"Shh, keep your voice down."
Ah Mian frowned, hiding behind a tree, and quietly observing her stall.
Wangwang cautiously peeked out and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Recently, A-Mian noticed that business at her stall had gradually slowed down.
Although it's still profitable, it's not as booming as it used to be.
In response, Ah Mian specially introduced a new dish, stir-fried pork kidneys, but it didn't have much effect. Now, they can only sell about thirty bowls of tofu rice a day, most of which are sold when Ah Mian is around.
So on this day, A-Mian deliberately skipped her lunch break and took the time to see what was going on.
Although it wasn't mealtime, there were still a few pedestrians looking around, planning to grab a cheap and delicious meal at one of the nearby stalls.
A short while later, a man who looked like a traveler carrying a bundle walked into the tofu stall.
After cooking the tofu pudding, Aunt Liu would serve it to the guests on a wooden tray. The guests would place coins on the tray, and Aunt Liu would then pour the coins into her money box.
It's not much different from when A-Mian was around.
Wangwang said, "Could it be that everyone is just tired of eating it?"
"But even with new dishes, it's not very useful." Ah Mian had walked around the food street all morning, but there weren't any extra stalls or shops.
Two more customers came in to buy tofu rice.
One of them was a dockworker, a regular customer; the other was a woman with a seven or eight-year-old boy.
The laborer ordered a bowl of tofu rice; the little boy drooled over the fried eggs and pork on the stall, and in the end the woman ordered two bowls of tofu rice, one with an extra fried egg and bean sprouts.
When Aunt Liu brought out the dishes, A-Mian was dumbfounded.
The bowl of tofu pudding that Aunt Liu filled for the laborer was full, about the same size as usual. However, when they went to another table, the tofu pudding that Aunt Liu served was only half the normal size for both of them!
Amian was furious. She imitated someone's expression and walked over with a sullen face. When Aunt Liu saw her coming, she said cheerfully, "Master, you're here so early today."
Ah Mian frowned: "You served the wrong dishes, the portions are wrong. No wonder I was wondering why there weren't enough ingredients."
"I was just trying to save you some money, young master! That's how business is," Aunt Liu said, feeling quite aggrieved. "Women and children simply can't finish that much; it's such a waste!"
"Everyone else paid the same amount of money! If you find that someone can't finish their food, just tell me. We can serve smaller portions. How can you take it upon yourself to reduce someone's food for no reason?" Ah Mian realized that running a small stall for a long time wasn't so easy after all. Finding people to help was a real art!
She methodically made another bowl of tofu rice and added a plate of boiled pork, then quickly delivered it to the woman's table, softly apologizing that the waiter had delivered the wrong food.
Liu Xiufang's face also fell at this moment. Who was she doing all this for? Wasn't it just because she thought this young lady was young and wanted to help her out a bit, lest her shop go bankrupt?
But she didn't appreciate it at all!
After delivering the food, A-Mian returned and asked her, "When did you start doing this?"
Liu Xiufang rolled her eyes inwardly, but said aloud, "Last month, no one said it was bad; everyone just ate all the rice. Young lady, this is probably your first time doing business; every family does it this way..."
If you want to make money, then someone else has to lose money.
Liu Xiufang didn't mean to anger A-Mian: "Well, well, I'll do as you say from now on and use the same things for everything. Is that alright now?"
Ah Mian thought that although people wouldn't say it directly, the word would spread like wildfire, and eventually, all the cooks and maids in the neighborhood would stop coming.
Amian wants to fire Aunt Liu, but she needs to find someone else first. This "other person" also needs to be competent. Otherwise, if she fires Aunt Liu, there will be Aunt Wang, Brother Zhao, and so on. If she is too picky, I'm afraid no one will be willing to work for her.
There are so many complicated and troublesome things involved that it's enough to give anyone a headache.
Amian no longer dared to be lazy and take a nap at the blacksmith's shop. She stayed at the stall all day, so Meng Chijian had to come and bring her lunch himself.
After more than twenty days, A-Mian's stall returned to its previous level, and the profits finally stabilized.
On the other hand, A-Mian went to the brokerage firm once, but returned empty-handed again. Many of the hired laborers were even worse than Aunt Liu; some couldn't speak fluently, some were slovenly (they practically shoved their thumbs into the soup when holding the bowl), and some were only willing to do odd jobs during the off-season...
Recruiting is so difficult.
Have you spoken to Wangwang about whether she'd like to work for you?
Ah Mian looked worried. "She went to school and wanted to work as an accountant. She doesn't really want to work as a waitress here."
The waiter is tired and doesn't earn much money, but the accountant is sheltered from the wind and rain and is respected. There's nothing that can be done about it.
Meng Chijian has also been helping her find someone recently, but the Meng family members are all big and burly, and there isn't anyone suitable.
—For him, the problem is that A-Mian doesn't come to the blacksmith's shop for a nap. After finishing her work in the afternoon, A-Mian will be very tired, and after going home, eating, taking a shower, she will fall asleep immediately.
They couldn't even last three sentences with her.
No one could bear to disturb her sleep like that.
"Is Aunt Liu feeling any better now?"
Amian nodded: "I'm keeping an eye on it. Things have been quiet lately."
But now I don't dare to leave without worry; I have to stay and watch over the stall.
Meng Chijian said, "No matter what, you need to rest one day every six days, otherwise even an iron body will break down, you..."
Ah Mian's snoring interrupted him.
When Meng Chijian turned around, he saw that A Mian was already asleep, hugging her blanket.
"..."
He helplessly blew out the candle and went to sleep holding Ah Mian.
That day, two unexpected guests came to the stall.
One was fat, the other thin; one was tall, the other short; both looked fierce and menacing.
Ah Mian felt a sense of déjà vu, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
"Young lady, don't blame me for being blunt, but your stall has offended someone! You'd better close it down as soon as possible to avoid further trouble," said the thin, short man.
“Brother, that’s not what you said before we came,” the tall, burly man scratched his head. “Young lady, if you want to run your shop peacefully, you can pay us two hundred coins a month.”
The shorter, thinner one is the older brother; the taller, stronger one is the younger brother…
"It's you, the Luo brothers." A-Mian slapped her forehead, finally remembering that it was the first time she went to the city to sell tofu.
Back then it was only twenty coins a month, how come it has increased tenfold now?
"Would you like something to eat? A serving of tofu pudding and rice is only five coins."
Brother Luo was about to refuse, but Brother Luo said, "Since we're already here, let's have a meal together."
Ah Mian brought over two bowls of tofu pudding with rice, charging ten coins, but adding an egg to each bowl. Seeing them start eating, Ah Mian sat opposite them and asked, "Who sent you to cause me trouble?"
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