Chapter 17 The Sweet-Talking Customers Eating Fried Dough Twists
As soon as Xie Xun stepped aboard the pleasure boat, he received a piece of paper from someone nearby. The handwriting was delicate and pleasing to the eye, and he couldn't help but read it aloud: "New shop opening, complimentary pastries..."
Qingxian has been following Xie Xun around these past few days and hasn't had a proper rest. Now all she wants is a bowl of hot soup noodles to comfort her lonely heart.
Almost as soon as he heard the word "pastry," he perked up and urged Xie Xun, "Young master, why don't we go to Lu's Food Shop today? I just heard people say that their soup dumplings are quite good, especially the scallion oil soup dumplings, which are extremely fragrant."
Xie Xun, having worked hard all day, was also a little tired. He decided to savor the tempting soup dumplings, tucked the papers into his bosom, and headed towards Zhouqiao Bridge.
Only two or three customers remained in the shop. Lu Qiong planned to close the shop as soon as they left, and then go back in the afternoon to catch up on her afternoon nap.
Unexpectedly, new diners arrived, including the young men she had met a few times before. Lu Qiong treated them well, asking, "What would you two young gentlemen like to eat?"
Xie Xun smiled and bowed when he saw that it was Lu Qiong. They had met several times at Zhouqiao after their parting at Xiangguo Temple. Her pastries were sweet but not greasy, which suited his taste perfectly.
"A bowl of scallion pancake soup." Qingxian interrupted his thoughts.
Seeing that Lu Qiong was also smiling and looking at him, Xie Xun didn't delay any longer. He cleared his throat and said, "One cold noodle dish, please, young lady."
The tea on the table had gone cold, so Lu Qiong brewed a new pot, added jasmine tea powder, poured in boiling water, and the faint fragrance of jasmine lingered in her nose.
She also brought out a small plate of rock sugar: "If it tastes bitter, young man, you can add some rock sugar yourself."
Xie Xun thanked him, then picked up his teacup and took a small sip, which soothed his dry mouth.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the cold noodles were ready. Lu Qiong personally brought them over and handed them to Xie Xun, saying, "Young master, please enjoy them."
Qingxian was starving, and her tone became a little urgent: "Young lady, why aren't my soup dumplings ready yet?"
Xie Xun reprimanded him: "You mustn't be rude."
Lu Qiong took the tray, feeling a sense of goodwill, and said with a smile, "It's alright. The cold noodles were rinsed in cold water earlier, and they'll be ready to serve as soon as the sauce is prepared. The scallion pancakes are made with freshly kneaded dough, so it takes a little time. Young master, you can have a cup of tea to satisfy your hunger first."
Fortunately, there weren't many customers, and Sister Yang quickly made the scallion pancake soup. Lu Qiong brought the steaming hot soup pancake to the table. The pancake was white and smooth, and decorated with scallions. It was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.
Qingxian immediately took a bite, exclaiming in the hot air, "So delicious!"
Xie Xun was not to be outdone. He first praised the translucent color of the cold noodles, which resembled branches and leaves growing under green bamboo, and then complimented Lu Qiong's cooking skills. In conclusion, he said that the noodles suited his taste very well and he would like to patronize the restaurant again next time.
Everyone loves to hear nice words, but Lu Qiong still smiled and explained, "Young master, you misunderstand. This cold noodle dish was made by my cook. I can't make such delicious soup noodles."
The dough for locust leaf cold noodles is indeed difficult to make. It requires taking tender locust leaves, pinching off the tips, washing them, blanching them, rinsing them in cold water, and then pounding them to extract the juice and adding it to the flour to make the light blue dough. Lu Qiong found it too troublesome and had never tried making it herself, but after tasting Yang Jie'er's locust leaf cold noodles, she immediately fell in love with them.
Xie Xun realized he had made a mistake, so he could only laugh awkwardly: "Young lady, you are very skillful. The pastries you make are delicious. You are also able to run such a food shop. You are truly virtuous and talented."
