“Grandpa Wang, I have to give this to you. Given how close our families are, how can I just take advantage? If you don’t accept it, how will I have the face to visit you next time? Here’s three yuan, just give me some eggs at market price.”
“Uh…”
“Grandpa Wang, I can’t just take so many eggs without being bashful. Just sell them to me at market price. I can’t shy away from making money. If there are extra eggs, consider the extra money as my gift to you!”
In the end, Grandpa Wang accepted three yuan from Ye Qiu and gave him a bag of eggs, which were of course cheaper than the market price. Thus, Ye Qiu managed to borrow a small cart smoothly.
Ye Qiu placed the eggs on the cart and pushed it out, while Grandpa Wang warmly saw him off.
“Liangzi, this Ye Qiu is a really good lad, just like his mother said, he’s sensible and obedient. His mother told me recently that Ye Qiu is making plans to earn money, you should learn from him!”
Learn from Ye Qiu? Learn how he sleeps all day until dawn? Learn how he only eats two eggs a day?
Early the next day, Ye’s mother was busy preparing as usual.
Ye Qiu suggested, “Let’s take the bullock cart to the village entrance today. We have a lot of stuff, so it’s better to hire a cart and tow the small cart behind.”
“Sounds good, bring some flour along, there’s no worry about selling it.” Ye’s mother thought for a while and nodded in agreement.
Ye Xia and Zhou Caiyan, preoccupied with their thoughts, were startled when they heard the laughter coming from the kitchen and quickly scrambled out of bed.
The few people busy in the kitchen jumped when they saw Ye Xia suddenly appear. Ye Qiu thought of something and tilted his head with a smile, “Second brother, you didn’t go to work today?”
“Mom, it’s you guys selling pancake rolls on the street?” Ye Xia didn’t even look at the others and rushed in to rummage through the bamboo basket on the floor.
“Filling, pickles, I knew it was you! The taste of the pickles in those pancake rolls was so familiar!”
Ye Xia felt angrier the more he thought, “Mom, I’m also your son! You found a way to make money and only think of your younger son. Am I not your biological child?!”
“You all knew about this business, so you specially kept me, the one in the dark, out of it, didn’t you?!”
Seeing Ye Xia burst in angrily, Ye’s mother felt a bit guilty. Listening further, she thought it was strange; she was just selling pancake rolls, what’s there to feel guilty about?
Ye Qiu snickered at Ye Xia’s words and said bluntly, “Second brother, think reasonably. You’re the one who proposed splitting the family, and not just once. We’re just respecting your wishes.”
His direct remarks caught Ye Xia off guard, and he stammered, “I, I didn’t know…what’s up with the recipe then?”
“Recipe? I learned it from the educated youth, didn’t you scold me for giving away our home’s eggs and pancakes for free?”
What? So he had rejected an opportunity to make money for nothing!
Had he known this earlier, he wouldn’t have split the family!
It must be the third brother, he has always been crafty since childhood, and when he saw I was unwilling to do the hard work, he kicked me out!
For a moment, Ye Xia pushed all the blame onto Ye Qiu, “Oh, so it’s you, third brother! You knew this method could make money, and you figured out how to get me out, didn’t you? I think back and wonder why our family split; it’s obviously you who spoke ill of me to Mom!”
“Now I understand, you’re all in it together while I’m left out because I refuse to spend money on the third brother!”
Ye Xia believed the whole family was against him. After shouting, he slammed the door and left.
“That second brother is becoming more absurd in his actions!”
Ye Qiu calmed everyone down and sent them on their way.
After Ye’s mother set off, Ye Xia and Zhou Caiyan hurriedly ran to the village gate, painfully deciding to spend five dimes to hire a cart to the town.
Usually, the bullock cart costs just a dime, but it would only set off when there were enough passengers, and it might stop at other places along the way. Wanting to reach the town before Ye’s mother, they had no choice but to spend a fortune on hiring a cart.
Hurrying along, they arrived at the town just before Ye’s mother and found a corner to spy discreetly.
Over the past few days, everyone has been talking about how there are fresh pancake rolls in the town, not only delicious but also clean and hygienic. You can fill your stomach with just three cents, and the price is good so everyone is eager to try.
Watching the bustling stall, Ye Xia and Zhou Caiyan turned green with envy.
Zhou Caiyan exclaimed, “There are really so many customers!”
Each pancake roll costs three cents, and in just this short while, they’ve sold over a dozen, making them three yuan. How much could they potentially earn in a day?
Thinking about how his hard-earned salary for a month wasn’t even as much as what Ye’s mother made in just a few days of selling, Ye Xia grew furious, “Honey, since they’re not being kind, we can’t be merciful either. You’ve been home so long, and Mom and big sister can make it, you should know how by now, let’s set up a stall and sell pancake rolls too!”
Zhou Caiyan stiffly nodded, unable to admit that she hadn’t even washed a bowl in such a long time.
Making an egg pancake and wrapping some pickles shouldn’t be too hard, right?
At worst, they could buy some pickles from someone else. Can Ye’s mother’s homemade pickles really taste better than those sold in town?
In a state of agitation, Ye Xia didn’t notice his wife’s unnatural behaviour.
Ye’s mother was enthusiastically selling pancake rolls, completely unaware that two mice were secretly watching them from the corner.
In the factory, Li Da asked Ye Xia with confusion, “Ye Xia, taking leave again tomorrow?”
You know that just by coming to work every day, you can make an extra two yuan a month. No one frequently takes leave. Ye Xia was always called out for being lazy, but particularly over these past few days, he had been daydreaming during work hours, looking absent-minded.
“Have you heard of the pancake rolls?” Ye Xia asked proudly.
Li Da frowned, “How could I not? The pancake rolls you had last time were brought to you by me.”
“The woman selling pancake rolls is my mom!”
Li Da was puzzled, “Your family sells pancake rolls, and you want me to buy it for you?”