Chapter 15 Chapter 15 After finishing his meal, Song Mian carried the big...

After dinner, Song Mian took a large palm-leaf fan and went to the vegetable garden to check on the seedlings.

Aunt Zhao helped with the planting before, and the vegetable seeds all belonged to her family, so I had no idea what they were.

Now that its head was exposed, she carefully identified it.

Seeing her at the edge of the field, Sun Erya followed her and asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"

Song Mian stared at the seedlings for a long time and vaguely recognized them as cucumber seedlings, but he was still not sure.

"Is this a cucumber?" she asked.

Sun Erya's eyes widened. She usually admired Song Mian and thought she was smart and knowledgeable, but in farming, she really found confidence.

"Ha, this is an okra seedling, and the one next to it is a cucumber. They are a bit similar, but okra has two small round leaves, while cucumber seedlings have long oval leaves."

She became interested and I explained everything to her.

"The ones with pointed ends are cowpea seedlings, and the thin ones are water spinach..."

Sun Erya looked at the seedlings and sighed: "Although you don't know them, you have grown them well. They are all vegetables that can grow in midsummer."

As she spoke, she pulled out the weeds in the vegetable garden.

"My family doesn't even know it. Your family helped plant it." Song Mian replied. She wanted to help pull out the weeds, but was stopped by Sun Erya.

"Don't move. You don't know the seedlings. Don't pull them up like weeds. It would be a waste of your time."

Song Mian smiled shyly. She was indeed not as good as Sun Erya in farming.

The two chatted idly, Sun Erya smiling then becoming a little worried. "Mianmian, I have an idea I'd like to discuss with you. The peaches won't be selling for many more days in August, so I'd like you to teach me how to sell breakfast. I'll give you one or two taels of silver as a gift. If we make a loss, I'll keep it all. If we make a profit, I'll split the profits with you in half."

Once she tasted the joy of making money, she couldn't stop.

The copper coin was still under her pillow, and she would take it out and have a look at it whenever she had nothing to do.

She admired Song Mian's broad knowledge and wanted to follow her.

Song Mian considered it seriously.

There are indeed all kinds of things sold nearby, including steamed buns, steamed bread, fried dough sticks, pancakes, soy milk, porridge, and wontons. It seems that there is nothing missing.

She thought hard and felt that there must be a place for some snacks in the breakfast shop.

"I can't think of a good idea right now. Let's sell peaches first, and we'll figure it out later." Song Mian wanted to suggest selling pies with her, but her core pie-making skill wasn't her skill, but her spiritual spring. Just a few drops of it every day when mixing the dough and stuffing would be enough to attract people. Song Mian's eyes flickered, and a good idea came to her. But she didn't know if it was right or wrong, so she kept it to herself, planning to go home and ask her father for advice.

After all, her father lived in the Daliang Dynasty for so many years and had much more experience than her.

Sun Erya also knew that money-making ideas weren't easy to come by, so she just mentioned it casually. Seeing Song Mian was lost in thought, she quickly said, "I have enough peaches to sell for several days. There's no rush. If you don't have any good ideas, I'll just continue selling dates. When it gets cold, I'll have to stay home for the winter. There won't be many days left."

She smiled shyly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Only after pulling out all the weeds in the vegetable garden did Sun Erya go home and wash her hands.

Song Mian also went home.

She sat at the small table, muttering to herself. When Song Fuxue looked over, she organized her words and spoke seriously.

"Dad, Sun Erya just asked me that she also wants to sell breakfast. I have a little idea." She said solemnly, "I want to ask for your opinion."

Song Fuxue asked curiously, "What?"

"I thought of a food that's very similar to a pie. He must be making dumplings. It's too late to make ordinary dumplings right now, but I think this is a variation of xiaolongbao. I think Sun Erya can sell it."

Song Mian said seriously.

She was talking about pan-fried dumplings (Shuijianbao), which she knew how to make. In her previous life, she sold pan-fried dumplings at the entrance of her university. When students went to school, a group of people would come. The boss had finished making the steamed dumplings and wanted them made fresh. She watched the whole process from beginning to end. It was quite simple, delicious and easy to make.

