LATMAB Chapter 13

Dai Yao scrambled to his feet as soon as the alarm rang. Luo Bei, who was on the sofa, rubbed his sleepy eyes. As a newly transformed demon, he was severely depleted of energy, so his sleep schedule was no different from that of a normal human. However, compared to an average person, Luo Bei had a much greedier palate. He grabbed a handful of snacks and started the dough machine. Dai Yao frowned; those were the sour plums he’d bought to alleviate his nausea.

Dai Yao always woke up feeling sick in the stomach, so he’d eat some pickled plums. He also put one in his mouth and, while taking the stuffing out of the refrigerator, he said to Luo Bei, “Let’s boil some water first. Once we’re done wrapping them, we can steam them right away.”

Luo Bei responded and started to boil water.

When the first steamed buns came out of the pot, Dai Yao opened the window and found that several people were already looking around. Dai Yao moved the steamer to the table in front of the window and said to everyone, “Please line up. Whoever comes first gets to buy first.”

Daijiayao was a village within the city, with poor security and a low-class population. If Dai Yao hadn’t warned people otherwise, no one would have queued up. As soon as the steamer were opened, they’d rush in, fearing they’d miss out.

Seeing the people who queue at the back looking a little anxious, Dai Yao said, “Don’t worry, everyone. We steamed one more pot today than yesterday, so everyone can buy one.”

The woman at the front of the line was stylishly dressed, clearly working at the hair salon at the east end of the village. There was a row of hair salons there, openly called hair salons, but the underlying business was anyone’s guess. The women inside were all dressed up, cracking sunflower seeds and whistling at the men passing by. Of course, women working in the sex industry in places like this were generally not too young. This woman, for example, looked to be in her late thirties, approaching forty. She was dressed in black chiffon stockings, and the pungent scent of perfume on her body suggested she had just gotten off work.

She said to Dai Yao in a coquettish tone: “Hey, you’re quite handsome, why haven’t I seen you before?”

Dai Yao blushed a little and said, “I… was studying in high school in the county and just came back.” Dai Yao lived in the high school dormitory and only went home once a month, so many tenants didn’t know him.

The woman continued, “Tsk tsk, you’re still embarrassed. The buns made by little brother[footnote]Raw 小哥(Xiǎo gē); lit. little big brother. Primarily refers to a young man or boy. It can be a term of endearment or used to address a younger male, similar to saying “younger brother” or “young man”[/footnote] are very delicious. I will patronize you often in the future. If you are interested, come to my store and have a seat. I will give you a 20% discount.” As she said that, she whistled at Dai Yao.

Dai Yao was speechless. He quickly handed the woman the buns and collected the money, muttering, “No… no thanks.” He usually avoided places like that. This woman was also really bold, advertise her business to the bun shop.

Luo Bei’s crisp laughter came from behind. Dai Yao was speechless and said, “You’re still laughing! Hurry and bring the steamed buns over!”

Luo Bei handed the buns to Dai Yao while laughing, and immediately ran to get buns for the young lady who came into the store.

At this moment, a young office lady asked Dai Yao, “Do you have any other fillings besides white radish? I don’t like white radish.”

Dai Yao said, “My family’s white radish is different. If you don’t believe me, try it. After eating it once, you will definitely want to eat it again.”

Seeing that Dai Yao[footnote]Raw is 罗贝(Luo Bei) If we follow the whole context, I think this is typo for Dai Yao..[/footnote] looked young and handsome, the young lady smiled and said, “Okay, then give me a few! Just give me a few. Hey, little brother, if it’s not delicious, I want a refund.”

Dai Yao patted his chest and assured, “Don’t worry! It’s guaranteed to be delicious!” He turned around and looked at the migrant workers who had entered the store and were wolfing down their food. His buns were indeed delicious, and the migrant workers couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up.

The young lady sniffed and said, “That smells quite nice. How about this! Give me ten(buns). Our boss has to go to a subsidiary for a meeting today, so I won’t order takeout.” Mr. Bai was a new boss, and he certainly had a lot of work to do. As his accompanying secretary, Sheng Qingqing had been incredibly busy these past few days. If he didn’t have a special assistant, her own workload would probably be even busier.

“Okay!” Dai Yao responded and packed ten buns for the young lady, a combination of meat and vegetables. The young lady paid and was about to leave when she saw Dai Yao’s bowl of pickled white radish from the corner of her eye. She asked, “Are the pickles free?”

Dai Yao said, “No, one yuan each.”

The young lady thought for a moment and said, “Give me one portion! It’s greasy to eat just buns.”

Dai Yao then served the young lady another portion of pickles, packed them in a convenient bag, and handed them to her. The migrant workers who were eating heard this and immediately said, “Hey, give us some pickles too. They’re a bit too expensive! The bun shop at the west end of the village gives them away for free.”

Dai Yao didn’t argue much, just said, “Uncle, try it and see if it’s worth one yuan.”

