Chapter 142 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
I had met the two elderly ladies on either side before; they both seemed to be reasonable people.
Seeing that she was carrying things when she came to visit, Lin Chuntao was very polite and said with a smile, "They were all made by myself, please don't mind them, Auntie."
Lin Chuntao bought the middle one. The old ladies on both sides had already inquired about her and knew that she not only sold soup noodles but also made sauces. The best sauce in the Chai family's newly opened shop was made by her. They all thought she was very capable at such a young age and admired her quite a bit.
They were very gentle and polite when we met.
Lin Chuntao explained to them that the opening tomorrow might be crowded and noisy, but the old lady laughed and said, "My dear, don't worry. This street is lively every day. We old folks also enjoy the hustle and bustle."
Lin Chuntao smiled at this answer.
"Then please come over for some soup noodles tomorrow if you have time."
The old lady just told her to go ahead and get busy, since they were neighbors and there was plenty of time to get to know each other.
After visiting the neighbors, Lin Chuntao took Lin Chunxing back to the shop, washed the pig's trotters and pig's head meat, and put them in a large pot to cook. Xu Sheng and Xu Huan were cutting lean meat, and the sisters were preparing to mince the meat together.
Chop up the meat you're going to stir-fry into a sauce and set it aside.
After a busy morning, Lin Chuntao and the others didn't have time to go home today. Pei Ying also came directly to the shop after finishing her work.
They had originally planned to cook at the shop, but before mealtime, Pei's mother arrived and said that food was ready at home and invited Lin Chuntao and the others to come and eat.
Lin Chuntao knew that Pei's mother really wanted to invite Pei Ying over for dinner. She had been busy a few days ago and hadn't been able to go with Pei Ying. Now that Pei's mother had a little opportunity, she came over to invite her, so Lin Chuntao didn't stand on ceremony and agreed.
Initially, Pei Ying was afraid that the Pei family would disrupt his peaceful life, but over the years, he has continued to live with Lin Chuntao. Apart from going to buy meat to chat with him for a few minutes, the old lady has not done anything else, and even when she does chat, she is relatively restrained.
Occasionally, he would run into Pei Jing in the county town. Pei Jing was also more gentle and polite. Gradually, he realized that the Pei family would not cause any major changes to his life, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that Pei's mother was calling for dinner, and Lin Chuntao and Qin Suyun were close friends, he didn't have much of a spare thought and went along with her.
Since they were going to have lunch, they decided not to cook at the shop. Lin Chuntao took Xu Sheng and Xu Huan to a restaurant. When Pei's mother heard that the two were Lin Chuntao's cousins, she was very friendly.
The brother and sister behaved very well alongside Lin Chuntao, greeting Pei's mother politely.
Lunch was at Qin Suyun's restaurant. Pei's father and Pei Jing were both there. Everyone enjoyed the meal warmly. During the meal, they talked about Pei Jing's imperial examination next year. Lin Chuntao also took the opportunity to mention that she wanted to find a tutor for her younger sisters. None of them had received any formal education, so sending them to an academy was not realistic. She hoped to find a tutor who could live in their home.
Just as Pei's mother was about to offer to help look for it, Pei Jing spoke up first.
"Sister-in-law, I know an old gentleman who is a scholar. He should be good at teaching children their early education."
Hearing Pei Jing say that, Lin Chuntao didn't correct him and told him not to call her "sister-in-law." Perhaps he felt that calling her "sister-in-law" was also acknowledging Pei Ying as his older brother.
"What's the old man like? The kids in the countryside are mischievous; I wonder if he'd like to go to the countryside?"
Lin Chuntao asked tactfully, implying that besides scholarship, a good teacher also needed to have good character. Pei Jing naturally understood this and said, "I think it's good, but you should check it out yourself, sister-in-law. When you're done with your work, Ayun and I will go with you to find one."
Lin Chuntao smiled and agreed, "Then I'll wait until I'm done with these five or six days."
After lunch, Lin Chuntao and the others rested for a while.
At this moment, half of Sifang Street was filled with the aroma of meat.
The people on this street are all doing business, they don't lack money, and they certainly don't lack meat to eat, but they are still drooling because of the aroma of meat.
At first, everyone was reserved, but after a while, they couldn't stand the smell anymore, and then a man from one of the houses shouted.
"Who's stewing meat? What did they put in it that makes it smell so good!"
Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, everyone around started talking at once. No one had stewed meat yet, and someone laughed, "Is it stewed at a noodle shop? I saw them busy at the shop this morning."
"Don't noodle shops make noodle soup? What are they stewing meat for?"
A woman nearby laughed and said, "It's obvious you didn't look closely at the sign outside their shop. It says they also sell braised pig's head and spicy pig's trotters!"
"What? They sell braised meat too?"
The woman said, "They only wrote 'pig's head meat' and 'pig's trotters,' so I guess they'll only sell those two."
"This aroma is quite strong. Does it say how much it costs per pound?"
The man asked, and the woman smiled and said, "I didn't look closely. You can go over and take a look later, and you can buy a pound to try."
As they were talking, Lin Chuntao and the others returned. Qin Suyun, who had nothing else to do, also came along. Pei Jing, whether genuinely bored or simply wanting to be with Qin Suyun, also came along.
As they walked by, the group of people who were discussing something looked at them. Seeing their various expressions, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that, elder brothers and sisters-in-law? Is something the matter?"
Although everyone was still strangers, Lin Chuntao broke the ice with a smile. A young woman laughed and said, "Manager Lin, you have some stewed meat in your house. Everyone is swooning over the aroma. We were just talking about it."
