Chapter 7 Born Salesman

  That night, the brother and sister slept very soundly. They had put aside their guard, and this was the most restful sleep they had since the transformation of their home.

  Under the dim light of the vegetable oil lamp, Cai Fang was sewing clothes for the two of them. Occasionally, she would lift her head to take a glance at the two who were sleeping soundly. In the orange glow of the lamp, their small faces looked rosy and endearing.

  Cai Fang has lived in Xuantian City for over 30 years. Her husband and son have been dead for ten years. For the past decade, she has made a living by selling steamed buns every day. Due to her good craftsmanship, the steamed buns she makes are fragrant and sweet. Additionally, she is an honest and sincere person, so the steamed buns she sells have a small reputation in Xuantian City, making her life relatively comfortable.

  Today, taking in these two siblings can be said to be a momentary pang of sympathy. The city of Xuantian is very large, and there are at least 800 or 900 homeless children like them. Why did she specifically take in these two? Cai Fang had no answer, but in her heart, there was always a voice telling her to take good care of the two kids, perhaps it was the will of heaven, who knows!

  The sky was just bright, Cai Fang got up to work, ten years as one day, every day at this time, she would automatically wake up, boil water, knead dough, steam buns, day after day.

  In order not to wake up the two children who were fast asleep, Cai Fang's movements were very light. After gently closing the door, she also started to get busy.

  First, he brought some firewood back from outside the house, then added a large bucket of water to the pot. Just as he was about to light it, he found Tang Lin standing beside him, without knowing when he had appeared there.

  "Aunt Cai, let me help you."

  After finishing speaking, Tang Lin took over Cai Fang's lighter and squatted in front of the stove, starting a fire.

  "Tang Lin, Aunt Cai doesn't need your help, you're still too young, go back inside and sleep a bit more!"

  "Ha ha, it's nothing, Aunt Cai. These chores are no big deal. But your sewing skills are truly exceptional! This shirt of mine is all torn up, and you can still mend it to make it look like new, just like my mother used to do!"

  As soon as his mother was mentioned, Tang Lin's face suddenly darkened, and the cheerful expression he had just now was replaced by a look of sorrow and melancholy.

  Looking at Tang Lin's appearance, Cai Fang was also heartbroken and sighed secretly: "Such a young child has lost both parents, and is alone with his sister in the world, this child's temperament is really strong!"

  Cai Fang changed the subject and said with a smile:

  "Tang Lin, after selling out the buns today, Aunt Cai will take you and your siblings to buy some fabric, and then make a few new clothes for you, how about that?"

  Cai Fang knew that she was intentionally diverting the topic so as not to recall those sad things, and these things, Tang Lin himself did not want to think about either.

  After a busy morning, the big white steamed buns were emitting hot air and looked very appetizing. At this time, Tang Xinyi had also gotten up, and the three of them sat together to enjoy the most delicious and leisurely breakfast for the trio.

  Today's buns are selling very fast, and before noon, Cai Fang's buns were all sold out. Tang Lin's mouth was busy the whole morning, shouting slogans one after another, and his mouth was very sweet. As long as it was a woman, she would be called a beautiful lady in his mouth, and men would all be handsome young masters. Even an 80-year-old old lady was called a beautiful grandma by him. The shouting was so enthusiastic that he once had a dispute with the young man selling pickles next to him. Neither of them gave in, one shouting louder than the other, until finally the young man selling pickles lost under Tang Lin's high-pitched voice and started drinking water from his thermos in big gulps.

  Not only that, but during this time, Tang Lin also disappeared for a while. When he came back, his face was full of joy and satisfaction, as if he had picked up a treasure. Under Tang Xinyi's repeated questioning, Tang Lin finally spoke out.

  It turned out that Tang Lin discovered that Aunt Cai's buns were quite famous in Xuantian City, and every time they were in short supply. In the south of the city, almost everyone knew about Aunt Cai's fragrant buns. With such a good reputation, it was not like Tang Lin's character to not take advantage of it.

  He spent some time visiting all the restaurants and wine shops in the southern part of the city, introducing Cai's steamed buns to each one. After a round of visits, he found that almost every restaurant was short of staple foods, even having to buy them at high prices from other restaurants. This made Tang Lin see a business opportunity. Since Cai Fang's steamed buns were quite famous, these restaurants quickly started doing business with Tang Lin, placing orders one after another. Under Tang Lin's repeated urging, the price of the steamed buns was also raised significantly.