Hearing this, Lu Qiong felt even happier. When paying the bill, she ordered a few more pastries. After all, it was a new store opening, so she wasn't afraid of losing out a little.
After closing time in the afternoon, she told Sister Yang and Lu Xuan to go back first, while she went to the general store to ask the shopkeeper for a few more bushels of flour. The customers were so enthusiastic today that the cold noodles were sold one after another, and they simply couldn't keep up with the demand.
As evening approaches, fewer people come to eat noodles. Instead, they stroll around the city, buying boiled water and pastries to satisfy their cravings. Perhaps they have already eaten dinner at home, or perhaps the brightly lit restaurants are more appealing.
To Lu Qiong's delight, some idlers even came specifically to patronize her soup noodles. Luckily, they ordered cold noodles, otherwise she was afraid the noodles would have clumped up by the time they arrived.
She chuckled to herself as she helped pack the food into the food box: "Two servings of cold locust leaf noodles, four servings of steamed rice cakes, two servings of water. Take care on your journey, young man!"
After seeing the idler off, Lu Qiong had even more free time.
There were still some pastries left from the morning, and they should be sold out today. She took two portions of osmanthus cake for herself and sat in the corner eating them with tea. The melted pastries weren't dry and had a texture similar to "biscuits" soaked in milk.
The fire in the stove was still burning.
She was sweating from the heat and casually picked up a palm-leaf fan to fan herself. Just then, Jinniang arrived with Shuangjie'er. She stopped eating the pastries and stopped fanning herself, and instead tugged at the little flower rope in Shuangjie'er's hair with a grin: "Why are you here?"
Jinniang laughed, supporting her back: "Come and see the excitement. Your shop was quite popular this morning. Only you could come up with the idea of giving away pastries to attract new customers."
"Not really." Lu Qiong's ears turned red.
After all, this was a product of the wisdom of her predecessors, not a "marketing tactic" she came up with on her own. Considering that they had not had an easy journey, she asked Sister Yang to make a bowl of cold noodles for them to try the shop's signature dish.
Jinniang didn't stand on ceremony with her. She found a place to sit down and looked around. The decor was simple, the tables and chairs were neat, the stove was clean, and the aroma of cooking wafted throughout the shop as soon as the lid was lifted.
Her feelings were really complicated. Just a month ago, the two of them were setting up a stall at Longjin Bridge, and now she has taken over the shop and made the business very successful. She couldn't say she was jealous, after all, Sister Qiong was indeed capable.
While they were chatting, Sister Yang brought over some cold noodles, with even more filling. The sauce and noodles were mixed together, golden and translucent, making Sister Shuang's mouth water.
Shuangjie wasn't very good at using chopsticks. She had only picked up a few strands when the dough slipped down. Jinniang cut them into shorter pieces and changed the spoon for her, which helped a little.
Jinniang also took a few bites when she had a chance, and commented: "This cold noodle dish is really good. It must have taken a lot of effort to knead the dough. The young lady's skills are also excellent."
Indeed, most of the customers today praised Yang Jie'er's soup dumplings, making Lu Qiong's usual pastries seem less popular. But she was happy to make money, and she even had to give Yang Jie'er, the biggest contributor, a raise.
Shen Qing, who had congratulated Lu Qiong in advance, was also late. He explained to Lu Qiong that he had been delayed by something today, and then asked her for a bowl of bougainvillea.
The fragrant and tender fritters were served, and Lu Qiong joked, "Thank you, young man, for traveling so far to patronize my humble shop."
Shen Qing smiled and praised her in return: "Young lady, you are clever and skillful. With your proper management, your restaurant will surely become a famous one in Bianjing in the future."
As expected of a scholar, he has a whole repertoire of compliments. Lu Qiong also noticed that everyone today is sweet-talking. Perhaps it's because after achieving success, everyone around him is a good person.
Sweet words can always please people. Lu Qiong packed a few pieces of the remaining yam and jujube cake for her, but on the surface, she was thinking of him: "I'm giving the young master some of his favorite pastries. They were all chosen according to his taste."
