"Jingjing, do you want some?" Qu the Hunter asked.
Qu Jing looked at the pastries. She’s not foolish; in recent days, being able to have enough sweet potatoes and corn was enough to make the village children envious. The legendary white steamed buns only appeared in the village gossip about the landlord’s son who ate himself to death.
The pastries in front of her, except for the poorly presented black steamed bun, looked far more exquisite than white steamed buns. Qu Jing decisively shook her head.
Qu the Hunter knew she wanted some.
The shop was empty, but it was clear there was a partition inside. Qu the Hunter gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, "Anyone here?"
"Yes." A young man in a long gown emerged from the partition inside.
Seeing that the guests were a grandparent and grandchild, the young man was somewhat surprised. He took a few extra looks at Qu Jing but didn’t show any disdain despite their ten-day-worn appearance, and asked, "What would you like, guests?"
The young man’s politeness made Qu the Hunter more nervous. He glanced at the exquisite snacks on display and asked, "Shopkeeper, something to nourish the child."
"Anything... good to eat..."
"Nourishing the body?" The young man looked at Qu Jing again and said with a smile, "This is a bakery, for nourishment, you’d need to go to a hospital or pharmacy; buying here is of no use."
"I have some cheap sticky rice cakes. Are you interested?"
The word "cheap" immediately caught Qu the Hunter’s attention. He stammered, "Chea...cheap?"
"Yes, I came from the south to open this bakery, unaware that the glutinous rice here isn’t suitable for making these cakes. Customers didn’t like the batch I made. See these displayed here? They can’t be returned."
"If you’re willing to buy, I can sell them to you at cost price and even throw in these pastries. How does that sound?"
Upon hearing such a good deal, Qu the Hunter’s first reaction was that the young man was setting up a trap to rob them. He instinctively looked back to check for any knife, axe, or gun-wielding robbers ready to take them down on the spot. Touching his sack-covered hunting rifle gave him a bit of reassurance, and he swallowed hard.
"How much do you have?"
Qu the Hunter instinctively reported all he had, except for his small yellow fish savings.
"Then let’s go with that price. I also have some extra glutinous rice I can include. By the way, do you read?"
Qu the Hunter shook his head.
"Then I’ll verbally tell you. You can take these bags of glutinous rice home and make cakes. I’ll tell you the method for making them."
"Didn’t you say the glutinous rice here isn’t suitable for making cakes?" Qu Jing suddenly spoke up.
"That’s true, but I only know how to use glutinous rice to make cakes, and can’t make other snacks. I hate wasting them. I’m just trying to recover some loss." The young man smiled kindly at Qu Jing.
Without any hesitation, Qu Jing said to Qu the Hunter, "Grandpa, let’s help him out."
Qu the Hunter was still in the initial stage of being overjoyed by Qu Jing’s calling him grandpa. Bewildered by the pastries and moved by being called grandpa, he agreed without thinking and took out the money to buy the sticky rice cakes.
"Is that sugar wrapped around this cake?" Qu Jing asked.
"Yes, I also have some sugar used for wrapping cakes to give you as well. How’s your memory? I’ll tell you the recipe and the recipe for the red bean paste filling. I’ll write it down for you on paper, and you can have someone who can read read it to you." The young man took out a bag of sugar, weighing at least 10 pounds.
Twenty minutes later, Qu the Hunter left Qin’s Steamed Bun Shop in a daze, carrying pastries, glutinous rice, and sugar, with two precious recipes tucked in his bosom.
"Jingjing, business in the city is really strange. Such valuable things were given to me so cheaply." Qu the Hunter sighed.
"Grandpa, he was clearing stock, and we were lucky to catch it." Qu Jing replied.
"Yes, yes, lucky, indeed lucky, Jingjing’s luck to get such a deal as soon as we entered the city. Here, this rice cake or whatever, Jingjing, you eat first. I can see the sugar on top; it must be good for you!"
"Grandpa, you eat too." Qu Jing stuffed a small piece of sticky rice cake into Qu the Hunter’s mouth.
Qu Jing turned back to look at the young man in the shop. The young man smiled and waved at her, mouthing "Come again when free"—with a mysterious tone.
Qin Huai looked at the young man’s mouth and felt puzzled, wishing he had a copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas in hand to consult.
He figured it out. The young man was likely a spirit too. Since spirits from the first and last lives are easy to identify, the young man must have recognized Qu Jing at a glance and even knew her true form.
Taking pity on a fellow spirit in such dire straits, he lent a helping hand, selling some snacks cheaply.
Qu Jing did not respond, looking at Qu the Hunter.
"Grandpa, is it tasty?"
"Delicious, these rice cakes are really good! Sweet and soft. When we get back, Grandpa will learn to make them so Jingjing can eat them at home."