As the darkness faded on the horizon, a sliver of light peeked through the clouds, and Nanshan Village welcomed the first rooster crow of the next morning.
Song Ning sat up in bed and quickly took the items out of her spatial storage.
She had just gotten up when Liu Yuelan pushed open the door and came in from outside.
Li Daniu was already waiting outside with his oxcart. The family loaded their things onto the cart and headed towards the village entrance.
The car was packed full of four people, two long tables, several small stools, and four buckets.
The bucket contained noodles, water, and broth, while the other empty bucket contained bowls and chopsticks.
The villagers got up early, and when the group headed out of the village, many people saw them.
Li Daniu was a tight-lipped person and didn't pry into things casually. He only knew that they were on a business trip. The group chatted for a bit along the way, and time passed quickly.
They set off early, and when they arrived in town, the sun hadn't risen yet, but there were already quite a few people on the streets.
There was a market in the town, which was very lively, with stalls lining the roadside and shouts from vendors filling the air.
The group walked along the street, searching for a stall, but they couldn't find a single empty spot.
After waiting for a while, a vegetable vendor was finally about to leave, so they called them over.
“Brother, I’m heading back now. You’re standing right here. I paid for half a day, and it hasn’t even been an hour and a half yet. Give me two coins, and I won’t have to pay for the rest of the day.”
Song Ning thought it made sense. Three hours in the market counted as half a day, and anything over three hours counted as a full day.
It costs five coins for half a day and nine coins for a full day, which is not cheap.
He then took out three coins; since they had taken up more time, it was only right that they paid more.
The uncle, seeing that he had been given an extra coin, happily took the money and left.
After unloading the goods from the car, Li Daniu drove off to another location.
The family set up their stall, arranged the tables and chairs, and placed a small table at the front with several small bowls on it. Each bowl contained half a portion of cold noodles for customers to try. When someone came, they could simply pour some broth over it.
Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan were going out to do business for the first time, and they were so nervous that they even stuttered a little when they spoke.
Song Ning wasn't afraid. When doing business, you have to attract customers. If you just quietly set up your stall and do nothing, customers won't come on their own.
Looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the street, Song Ning smiled and started shouting: "Liangpi (cold skin noodles), selling liangpi, the best liangpi to eat in summer!"
"Refreshing and delicious cold noodles, free samples available!"
Seeing their daughter like this, Song Dahai and his wife felt much more relaxed. Although they didn't join in the shouting, they were a little bolder.
However, there were many stalls and people on the street, and Song Ning's voice was quickly drowned out by the noise and hawking.
But she didn't stop; she continued to hawk her wares.
Seeing that no one had come after shouting for a long time, Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan also began to bravely call out.
Finally, their stall attracted its first inquiries.
"What is this? It's crystal clear and quite pretty."
"Madam, this is called liangpi (cold skin noodles), it's perfect for summer. A bowl of it is so refreshing when it's hot!" Song Ning said with a smile.
The woman hesitated, clearly not believing it.
"We offer free samples here, you can try some first." As he spoke, he handed over a small bowl of cold noodles.
The woman took a bite, and her eyes lit up instantly. It was indeed refreshing and delicious.
But no matter how delicious it was, the woman still didn't buy it.
Later, several more customers came and inquired, all with the same situation.
We didn't sell a single serving of liangpi (cold skin noodles), but we almost finished all the samples we had tried.
Liu Yuelan was somewhat disappointed: "Our food is so delicious, and judging from their expressions, they should like it too, so why..."
Song Ning couldn't understand it either. Half an hour had passed since they opened their stall, and although many people had come to ask questions, no one had made a purchase.
All the other stalls were bustling with activity, but theirs was deserted.
Song Ning glanced up at the sky casually. The sun had just risen, and some people had arrived later than them, but had already packed up their stalls earlier.
Today is market day in town. People come and go in waves, and the market never stops.
Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan were so afraid they wouldn't be able to sell them that they didn't care about anything else and started shouting at the top of their lungs. In the middle of summer, if the cold noodles were left out overnight, they would really be a complete loss.
They've spent so much food; if it really goes bad, they'll be heartbroken.
Song Ning kept wondering why.
Logically speaking, her cold noodles should be unique in the town, and even if people are just buying them out of curiosity, there should be people who would buy them.
Moreover, a serving of liangpi (cold skin noodles) costs only three coins and is made with generous portions, making it cheaper than the noodles and flatbread sold next door.
Across from them was a wonton stall, to their left a noodle stall, to their right a pancake stall, and further ahead a steamed bun stall. The piping hot food immediately attracted passersby.
Song Ning's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Father, Mother, you stay here for a while, I'll be right back."
Song Ning walked a little further away. Almost all the shops on the street sold hot food, but they were the only ones serving cold food.
Why didn't she think of that?
This is the north, and even in summer, very few people eat cold food in the morning.
These hot, steaming foods are what they want to buy; even in their previous lives, no one ate cold noodles so early in the morning.
Judging by the time now, it should be around nine o'clock in the morning. The morning market isn't their market, so they can come later next time.
Back at the stall, Song Ning smiled and said, "Dad, Mom, let's wait until the sun is higher before we shout again. If no one comes, we'll go somewhere else when it's time to call."
As the sun rose higher and higher, and fewer and fewer people were selling hot food around them, the family of three started calling out their wares.
Sure enough, after only a few shouts, someone came over to ask.
"You call this liangpi (cold skin noodles)?"
“Yes, it’s perfect for summer. It’s only three coins a bowl. Would you like to try some, brother?” Song Ning asked with a smile.
"Alright, one bowl it is then." With that, he took out three coins and tossed them over.
"Mom, quickly cut a bowl of cold noodles."
Liu Yuelan quickly got to work, slicing cold noodles, pouring broth over them, and bringing them over.
The man picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and examined it from side to side, finding it very novel. After the last bite went into his mouth, he had no time to think about anything else.
After finishing the bowl, not even a drop of soup was left, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This is the first time I've ever eaten something like this. It's refreshing and delicious, and it fills me up... Auntie, another bowl, please!"
Liu Yuelan quickly brought another bowl over, and the man handed her three coins.
Song Ning only charged two coins, and then added half a portion: "You are our first customer, so the second portion is half price."
The man chuckled twice: "Young lady, you know how to do business."
After quickly finishing the second bowl, the man smacked his lips, wanting more, but his stomach was already full.
"Little girl, remember to come again tomorrow!"
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