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When Tang Niannian was eight years old, the floodwaters swallowed her home.\nShe still remembered waking in the dead of night to the deafening roar of the water. Her father had hoisted her up onto the roof, but he hadn't been fast enough to pull himself up after her.\nClinging to the slippery tiles, she watched helplessly as pot lids, wooden stools, and her father's straw hat drifted away across the flooded courtyard.\nShe was trapped up there for a day and a night. Freezing, starving, and crying until her voice gave out, she eventually didn't even have the strength to whisper for help.\nWhen the water finally went down, she waded out through the thick mud. She never knew how long she walked. She'd lost a shoe somewhere along the way, and her bare foot was rubbed raw, leaving a bloody print with every step.\nAs she was overcome with exhaustion and hunger, her vision finally went black, and she collapsed in a patch of wild greens just outside the Tranquil Pier.\nThat was where Fan Xiangxiang found her.\nXiangxiang scooped the girl up, took her home, and brewed a pot of rich, milky-white fish soup. The fish was carefully flaked apart, with a plump poached egg nestled right in the center. Niannian took one greedy gulp and blistered her mouth, but she refused to let go, clutching the bowl like a lifeline until she'd licked it completely clean. Watching the little girl inhale the food, Xiangxiang felt her eyes burn with tears. Right then and there, she made a quiet promise to herself: This girl is staying with me.\nAnd so, Tang Niannian never left Tranquil Pier.\nYears later, she has shot up to be even taller than her adoptive mother. She's loud, sharp-tongued, and has a temper that flares up at the drop of a hat. She works the front of their bustling food stall, chopping vegetables and slinging dishes with lightning speed, though her mouth works just as fast as her hands.\n"Mum! You're letting people eat for free again! We're running a charity here, not a business!"\nFan Xiangxiang never gets mad. She just chuckles warmly and scoops a little extra oil into the wok.\nNiannian heaves a heavy sigh, turning back to her prep station and bringing her cleaver down on the cutting board with a dramatic THWACK, THWACK, THWACK.