BIAS Chapter 1: Dumplings

The cell phone in the apron pocket vibrated against his waist.

Yan Xu promptly opened the faucet, washed off the flour on his hands, and casually wiped his hands on the towel before taking out his phone. When he saw the “Mom” displayed on the screen, he was stunned for a moment. He looked down to confirm the phone number—it was indeed his mom’s number.

“Hello, Mom.” He cleared his throat and answered the call. “Is something the matter?”

“Why’d you take so long to answer the phone?” Lu Qiuying complained at first, then softened her voice, “Come home for dinner tonight, okay?”

Yan Xu furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. Before Lu Qiuying got impatient, he asked “Today—is there something special going on?”

“You’ll know once you come back.” Lu Qiuying laughed, her gentle and bright voice was tinged with joy. “Also bring two trays of uncooked dumplings with you, I want to make pan-fried dumplings.”

Yan Xun answered, “Okay.”

“Oh right, I ordered a cake from the ‘Sweet’ dessert shop outside the community. You can go and pick it up for me later, just tell them my phone number.”

Yan Xu’s heart skipped a few beats, and he suddenly froze. He snapped out of it after hearing the urging on the other end of the call. “Alright, I got it.”

After hanging up the phone, Yan Xu gripped it in his hand, and pressed it against his pounding heart. He stood in a daze for a long time before he suppressed the smile on the corner of his lips and put away his phone.

He looked down at the dumpling he just wrapped on the workstation, feeling troubled. It was already four, what should he do about these wrapped dumplings?

He only struggled in his heart for a second before swiftly putting the dumplings, remaining bit of filling, and dumpling skin into the fridge. He then began to clean up the workstation.

At the beginning of last year, he rented this little shop, and opened a handmade dumpling shop. He managed the store on his own. Everyday at this time, he usually wraps dumplings while waiting for diners. He usually starts to get busy around five o’clock. Fortunately, his mom called at the right time as there were no customers now. Otherwise, he might not have been able to step away for a while.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Yan Xu remembered that he hadn’t put away the sign at the door, so he lowered his head and trotted over to the door. He didn’t notice someone was coming in, and with a thud, bumped into said person. He was fast and thin, while the other party was like a solid wall, causing him to stagger back under the reaction force.

Yan Xu instinctively waved his hands, wanting to grab onto something to keep balance. A big and strong hand promptly reached out to him, firmly holding his arm and helping him steady himself.

“Phew…” Yan Xu let out a long breath of relief. “Scared me to death.”

“Sorry, I had my head lowered and didn’t see you.” The person’s deep and powerful voice sounded.

Yam Xu looked up—a man stood in front of him. He was very tall, with a neat crew cut, handsome facial features, and a somewhat deep complexion. He gave off a stern feeling, and he looked a bit fierce.

He recognized this man, his name was Chi Ye.

To be exact, they weren’t acquainted, he only knew the other’s name. A few days ago, this man was eating dumplings at his shop. When he was paying, his ID fell out of his wallet. He inadvertently glanced at the ID when he helped pick it up and remembered it.

“Does it hurt? Is it serious?” Chi Ye spoke again.

Yan Xu withdrew his gaze in embarrassment and smiled. “I’m fine, it was I who didn’t pay attention. Come in and sit down.” He habitually welcomed him in, then remembered that he needed to go, so he could only grab his apron in annoyance and said apologetically, “Are you here to eat dumplings? I’m sorry, I need to go out for a while and I am about to close the shop.”

Chi Ye slightly pursed his lips, his expression serious, and his brows furrowed.

It couldn’t be that he’s angry? Yan Xu pursed his lips and asked apprehensively, “Do you have a pot at your workplace? How about I pack you some uncooked dumplings and you can take them back to boil?”

Chi Ye’s eyebrows furrowed further, and after a pause, he said, “You—you know me?”

Eh?

Yan Xu looked at him suspiciously. After confirming that the other party was really waiting for his answer, he smiled lightly as he answered, “I do, don’t you come regularly?” His memory was pretty good; he could remember a customer’s face if they came to his shop more than twice. Besides, Chi Ye has been here more than twice.

“Thank you,” Chi Ye whispered as he rubbed the back of his head.

Yan Xu was slightly stunned—he didn’t quite understand what he meant by “thank you,” but the innocent look of him rubbing the back of his head completely changed his impression of Chi Ye.

Two months ago at night, Chi Ye and a few other workers came here for the first time to eat dumplings; it was Chi Ye who footed the bill. At the time, Yan Xu thought Chi Ye was the supervisor of the construction site, because it was rare to see such a young construction worker. Moreover, Chi Ye’s height and temperament stood out, not at all like a worker who had been exposed to the sun and rain at the construction site all year round.

