Chili oil

As the morning light streamed in, Li Guolan put on her drab clothes, choosing not to pick out anything pretty. She picked up a new outfit, but then, thinking of the male employees in the factory, she changed into a new one, applied face cream, tied her hair up, and started making breakfast—a habit she'd maintained for many years.

When Lin Shaocheng got up, he saw that the meal had already been prepared. He felt a little embarrassed and did not sit down to eat. He woke up Li Guorong and said, "Big sister, it's not right for you to get up so early to cook for us. You should talk to her about it."

Li Guorong rubbed his eyes. "I'll go talk to her."

Lin Shaocheng ate in silence. The presence of other people at the table made him a little uncomfortable. He had deliberately reminded Guorong, firstly because he was worried that Guorong was too tired, and secondly because he was concerned that his eldest sister might resent Guorong for marrying first, affecting her own marriage prospects. Guorong had intervened twice, both times for the sake of his eldest sister, but it was also a fact that his eldest sister's age had indeed been delayed.

After Lin Shaocheng finished eating, he wanted to clear the table, but Li Guolan grabbed the bowl from him and said, "I'll do it, you go to work."

Lin Shaocheng could tell that his older sister wasn't just being polite. He wasn't good at refusing, so he put on his clothes, got on his bicycle, and left, leaving the two sisters alone.

Li Guorong, a picky eater, ate the sausage with gusto, saying, "Sister, why are you up so early? Shaocheng can cook and wash the dishes."

Li Guolan tapped Li Guorong's chopsticks, saying, "You're so picky about what you eat, how can others eat? How can you be so rude?"

Li Guorong slumped into a chair. "Sister, what are you doing? This is my home. I can do whatever I want here."

Li Guolan's expression turned serious. "I can't say anything to you. There will always be someone better looking, more educated, and more capable than you. You'll be happy when your brother-in-law is completely bewitched. Look at the room I live in and the other rooms, they're all full of your clothes. Your brother-in-law was so respectable before he married you, and now he still has the same few clothes. If you don't have him in your heart, you two are doomed sooner or later."

Li Guorong stood up abruptly, feeling a little guilty. Her family had never spoiled her. In her previous life, her daughter had spoiled her for a while after she started earning money, but then she became indifferent and only cared about herself. Now that Lin Shaocheng was spoiling her, what was wrong with her accepting it? Even without Lin Shaocheng, she could live well; she could earn money.

"He loves me and doesn't want me to do anything. What's the big deal? I'm just lucky."

Li Guolan's face flushed red. Her younger sister didn't know how to cherish him. There were many people outside who wanted to snatch a man like him, yet her younger sister was still so unwilling to give an inch. Lin Shaocheng kept backing down, which reminded her of that foreign book. Would Lin Shaocheng eventually disappear into the fog like Rhett Butler? She didn't want her younger sister to face the world alone.

The sound of a bicycle bell broke the silence in the room. Li Guorong spoke first, "Sister, you're just worrying unnecessarily. Lin Shaocheng isn't that kind of person. I've already told you about his family. We're doing fine."

Li Guolan picked up the basket and asked, "What's the difference between you and his family now? You earn more money than them?"

These words struck Li Guorong like a hammer blow to her heart. She was certain that she liked Lin Shaocheng. It seemed that she had indeed given too little. If someone else were to enter Lin Shaocheng's heart, would he leave her as if she were his own family?

Li Guolan called out, "Let's go, aren't we buying groceries?"

Li Guorong roused herself; she couldn't show weakness in front of her elder sister. The most important thing now was to do business.

The markets in Beijing were as bustling as ever. A spice shop owner waved from afar and called out, "Little sister, you've come?"

Li Guorong took Li Guolan's arm and walked a few steps quickly, saying, "Keep the material I asked for for me."

The spice shop owner pulled out several cotton bags from the shop. "Take a look."

Li Guorong smiled and said, "I still don't trust you."

