Under the dim yellow light, the right side of Xiaohua’s face looked frighteningly disfigured. Jiang Chan moved carefully and gently until Xiaohua suddenly said,
“Grandma, it doesn’t hurt.”
Jiang Chan’s eyes immediately reddened. She touched the uninjured side of Xiaohua’s face.
“It’s all right. Grandma will earn money and fix your face, Xiaohua.”
“Grandma, I believe you.”
“Xiaohua is recovering well, but remember, don’t eat anything spicy or greasy, otherwise the color here will turn out uneven later.” Jiang Chan spoke patiently, worried that such a small child might not be able to resist the temptation of food.
“I’ll remember, Grandma. When I’m better, can I eat them then?” Xiaohua nodded her small head, her face full of longing. Jiang Chan forbade her from eating, and she truly didn’t take even a single bite. When she got really hungry, she would only look at the food a few times, then lower her head and eat her own meal.
“Of course you can. Once Xiaohua is all better, Grandma will make you delicious food every day.” Such a sensible child was rare, and Jiang Chan was more than willing to care for her tenderly.
At night, under the lamp, grandmother and granddaughter sat together. Jiang Chan held Xiaohua in her arms and taught her to recognize words and read. Xiaohua was quite bright. The few characters she had learned the day before, she remembered all of them, though she still couldn’t write them properly.
“Tomorrow Grandma will buy paper and pens,” Jiang Chan said. “I’ll teach you to write.”
“Mhm, Xiaohua will study hard.” Xiaohua nodded, and under the light, even the fierce scar on her face looked a little softer.
The next day, Jiang Chan really did go buy paper and pens. From then on, she began teaching Xiaohua her lessons. This sort of thing came easily to her. After all, she had been an elder before, and teaching a child to read and write was no difficult task.
The cafeteria work was not too busy, and there wasn’t much to do. After finishing the few dishes she was assigned, Jiang Chan often had nothing else to occupy her hands. It was at times like this that she began thinking about how to turn money into more money. After all, being idle was pointless.
Right now, she needed money urgently. Not to mention Xiaohua’s face, even the school fees for Xiaohua’s future studies would be difficult. Relying only on her monthly salary of eighteen yuan was like a cup of water trying to put out a fire.
This era was very much like the late 1980s that Jiang Chan had read about, though she had never personally experienced it. Everyone’s finances were tight, and though there were people who did business, there were not many.
At least there was one convenience now. People no longer needed ration coupons to buy things. If they still did, Jiang Chan thought she might have been driven mad.
After observing for a while, Jiang Chan finally decided to focus her efforts on doing business.
That afternoon, a sweet aroma began drifting through the hospital staff dormitory area. The scent was so rich that it spread far and wide, making the children nearby swallow their drool one after another.
Naturally, it came from Jiang Chan’s cooking. To start a business, one had to test the waters first. She had debated whether to make steamed buns or pastries. After much thought, Jiang Chan decided on pastries.
Opening a steamed bun shop required too much initial investment, and it relied on selling large quantities. Given her situation now, with neither money nor help, how could she possibly open one?
So pastries were better. Pastries weren’t food people ate as a meal, but something they bought occasionally as a treat. That way, Jiang Chan still had energy left to handle other things.
If she couldn’t sell them, she could just give them to her little granddaughter Xiaohua to enjoy.
That night, Jiang Chan and Xiaohua became well-known throughout the staff dormitory area.
“Mom, I want to eat the peach crisps that Xiaohua’s grandma made.”
“Dad, I saved these peach crisps just for you. Xiaohua’s grandma made them. Aren’t they delicious?”
“Grandma, Xiaohua’s grandma’s peach crisps are so good. Let’s go buy some. Please, let’s go buy some!”
“…”
“…”
Words like these were heard in every household. It was the time of the one-child policy, when every family only had one child, each one treasured like a pearl in the palm.
What’s more, the staff here all had fairly comfortable lives. Whatever their children wanted, they would naturally satisfy them.
Unable to refuse their children’s pleas, they all went out and walked toward Jiang Chan’s dorm. Along the way, when they met other parents leading their children, a single glance was enough to know they were all going for the same thing.
That evening, Jiang Chan’s dormitory was extremely lively. She had made around ten pounds of peach crisps, and by seven o’clock, every last one had been bought by the doctors and nurses.
Xiaohua sat at the side hugging the money box, smiling so hard that her teeth showed. The little girl now understood what money was. Seeing so much of it made her as delighted as a little mouse that had fallen into a jar of oil.
Jiang Chan’s peach crisps weren’t expensive, seventy cents per pound, about the same price as pork at the time. At first, the parents hesitated, thinking the pastries were a bit expensive. But after seeing the hopeful looks in their children’s eyes, they gritted their teeth and bought them.
That night, Jiang Chan pulled Xiaohua over to do the accounts. Xiaohua tipped the money box over the table, coins and small bills rolling out everywhere. Jiang Chan didn’t lift a finger, watching as Xiaohua counted on her own to see if she could manage it.
“Six yuan and eighty cents, Grandma, is it six yuan and eighty cents?” Xiaohua blinked her big eyes. She had never seen so much money before and was a little dazed.
Jiang Chan nodded. “Xiaohua counted very well. Tomorrow we’ll make more.”
There were other places that sold peach crisps, but those were at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the distance from the hospital was quite far. Who told Jiang Chan to set a lower price, and she even lived right here in the dormitory?
“Let’s do the math, Xiaohua. We spent two yuan on flour, one yuan on oil and sugar, and borrowed Doctor Liu’s oven, so Grandma will count that as fifty cents for rent. Now, calculate how much we earned today.”
Xiaohua knew Grandma was testing her. She used her little fingers to count, then said, “Three yuan and thirty cents?”
“Not bad, Xiaohua is very smart.” Jiang Chan rubbed the two little hair buns on Xiaohua’s head. She had gotten used to seeing the twin knots on little girls’ heads in the past, so she tied Xiaohua’s hair into two small buns.
The little girl loved them, never letting anyone else touch her hair.
“If we make three yuan and thirty cents in one day, how much would that be in a month?” Xiaohua counted on her fingers, then her toes, but still couldn’t figure it out. In her eyes, it was already an astronomical number.
“Grandma, I’ll help you make them tomorrow.” The little girl nodded seriously. “I’ll make more, earn more money, so Grandma won’t be so tired.”
Jiang Chan squeezed her thin arm gently. “As long as Xiaohua is doing well, Grandma won’t feel tired at all.”
Jiang Chan’s peach crisps quickly became famous. Everyone who tried them said they were good. Jiang Chan and Xiaohua were exhausted but happy. The feeling of counting money every night was truly wonderful.
The children in the dormitory were truly blessed. Xiaohua’s grandma’s hands seemed to have magic. Besides peach crisps, sometimes she made soft sponge cakes, crispy fried dough twists, and sweet sachima.
The children there all felt as if they were living in a jar of honey.
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Xiaohua will have lots of friends! 🙂