Sheâd been desperate to make money since she was little. She knew her daddy didnât have any, and she wanted to buy him yummy food and fun toys.
Besides, her daddy was so handsome.
If he went out by himself, he might get tricked and taken away!
And then she wouldnât have a daddy anymore!
"Oh no, you canât!" Jiang Liu said, dotingly ruffling Tongtongâs hair bun. "You need to sleep like a good girl so you can grow up big and strong."
"Hmph, you meanie Daddy! Iâm mad at you!"
Hearing Jiang Liu refuse, Tongtongâs face fell. She pouted, clenched her little fists, and turned away, refusing to look at him.
Jiang Liu deliberately ignored her, pretending to be engrossed in the TV.
"Hmph!"
Jiang Tongtong scrunched up her nose and huffed, trying to get his attention.
A minute passed, then ten...
Seeing that the silent treatment wasnât working,
"Iâm not happy, Iâm not happy!" Jiang Tongtong threw herself on the floor, flailing her arms and legs.
"I wanna go, I wanna go! I have to go, or Iâll just sleep right here on the floor!"
Wearing her dinosaur pajamas, Jiang Tongtong started rolling around at Jiang Liuâs feet.
"Daddy, Iâm begging you! Tongtong is begging you! I want to help you make money!"
Seeing his little girl throwing a tantrum,
"Oh, all right, all right! Iâll take you with me tomorrow, okay?"
Jiang Liuâs heart ached as he picked up his daughter.
He really hadnât wanted Tongtong to go, but he just couldnât withstand this dramatic display.
"Oh, yay! Daddyâs the best!"
Jiang Tongtong pumped her little fists excitedly and planted two happy kisses on Jiang Liuâs cheek.
"MWAH, MWAH! Hehe."
The two of them leaned against the sofa and went back to watching cartoons.
By nine-thirty, Jiang Tongtong was getting drowsy and had fallen asleep nestled on the couch.
"This girl..."
Jiang Liu casually turned off the TV and carefully carried her to bed.
They both fell sound asleep.
On the wall, the round, white teddy bear clock went TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK.
ăIn the middle of the night.ă
Jiang Tongtong, in her light pajamas, was sprawled out on her wooden bed with its safety rails. Her hands gestured as she mumbled in her sleep, "Daddy, I made so much money today... eating fried chicken, eating fried chicken, big pieces... eat up. Daddy, why did you buy so much fried chicken..."
At four in the morning, the sky was still pitch-black. A cool breeze suddenly rushed in through the window screen, making the curtains dance. Jiang Tongtong felt the chill, pulled the blanket tighter, and turned over, her butt now facing Jiang Liu.
Just then,
his phone started vibrating.
His alarm was going off.
"Four oâclock already?"
Jiang Liu was groggily woken by the noise. He quickly reached out and shut off the alarm,
then sat up, remaining in a daze for a moment.
Beside him, Tongtongâs little belly rose and fell; she was still lost in dreamland.
Jiang Liu hesitated. Although he was exhausted,
the need to make money drove him to fight off his sleepiness and get up to quickly wash his face.
âMan, Iâm so tired! Iâve never gotten up this early before. Ahhh~ zzz~â
After washing up, he shaved.
Jiang Liu yawned at his reflection in the mirror.
In the mirror was a handsome, fair-skinned face with double eyelids and aegyo-sal, soft lips pressed lightly together, and straight eyebrows that quirked slightly over a straight nose.
âYouâre twenty-seven and still this handsome. Itâs just too much.â
Jiang Liu thought with a proud smile at his reflection before heading to the kitchen.
He planned to first buy some ingredients from the Gourmet Album to take to the shop.
Otherwise, if he was producing buns all day without any ingredients in sight, wouldnât people think they were seeing a ghost?
As for the source of his top-tier ingredients,
they were coming from his home, so he could make up whatever story he wanted.
Even if he said they fell from the sky, what were people going to do about it?
Besides, there was nothing wrong with his ingredients, and he had the right to refuse any investigation.
Even if they did investigate...
Later on, Jiang Liu planned to buy a few freezers to store more ingredients.
