Chapter 46 - 45: Wetting the Bed

"Let me tell you, those guys saw how popular your business is and want to copy your operating model."

Xue Guang was a little worried.

"It’s fine. Let them try to copy me,"

Jiang Liu said, not looking concerned in the slightest.

What a joke. He was backed by the Gourmet Album; not just anyone could imitate him.

Setting aside the exquisite and detailed techniques passed down to him, just acquiring those top-tier fresh ingredients was an insurmountable obstacle for others.

Even if they had money, they couldn’t get so many fresh ingredients.

Besides, even if they managed to get them, could they sell them as cheaply as Jiang Liu?

Therefore, Jiang Liu had already put himself in an invincible position. All he needed to do was develop steadily, and the future was full of promise.

"Hey, Jiang Liu, you have to be on your guard. I saw they bought a shop across the street for a high price and are renovating it now. I’m afraid they’re planning to go head-to-head with you. Zheng Qiang’s skills are nothing special, but you have to be careful with these new people."

Xue Guang sat on the steps, rambling on.

He considered Jiang Liu a dear friend, despite their age gap.

Jiang Liu just smiled nonchalantly. "I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Why worry so much? Just focusing on my own work is better than anything."

"You have such a great attitude."

Xue Guang was secretly surprised.

’This rock-steady mindset is rare in a young man.’

"Here, Uncle Xue, take these two bottles of juice to drink. If it’s not enough, just ask me for more. I’ll save a portion of the buns for you when they’re done tonight. Remember to come pick them up. No matter how busy you are, you have to remember to eat."

Jiang Liu handed two bottles of juice to Xue Guang, patted his shoulder with a word of advice, and went back inside.

’Only making eight hundred buns... It feels so good to slack off.’

Jiang Liu happily kneaded the dough wrappers.

RING RING RING...

Just then, he got a voice call on his phone.

Jiang Liu wiped his hands, glanced at the screen, and saw it was Yang Yixue.

He rejected it without a second thought.

His phone chimed twice more.

Yang Yixue sent a WeChat message: "Why didn’t you answer my call???"

"Tomorrow is Saturday. I plan to take Tongtong out."

Jiang Liu frowned. Although he didn’t want her to, Yang Yixue had visitation rights, so he couldn’t just refuse her.

He quickly typed on the nine-key layout: "Okay, what time are you picking her up?"

Yang Yixue was sitting in her office on the third floor of her beauty salon.

Her mood improved considerably when she saw the message on her phone.

’Heh... This man is just playing hard to get. He definitely still has feelings for me...’

She thought, full of herself.

She replied: "I’m free at seven-thirty tomorrow morning."

Jiang Liu thought for a moment. "Come pick her up from my place."

He then sent her a pin of his location.

Yang Yixue: "Want to come along?"

To be honest, Yang Yixue had no confidence in her ability to entertain Tongtong on her own.

After all, she had never paid much attention to Tongtong growing up. Their relationship was, at best, that of familiar strangers.

If they were to spend time together, it would be really awkward.

That’s why Yang Yixue was hoping Jiang Liu would go with her.

Jiang Liu read the message but couldn’t be bothered to reply.

He went back to making his buns.

’How ridiculous. They were already divorced, and she still expected him to waste his time accompanying her?’

Although Jiang Liu was a straight-shooter with a good personality, he wasn’t a pushover. He had his own principles.

Yang Yixue leaned back in her office chair, refreshing her WeChat messages.

After half an hour, Jiang Liu still hadn’t replied.

She was gradually losing her patience.

"That poor bastard. What’s wrong with him accompanying me and our daughter on a shopping trip? He has no sense of responsibility as a man."

"I must have been blind to marry him back then!"

Yang Yixue was fuming with indignation. Her face trembled with anger, and she gripped her phone so tightly she looked like she wanted to crush it.

She looked around.

With no other outlet for her anger, she picked up the beauty products from her desk and smashed them on the floor one by one.

