Chinese family on a roll after cooking up bun business from scratch

One decade, 18 hours a shift and 10,000 buns a day.

For one couple in northern China the numbers add up to a thriving – and exhausting – business that has allowed them to raise four children and buy a car and house, to the envy of some of their neighbours, Dahe Daily reports.

The couple built the business from scratch in Zhengzhou, Henan province, after moving back to the city in 2007 to spend more time with their children.

Before that, the husband, only identified as Ren, and his wife, Wang, had been migrant workers in Beijing, doing interior decorating, the report said.

For the first few years of the bun business, the couple worked from 3am to 8pm, baking up a storm to meet the booming demand for their product, which can run to 10,000 buns a day.

“We were busy and exhausted. We couldn’t take care of our kids,” Wang was quoted as saying.

The hard work gradually paid off and the couple were able to buy their own home.

“We have bought a house and a car in Zhengzhou. Many people envy us,” Wang said.

She said her ambitions now were to be able to travel with her husband and children.

“I will let my kids choose the destinations while we cover the costs,” she said.