After leaving Zhang Aiju's house, Yuan Doudou made new arrangements regarding the price of snail rice noodles and agreed with the old lady that she would learn to make rice noodles with her after dinner.

She also has her own preferences when it comes to what to sell at her stall. She likes to eat snail rice noodles and wants to let more people eat them.

It's a seasonal product, so it can only be sold in the summer. Once the weather gets cold, the river snails disappear, and you can't eat them anymore.

As for making money, it's either a lot or a little, but in short, you can't let yourself lose money.

As soon as she arrived at her doorstep, she saw Zhuang Shuhui lurking outside, looking rather suspicious.

"What are you doing here?" Yuan Doudou knew nothing good came of it as soon as she saw her.

Zhuang Shuhui was so frightened that she backed away. She had come by the smell, which was both fragrant and foul.

"DouDou, I heard you made a kind of delicious food. I want to come and see it. If it's good, I'll buy some." She said she would buy some, but in her heart she was thinking: I'll eat it and not pay, and you can't do anything to me.

Yuan Doudou thought to herself, "This person really has a keen sense of smell. The broth was made in the morning, so even if the smell is strong, it should dissipate by evening. Anyway, she can't smell it."

"You're too late, it's all sold out," Yuan Doudou said coldly. No way she was thinking of getting a free meal.

"Yuan Doudou, you think I'm being too polite? Others can have it, but I don't. Let me tell you, An Rong is gone, and your mother-in-law is dead. The five acres of land you have should belong to our family. I haven't even asked you for the land lease fee yet, so who are you giving me attitude for?"

The more furious Zhuang Shuhui became, the more nonchalant Yuan Doudou became: "Who's here to show off to?"

"You... I'll get my hands on you sooner or later!"

Yuan Doudou said calmly, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

When they can't win an argument, they resort to intimidation, but she's not easily intimidated.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Yuan Doudou ignored Zhuang Shuhui's sour face and slammed the gate shut.

Zhuang Shuhui was so angry outside that she stomped her feet. No, she had to go find the village head and teach that wretched girl a lesson.

Yuan Doudou washed her hands, went to the kitchen, moved the table to the yard, and called Anji to come out for dinner.

Upon hearing his mother's voice, Anji rushed out to report: "Mother, Xiaobai ate all the fish you just cooked."

"After it finished eating, it washed its face there. It was so funny." Angie imitated how Little White washed its face.

Yuan Doudou laughed, "You're cuter than Xiaobai."

Anji giggled, "Mommy is cute too."

"Hahaha." Yuan Doudou couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When a little kid called her cute, she started to reflect on herself and wondered if she should change her ways.

After dinner, Yuan Doudou read books and practiced calligraphy with Anji.

Looking at the crooked lines on the paper, they resembled earthworms crawling.

"Mother, Anji is too stupid, he can never write well." Anji said with some frustration.

Yuan Doudou didn't want him to put so much pressure on himself, so she comforted him: "The great calligrapher Wang Xizhi washed his brushes in the water of a pond until the water turned black before he achieved his later success in calligraphy. You are not even three years old yet. Being able to hold the brush well is the first step to success."

Angie listened attentively, glancing at the pen in his hand, which he held steadily.

My mother said there is no fixed way to hold a pen; as long as you feel comfortable and it helps you exert force, that's fine.

Anji calmed down and continued practicing, not worrying about his trembling hands.

He wanted to learn from Wang Xizhi, to practice diligently, not to become a master, but simply to be true to himself.

Seeing that he understood immediately, Yuan Doudou smiled and thought, "He's a promising child with a bright future." The old mother was very pleased.

"Anji, finish writing this first, then I'll go learn how to make rice noodles from Aunt Zhang. Mommy is learning new things every day too," Yuan Doudou said softly.

Angie nodded, her pen still in her hand.

Yuan Doudou got up and left home.

As soon as they arrived at Zhang Aiju's house, they ran into Wang Qiqiang outside.

"I heard from my mother that you were coming, and I was just about to go pick you up," he said shyly.

Yuan Doudou smiled and said, "Brother Wang is so kind. I'm brave and not afraid to walk at night."

To save trouble, she didn't even bother to carry a lantern.

Wang Qiqiang was full of admiration.

"DouDou, you've come at the right time. I just finished tidying up here." Zhang Aiju came out to greet her after hearing the voices outside.

Yuan Doudou took the apron and tied it around her waist.

"It's good that Qiqiang is here. You can grind the grain with him, and I'll watch from the side."

When Yuan Doudou arrived in the afternoon, Zhang Aiju had already started soaking the rice. This time, Yuan Doudou bought aged early rice, which was perfect for making rice noodles.

Yuan Doudou held a basin in one hand, resting it on her hip, and a wooden spoon in her right hand with a long handle to make it easier to pour rice into the mill.

"Add water," Zhang Aiju instructed from the side.

Adding water is a skill in making good rice noodles.

The rice paste should not be too dry or too thin, otherwise it will affect the rice thread making process.

"The ground rice paste needs to ferment overnight before it can be strained with a tool." Zhang Aiju held a tool in her hand, similar to a strainer, made of bamboo, long and cylindrical, with many small holes drilled at the bottom.

Wang Qiqiang was strong; he could grind 20 jin of rice into rice paste in less than an hour.

The ground rice milk was a bright yellow color. Zhang Aiju covered it with gauze to prevent any dirt from getting in.

"Okay, come to my house again tomorrow at noon, and I'll teach you once more. After that, you can do it by yourself."

Yuan Doudou smiled and said, "That's great."

However, we don't have a stone mill at home, so it seems we'll have to buy one.

"Dou Dou, what your aunt means is that you should still come to me for rice noodles from now on. You can't handle this by yourself; you need at least two people, and you'll also need a stone mill. What do you say?"

Yuan Doudou thought about it for a moment and felt that what the old lady said made sense. If she did it alone at home, she would definitely be flustered and overwhelmed.

"Alright, but you have to promise me you'll take the money." I promised to give her the money last time, but she refused.

Yuan Doudou felt bad about not accepting money.

Zhang Aiju smiled so much that the wrinkles around her eyes deepened. "Alright, alright, I promise you. You're such a sensible child."

"Okay, it's settled then. I'll head back now; Angie's still at home."

Yuan Doudou waved her hand and quickened her pace to go home.

Zhang Aiju winked at Wang Qiqiang, who immediately understood and ran out after her.

"DouDou, it's late, let me take you home," Wang Qiqiang said, following behind.

Yuan Doudou looked at the dark path, completely bewildered.

"Thank you then," she said without hesitation.

Wang Qiqiang held a lantern and moved closer to Yuan Doudou so that she could see the road clearly.

The country roads are rugged and uneven; you have to be careful even during the day, let alone at night.

There were rice paddies right next to the road, where many frogs lived, croaking incessantly.

"DouDou, it's really not easy for a girl like you to run a street stall business. You could find a helper."

Yuan Doudou smiled brightly: "I'm losing money even when I'm doing it alone, it would probably be even worse with more people."

When it comes to doing business together, you have to consider the circumstances.

Making money is fine, but losing money makes everyone unhappy.

"Actually, what I want to say is that he doesn't care about making money."