"Of course, Aunt Zhao and her family have helped us so much, so it's nice for us to give back a little." Song Fuxue nodded in agreement. "But we also have to ask them what they think."

There was no need to rush about this. Seeing that it was getting late, Song Mian went back to his room to take a shower and go to bed.

The next morning, when Song Mian got up, it was still dark. In her previous life, she would never have imagined that in addition to studying hard for three years in high school, she would be able to get up before dawn. In ancient times, people actually got up at dawn every day.

There is really nothing to do.

Her family was poor and she couldn't afford to light an oil lamp.

I had nothing to do at night, so I lay on the bed and stared blankly, and fell asleep in a short while.

Plus, I have to set up a stall during the day, which is quite tiring.

She brushed her teeth with a toothbrush. The tooth powder had a salty and astringent taste of traditional Chinese medicine and salt. There was very little foam and the brushing feeling was not comfortable, but it was better than nothing. Oral hygiene is also very important.

Song Mian thought that Sun Erya and Song Xiaoshu came so early yesterday, so he looked around reflexively today, but did not see them.

After they finished their meal, Song Xiaoshu appeared in a flash, carrying a shoulder pole.

Song Mian frowned.

"Brother Xiaoshu, put the basket on the cart so you can feel more relaxed." She urged him quickly.

"It's okay, I have plenty of strength. If I put this basket on it, it will be difficult to push the cart." Song Xiaoshu said, smiling, "My second brother said that the tables and chairs have been polished and painted. Once the varnish is dry, I will send them to you. Don't worry."

After hearing this, Song Mian smiled.

"Thank you so much for helping us solve this big problem."

As they chatted, they became familiar with the road and soon arrived in town.

Seeing that there was no one under the sycamore tree, Song Mian and Song Fuxue quickly set up the stall. Song Mian was already used to making pies, and she made them quickly, well, and very neatly.

When she first started selling pies, she couldn't even guarantee that every pie would be round and beautiful, but now she can.

"Young boss, your skills are getting better and better!" said the old lady who was taking care of her grandson happily.

Song Mian smiled shyly and said gently, "Thanks to the diners' tolerance, it's all because of your kindness that I have the opportunity to grow."

After hearing this, the old woman said happily, "That's right, I think so too. But then again, your pies are really delicious. My grandson is so picky about food, but after eating your pies, his appetite has improved and he eats much better now."

Song Mian deftly flipped the pie with a spatula. Hearing her say this, he knew that it was the magic of the spiritual spring, and smiled proudly.

"It's also because of our child. He eats well and grows strong. In the future, he may become a prime minister." She praised with a smile.

The old woman smiled from ear to ear and happily went home carrying a bag of pies.

She had nothing to do all day, so she took care of her grandson and ran around the streets. She ate well, and when she chatted with others, she couldn't help but bring up a few words.

He said that his grandson has not been picky about food recently and eats well.

If you can eat well, you won’t have to worry about growing taller.

The old woman never tires of telling others how exaggerated the difference between her child before and after was, and how she had worn out her lips and shoes so that her child could eat more.

"That's like following the little ancestor around, coaxing him to have a bite, but he still doesn't want to eat. He only eats a few bites when he's in a good mood, but he acts as if he doesn't see the food at all."

"Now? No one needs to urge or coax him. When it's time for dinner, he sits at the table obediently, holding a small spoon and eating bite by bite. It makes people happy just watching him."

“Why is there such a change?”

"Because I told him that only if he eats his meal well, there will be a fairy boy selling pies under the sycamore tree, and he can have the pie he longs for."

After this publicity, parents of young children who don’t like to eat in the surrounding areas all knew about it.

No matter whether it is true or not, there is only one pie in the sky, so let’s give it a try first.

then--

Song Mian was picking out some good-looking ones for Zhao Bosheng when he saw a group of women surrounding him, chattering about wanting to buy the pie that the old woman's grandson often ate.

"Everyone, please wait a moment. The new pot has already turned brown and will be ready in a while."

Everyone brought their children and watched curiously.

