Chapter 14: Little Touting Helpers
"Come on, everyone, gather ’round! Let me introduce you all. This is my younger brother, Xu An. He’s a fantastic cook, and he’s come to our construction site today to sell box lunches. He’s here to do us all a favor.
The box lunches are eight yuan apiece—three dishes and a soup. An honest price for everyone."
Uncle Dongliang made himself right at home, walking over to stand beside Xu An and help him attract customers. He looked just like the stall’s co-owner.
Meanwhile, Xu Heping had taken Xu Kang and Xu Le off to the side. It was too crowded, and he needed to keep a close eye on the kids. You never knew if there might be a bad element in the mix.
The coworkers Uncle Dongliang had brought over didn’t hesitate after seeing the food. They each grabbed a box, took out their money, and handed it to Xu An.
Perhaps Uncle Dongliang had told them in advance, as they all handed over exactly eight yuan, requiring no change.
After buying their food, this first wave of customers didn’t leave. Instead, they broke into small groups, found a shady spot under a tree, and squatted down to eat.
Only after they had all bought theirs did Uncle Dongliang pick up a box for himself and hand Xu An eight yuan.
"Uncle, you don’t have to. This one’s on me."
"Even brothers must keep clear accounts. Business is business. If you don’t charge everyone you know, how are you supposed to run a business?" Not taking no for an answer, he stuffed the money into Xu An’s hand, took his box lunch, and went to the shade to squat with the other workers and eat.
Xu An tidied up the box lunches left in the two styrofoam coolers. Only six remained. Uncle Dongliang’s group had bought twenty-four of them.
Biting her finger, Xu Le tilted her head to look at Qiao Xingguo, who was standing hesitantly by the tricycle. Suddenly, she broke free from Xu Heping’s hand and scurried over to him.
"Mister, are you hungry? Do you want some food?" Xu Le tugged on the corner of Qiao Xingguo’s shirt. "My big brother’s food is super yummy, you know! Look at my tummy, it’s so full."
As she spoke, Xu Le tried to lift her shirt to show Qiao Xingguo her round, full little belly, but a quick-reacting Xu An stopped her. He shot her a look that said, ’We’ll settle this later.’
Xu Le was immediately indignant. She protested loudly to Xu An, "Big brother’s food *is* super yummy!"
Her little shout was soft and breathy; it sounded less like she was angry and more like she was pouting.
This made the workers, who were in the middle of heartily enjoying their box lunches, burst out laughing. They gave the pair a thumbs-up.
"That’s right, the food’s delicious."
Having her words confirmed, Xu Le was immensely proud. She put her hands on her hips, tilted her head back, and looked down her nose at Xu An.
Not to be outdone, Xu Kang forcibly dragged Xu Heping over to the site entrance and shouted inside, "My big brother is selling box lunches! Super yummy box lunches!"
At his shouts, several workers heading for the site cafeteria turned to look. Their interest seemingly piqued, they talked amongst themselves for a moment before heading over.
Smelling the aroma of the food in the air and looking at the big, blinking eyes of the little girl beside him, he was reminded of his own daughter back home. She was about the same age as Xu Le.
Qiao Xingguo slowly raised his right hand and decisively picked up a box lunch.
"Mister, a box lunch is eight yuan, you know," Xu Le reminded him at just the right time.
Qiao Xingguo pulled a ten-yuan bill from his pocket, handed it to Xu Le, and asked gently, "Mister is giving you ten yuan. How much change should you give Mister back?"
Xu Le took the money and immediately handed it to Xu An, replying very seriously, "Mister, I haven’t started school yet. I don’t know my numbers."
This once again amused the people eating nearby.
The few men Xu Kang had managed to attract had reached the entrance. They glanced at the group eating under the tree and walked over, wanting to see what was inside the boxes.
The worker didn’t mind at all and generously held his lunch box open for them to get a clear look.
Upon seeing the large meat patty, the glossy, red eggplant with minced pork that was soaked in sauce, and the cabbage with glass noodles glistening temptingly with oil, all three men swallowed hard. They rushed over to the tricycle, scrambling to grab a box lunch for themselves.
Spurred on by Xu Kang’s high-pitched calls, several more groups of workers came by. They bought one, two, or even three boxes at a time, and soon the remaining six were sold out.
Xu An packed up the tricycle and went to squat in the shade with Xu Heping and the two kids, waiting for feedback from Uncle Dongliang.
Qiao Xingguo carried his box lunch back under the tree and squatted down. He opened the rice container first. The grains were plump and fluffy and carried the unique aroma of being cooked over a wood fire.
