She bought twenty mugs—something she would never have splurged on in the past.
"Godmother, these pears are all sour. What do you need so many for?"
Wang Shuo had hauled back several large baskets of sand pears.
"I was planning to sell roasted sweet potatoes outside the hospital, but there are way too many people doing that now. Then I thought pear soup would be nice—perfect for patients, warm and soothing. When the weather turns cold, a bowl of it would be just the thing, and the families wouldn’t mind paying for it."
"Godmother, you’re amazing! How do you even come up with these ideas? Do you have enough pears? They’re so sour and rough that no one even picks them from the trees. I’ll go get all of them for you."
Wang Shuo was full of energy. Even though his status had risen, there weren’t many things his godmother needed him for. Now that she finally had a task for him, he made sure to pick the pears himself.
"Good. If we can’t sell them all, we can always make pear syrup later."
Life had improved, and people’s tastes had grown more particular.
Yang Yufen also dug out the dates sent to her by folks from the village.
On the first day, she didn’t prepare too much—her oven wasn’t that big, and she still needed space for the sweet potatoes.
"Roasted sweet potatoes! Sweet and fragrant roasted sweet potatoes!"
"Roasted snow pears! Sweet and nourishing roasted snow pears! Soothes coughs and moistens the lungs—nice and hot!"
Yang Yufen tied her apron and started calling out to passersby.
It was almost mealtime, and the families accompanying patients in the hospital would surely be looking to buy food.
"Roasted snow pears? Do they really help with coughs?"
Soon, someone approached.
"My pear soup has red dates and rock sugar—all good stuff. In the fall, when kids cough, we stew snow pears into soup for them. A few bowls later, the coughing eases. Doesn’t that sound effective?"
Yang Yufen used tongs to pull out a mug. When she lifted the lid, the warm, fragrant steam of the pear soup wafted out.
"I’ll take a bowl. Pour it into my lunchbox. How much?"
"One yuan. Pears aren’t cheap, and I’ve added red dates and rock sugar—it’s very sweet."
"Alright."
Yang Yufen poured the pear soup into the lunchbox, sealed it, and even placed a roasted sweet potato on top.
"You’re my first customer today, so I’ll give you a free sweet potato. Taking care of a patient is hard—don’t forget to take care of yourself too."
She smiled as she took the money.
"If this pear soup is good, I’ll tell everyone at the hospital to come buy from you."
The young man happily walked off with his lunchbox.
Yang Yufen was confident in her product. Her own family loved it—it couldn’t be bad.
Once the first sale was made, more customers followed. The twenty mugs of pear soup sold out quickly, with some even placing advance orders.
"I didn’t bring enough pears today. There’s only this much left—you’ll have to wait half an hour. I’ll come earlier tomorrow and save some for you."
"Please, auntie, make sure you save me a bowl."
Even after the pear soup ran out, many still bought sweet potatoes.
Yang Yufen wasn’t too disappointed that she didn’t see Shen Xianjun at the hospital entrance again. She had made good money today—setting up her own stall really was the way to go.
She returned home in high spirits. After a long stretch without income, she counted the day’s earnings over and over—fifty-six yuan in total—before carefully putting it away.
Days passed, and Qin Nian still hadn’t returned. However, Professor Wen paid a visit.
"Nian will be done with her work by the end of the year. We’ll have a reunion dinner together then."
"Wonderful, wonderful."
"Mother-in-law, you’ve started a small business again?"
Professor Wen hadn’t missed the changes in the household.
"Yes. The children are growing up bit by bit, and Nian works so hard. I’m still strong and capable—I can still do things."
Since the military parade, small vendors’ businesses had been thriving even more.
"That’s good. Keeping busy keeps the emptiness away. That tricycle of yours looks old—I’ll have Xiao Jun find you a new one."
"It still works. No need to trouble him—Nian’s eldest brother is so busy already."
"We’re family. Nothing is too big or small. Once it snows, that old tricycle might cause trouble."
With the parade over, Hu Jun finally had some time off.
"Alright then. But I’ll pay for it myself."
Yang Yufen didn’t refuse this time.
The snow pear soup business was doing even better than the sweet potatoes. In just half a month, she had already earned eight hundred yuan.
Luckily, she didn’t have to worry about pears—her godson had taken care of that. And since she didn’t skimp on sugar, no one could compete with her.
By mid-November, a light snow fell, and Yang Yufen’s business boomed even more.
Patients often lost their appetite, but a bowl of warm pear soup could bring it back. Plus, as the weather turned colder, more people fell ill.
Her stove never stopped working. She doubled the number of mugs to forty, and even that was barely enough.
Every day, as the stack of money grew thicker, Yang Yufen felt more energized than ever.
A little more savings, and she could buy another small house—this time near the research institute instead of the university district.
The children wouldn’t be on break until January. She had already planned it out: once they were home, she’d stop selling. After the New Year, when they went back to school, she’d start again.
"One bowl of pear soup, please. Brother Lan, do you want some?"
A familiar voice rang out. Yang Yufen, who had been bending down to place mugs into the stove, flinched, nearly tipping one over.
"Just a moment. Did you bring a lunchbox?"
She forced her voice to stay steady.
"No. Do you sell the mugs? I can leave a two-yuan deposit and return it later."
"That’s fine."
She prepared a bowl of pear soup.
"Not for me," Brother Lan declined.
"Brother Lan, why don’t you stay and take care of Rourou? I can handle the rest alone."
"Alone won’t work. I’ve hired a nanny for Rourou—she’ll take good care of her and the baby."
Brother Lan lit a cigarette.
Shen Xianjun handed three yuan to Yang Yufen.
"Auntie, check if this is enough. I’ll return the mug later."
"Alright."
She took the money, her gaze briefly lingering on the handwriting before tucking it into her wallet with the rest.
"Go ahead. I’ll wait here," Brother Lan said, flicking ash from his cigarette.
Shen Xianjun nodded and headed into the hospital.
"Auntie, I’ll buy that mug. Give me my friend’s money back."
Brother Lan pulled out a ten-yuan bill. Yang Yufen reached into her wallet and handed over the change.
"Here."
She pulled out the three yuan.
"Is this the right three yuan? I thought one of the bills had a torn corner."
Brother Lan frowned slightly.
"It’s these three. I just put them in. Are you trying to pass off counterfeit money on me?"
Yang Yufen quickly snatched the bills back, her voice sharp with suspicion.
"No, no! I just didn’t want you to give me the wrong ones by mistake."
Brother Lan laughed it off, but her raised voice had already drawn curious glances from nearby.
