Seeing her shake her head, a hint of unnaturalness on her face, and noticing that Zheng Lili beside her had also packed up quietly, he recalled Wang Ke had gone to the restroom during the break. With a flash of insight, he said, “All right, you go ahead.”
Wang Ke hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. She blinked in confusion, only to see Fang Chang’an hold up one finger, then another, making a gesture.
Wang Ke understood—she now owed him two nights instead of one. She pouted but said nothing, leaving with Zheng Lili.
Fang Chang’an watched her leave before lowering his head and continuing to read, muttering under his breath, “Twelve years old…”
The next morning, Fang Chang’an again went to ask Cheng Mengfei for leave from morning exercises. She looked at him, and Fang Chang’an felt awkward, thinking she might be annoyed he was making skipping exercises a habit. Fortunately, she only nodded without comment.
He then went to see Xu Jing, who merely reminded him quietly, “You’re not planning to let Liu Cheng skip every morning exercise with you, are you?”
“No, no,” Fang Chang’an quickly promised. “Just these few days.”
Xu Jing nodded. “All right, go on then.”
Fang Chang’an and Liu Cheng headed to the bicycle shed, where Chang Wei was already waiting. Liu Cheng asked in surprise, “Wei, when did you get here?”
“Been here a while,” Chang Wei replied with a curl of his lip.
“Doesn’t your teacher care?” Liu Cheng asked.
“If they care, so be it,” Chang Wei replied nonchalantly. Of course, he didn’t mention that their homeroom teacher happened to be absent today.
Nine hundred buns couldn’t be carried on just two bicycles. Last night, Fang Chang’an had found Chang Wei to ask him, Liu Yan, or Liu Cheng to help. Their “business” hadn’t gone well, so they were eager to prove themselves. Chang Wei volunteered to take the lead.
The three of them rode to the bun shop. The owners had already fried over six hundred buns, but even so, they hadn’t expected such a large increase and realized there wasn’t enough time.
Fang Chang’an told Liu Cheng to wait there while he rode to the shops in town, buying another hundred and fifty buns from several places. Together, they managed to scrape together just over seven hundred, barely enough.
They packed the buns into three large foam boxes. Chang Wei and Liu Yan helped secure them while Fang Chang’an paid and asked with a smile, “Uncle, if someone wanted to buy your whole shop, including everything you use, how much would it cost?”
The owner and his wife were both taken aback. The owner smiled and asked, “Why, are you planning to run it yourself?”
Fang Chang’an grinned. “I don’t have the time, and neither do my parents. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to steal your business; I’m just curious.”
The old man, not knowing Fang Chang’an’s intentions and unwilling to give a straight answer, replied vaguely, “It’s not worth much. What could it be worth? Business is only good now because you’re helping out. Before, we couldn’t even make a living.”
“It’ll get better, you’ll make more and more. I just worry you and Auntie will be too busy,” Fang Chang’an said, resting one foot on the bike pedal. As soon as he got up to speed, he swung onto the bike and waved. “We’re off!”
After riding a little way, Chang Wei asked, “Chang’an, the buns from the shops in town are smaller. What should we do?”
“Leave all those for our class. You guys take the bigger ones,” Fang Chang’an replied.
“Will your classmates be okay with that?” Liu Cheng wondered.
“It’s fine, just give them a couple more to make up for it.”
“Won’t we lose out then?”
“There’s no helping it. There are so many buns and only two people. Luckily it’s not winter yet. Even with foam boxes for insulation, the buns cooked earlier would be cold by now if it were cold out.”
As Fang Chang’an spoke, he saw Fang Ying riding toward them on her bicycle, clearly spotting them from afar. She called out cheerfully, “You’re early today!”
“Too many orders, can’t help it,” Fang Chang’an replied, smiling.
Fang Ying didn’t say more.
He waved again, “The shop’s just behind us. We’ll head off.”
“Okay!” Fang Ying replied, then rode on and soon found the bun shop.
The owners had been up since dawn making and frying buns, barely pausing all morning. Still, seeing more business, they hurried to greet her, “Want some buns? They’ll be ready in a moment.”
With yesterday’s experience, Fang Ying didn’t rush to order. She walked over to take a look. Two people were eating under the awning, and the buns here were definitely bigger than the ones in town.
“Looks like Fang Chang’an wasn’t lying,” Fang Ying thought, reassured. She asked, “Auntie, how much are the buns?”
“One dime each,” the owner’s wife replied with a smile. “Same price everywhere, but ours are a bit bigger.”
The owner lifted the lid to pour in the batter, and Fang Ying glanced into the pot. “They’re about the same size… If I buy a lot, can I get a few extra?”
The couple exchanged looks. The wife asked, “Are you a student?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She hadn’t even mentioned it, but the question came up, and she quickly nodded. Then the woman asked, “Which school?”
“Number Two Middle School,” Fang Ying replied, thinking she might get some sympathy as a student. She answered without hesitation, but the couple exchanged glances, looking uncertain.
The owner’s wife asked, “How many do you want?”
“Eighty.”
Although yesterday she’d been delayed and only got smaller buns, they still tasted better than the cafeteria food. Fang Ying had promised to bring the bigger ones today, so more classmates had signed up.
After giving the number, she quickly added, “I’m buying them for my classmates. I just want to earn a few extra buns so I can have enough to eat… Auntie, is that okay?”
The owner’s wife was about to refuse, but seeing her look so pitiful, she hesitated.
The owner glanced at Fang Ying’s new bicycle, her clothes and shoes. “We’re just a small business. If we give you extra, we lose money. It’s one dime each, can’t do more. Maybe try another shop?”