Chapter 6 The Aroma of Roast Goose Rice Makes One’s Mouth Water…

Bai Yuanzhi took the bus again, heading toward Shuangqiao Street.

It was already past the morning rush hour, so there weren’t many people on the bus.

Zhou Zhaodi kept repeating herself, chattering incessantly in Bai Yuanzhi’s ear, “What are we going to do now?”

“We have nowhere to stay, and no money for food!”

“If I’d known we couldn’t rely on Mom or Big Sister, why did I go through all that trouble to come here? Wouldn’t it have been better to stay in our hometown? Even if life was a bit tough, at least we wouldn’t starve!”

“Well, on the other hand, it’s not so bad to come here and see the prosperity of capitalism.”

“Hey, Third Sister, do you think if I turn myself in to Yiming Ge and admit I’m an illegal immigrant, he’ll send me back to the mainland?”

“Third Sister, say something!” As she spoke, Zhou Zhaodi vigorously shook Bai Yuanzhi’s arm.

But before Bai Yuanzhi could answer,

Zhou Zhaodi changed her mind again, “Forget it, I’d better not go back. If I really go back, I’ll end up being a servant for Dad and Old Fifth. I’ll just stick with you, Third Sister.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Zhaodi pressed Bai Yuanzhi again, “Sis, how much money did Mom give us?”

Bai Yuanzhi was lost in thought.

Shaken out of her reverie, she finally heard Zhou Zhaodi’s question clearly.

Bai Yuanzhi told her honestly, “A thousand.”

Zhou Zhaodi’s eyes lit up, “Wow—”

In the early 1980s, housing prices in Hong Kong City were very high, around six to seven thousand Hong Kong dollars per square meter.

This also made rent extremely expensive.

For example, a fifty-square-meter apartment cost over three hundred thousand.

To rent a fifty-square-meter apartment in a bustling area with good amenities, the monthly rent was around a thousand dollars!

During this era, the wage gap in Hong Kong City was also quite large.

Those with education, wearing suits and working in high-end office buildings, earned four to five thousand a month;

Those without education, doing heavy manual labor like construction work or dock unloading, could still make two to three thousand;

Those without education and unable to do heavy or highly polluting work, working in convenience stores, earned around seven to eight hundred a month.

In Bai Yuanzhi’s memory, Zhou Xiangmei’s current husband, Wu Hao, had also illegally immigrated from the mainland in his early years. But he was clever—after obtaining his residency, he attended night school and earned a high school diploma, then went into insurance sales. His income was decent, placing him in the white-collar class, with a monthly salary plus commissions totaling around four to five thousand.

That was why he could afford to live in a high-end residential area.

Now, Zhou Xiangmei was giving Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi a thousand dollars to fend for themselves?

With just a thousand dollars, they were supposed to establish themselves in Hong Kong City?

It was nothing short of a fantasy.

Unaware of the reality, Zhou Zhaodi clapped her hands happily, “Wow, that’s great! Third Sister, Mom’s actually been pretty good to us! She gave us a thousand dollars…”

Bai Yuanzhi remained silent.

The bus arrived at their stop.

Bai Yuanzhi led Zhou Zhaodi off the bus and walked toward Shuangqiao Street.

It was already past eleven in the morning.

The scene now was completely different from the early morning.

Shops and stalls lining both sides of the street were all open, their colorful and vibrant signs particularly eye-catching. Young female salesclerks hired by the shops, dressed in white shirts and black pants, stood at the entrances, enthusiastically inviting every passerby to come in and take a look.

On the narrow sidewalks, pedestrians hurried back and forth;

The roads were already packed with vehicles of all sizes…

It’s so bustling!

At first, Zhou Zhaodi was full of enthusiasm, finding everything fresh and exciting.

“Wow, discounted shirts, three for a hundred yuan!”

“Bruise medicine, a hundred yuan… for one bottle? What kind of bruise medicine is this expensive?”

“Imported television, th-three thousand yuan?”

“Ah, a fast-food meal with one meat and two vegetables costs fifteen yuan?!”

She slowly began to feel that something was off and quickly grabbed Bai Yuanzhi’s sleeve. “Sis! The prices here…”

Zhou Zhaodi grew more anxious the more she thought about it. “A single meal costs fifteen yuan? Goodness, back in our hometown, twenty yuan could feed our family of five for a whole month!”

“What’s going on here?”

