"Stop, stop, stop, don’t say another word! Rui Ning, you’re so twisted!"...

Inside the shop.

Jiang Tongtong, eating her dumplings, called out sweetly, "Grandpa Xia!"

Jiang Liu had cooked three dumplings for her.

He was afraid she would eat too much and get a stomachache.

"Oh! Where’s your dad?"

"Daddy’s busy in the back. You can sit down first, Grandpa Xia. If there’s anything you want to eat, Tongtong will make it for you."

"Hahaha, you little cutie. Oh, my heart can’t take it."

Xia Changzhi was so amused he shook like a dry twig.

"Uncle Xia, you’re here?" Jiang Liu said, coming out of the kitchen.

Xia Changzhi waved his hand. "Xiao Jiang, hurry up and get me some dumplings. I’m dying for some."

He had spent a lot of time with Jiang Liu, and the two had grown closer.

They couldn’t even be bothered with pleasantries anymore.

Jiang Liu nodded and said with a smile, "Alright, just wait a moment. I’ll have Qingmeng make you some dumplings."

"Okay, but tell your wife to hurry up. Otherwise, I might pass out from hunger in your shop."

GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE.

Jiang Tongtong looked at Xia Changzhi and started to laugh.

An image popped into her head of Xia Changzhi fainting from hunger in the shop, with customers sitting on him to eat their meals.

Xia Changzhi sat up properly.

"Come on, come give Grandpa a hug, and I’ll buy you some cotton candy."

"No!"

Tongtong shook her head cutely.

She was her daddy’s girl.

"You little thing, quite the proud one, aren’t you?"

Xia Changzhi was already prepared. He pulled a large bag of corn-flavored gummy candies from his pocket.

"Want some?"

Tongtong’s eyes lit up, and she cried out in her childish voice, "Yes!"

"Then come over and give Grandpa a hug, and Grandpa will give you some!"

"Waaah, I’m going to tell Daddy you’re bullying me!"

"Oh, you little troublemaker, here, take them, take them!"

Xia Changzhi quickly ran over to placate her.

’If Xiao Jiang finds out I made his daughter cry... what if he won’t let me eat dumplings?’

"Don’t cry, don’t cry. Grandpa will give you some candy."

Tongtong wiped her tears, took the gummy candies, and ran to the kitchen.

Jiang Liu was weighing some ham.

Jun Qingmeng was boiling dumplings.

"Daddy, want some candy?"

"Hm? Where’d you get candy?"

"Hehe, Grandpa Xia gave it to me."

"Let me have one."

"Then you have to hug me. Hug Tongtong, and I’ll give you one."

"Oh, so you’ve learned to make deals now?"

Jiang Liu hugged Tongtong, and she happily fed him a piece of candy.

Then she ran over to Jun Qingmeng. "Mommy, want some candy? If you want some, you have to hug me!"

"Come here, let me hug you."

"Open your mouth, Mommy."

"Mmm! Tongtong’s candy is so yummy."

Xia Changzhi watched, dumbfounded, as Tongtong used his candy to trade for hugs.

’She’s already putting what she learned to use?’

’This little girl is so clever!’

A little while later, the dumplings were ready.

Jiang Liu had specifically told Jun Qingmeng to make over fifty of them.

More than two full orders.

"They’re finally ready! How much, Xiao Jiang?"

"Thirty."

Xia Changzhi looked at the large box filled to the brim with glistening, translucent dumplings, and his heart was touched.

Just the smell of these dumplings was incredible.

They were worth five hundred, let alone thirty.

’Boss Jiang is really good to me.’

"Do you have any vinegar?"

"Yes, go get it yourself from the counter... Uh, Uncle, are you planning to eat by the door?" Jiang Liu asked, watching Xia Changzhi walk toward the entrance with the plate.

"That’s right. My old buddies were insisting I share some with them. The whole group has been craving your dumplings."

As he spoke, Xia Changzhi hitched up his pants. "A moment ago, they nearly pulled my pants right off..."

Jiang Liu laughed. "Then you’d better hurry and share with them. You wouldn’t want to lose your pants and have your wife get the wrong idea when you get home."

Xia Changzhi laughed too. "Haha, don’t worry. My belt is on tight. They could tear my pants to shreds, and they still wouldn’t fall off!"