Li Guolan squatted down and turned the seasonings over and over, saying, "The dried chilies at the bottom are a bit soft."

Li Guorong squatted down as well. The chili peppers had a high water content. He took one out and put it in his mouth; it had dried and then become damp again.

The spice shop owner looked somewhat uneasy, his large hand plunging into the chili peppers. "They are a bit damp, probably because it snowed a few days ago."

Li Guorong said, "Then you'll have to give me a discount."

He bent down to carefully examine the spices in the other packages, and found that they were also damp to varying degrees.

Li Guolan whispered, "Why don't we buy from another store? We have to dry the wet ones ourselves, what a waste."

The spice shop owner, seeing what the two were doing, said, "I'll give you a 20% discount. Only the bottom layer is wet; most of it is good."

The two sisters exchanged a glance and accepted the price.

Back home, with Li Guolan by his side, Li Guorong's workload was reduced by more than half.

Li Guolan smelled the chili peppers and said, "These chili peppers aren't as fragrant as the ones we have back home. I'd rather have Mom mail them to you."

Li Guorong was holding a skewer of pork, "and the postage was so expensive."

Li Guolan was washing the cabbage. "Nowhere is it more expensive to buy chili peppers than in Beijing. You need to be careful next time, don't be fooled by this unscrupulous merchant."

Li Guorong paused his work. If he used chili peppers from his hometown, they would taste better, be cheaper, and ease the burden on his family.

The two packed twice as many skewers as before and went confidently to the entrance of the machinery factory. The original spot at the entrance had been taken over by a new skewer stall, which even had a sign that read "Authentic Bo Bo Chicken." Several people who had finished get off work early were choosing their skewers.

When the customers saw Li Guorong pushing his cart over, they asked, "Boss, you've set up your stall. Isn't this your apprentice's stall?"

Li Guorong got off the tricycle. The soup on the stall was just ordinary bone broth with a few small chili peppers on top. He figured it was tasteless and reassured. Li Guorong shouted at the top of his lungs, "What apprentice? I've been home for a few days. What cat or dog is impersonating me? This soup is ruining my reputation!"

Most stalls start setting up on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, but Li Guorong didn't arrive until the ninth. Old Wang thought Li Guorong had quit and was trying to steal his old customers, but he didn't expect Li Guorong to suddenly reappear.

Old Wang also cursed, "Where did this country bumpkin come from? This is authentic Beijing Bo Bo Chicken, passed down from the palace. It's not comparable to your rustic flavor."

Li Guorong sneered, "You think you're from the palace? Does the Empress Dowager eat Bo Bo Chicken? Ask your guests if your food tastes bad."

As soon as Old Wang set up his stall, people who had been craving this dish during the Chinese New Year rushed to buy it. But when they found it bland and watery, the only good thing was the sesame sauce. But if they wanted sesame sauce, wouldn't it be more economical to eat hot pot?

As the factory workers began to leave, they saw the commotion and quickly gathered around. Li Guolan was worried that her younger sister would get into a fight with the old man on the other side, who looked to be only in his fifties and had a lot of muscle. Her brother-in-law wasn't around, and the two women might not be able to beat him.

"Guorong, let's set up the stall first. Look, the customers are all waiting."

Several regular customers nearby, especially Wang Gang, whose eyes lit up as he held his lunchbox, shouted, "Young boss, hurry up and set up your stall! We've been waiting for this. We thought it was your apprentice before, but it tasted awful."

Li Guorong knew this was to clarify things for her, so she quickly shouted, "I haven't taken on any apprentices. I only have this one stall; I don't have any others."

The two men worked swiftly, heating the food up. The irresistible aroma made mouths water. Wang Gang strode forward, picked up several of his favorite dishes, and pointed to a jar next to him, asking, "What's this, boss?"

Li Guorong introduced, "This is chili oil. It's delicious with noodles. You can have a bowl of chili oil noodles."

