Just when Lin Shuyan thought Xu Dagui and his group had stopped, they started again just before she went to sleep...
Even Aunt Liu next door blushed, and Uncle Liu next to her was also affected by the noise, so he had no choice but to turn over and hug his wife...
Compared to their lively atmosphere, Jiang Hua's place was much quieter. After Hong Hua returned in the afternoon, she brought back half a bucket of snails from the river.
Right now, she and Jiang Jingyi are washing snails, preparing to take them to the shop to make soup base tomorrow.
"I had Shen Qingchuan deliver a letter to Jiang Xingzhou today," Jiang Hua suddenly said.
"Does the stepmother miss her father too?" Jiang Jingyi nodded and blurted out the question.
"No, I'm just asking if I can send you to school," Jiang Hua explained.
“You should go out and make some connections. No matter how good you are, you can’t just keep working in isolation.”
"Oh," Jiang Jingyi replied in a deep voice, "When will Father reply?"
"It should be in a few days," Jiang Hua guessed.
After the two finished cleaning the snails, the moon was already high in the sky, and Jiang Hua urged Jiang Jingyi to go back to sleep.
"Stepmother, aren't you going to sleep? I want to wait for you to sleep together." Jiang Jingyi was somewhat reluctant to go to sleep alone first.
"You're still young. If children don't go to bed early, they won't grow tall," Jiang Hua said casually.
Sure enough, not being able to grow taller is the most terrifying thing for a child. After hearing Jiang Hua's words, Jiang Jingyi's expression tightened, and he silently went back to the inner room to sleep.
After Jiang Jingyi returned, Jiang Hua and the little white snake in the space continued to prepare for tomorrow's snail rice noodles.
"Master, once you finish making it, I want to eat ten bowls." The little white snake was willingly "enslaved" by Jiang Hua while cautiously making its request.
"Okay, then keep up the good work and make more chili oil in the space." Jiang Hua watched as the little white snake never stopped in the small kitchen in the space, either making chili oil or preparing spices.
Early in the morning, after Jiang Hua had breakfast, she and Jiang Jingyi took the cloth they had bought the day before to find Aunt Liu. It just so happened that Aunt Liu had not yet set up her stall at the market.
"Huahua's here?" Aunt Liu hurriedly came out to greet her.
"Auntie, I need to talk to you about something." Jiang Hua explained her purpose to Aunt Liu and then took out the pattern of the clothes she had drawn and explained it to Aunt Liu.
"No problem, your aunt will help you finish it at home these next few days," Aunt Liu said.
"No rush, Auntie can take her time," Jiang Hua quickly said.
"Don't worry, give it to your aunt." Aunt Liu took the blueprints from Jiang Hua's hand and began to examine them.
"Thank you very much, Auntie. We'll head to town now."
"Are you going to town to sell snails?" Aunt Liu asked, noticing that Jiang Hua was carrying a bucket of snails.
"no."
While Jiang Hua was chatting with Aunt Liu, Honghua arrived. Jiang Hua had already told her yesterday to come directly to Aunt Liu's place today.
"Auntie, we'll be going now."
After saying goodbye to Aunt Liu, Jiang Hua took the two of them onto an oxcart to go to town.
When she arrived at the shop, Fangru had already bought the ingredients for the soup base as requested, including pork bones and chicken carcasses.
Jiang Hua placed the snails she brought from the village in front of them, explaining everything from cleaning to cutting off the tails. When it came time to make the broth for the snail rice noodles, Jiang Hua had them write it down and then asked them to cook a separate pot of it themselves.
While waiting for the soup base to simmer, Jiang Hua taught them how to stir-fry the side dishes, and she also brought over the chili oil that the little white snake had made.
The side dishes were stir-fried and set aside. The kitchen was already filled with the aroma of the broth, but the aroma of the pickled bamboo shoots was actually even stronger.
Just like how I used to enjoy eating snail rice noodles, some colleagues can't stand the smell of snail rice noodles, while others really like it. Authentic snail rice noodles don't smell bad, or some people just don't like the smell of pickled bamboo shoots.
By noon, their soup base was ready. Jiang Hua put the soaked dried rice noodles into a pot of water to cook until done, then took them out and put them in a bowl. She then added a few pieces of green vegetables, some pickled bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus, dried radish, fried peanuts, and fried tofu skin, a spoonful of chili oil, and finally a spoonful of the prepared soup.
A bowl of sour, spicy, and refreshing snail rice noodles is now ready.
"That's it, you guys try it yourselves." Jiang Hua handed the bowl of snail rice noodles she had made to Jiang Jingyi, telling him to take it to the yard to eat, and at the same time made another bowl for Honghua.
"Girl, try mine." Fangru handed hers to Jiang Hua.
After trying the cooking skills of the three of them, the task of making the soup base and preparing the rice noodles for the guests fell to Fangru, with the Wenqing and Wenya sisters assisting her.
"Get used to these skills over the next couple of days, and then I'll teach you how to make some braised dishes," Jiang Hua and her partner instructed.
As the opening day of the shop drew closer, Aunt Liu finished making the clothes the day before the opening.
“Starting tomorrow, you will all wear these clothes while working in the shop.” Jiang Hua handed the clothes to Fangru and asked her to distribute them.
"Sister Jiang, do I have one too?" Honghua asked incredulously, looking at the two new outfits Fangru handed her.
“You’re part of the shop too, so of course you should too. After you’ve prepared the materials today, get some rest so you’ll be well-rested to receive our guests tomorrow,” Jiang Hua said.
"Yes, young lady," the group replied in unison.
"The shop is full of young women working there, so you'll have to keep an eye on things," Jiang Hua instructed Wen Yu.
"Yes." Wen Yu nodded.
"Honghua, you should stay at the shop for the next few days to avoid having to travel back and forth."
“Okay, Sister Jiang.” Honghua nodded.
On the opening day, the fortune teller was right; it was indeed a sunny day, and even before the appointed time, many people were already attracted by the aroma.
Some people recognized Jiang Hua as the one who used to sell braised pork offal and salt-baked chicken feet at the market. They hadn't seen her at her stall for several days, and it turned out she had opened a shop.
Today, Aunt Liu and her family even closed their stall and came to show their support with congratulatory gifts.
"Huahua, congratulations!" Aunt Liu said, handing over the congratulatory gift.
Wenya, who was standing next to Jiang Hua, had already tactfully accepted the congratulatory gift from Aunt Liu.
Aunt Liu then noticed four unfamiliar faces in the shop, all wearing clothes that Jiang Hua had made for her.
"Huahua, who are they?" Aunt Liu asked.
“Auntie, they are servants I bought, and they work in the shop,” Jiang Hua explained.
Aunt Liu was about to suggest that Jiang Hua could ask the villagers for help, but when she thought of the villagers' faces, she quickly dismissed the idea.
"Congratulations, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Hua looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Qingchuan approaching, followed by Sun Nian, who was almost overflowing with gifts.
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