Lin Chuntao laughed upon hearing this, and before she could reply, someone next to her chimed in, "Yes, Manager Lin, we were just saying we'd go to your shop tonight to buy some, but we don't know how much it costs per pound."
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Sisters, please don't tease me. I'm easily embarrassed. If the meat isn't cooked well today, it won't sell. Tomorrow is the opening day of our shop. Sisters, please come to the shop when you have time. I'll treat you all to a meal."
The women laughed and said, "We can't let you treat us to anything at your opening. We'll come over tomorrow to support you."
Lin Chuntao: "Then I'll wait for my sisters-in-law to arrive."
As they walked and talked, the closer they got to the shop, the stronger the aroma became. Even Pei Jing, who was following Qin Suyun, couldn't help but sniff.
The opening date was chosen on the spot, so Lin Chuntao didn't sell anything in advance, but she could eat it herself.
By evening, the braised pig's head meat had cooled down. Lin Chuntao fried two plates of chili peppers and roasted a few spicy pig's trotters. Lin Chuntao also cooked some stinky tofu with rice noodles. Qin Suyun added a lot of chili peppers and ate with great relish.
Pei Jing believed that he should eat elegantly, but it was hard to be elegant when it came to gnawing on pig's trotters, especially when the trotters were so fragrant and spicy that he couldn't stop eating them. It didn't seem like an unacceptable thing to have oil stains on his mouth.
And everyone was focused on eating, so no one paid any attention to how much he was eating.
After dinner, Lin Chuntao started making the broth for tomorrow. Pei Ying killed a chicken, stewed it, and prepared all the vegetables before Qin Suyun and the others left.
After seeing Qin Suyun and Pei Jing off, Lin Chuntao went home with Pei Ying, while Lin Chunxing, Xu Sheng, and Xu Huan stayed at the shop.
After they left, Lin Chuntao instructed them to lock the outer gate.
Lin Chuntao instructed Lin Chunxing to be extra careful with Xu Sheng and Xu Huan and not to be careless.
Lin Chunxing understood what she meant and nodded solemnly.
The group bolted the door, waited for the broth to cook, then washed up, packed up, and went to bed, as they would have to get up early to open the business the next morning.
At dawn on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying set off early in their mule cart. As agreed, Lin Chuntao planned to wait for her aunt and uncle on the way to the shop.
Her uncles and aunts arrived early as well. When Lin Chuntao reached the fork in the road, they were already waiting there.
When adults go out, they like to prepare dry rations. The first thing they do after getting on the mule cart is to take out the pancakes and eggs they have baked for Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying each ate two eggs and half a buckwheat pancake. There were still eggs and buckwheat pancakes left, which the eldest aunt said she would take to Chunxing and Xu Huan.
There was no dipping sauce, it was all in its original flavor, but Lin Chuntao found it quite delicious.
Perhaps it's because there's more care and love from elders in them.
The mule cart was much faster than walking, but when they arrived, Chai Xingyu, Sanbao, Zhang Qingqing, and Lin Qingqing were all there, and they had even invited an opera troupe.
Lin Chuntao looked at his entourage and laughed, "Ayu, with all this fuss, I'm just a small shop."
Chai Xingyu laughed and said, "Sister has opened the first shop. In the future, there will definitely be ten or a hundred shops. It will definitely be lively and prosperous."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words! Come in first, I'll cook breakfast for you."
Chai Xingyu said, "Sister, there's no need to cook. I bought steamed buns, soy milk, and meat pies, which are all inside."
He smiled and said to Lin Chuntao, "Come back for more soup noodles tomorrow."
Lin Chuntao understood his meaning: it would be bad luck to start cooking for everyone to eat for free before the business had even opened, so he brought breakfast with him when he came.
"Thank you, Ayu."
Chai Xingyu: "Of course, sister, you go about your business and don't worry about us."
Lin Chuntao was indeed busy checking things, and Chai Xingyu was leaving soon. He said he wanted Sanbao and Zhang Qingqing to stay and help, but Lin Chuntao didn't. She told them to go back to the soy sauce shop, as she wouldn't be able to do much here.
Unable to persuade her otherwise, Zhang Qingqing and the others had no choice but to go back. Lin Chuntao invited them to come over for dinner that evening.
As dawn broke, Qin Suyun arrived with her entourage.
Before long, the regular customers who used to love the noodle soup came to the shop. When they saw that Lin Chuntao had added two new types of noodle soup, they were torn about which one to eat.
They had coupons, and Lin Chuntao introduced the new soup noodles. Many people started to try the new flavor.
The aroma of broth, the spiciness of braised meat, and the spicy fragrance of pig's trotters filled the entire street. Neighbors on the street were so enticed by the smell that they wanted to come and buy some, but the shop was packed with people, and the queue was incredibly long.
Seeing so many people, they took a deep breath and thought they would wait until there were fewer people before buying.
Today, Lin Chuntao prepared four times the usual amount of meat filling for the soup noodles, and she also braised five pig heads in one go. All day long, her aunts helped wash the dishes, her uncle helped serve the soup noodles and dishes, Qin Suyun and the helpers she brought were in the kitchen, and Lin Chuntao, Lin Chunxing, Xu Sheng and Xu Huan were also busy.
They were busy from morning until late afternoon before they could take a short break. Everyone was exhausted. Qin Suyun sat down in a chair and took a deep breath. Even at their busiest, their restaurant only had this many customers. This was really exhausting.
She looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "How about we make a cold one for you?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and quickly went to prepare it. She called Lin Chunxing over and asked everyone if they wanted to eat Zhuangyuan Tangfen (a type of rice noodle soup). After mixing the cold rice noodles, Lin Chuntao quickly heated up the broth for everyone.
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