He prodded the meat patty with his chopsticks, and juices oozed from the crevices, releasing the savory aroma of pork.
He picked up a piece of eggplant. The thick sauce slid slowly down its surface, hesitating on the edge, about to drip but not quite falling.
As for the last dish, the cabbage and glass noodles, he didn’t need a close look. A single glance told him it would be delicious and refreshing, a perfect, filling counterpoint to the richer dishes.
’For the first time ever, Qiao Xingguo wished his wife would get off work sooner. Why was she so slow today?’ He quickly put all the lids back on the containers. If he looked any longer, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from eating before she arrived.
Having worked on construction sites for years, Uncle Dongliang had developed the habit of wolfing down his food. The box lunch, including the rice, dishes, and soup, was a hefty meal, but he polished it off in just a few massive mouthfuls. He finished by gulping down the tomato and egg drop soup in one go and letting out a long, satisfied burp.
’Now that was a satisfying meal.’
The few buddies around Uncle Dongliang had finished in much the same fashion. They too craned their necks and let out loud, comfortable burps.
’Who knew how long it had been since they’d eaten a proper meal. The stuff they usually ate was just to fill their bellies; you could hardly even call it food.’
Though they were manual laborers, they were all considerate, packing their empty containers into bags before tossing them in the trash.
One of the workers squatted down next to Xu An. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out two, and offered one to Xu An and the other to Xu Heping.
"You coming back tomorrow? As long as the food stays this good and the price is the same, I’ll buy from you every time."
"If you guys liked it and want more, I’ll be back tomorrow."
"Delicious! It was great! You should come every day. We’ve been sick of that slop they serve in the cafeteria for ages."
Just then, the main wave of workers finishing their shift began pouring out of the construction site.
Their eyes lit up when they spotted the cardboard sign on Xu An’s tricycle, but upon getting closer, they saw only two empty coolers. Looking slightly disappointed, they turned and headed for the row of restaurants across the road.
Qiao Xingguo’s wife was as sturdily built as he was. She had a neat, short haircut and a dashing air about her.
She walked out from the main gate of the site, glanced around, and spotted Qiao Xingguo. Striding over to his side, she took off her hard hat and sat down.
"I didn’t see you in the cafeteria, so I figured you were getting something better to eat. Whose box lunch did you get today? What’s in it?"
Qiao Xingguo grinned at his wife and lined up the three food containers in a row before her.
"Meat patty with egg, eggplant with minced pork, and cabbage with glass noodles. Plus a big helping of white rice and a tomato and egg drop soup." He held up the soup. "And look at this soup! It has actual tomato and egg in it, not like that dishwater we usually get."
Qiao Xingguo’s wife winced at the sight of all the food containers.
"Did the foreman give you a raise or something? A bonus? Why’d you buy so much food? How much did all this cost?"
"How much do you think?"
"For dishes like these? At least ten yuan."
"Wrong. A whole meal like this is only eight yuan. It’s made by Xu Dongliang’s younger brother—you know, Xu Dongliang from the next work crew. Look, over there. He just finished eating his."
Qiao Xingguo’s wife looked where he was pointing. She’d seen that man on site a few times but never knew his name.
"Then it must be legit. He wouldn’t dare claim the kid as his brother if it was a scam. After all, the younger brother could skip town, but he’s stuck working here."
With that said, she broke apart her disposable chopsticks, picked up a large chunk of the meat patty, and ate it with a mouthful of rice. Her eyes immediately narrowed in pure bliss.
"Ah, now *this* is what I call a proper meal. Eating noodles with some random topping every day... it feels like we’re eating pig slop."
The couple then shared the meal, trading bites until they had scraped the containers clean. Even so, they were left wanting more.
"There were a lot of side dishes, but not quite enough rice. If only there was more rice."
"We should be grateful. Think about Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant across the street. For a single chicken leg with a few greens and a box of rice, they have the nerve to charge eight yuan."
Uncle Dongliang stretched languidly, walked over to Xu An, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Not bad at all. Keep it up, kid. Your uncle will help you pull in more customers."
"You got it! Thanks, Uncle Dongliang." Xu An took out a cigarette and offered it to him.
Uncle Dongliang snatched the cigarette and gave Xu An a light smack on the back of the head. "When did you start smoking? Who taught you? Why are you picking up bad habits like this?"
"It’s for business. How am I supposed to break the ice and talk to people if I don’t carry a pack of cigarettes?"
"That’s true. You’re a clever kid, aren’t you."