Chapter 5 - 4: So Radishes Are This Delicious

Chapter 5: Chapter 4: So Radishes Are This Delicious

Qiu’er, thirty-five, was a mid-level welder with a decent salary. After his shift, he’d often buy snacks from the small stalls outside the factory complex to bring home to his two daughters.

But lately, his daughters had gotten a bit picky. They complained that he always brought back the same few things and that they were tired of them. Yesterday, his younger daughter had placed first on a school exam and specifically requested he buy something new and delicious, which gave Qiu’er a bit of a headache.

It wasn’t just the stalls around the factory; vendors throughout the entire Fourth Ring sold pretty much the same things. ’Where am I supposed to find something different?’

As Qiu’er walked, he anxiously scanned the food carts on both sides. Just as he’d expected, he only saw the same old snacks he had bought countless times before.

"Come take a look! Fresh and fragrant Lampshade Cakes!"

"Stuffed full of filling!"

"Free samples available!"

A clear, crisp cry reached Qiu’er’s ears. The novel name, "Lampshade Cake," made him perk up, and he followed the sound to a new stall.

The stall owner was a young, pretty woman, but Qiu’er’s attention was quickly captured by what she offered him.

"It’s a new item. You can have a taste. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed."

Qiu’er’s eyes lit up.

The round pastries on the plate had been cut into several pieces, each with a toothpick stuck in it.

One look at the golden-brown crust told him it was fried to crispy perfection. The rich aroma that hit his nose made him swallow hard, and his stomach even GROWLED twice.

"Thanks, I’ll give it a try."

Qiu’er said politely. He hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering over the plate, before picking a chive-filled piece.

He had no choice; his younger daughter didn’t like radishes, always saying they had a strange taste.

The moment it entered his mouth, an intense chive fragrance rushed over him, and his mouth was filled to the brim with warmth and aroma.

He took a bite.

The texture was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A savory, fragrant flavor filled his mouth, and the rich oils coated his entire palate. Before Qiu’er could savor it for more than a few seconds, his tongue had already subconsciously pushed the food down his throat, leaving him wanting more.

"I’ll take three."

Qiu’er opened his eyes, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Alright. The radish flavor is a classic as well. Would you like to try it?"

Qiu’er hesitated for a second before nodding. "Okay, I’ll try it."

He picked up a small piece with radish filling. As he brought it to his lips, the steam carried the unique, sweet fragrance of radish straight into his nostrils. Qiu’er’s eyes widened, and he eagerly popped the morsel into his mouth, closing his eyes to savor it.

He bit through the crispy outer shell, then broke through the soft, moist inner layer of dough. His teeth crunched through the crisp, sweet radish shreds, and a breath of the wild seemed to emanate from his mouth, sweeping through his entire body.

It was as if he could see the snow-white radishes from his old textbooks, pulled fresh from the earth—plump, juicy, and vibrant.

Qiu’er resisted the urge to swallow, slowly chewing to appreciate the layered flavors—the dough, the radish, the green onions, the oil. He only opened his eyes after a long moment.

"Give me three more... no, four more with radish filling."

Qiu’er was certain his family would love this.

"That’ll be twenty-five original coins in total. Here you go."

Each Lampshade Cake was quite large, and the paper bag felt heavy in his hand.

Qiu’er paid without hesitation and hurried home, bag in hand.

His younger daughter was already home from school. When Qiu’er arrived, the little girl was waiting anxiously.

"Come here. Dad bought you something delicious today, something you’ve never had before!"

Qiu’er took out the food. He had just stopped by the community’s public kitchen to heat it in the microwave, so it was still steaming.

His wife and older daughter gathered around as well.

"Why did you buy so many? This must have cost a lot, didn’t it?"

His wife chided him gently upon seeing the golden pastries that filled nearly two plates, but her attention was quickly diverted by the aroma.

"What is this? Why does it smell so good?"

"They’re called Lampshade Cakes. Go on, try one. They’re delicious."

Qiu’er handed one to his wife and each of his two daughters.

They were a bit hot to the touch. After blowing on them a few times, they each took a careful bite.

"So? What do you think?"

Qiu’er looked at his wife and daughters, full of expectation.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"There’s so much filling!"

"This is even better than the egg burgers Dad used to buy!"

Egg burgers were hamburgers with a fried egg in the middle, and until today, they had been his younger daughter’s absolute favorite.

His younger daughter’s little red mouth was shiny with oil, glistening beautifully as she took bite after bite of the Lampshade Cake in her hands.

"Dad, I didn’t know radish could be this good! I love it!"

Qiu’er grinned and patted his younger daughter’s head. His older daughter and wife were more reserved, but their expressions clearly showed they were also enjoying the treat.

Qiu’er was very happy.

’On the way back, I kind of regretted buying so many,’ he thought, ’but now, I don’t feel that way at all. So what if it cost a little more? We pinch pennies all the time; it’s okay to splurge once in a while.’

The Lampshade Cakes were quite large; two were enough to fill up a child.

Qiu’er and his wife shared one, and they each had a bowl of grain powder. They put the remaining Lampshade Cakes away for the children to eat later.

Qiu’er’s monthly salary was one thousand, which was considered high income in the Fourth Ring.

But raising two children still meant they had to be as frugal as possible, and their diet usually consisted mainly of the grain powder.

Even though he had spent a lot of money today, seeing his children eat so happily made Qiu’er feel it was completely worth it.

’Yep, I’ll definitely buy from this place again.’

And after Qiu’er visited Ning He’s stall, business for the Lampshade Cakes started to pick up. A steady stream of customers, drawn by the aroma, began to arrive. Every single person who tried a sample ended up ordering, buying at least one, and sometimes as many as three or four. No one could resist the delicious temptation.

After sharing them with their families at home or savoring them alone, they all felt the same way Qiu’er did.

’So worth it!’

Not only were they delicious, but the portions were generous. They were packed with vegetables, the aroma and flavor were rich, and they were both healthy and tasty. Their families couldn’t stop praising them.

’I’m definitely buying this again!’

Ning He’s first day at the stall ended perfectly with a complete sell-out.

Although this was partly because she had intentionally prepared less stock for her first day, it was still a huge success.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Cam, Ning He gleefully pushed her cart home. The hour-long journey didn’t even feel tiring.

The first thing Ning He did when she got home was calculate her day’s earnings.

She had sold a total of thirty radish-filled and forty-five chive-filled cakes, bringing in two hundred fifty-five original coins.

The vegetables were free, but she had used more than half of the two-liter bottle of oil and about half of the five-kilogram bag of flour. After deducting the daily stall fee of eight original coins and the cost of the paper bags, her expenses were around one hundred original coins.

In other words, her net income for the day could reach one hundred fifty original coins.

There were still twelve days left until the end of the month. If she could maintain these sales, she would be able to save up enough money.

The prerequisite was that her vegetable production had to keep up.

She hadn’t planted many radishes before, so she estimated her supply would run out in another five or six days. She had to plant more right away. The chives were fine, though; they grew back quickly after being harvested.

Additionally, her other mature vegetables were in urgent need of harvesting. If they grew any longer, they would become old and tough.

But without a refrigerator at home, storage was also a problem.

Ning He mentally calculated the things she needed to plan. After washing and scrubbing her cart, she downed a bowl of grain powder and flopped onto her bed, falling fast asleep.

That afternoon, she had eaten two Lampshade Cakes herself to satisfy her craving. With some proper, oily food finally in her stomach, she slept very soundly.

「The next day.」 Ning He left the house early in the morning with the money she had just earned tucked away.