Tiaotiao Food Shop
Given Song Tiaotiao's current situation, opening a food store is not a long-term opportunity to make a living.
However, the cost of renting the Jin family shop was generally many times higher than that of an ordinary shop, and it was not something she could afford with the money she had earned from picking mushrooms these days. Although she was familiar with Jin Zhenjiao, Jin Zhenjiao and Zhao Huaian had already helped them a lot in terms of personal relationships.
When Song Tiaotiao thought of this, her almond-shaped eyes drooped.
Jin Zhenjiao understood what she meant. She smiled softly, took Song Tiaotiao in her arms, patted her shoulder gently, and said, "Don't worry about the shop expenses. How about this, I'll waive the rent for the first three months for you, okay?"
Song Tiaotiao raised her almond-shaped eyes and shook her head gently: "How can this be good?"
Jin Zhenjiao smiled and sighed, "You're well aware of our Jin family's reputation. Our shop isn't exactly a rare find, and for ordinary people, it's even more of a hot potato. Actually, I hesitated for a long time before considering introducing you to it. I waived your rent for three months out of guilt. I approached you because, firstly, I believe you can turn things around and turn the shop from loss-making to profitable, and secondly, to satisfy my own appetite. So, my dedication isn't entirely selfless, and you shouldn't feel burdened. What do you think? Would you like to collaborate with me?"
Song Tiaotiao was moved by Jin Zhenjiao's kindness when she heard her words. With a smile in her eyes, she nodded, "Thank you very much, Miss Jin. I'll discuss this with my sister-in-law and the others and give you a reply."
Jin Zhenjiao knew that Bo Shuang and the others would definitely not stop this, so she smiled and waved her hand at Song Tiao Tiao, "Miss Jin, how strange is that? I'm three years older than you. From now on, I'll call you Tiao Tiao, and you can call me Sister Zhenjiao. I still have a lot of things to take care of in the shop, so I'll go back and wait for your good news!"
During lunch, Song Tiaotiao shared her idea with Zhao and Bo Shuang. As expected, neither of them tried to stop her, but instead urged her to be careful on the way to and from the food store and not to overwork herself. They would definitely help out at the food store if they had free time. And she didn't need to worry about household matters; Zhao would take care of them.
Song Tiaotiao made up her mind and went to the main store of the Jin family shop to find Jin Zhenjiao and reply.
Seeing this, Jin Zhenjiao's eyes were filled with expected pride. She took Song Tiaotiao's hand and walked towards the kitchen.
Jin Zhenjiao packed some rare seasonings in Songbai Village and put the bottles and jars prepared in advance into the bottles and jars. She then took Song Tiaotiao to the market to buy some rice, flour, grain, oil, and storable vegetables.
When they reached the north corner of the market, they happened to run into some of the brothers who often practiced martial arts with Gu Chengjue. Seeing this, they all acted as delivery men without hesitation, helping Song Tiaotiao and the other two carry their bags as they headed to the food store.
The location of the Jin family shop is close to the official road. Across the sparse pines and cypresses, you can even see the border pass between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
There are not many formal shops around, mostly small vendors. Jinjia Food Store, a luxury chain in Northern Xinjiang, stands out here.
When Song Tiaotiao and his companions arrived, they saw several strong men removing the plaque with the words "Jin's Shop" written on it, and a new plaque was waiting to be replaced.
Song Tiaotiao's eyes swept over the new plaque, taking in the four characters "Tiaotiao Food Shop" engraved on it. She glanced at Jin Zhenjiao, eyes full of surprise, and said, "Sister Zhenjiao, did you make this for me?"
Jin Zhenjiao nodded and smiled cheerfully, "After all, the name Jin will block your fortune. As for using your name, firstly, I believe you will bring good luck to the shop, and secondly, it means that you will take over the shop completely from now on. Will you blame me for not discussing this with you beforehand?"
Song Tiaotiao's eyes sparkled as she smiled at Jin Zhenjiao and said confidently, "How could that be? With your trust as motivation, I will definitely return the rent to you with interest in three months."
After the group had tidied up the Tiao Tiao Food Store, Song Tiao Tiao prepared a table of food to thank everyone.
This wasn't the first time anyone had tasted Song Tiaotiao's cooking, yet they were still filled with praise for the amazing flavor. As they left, they all beamed with joy as they gazed at the plaque inscribed with the characters "Tiaotiao Food Shop," as if glimpsing the vision behind the shop, confident that it would one day become famous throughout Northern Xinjiang.
After dinner, Song Tiaotiao began to familiarize herself with the food store. From time to time, she found a yellowed menu in the corner of the counter.
There were only two staple foods on the old menu: rice porridge and clear soup noodles.
Rice porridge costs ten cents, and clear soup noodles cost twenty-five cents.
The prices are so high that even the restaurant opened by Mrs. An in Beijing can hardly match them.
You can just rob it, but you insist on asking for an exorbitant price.
Song Tiaotiao was shocked and immediately abandoned the old menu. She wrote a new menu and lowered the menu prices to the normal market level.
Then, based on the available ingredients, she added another dish column to the menu, listing cabbage and tofu soup, pickled cabbage, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and stir-fried wild mushrooms.
After the menu was ready, she took another piece of cloth and wrote on it: "Passersby are welcome to drink water, and a small dish will be given to those who enter to eat." Then she wrote four words on the huge price of the dish.
Perhaps because of its previous notoriety, the Northern Dynasty merchants coming and going here all walked forward without looking around.
On the first day, no one was interested in the shop. On the second day, someone finally came in to drink water.
On the third day of opening the store, Song Tiaotiao was preparing meals in the kitchen as usual.
