Chapter 19: You Must Be Rewarded

However—

Those two little rascals still sneaked after her.

When the twin boys stood at her stall, smiling and calling out, “Sister Vivi,” Lin Wei was truly at a loss for words.

“How did you two get here? My bike isn’t fast at all, I didn’t notice you following me the whole way. Your mom’s off today, didn’t she stop you?”

The brothers exchanged a glance, their faces full of pride. “Mom was catching up on sleep and didn’t even notice us sneaking out. Besides, we come here often. After we saw you leave, we followed the path all the way. When your bike stopped, we arrived too.”

“Wow, you guys are really something,” she said, then added, “and quite bold too.”

But since they had come, she wasn’t about to send the kids away now.

“All right, since you’re here, you might as well help me out.”

She pulled out four old enamel bowls and filled each with rice.

First, she spread a layer of meat sauce over the white rice, then laid a stir-fried cabbage cooked in pork fat on top.

Finally, she added two spoonfuls of braised pork, a boiled egg, and drizzled another layer of meat sauce before handing the bowls to the three children in front of her.

Lin Wei said, “You can’t just eat for free. Here’s a task for you three: take these enamel bowls and eat by the stock exchange building, but not right at the main entrance. They’ll chase you away there. Just by the flowerbed nearby, eat well. If anyone asks, just direct them to me.”

“Got it. We’ll complete the mission,” they said.

Just as Su Sijin was about to leave, he turned back and whispered beside her, “Sister Vivi, do you think I can take the food inside for a little walk? Wouldn’t that be even more effective? But I’m worried they might spill my food.”

“If you manage to get inside, and they spill it, I’ll serve you another bowl.”

Su Sijin’s eyes sparkled as he left.

The three kids headed toward the area by the stock exchange building’s entrance.

Following Su Sijin’s arrangement, the two children took positions at opposite corners of the flowerbeds, while he carried his bowl toward the entrance.

As expected, the security stopped him.

But no one knew what he said to the guard, because the security actually let him in, bowl in hand.

Lin Wei watched, excited. “This kid really knows what he’s doing.”

--

About six or seven minutes later, Su Sijin came out, carrying his bowl perfectly intact.

Several adults came out with him.

When Su Sijin pointed toward her—

Lin Wei knew business had arrived.

“That kid bought his boxed lunch from you, right? I wasn’t hungry, but the smell made my mouth water. How much for a bowl?”

“Eight yuan a bowl. Rice, vegetables, meat, and an egg. Not expensive.”

In 1990, eight yuan for a boxed lunch was quite reasonable. Not to mention, she used only quality ingredients. Considering the prices of the time, it wasn’t much different from later years.

“Is the portion the same as the kid’s?”

“The meat and egg are the same; the rice and vegetables can be a bit more.”

“Give me a bowl. I want to taste it.”

“All right.”

Lin Wei took out a disposable lunch box and filled it generously, following the same layering as before.

Seeing the ample portions, those waiting in line relaxed.

“This amount is good. Eight yuan isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it.”

“Try the flavor. A professional cook made it. I guarantee it tastes great.”

The man tasted it and immediately showed approval. “Delicious, really delicious. I was worried there’d be nowhere good to eat around here. Will you come again?”

“Yes, every day. One meat and one vegetable dish daily, but the menu will vary a bit, otherwise it gets boring after a while.”

--

With Su Sijin’s help, she sold several boxed lunches without paying much in wages.

After sending those customers off, her stall became quiet, but Lin Wei wasn’t worried; lunchtime hadn’t officially started yet, so business would come soon.

She planned to use the break to quickly eat her own lunch.

But unexpectedly, those who bought boxed lunches earlier went into the stock exchange building with their food. Soon, word spread and a crowd gathered, filling the small tricycle stall with people.

“Please line up, line up!”

Fortunately, with few ingredients and serving one order at a time, it didn’t become chaotic.

But just as she sold a few boxes, Zhang Min came over from nearby, mumbling angrily.

Seeing the three children eating safely by the stock exchange entrance, and Lin Wei busy at the stall, Zhang Min didn’t hesitate and walked up.

“Sorry, Vivi. Those two kids snuck out in the blink of an eye. I hope they didn’t cause you any trouble.”

“No trouble at all. Your kids really helped me a lot.”

--

“Really?” Zhang Min was surprised, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. She put down her bag and asked, “If there’s anything you need help with, Aunt Zhang is here. Don’t hesitate.”

“Aunt Zhang, can you help me collect the money?”

Lin Wei handed the bag at her waist to Zhang Min.

Zhang Min was clearly caught off guard. She hadn’t expected such trust from Lin Wei after such a short acquaintance, entrusting her with a bag full of money.

Considering the weight of the bag and the long line of customers in front—

She knew for sure Lin Wei’s business wouldn’t lose money.

--

With the two of them busy, the food in the four buckets was quickly gone.

Zhang Min hadn’t eaten when she arrived, so seeing only one portion left, Lin Wei stopped serving and gave the last portion to Zhang Min.

“Aunt Zhang, I saved some especially for you. You probably haven’t had lunch yet and must be starving.”

Zhang Min was indeed famished. She took the food gratefully and stopped being polite. “Thank you. Auntie was really starving, so I won’t be shy.”

She ate heartily, but didn’t forget to scold her two daring children.

“You two are something else, sneaking off without a word. Luckily, you didn’t cause any trouble for Vivi.”

“We wouldn’t do that.”

Lin Wei quickly explained with the leftover food. “Aunt Zhang, your kids really helped me a lot, especially Sijin. That kid’s clever—I have no idea what he said to the security guard, but not only did he sneak inside for a bit, he even brought out quite a few customers. I was just selling when you arrived.”

Before Zhang Min could ask, Su Sijin spoke up himself.

“The security wouldn’t let me in, so I told him my dad was inside and I was bringing him food. Once inside, there were no guards in the crowded areas. I held my bowl and quietly called out, ‘Dad, I bought you a boxed lunch by the stock exchange entrance. Where are you? It smells so good. If you don’t come out soon, I’ll eat it myself.’”

“Sister Vivi’s food smells amazing. After just a couple of laps, someone grabbed me and asked. I brought them out. Sister Vivi, I’m awesome, right?”

Su Si’an and Lin Yuan weren’t to be outdone. “Lots of people asked us too. We all pointed them to Sister Vivi’s stall.”

“Yes, yes, we did too.”

“Honestly, thanks to these kids, I didn’t expect to have such good business on the very first day. Looks like I’ll have to make more tomorrow,” Lin Wei said. Then she added, “No, you guys were so great today, I have to reward you.”