Song Qiao chatted with the waiting auntie while busy.
"Auntie, can you finish all this food?"
"I certainly can't finish it myself, but you don't know, boss, ever since I bought from you the first time, my husband and my son and daughter-in-law have all become addicted to this taste."
"My old neighbors also heard about your store's reputation and specifically told me to bring some back for them today."
"It's such hot weather, but it's tough on this old body of mine."
Song Qiao was stunned for a moment after hearing this, as if something in his mind had suddenly exploded.
"Delivery."
There were no delivery platforms in this era. All businesses delivered their goods privately, and the fees were quite expensive. If he could offer free delivery, business would surely boom even more.
He quickly took out a pen and paper, tore off a strip of paper, and quickly wrote his phone number on it.
"Auntie, if you want to eat again, you don't have to make a special trip. As long as you can page me at this number, I can deliver it to you for free."
Saying that, he handed the strip of paper to the auntie.
"Delivery? And it's free?" The auntie's heart immediately rejoiced.
"Young man, you're really good at business. Do you deliver to Makou Street in the south of the city?"
Makou Street in the south of the city was a good seven or eight kilometers away. The weather was still very hot, and a round trip by bicycle would take at least an hour.
Song Qiao hesitated and said, "If the order is large enough, I can deliver."
"That's great. I'll order 20 more portions and have you deliver them to Makou Street, number 15."
"A distant relative of mine lives there. She visited me last time and raved about your stinky tofu, but her home is too far away, and her legs are a bit inconvenient. So she hasn't had the chance to enjoy it."
"See..."
The auntie's eyes held a hint of hope. As she spoke, she took out two hundred-yuan bills from her pocket.
20 portions, a full 200 yuan, Song Qiao was tempted.
Business was no longer as booming as it was in the morning. Li Lili and Lin Jing were watching the store, and they could handle it.
He might as well work hard this time. Although it would be tiring, it would definitely be worth it.
He took the bills from the auntie, nodded in agreement, left instructions for Lin Jing and the two of them, and went to Makou Street in the south of the city with the prepared stinky tofu.
...
After delivering the tofu, business at the store was still bustling.
Song Qiao worked while contemplating whether his store should hire two more employees to handle free deliveries.
This kind of "delivery person" job wasn't mature yet. If he got in early, he would definitely seize the trend of the times. When the business grew and became stronger, it would surely have the potential to rival the "Two Ma."
Before the workers got off work in the afternoon, all the stinky tofu prepared for the day was sold out, making a net profit of over three thousand yuan.
As dusk approached, it was too late to prepare more.
Moreover, Li Lili and Lin Jing had also been overworked for the past two days. Song Qiao waved his hand and closed the store, letting the two of them go home to rest.
He glanced at the time again and decided to go to the kindergarten street to pick up his daughter from school.
...
At 4:30 PM, Song Qian came out of kindergarten with her small backpack. She saw her father waiting at the school gate from afar.
"Dad."
The little girl's face was full of surprise. She exclaimed and ran towards Song Qiao, throwing herself into his arms.
"Dad, why are you picking me up today?" the little girl asked coquettishly, hugging Song Qiao's neck.
"Because Dad misses Xi Xi so much, so much that he can't sleep," Song Qiao said with a doting smile, teasing his daughter.
"Tell Dad what you want to eat. How about Dad takes you to eat KFC?"
As China gradually opened up, foreign catering companies like KFC, which were popular worldwide, became increasingly common. A new one had recently opened in their city.
It attracted countless customers. Many parents couldn't refuse their children and took them there to dine.
The only drawback was the high price, which exceeded the consumption level of many families.
If Xi Xi wanted to go, Song Qiao didn't mind how much money he spent.
After all, he was working hard now just to give her and her mother a happy life.
"No, I want to eat the stinky tofu Dad makes."
Song Qian shook her head and pouted.
"Alright then, I knew you little glutton would like Dad's stinky tofu." Song Qiao gently flicked his daughter's nose, picked her up, and placed her on the back seat of his bicycle.
He took his daughter to his tofu shop.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to leave a message for Xia Yuqing with his pager.
Song Qiao didn't rush on the way. He chatted and laughed with Xi Xi on the road. The father and daughter hadn't had such a pleasant heart-to-heart talk in a long time.
Song Qian sat on the back of the bicycle, wrapped her arms around her father's waist, and sweetly asked Song Qiao questions.
Song Qiao patiently replied in a childlike tone, asking about his daughter's life.
It was evident that during the time he was away from his daughter, his wife had taken very good care of her.
Song Qian also didn't seem to have any lingering psychological trauma from being kidnapped last time.
Thinking of this, his gratitude and guilt towards his wife deepened unconsciously.
Song Qian seemed to enjoy this brief moment, hugging Song Qiao tightly, immersed in great happiness.
Little did she know.
Just after they, father and daughter, left, her aunt Xia Xueqing hurried to the school.
Today, her sister had some business to attend to, so she entrusted the task of picking up Xi Xi from school to her.
But she never imagined that she was only a few minutes late, and Xi Xi was gone!
Although she didn't think much of Song Qiao, she cared a lot about her cute niece, Song Xi.
Seeing that she couldn't find the child, she immediately panicked.
Suppressing her fear, she searched around the school twice but found no trace of Song Xi.
Without taking the time to ask Xi Xi's homeroom teacher, she immediately ran to a phone booth and called her sister Xia Yuqing.
"Sis, Xi Xi, Xi Xi is missing." Xia Xueqing's voice on the phone was already choked with tears.
"What?"
A gasp came from Xia Yuqing on the other end of the line.
Hearing this news, her vision suddenly darkened, and she almost fainted.
Ever since Xi Xi was abducted by Duan Kun's gang last time, Xia Yuqing had been having nightmares about her daughter being kidnapped.
Now, her worst fear had come true.
"No, Xi Xi must be fine, she must be fine."
A surge of strength came from somewhere, and she forced herself to calm down.
"Are you at school now? Don't panic, I'll be right there."
After saying that, she hung up the phone and took a taxi to her daughter's kindergarten.