A person next to me who doesn't eat spicy food was getting a little hungry, saying, "Is this spicy? I'd like to eat a little bit spicy."

Li Guorong assured, "This is a little bit spicy, but it's incredibly fragrant."

The man's mouth watered. "Then add some noodles to my non-spicy Sichuan-style boiled chicken, and add some of this too."

"Okay."

Li Guorong's place was packed with people, the two sisters were busy collecting money and mixing noodles and skewers, while Old Man Wang's place had very few people. The aromas from the two places were so different that anyone with a nose would know which one to choose.

Old Wang's eyes were gloomy as he shouted, "Vegetarian skewers are 5 cents, meat skewers are 1 mao."

Several people were now itching to try it. The price of this skewer was half that of Li Guorong's stall, and buying 10 skewers would save them a lot of money. Li Guorong's stall was also too crowded, while there was no need to wait at the other stall.

Hearing the shouts from the other side, Li Guolan frowned and whispered, "They're lowering their prices, should we lower ours too?"

Li Guorong stood tall with confidence, "I will not yield."

Several customers chimed in, "Hey boss, the other side has lowered their prices, you should give us a discount!"

Li Guorong hurriedly said, "I bought this soup base and ingredients at a high price. I don't make a single penny per skewer. I'm not like those unscrupulous merchants across the street."

When a few people heard that there was no bargaining, they went to Old Man Wang's place and picked out a few skewers to take home. Back then, not everyone was rich, and this money was saved penny by penny.

Old Wang was overjoyed to see his price reduction attract customers from across the street; those two young girls thought they could squeeze him out.

After buying from Old Wang, a customer wanted to get some chili oil from Li Guorong. Li Guorong quickly said, "It's not that we're stingy, but if you get an upset stomach, is it my responsibility or the other party's?"

The customer blushed deeply and said, "I only dug these out because I thought your chili peppers were delicious. I wouldn't even take them if other places gave them to me for free."

A customer next to him said, "Have you no shame? Don't block my way from eating my noodles. Give me more chili peppers, I want to make a pig's face sauce."

"Okay." Li Guolan scooped a large spoonful of noodles onto the customer's face.

Several customers preferred braised dishes. Li Guorong's chili oil was really fragrant. Just thinking about mixing it with cold dishes and dipping it in steamed buns made them smell delicious. They couldn't help but buy a bowl of noodles and ask for extra chili to take home and mix. The customers pushed the person who wanted to get free chili oil to the back, and that person left dejectedly.

This spicy sauce noodles are a visually appealing mix of red and white, topped with dark fermented black beans and scallions. The first taste is savory and fresh, followed by a fragrant spiciness. The spiciness is not overpowering, but rather intensely aromatic, whetting the appetite and leaving a slightly sweet aftertaste.

The chewy noodles, combined with the occasional surprise of fermented black beans, made it impossible to stop eating. I originally intended to take it home for my family to eat, but now the bowl is empty.

Wang Gang slurped up the chili oil noodles and the side of Bo Bo Chicken, feeling like he was in heaven. Unlike the rich sauce of Beijing Zha Jiang Mian and the heavy taste of sesame paste noodles, the oily noodles brought out the wheat aroma of the noodles themselves, bringing a refreshing feeling. He couldn't help but shout, "Boss, do you sell this chili oil?"

Li Guolan's bone broth bucket was full of noodles; the prepared noodles were almost gone. She nudged her younger sister lightly.

Upon seeing this, Li Guorong hurriedly shouted, "We're out of noodles. Today is the first day of our stall. If you want some chili oil, I'll give you a spoonful for free with every purchase. This chili oil is from my hometown, and we really don't have any extra. I don't have the right packaging to sell it, so we won't be selling it individually for now."

Wang Gang quickly said, "Boss, if you're selling, remember to save one can for me."

Li Guorong was intrigued. This chili oil business was much easier than selling boiled chicken. Thinking of several famous chili sauces from later generations, she needed to think it over carefully.