"So many tea eggs! Did you go to the shop to help pack things up? Why didn't you bring the braising liquid back with you?"
Liu Hongmei smelled the eggs, then looked at the ten eggs on the coffee table and asked a question.
Xu Milu hesitated for a moment before replying, "Um, it's my high school classmate. His family has now switched to selling food ingredients. Today they said they had some free-range eggs, so I bought some, cooked them in the store's braising liquid, and brought them back."
"Why boil free-range eggs into tea eggs? Don't you love stir-frying some toon leaves?"
Liu Hongmei glanced at her silly daughter with disdain, then casually opened a plastic bag. The tea eggs were already cold, but their aroma still quickly wafted out and filled the room.
"Hmm, these eggs are delicious. Oh, they're double yolks? No, you didn't cook them long enough, and you didn't crack the shells properly. They're not flavorful enough."
As Liu Hongmei spoke, her hands moved quickly, and she ate three in a row before remembering to call her son to eat:
"Xiaomi, stop playing with that fish, wash your hands and come eat some eggs."
Ms. Liu Hongmei's culinary skills were passed down from her father, who was also Xu Milu's maternal grandfather, Old Liu. Therefore, she not only has excellent cooking skills, but also a discerning palate. She immediately noticed that Xu Milu had been too hasty and hadn't soaked the eggs for a longer time.
Xu Milu knew she wasn't really good at cooking; she was just relying on top-quality ingredients.
"Dami, these eggs are pretty good. Ask if they have any left. Oh, and remember to pay. They even picked out double-yolk eggs, which is quite rare."
Liu Hongmei ate three and then stopped, leaving the rest for her son and daughter. She then turned to ask about the free-range eggs.
A thought flashed through Xu Milu's mind quickly, and she organized her thoughts before speaking:
"My friend specializes in high-end ingredients, finding rare mountain delicacies and selling them to big restaurants. Take eggs, for example. The cost price of one is only two yuan, but in a restaurant, a plate of them can cost several tens of yuan..."
Seeing that Liu Hongmei was listening attentively, he continued to deceive her: "Now he is planning to find some people to expand the market, which is why he asked me to come and help. I have been busy with this matter these past two days. I plan to do it for a while first, and then see how it goes."
Liu Hongmei nodded: "Alright, you can decide for yourself. You're all grown up now, it's good for you to make your own decisions. I plan to go to work at the place your Aunt Zhang recommended in a few days. It's quite close to home, and I can take care of Xiaomi there."
Aunt Zhang found Ms. Liu Hongmei a job as a supermarket cashier, which was indeed very close to home. However, Xu Milu still didn't want Ms. Hongmei to work too hard, so she didn't say anything and planned to make some achievements first before asking Ms. Liu to change her mind.
Moreover, she's making up a friend now just to pave the way for her to bring out strange ingredients later.
...
...
The next day, while Liu Hongmei and Xu Minian were still fast asleep, Xu Milu left home.
Before going home yesterday, all the wheat and eggs had been cooked, the seaweed soup in the big pot was boiling, and with the 150 steamed buns and 100 dumplings that she had agreed on with the owner of the steamed bun shop at the North Gate, Xu Milu was ready to open for business.
After three days of experimentation, Xu Milu was able to methodically move the small stove to the doorway, fill a large stainless steel basin with eggs and braising liquid, and place it at the doorway to wait for it to heat up slowly.
Within two minutes, the aroma of eggs began to waft through the air above the South Bridge.
People from the south and those traveling from the north, whether they had bought wheat-ear eggs yesterday or not, were all attracted by the aroma of tea eggs and lined up to buy them.
When she encounters people who complain about the price of tea eggs, Xu Milu doesn't mind at all. She smiles and recommends her own steamed buns and dumplings, which, although bought wholesale from the market, taste decent.
With the incredibly tempting seaweed soup, many people opt for two steamed buns and a cup of seaweed soup.
A few people hesitated for a moment, but were tempted by the aroma and bought a tea egg to try.
Xu Milu looked up and saw the old lady from yesterday standing in front of her. She didn't say anything, after all, when you're in business, harmony brings wealth.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Zhou brought up yesterday's events on her own initiative:
"Oh, girl, your tea eggs are really generous with the ingredients, no wonder they smell so good! I really misunderstood you yesterday!"
After eating a tea egg yesterday, Aunt Zhou immediately became a loyal fan and didn't mind the price anymore, so she bought six in one go.
Seeing that there was still seaweed soup and steamed buns, she bought three more cups of seaweed soup and three steamed buns, and enthusiastically promoted Xu Milu's products based on her own experience:
"These are all carefully selected free-range eggs, and they're all double-yolk eggs. Forget about the nutritional value, the taste alone is worth five yuan! Don't let the price fool you, they're delicious! Go outside and see, which restaurant has such big, fragrant free-range eggs?"
Upon hearing this, a group of people were tempted. Five yuan for a double-yolk egg was actually not expensive, and it wouldn't be a loss to try it.
As Xu Milu sold her wares, she calculated the numbers. Seeing that the pot of seaweed soup was almost empty, the eggs were sold out, and there weren't many steamed buns left, Xu Milu shouted to the back:
"Sorry, we didn't prepare enough today. Everyone, let's go early tomorrow. There are plenty of breakfast options at the morning market up ahead!"
Many people in line expressed their dissatisfaction, especially when they saw the "delicious" expressions on the faces of those who had already started eating. They regretted not coming earlier and complained that the owner hadn't prepared enough.
"How come it's all gone so quickly? Boss, you should have prepared more."
"Qingqing, can I have one of your two tea eggs? There won't be any left when it's my turn. What bad luck."
"Never mind, just give me a steamed bun."
"Boss, give me a cup of seaweed soup."
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