Chapter Forty-Three: A Bountiful Harvest

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The young woman’s surprise turned to delight, and she finally realized that Xiao Yao had been teasing her.

“Since you’re not going to hold it against me, I might as well take a little more advantage.” The young woman leaned over and planted another kiss on Xiao Yao’s other cheek. With a laugh, she said, “You’re already such a flirt at your age. What will you be like when you grow up? Big Sis has to get to work, so I won’t keep you from your business any longer. I wish you great success. Bye-bye.”

After saying that, the young woman hurried out of the noodle shop. She took out her phone and immediately made a call.

“Hey, are you up yet? Don’t say your big sister doesn’t think of you when there’s something good going on. Xiao Siqi and Bayi are selling food at the noodle shop in the market across from our neighborhood. If you want to see them, get out of bed and come over right away. Why? Obviously they’re filming a task for Dad, Where Are We Going? Otherwise, would they be bored enough to come sell noodles? I don’t know how long they’ll be there. If you want to see Bayi, hurry up. I have to get to work. That’s all. I’m hanging up.”

Xiao Siqi noticed the shop owners staring at the young woman in astonishment as she left. Worried that they might be displeased, he quickly waved his hand again and announced loudly, “We’re here to help the owners sell their food, not to hold a meet-and-greet. Please treat us like ordinary people and just buy your food as usual. We’re sorry, but we can’t accommodate requests for autographs, photographs, or conversations. Everyone has work or school to attend, and it wouldn’t be good to be late or have your affairs delayed. Of course, you’re free to take photographs, but please observe two rules. First, don’t interfere with our work. Second, don’t disturb other customers. We appreciate your cooperation. Thank you.”

Having finished, Xiao Siqi looked toward the third customer standing before him, a young man.

“What can I get you?”

The young man awkwardly lowered his phone and ordered, “Two steamed buns, two fried dough sticks, and two meat pies.”

“All right. Here you are. Please pay over there. Thank you.”

Xiao Siqi swiftly packed the food and handed it to the man before calling out over his shoulder, “Next!”

“Four dollars and forty cents. Thank you for your patronage.”

Xiao Yao deftly accepted the money and gave the customer his change.

After Xiao Siqi’s announcement, business finally began moving at a faster pace. On the one hand, the celebrities had made their position clear; on the other, the morning rush really did leave little time to spare.

After about an hour of frantic work, the long line outside the shop finally disappeared. Another half hour passed, and at nine in the morning, the shop at last became completely quiet.

The task period had ended. The owners, their faces filled with delight, began taking stock of the shop’s goods. They had made plenty of steamed buns, mantou, and flower rolls, all of which could serve as breakfast or as staple foods for lunch and dinner, and there were still some left. The fried dough sticks and sesame balls, which were strictly breakfast items, had almost completely sold out.

Perhaps many customers had come with the intention of testing or deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Yao. When buying food, they had instinctively purchased several different varieties. As a result, even the large twisted crullers, which rarely sold in the morning, had sold quite a few that day.

The couple roughly calculated how much food had been sold, while Xiao Yao sorted out the money and brought it over.

“Boss, we made a total of one thousand two hundred thirty-nine dollars and eighty cents this morning. Adding the two hundred thirteen dollars and fifty cents in change that was in the cash box when I took over, that makes one thousand four hundred fifty-three dollars and thirty cents in all. Please count it.”

“That much?” The shop owner was overjoyed.

Normally, their entire morning’s revenue amounted to only seven or eight hundred dollars. Yet by nine o’clock, they had already made half again as much as they usually did in a full morning. The celebrity effect really was extraordinary.

The shop owner could not help congratulating himself inwardly on his wise decision. At first, when the production crew had approached him about borrowing the shop so the celebrities could experience ordinary life and help sell noodles, his wife had worried that the stars would be too proud to work properly and might hurt the shop’s business. After all, the time slot requested by the program coincided exactly with the morning rush, which accounted for more than half of the shop’s daily revenue.

He, however, had thought that appearing on television would itself be a form of advertising. Even if they lost half a morning’s business and a few hundred dollars in earnings, it would still be worthwhile. So he had insisted and eventually persuaded his wife to agree.

“No need, no need.” The owner smiled as he accepted the cash box. “I watched you collect the money just now. You kept the accounts clearly, so there certainly won’t be any problem.”

He had been in the business for more than a decade. A quick glance at the goods in the shop had been enough for him to estimate the approximate revenue, and it matched the figure Xiao Yao had reported.

“Now that the work is finished, and you seem quite satisfied, Boss, what about our ingredients?” Xiao Siqi asked.

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“Oh, right, right. We still have to give you the food.”

The owner slapped his forehead and called toward the kitchen, “Honey, are the customers’ things ready?”

“Huh?”

Chen Min stepped forward and said to the owner, “Boss, weren’t we supposed to give them the same things you sell in the shop? Why did you prepare something extra?”

“They are the things we sell here.” The owner pointed cheerfully at the food in the shop. “It’s all the same food. But the things outside have been sitting there for quite a while and have gone cold. How could I ask them to eat cold food? It’s bad for the stomach. Besides, we normally make several batches throughout the day and sell them as they come out. Choosing some freshly made, piping-hot food for them doesn’t violate our agreement, does it?”

