Whether it tasted good or not, it had certainly been an eye-opener.
Du Le was worried about Sun Qirui and seemed a little distracted.
Before long, it was time for Little Bun to get off work.
Suddenly, a startled cry of "Ow!" came from over there.
Du Le and I hurried over.
It turned out Little Bun had accidentally burned her hand while picking up a steamer basket.
She blew on it and said through clenched teeth, "It's fine. I'll run it under cold water, and it'll stop hurting."
"Do you have any soy sauce here? Or sweet bean sauce or chili bean paste?" I asked.
"No sweet bean sauce, but we have soy sauce. Why?"
"Quick, put some soy sauce on the burn. That'll keep it from blistering."
She did as I said, applied it a few times, then blew on it again.
"Do you usually go home for a nap?" I asked.
"In my dreams!" Little Bun glanced at me and said, "I only get an hour off. That's not even enough time to walk home and back."
As she spoke, she brought over a few buns and sat down with us.
Her hand didn't seem to hurt much anymore.
"How was the food? Did you get enough? Want some more?"
"Enough, enough, enough!" Du Le waved his hands frantically in alarm. "We had to force down what we just ate."
"Hahaha! Was it really that bad?" Little Bun laughed so hard her eyes all but disappeared.
"This is your lunch?" I asked.
"Yeah, meals are included. If I don't like the food, I have to go home and cook for myself. I think it's pretty good," Little Bun said as she ate.
I hadn't expected her to adjust to the local flavors so quickly.
"That's pretty nice, then. No handsome guys or air-conditioning, but at least there's food you like," I teased.
She chuckled, looking a little embarrassed about losing her composure the night before.
Sometimes, an adult could fall apart in a single moment.
Du Le and I also told her about how we'd been scammed.
"We were cheated out of all our tuition money. At least your pay is what they promised. For the money's sake, try not to let this upset you anymore," I said.
"Hahaha!" Little Bun laughed without a care. "You're actually right. Hearing how miserable your experience was really does make me feel much better. Hahaha."
She had gotten over what was bothering her, so our visit hadn't been for nothing.
We chatted a while longer, rambling about the little things in our lives.
We talked about Lingyin Temple, then about starting a business.
"Sanhe, you really do dream big. Starting a business? You might as well say you want to cultivate immortality. I'd find that more believable," Little Bun said bluntly.
She was straightforward and said whatever came to mind. I didn't take offense. If anything, people like her were easier to get along with.
I smiled and asked her, "Why are you so skeptical about starting a business?"
She stared at me with wide eyes, as though I'd asked an incredibly stupid question.
"They say over ninety percent of entrepreneurs end up failing! Why would you do something so risky?" she asked in bewilderment.
"Risky? What isn't risky?"
"Working for someone else isn't. You get paid every month, right on schedule."
"Who do you work for?" I asked.
Little Bun said, "My boss."
I said, "Isn't your boss an entrepreneur?"
"Um... yes!" Little Bun seemed to realize something wasn't quite right and hesitated before answering.
"He's taking risks by running a business too. So why choose to work for someone who's in a risky situation? Are you sure that's safer?"
Du Le and Little Bun both fell deep into thought.
After a while, Du Le said, "If I'm an employee and my boss goes under, I can just find another company to work for, can't I?"
"If your business fails, you can register another company and start again too, can't you? That doesn't count as a reason," I said.
"Changing jobs won't cost me money, but if a business fails, I could lose a lot, right?" Du Le said.
Little Bun nodded. "Exactly, exactly!"
"Lose money? What if you don't start a business, and when you're in your forties or fifties, your company goes under? The skills you once took such pride in have become obsolete, and you can't find another job. Then what you lose could be the entire second half of your life." I broke down the possible outcomes of the different choices for them.
The two of them sat there dumbstruck, looking as though their brains had frozen.
"Starting a business is still riskier!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
That was the conclusion they both reached once their brains had rebooted.
Everyone really did have their own aspirations!
"Hahaha! You two really are in sync. Got that much in common, have you?" Watching them echo each other, I couldn't help laughing.
Both their faces instantly flushed red.
Du Le shot me a reproachful look. "We're buddies, so you can joke with me all you like, but how can you spout nonsense like that in front of a girl?"
"Oh? Protecting her already?"
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Little Bun blushed with embarrassment and ran back into the bun shop.
I checked the time. It was almost time for her to get back to work anyway.
Just then, Sun Qirui called Du Le. "Du Le, my test results are back."
Du Le glanced at me and asked anxiously into the phone, "How did they turn out?"
Before you continue