A slightly hoarse voice came from outside the shop: "Boss, are you there?"
"Here they come." When Song Tiaotiao heard the voice, she quickly put down the work in her hands and walked out to meet them.
Outside the door, a tall man, wearing a dark blue fox fur coat and a sword at his waist, stood in the biting cold wind, motionless.
The veil covering his face fluttered in the wind, but the man showed no sign of restraint. He placed his hand on the scabbard at his waist, walked towards Song Tiaotiao, and said slowly, "Really give me some water?"
Seeing this overwhelming aura, Song Tiaotiao couldn't help but glance at the bright daylight outside the door.
Fortunately, when they were three steps away from each other, the man finally found a place to sit down.
Seeing this, Song Tiaotiao breathed a sigh of relief. She clenched her fingertips, lowered her eyes and smiled, "Of course. Honesty is what matters in business. It's just that the water has just been boiled, so it might be a little hot."
Hearing this, the man shook his head slightly, and his high ponytail was slightly lifted up to lift up his veil, allowing Song Tiaotiao to vaguely see the man's bright eyes looking at her.
"It's okay. I just drank all the water in my water bag along the way. Now that I have something to drink, I have to spend some money to quench my thirst. Speaking of which, I'm a little hungry. Do you have a menu?"
Song Tiaotiao nodded, turned around, took the menu, and presented it with both hands: "Please take a look."
The man pondered for a long time and said calmly, "The price is finally fair. Before, the bandits would have called the Jin family worse than beasts. Please give me a bowl of clear soup noodles first, so I can taste it."
Song Tiaotiao responded, poured water for the man, and walked towards the kitchen with a smile.
She finally welcomed the first real customer of Tiaotiao Food Store.
While waiting for the hot water in the pot to boil, Song Tiaotiao took out the dough that had been proofed in advance and pinched off a few pieces of dough for later use.
After rolling out the dough into a suitable thickness, she took out another piece and continued. After repeating this twice, Song Tiaotiao folded the dough, sprinkled some flour on it, and picked up a kitchen knife to cut the three layers of dough into strips.
After putting the cut noodles into the pot, Song Tiaotiao sprinkled a pinch of fine salt and shook the noodles lightly with chopsticks.
Afterwards, she chopped some green onions and a few slices of tender Chinese cabbage. After adding the cabbage to the pot, Song Tiaotiao walked to the front hall and stood behind the counter. "Sir, these two jars of pickled mushrooms are complimentary gifts from our shop. The one on the left is sweet and spicy, and the one on the right is salty and fragrant. Which flavor do you like? Or maybe both?"
The man said in a deep voice, "Both flavors sound delicious. Could you please give me some of each? Thank you."
Song Tiaotiao served the dish as the man wished. She placed the dish on the table with one hand and handed it to the man with chopsticks in the other hand. Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Sir, please enjoy it."
The man took the chopsticks with his jade-like fingers. After a moment, he chuckled, "Such a large portion? From what I know, mushrooms are quite expensive in Songbai Village. You're using this to attract customers like me who only order noodle soup. Aren't you afraid of losing money?"
Song Tiaotiao smiled and shook her head, refilling the man's bowl with hot water. "After all, you're our shop's first customer. As for the mushrooms, we were lucky enough to pick a lot. Since we can't finish them all, if we can keep some customers, it will be useful."
After saying this, Song Tiaotiao smelled the aroma of noodles wafting from the kitchen and said, "Sir, please enjoy your meal. The clear soup noodles are still in the pot. I'll go back and check on them first."
The man nodded and replied, "Okay."
By the time we got back to the kitchen, the noodles had been cooked to perfection.
Seeing this, Song Tiaotiao stopped the stove in time, scooped a small spoonful of lard into the prepared noodle bowl as the base, poured some soy sauce on it, and then poured steaming hot noodle soup into the bowl.
After the three ingredients were completely neutralized in the bowl, Song Tiaotiao took the chewy noodles out of the pot. Seeing that the soup just covered the noodles but was lower than the edge of the bowl, she picked up some chopped green onions to garnish them, and then took out some tender cabbage with a sweet fragrance from the pot and spread it on the noodles.
Song Tiaotiao walked out of the kitchen contentedly, holding the fragrant noodles.
The man turned around upon hearing the voice. After a moment, he took off his veil, revealing his gentle and handsome face. He stood up and walked towards Song Tiaotiao, taking the bowl of noodles. "It's hot, right? Let me do it."
Looking into the man's bright eyes, Song Tiaotiao suddenly felt an indescribable feeling in her heart. Her previous wariness towards the man disappeared completely, replaced by a sense of closeness that made her want to get closer to him.
When Song Tiaotiao came to her senses, the man had already placed the bowl of noodles on the table. With a gentle look in his eyes, he took the first bite of noodles.
After the whole bowl of noodles was finished, the man wiped his lips, picked up his veil, and looked at Song Tiaotiao: "I didn't understand why you took over the Jin family's mess before, but now that I've tasted your cooking, I'm suddenly enlightened. No matter how you look at it, it's just a bowl of pure soup noodles, but I can't help but want another bowl. But I have important matters to attend to today and I have to hurry on my way. I'll come to see you next time I come. By the way, most people in the Northern Dynasty like sweet things, so you can bring more sugar."
When Song Tiaotiao heard the man's comment, she nodded happily.
The man stood up and put his veil on his head. When he reached the door, he turned around and said, "I hope we can meet often in the future. My name is Chao Yue. See you later."
Song Tiaotiao waved at the man and said with a smile, "See you later."
Only after she had walked her to the door did Song Tiaotiao see a white horse tied there. Chao Yue nodded slightly at her, jumped on the horse, and galloped south.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
