Chapter 4 Each child received a small...

The children each got a small piece, which didn't last long at all. After tasting it, they found that it tasted even better than it smelled, so they started nagging the adults to buy more quickly, otherwise it would be sold out.

The old woman with slanted eyes, who had just wanted to try some, suddenly flew into a rage, "A pound of pig intestines costs seven mao (0.7 yuan), and you're selling it for five yuan! You heartless bastard, why don't you just rob us?"

Jiang Can: "Ten or so pounds of pig intestines yielded just over two pounds of braised intestines. If it weren't for the kids craving meat, I wouldn't have sold a single pound. I was even planning to sell braised intestine noodles tomorrow. Anyone who wants to buy, knock on the door later. I'm going back to make some fresh meat buns now." After saying that, he went straight into the house.

Buy it or don't, it's up to you.

It was noisy outside, with children pestering their parents for braised pork intestines, saying they thought the braised pork intestines were even more delicious than meat.

The old woman with slanted eyes grumbled, "Two yuan and sixty cents for a pound of pork, and five yuan for a pound of rotten intestines! Black-hearted scumbags, they're obsessed with money. Who would be crazy enough to buy from them!" She picked up her grandson, who was throwing a tantrum, and started to leave.

Her grandson clung to the old lady's leg, throwing a tantrum and demanding food, crying, "I want to eat pork intestines!"

The pork intestines smell so good, even better than meat.

The old woman with slanted eyes rolled her eyes: "Whoever wants to eat can go in and take it. We can't let her cheat us out of our money like this."

Her grandson immediately understood and ran inside with a loud bang. As soon as he entered the kitchen, his eyes darted around, and he reached out to scoop the fatty intestines into the big pot.

Jiang Can was actually outmaneuvered by a little brat. He slapped the brat's hand, grabbed his ear, and dragged him outside: "Trying to steal from someone's house, want to get arrested by the police?"

The old woman with slanted eyes flew into a rage and was about to start cursing when Jiang Can preemptively pointed at her nose: "You heartless wretch! Is this your own grandson? You encouraged him to scoop pork intestines into a hot pot, hoping to burn his hands? Are you a stepmother? You can't stand to see your grandson doing well. Do your son and daughter-in-law know you want to cripple your grandson?"

Jiang Can didn't hear what was being said outside from inside the room, but that didn't matter; he would just keep stirring things up.

The old woman with slanted eyes was stunned by the scolding, "Stop talking nonsense!"

Several neighbors immediately recalled Jiang Can's ramblings that morning about Widow Qian not wearing clothes while pouring out her bathwater that night. Damn, that woman has a really sharp tongue!

Several people who wanted to take advantage of the situation took a few steps back.

Jiang Can pointed at the old lady: "You're panicking, you're panicking! I actually guessed right?" He then said to the child: "Child, you'd better be careful. If I hadn't stopped you just now, your hands would have turned into claws. You would be a child without hands, and no one would play with you in kindergarten."

The five-year-old chubby boy burst into tears.

The old lady with slanted eyes was furious and quickly tried to coax the chubby boy, "Niu Niu, don't listen to that bitch's nonsense. You are my own grandson, how could I harm you? It's that bitch who wants to harm you. Grandma will buy you meat to eat and make braised pork for you tonight."

She felt that Jiang Can was acting strangely. She was right. Niu Niu was indeed not her biological grandson, but she raised him as her own, since her son couldn't have children.

Jiang Can kindly reminded Niu Niu, "Be more careful and protect yourself."

The old lady with slanted eyes carried the chubby little boy and walked even faster.

Outside, the crowd was buzzing with discussion. "Is she really the stepmother? Why does Granny Cai seem a little flustered?"

Jiang Can, this new bride, looks so gentle, but she's actually quite formidable. On the second day of their marriage, she took down Widow Qian and Granny Cai.

Jiang Can turned around and went back into the house. Seeing that the dough in the basin had risen enough, he started kneading the dough to make steamed buns.

