Lao Wang adjusted his straw hat, the morning sun already warm on his back. He peered down the bustling street, his cart laden with golden brown baozi, fragrant and steaming. News of the Chang’e 6 landing buzzed through the crowd, snippets of conversations mixing with the sizzle of street vendors and the rumble of bicycles.
Lao Wang, a man who’d witnessed decades of China’s growth, felt a surge of pride. He’d never forget the grainy black and white images of the first moon landing, a feat that had then seemed like science fiction. Now, here he was, selling breakfast to his fellow citizens as their Chang’e touched down on the far side of the moon, a testament to their ambition.
An old woman with a kind smile stopped by his cart. “They say it’s a harsh land, this far side,” she said, pointing at a television playing the news in a shop window.
Lao Wang nodded, expertly placing a steaming baozi in a paper bag. “Tough times breed strong people,” he replied, a touch of philosophy in his voice. “Just like us, we all hustle and make a way, no matter the hardship.”
He watched her walk away, a sense of wonder filling him. He may be a humble street vendor, but he too was part of this grand story, a tiny detail in the vast tapestry of China’s journey to the stars. The aroma of his baozi mingled with the city’s excited chatter, a symphony celebrating human achievement, a small vendor sharing a sidewalk with dreams that reached the moon.
China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft lands on far side of the moon to collect samples
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