The bakery saleswoman saw a big fat face pressed against the glass counter, with a flattened nose, mouth tight against the glass, and two large eyes that were very black and lively.
"Little fat boy, do you want to buy some pastries?" She was a young woman, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and short hair by her ears. She was very enthusiastic.
"Baby, Big Baby!" Xibao pointed to his own nose, announcing his identity.
The saleswoman froze for a moment, then laughed, "Alright, big baby, do you want to buy some pastries?"
Xibao pointed at the box in the counter and turned to his grandfather, "Grandpa, cake! Cake!"
He had eaten it at Wang Xinsheng’s house before, so he remembered.
His grandfather immediately asked the saleswoman how much it was. The saleswoman replied, "One yuan a box. This is a white cake. When people in Shanghai go visit friends and family, they usually bring a box of white cake. There are ten pieces of white cake in a box. If you have local pastry coupons, you can use them to buy cake. If you do not have pastry coupons, you can use grain tickets to buy."
"Then buy a box!" His grandfather, who was not short of money, was very generous to his grandson. There were cakes that could be bought without cake coupons or grain tickets, but they were very expensive, ranging from ten to several dozen yuan, equivalent to a normal worker’s monthly wage. Still, he bought Xibao an expensive cream cake.
Consequently, the cream cake that was destined to be eaten by Xibao was several times more expensive than the plates used by Qianlong.
Xibao’s chubby face bloomed with a smile, and he didn’t want anything else.
His grandfather discovered that many high-priced items in the grocery store could be bought without coupons. Of course, most people can’t afford these prices, probably only people with very good living conditions can afford them.
Xibao carried the box of white cake, his grandfather carried the cream cake, and the two of them walked leisurely towards home, hand in hand.
They passed a state-run restaurant selling steamed buns, and Xibao wouldn’t leave, shouting, "Buns!"
His grandfather had no choice but to take out money and tickets, and bought him a large hot meat bun, plus four more for Wang Fengqiao and Feng Qingxue. They cost 10 cents each, so he spent a total of 50 cents, which was nothing compared to the change from buying the cream cake.
Xibao held the cake box in one hand and ate the big bun with the other hand.
The streets were full of pedestrians with patches on their clothes. Many people looked envious at Xibao’s consumption, especially the younger boys and girls. They stood by the wall, gulping from time to time.
After a while, they saw a teenager leading two smaller children picking up the baked sweet potato skins that others had thrown away on the snowy ground. All three were skinny, wearing thin and tattered clothes. The teenager swallowed his saliva as he passed the sweet potato skins and rotten vegetable leaves to the two children, watching them wolf them down.
Seeing this scene, Xibao’s grandfather felt a sudden pang in his heart. Xibao stopped eating his bun too, suddenly ran over and handed the half-eaten bun to the older boy, "Brother, eat!"
The teenager was at a loss, "Huh?"
His grandfather stepped forward and handed him all the buns in his hand, "Since my grandson Xibao has spoken, child, take it and eat!"
The aroma of the steamed buns drilled into the three of them’s noses. The mouths of the two smaller kids suddenly began to water, "Brother!"
"Sir, I...." However, the teenager dared not take it.
"Take it. Seeing you, I thought of our own children." His grandfather was referring to Guan Cheng and Guan Yu. He pushed the buns into teenager’s hands, then took out twenty yuan and ten pounds of grain tickets and gave them to him.