When Lin Chuxia arrived at the Su’s, Su Wensong had already cleaned up the yard, with the cart holding ingredients parked but not yet unloaded.
Seeing her arrival, Granny Su asked if she’d eaten breakfast and went on to make her some sugar water.
Lin Chuxia smiled as she took the water, “Granny, don’t fuss over me, I’ll be coming every day from now on.”
Granny Su knew today was the grand opening of the Bun Shop and, pointing to a covered plaque, said, “What do you think of this? That naughty boy brought it back yesterday and insisted that my writing isn’t as good as it used to be. It’s true I haven’t written in a long time.”
A couple of days earlier, they had discussed the name of the bun shop; Su Wensong volunteered to make the plaque himself, and Lin Chuxia trusted him fully, so she left the task entirely to him.
Lin Chuxia lifted the cloth, and below were five golden characters, “Qin’s Buns Shop”. The first two smaller characters were vertically placed; the words ’Buns Shop’ spread across the entirety of the plaque, but the most important part was the calligraphy…
She looked in astonishment at Su Wensong beside her, who smiled simply, saying, “My granny’s surname is Lou,” having not expected Lin Chuxia to recognize the writing.
Without her past life’s experiences, Lin Chuxia wouldn’t recognize the characters and would merely think they flowed beautifully with artistic grace.
But with memories from her past life, she clearly remembered an auction where an ancestral masterpiece by a female artist surnamed Lou, named Lu Huazhuo, pen name Yu Qiong, was sold.
It was revealed that, because of her name, her work was nearly destroyed once, and the elderly woman never picked up the brush again, making her paintings and calligraphy extremely precious. Back then, her calligraphy fetched sixty million from a collector.
It turned out Granny Su was indeed that talented and ethereal woman.
“Granny, your writing is absolutely beautiful, don’t listen to Brother Su. With your calligraphy, our Bun Shop is sure to be successful.”
“It’s good enough if Lin doesn’t mind,” Granny Su laughed happily.
“Of course, I don’t mind,” getting a Bun Shop sign named by Lou Huazhuo personally, Lin Chuxia couldn’t even imagine whether the storefront or the plaque would be more valuable in the future.
“What’s there to mind? Boss Lin, don’t mind me,” Granny Sun walked in from outside, joining the conversation with a chuckle, “Am I too late?”
“Not at all, we aren’t selling breakfast today, there’s still time.”
Since yesterday, Granny Sun had started working, cleaning the kitchenware, tables, and chairs tirelessly.
And she was indeed skillful at it.
Changing her role and perspective, her previous pettiness and scheming were nowhere felt; instead, she seemed straightforward and generous, carrying a rustic charm.
“That’s good; I’ll go pick some vegetables,” Granny Sun didn’t hold back.
She couldn’t sit still, which is why she was selling buns at her age.
Now with a proper job, although working without pay for the first month, the thought of earning a monthly salary thereafter was motivating.
Su Wensong and Lin Chuxia also began to get busy, unloading the cart, Su Wensong chopping the meat, Lin Chuxia and Granny Sun preparing the vegetarian stuffing.
Soon, Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin arrived.
After serving the buns stuffed with thin-skinned and large fillings to Lord Stove, the fire was lit.
The first batch of buns were steamed and ready by ten fifty.
Su Wensong installed the plaque, still draped with a red cloth, and hung firecrackers in front of the shop.
These preparations drew the curiosity of passersby.
At ten fifty-eight, the auspicious moment arrived, the firecrackers were lit, and amidst their crackling sounds, Lin Chuxia pulled off the red cloth covering the plaque.
Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin were illiterate, and when they heard people mentioning Qin’s Bun Shop nearby, they couldn’t express how they felt.
Su Wensong and Granny Sun also clapped their hands, looking at the woman in a white shirt and black trousers in front of the shop, feeling full of excitement and hope.
Lin Chuxia didn’t have much of an opening speech. She had already made a name for herself around the train station, and as soon as people knew it was her bun shop, they immediately started buying.
To give back to both new and old customers, for the first three days of opening, buy five get one free.
At the same time, the bun shop also introduced assorted cold dishes, along with millet porridge, corn porridge, and eight-treasure porridge, available to dine in at the shop anytime.
For those who didn’t like porridge, there was also free tea available in the shop, with exceptionally attentive service.
Granny Sun and Su Wensong also put on white over-sleeves, white chef hats, and tied on white aprons.
One selling buns at the window, the other busying inside the shop.
Wherever Lin Chuxia saw was understaffed, she went over to help.
At this moment, three people entered the shop from outside.
Li Jian pointed at the sign outside, “Qin’s Bun Shop, Boss Lin, you’ve got quite the setup here. I wish you prosperity in your business.”
Lin Chuxia hurriedly welcomed him, “Brother Li, you’re putting me on the spot here. Please come inside, what would you like to have? Today’s on me, thank you so much for coming to support us.”
Li Jian waved his hand, “No need, today I just came to try your buns. You’ve been selling them for so long, how many have I actually tried?”
Lin Chuxia followed with a laugh, “If Brother Li puts it that way, I definitely should treat you all. Please wait a moment, I’ll get you some food. We have side dishes in the store, I remember Brother Li and Brother Wang can drink a little, shall we get a bottle of er guo tou?”
Among those accompanying Li Jian was Wang Cheng, who had sold her the handcart.
Wang Cheng loved to drink, something Lin Chuxia had noticed when she bought the handcart from him.
Sure enough, as soon as he heard there was alcohol, Wang Cheng became much more amiable.
Lin Chuxia quickly prepared a dish of each side dish, grabbed a bottle of er guo tou, and three cups.
While setting up the table, she casually started a conversation, “This is my first time meeting this gentleman, may I ask how to address you?”
Li Jian took the wine bottle, poured drinks for a few people while responding to Lin Chuxia, “This is Director Hu, who’s in charge of wholesale and retail at our vegetable station. You think I had the power to give you discounted prices on vegetables? It’s all thanks to Director Hu.”
“Well, I didn’t realize I was in the presence of a great man. This humble shop today is simple, one day I must properly treat Director Hu.”
Director Hu nodded slightly, “Boss Lin, you’re too polite. Your Bun Shop already buys a significant amount of vegetables daily, giving you a discount on the vegetables is only right, as I’m just following the rules.”
Even though that was said, Lin Chuxia was well aware, the small amount of vegetables her Bun Shop bought wasn’t comparable to the larger sales stores.
She also understood that Li Jian bringing them over was an intentional gesture to help her make connections.
Just as they finished their pleasantries, familiar faces arrived at the shop—Sister Liu who sold sunflower seeds at the train station and Brother Chen who sold fruits.
Usually, these two never ate out, either going home to eat or having family bring them food. Their presence in the Bun Shop today was definitely to support her.
In addition to the shop’s discounts, Lin Chuxia also gave them a dish of cold appetizers.
From the opening of the Bun Shop at 11 AM, they kept busy until 2 PM before it finally started to slow down.
The buns were steamed as sold, and even so, the food prepared in the morning ran out quickly, indicating they might finish the business day by evening.
Seeing the good business, Su Wensong thought about restocking the ingredients again, but Lin Chuxia stopped him.