He was actually a bit afraid of Chi Ye, because he was very tall, spoke in a deep voice, had sharp facial features, and looked like someone who shouldn’t be trifled with. Whenever he came here to eat dumplings, the colleagues who came with him also listened to Chi Ye. He even thought that Chi Ye might be a bully at the construction site, but after today’s conversation, he found that he seemed to have misunderstood.

The atmosphere became somewhat stagnant. Chi Ye didn’t say anything, but Yan Xu was in a hurry to leave, so he could only ask again, “The uncooked dumplings—you want it?”

Chi Ye slowly stood up. “Sure, I’ll take it.”

“What kind do you want?” Yan Xu walked to the kitchen. “There’s three kinds of fillings today: celery and pork, leek and egg, and three delicacies¹.”

“I’ll have some of each,” Chi Ye raised his voice and answered. “Give me ten portions.”

“Ten portions?” Yan Xu was surprised. “Isn’t that too much?”

Chi Ye, “It’s not, I’m also bringing some to my colleagues.”

Yan Xu understood and went to the refrigerator to get the dumplings. At first, he was going to put them in a bag, but then realized that with ten portions, if they were carried in a bag, they would soon stick together. So, he took out two containers he usually used for freezing dumplings from the cabinet, and packed the dumplings according to Chi Ye’s request.

His shop only sells dumplings made on the same day, estimating the number of dumplings to make based on the number of people who visit the store every day. There wouldn’t usually be any leftovers, and even if there were, it won’t be a lot. He would freeze them and slowly eat them himself. Today was a special case, fortunately, Chi Ye helped him take ten portions. He was deeply grateful, so he gave him two more portions for free.

“Here, it’s all packed.” Yan Xu put the containers on the table in front of Chi Ye. “Ten portions.”

Chi Ye looked at the exquisite food containers, then looked at Yan Xu. “You could’ve just packed them in a bag.”

Yan Xu smiled and said, “They probably would’ve stuck together by the time you returned to work. Using a food container would prevent them from sticking to each other. I also sprinkled some flour on them.”

“Thank you.” Chi Ye nodded. “Then I’ll return the containers to you tonight.”

Yan Xu waved his hand. “You can return them tomorrow. I might not come back to the shop tonight.”

“I see…” Chi Ye responded thoughtfully, “Then I’ll return them to you tomorrow.”

After speaking, he took out two one hundred yuan bills from his pocket and handed it over.

Yan Xu only took one of the bills, saying, “Because they’re uncooked, I’ll just charge you ten yuan per portion.”

At his shop, regardless of the filling of the dumplings, he only charges by portion size; a small portion was ten yuan, a medium portion was twelve yuan, and a large portion was fourteen yuan. Working at a construction site required a lot of energy, and the workers generally ate a lot, so he just packed a large portion for him.

Chi Ye pushed the 100 yuan bill in his hand. “No, no need. Just charge me the usual price.”

Yan Xu felt guilty to accept this money. If Chi Ye hadn’t come, he wouldn’t have been able to sell these dumplings anymore. Even charging ten yuan per portion hurt his conscience, so how could he have the nerve to charge him fourteen per portion. Thus, he pushed the money back, but Chi Ye insisted on giving it to him.

The two of them pushed the money back and forth several times until Chi Ye suddenly frowned and hissed.

It was only then did Yan Xu notice that there was a gauze wrapped around the thumb of Chi Ye’s right hand, withdrawing his hand at once. “Sorry, I didn’t notice you were injured.”

“It’s fine, I did this to myself.” Chi Ye bent his thumb and hid it in his palm. He changed to his other hand and gave him the money. “Just take it.”

Yan Xu pushed it back to him again, refusing it.

Chi Ye didn’t force it again, picking up the containers and saying, “Then I won’t bother you anymore. You can go ahead and do your work.”

Yan Xu smiled and watched as Chi Ye walked out the store, then he took the shop sign at the door. He checked the power and gas, and made sure they were all turned off before going upstairs to change clothes.

The second floor of the store was a little one-room place, and upstairs was where he lived.

After he finished changing and went downstairs, he grabbed the dumplings Lu Qiuying reminded him to bring along. When Yan Xu went out the door and stooped down to lock the roller shutter, he saw a folded pink paper on the ground, which looked like a receipt.

He picked it up and opened it to take a look; it was a medical receipt issued by the nearby community clinic. The items included bandaging, examination, and medical supplies fees. Chi Ye’s name was filled in the name column.

The finger wrapped in a white gauze flashed before his eyes. Yan Xu unconsciously looked around for a moment, but Chi Ye was long gone. He could only put away the receipt in his pocket, thinking that he can give it back to Chi Ye when they meet tomorrow.