Earning seven homes with eight years’ hard work, a rolls baker in Jinhua, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, went viral after a pancake maker in Beijing amazed everyone with a monthly income of 30,000 yuan (about $4500), Jinhua Daily reported on Sept. 2.

Yang, born in a rural family, was a cook in Jinhua. In 2009, when he was 37 years old, he started a breakfast stall with his wife. The husband baked rolls, a special tasty roll, and his wife fried bread sticks.

Yang’s baked rolls have been popular among local customers. From ingredients to baking skills, Yang took care of every detail to make sure the quality and taste of the hand-made rolls.

He worked from midnight to 10 a.m. without a break, leavening dough, preparing stuffing, rolling, baking, and selling. He seldom has time to travel or hang out with friends, except when a new food stall opens.

As early as 5 a.m., people start lining up. Some even buy several dozen rolls to take home or give to their family or friends.

Though the small food stall is struggling to meet demand, Yang has never considered expanding by creating a branch or starting a delivery service. To some extent, machines can help balance supply and demand, but the taste of machine-made rolls does not satisfy Yang.

Their profitable business has been doing well. Every two or three years, they buy a house as an investment. But frankly speaking, living on skills is securer than making a big business, said Yang.

He prefers to pass on his skills to his son rather than leaving him real estate, when asked whether he would like his son to take over the family business. Yang has been planning to upgrade his food stall into a bigger one with a variety of food and a new business model.

The breakfast industry is widely known as a goldmine in China. Some in the business are low-profile superrich.