  After listening to Tang Lin, Cai Fang was shocked. She found that the child in front of her looked like a born businessman. If she hadn't known that Tang Lin came from a wealthy family, she would have thought that this child had done business before.

  ……

  "Boss Zhang, here's today's mantou, take a look!"

  Tang Lin put the last steamed bun on the table, at this time he was already sweating profusely, and was using his sleeve to wipe away the sweat from his forehead, clearly exhausted.

  "Ah, Tang Lin, why so early today?"

  The speaker was a man of about fifty years old, short and stout in stature. Although he didn't look impressive, he was the boss of the largest restaurant in Xuantian City. He was shrewd and could be seen from his small but spirited eyes.

  "Uh-huh, there are still a few more deliveries to make, of course I have to hurry up. But this Jiangnan Restaurant is the first one."

  "That's it, no need to count, this is today's money!"

  After finishing speaking, he threw a money bag at him and then watched Tang Lin count the money with great interest.

  Tang Lin has been in Xuan Tian City for over a year now, and in that time, almost everyone in the southern part of the city knows him. The reason is simple: this kid not only can do things, but he also loves money very much. When doing business, he's got a good head on his shoulders, and isn't inferior to those old sly foxes at all. Moreover, he never gets taken advantage of. If someone wants to take advantage of him, in his own words, "there's no door!"

  At first, some people took advantage of his young age and deceived him a lot, but later they all regretted it. This kid is ruthless in counterattacking and revenge, and he's the type to double down on revenge. The current boss Zhang was once retaliated against by Tang Lin, so he also has a deep respect for this kid's tactics.

  After checking the money in his wallet, Tang Lin's face turned ugly, and he pointed at Old Man Zhang with a huff, saying:

  "Boss Zhang, what do you mean? Why did you shortchange me by one cent?"

  "Huh? Impossible! I personally counted the money in this wallet, how could it be short?"

  "It's just short, I've gone through mountains and rivers, suffered countless hardships, passed five passes, and beheaded six generals to bring these precious buns here. How can you bear to give me one less coin? You don't know that our family is struggling to make ends meet, relying on this little money to survive. If you're short of this one coin, how am I supposed to live?"

  After finishing speaking, he actually squeezed out tears, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

  After this round of talk, Old Zhang was confused by his nonsense and thought to himself:

  "What a mess! Just delivering a bun and having to climb mountains and cross rivers?"

  But then I understood what he meant, it turned out that Tang Lin was asking for a hard-earned money, what's less than one cent, is basically nonsense, just wanting some running expenses.

  Thinking of this, Zhang's beard was crooked with anger. In front of so many people, he couldn't even argue with Tang Lin. For a small amount of money, he was being petty like a child. This was unacceptable. The money was a small matter, but the loss of face was a big deal.

  Thinking of this, the chubby old man shook his head and handed Tang Lin five copper coins, saying with a painful expression: "Tang Lin, this five cents is for you to buy tea water, are you satisfied now?"

  After seeing the "glittering" copper coins, Tang Lin immediately put on a new face, and his smile was so beautiful that it's hard to describe. Not only did he show off his teeth, but even his Adam's apple was visible, and in the corner of his eyes, which were narrowed into slits, two tears hung, making him look like a completely different person from just before.

  "Thank you, Mr. Zhang! You're really a kind-hearted person with a compassionate nature, born with a benevolent heart. Just by looking at your gentle and kind face, I can tell that you'll live a long life, all the way to old age, haha!"

  Tang Lin gritted his teeth and burst out laughing with a silly grin on his face as if no one was around.

  "Alright, alright, stop flattering me! Don't you still have goods to deliver? Hurry up and get out of here!"

  After finishing speaking, he kicked Tang Lin's butt with one foot, and only then did he reveal a smiling face, muttering to himself:

  "Of course I can live till death, what's there for you to say, little rabbit!"

  "Old Zhang, what's wrong, been cheated by that kid again?"

  "Haha, how could that little rabbit deceive me? As soon as he twitched his tail, I knew what kind of crap he was going to pull."

  "Haha, Tong Lin is a good kid in every way, but he's too fond of money and will swindle anyone."

  "Yes, this kid is a master who doesn't get up early without profit. Three days without beating, and goods that lift tiles on the roof, but I really like this kid."

  Actually, Tang Lin's personality is very clear. For this child, it's more about liking and admiring him. At a young age, he has taken on the heavy burden of life. For a 14-year-old kid, this is indeed moving.