157, Spring of the Second-Rate

"Xiaofang, which window did you buy these meat buns from? They look so good."

In the staff cafeteria of the state-owned factory, a table of young girls were eating together. They were all unmarried and financially independent women. They would not treat themselves badly at all. Everyone ordered both meat and vegetables, which looked very rich.

Only one of the girls had two buns in front of her, which seemed a bit simple.

But these buns were a little different from the ones you usually see. They were snow-white, small and exquisite. The two buns seemed to be printed from a mold. From the size to the folds on the buns, they were exactly the same.

This girl named Xiaofang was the short-haired girl who accused Yan Chu of selling unfair buns in the morning.

She ate two buns for breakfast. She originally planned to take the remaining ten buns home to share with her family in the evening, but she couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food. In the end, she asked the chef in the cafeteria to heat up two of them. She planned to take these two buns for lunch at noon today.

Xiaofang looked at the buns in front of her with reverence, as if she was eating high-end Western food.

She stretched out her hand and tore the bun skin, and a burst of hot air, the aroma of the bun noodles mixed with meat filling, dispersed with the white mist.

Her friends who were eating braised pork and chicken legs at the same table, smelled the fragrance of the buns, and suddenly felt that the delicious food in their mouths was a little tasteless.

What kind of buns is this? Just smelling it is better than the food on the table?

******

Such scenes occurred in several corners of the cafeteria, including those who bought buns and went home at night, such scenes also appeared on their dining tables. Soon, the news that a delicious but very expensive bun stall opened outside the state-owned factory spread at an exponential rate.

As famous as the taste of the buns is the face of the bun stall owner. It is said that he is beautiful and you can buy a bunch of buns without knowing it.

Yan Chu knew that anyone who had eaten his buns would become his repeat customers, but he never thought that his business would be so good. When he opened the stall the next morning, many people were already waiting outside the State-owned Factory.

Seeing him appear, the owners of the other three small food stalls outside the State-owned Factory looked at him with resentful eyes, as if he had done something that angered people for many days.

"It's him, my niece said, the most handsome one is him."

The bun stall was quickly surrounded by people, and they all talked about it, accusing him of not being dedicated as a boss, why did he open the stall when the sun was so high, not like a real businessman.

Yan Chu couldn't say that his original body's laziness was too strong, and he had to sleep well before he could come out to make money. All he could do was to open the lid of the steamer to let the fragrance of the buns spread out.

Sure enough, after doing this, no one blamed him, but just kept urging him to move faster and buy buns.

They may all be repeat customers who have tasted the food. Basically, few people buy one or two buns today. Most of them buy five or ten. They are very quick to pay and give change. No one has any objection to the price of 25 cents for buns.

"Are the buns here really that delicious?"

There are so many people outside the factory that it has almost become a strange landscape. Naturally, there are those curious people who come to watch the fun.

"It's delicious. I bought ten buns yesterday and took them home. My picky kid at home ate them so much that he cried. My wife said that I should buy more today, otherwise the little ancestor will make a scene."

A dark-skinned, tall and strong man said to the person asking the question, and bought ten more buns.

He couldn't help eating four of the ten buns yesterday. He didn't eat them today and took them home for his son and daughter.

The buns tasted really good, but they were really expensive. The same price could buy two buns from other shops. Even though he had a high-level job and could get more than 100 yuan a month, he couldn't afford to eat these buns every day. He decided to let the children have a good time and satisfy his craving every now and then.

Almost everyone who was asked had a similar reply. Hearing so many people praise the buns as a delicacy, it seemed that if they didn't buy them, they would be sorry for their high salary as workers. If they didn't buy a few for their parents, wives and children, they would be cold-blooded and selfish.

Some people who were still watching were embarrassed to just watch, and with the smell of the buns that went straight into their noses, they also paid to buy a few to taste.

At worst, if it doesn't taste good, they won't buy it again.

Of course, once you have tasted the buns, you will fall into this bun pit and probably won't be able to climb out again.

Because of yesterday's experience, Yan Chu specially made 100 more buns, but 250 buns were still sold out in more than 20 minutes. Looking at the empty steamer, those who didn't buy buns wanted to tie up this handsome boss and make him make some buns on the spot before leaving.

"Boss, please make more buns tomorrow. There are more than 1,000 workers in our factory, plus the Municipal Party Committee School nearby. You have to make at least thousands of buns to sell them."

"That's right, just smelling the smell makes us greedy, your business is not honest."

Yan Chu glanced at those who asked him to make thousands of buns to sell. Just mixing the stuffing and kneading the bread for these two hundred buns and steaming them in the pot would take him several hours. Thousands of buns, he can only say it when he becomes a tentacle monster.

Yan Chu was quite satisfied with his current income, and he decided to sell 250 buns every day in the future.

To become the king of meat buns, one must be a bit cool, and things are precious because they are rare, so Yan Chu made such a happy decision.

