VFGRC Chapter 9

TL: Moonlit

Yu Bai is not stupid; he understands the principle that a tall tree attracts the wind.

Moreover, in front of his teppanyaki food cart, coincidentally, the snack carts selling sugar-coated haws and roujiamo sandwiches blocked his cart tightly. Yu Bai could guess what these snack vendors were up to.

It was nothing more than their inability to resist resorting to some tricks after seeing Yu Bai’s booming business with his teppanyaki at Sanjiaokou the previous day.

However, Yu Bai didn’t pay much attention to their tricks. Having worked as a chef for many years in his previous life, he had seen all sorts of tricks in the kitchen.

The fragrance of wine does not fear the depth of the alley¹means something of quality or value will eventually be recognized or appreciated, regardless of the circumstances or obstacles it may face. If his teppanyaki was delicious enough, then the students who had eaten it yesterday would eventually find his food cart at Sanjiaokou.

Even if his business suffered today due to a bad location for his cart, it didn’t matter.

As long as he arrived early at Sanjiaokou the next day to set up his cart, the other snack vendors wouldn’t be able to occupy his spot.

However…

It seemed that not all the snack vendors were displeased with his thriving business.

Yu Bai noticed that the vendor selling sugar-coated haws had slightly moved his cart to a vacant spot nearby.

Though the sugar-coated haws vendor only moved a short distance, it was enough for the students from Qingqiao High School to notice Yu Bai’s teppanyaki stall.

Yu Bai narrowed his eyes.

“Daddy, when will the sugar-coated haws melt?”

Xing Xing held the paper bag with both hands, lowering his head to focus on the sugar-coated haws inside the bag.

Yu Bai leaned in to take a look.

“They’re almost ready. Let me help you take out the sugar-coated haws.”

Yu Bai took out the sugar-coated haws, and Xing Xing, with his small hands still inside the bag, saw a strawberry peeking out of the opening.

The red strawberry was wrapped in a translucent, light yellow candy shell, shining brightly.

Xing Xing discreetly swallowed a small mouthful of saliva. He blinked his round eyes and then opened his delicate little mouth again.

Ahh!

The originally hard candy shell showed signs of melting, and with a little effort, Xing Xing easily crushed the thin layer of the candy shell.

Yu Dong had been selling sugar-coated haws at the fiercely competitive Sanjiaokou for many years. Besides having a knack for coating candy, he also had a pair of sharp eyes.

Every fruit he selected and turned into sugar-coated haws, be it hawthorn, strawberry, or blueberry, was juicy, sweet and sour, and perfectly sized. There wasn’t a single rotten or bad fruit.

The strawberry inside the sugar-coated haws was not completely frozen.

When Xing Xing bit into the candy shell, the sweet and slightly sour strawberry juice immediately filled his mouth, and the rich strawberry aroma permeated his oral cavity.

The combination of the tangy strawberry and the sweet candy shell removed any hint of cloying sweetness. The fruit’s refreshing fragrance delighted Xing Xing.

Xing Xing’s two round black eyes sparkled like lit light bulbs, shining brightly.

Strawberries are delicious! Candy is delicious! Strawberries and candy together are especially delicious!

Xing Xing took small bites, and in no time, he had completely devoured the strawberry on the sugar-coated haw.

But Xing Xing wasn’t in a hurry to eat another strawberry.

He gently tugged at Yu Bai’s clothes.

Yu Bai bent down and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xing Xing immediately held up the sugar-coated haws in his hand.

He eagerly said, “Daddy, hurry and eat the sugar-coated haws! They’re super, super delicious!”

How could Yu Bai refuse the offering from his beloved son?

“Alright.”

Yu Bai lowered his head and happily took a bite of the whole strawberry.

Xing Xing leaned in, “Is it tasty? Is it tasty? Is it really delicious?”

Yu Bai smiled and squinted his eyes, “It’s delicious, very sweet.”

Whether it was because this sugar-coated haw was fed to him by his adorable son or not, Yu Bai felt that this strawberry on his taste buds was especially fragrant and sweet. It was the most delicious sugar-coated haw he had ever tasted in both of his lifetimes.

Xing Xing raised his small chin, his smile showing a bit of pride.

Daddy is praising Xing Xing for picking delicious sugar-coated haws! Although Xing Xing has never eaten sugar-coated haws before, he managed to pick a tasty one on his first try. Xing Xing is really amazing!

However, even though the sugar-coated haws are delicious, they are just too big!

After struggling to eat two big strawberries, Xing Xing couldn’t eat anymore and could only watch as Yu Bai finished the remaining four sugar-coated haws in one go.

Yu Bai felt that when his son looked at the strawberry sugar-coated haws in his hand, there seemed to be a hint of regret.

Yu Bai rubbed Xing Xing’s head and asked, “What’s wrong? Haven’t you had enough sugar-coated haws? Shall I give you another one?”