A group of people were waiting for the pies to be ready. Song Mian was so busy that sweat was coming out of his nose. Only after a new pot was ready did he finally appease the group of women.

Each child held a pie in his hand.

"Little ancestor, Xuanxuan said it's delicious, just try it. If you don't like it, I won't buy it for you anymore, okay?"

"Good boy, try it. If you eat it, I'll buy you some pine nut candy. How about that?"

"Baby, this meat smells so good, do you want to take a bite?"

Song Mian: ...

She couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She didn't expect that everyone would coax their children to eat like this. In her memory, the Song family's children would eat if they wanted to, and clear the food if they didn't want to. If they regretted not eating, they would just go hungry.

While she had faith in the pie, she had no faith in the spoiled child.

Think about losing all these diners. It’s a big loss of money, but also a lot of trouble.

Being a spoiled child, she was a little scared.

Fortunately, the pie was very good. The children who didn’t get to eat it were very resistant to it, but the children who got to eat it would obediently hold the lotus leaf package and eat it bite by bite.

"I want to eat more, so I'll buy more."

"It's delicious. I want to eat more."

As the conversation progressed, Song Mian's second pot of pies was sold out.

Fortunately, today was a big market, and she had prepared 15 kilograms of meat, which was enough stock to keep her from panicking.

However, she didn't expect that people loved to join in the fun so much.

Seeing that the pie stand here was surrounded by a group of people, the more they couldn't see it, the more they squeezed over to see what was going on.

Her pies were sold out in less than an hour.

"It's not noon yet." Song Fuxue wiped the sweat from her face with a cotton handkerchief. Sun Erya's peaches were sold out very quickly.

The empty pie stall and the empty bamboo basket were exchanged for reassuring copper coins.

"Thank you all for your support. The pies have been sold out. See you under the sycamore tree tomorrow." Song Fuxue bowed to everyone, gave instructions, and then pushed the cart away.

Sun Erya put the bulging purse in her arms and said nervously, "This is the first time I carry so much money on me. Everyone looks like a thief to me. What should I do?"

Song Xiaoshu was no less frightened. He held his wife in his arms and looked around warily.

Seeing that they were trying to hide their true intentions, Song Mian couldn't help but frown.

But there are indeed many thieves on the streets, and things disappear in the blink of an eye. It is a common thing.

It's better to be more cautious.

As you walk out of Chaoqian Street, the lively atmosphere disappears instantly.

In the fields, there were a few people carrying buckets, drawing water from the well, carrying water on shoulder poles to water the fields, watering the crops one bucket at a time along the roots.

It was so hot that they were sweating profusely just walking. I couldn’t imagine how hot it would be for those who had to water the cornfield.

Song Mian walked to the edge of the field, picked up a stick, and dug the soil in the field. The soil, a foot long, was dry and brittle. It turned into dust when crushed by hand. It can be seen that the drought is severe.

Although we are looking forward to the rebels coming soon, the natural disasters and man-made disasters in recent years are heartbreaking to think about.

"Let's prepare what we need for the winter, and buy the rest as food and store it. When we have time, we'll find the village head and ask him to help us dig a cellar to store the food."

Song Mian sighed.

When natural disasters and man-made disasters are rampant, the first thing to increase in price is food.

After a severe drought, there will be locust plagues and floods, and food prices will soar to a terrifying level.

It’s better to prepare early.

"Well, let's get it done before the ground freezes. That way, we can sell all the soybeans we harvest and store them for rice. That way, we can have enough to eat for a long time."

Song Fuxue was thinking.

The yield of soybeans is not high and the price is low. Two stone of soybeans can be exchanged for one stone of rice. The rice obtained from fifteen acres of land is enough for his family to eat for a long time.

"After harvesting soybeans, we can plant wheat in winter. This way, we won't have to buy flour when we sell pies next year, saving us a lot of money." Song Mian's eyes lit up when he thought of this.

It's just that his family doesn't know how to farm, so they have to hire people to do it, which costs some money.

"Your idea is good. If we leave the soybeans at home, we won't be able to eat them." Song Fuxue smiled.