Under the persuasion and pleading of everyone, Yan Chu came and left in a hurry, and the bosses of the other three breakfast stalls finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They unexpectedly found that their business was better than before today. Those workers who didn't buy Yan Chu's buns were too lazy to go to the canteen to buy breakfast. It happened that the things in their small food stalls were relatively novel, and the prices were not much different from those in the canteen. The most important thing was that they didn't need food coupons and meat coupons, so they chose to consume at these stalls.

The mood of the three bosses changed from jealousy at the beginning to relaxation and pleasure now. They prayed in their hearts that the strange meat bun stall would be here for a long time. Of course, the number of meat buns should not be too large. They were responsible for gathering popularity every day, and then sold out in half an hour and left. By then, those who didn't buy buns would be cheap for them.

This ending of "you eat meat and I eat soup" cleverly dissipated the hostility of these natives towards Yan Chu, which Yan Chu had not thought of before.

******

Yan Chu rented a relatively old courtyard in the city, a three-courtyard style with a small courtyard, and the monthly rent was only 16 yuan. Because it was a single-family house, there was no need to worry about being disturbed. Almost at first sight, Yan Chu took a fancy to this house and paid half a year's rent at once.

He planned to use this small courtyard as his base in the future, but it was a pity that he didn't have enough money to buy this courtyard now, otherwise it would be more comfortable to live in when the house belonged to him completely.

It has been half a month since his first day selling buns outside the state-owned factory, and the bun stall has also issued many new rules one after another.

For example, because the business is so good, the price of steamed buns has increased to 30 cents each. The sky-high price of steamed buns has reduced the number of people who scramble for them. Another example is that each person can only buy five steamed buns a day. Yan Chu's head is comparable to an engraving machine. He wants to wear more hats and change clothes to queue up again to buy again, but it is not feasible.

This rule has attracted resistance from some people. Why can't you buy more steamed buns with your own ability and money? Of course, such protests were recognized by the majority of customers after a wealthy small boss bought 150 steamed buns in one go for his daughter's wedding banquet, resulting in many people not being able to eat the steamed buns of Meat Bun Pan An that day.

Meat Bun Pan An is the nickname given to Yan Chu by customers based on Tofu Xishi. Yan Chu himself does not admit this nickname.

Of course, there are countermeasures for every policy. There are always rich people in every era. Yan Chu stipulated that each person could only buy five buns. Those who had a large demand and were rich would pay a little more to buy from those who bought the buns. Some people also mobilized their entire family, including retired elderly people and children who had not yet gone to school, to gather outside the state-owned factory in the morning.

Because his business was surprisingly good, Yan Chu was soon noticed by others.

These days, most people look down on self-employed people, but there are still a few people who recognize the existence of self-employed people.

Based on Yan Chu's hot business, they calculated an account for him.

How much is the net profit of buns? Anyone who has made buns knows that usually a meat bun sells for 1.5 cents. If it is pure meat filling, the profit is about 4 cents. Yan Chu's buns are expensive. Even if he uses better raw materials than others, according to the current price of 30 cents per bun, he can at least make 1.5 cents for each bun.

He sells 250 buns a day, which means he has a net profit of 37.5 yuan a day. Many people think his profit may be higher. The net profit of more than 30 yuan is still an underestimation.

Nowadays, young people in their twenties working in factories earn about 50 yuan, while Yan Chu, who is about the same age, can make a net profit of more than 1,000 yuan a month with his bun stall.

What a concept. He can buy a bicycle, a watch, and a radio by selling buns for a month. He can buy a house with a small courtyard in the city by selling buns for a few months.

Marrying him is not just marrying a man, it is marrying a mobile gold mine.

Besides, this gold mine is very handsome, otherwise he would not be called a meat bun Pan An. He is rich and handsome. Except for the unpleasant reputation of being a self-employed person, he has no disadvantages.

Therefore, many people have taken a fancy to this bun stall owner who admits that he has not yet married, and are thinking about how to match him with their own girls. Look, today's buns have just been sold out, and an old lady is ready to attack.

"Today's buns are sold out, I may not be able to sell buns for a while."

Before the old lady opened her mouth, Yan Chu's words blocked the question she had not yet asked.

"Why don't you sell buns anymore? Is there something wrong at home?"

Many people are used to eating the buns from Yan Chu's bun stall every day. Suddenly, without this delicious supply, they feel that they can't get motivated to work and panic.

"That's right, my grandson has chosen your buns. He doesn't like anything else. Tell me if you have anything. Your son works at the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Maybe he can help you."

The people who bought the buns and didn't leave surrounded Yan Chu. The old lady who wanted to match her granddaughter with Yan Chu was outnumbered and was immediately squeezed aside by the crowd.

"Nothing, I just made some money in the past half month. It's tiring to make buns. I plan to go home and rest for a while. When the money is gone, I will come back again."

Everyone imagined many possibilities, wondering if something big happened to this guy's family, such as a relative who was sick or died, or his parents asked him to go back and get married, etc., all the possibilities that can be imagined were thought of.

Never expected that he actually made enough money and felt that making buns was too tiring. He planned to sell buns again when the money ran out.