A middle-aged woman carrying a child came in to buy pork intestines. "I want half a pound of pork intestines."

Jiang Can scooped a piece of fatty intestine from the steaming pot, weighed it for the middle-aged woman, put it in an oil paper bag, and handed it to her, saying with a smile, "Sister, this braised fatty intestine is delicious whether it's stir-fried, stewed, used in soup, or made into noodles."

The little girl in her arms reached out and grabbed the oil paper bag. The woman tore off a small piece for her and then craned her neck to look into the pot, wanting to see how Jiang Can had braised the pig intestines and made them taste so good.

She also wanted to learn.

Jiang Can didn't mind. This wasn't something you could learn just by looking at it. However, he stopped letting everyone into the kitchen. The kitchen was a place for cooking, and it wasn't clean or safe with people coming and going.

A few more neighbors came over, and they sold a little over two jin (1 kg) of cabbage, earning a total of twelve yuan and three cabbages. They didn't sell the last half jin, saving it to make stir-fried pork intestines for Shen Lang.

Shen Lang will have to clean the intestines again from now on.

I was reluctant to buy braised pork intestines for my child just now, but now that I hear they're sold out, I regret not buying some to try. When my child heard they were out of them, he cried even harder.

Unable to soothe the child, he resorted to hitting him, inwardly blaming Jiang Can, his new wife, for being so troublesome, making such a fuss over nothing, and causing the children to keep making a ruckus on the second day of their marriage.

As dusk settled, Jiang Can looked at the two large pots of steamed buns, a total of eighty-eight buns, with each pot having two layers and able to steam about forty buns.

If a coal stove were used, it certainly wouldn't be possible to steam this much; Jiang Can used an earthen pot.

She'll steam the rest of the buns tomorrow morning; she'll sell these first.

Jiang Can cleared out a bamboo basket, lined it with a clean cotton cloth, carefully placed the fresh meat buns inside, covered them with the cloth, tied the basket to the back of his bicycle, and rode the bicycle to the street corner.

This area is very lively, with several shops on both sides of the road, including Zhangji Restaurant, Qiaojia Casserole Rice Noodles, a hot pot restaurant, and a stir-fry restaurant. Qiaojia Casserole Rice Noodles is the most popular, with a lot of lamb skewers grilling on the barbecue grill outside.

The roadside was also lively, with a few people setting up small tables inside to set up stalls. Near the alley was a wonton stall, next to which was a stall selling stir-fried and mixed cold noodles. At the intersection was a stall selling baked sesame cakes, and right next to it were stalls selling fried gluten, fried balut, and fried ham sausages.

The small gluten balls were fried until golden brown, brushed with special chili oil, and smelled delicious from afar.

It attracted many young people to buy it. Fried gluten and fried ham sausages were not enough to fill them up, so they bought a sesame seed cake to sandwich the skewers. The taste was wonderful.

Jiang Can stopped her bicycle at the intersection, lifted the cotton cloth inside the bamboo basket to reveal the plump, white meat buns inside, and broke one open and placed it on top so that people could clearly see the fresh meat filling inside.

She was beautiful, and wherever she stood, she attracted attention. Two young men hesitated and came over to ask, "Selling steamed buns?"

Jiang Can smiled: "Thin-skinned, meaty steamed buns, one yuan each."

Her smile made the two young men blush, and one of them said, "Give me two fresh meat buns."

Jiang Can put two fresh meat buns in an oil paper bag and handed them to the young man.

These buns are huge; two buns will be enough to fill you up.

Her companion bought five pork buns. Neither of them cared whether they tasted good or not; they just couldn't resist buying some because the girl selling the buns was so pretty.

After paying, she didn't leave. Blushing, she asked Jiang Can his name and where he lived.

Jiang Can smiled and said, "My name is Jiang Can. I just moved to Shiliu Alley yesterday after my wedding. Come again if you like it."