Shen Qing was speechless. Remembering the excuse he had used when buying the pastries, he had no choice but to accept them. He wondered how to deal with these greasy pastries, fearing that they would end up benefiting the students in the school.
Speaking of the school, he also remembered something and discussed it with Lu Qiong: "The Yingtian Academy will be holding a poetry gathering next month. Does the young lady have any interest in getting the tea and snacks for the gathering?"
Poetry gatherings? Lu Qiong had also heard of them. The participants in poetry gatherings were all students from the academy. They would recite poems and compose essays at the gatherings, exchanging skills with each other, and every year they would create poems that were sung by many.
Is she trying to witness the birth of a celebrity ahead of time?
She was determined to go and see what was going on, and agreed without much hesitation. However, she still needed the headmaster's permission, so she planned to talk to him about it in the next few days.
Jinniang had been observing for a long time, and only dared to tease Lu Qiong after Shen Qing left: "Is that young man perhaps infatuated with you? From the moment he entered until he left, his gaze never left you."
Lu Qiong waved her hand with a smile: "There are at least eighty or a hundred people who have seen me in the shop today. According to your logic, does that mean everyone has taken a liking to me?"
Jinniang sighed, "Young lady, you speak so rashly, why can't you understand?"
After saying that, she shook her head. It was truly a case of the man having feelings for the woman but not for her. It was a pity that the young man had put in so much effort, following her from Longjin Bridge to Zhou Bridge, and now he had even come to the shop. It was all in vain.
Lu Qiong didn't know what she was lamenting, nor did she care much, and happily went to do her accounting.
Today, we sold about eighty servings of vegetarian noodles and over a hundred servings of pastries. We also sold out of boiled water. After deducting the free pastries and costs, the net profit was over eight hundred coins! Before she could even enjoy it, she had to count out half of the money to buy ingredients for tomorrow, which made her very distressed.
However, when it came time to pay Yang Jie'er, Lu Qiong was very generous. He hadn't expected to earn so much money today, and in his excitement, he gave Yang Jie'er sixty coins, which made her speechless with joy.
Lu Qiong, fearing future conflicts, poured cold water on the idea in advance: "We only increased the money today because business was good. If business is bad in the future, we will pay you forty."
Sister Yang was reasonable; after receiving the money, she helped clean up the mess and hurried home with Mingyue.
Lu Qiong walked back shoulder to shoulder with Lu Xuan. When they passed the stalls at Zhouqiao Bridge, they couldn't move and stared at the fried dough twists.
"Young lady, would you like some fried dough twists? Freshly made, crispy and fragrant." The vendor was still kneading dough, stretching it into thin strips, and frying it in oil until it turned into golden and crispy rings, making one's mouth water.
Unable to resist the delicious food, Lu Xuan tugged at Lu Qiong's sleeve and obediently called out, "Sister."
Lu Qiong also got hungry. There were so many delicious foods at the Zhouqiao Night Market that she broke her vow of not eating overnight. She took out ten copper coins from her purse and asked the stall owner for two servings of fried dough twists.
The stall owner took the money and, while kneading the dough, asked, "Would you like more sugar?"
Seeing Lu Xuan nod, she sprinkled another spoonful of sugar, slowly rolled it into a long strip, and formed it into a ring. In no time, the fried dough twists were ready. They were so hot that they would crumble at the touch.
Lu Qiong held the hot fried dough twist in her hand, and it made a crisp sound when she put it in her mouth. Fried food is delicious and high in calories, but right now she was so engrossed in the delicious food that she didn't have time to think about anything else.
"Sister, why don't we sell fried dough twists?"
Lu Qiong put her arm around Lu Xuan's shoulder and gently pinched her nose: "We only have two stoves, and we use them both to cook soup dumplings. We don't have any extra space to fry anything. Besides, we don't know how to make fried dough twists. What if we can't sell them? Will they all end up in your stomach?"
Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, Lu Xuan could only laugh and stuff a piece of fried dough into Lu Qiong's mouth.
The two bickered and teased each other all the way, filling the quiet streets with a lively atmosphere...
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