Chapter 90: Beauty Attracts Business
After the spring planting was completed, Brother Zhao planned to return to Jiuquan. Sui Yuyang asked him to stay for two more days to help carry the manure from the toilet and livestock pen to the vegetable garden and alfalfa meadow.
Brother Zhao didn't mind, as he often did this dirty work at home. He agreed and started picking up manure the next day.
He didn't mind, but Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi did. Before the bad smell got out, the aunt and sister-in-law took Sui Liang and ran away.
"I'm going to go around the fields and see if I can shoot one or two wild game. Xiaomi, you and Liang Ge'er stay here to herd the sheep." Sui Yu walked away with his bow and arrow.
Zhao Xiaomi grabbed a handful of fried soybeans and shared them with Sui Liang. She found a place to sit down and watched Sui Yu walk away. She chewed the soybeans and said, "Your sister can hunt? I thought the dried chicken and dried field mice my third brother brought back were hunted by him."
"My brother-in-law also hunts."
Zhao Xiaomi's eyes rolled and she said happily, "So your family doesn't lack meat, right?"
Sui Liang nodded heavily.
Another sheep came running over and aggressively pushed towards the three lambs. Without waiting for Sui Liang to drive them away, the black pig rushed over with a loud grunt and bit the leg of the troublemaking sheep.
"Hey, hey, hey—" A boy herding sheep not far away was startled by the sound of sheep. He hurried over and shouted, "Sui Liang, hurry up and call your pigs away."
Sui Liang didn't say anything. This kid was very bad. He always allowed the big sheep to bully his three lambs. He deserved to be taught a lesson.
Pigs and sheep were fighting, and people around came to watch the fun.
"This pig is quite formidable. It took several kicks from the sheep and refused to let go. It's a tough character."
"The lamb leg is bleeding."
"The pig's butt was also poked by the sheep's horns and bled."
"Xiao Hei, come back." Sui Liang shouted, and he used a stick to hold the sheep back. As soon as the pig let go, he drove the sheep away. Sure enough, the sheep, limping, chased after him to seek revenge.
"Go, go, go—" Zhao Xiaomi grabbed the whip and lashed out. She said to the boy, who was so anxious that he was about to cry, "Tie up your sheep. If you come to bully our sheep again, you'll have your legs broken."
Sui Yu hurried back when she heard the noise. When she arrived, the onlookers had already dispersed. There was a sticky bunch of grass leaves stuck on the black pig's butt, and Zhao Xiaomi and Sui Liang were feeding it fried soybeans.
"Third sister-in-law, your pigs are amazing, but we have nothing to do here, so you should go hunting."
Seeing that nothing was wrong, Sui Yu left again with her bow and arrow.
Half a day later, Sui Yu shot two birds that were digging up the soil and stealing grain seeds. In the afternoon, she went out for a walk and shot two more wild birds. In the evening, when she was about to return, she hunted down two field mice that had just emerged from their holes.
After dinner, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi squatted in the yard to pluck bird feathers. They also skinned two field mice and threw the field mouse skins and bird feathers into a basin of grass ash water to soak.
"Wait until autumn, before the weather gets cold, and I'll use the mouse skins I've saved to sew a vest for you. Liang Ge'er, your third brother and I all have one. It's very warm to wear on snowy days." Sui Yu said.
"Rat-skin too?"
"A layer of rabbit skin is sewn over the rat skin."
Zhao Xiaomi smiled, showing her teeth, and said sweetly, "Okay, okay."
After plucking the birds, the four together were still no bigger than a chicken. Sui Yu figured it wouldn't be enough to eat, so he went back to the fields the next day and this time brought back three birds.
In the evening, Sui Yu took the money and went to the street to buy five pounds of lard. When he came back, he lit a fire and started refining the oil in preparation for selling buns.
After taking the lard residue out of the pot, Sui Yu said to Sui Liang, "Don't add firewood yet. I'll add firewood when you light the fire."
After saying that, she held the bird's neck with chopsticks in her right hand, and took a spoon in her left hand, and clumsily scooped oil and poured it on the bird meat. The boiling lard poured on the bird meat made a sizzling sound, and the bird meat changed color.
