"Guowei, if these shengjian bao don't taste good, your bottle of Maotai that you've been saving for years might be in jeopardy!"
"Yeah, don't blame us for being rude then."
"Exactly, from last night till now, you've been hyping how tasty these bao are. I've got to taste them and see if they're as good as you say."
Jiang Guowei's three friends were intrigued by his constant praise for Huang Tao's shengjian bao and were really looking forward to trying them.
After all, Jiang Guowei had talked them up to the skies!
They had just arrived at the store entrance.
Jiang Guowei saw Huang Tao about to close up and felt a little nervous.
What's going on?
Why is he closing so early?
Could it be that on this opening morning, no one came by, so he's closing up shop early?!
That must be it!
Thinking that way, Jiang Guowei wanted to say something comforting but didn't know how, so he weakly asked, "Boss Huang, you're…"
"Oh… I'm getting ready to go to the kindergarten!"
Huang Tao noticed it was his neighbor next door, so he smiled and replied, then remembered what the other had said the previous day and politely asked, "You're here… to buy shengjian bao, right?!"
"Yes, I even brought three friends along to try them out!"
Xu Donglin, with his slicked-back hair, and the other two friends nodded at Huang Tao as a greeting.
Huang Tao politely nodded back, "Thanks, that's thoughtful."
"No need to thank among neighbors. Boss Huang, why don't you sell me all the shengjian bao you have left this morning? We have big appetites."
Jiang Guowei felt sympathetic towards Huang Tao for taking care of his child alone and wanted to support him.
Huang Tao didn't doubt him and apologetically said, "I only have 12 shengjian bao left."
Only 12 left?!
That makes sense!
On the first day of opening, it's surely better to make a smaller quantity.
Being conservative is good.
Jiang Guowei thought innocently.
"I'll take all 12 shengjian bao, please pack them for me."
After speaking, Jiang Guowei scanned the QR code to pay.
Holding the snack bag in his hand, he suddenly remembered another important matter.
He turned sideways and handed a bag to Xuanxuan, "Xuanxuan, here, Uncle brought you some snacks, take it…"
Xuanxuan didn't immediately take it but looked towards her dad, seeming to seek his opinion.
Understanding this, Huang Tao smiled and nodded, "Uncle gave it to you, so go ahead and take it…"
"Thank you, Uncle..."
Xuanxuan happily accepted the bag and didn't forget to thank him politely.
Because of this little offering, Xuanxuan warmed up to Jiang Guowei, "Uncle, let me tell you, this morning a lot of grandmas, grandpas, uncles, and aunts came to buy dad's shengjian bao. My dad was so busy, he didn't even have time to drink water! I had to bring him some so he could drink!"
What?!
Too busy to drink water?
Jiang Guowei was momentarily stunned.
Could he have misunderstood?
He believed that Xuanxuan wouldn't lie.
It seemed he was overthinking it.
Curious, he asked, "Then how many shengjian bao did your dad sell this morning…"
"Not sure~ but Xuanxuan only knows that Dad made three big pots of shengjian bao!"
"Ah… made three big pots?"
Jiang Guowei was very surprised.
He had seen the flat pans used for making shengjian bao, each could hold about seventy or eighty of them.
So three pots would be around two hundred and forty!
Even if there were 12 left for him to buy and some were eaten for breakfast,
there would still be around 210!
Wow!
It's still early in the day, and they've sold such a quantity, even on opening day.
But with shengjian bao this tasty, selling out quickly is only a matter of time.
Still, it was unexpected for them to be this popular on opening day.
But it's great, really great.
He was genuinely happy for Huang Tao.
"Boss Huang, I heard from Xuanxuan that your shengjian bao sold really well this morning. Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
Huang Tao smiled as he handed the shengjian bao to Jiang Guowei, "I'll take Xuanxuan to school now. You guys enjoy..."
"Alright, see you later."
Jiang Guowei and his friends returned to the store and divided up the shengjian bao.