The people around him were petrified immediately, and the corners of their mouths twitched for a long time. There was nothing to say about this answer.

"You kid, who complains about having too much money."

In this era, labor is beautiful, and hardworking people are the most respectable. No one has ever been able to say laziness so confidently.

"Don't worry, I spend money very quickly. I may show up again in half a month."

Yan Chu comforted his customers very kindly. In fact, money is sometimes very important, and he was serious about this comforting words.

This consolation didn't work at all. Everyone was shocked by Yan Chu's eccentricity. In the end, when Yan Chu walked away from them and pushed his cart away, they couldn't get out of Yan Chu's strange train of thought.

The old lady who just wanted to match Yan Chu with her granddaughter gave up her thoughts after hearing his words, and was glad that she was interrupted by Yan Chu before she said anything.

Although this meat bun Pan An can make money, he is not a material for living. He just made some money and wanted to be lazy. He also said that he spent money very quickly. Such men are all prodigals. They are good in dating, handsome and willing to spend money on their partners, but if they really live, they will be pissed off by him.

The old lady looked at Yan Chu's back, which had already run away, and sighed for a long time. What kind of parents are these to raise such a prodigal son.

******

The prodigal son's parents are at the entrance of the village at this moment, watching the son who was carrying chickens and ducks and a big backpack and walking towards the village from outside.

The second son of the Yan family came back from the city after eating and drinking for free. This news spread quickly throughout the village like a tornado.

During the half month that Yan Chu was away, everyone was betting on when Yan Chu's friend would be fed up with him and drive him back.

Some people bet for three days, some bet for a week. Everyone felt that no one could tolerate their friends eating and drinking for free and not working, even the best friends. Therefore, many villagers felt that Yan Chu would not stay in the city for long and would come back.

But who knew that Yan Chu broke the record. This time he was away for a full twenty days. The villagers have been talking about how rich Yan Chu's friend must be to tolerate him eating for free for such a long time.

Now Yan Chu is back, carrying chickens, ducks, fish, and a big backpack with unknown contents. The villagers have to come to see the excitement.

"Mom and Dad, this is my filial piety to you."

Under the gaze of the villagers, Yan Chu handed the chickens and ducks that had been killed and plucked to Old Lady Yan.

"This is what my good friend gave me. I'm too lazy to cook it. I'll ask my sister-in-law to cook it and I'll eat it ready."

In the eyes of everyone who distrusted him, Yan Chu reluctantly changed his statement. Sure enough, the villagers, including his parents, finally showed understanding and relief on their faces.

"Don't worry, little brother. I promise to put enough ingredients. You don't have to worry about anything."

Jiang Dani really didn't expect that her brother-in-law would come back with chickens and ducks as he said before he left. The duck looked very fat. It was estimated that it had been raised for a long time. It would definitely be nourishing to make soup when it was time.

A chicken, a duck, and two fish, these things are enough for the family to eat for several days.

At this time, Jiang Dani couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that her brother-in-law was lazy. These ingredients were cooked at her house, and everyone in the family could benefit from it. Thinking of the big hen that died unjustly, Jiang Dani finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Second Yan, what have you been doing in the city these days?"

The villagers used to be fed up with this second-rate guy, but now that he hasn't been making trouble in the village for such a long time, they still miss him a little. Of course, this is also related to the banner Yan Chu received before, which has washed away his image in the hearts of the villagers.

Now, in the eyes of the villagers, he is just a little bit bad, not really bad, and they no longer hate him as much as before.

"I'm making money in the city."

Yan Chu walked towards his eldest brother's house, and the old men and women in the village who didn't have to work in the fields and the little brats followed him to Yan Aiguo's house.

They had never been to a place as far as the city, and wanted Yan Chu to tell them whether the city was particularly lively, whether the houses there were six or seven stories high, and whether the city people could drink a bowl of soy milk.

As for Yan Chu's words that he made money in the city, the villagers didn't believe it.

"Yes, yes, you made money, and you brought honor to the Yan family." The villagers responded perfunctorily, and then urged him to talk about the city.

How could a second-rate person make money? I'm afraid he would flatter himself after eating and drinking for free.

But they wanted to hear about the situation in the city, so they were embarrassed to expose Yan Chu's lies, thinking of letting this second-rate person be proud and satisfy his vanity.

Yan Chu talked for an afternoon, and the villagers listened, and the atmosphere was happy.

*****

"Mom and Dad, Big Brother and Sister-in-law, I really made money in the city."

After dinner, Jiang Dani sorted out the duck bones piled up on the table. Old Lady Yan helped, while the others sat to digest the food.

She didn't cook the chicken and two fish today, fearing that the good things would be eaten up in one day.

But the whole family was very happy with just the duck, including the two-year-old Yan Chuansi, who drank some soup and his eyes narrowed into small moons.

Yan Chu took out a bunch of money that he had exchanged for whole bills before coming back and put it on the table, saying seriously.

Old Man Yan stood up suddenly, closed the windows and doors, and looked at his youngest son with despair.

"Tell me, who did you rob in the city!"