“It doesn’t violate it,” Chen Min said with a wry smile, “and we appreciate your kindness. But they’re taking this food to the grasslands to make lunch. It’s hot now, but by lunchtime, won’t it be cold anyway?”

“That’s true.” Xiao Siqi nodded. “Why don’t you just give us some of the food that’s already displayed? You can keep the freshly made batch to sell.”

“How could I do that?”

The owner widened his eyes and shouted toward the kitchen, “Honey, do we have any insulated lunch containers in the shop? Put the food in those. They’re saving it to eat for lunch.”

“No, no.” Xiao Siqi hurriedly refused. “Boss, our schedule is already arranged. We won’t have time to come back here and return the containers.”

“Return them? Two insulated containers aren’t worth much. Consider them a gift.”

The owner waved his hand generously, then turned to Chen Min.

“You said I couldn’t give them extra food, but you never said I couldn’t give them insulated containers, right?”

“All right.” Chen Min smiled helplessly. “Do as you please.”

Looking at the broad-minded shop owner before her, she certainly had no intention of stepping forward to play the villain.

Before long, the owner’s wife came out carrying two stainless-steel insulated containers, each with a capacity of two liters.

She handed them to Xiao Siqi and said, “Six steamed buns and four meat pies, all with meat, packed to the brim. That should be enough for you and your son.”

“Oh, that’s a lot. How could we possibly finish all that in one meal? Half would be enough.”

As he spoke, Xiao Siqi tried to hand one of the containers back.

“Take it. How could you not finish it? The child is growing and needs to eat his fill.”

The owner’s wife pushed the container back toward him.

“Besides, don’t you have other people with you? If you really can’t finish it, ask them to help. It’s a pity I only have these two containers. Otherwise, I’d pack enough food for five families and send it along with you, so all you celebrities could taste our cooking.”

Faced with the couple’s overwhelming warmth, Xiao Siqi had no choice but to thank them repeatedly and accept the food.

Just as Xiao Siqi was about to say goodbye to the shop owners and leave with Xiao Yao and the production crew, Xiao Yao suddenly spoke up.

“Uncle, Auntie, why don’t we take a picture together? You can have it developed and hang it in the shop. Your business will definitely become even better than before.”

“Right, right.” Xiao Siqi also caught on. “Boss, how many megapixels does your phone have? Will the pictures come out clearly enough? You should have the photograph enlarged.”

How could the owner of a noodle shop in a general market have any awareness of such things? He stared blankly and said, “I have no idea.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone.

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Xiao Siqi glanced at the owner’s phone and frowned. Clearly, he was not very confident in the quality of the photographs it would produce.

“I’ll do it.”

Liu Shanxing from the production crew stepped forward.

“I’ll take the picture with my camera. I have a spare memory card, and I’ll leave it with you afterward. Take the card to a photography studio or photo-processing shop on the street and have them print it. Don’t worry. A memory card isn’t worth as much as your insulated containers.”

“Good. Let’s do that. Thank you, Big Liu.”

Xiao Siqi agreed.

After Xiao Siqi and Xiao Yao took a photograph with the shop owners and thanked them repeatedly, they finally left the noodle shop with the production crew and headed to the gathering point designated by the program.

The five families’ tasks had begun and ended at the same time. Since taking the photograph had cost them a little time, by the time Xiao Siqi and his son reached the gathering point, the other four families had already completed their tasks and returned to wait for them.

“Judging by the way you look, business must have been very good,” Zhao Tao said, looking at Xiao Siqi’s exhausted expression.

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t stop for an hour and a half. I didn’t even have time to drink a mouthful of water.”

Xiao Siqi smiled bitterly as he complained.

“Seriously?” Sun Zhihao said with a laugh. “We were just talking about it. Everyone else’s business was terrible, and we had practically nothing to do. How did you end up so exhausted?”

“That noodle shop was originally a breakfast shop. There was practically a constant stream of customers.”

Xiao Siqi smiled bitterly.

“You certainly picked a good one,” Zhou Lixing said gleefully.

“But why are all of us carrying our things in plastic bags, while you’re the only one carrying two insulated containers?”

Lin Shaohua looked curiously at the containers in Xiao Siqi’s hands.

Xiao Siqi glanced at the plastic bags carried by the other four and smiled.

“You get what you put in. These are steamed buns and meat pies. The insulated containers will keep them warm, so we won’t even need to prepare lunch later. We can just take them out and eat. It’s perfect, since I can’t cook anyway. I won’t have to find anyone to share a meal with.”

The others looked at the vegetables, fruit, raw meat, and braised dishes in their own plastic bags. None of those things could be eaten directly as lunch the way Xiao Siqi’s food could. They either needed to be cooked or required some other staple food to go with them.

They could not help feeling envious of Xiao Siqi.

“If I’d known we’d end up with this kind of food, I should have gone to the noodle shop.”

Lin Shaohua let out a mournful sigh. Of the five men, he was the one who felt the most helpless about cooking after Xiao Siqi. The bag he was carrying contained nothing but raw pork.

“All right, everyone’s here. Let’s get moving.”

Chen Lei was absent, so Deputy Chief Director Xie Huan had temporarily taken over as host. He called out to everyone, “It’ll take about half an hour to drive from here to the grasslands.”