Call Me Daddy

The morning in the urban village was awakened by the aroma of food.

Su Quangen and his old wife Miao Yinhua had been busy since 3.30 in the morning, kneading dough, boiling soy milk…

They wished they could clone themselves, but by 5.30, as the sky gradually brightened, the elderly couple promptly raised the roller shutter. Inside the house, the food steamed with heat and fragrance, slowly diffusing down the entire street.

Su’s small eatery, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner options, featured a selection of stir-fried and steamed dishes for main meals, alongside two specific stewed dishes daily. Despite being affordable, the food was well-regarded by the neighbors.

Although it was just a small shop run by two elderly people, the Su family earned quite a lot of money each month.

In the urban village, the Su family owned two buildings. The eatery occupied the ground floor of the one near the street corner, covering about 120 square-meters. The second and third floors above were home to the family themselves. Owning the shop meant they saved on rent.

In a developed southern city like Xijiang, a shop of this size would normally command a monthly rent of tens of thousands of yuan. Despite the slightly poorer environment of the urban village, the rent here was still around 20 to 30,000 yuan.

The Su family’s other building was specifically rented out to migrants who came to Xijiang to work. With foresight, before the government policies prohibited unauthorized building height increases, the elderly couple had converted their original second floor into an eight-story apartment building. The foundation of this building was even larger than their own residence. It was divided into rooms of varying sizes to meet the needs of single individuals or families moving in.

In recent years, the influx of migrants into Xijiang had been increasing, and due to the relatively low rent in the urban village, every rental unit owned by the Su family was consistently occupied. This provided them with an income of around 100,000 yuan per month.

In addition to the income from their small restaurant, the total monthly income of the family far surpassed that of an average executive.

At this moment, Su Quangen and his wife had already pushed the breakfast cart outside together. The fire beneath the cart was still burning, and from the towering steamers on top emanated the enticing aroma of various buns.

Located in the central city, adjacent to the CBD area, their part of the urban village attracted numerous white-collar workers passing by every day. Upon catching a whiff of the food, some would occasionally step inside to buy a simple breakfast to take to the office.

(T/N: CBD = Central business district.)

Therefore, to attract more customers, the couple would push the breakfast cart to a prominent spot outside the shop, visible to people passing by the street corner.

“Old Su, give me a pot of soy milk, and six sugar cakes. Today’s baked cakes smell delicious; give me four, one sweet and three savory.”

A white cultural shirt clad old man, his feet dragging slippers, his face shiny with oil, appeared outside the small eatery and handed the water pot to Su Quangen.

He was one of the regulars in the urban village, where most were accustomed to Su’s small eatery meals fair prices, fresh and clean ingredients. Many were used to bringing their own utensils for takeout, saving themselves from shopping, cooking, and cleaning up afterward.

This old man carrying the warm water pot was evidently familiar with Old Su and his wife.

“Hey, Old Su, you and your wife just don’t think straight. Isn’t the rent every month enough? You’re not young lads anymore; Aren’t you afraid of wearing yourselves out?”

He watched Su Quangen move the neatly stacked steamers from the shop to the breakfast cart outside, then bent down, patting his own back with his hand, feeling somewhat resentful.

Over these years, how quickly they’ve aged, he thought. Clearly, the rent wasn’t insignificant, yet they were reluctant to spend on themselves, even though they toiled away managing the small eatery.

Their old friends had all advised them. If they were set on running this small eatery, they should suspend breakfast service. Anyone with experience in food service knew selling breakfast was truly exhausting; early starts and physically demanding tasks. Even young people struggled, let alone a pair of 60-something seniors.

“It’s habit, it’s habit,” Su Quangen chuckled, taking the warm water pot from the old neighbor and gesturing for his wife to fill it up.

Faced with his attitude, others had nothing more to say.

“Here’s your sugar cakes and baked cakes, and your pot of soy milk, all set to go.”

Su Quangen packed the breakfast the man ordered and handed it to him.

The old man in the cultural shirt briskly scanned the QR code to pay, but before leaving, couldn’t help but say, “You two really need to get your son and grandson to pitch in. They’re grown men now. If they’re unwilling to work, can’t they at least come help at home? If they were willing to lend a hand, you and your wife wouldn’t be so tired.”

With that, he shook his head and walked away.

Listening to his words, Su Quangen sighed, but soon more customers arrived at the shop, and he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He quickly got busy again.

***

By half-past 9 in the morning, there weren’t as many customers buying breakfast anymore, so the couple could finally take a break, drink some water, and catch their breath.

“Has our son woken up yet? Did you save his breakfast?”

Su Quangen sat on a stool behind the breakfast cart, using the towel around his neck to fan himself, while asking his wife beside him.

“It’s saved. It’s warming in the pot. That boy was up late playing games last night. He’ll probably wake up and go straight to lunch.”

Even so, they still needed to save a portion of breakfast, just in case their son woke up early.

“What about Tianyuan? He didn’t come back last night. Will he come back today?” The old man asked again.

“I managed to call him a moment ago, but he didn’t pick up. Maybe he hasn’t gotten up yet. I’ll try calling him again later,” His wife replied.

“Xiao Zhu delivered some excellent meat today. It looks almost as good as the pork we buy from the countryside. If Tianyuan comes back, I’ll cook him sweet and sour spare ribs. Tianyuan loves them.”

“Yeah, even if Tianyuan doesn’t come back, I’ll still cook it. Our son loves to eat them too.” The old man nodded.

The couple were discussing their son and grandson.

Their son, Su Aobai, in his forties, widowed, unemployed, and dependent on his parents, was their only child. Both elders were capable individuals who had managed his upbringing meticulously from childhood to adulthood. With their own building and a flourishing small eatery business, money was never tight for Su Aobai. After finally earning a college degree, he quit his job 3 days after starting because he couldn’t endure the hardships of work while his peers began their careers.

A few years earlier, he claimed he would become a great writer like Jin Yong or Gu Long, but nothing came of it. He was still supported by his parents. Later, he decided to focus on gaming full-time, but his skills were subpar, and he spent a considerable amount on having others boost his levels.

(T/N: Jin Yong = Writer of ‘Legend of the Condor Heroes’// Gu Long = writer of ‘The Legendary Siblings’.)

Recently, he mentioned that live streaming could be more lucrative, suggesting another career change.

The elderly couple didn’t object much. In their hearts, their son was also striving in his career, albeit unsuccessfully. As parents, they had to support him and not undermine his confidence.

Su Tianyuan, their grandson, was currently in his senior year of college. His grades were mediocre, and he ended up in a local third-rate university. His daily routine consisted of loafing around at school. Growing up seeing his own father lounging at home and asking his grandparents for money had instilled in him the habit of relying on them for spending money.

Despite still being a student, his monthly allowance was around 5 to 6,000 yuan, not counting the additional pocket money he asked from his grandparents after spending his allowance.

But the elderly couple loved both their son and grandson dearly. When their daughter-in-law died due to amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth, their son suffered greatly from the loss of his wife. They raised their grandson together, as he was the only grandchild left after their son refused to remarry.

How could they not dote on him?

Actually, they were aware deep down that they might have spoiled their child and grandchild, but now they couldn’t bring themselves to discipline them sternly. They consoled themselves by thinking that at least their son, though somewhat useless, didn’t engage in vices like gambling or prostitution. With two buildings in their name, they figured if they worked harder and earned more, they could leave a sufficient inheritance for them.

With this thought, the elderly couple became even more lenient towards their child and grandchild. They worked tirelessly every day like old oxen, managing their small eatery to save up more for their descendants.