Xu Donglin, with his slicked-back hair, noticed the shengjian bao were small and popped one into his mouth in one bite.
At the moment the shengjian bao in my mouth was bitten through...
The crisp crunching sound distinctly echoed.
That was the sound from the teeth clashing against the bao's crispy skin.
Wow...
The skin of this shengjian bao is so crisp it crumbles!
The texture is just superb.
After the utmost crispiness, the soup inside the shengjian bao gushes into the mouth instantly.
It's filled with warm soup!
"Damn..."
He didn't expect such a small shengjian bao to contain so much broth.
And it's so delicious.
He couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Wow...
This shengjian bao is just too delicious!
Jiang Guowei looked at Xu Donglin's face full of satisfied delight, and couldn't help but sigh: no one can resist the charm of this shengjian bao!
He deliberately teased Xu Donglin.
"Donglin, this shengjian bao is tasty, right?"
Having tasted something so delicious, Xu Donglin stroked his slicked-back hair and happily responded.
"Mm, tasty, really exceptionally tasty."
"Guowei, look, your wife prepared breakfast for you, share two of your shengjian bao with me, will you?"
Xu Donglin was a bit sneaky, targeting the shengjian bao in Jiang Guowei's hands.
Darn!
I treat you as a friend, yet you covet my shengjian bao.
There were only 12 shengjian bao, divided among four people, so he only got 3.
How could he possibly share more with him!
Jiang Guowei stepped back repeatedly, looking at Xu Donglin with a face like "I can't believe you, Xu Donglin."
"Go, go, go, don't think about my shengjian bao, stick to eating yours."
"Tch, stingy..."
Not getting what he wanted, Xu Donglin turned his attention to the other two friends.
"Hey, you still have one, can't finish it? If you can't, it's okay, I can help you eat it."
"Who the hell can't finish it, I could eat even more! Donglin, if anything, why don't you let me eat the one in your hand..."
"No way, this one's mine..."
A few grown men almost fought to eat one more shengjian bao!
Just wanting to eat one more shengjian bao!
How is it so difficult...
Now everyone regrets one thing: they should have bought them earlier.
Chen Wenli came to the shop and saw how excited they were, feeling somewhat baffled.
Upon closer look, she realized they were fighting over the shengjian bao.
Who would have thought these guys who usually "feast together" would "fight like men" over a serving of shengjian bao.
...
Huang Tao rode his electric bike, with Xuanxuan, heading towards the kindergarten.
Xuanxuan, with her big round eyes, turned to her father, "Daddy, is there going to be rain today? Let me tell you, there's going to be a heavy rainstorm, the teacher said, on days like this, you need to pick up the kids at noon, remember to pick me up at noon!"
Huang Tao looked up at the autumnal clear sky.
In this weather, rain would be surprising!
This little one is making excuses again, wanting him to pick her up early.
He couldn't help but smile: "Today's weather is great! What if it doesn't rain at noon?"
Xuanxuan blinked: "Then Daddy, maybe you can... call the weather forecast uncles~"
She's planning for the weather bureau to induce rain!
He remembered mentioning artificial rain to Xuanxuan before; he didn't expect her to recall it.
He was amused: "But the weather forecast uncles are very busy, what if they're too busy to take my call?"
"Then... we'll just have to forget about it."
Xuanxuan, deflated like an eggplant frozen by frost, reluctantly said: "Daddy, remember to pick me up early this afternoon!"
"Okay!"
As they talked, they arrived at the kindergarten gate.
"Xuanxuan, go on in, Daddy will watch you go inside..."
"Mm-hmm, goodbye, Daddy..."
Xuanxuan got off the bike and waved to Huang Tao.
After walking into the kindergarten gate, she politely greeted the teacher on duty and the little kids acting as etiquette angels: "Hello, teacher. Hello, classmates."
Seeing Xuanxuan enter the school, Huang Tao also rode away from the kindergarten on his electric bike.
He didn't return to the shop immediately but went directly to the market to get some more supplies.