The loud commotion traveled downstairs, and the beauty manager, wearing a hip-hugging skirt, rushed up in a panic.

She looked at the trashed office and exclaimed:

"President Yang! Did something happen?"

Yang Yixue’s contorted expression quickly calmed. She sat back down in her office chair and said:

"It’s nothing. I was just thinking about a decision from my past that I regret."

The beauty manager asked, "Is it... that useless man you mentioned, the one who was dragging you down?"

Yang Yixue gave a noncommittal response and changed the subject. "Cancel all my partnership meetings and social engagements for tomorrow. I have something to do."

"Of course, President Yang."

"By the way, do you know the best places to take a five-year-old daughter for fun?"

"Um... well..." The beauty manager glanced at her boss cautiously before speaking. "If it’s your ex-husband’s daughter... you said he doesn’t have any money, so her quality of life probably isn’t great. In that case, you should just take her shopping. Get the little girl used to luxury and spending lavishly, and she’ll become inseparable from you."

"A brilliant idea!"

Those words spoke directly to her heart!

Yang Yixue gave the beauty manager an appreciative glance.

’What’s most important to Jiang Liu? Tongtong. Yes, that’s it.’

’If I snatch Tongtong away, I’m sure Jiang Liu will come crying and begging me to remarry him, right?’

Yang Yixue thought with a surge of glee.

"Oh, and cancel my plans from six to eight as well. I have a blind date to get to."

"Of course, President Yang. I hope you find your perfect match."

...

5:50 p.m.

The air was sweltering, making the whole city feel like the steamer in Jiang Liu’s back kitchen. Black pigeons, overcome by the heat, lay listlessly under the grapevines, not even bothering to fly away when people passed by. After just a few steps on the road, anyone even slightly out of shape would be drenched in sweat.

And yet, surprisingly, despite the muggy weather, a long line had formed in front of one shop.

There were aunties and uncles who had brought their own stools and hand fans, as well as a diverse crowd of young people.

This scene, appealing to young and old alike, had become a curious topic of conversation among the elderly on Yangzhai Street.

Under the awning of the convenience store at the entrance to Phoenix District, a group of yellow-uniformed food delivery drivers sat on their electric scooters, their delivery boxes strapped to the back, chatting amongst themselves.

"What’s that ’Second Best Food in the World’ shop selling? I’ve passed by a few times, and there’s always a huge crowd lining up. It’s a strange sight."

"No idea. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. But I heard them talking about buns or something."

"Buns? No way. Who ever heard of so many people lining up for buns? I don’t believe it."

"By the way, is this shop available on our delivery platform?"

"Don’t think so. Looking at this line, if they were, I’d just camp out at their doorstep. I could probably make enough in a month to support five delivery drivers."

...

Inside the shop, the air conditioner was cranked down to its lowest setting, 17 degrees Celsius.

Jiang Liu had already finished wrapping the buns.

All the juices were placed in the drink cooler in the front of the shop.

The customers outside weren’t rushing him; they just kept wiping away their sweat.

Every time they looked toward the little shop, their eyes were filled with excitement.

They realized that the buns from this place were excellent for any occasion, whether it was sharing a happy moment with family or giving them as gifts to friends!

They always received a great reaction.

The only problem was how hard the buns were to buy.

Jiang Liu’s buns had become as rare as wild mountain ginseng, and the people in line were like the mountain prospectors searching for it.

Jiang Liu checked the time, walked to the entrance, and announced:

"The buns will be ready in fifteen minutes. Please be patient. How about this: for our older customers, I’ll give you handwritten queue numbers. You can come sit inside the shop and cool down for a bit."

The aunties were delighted.

"Thank you, Boss! We won’t cause you any trouble. We’ll definitely keep the shop clean."

A group of uncles and aunties filed in with surprising courtesy, not pushing or shoving.

"Boss Jiang has the bearing of a great emperor."