“No, no, I’m already full,” replied Xing Xing, rubbing his round little tummy with his chubby hand.

Yu Bai asked, “Then why have you been staring at the strawberry sugar-coated haws?”

Xing Xing pouted, “Hmm… I was thinking, it would be great if the strawberries on the strawberry sugar-coated haws could become smaller.”

“Smaller?” Yu Bai laughed, “Strawberries are sweeter and juicier when they’re big and red. Smaller strawberries are usually not as sweet, and they wouldn’t taste good when made into sugar-coated haws.”

“But Daddy, you and I finished this big sugar-coated haw together. If other kids eat a sugar-coated haw by themselves, they won’t be able to finish it and will have to throw it away. That would be such a waste,” Xing Xing patted his little tummy, “We should save food!”

Yu Bai was a bit surprised.

He guessed that Xing Xing must have learned about “saving food” from a cartoon.

It’s easy for children to listen to a bunch of reasoning, but it’s not easy for them to apply it in their daily lives.

Yu Bai affectionately pinched Xing Xing’s soft and tender cheeks.

His Xing Xing seemed to be a little genius — at just three years old, he understood so many things on his own.

But that’s expected.

If his Xing Xing wasn’t smart, how could he, as described in the novel, build his own business empire in a life of poverty?

However, as smart as Xing Xing was, he was only three years old now, and his understanding of human relationships and limited knowledge was not like that of an adult with a mature mind. Exposing a child to be too wise for their age too early could be a double-edged sword.

Yu Bai just wanted to let Xing Xing grow up as normally as possible, like any other child, under the care of his parents.

—

As the time for the students of Qingqiao High School to finish school approached, Yu Bai started heating up the iron griddle, waiting for the arrival of the customers from Qingqiao High School.

But Yu Bai never expected.

The first customer he encountered on the opening day of his teppanyaki stall… turned out to be a parent from the neighboring Qingqiao Kindergarten?!

And this parent happened to be someone familiar to Yu Bai.

Yao Jia stood in front of Yu Bai’s teppanyaki stall, with a pleasantly surprised smile on her face. “So, you’re setting up a stall here? What a coincidence! I was just thinking of contacting you and taking a taxi to your stall with my son after he finishes school to buy two scallion pancakes! I didn’t expect to meet you right at the kindergarten gate!”

Yu Bai was astonished. “Your son goes to Qingqiao Kindergarten? Hasn’t the kindergarten already been let out? Why did you just come out? Where is your son?”

Yao Jia said, “Today, their kindergarten had an early New Year’s party, and every child and parent had to perform in their class. I was feeling suffocated inside, so I came out to buy a bottle of water to get some fresh air.”

As Yao Jia spoke, she bent down to look at the ingredients displayed on Yu Bai’s snack cart.

“What are you selling here? You aren’t selling scallion pancakes anymore?”

Yu Bai replied, “This is teppanyaki. We have teppanyaki skewers with meat and vegetables, as well as teppanyaki rice cakes, teppanyaki tofu… I still sell scallion pancakes!”

Yao Jia was decisive. “Then give me a serving of teppanyaki tofu and teppanyaki rice cakes. I’ll have them as a quick bite. When my son’s kindergarten party is over, I’ll come back to buy the scallion pancakes.”

With the previous success of Yu Bai’s meat and vegetable scallion pancakes, Yao Jia had full confidence in Yu Bai’s cooking skills now.

In her eyes, Yu Bai’s teppanyaki would surely taste just as good!

Yao Jia didn’t hurry to eat the teppanyaki. She bought a bottle of water along with the teppanyaki and hurriedly headed toward the kindergarten.

The owner of the stall selling roujiamo in front had been setting up his stall for a long time, but not a single customer came. He was sitting on a chair, enjoying himself, when he suddenly saw the teppanyaki stall behind him had already sold two servings of teppanyaki. He was so surprised that he almost fell off the chair, barely managing to keep himself from falling to the ground.

Damn, both he and the sugar-coated haw seller were blocking the way up front, yet this new stall owner managed to sell two servings of teppanyaki so quickly?

Where did this new stall owner find customers?! Why didn’t he have such good luck?

But soon, the owner of the roujiamo stall calmed down.

The bell for Qingqiao High School’s dismissal rang.

Apart from the two servings of teppanyaki that Yu Bai sold at the beginning, he didn’t sell a single serving of teppanyaki for a whole half hour.

The owner of the roujiamo stall thought:

It seems that their little tricks are quite effective.

Author’s Note:

Little Star 【】: Wishing everyone a happy New Year and a mighty year! May you be prosperous and bring on the red envelopes! ●ｖ●

PS: The snack team from the kindergarten will arrive at the battlefield in three seconds.

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, and I’m taking a day off for myself and everyone else → So please excuse my absence for one day, hehe.

Wishing everyone a happy New Year~

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  means something of quality or value will eventually be recognized or appreciated, regardless of the circumstances or obstacles it may face