"In a couple of days. I’ll just bring some over for you then."

Jiang Liu was friendly toward the old woman, who often looked out for him. The bread cost him next to nothing, but it was a different story for the woman who was raising her grandson.

The old woman’s heart warmed, and she kept praising him, calling him a good kid. She picked out the best fennel for Jiang Liu and secretly slipped in an extra couple of pounds.

After saying goodbye to the old woman,

Jiang Liu went to the Vegetable Boss’s shop to buy produce.

The old woman’s stall was small and didn’t have the variety of the Vegetable Boss’s shop.

The Vegetable Boss’s eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Liu, and he hurried over to greet him. "Boss Jiang, you’re here! What are you looking to buy for lunch? I’ll pick it out for you myself. I guarantee it’s all top-quality stuff!"

Jiang Liu smiled and waved his hand. "No need. I can get it myself."

He didn’t want to always be a bother to the Vegetable Boss, so he refused the offer.

The Vegetable Boss chuckled and added, "My wife and I finished that bread you gave me. It was incredible! So delicious. After eating it once, I’m already craving it again. I feel like I could eat it every day and never get tired of it!"

"If you like it, I’ll make some and bring it over next time."

"No, no, no, I couldn’t possibly impose. If you’re selling it, I want to buy it."

The Vegetable Boss chattered on as he followed at Jiang Liu’s heels.

"Boss Jiang, let me tell you something in confidence. After my wife ate it, she said your bread is worth a hundred yuan an ounce. But if you ask me, she’s just a simple woman who doesn’t know any better. This bread of yours? Three hundred an ounce sounds about right!"

Jiang Liu just smiled without saying anything. He found the Vegetable Boss rather amusing.

After buying his vegetables, Jiang Liu insisted on paying.

On his way back, he saw someone at the market entrance selling creamy popcorn. Jiang Liu tried a piece, and with his Strong Sense of Taste, he quickly analyzed the ingredients.

White sugar, creamy butter, and a pinch of salt.

After confirming there were no unhealthy additives, Jiang Liu bought a pound for twenty yuan.

Back at the shop,

Jiang Liu sent a message to his dad, asking if he knew any good renovation crews.

He wanted to connect his small shop with the unit next door so he could accommodate more customers at once and shorten his business hours.

Jiang Dahai replied that he didn’t.

Jiang Liu was a little disappointed.

’Looks like I’ll have to ask my customers,’ he thought. ’A recommendation from a reliable acquaintance is definitely better than finding someone from an ad.’

’Some people get ripped off by acquaintances, but that just means they picked a bad one.’

Jiang Liu put down his phone and started preparing the food.

At five o’clock,

The yak meat was set to stew. He added beef marrow to the broth, and a rich, beefy aroma billowed from the pressure cooker, filling the entire kitchen.

Immediately after,

Jiang Liu started making shrimp ball soup. Since he was already making some, he decided to prepare a large pot. Besides what he would eat himself, he could sell the rest to his customers on the cheap. The ingredients cost less than a few hundred yuan.

The most important part of making shrimp ball soup was the preparation of the shrimp.

For this, Jiang Liu used meat from a Little Cyan Dragon. It had to be said, the texture of a Little Cyan Dragon was truly the pinnacle of all shrimp.

First, he used the flat of his cleaver to pound the translucent white shrimp meat into a paste. Then, he added minced scallions and ginger and chopped everything together rapidly, turning it into a sticky shrimp paste.

Then, he placed the large, five-and-a-half-pound mass of white shrimp paste in a bowl and mixed in cooking wine, salt, egg whites, starch, flour, and pepper.

Next, with his head down in concentration, Jiang Liu stirred the mixture clockwise by hand, working it until it developed the firm consistency of dough. He repeatedly slammed the paste against the side of the bowl to make the finished balls even bouncier.

Finally, he squeezed the mixture through his hand to form round balls and dropped them into a pot to cook. While the shrimp balls were simmering, Jiang Liu put seaweed, shredded tofu skin, chopped scallions, sesame oil, salt, and a splash of unfiltered beer into a separate bowl.