"Third sister-in-law, let me help you." Zhao Xiaomi ran in and said, "I'm here to pick up the bird meat. What is this for?"
"Fry the bird meat, it will be more fragrant when stewed." Sui Yu shook her left hand, and she used the other hand to scoop oil and pour it on the bird meat.
All seven birds were drizzled with oil, and the oil temperature in the pot had cooled down a lot. Sui Yu threw the seven birds into the pot and fried them slowly. She drove Sui Liang away and sat in front of the stove to light a low fire.
After the black-skinned bird was fried until golden brown, Sui Yu scooped about three pounds of lard from the pot into the oil tank, poured the field mouse meat into the bottom oil and stir-fried it. After the fat was fried out, he threw in two wild garlic and green onion slices, fried them until fragrant, and then picked them out and threw them away.
"Don't throw it away, don't throw it away. I'll eat it." Zhao Xiaomi stopped him. She pinched the fragrant scallion slices and blew on them, muttering, "There's so much oil, why throw it away?"
Sui Yu looked at Sui Liang, and Sui Liang chuckled.
Add water to the pot, and when the water boils, put the half-cooked bird meat into the pot. There is a little less water, so Sui Yu brings the wine jar and pours two spoonfuls of wine. The water in the pot just covers the bird's back.
Brother Zhao couldn't stand the fragrance, so he picked up a load of water and went to fetch water. It took him two loads to fill a water tank, and it was already dark.
"Brother, the meat is ready. Wash your hands and get ready to eat." Zhao Xiaomi jumped out.
Sui Yu rolled out the noodles, poured the meat out of the pot and added water. She took off her coarse apron and went next door to call Qin Dashun.
Qin Dashun had already eaten dinner, but the aroma of meat and oil wafting from next door made him very greedy. His stomach still felt empty. Unable to resist Sui Yu's calls, he happily ran over.
"Second brother has come here from far away, and he has never had a day of leisure. You should eat more meat, otherwise your second sister-in-law will be sad to see that you have lost weight when you go back." Sui Yu said.
Brother Zhao Er was a very honest person and he rarely joked with his wife. When Sui Yu made a joke, he was speechless.
"Brother Qin, don't be polite. Wild birds are not big, so each of you can pick one up and eat it with your hands." Sui Yu handed him a whole bird and said, "This is my first time making this, so let's try it and see if it tastes good."
Zhao Xiaomi picked one up herself. The bird's skin was raked, the meat was tender, and the bones in the wings were crispy. She was so drunk with the smell that if the cat officer hadn't pulled her legs, she would have chewed the bones.
"Delicious, delicious." Zhao Xiaomi was overjoyed. She turned to look at her second brother and said, "Go back and tell my parents not to worry about me. My third sister-in-law and I are living a very happy life."
Brother Zhao ignored her.
"If my parents miss their daughter, please send them here to stay for a few days, second brother." Sui Yu said.
Zhao Erge waved his hand and said, "When the third brother comes back, you can go back and stay for a few days. Dad and Mom are old and can't stand the constant traveling. Besides, when they were young, they moved here from the interior and spent half a year on the road. They are really tired of walking."
"Okay, let's wait for him to come back and go back together." Sui Yu nodded in agreement.
Seven birds were shared by five people, and the remaining two birds were pushed around. Sui Yu decided to let Zhao Erge and Qin Dashun share it. "The bow and arrow are in my hands. Xiaomi has settled down again. We will have enough to eat the birds we hunt. We don't need this one. You two are different. After eating this meal, you don't know when the next one will come."
"I live nearby and came here when I smelled the food." Qin Dashun laughed.
Sui Yu smiled but didn't respond. Zhao Xiping was not at home, so she didn't dare to bring a man home for dinner. If Zhao Erge hadn't been there tonight, even if she wanted to invite Qin Dashun to dinner, she would have sent him a plate of meat.
After the meal, the moon was at its highest point in the sky. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi cleaned up the pots and pans together, fed the pigs, and then went to bed.