âHmm... For the first day, Iâll make a hundred of each type of bun. What if no one comes? Right, Iâll buy two daysâ worth of ingredients and store them, just to be cautious...â
Over the next two minutes,
Jiang Liu, following the filling ratios,
bought enough ingredients for two hundred of each type of bun.
For the shrimp and corn buns, for example, the ratio of shrimp to corn was seven to three. For two hundred buns, that meant 1,400 grams of shrimp and 600 grams of corn.
Jiang Liu did some quick math:
The cost of the filling for a shrimp and corn bun, including flour and seasonings, was about 3.3 yuan. As for the other buns, the filling was also ten grams, but because the ingredients were cheaper, the cost was in the range of a few jiao.
Of course, this didnât include rent, water, and electricity.
Those costs were about seven thousand a month.
If he sold a thousand buns a day, then the added cost of rent and utilities per bun would only be about two jiao...
A text message popped up on his phone: a transaction of 925 yuan had been made from his bank card to the Gourmet Album.
âThe ingredients for the shrimp and corn buns alone cost over six hundred. Is my price for the shrimp buns too low?â
Jiang Liu tallied up the costs, rubbing the freshly-shaven stubble on his chin as he thought.
After all, he had priced his shrimp buns at only fifteen yuan.
The other buns were priced at six and five yuan.
âForget it. The profit margin is already huge. I canât make them so expensive that no one can afford them. Right, a business has to think about its customers... I already bought all the seasonings yesterday. Iâll use those for now and just grab more from home if I run out...â
Jiang Liu walked briskly back into the bedroom.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 4:23.
"Tongtong? Tongtong?"
Jiang Liu gently squeezed Jiang Tongtongâs smooth cheek, calling out softly.
âDaddy?â
"Hrmm?" Jiang Tongtong hummed, kicking her little legs. She stretched and rubbed her eyes. "Whatâs wrong, Daddy?"
Jiang Liu asked, "Do you still want to go? If youâre too sleepy, you can sleep a little longer. Dad will be back in a bit."
"Ah! I wanna go, I wanna go, Daddy!"
Hearing she might be left behind, Jiang Tongtong groggily sat up and stretched her arms out pleadingly. "Daddy, huggies, quick, huggies!"
Jiang Liu expertly gave his little girl a hug.
"Daddy, get me dressed, get me dressed!"
"Get dressed yourself. Donât you know a grown daughter should keep her distance from her father?"
Jiang Liu patted her on the head, his tone stern.
"Hmph, whatever!" Jiang Tongtongâs attempt at being coddled failed, so she had no choice but to dress herself, her little mouth muttering in dissatisfaction, "No huggies, no getting dressed for me... then you should just run away from home, Daddy!"
"You donât love me anymore anyway!"
"Xiaotuan said her daddy didnât love her, so he ran away from home when she was three."
"Hm? What are you muttering about?"
Jiang Liuâs face darkened as he straightened up the bed.
âIs my daughter trying to be the death of me?â
âAll because I didnât dress you.â
âYou want me to run away from home?â
After that, Jiang Liu helped his little girl get ready.
The two of them left the house.
Jiang Liu rode his Phoenix-brand bicycle with Tongtong sitting on the back, clutching his shirt.
The ingredients were tied to the front of the bike. He planned to buy the flour at the shop; otherwise, there really wouldnât be any room.
"Daddy, when are we going to get a car?"
"Itâs going to be very cold in the winter."
Tongtong watched wistfully as cars whizzed by.
She didnât really care if her daddy had a car or not;
she was just expressing a simple hope.
Jiang Liu pumped the pedals, not turning his head. "Itâs okay. Once we make some money, Dad will buy a car. Then Iâll take you wherever you want to go."
He had left the marriage with nothing for his daughterâs sake. The car was bought after they got married, so it naturally went to Yang Yixue.
"Okay, okay!"
Tongtong nodded her head emphatically.
"Then letâs make lots and lots of money! To buy a car, buy fried chicken, and buy ice cream! Hehe."
ăFive minutes later.ă
Under a yellow sign that read "Number Two Under Heaven Cuisine."
Jiang Liu looked at the sign, feeling reasonably satisfied.
As for the name, he had originally planned to call it "Number One Under Heaven Cuisine."
But then he thought, wasnât that a bit too arrogant?
So, Jiang Liu took a step back: Number Two Under Heaven.