Chapter 27 Opening a Shop
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After a great haul from beachcombing, She Ning returned home, changed her wet clothes, and immediately got to work.
She saved the white clams to make soup that evening. She first put them in a basin, poured in water and added some salt, and let them purge the sand for several hours. The octopus's tentacles kept stretching out of the bucket, never giving up its chance to escape.
She Ning is going to make a stir-fry with ginger and scallions. She fixes the octopus, cuts off its mouth and removes its internal organs. After cleaning it, she cuts it into sections and sets it aside. There will be mucus on the octopus, so you can add some salt or vinegar to the water when cleaning it.
As for crabs, we had steamed crabs a couple of days ago. We happened to have chicken wings and chicken feet at home, and we also dug out some abalone. This time, she plans to use some of them to make crab meat stew and save some to make crab meat buns.
Sea urchin is great for making steamed egg with sea urchin; it's highly nutritious and suitable for both the elderly and children.
She Ni had never seen a sea urchin before, and she found its black, round shape and spines fascinating. She squatted down beside her and watched as She Ning used pliers to pull out the sea urchin's spines one by one.
Under She Ning's skillful hands, the sea urchin quickly transformed from a bristly black ball into a small round one. After removing the spines, the spines and mucus on the surface of the sea urchin were cleaned. Then, a round opening was cut open at the mouth of the sea urchin, and the internal organs were removed with tweezers, leaving the yellow part. Finally, the inside of the sea urchin was cleaned.
The sea urchins we found this time were all quite large, and the yellow parts looked plump and delicious. We set the processed sea urchins aside for later use. She Ning started preparing the egg mixture, mixing warm water and egg mixture in a 1:1 ratio, adding a little salt, stirring well, straining to remove foam, and pouring it into the sea urchin shells.
Fill the egg mixture to about 80% full. First, She Ning makes steamed sea urchin eggs. She covers each sea urchin shell with a bamboo mat, brings it to a boil over high heat, and steams it for 12 minutes. After the egg mixture solidifies, she adds the sea urchin roe and continues steaming for another 5 minutes, until the sea urchin roe changes color and hardens.
She Ni doesn't like the taste of scallions. After the steamed sea urchin and egg was cooked, She Ning set aside her portion and sprinkled the rest with scallions, poured soy sauce, and finally drizzled hot oil.
As the hot oil was poured, a sizzling sound filled the kitchen, and instantly, a rich and mellow aroma, unique to high-protein foods, filled the small kitchen.
It has a fresh, oceanic flavor.
"It smells so good!" Little foodie She Ni, who was squatting to the side, couldn't help but swallow as she looked at the golden steamed sea urchin and egg in the pot.
Knowing She Ni's love for food, She Ning had deliberately saved two for her from the beginning. Seeing that she was tempted as expected, She Ning put on gloves, took one from the steaming plate, put it in a bowl, and handed it to her, saying, "Eat one to tide you over, and you can have lunch in a little while."
She Ni's attention was already on the sea urchin. She nodded in agreement with She Ning's words, her gaze following the sea urchin as it moved from side to side.
Seeing her like this, She Ning couldn't help but laugh and handed her a spoon, saying, "Eat slowly, be careful it's hot."
"Hehe, no way, you eat first, sister." She borrowed the bowl and spoon, scooped a spoonful and handed it to She Ning.
She Ning shook her head, telling her to eat by herself, and picked up the spatula, preparing to start making crab meat stew.
Heat oil in a pan, sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant, coat the prepared crab pieces with flour and stir-fry until they change color, then transfer them to a preheated casserole dish. Sauté other ingredients as needed, or blanch them as needed, and transfer them to the casserole dish as well. Finally, add the prepared sauce and chicken broth, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
She Ni held the bowl and fanned it with her hand. There was a very special fragrance at the tip of her nose. She picked up the spoon and took a bite. Her eyes lit up and she tasted the rich and multi-layered fragrance in her mouth.
"Sister, how are you so amazing? You can even make this black thing taste so good!"
"It's so delicious!" She Ni nodded repeatedly as she ate, the butterfly hair clip in her hair flapping so hard it almost made her catch a cold. She was at a loss for words and couldn't find the right words to describe how delicious it was.
All I can say is that this steamed sea urchin egg is many, many times tastier than the steamed egg she had eaten before.
"How can something be so delicious?" She Ni exclaimed, squinting her eyes and cupping her face in her hands.
"What's so delicious?" The kitchen door was pushed open from the outside, and She Hongmei appeared right behind her; she had returned from setting up her stall.
Carrying the wooden buckets in, she placed them in the west corner of the kitchen before turning and walking to the stove.
"Mom, you should try this, it's really delicious!" She Ni leaned forward, scooped up a spoonful of steamed egg and sea urchin roe, and tiptoed to bring it to her lips.
She Hongmei wasn't going to spoil the mood, so she ate it in one bite and nodded in agreement, "Not bad, very fragrant and tender."
"You went to the beach?" she asked, glancing around the kitchen.
There was a noticeable increase in seafood in the kitchen, and the two little ones smelled strongly of the sea.
"I promised Sheni I'd take her beachcombing yesterday, but I got up late this morning, so we could only dig for seashells. Luckily, we caught quite a few crabs."