Once the balls were cooked through, all these ingredients would be added to the pot to enhance the flavor...

In less than twenty minutes, a large, fragrant pot of shrimp ball soup was ready.

The white balls bobbed in the savory broth.

Jiang Liu tried one. The ball was fresh, savory, and bouncy, with a smooth texture and a hint of scallion and sesame oil.

’...Not bad. I’d give this dish a seven out of ten!’

It was far more delicious than any shrimp ball soup he had ever eaten before.

Lost in his work, time flew by.

「At six in the evening.」

Tongtong returned to the shop, pulling Jun Qingmeng along by the hand.

The moment she walked in, Jiang Tongtong called out happily, "Daddy! Your wittle baby is back!!"

Jiang Liu came out.

"You’re back? Are you hungry?"

"Just a wittle, wittle bit!"

Tongtong pinched her thumb and index finger close together to show him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Alright. The buns will be ready in a bit. You two can have some to tide you over."

"Okay~"

"Daddy, look! Your little cutie brought you something fun!"

Jiang Liu was curious. "What is it?"

"Hehe, look!"

Tongtong pulled a pile of small, folded paper hearts from her schoolbag.

The hearts were folded from small sheets of colored paper—red, yellow, green...

Jiang Liu was surprised. "Where did you get so many of these? Did you fold them yourself?"

"Nope! Silly Daddy."

Jiang Tongtong said happily in her sweet, childish voice, "These little hearts are from the kids at my school for Daddy!"

"The kids gave them to me?"

"Mhm! It’s like this: Daddy gave Tongtong bread, and Tongtong shared it with lots of kids, and everyone really, really liked Daddy’s bread. But Tongtong’s friends don’t have any money, so they folded all these little hearts for Daddy instead."

"Do you like them, Daddy?"

Tongtong held out the hearts, looking at Jiang Liu with anticipation.

"I love them."

Jiang Liu smiled and nodded, picking up one of the hearts and turning it over in his hand.

To him, these little hearts from the children were far more meaningful than any amount of money.

"Tongtong, did you thank your friends for me?"

"Mhm! Of course I did." Tongtong nodded emphatically. "Daddy always tells Tongtong that when people are sincere, you have to thank them, hehe."

Jiang Liu stroked Tongtong’s head.

Tongtong squinted her eyes in contentment, her small hand clutching at his shirt.

Jiang Liu said, "Let’s keep these hearts in our shop. How about we go buy a needle and some thread later, and we can string them all together to hang up in the store?"

Jiang Tongtong gasped, covering her small mouth. "Daddy, that’s a great idea!"

Jiang Liu smiled.

"Daddy, aren’t you going to reward Tongtong?"

Jiang Tongtong held out her arms expectantly, asking for a hug.

Jiang Liu lifted Tongtong into his arms and gently booped her little nose.

"Hehe, Daddy is hugging Tongtong, so Tongtong is very happy now! I love you, Daddy!"

Jun Qingmeng, who had been enjoying the scene from the side, came closer with a blush. "Honey, your *big* cutie folded a heart for you, too. I want a hug... are you going to give me one or not!"

"Of course!"

With one arm supporting Tongtong’s bottom, Jiang Liu used his other to pull Jun Qingmeng into his embrace.

He was instantly enveloped in the goddess’s faint, sweet scent.

Tongtong, with her arms wrapped around Jiang Liu’s neck, said, "Daddy, it’s not just Mommy’s heart in there—there’s one from Tongtong, too! Mommy and I both folded one for you."

"Oh, really? That’s wonderful!"

"Daddy, quick, guess which one Tongtong folded, hehe."

"Hmm, let me see."

Jiang Liu rummaged through the pile of little hearts and finally picked one out.

"It must be this one, right?"

He held up a small yellow heart and gave it a little shake. This particular heart was folded quite poorly.

...