Lao Shi: ...He is here to sell tickets, not to buy food, so why would he bring a bowl?
Lin Guoqing knew he wouldn't bring any, so before going to bed that night, Chen Chunhua put a bowl in the basket, saying that if Lao Shi asked him to buy fish balls, she could give him some to take away. If he didn't, she would secretly give him a bowl.
After all, selling vegetables for over half a month had made it much easier for them to take care of him. When Chen Chunhua asked him for meat tickets, he'd basically given them at cost price without making any profit. Good relationships only work when there's give and take, right?
Of course, if he asks to buy the fish balls first, then you have to accept the money. After all, there are many people in the alley, so it doesn’t matter if you give it to him and not to others.
Seeing him chuckle, Lao Shi dug out a bowl from the side of the basket and filled it with 11 fish balls. He couldn't help but smile. This kid had calculated that he was going to give him fish balls.
"Okay, I'll return this bowl to you tomorrow!" Lao Shi grinned and gave Lin Guoqing 15 cents.
The money was paid and the goods were received. Lin Guoqing was very happy that today's opening business was given by Lao Shi.
"Hey, Xiaolin, do you have another bowl? Fill some for me too." Sister Li squatted on the side and looked at the bowl of fish balls in Lao Shi's hand with envy. She didn't want to buy a few to take back. Adding a few vegetables would make a bowl of food.
Unfortunately, Lin Guoqing only brought this one bowl, and he scratched his head a little embarrassedly. "They should be available these two days. How about you bring a bowl tomorrow?"
Sister Li looked at the bowl of fish balls with regret. She would just eat them tomorrow. Tomorrow she would bring a large bowl and take a few more fish balls home.
"Hey, I have a bowl. Please fill it with 5. It's enough for me and my old lady."
Old Wu dug out a bowl from the basket at his seat and came over with it, smiling.
"I was originally thinking of buying some tofu after daybreak, but now I don't need to buy any tofu anymore. I'll have fish balls instead today."
"Uncle Wu, I sell two fish balls for three cents, and you buy five... then I'll charge you six cents." Lin Guoqing originally wanted to say that you could just buy six, but then he thought, forget it, one won't make a difference, so he packed five fish balls and handed them over.
"Hey, good. These fish balls look fresh..." Old Wu praised as usual, but before he finished praising, he heard Old Shi beside him exclaim.
"Xiao Lin, your fish balls are really good!"
Old Shi had just taken the fish balls and didn't put them aside. Looking at the bowl of plump, white fish balls piled high in the air, he felt a pang of cravings late at night. Thinking that Lin Guoqing had given him an extra one, he casually pinched one with his hands and popped it into his mouth.
The fish balls must be cooked over medium-low heat until they are set, otherwise they can't be sold. The water used is the same as the one Chen Chunhua used to cook the fish balls, which she then poured into the pot after it cooled. So, these fish balls are ready to eat right after purchase.
However, everyone will definitely blanch it in boiling water before taking it home to make soup, unlike Lao Shi who is so careless.
Later, the fish balls sold in the market would add some starch, flour, etc. to maintain their shape, but the real fish balls are just fish paste and salt, which even toothless old ladies can eat.
Chen Chunhua's pot of genuine fish balls melted like tofu as soon as they entered the mouth. It was so delicious that Lao Shi couldn't help but throw another one into his mouth.
"Xiao Lin, your wife's cooking skills are amazing!"
He held the bowl in one hand and raised his thumb with the other, which made Lin Guoqing next to him laugh, and also made the other people who were already regretting not bringing bowls even more anxious.
"Oh, why didn't your wife tell you last night that there were fish balls today? Otherwise, I would have brought a bowl here too."
"That's right, this kind of thing definitely needs to be told in advance. Look how anxious I am... Ouch, Xiaoshi, don't eat it. You still have to take it back to make soup for your parents!"
Lao Shi ate them one by one with such relish that everyone was envious. He didn't pay attention and looked down to see that there were only five left.
"Hey, I can't eat anymore... Xiaolin, give me 6 more."
Lao Shi handed the bowl over again a little embarrassedly, and Lin Guoqing directly filled it with 7 pills.
"It's okay, if you like it, just eat it, I have enough!"
…
As it turned out, it only took a few minutes for the hundred or so fish balls to sell out.
Regular customers who came to buy vegetables noticed that all that was left at Lin Guoqing's stall today were bamboo shoots and mushrooms. They were told that the vegetables were still in season and wouldn't be available again for a few days. They were starting to wonder what to eat today and whether they should go elsewhere.
Lin Guoqing opened the lid of the aluminum basin and started selling them his freshly baked fish balls.
"Hey, your wife can also make fish balls? Are they delicious?"
"It's delicious! It's absolutely delicious! If it's not, I'll take responsibility!"
Before Lin Guoqing even started promoting his products, Lao Shi, who lived next door and had eaten his fish balls, started selling them like crazy.
He said that these were the most delicious fish balls he had ever eaten in his life, so tender that they slipped away as soon as they entered his mouth and melted in his mouth.
Everyone who comes to buy groceries is amused by it.
"Okay, okay, I just happened to bring a bowl. How much is it? Give me a bowl?"
Lin Guoqing quickly picked up a spoon and served the soup. "Two for three cents. How many do you want?"
Some people didn't bring their own bowls. Having heard Lin Guoqing say that fish balls would be available these past two days, they decided to bring their own bowls tomorrow. Then they asked Lao Shi, who was sitting next to them, to blow on some of their food.
One older woman said directly, "Leave 10 for me and wait for me. I'll go home and get a bowl!"
Lin Guoqing's pot of fish balls was sold out in a short time, and there was not much soup left.
He grinned and thanked Lao Shi, and pushed over a bundle of unsold bamboo shoots.
"Brother Shi, you're my real brother! It's too late today, so please take these bamboo shoots first. I'll ask my wife to make some more tomorrow, and you can bring a basin to hold 20 just for you!"
Lao Shi waved his hand to indicate that it was no big deal.
"The fish balls your sister-in-law made are really good, that's why I dare to praise you like this. If you want to thank someone, you should thank your wife, why thank me?" Then he changed the subject and pointed to the bowl of fish balls next to him and said,
"But you guys have to make more tomorrow. I'll bring the basin too. I've already reserved 20 fish balls, so you don't have to deliver them. It's only a few cents!"
He sold a big one today. The fish balls worth three cents can last him half a month. Xiaolin and the others are also here to earn their hard-earned money, so they can't be greedy for cheap things.
Lin Guoqing was still thanking Lao Shi until she closed the stall, and then she wanted to go home quickly. She quickly told her mother that the bamboo shoots and other things could be put aside for now, otherwise they should go catch fish first.
It's all a no-cost business. I made a net profit of more than one dollar and fifty cents from the fish balls tonight. It would take me at least two days to sell the bamboo shoots!
I guess his wife must have had a hard time.
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