At dawn, Brother Zhao rode a borrowed camel out of the city. Sui Yu led the camel to the grain shop to buy some lime powder. When they passed by the place where she had set up her stall before, they found that the shop had changed hands. The wine shop was converted into a grocery store run by a Hu merchant.
Sui Yu went in and took a look around, then asked the boss if he could set up a stall outside the shop to sell buns.
The Hu merchant was not particular about money. Seeing that Sui Yu was willing to pay, he rented her a piece of land that was two feet long and two feet wide for two cents a month, and asked for payment every six months.
After renting the stall, Sui Yu went to the carpenter's house again. She wanted the carpenter to make her a waist-high table with detachable and supportive legs. As soon as she mentioned her request, the carpenter quoted a high price of three taels.
"Forget it, forget it. I can do anything else with this money. I won't buy it." Sui Yu was not a sucker. She came out of the carpenter's house and was walking in the village thinking about what to use to replace the table when she saw a family removing the door.
"Auntie, have you just moved in? Don't you want the door panels anymore?" Sui Yu walked over.
"Yes, we just moved in. Do you want this door panel? I plan to chop it up and use it as firewood."
Sui Yu was secretly delighted. She spent fifty coins to buy a door panel and another ten coins to hire someone to bring it back to her. She washed the door panel clean, borrowed a chisel from the alley, and punched four diagonal holes in it. She cut four suitable pieces of wood and inserted them into the holes. A table was ready.
Afterwards, Sui Yu went to the shop where she bought the door panel and bought another door panel for fifty cents. After splitting it with a machete, she followed her experience in making tables and chiseled an opening two palms wide on the wide wooden board. She inserted the narrow wooden board into it, and then stuck the two wooden boards into the ground, and a chair was made.
There were tables and chairs, pots, stoves, firewood, oil and salt, all ready. There were shepherd's purse, bitter herbs and radish seedlings growing in the vegetable garden. Sui Yu chose a day with good weather and took Zhao Xiaomi out to sell buns.
Early in the morning, Sui Yu first used a camel to move the tables and chairs and put them together, then came back to carry the steamer and stove, and the last trip was to transport the dough and two pots of mixed stuffing.
He went in and out two or three times, making quite a noise, and most people in the alley saw it.
"Are you setting up a stall to sell buns again?" asked Aunt Sun.
"Yes, still on Nanshui Street." Sui Yu nodded.
Zhao Xiaomi was watching the stall outside the grocery store. When she saw the camel coming, she went to help unload the things. As soon as she put down the basins of noodles and stuffing, passers-by came to see.
"We have stuffings like shepherd's purse and eggs, and stuffings like lard and bitter herbs. They'll be ready in just one stick of incense." Sui Yu said, "Also, we have oil tea for sale."
They lit a fire in the stove and added water to the pot. While the water was boiling, the aunt and sister-in-law worked together skillfully to knead the bread filling.
The water in the pot was boiling. Someone passed by and heard that there was oil tea. He took out four cents to buy a bowl.
Sui Yu scooped water and poured it into a spoonful of fried noodles and a lump of lard, stirring it quickly with one hand, and the fragrant aroma of noodles and lard rose to his nose.
The oil tea in the shop costs five cents a bowl. Sui Yu's conditions cannot keep up with the environment in the shop, so the oil tea is sold for one cent less. Anyway, he sells it as a side dish.
A basket of thirty buns was put into the pot, the fire was burning in the stove, and Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi continued to make buns.
"How much are the buns?" A man passing by saw Sui Yu's face, walked past and then turned back.
"They're three cents each. There's shepherd's purse and egg filling, and lard and bitter greens filling. The bitter greens are fried after they've been sun-dried and wilted. They're less bitter and less watery, so they don't taste soggy." Sui Yu asked, "How many do you want?"
"I want two..."
"Two each?" Sui Yu went to open the steamer.
"Yes, two each."
The four buns brought in twelve coins. The man took the buns and left. Zhao Xiaomi frowned and said, "Third sister-in-law, he came right for your face."
"The purpose of having a good face is to show off to others. Let them see it, I have nothing to lose." Sui Yu washed his hands and continued to knead the dough, saying, "Don't think too much. We set up a stall to make money. Once we make enough money, we can open a shop."
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