"You get back to it, Xiao Jiang. I’m heading out."

Xia Changzhi carried out a large plate of bright, translucent dumplings, from which a fragrant aroma gently wafted.

He plopped himself down at the entrance and placed a small dish of dark, glossy vinegar on the ground.

He picked up a beef and green onion dumpling, dipped it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The first taste was sour, the wrapper soft and tender. With one bite through the thin, chewy skin, rich beef juices flooded his mouth.

The beef was so tender,

so fragrant!

Paired with the tangy aged vinegar, it was pure bliss!

"These dumplings are amazing!!"

?

The line went quiet.

A thousand people watched Xia Changzhi chew his dumpling with his eyes closed.

After a moment of silence, the crowd exploded with noise.

"Damn it! That old bastard is going too far, torturing us like this right in front of our faces!"

"It’s over. Dammit, I should’ve known to come earlier. This is so infuriating! What am I supposed to do? I want Brother Jiang’s dumplings so bad."

"Can you smell that? I think it’s the beef filling."

"Beef? I don’t know, I thought I heard there was a pork and cabbage one."

"I can’t take it anymore, stop talking! Any more of this and I’m really going to die from craving right here at Boss Jiang’s door."

The customers at the back of the line were on the verge of collapse.

The greatest pain in the world was seeing Boss Jiang’s delicious food being made, yet only being able to watch and not eat it!

A few old men craned their necks and walked over, trying to curry favor.

Amidst countless pairs of longing eyes, Xia Changzhi, with a punchable look on his face, took out four small round containers he had gotten from the shop.

He had placed five dumplings in each container.

"Here, take them. This is for you lot. Don’t say I didn’t give you any, and next time, no pulling on my pants!"

"This is way too little, Old Xia!"

"How can you be so stingy? Who’s gonna get full off just a few? Give us five more!"

"It’s more than enough! This is all I have. If I give them all to you, what will I eat?" Xia Changzhi clutched the plate in his hands, afraid this group of old rascals would snatch it away.

Uncle Li wasn’t happy. He cursed viciously, "Go on, eat it all! I hope you stuff yourself to death! Boss Jiang gave you forty or fifty dumplings; he must have meant for them to be shared with us!"

"What do you mean, ’shared with you’? They were clearly all for me! Boss Jiang only gave me so many because we’re close."

"Bullshit!"

"Forget it, Old Li. We’ll get him back next time we play cards. Let’s eat, they’ll get cold soon."

The chive and egg dumpling entered his mouth.

Uncle Wang’s eyes lit up.

"Excellent! These dumplings are excellent!"

"Boss Jiang’s skill is really on another level. If only Boss Jiang would sell us some dumplings during the New Year, I’d definitely show off in front of my relatives!"

The men devoured their dumplings in just a few bites.

Their gazes once again fixed on the dumplings on Xia Changzhi’s plate.

"What are you looking at? I already gave you some!"

Xia Changzhi met several pairs of gleaming eyes, and he quickly hugged his plate and turned his back.

Terrified of being robbed.

"Old Wang, what’s the plan?"

"Do we go for it?"

"Fuck it, let’s get him!"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Before Xia Changzhi could react, he was grabbed by Old Wang.

Old Li was in charge of securing the dumplings.

Old Kong was in charge of pulling his arm.

Uncle Niu held down his legs to prevent him from escaping.

The division of labor was clear.

Xia Changzhi struggled for a second before his dumplings were snatched away.

He wanted to cry but had no tears.

Old Li took off running with the steaming hot dumplings.

He even managed to stuff one into his mouth along the way.

"You shameless old bastards! Just you wait! I’m never sharing with you again!"

Xia Changzhi stood behind them, flustered and exasperated, cursing up a storm.

The customers in line were greatly amused.

"Hahaha, that’s hilarious."

"That bastard finally got what was coming to him."

"Serves him right, haha."

Even Tongtong was hugging the glass door, giggling away.

The customers finally made it to twelve o’clock.

Jiang Liu announced the start of business hours.

"He’s open! I’ll definitely be able to buy some dumplings today. Sigh, I wonder when Brother Jiang will add a permanent dish to the menu. These temporary specials are never enough. You eat them once, and whether you can get them again is all up to luck!"

"Why think so much? It’s good enough that we have something to eat."

...