The young man had a strange expression. Yesterday, only Shen Lang got married in Shiliu Alley, and he couldn't help but ask, "Shen Lang?"

Jiang Can: "He is my husband."

The two quickly grabbed the buns and ran away.

Jiang Can: ...

Shen Lang's reputation is so great that people are scared away just by hearing his name.

Even the woman selling skewers glanced at Jiang Can a couple more times when she heard Shen Lang's name: "Give me two steamed buns." She then took two yuan from her apron and handed it to Jiang Can.

Jiang Can smiled and took the money, then gave her the half-eaten bun to try, saying, "I'll pick out a big one for you."

They're actually about the same size, but some are a little bigger.

The older sister took a bite and her eyes lit up. "Did you steam this yourself? It's delicious! Give me three more, I'll have them for breakfast tomorrow."

Jiang Can smiled and picked out three more steamed buns for her.

The older woman took the steamed buns and put them away, then handed Jiang Can several skewers of fried gluten, saying, "You should try my fried skewers too. No young girl doesn't love them."

Jiang Can took the fried gluten and ate it with the other half of the bun, praising it repeatedly: "This gluten is fried until it's crispy and crunchy, and it's really delicious when coated with spicy red oil."

Everyone praised her steamed buns, and she would praise their fried skewers in return.

Hearing this, several customers waiting for fried skewers nearby also bought a steamed bun, intending to eat it with the fried skewers.

The woman selling fried skewers is named Zhou Hongling. Her factory went bankrupt a couple of years ago due to poor performance, so she started selling fried skewers. She's been doing this for over two years now. She even asked Jiang Can if he would sell steamed buns in the future. "Your steamed buns are so delicious, you must be able to make fried dumplings, meat pies, wontons, and dumplings well too. You can sell a few more things."

Jiang Can sensed the other person's kindness, which must be because of Shen Lang. She smiled and said, "Thank you. I plan to sell steamed buns in the morning and fast food and braised meat at noon and in the evening. I just came tonight to try my luck and see if anyone would buy my steamed buns. I'm so grateful for your patronage just now."

Zhou Hongling said, "These buns look good and taste delicious. I want to try one myself." She praised Jiang Can for being capable and was happy for Shen Lang. She had originally thought that he would not know how to live with a wife with a bad reputation.

Now that she sees Jiang Can, she knows that his reputation has been ruined by outsiders.

Like Shen Lang, such a good kid, but he has a bad reputation. Everyone says he eats, drinks, gambles, and does no good.

Jiang Can's steamed buns sold well and quickly. People who bought the steamed buns stopped buying the sesame cakes. The old lady at the sesame cake stall kept glaring at Jiang Can, complaining that she had stolen her business, and also complaining that Zhou Hongling had bought Jiang Can's steamed buns, giving Jiang Can a good start.

Luckily, she heard Jiang Can say that he only sold steamed buns in the morning, otherwise she would have really chased Jiang Can away.

Jiang Can's basket of steaming hot meat buns didn't sell out quickly. She packed up the basket, said goodbye to Zhou Hongling, and rode her bicycle home.

On her bike ride home, she was still thinking about selling food. She felt that doing business was quite easy these days, as everyone had some money in their pockets and was more willing to spend money on food.

Today's trial run was a great success; she's on the right track.

When she got home, the gate to the yard was still locked, and Shen Lang had not returned yet. She took out her key, opened the gate, pushed her bicycle into the yard, and then pushed the bicycle into the main room.

There was a sewing machine next to it, covered with a layer of bright red cotton cloth.

These were all her betrothal gifts.

Jiang Can took out all the money in his pocket and counted it. It totaled 99 yuan. He sold the steamed buns for 87 yuan and the braised pork intestines for 12 yuan. He spent 73 yuan today and earned 14 yuan.

But I bought a lot of things today. I haven't used 30 jin of rice yet, I've used more than half of the high-gluten flour, and I haven't used much oil either.

