Qiu Yan rode her horse alone, running very fast. Gu Qian knew that Qiu Yan did not want to ride with him, so he obediently took his master's donkey and followed behind.
Of course, there were some minor setbacks during the process of leading the donkey.
After galloping a distance, the horse realized its master was not there, so it suddenly slowed down and looked back.
Things that aren't yours just don't feel right to use. Can Qiu Yan say she regrets it?
Clop clop clop... The donkey followed behind.
Gu Qian smiled at Qiu Yan and said, "Qiu Yan, I must say, you're really brave. What if you encounter danger in the dark?"
Unable to shake off the tail, Qiu Yan let it go, only waving the whip to make the horse run faster so that they could reach Baiyang County as soon as possible.
Seeing the donkey catching up, the horse took off galloping as Qiu Yan moved.
Not to be outdone, the donkey kept up with the horse.
Gu Qian tightened the reins, reminding her, "Qiu Yan, slow down and be careful."
Under the moonlight, a horse and a donkey chased each other, and Qiu Yan realized that a donkey could also be incredibly fast when it ran.
As expected of Uncle Li's donkey.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they arrived at Baiyang, which was still dark.
The gates of Baiyang City opened at 1:15 AM, and Qiu Yan and Gu Qian entered the city smoothly and soon arrived at their aunt's house.
Qiu Yumei's house was already brightly lit.
Qiu Yumei got up earlier than the person working at the wonton shop. Before dawn, Zhao San also got up to help. By the time Qiu Yan arrived, she had already cooked the pork bone soup, made the dough and meat filling, and was even wrapping the wontons with Zhao San.
Seeing Qiu Yan leading the horse over, Qiu Yumei was surprised and couldn't help but ask questions.
After learning the reason, she complained again, "Xiaoyan, didn't I tell you to come later? It's not safe for you to walk alone at night..."
She was halfway through her sentence when she saw Gu Qian leading a donkey into the hospital.
The donkey huffed and puffed, looking at the horse with resentment, but in the end, it still lost the chase.
Qiu Yumei was relieved to find out it wasn't just one person, but she still had more questions.
At this moment, Zhao San also came out. "Who did Xiaoyan come with?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan quickly introduced Gu Qian to her aunt.
“Aunt, Uncle, his name is Gu Qian, he is Uncle Li’s eldest apprentice. Gu Qian, this is my aunt and uncle.”
Gu Qian had no idea that Qiu Yan was coming to his aunt's house this morning, and he suddenly felt that his arrival was somewhat abrupt.
His previously casual expression became more serious. He straightened his back, bowed slightly to Qiu Yumei and Qiu Yan, and then said something along with Qiu Yan.
"Aunt, Uncle, my name is Gu Qian."
"Don't just stand there, come back inside and sit down." Qiu Yumei gave a stiff smile. She heard that Gu Qian was Li Zheng's apprentice, and thought that his character couldn't be bad.
After Qiu Yumei finished speaking, Zhao San led Gu Qian into the house.
Without saying much, Qiu Yan washed her hands and started making wontons with her aunt.
As she wrapped the bag, she envied her aunt's speed, finishing one in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qian watched from the sidelines, occasionally offering a small favor.
After the meat filling was wrapped, Qiu Dayu, Zhao An, and Zhao Yang woke up shortly afterward.
Qiu Dayu lazily came over from the next room, and when he saw Gu Qian, he froze in shock. "Xiao Yan, what's going on with you?"
Qiu Yan rolled her eyes at him. "Nothing's wrong."
Gu Qian was a rather easygoing person and had long forgotten what Qiu Dayu, who had received him yesterday, looked like. Now, after hearing Qiu Yumei introduce him as her younger brother and the other two as her sons, Gu Qian greeted them politely.
Seeing that the dumplings were almost finished, Qiu Yumei cooked a bowl of wontons for everyone, handing one to Gu Qian first: "Eat it while it's hot."
Gu Qian accepted the gift with both hands and thanked Qiu Yumei. "Auntie, I can do it myself."
After a quick breakfast, Zhao San hitched up his oxcart, and Qiu Yan and Qiu Yumei placed the remaining five hundred wontons on the cutting board, covered them with a white cloth, and then put them on the oxcart.
Guided by Qiu Yumei, Qiu Dayu took out bowls, chopsticks, spoons, two sets of iron stoves and pots, and firewood from the kitchen and placed them on the oxcart.
Finally, they also brought along the small table and stools from home.
The iron pots of this era differed from those of modern times; they had three supports on the bottom and the entire stove body was made of mesh for easy addition of firewood.
Qiu Yumei drove the oxcart ahead, with Qiu Yan and Gu Qian following behind.
Gu Qian was carrying two wooden buckets, one filled with well water and the other with pork bone soup that Qiu Yumei had already prepared.
As dawn broke, most of the stall owners on Flower Food Street were just beginning to set up their stalls.
Upon arriving at their destination, Qiu Yan told Gu Qian to go back first, as he was no longer needed there.
"More people means more help." Gu Qian didn't want to go back. He was temporarily staying at Qiu Yan's house and couldn't just freeload.
At almost the same time, Qiu Dafu also arrived.
After Qiu Yan gave another introduction, Qiu Dafu learned about the relationship between Gu Qian and Li Zheng, and also learned that Gu Qian had brought Qiu Yan to Baiyang early in the morning. He couldn't help but express his gratitude.
In just one morning, Gu Qian had met all of Qiu Yan's relatives.
After the two men worked together to start two fires, pedestrians gradually began to appear on the street.
Most of the people who appear on this street so early in the morning haven't had breakfast yet.
The wontons in the wonton shop come in bowls of eight. Qiu Yan instructed that if a customer buys any, two extra wontons should be added to each bowl.
After being heated, the pork bone soup bubbled and steamed, its aroma rich and enticing.
Those pedestrians who hadn't eaten breakfast were tempted to stop and linger.
"Bone broth wontons, freshly cooked and sold. Young man, would you like a bowl to try? Five coins a bowl," Qiu Yan said to the passerby in front of her.
A bowl of regular bone broth noodles costs three coins, but it only contains bone broth and you can't see a single piece of meat. Wontons are different; you can get meat for just two more coins.
Seeing the man hesitate, Qiu Yan continued, "Try it first, then buy it. It's okay if you try it but don't buy it."
Qiu Yan first asked her second uncle to cook a pot of wontons. The man tried one and found the wonton skin to be very chewy and the meat filling to be fragrant, soft and smooth.
After he finished eating, he immediately said, "Give me another bowl."
"Okay, please wait a moment." Qiu Yan said, and served the person a bowl.
Gu Qian kept glancing at Qiu Yan, and seeing her chatting enthusiastically with customers, he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
Qiu Dafu glanced at Gu Qian out of the corner of his eye. In his eyes, his niece was still a child and should not be bullied by outsiders.
Having worked at the wonton shop for so long, Qiu Yumei could easily sell wontons. "Bone broth wontons, delicious and with plenty of filling..."
Qiu Yan and Qiu Yumei started offering the wontons to passersby. After most people tried them, they each ordered a bowl.
As the first customer departed, Qiu Yumei flashed her signature smile, "Goodbye, sir."
After saying that, she began to tidy up the table and chairs and wash the dishes.
Soon, a customer said to his companion, "This wonton stall is good; the portions are large and the prices are cheap."
Qiu Dafu only cooked wontons and occasionally added fuel to the fire.
The aroma of wontons wafted through the air, constantly wafting into the noses of passersby, attracting even more pedestrians.
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