The uncle took the pickles and picked up a piece with chopsticks to taste. A crisp feeling spread from his mouth, salty, fresh and crisp. This was the first time he had eaten such delicious pickles! He couldn’t help but slap the table and said, “Hey! Amazing! Little brother, do you have any secret recipe here? How come your steamed buns and pickled vegetables are so delicious? Your soup tastes so average. Did you buy it from San Youtiao’s[footnote]Third uncle who sell fried breadstick[/footnote] house?”

The customer was a discerning eater, and immediately recognized the soup as coming from Third Uncle’s house. Dai Yao smiled and said, “The soup is Third Uncle’s. I don’t have any special secret recipe; I just cook it carefully. If you like it, come and patronize us often!”

The migrant workers all agreed that if the food was delicious, they would come often. However, the fillings for his buns were too simple, and if you only eat one kind, you will get tired of it even if you have exotic delicacies.

Dai Yao knew this, but his current plot only had one type of ingredient. If he wanted to develop more varieties, he would have to wait until his second plot was developed. He was eager to see what kind of seeds the new plot would yield, as he hoped to expand his small bun shop. The number of customers coming to eat buns had increased significantly today, and he and Luo Bei had been busy, so they were really tired.

Today’s sales reached 1,500 yuan thanks to the addition of pickles. After deducting the costs, Dai Yao made a full 1,000 yuan today! He was a little excited. Now he had money, he could buy some nutritional supplements for Little Sugar Bun.

His waist was a little sore. Although breakfast was profitable, it was also really tiring. When his belly getting bigger, the weather getting colder as well. With his down jacket covering it up, it won’t be noticeable. Then he can hire a part-time worker and relax.

Around nine o’clock, Dai Yao’s buns were all sold out. He closed the shop, leaving Luo Bei to look after the house, while he took the cash and headed to the city. He was going to buy some nutritional supplements. Xiaoyuan was studying surgery at Nanchuan Medical University. Although there was a gap between surgery and obstetrics, doctors definitely knew more than a layman like him. He also trusted Yuan Xiaoyuan. In a previous life, he had been beaten by loan sharks to protect himself(DY), and he(YX) remained in the hospital until his(DY) death.

Before he went to meet Feng Qi, Yuan Xiaoyuan sent him a message, saying that he felt Feng Qi was unreliable and asked him to be cautious. Dai Yao actually had doubts at the time, but when Feng Qi told him that he had paid off the loan sharks and was ready to be with him forever, he decided to meet him.

Dai Yao sniffed. Luckily, nothing had happened yet. Otherwise, even if he hadn’t died, he would have spent the rest of his life blaming himself. Although Xiao Yuan had kept it a secret from him at the time, he knew that Xiao Yuan’s leg would never heal and he would be disabled for life.

Dai Yao’s nose felt sore when he thought of this. He got on the subway and sent a message to Yuan Xiaoyuan: “Yuanyuan, where are you?”

——

Bai Lin Group.

Bai Chuan opened the car door and looked up at the towering headquarters building. Bai Lin Group’s headquarters were located in the eastern part of Nanchen’s city center, a hub for the city’s financial sector. The Bai Group headquarters complex was a landmark in Nanchen’s CBD, and the term “magnificent” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. However, Bai Chuan looked down upon the buildings built by his father, giving him the impression of a nouveau riche.

Xiao Guo emerged from the cab, clutching his briefcase, and said, “Boss, please go sit in the office for a while. I haven’t informed the higher-ups you’re coming today. I see there’s a breakfast shop over there; I’ll go get you some.”

Bai Chuan nodded and quietly ascended the side freight elevator. The company’s employees had just arrived, so no one had noticed him yet. Secretary Sheng Qingqing was also startled when she received the notice. She had already wiped his desk carefully early in the morning. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet, so she washed her rag and put on some makeup, ready to greet Mr. Bai.

After tidying herself up, she returned just in time to see Mr. Bai, seated at his desk, his expression was serious as a knife. His brows were slightly furrowed, a steamed bun in his left hand and a piece of pickled vegetables between his chopsticks in his right hand. His right cheek was bulging, clearly from eating the bun she’d bought.

Sheng Qingqing: Wait, Mr. Bai, as the CEO of a group, is it appropriate for you to eat the buns bought by your secretary?

However, Sheng Qingqing dared not speak out, and had to put on a smile and said, “Mr. Bai[footnote]Raw 盛总(Shèng zǒng); Mr. Sheng Pretty sure this is typo so I take the liberty to change it[/footnote], you are here. Are the buns to your liking?”

Bai Chuan was actually captivated by the taste of the buns and pickled vegetables after just one bite. He savored them for a while and asked, “Very good, where did you buy these buns?”

Sheng Qingqing answered truthfully, “The place where I rent a house is called Daijiayao. It’s quite remote, in Xicheng District. If you like, I can bring a few more for you tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, without Dai Yao’s knowledge, a rumor quietly spread through Daijiayao Village: “Did you know there’s a new bun shop just down the road from the village? It’s so delicious!”

This time update take longer than usual. When I begin to binged-translate, I even translated 5 chapter(not edited) and save them in the draft, but overnight all gone after my family member borrow my laptop! 囧rz

Now I have to start all over again! Because all hard work just gone in a blink of eyes like that, I don’t think I want to binged-translate for the time being…..(〒︿〒)

Well, see you again soon!