I can make over thirty more pork buns tomorrow, but I haven't made any more chive and egg buns yet.

Based on this calculation, the profit is quite substantial.

Jiang Can happily put the wad of money into the cloth bag in the trunk and went to the kitchen to cook.

We need to let Shen Lang taste the pig intestines so that we can continue cleaning them next time.

There was still a little over half a pound of braised pork intestines left. I heated oil in a wok and stir-fried them until crispy, then took them out. I left a little oil in the wok and sautéed scallions, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant. Then I added the stir-fried pork intestines, onions, and green peppers and stir-fried them evenly. I added various seasonings in turn, sprinkled some black sesame seeds on top before serving, and plated them.

This is much more fragrant and flavorful than braised pork intestines.

Then I fried six more pancakes, using ready-made leavened dough and steamed bun filling, and they were done when both sides were golden brown.

Both of these must be eaten while they're hot. The fragrant aroma is enough to whet your appetite. Without waiting for Shen Lang, Jiang Can served herself two meat pies and half a plate of stir-fried pork intestines. She sat down at the table and started eating. One bite of the stir-fried pork intestines was both numbing and spicy.

It's so delicious I almost cried.

Back when I was in school, you couldn't just eat whatever you wanted.

She's been eating and living well these past two days, and she even made some money today! She feels like she can finally stand up straight, and she's sure she'll be able to save even more money in the future, maybe even take the college entrance exam.

There's more and more hope for the future.

After dinner, Jiang Can hummed a song as she prepared ingredients for tomorrow. She washed the chives, scallions, and other side dishes, then took out the tea leaves that Shen Lang had kept in the cupboard and boiled thirty tea eggs. She would let them soak overnight so they would be even more flavorful tomorrow.

After finishing all that, it was already past eight o'clock. After washing up, she dried her hair with a towel until it was half dry, and then sorted out her high school textbooks. Some of them were dusty and the covers had been burned off.

After failing the college entrance exam, her father scolded her for being useless, saying what was the use of always being among the top students? She was still useless, failing at crucial moments, and he would have been better off working to earn money or getting married and having children. When she said she wanted to retake the exam, her father became even angrier and threw her textbooks into the stove.

She snatched the textbook back from the stove.

She has always been opinionated and would never let her father control her life. She wants to repeat a year of high school; she absolutely must repeat a year.

She hasn't spent a single penny of her family's money since junior high school, and nobody can control her!

She tried her best, but after so many incidents, she was still expelled from school, and no middle school in the entire county was willing to accept her.

She's remarried now.

She cheered herself up, thinking, "So what if the county high school won't accept me? With the money, I'll go to the city to repeat my studies."

Jiang Can opened her math textbook, took out paper and pen to do the problems. The room was very quiet, with only the scratching sound of the ballpoint pen scratching the notebook. This quietness made her feel happy, as if she were still in the classroom for evening self-study.

My skills are still there; they haven't become rusty despite being lazy these past few days.

The lesson lasted for more than two hours. Around 10 p.m., Jiang Can closed her textbook, turned off the light, and went to sleep. Shen Lang didn't come back. She slept alone in her 1.5-meter-wide bed, which was really comfortable.

She was half asleep when she was woken up by a knock on the door. It was Shen Lang who had returned. She was too sleepy to open her eyes, but she got up to open the door for Shen Lang and told him that there was food warming up on the coal stove and that he could eat it himself if he was hungry.

However, once Jiang Can saw Shen Lang's appearance clearly, he was scared away from being sleepy.

His white shirt was covered in dried bloodstains, so much so that the original color was almost unrecognizable; there were also bloodstains on his face and in his hair.

How much blood would that take?

Jiang Can asked in alarm, "You're injured?"

Shen Lang: "No, it's not my blood."

It's not his blood?

Jiang Can was even more terrified. He slammed the door shut and asked warily, "You... you've committed murder and arson?"