Born in the 1980s, she was remarried and became a stepmother; a cold, rough man doted on her, pinchi

Chapter 40 Selling Steamed Buns

Liu Chunlian remained silent, and Jiang He had no choice but to storm home in anger.

A month later, Liu Chunzhu's verdict was handed down.

The village entrance has always been a place where news travels extremely fast. If there is any disturbance in any household, it can spread to every corner of the village in less than half a day.

The fact that Liu Chunzhu was sentenced to seven years was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves. For a time, the whole village was buzzing with the news.

"Oh dear, seven years in prison, he really deserves it. That Liu Chunzhu is always up to no good, he just bullies people."

An elderly woman with gray hair, surnamed Chen, was sewing shoe soles while shaking her head and speaking.

"That's right, those women who were bullied by him can finally get their revenge. Just thinking about how he acted like a thug makes me angry."

The young woman beside him echoed, her face full of satisfaction. Indeed, Liu Chunzhu, relying on his brute strength and lack of proper discipline, had done his fair share of despicable things, such as bullying women in the village.

It was common for them to make suggestive remarks to the women in the village while they were working alone in the fields or walking on secluded paths.

When things get out of hand, they might even physically assault women, leaving many women angry but unable to speak out and forced to swallow their anger.

Now that he has been punished by law, they feel incredibly relieved, as if a huge stone that had been weighing on their hearts for many years has finally been removed.

However, the scene at the Jiang family's house at the east end of the village was quite different.

Sitting in the dimly lit room, Liu Chunlian heard the news and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.

Liu Chunzhu was her only brother. Although he was indeed a bit unreliable, the bond of blood could not be broken so easily.

She wiped away her tears while inwardly blaming her brother for doing such foolish things. But now, no one could help him; she could only watch helplessly as he went to jail.

Meanwhile, Jiang He's life wasn't easy either.

Ever since Liu Chunzhu's incident, Lin Yanqing's expression has been grim, and he has been giving Jiang He the cold shoulder for several days in a row.

"You don't need to bring me lunch. Shunzi and I will go to town and eat out."

Lin Yanqing left after saying those words. Jiang He stomped her foot and threw down the water ladle in her hand, unable to contain her resentment any longer. She stormed back to her parents' house and shouted into the house as soon as she entered the courtyard, "Mother, Mother, are you there?"

Hearing the noise, Liu Chunlian quickly wiped away her tears and came out of the house. Seeing Jiang He's angry expression, she asked, "He'er, what's wrong? Who made you angry?"

Jiang He plopped down on a stool in the yard, frowning as she said, "What else could it be, Mom? Look at Jiang Man, her business is booming now. And look at us, what kind of life are we living? Humph, I can't swallow this. We can't just stand by and watch her be so smug."

After hearing Jiang He's words, Liu Chunlian sighed and said helplessly, "What can we do? That girl Jiang Man is just so capable. We don't have that skill."

Jiang He disagreed. She stood up, walked to Liu Chunlian's side, and took her arm, saying, "Mom, why don't we have that ability? It's just selling breakfast. If she can do it, we can do it too. Let's sell breakfast together. Why can she do such a good job while we can't? We have to take all her business and let her taste what it's like to be overshadowed."

Liu Chunlian hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "He'er, this isn't that simple. We don't know how they do it. Besides, you need capital to open a breakfast stall. We don't have that much money."

Jiang He, however, remained resolute. She patted her chest and said, "Mom, don't worry about the money. We can start small and gradually build up the capital. As for the craft, we can try to figure it out ourselves. With a few tries, we'll eventually get the hang of it. As long as we put our hearts into it, we're sure we can make the business thrive and steal all of Jiang Man's customers. Let's see how smug she is then."

Seeing Jiang He's confident demeanor, Liu Chunlian wavered a little. After all, she was genuinely envious of Jiang Man's business, thinking that if her family could have such a lucrative business, their future would be much easier. So, she nodded and said, "Alright... He'er, I'll listen to you. Let's give it a try. But we need to think this through carefully. We can't just do it blindly, otherwise all that money will be wasted, and Yan Qing and your father will definitely give us a lecture."

Seeing that her mother had agreed, Jiang He smiled smugly, as if she could already see the scene of them taking away Jiang Man's business. She said excitedly, "Mom, don't worry, I've thought it all out. Let's first find out how Jiang Man makes her buns and porridge, and then we'll practice at home. Once we're good enough, we'll find a good place to set up our breakfast stall. We'll definitely be able to do it."

Three days later, Jiang He and her daughter Liu Chunlian set up a breakfast stall not far from Jiang Man.

They seemed determined to challenge Jiang Man and seize all the business that originally belonged to him.

"Sister-in-law, have Jiang He and her daughter gone mad? Why are they making such a mess of breakfast? They're obviously up to no good."

As Wang Xiu rummaged through the things, she said that she felt nauseous just looking at Jiang He and her daughter.

"It's alright, they can't take it away from us. Besides, I've been thinking of changing things up lately. We can only sell so much breakfast each day, there's a limit. I'm thinking of trying making boxed lunches, what do you think?"

"Boxed lunches?" Wang Xiu's eyes lit up. "Sister-in-law, why are you thinking of making boxed lunches?"

“Look at those people working at the docks and on construction sites, doing hard labor. It’s not easy for them to eat either. If we make boxed lunches and push our carts to sell them nearby, the business would probably be better than selling breakfast.”

Steam rose from Jiang He and Liu Chunlian's steamers, but the steam lacked a mouthwatering aroma.

"Steamed buns! Steaming hot steamed buns!"

"Thin crust, big filling, only three cents each!"

"Hey, big sister, give me two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge."

An older man shouted at Liu Chunlian.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Liu Chunlian quickly agreed, her face beaming with smiles. She was thinking that she had to do a good job on this first order and make the customer satisfied so that she could attract more customers in the future.

But after taking a bite of the bun, the uncle frowned and muttered, "This bun has no flavor at all, and there's too little meat."

Several other villagers who had just tasted the buns joined in.

"Yeah, it doesn't taste as good as what I make at home. It just doesn't feel right."

"Compared to the girl across the street, it's far inferior. Her buns are so fragrant and have plenty of meat filling."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured directly over the heads of Jiang He and her daughter Liu Chunlian.

After trying it once, everyone shook their heads and left.

Jiang He's face turned extremely ugly. She was both angry and anxious, thinking about how she and her mother had worked so hard these past few days, getting up early and working late, only to end up like this.

She watched the customers gradually disperse, bit her lip, and said to Liu Chunlian with reluctance, "Mom, they just haven't gotten used to our taste yet. They'll get used to it after eating it a few more times. Besides, ginger is definitely more expensive. If we put too much meat in it, how can we make money?"