“Mom only gave us a thousand yuan, which means it’s only enough for about sixty or seventy fast-food meals?”

“Sis! What are we going to do?” Zhou Zhaodi was so worried she was on the verge of tears.

Bai Yuanzhi couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Zhou Zhaodi.

She pulled her sleeve free from Zhou Zhaodi’s tight grip and strode purposefully toward Jiang’s Roast Meat Shop at the corner.

Zhou Zhaodi hurriedly chased after her.

Inside the small Jiang’s Roast Meat Shop, only Aunt Jiang was there, overwhelmed with work.

Bai Yuanzhi walked over. “Aunt Jiang.”

Aunt Jiang glanced up at Bai Yuanzhi, then lowered her head to continue slicing the roast meat, saying, “Ah Zhi, you’re back? Have you seen your sister?”

“I have,” Bai Yuanzhi replied succinctly. “Elder Sister is completely unconscious, and I have no idea when she’ll wake up.”

Without looking up, Aunt Jiang comforted Bai Yuanzhi, “Don’t worry! Good people are rewarded! Si’er is such a good girl, she’ll definitely be fine.”

Bai Yuanzhi nodded and asked, “Aunt Jiang, can I work for you?”

Aunt Jiang immediately looked up, alert. “Ah Zhi, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but… this is a small business, and I really can’t afford to hire anyone…”

Hiding behind Bai Yuanzhi, Zhou Zhaodi felt both embarrassed and flustered, almost on the verge of tears again.

But Bai Yuanzhi spoke up confidently, “Aunt Jiang, we just arrived from the mainland yesterday. We have nowhere to stay and don’t know anyone here. I wanted to ask, if my sister and I help you until three in the afternoon, could you give us… one roast meat meal each? We don’t need the meat, just some gravy over rice will do.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhaodi grew anxious and whispered to Bai Yuanzhi, “Sis, what about our dinner?”

Bai Yuanzhi turned to Zhou Zhaodi and said, “Didn’t your mom give us a thousand yuan? After we finish helping Aunt Jiang, we’ll go rent a place…”

“What? Your aunt only gave you a thousand yuan and expects you two… to rent a place on your own?” Aunt Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Bai Yuanzhi nodded.

Aunt Jiang started scolding, “Is your aunt out of her mind? How can a thousand yuan be enough to rent a place? And you two are so young… Ah Zhi, how old are you?” Aunt Jiang asked again.

Bai Yuanzhi replied, “I’m… eighteen, and Zhao’er is sixteen.”

Zhou Zhaodi wanted to protest, thinking, “But you’re seventeen, and I’m fifteen!”

However, after Bai Yuanzhi shot her a fierce glare, she kept quiet.

Bai Yuanzhi went to wash her hands and started helping Aunt Jiang.

Usually, Aunt Jiang managed the roast meat shop alone.

She needed to finish slicing and arranging all the prepared roast meat before lunchtime and cook two large pots of white rice.

By noon, when the nearby workers arrived, she would collect money and serve meals at the same time.

The customers sat at the small tables and chairs set up outside the roast meat shop, eating quickly.

At the moment, Bai Yuanzhi helped Auntie Jiang set up all the folding tables and chairs, wiping them clean;

Then she went inside to help Auntie Jiang wash the stainless steel meal trays one by one, stacking them neatly to the side.

Auntie Jiang initially wanted to say there was no need,

but then she thought,

the only reward these two sisters wanted was two bowls of rice drizzled with meat gravy.

So Auntie Jiang decided to put Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi to work.

After her rebirth, Bai Yuanzhi had spent a few days doing farm work in the small mountain village, so she was quick and efficient.

When Auntie Jiang taught her how to slice the char siu, she cut it fast and thin;

When Auntie Jiang showed her how to serve rice, she learned quickly and did it well, getting the portions just right!

Zhou Zhaodi was a bit less skilled at the work, but she made up for it with her youth and quick thinking.

Auntie Jiang taught her how to serve the dishes.

Starting from half past eleven, people began coming in for roast meat rice.

But there weren’t many.

Auntie Jiang handled the payments, Bai Yuanzhi served the rice, and Zhou Zhaodi delivered the dishes…

They managed to work together quite well.

As soon as it passed twelve, waves of people started flooding into the area.

Soon, the roast meat shop was packed to the brim!

Some came to eat in the shop, while others, finding no seats available, opted to take their meals to the office buildings.

The three of them were kept busy nonstop.