She Ning answered while stir-frying the vegetables with a spatula.
They live near the sea, so going to the beach is a common occurrence for them. She Ning is a sensible child, and She Hongmei didn't say much, only reminding her not to go into the water and to be careful.
She Ning can swim and is a promising talent praised by Grandpa She. She Hongmei said this because she was frightened by the incident when She Ning was pushed into the river by She Yaozu and almost didn't make it through with a high fever.
Once in the water, She Ning, who had even gone underwater to swim, didn't dare to make a sound. She glanced at She Ni, who was engrossed in eating and hadn't heard what She Hongmei was saying. Afraid that She Hongmei might say something else, she quickly changed the subject.
"Mom, the crab stew is ready. Could you please take it out for me?"
After She Hongmei left the kitchen, She Ning quickly told She Ni not to tell anyone about her swimming that day, or she wouldn't take her to the beach next time.
She Ni nodded repeatedly, raising four fingers to swear that she would keep the secret.
Watching She Ning continue working with satisfaction, She Ni thought to herself, "My sister is so stupid. Even without that threat, she would have listened to her sister."
Lunch was plentiful, so dinner will be simpler.
Clam, tofu, and lean pork soup; stir-fried beef with yellow peppers; and cabbage in broth.
After dinner, She Hongmei gathered everyone in Grandma She's room for a family meeting.
Just like the last family meeting, everyone moved their stools and sat around the bed. She Hongmei took out her notebook and pencil and spoke first: "The main topic of this family meeting is the follow-up development plan for the stall."
“Recently, many people have started selling braised food and Fuding meat slices at the market. Although the taste is not as good as ours, the price is one cent lower.”
"We've lost a lot of customers, and some people have heard about our business but didn't know which stalls we were selling to. Our income has decreased a lot recently."
“Our income will likely continue to decrease,” She Hongmei said. The town’s customer base was originally fixed, and if others take it away, their income will naturally decrease.
"I've been thinking about something lately: whether or not to turn my street vending into a shop."
“There’s a shop for rent or sale near the train station. I’ve inquired about it. The price is barely within our budget, but the risk is a bit high. If we lose money, we might have to cut back on our living expenses for a long time.”
If she were to open a shop, she could make boxed lunches and stir-fries. There are trains departing from and passing by the train station all day long, so she could run a business serving two or three meals a day.
She Hongmei's thinking has changed a lot these days. She no longer just sticks to the few acres of land at home. She has a longer and broader vision.
"What do you think about opening a shop?" She Hongmei asked, looking at them.
She Ning's opinion, of course, was to wholeheartedly agree.
Fuding meat slices were initially marketed for their freshness and large quantity. The technical aspects were easily deciphered by some researchers. The braised dishes have a special recipe and taste very good, but in this day and age, if the food isn't too bad and the price is cheap, many people will still choose to buy the cheaper option, since no one's money grows on trees.
Originally, She Ning had planned to open a shop, but considering that it was She Hongmei's first time doing business, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle opening a shop right away, so she suggested that she set up a stall instead.
Now that she has thought it through and proposed to open a shop, She Ning will definitely give her full support.
"Mom, I agree. If you open a shop, I can provide you with more recipes so you can have a different dish every day from Monday to Sunday."
“I’ll listen to my sister, I agree, Mom. I can help you wash the vegetables and dishes,” She Ni said.
Grandma She leaned against the headboard, her eyes half-closed. After a while, she looked at She Hongmei and said, "Meizi, Mom doesn't have much ability to help you. Once you've decided, just do it. Even if you fail, it doesn't matter. As long as we're all together as a family, that's enough."
"You know where the money I have is. Take it if you need it."
"Just do it if you want to."
She Hongmei looked at her daughter and mother, whose complexions had finally regained some color, and her eyes reddened.
If she failed, the life that had finally improved would have to start all over again, and she regretted bringing up the idea.
Seeing that She Hongmei was having second thoughts, She Ning went up and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against She Hongmei and holding her hand tightly. Knowing that her mother was her mother, She Ning naturally felt close to her.
"Mom, just go ahead and do it. We all support you. If all else fails, you can always come back and continue growing corn."
"What if things get worse? It's just going back to the way they were before. Besides, like Grandma said, there's nothing to be afraid of as long as our family is together."
She Hongmei looked around and her gaze fell on everyone's encouraging faces. She felt as if she had been given a reassurance, and her anxiety, which had been hanging in the air, finally subsided.
She wasn't one to hesitate; once she made a decision, she acted on it. "Okay, let's give it a shot."
"Ah Ning, I'll trouble you to think about the menu. Mom will give you a share of the profits," she said, patting She Ning on the shoulder.
She Ning didn't stand on ceremony and readily accepted it.
Once she decided to open the shop, She Hongmei had a lot more to do. She was very efficient and went to the train station the next day to sign the lease agreement.
We don't plan to abandon the braised dishes; the cooperation with Guan Xiuhua will continue. The only thing we'll stop making Fuding sliced meat is to let the slaughterhouse know.
There was no contract with the slaughterhouse; they just needed to be informed in advance. Moreover, the amount they took each day was negligible compared to the slaughterhouse's daily output, so no one would stop them.
She Hongmei resolved the matter smoothly.
Things were going smoothly for the She family, but the police station was facing a problem.
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