The young people nodded in admiration. They had no complaints about Jiang Liu’s arrangement.

The bodies of the elderly can’t take as much of a "beating," and respecting the old and cherishing the young is a beautiful and touching part of Hua Country’s culture.

...

「At the kindergarten.」

School had just been let out, and a large crowd of parents and children had gathered at the gate.

Tongtong, wearing a Briar Bear T-shirt, had a pink hairpin clipped to her hair.

Right now, she was standing with her arms crossed, mimicking Jiang Liu as she spoke:

"Teacher Qingmeng, you go ahead and do your work. You don’t need to worry about me. Tongtong is a big girl now."

"Oh, you. Such a little adult."

Jun Qingmeng gave Tongtong a fond, exasperated look.

Parents gradually picked up their children, presenting their pick-up cards.

"Bye-bye, Tongtong! You have to miss me, and don’t forget to bring juice!"

Linlin waved goodbye reluctantly.

Tongtong nodded calmly. "I know. Go home and sleep."

She then gave a little wave.

Her attempt to imitate an adult was utterly adorable.

PFFT!

A group of parents couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Whose daughter is that? She’s so cute! And she’s so fair and delicate, like a little porcelain doll."

"I love her! So much better than my little brat at home. I honestly regret not throwing him out at birth. He’s so annoying to look at now."

The parents’ gazes were filled with undisguised adoration.

Jun Qingmeng stood to the side, organizing the children as they went home.

The time soon reached 6:10.

There were still a few children who hadn’t been picked up by their parents.

Jun Qingmeng looked around anxiously, hoping the parents would hurry up and arrive.

She cherished the time she got to spend with Jiang Liu, and now, watching the minutes tick by, she grew anxious.

This was the most frustrating part of her job.

Sometimes, if even one parent didn’t show up, she had to wait indefinitely.

But as a kindergarten teacher, she had to be responsible for her students.

Finally, just as Jun Qingmeng was losing hope, the remaining few parents arrived, fashionably late.

Tongtong jumped up and down happily, pulling on Jun Qingmeng’s hand.

"Let’s go, Mo— Teacher Qingmeng! Let’s go find Daddy!"

"Okay!"

Covered in a light sweat from the heat, Jun Qingmeng squatted down beside Tongtong without thinking to tie her shoelaces.

"Teacher Qingmeng, when will I get big?"

Tongtong’s little face was full of envy, and she bit her finger anxiously.

Jun Qingmeng stood up, smiled, and explained, "When Tongtong turns eighteen, you’ll naturally be a grown-up."

"Then Tongtong wants to grow up super fast!"

The two of them walked down the road, holding hands.

Tongtong asked, "Teacher Qingmeng, tomorrow is the weekend. What are you going to do??"

Jun Qingmeng smiled. The wind blew through the ends of her hair, and she raised a hand to tuck a few loose strands behind her ear.

"I don’t have any plans, I’ll just sleep in. Why do you ask, Tongtong?"

Tongtong said enticingly, "I’m going to be at the shop with my daddy tomorrow. Do you want to come? We could spend the whole day together."

Jun Qingmeng was very tempted. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Is that okay? I wouldn’t want to be a bother to your dad."

"No, no, you won’t! So are you coming or not?"

"Okay. If your dad agrees, I’ll go."

Jun Qingmeng really wanted to spend more time with Jiang Liu. Besides, she was discovering more and more that he was far more outstanding than she had ever imagined.

This made her look forward to their time together even more.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! We can be together!"

Jiang Tongtong happily raised her right hand and jumped.

Startled, Jun Qingmeng quickly tightened her grip, afraid Tongtong would fall.

She asked worriedly, "Tongtong, you don’t think... your dad will say no, do you?"

Tongtong shook her head and clenched her little teeth. "Don’t worry. My daddy listens to me. As long as I ask, he’ll definitely agree. And if Daddy doesn’t agree... then I’ll wet the bed."