They stayed busy until half past one in the afternoon, when the crowd in Auntie Jiang’s shop gradually thinned out.

Bai Yuanzhi took a moment to say to Auntie Jiang, “Auntie Jiang, could my sister and I have our meal later in the evening? My aunt said she’ll come to your shop at half past two to treat Zhaodi and me to lunch.”

Auntie Jiang replied, “No problem! Don’t worry, when your aunt arrives, I’ll make sure she treats you both to Roast Goose legs!”

Bai Yuanzhi smiled faintly.

In roast meat shops, Roast Goose was considered the top-tier item.

Auntie Jiang’s shop was no exception.

Her cheapest set meal was the eight-yuan rice, which included plain rice—though without meat, it was drizzled with meat gravy—along with a braised egg, stir-fried pickled vegetables, and blanched bean sprouts;

Next was the ten-yuan roast meat rice, which didn’t include a braised egg but came with one meat dish. Except for Roast Goose, roast pork ribs, chicken wings, and chicken legs, all other options were available, though the portions were smaller.

For twelve yuan, you could order chicken wings or chicken legs;

Fifteen yuan got you a double portion rice;

Eighteen yuan allowed you to order roast pork ribs;

And for twenty yuan, you could have Roast Goose rice.

Bai Yuanzhi was quite looking forward to trying Auntie Jiang’s Roast Goose.

Because—

it smelled absolutely incredible!

Around ten to two, the last customer finished their meal and left.

Auntie Jiang instructed Bai Yuanzhi to close up.

Bai Yuanzhi, along with Zhou Zhaodi, put away all the tables and chairs and swept the street.

Auntie Jiang, meanwhile, began preparing for the evening rush.

Bai Yuanzhi seized the moment to ask Auntie Jiang if there were any rental properties nearby.

Auntie Jiang shook her head, “Don’t even think about renting around here!”

“Your aunt and uncle’s small two-bedroom apartment, just 400 square feet (about 40 square meters), costs thirteen hundred a month in rent!”

“My house is about the same size as your aunt’s, but we bought ours—over five hundred thousand! We’re still carrying over a hundred thousand in debt. Thankfully, Yiming started working this year. Sigh, we might be able to pay off the loan in the next ten years!”

Hearing this, Bai Yuanzhi roughly understood why Wu Jiayin and Chen Yongzhen had been so eager when they saw Jiang Yiming yesterday.

Aunt Jiang continued, “Ah Zhi, when your aunt comes later, you should talk to her properly. A thousand dollars really doesn’t go far—ask her to give you a bit more money. This is Hong Kong City, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, not like the countryside back in the mainland!”

Zhou Zhaodi listened with tears welling up in her eyes.

Aunt Jiang went on, “But then again, that’s just how it is here in Hong Kong City. Even the rich, no matter how wealthy they are, never seem to have enough money! As for the poor, well, they can always find a way to survive, no matter how little they have!”

“Ah Zhi, if your aunt really refuses to give you more money, it’s not like there’s no other way…”

Before Bai Yuanzhi could ask,

Zhou Zhaodi anxiously interjected, “Aunt Jiang, what way is that?”

“Rent a subdivided flat!” Aunt Jiang said. “With a subdivided flat, you can keep the rent down to around two hundred dollars.”

“Of course, the environment and conditions in a subdivided flat aren’t exactly great, but what can you do? You need some time to transition.”

“Then, during this transition period, you can work hard, earn more money, and aim to rent a… better place in the future.”

Zhou Zhaodi, surprised, asked, “What does ‘subdivided flat’ mean?”

Just as Aunt Jiang was about to answer—

Zhou Xiangmei’s voice suddenly rang out, “What are you all doing here?”

Zhou Zhaodi quickly replied again, “Mom, we’re waiting for you here!”

She wasn’t foolish.

Especially since Bai Yuanzhi had just reminded her: “Mom is treating us to roast meat rice today, so we’ll save the two bowls of rice we earned from helping Aunt Jiang for dinner.”

“That way, we’ll get to eat two meals today.”

“When Mom arrives, make sure you don’t mention that we helped Aunt Jiang with work. If she decides not to spend money on our meal and even tries to take back our two bowls of rice, we’d be at a loss!”

Zhou Zhaodi then shouted loudly at Zhou Xiangmei, “Mom, I want roast goose rice! With an egg! Extra rice! My sister does too!”

Zhou Xiangmei was taken aback, her lips twitching with anger.

Author’s note: