Chapter 182 Solving the Problem
Not only did she fail to borrow any bowls and chopsticks, but she also received a cold shoulder. Lin Yuesha felt resentful. If it weren't for the fact that the family consisted of only two lonely old people and a young girl, she would have definitely had a good talk with them.
Forget it, it's not worth getting angry over this. Making money is the priority.
"Brother, this is my fault."
Lin Yuesha followed behind her stepbrother, feeling genuine sympathy for this kind-hearted man. If it weren't for her parents' support, Xiao Qi would have had a harem of wives and concubines sooner or later.
Xiao Qi twitched his lips, feeling too exhausted to speak.
"Has anyone come to our house? Why did the broom fly onto the roof?"
When Chen looked up, she noticed the broom head sticking out from under the eaves and asked in confusion.
Xiao Chenggui touched his nose guiltily; he had been too excited and hadn't controlled his strength. It was his daughter's fault for not explaining clearly; he had assumed Tingyun had really gone to propose marriage.
"Tingyun's words make sense; there is a huge shortage of essential items like bowls and chopsticks."
Xiao Chenggui stroked his beard, changed the subject, and tried to attract Chen's attention.
"Yeah, how about we buy a hundred?"
If you want to set up two stalls, a hundred bowls and chopsticks would be enough, but that would add five hundred coins to the cost, which is not very cost-effective.
Also, once they stop setting up their stall, these bowls and chopsticks will have to be left in a corner to collect dust.
Five hundred coins isn't much for them, but it's a small business, and if the costs are too high, there's no point in doing it.
Lin Yuesha was worried about the bowls and chopsticks, and the best thing she could do was to find a family that didn't run a business to borrow them.
Unfortunately, we hardly interact with our neighbors in town, and we only moved here recently. If we were to encounter someone as unreasonable as our neighbors across the street, we really couldn't handle it.
"Borrowing bowls and chopsticks is already a favor, but to involve my older brother is unacceptable. It's not worth it to do business with him."
Lin Yuesha entered the room, shaking her head and looking completely at a loss.
In short, the hot and sour noodles are all ready, and business is definitely going to be done, so the last resort is still to purchase them.
"Little sister, have you thought of a way to remove the grease from the dishes?"
Xiao Qi reminded him that all of these things needed to be prepared in advance.
"Brother, let me give it a try."
There are soapberries in the house for bathing, but I've never seen anyone use them for washing dishes. Lin Yuesha tried using hot water to remove grease, but found it ineffective.
Without dish soap or pig pancreas, she could only make a little rice water and noodle soup to compare. She found that the noodle soup removed grease immediately.
The cost of the noodle soup is negligible; the real challenge lies in the bowls and chopsticks.
Business couldn't be delayed, so on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhang Qing'er personally delivered the finished plaque to her door. Her complexion was rosy, and her face had a faint glow. The setbacks she had suffered earlier had long since become insignificant to her.
“Sister Yue Sha, my father sent servants to follow Lin Qian, and guess what happened?”
Zhang Qing'er brought up the follow-up gossip, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Qingdai must have caught up with him."
Given Qingdai's composure, the ending was almost a foregone conclusion.
"Yeah, you were right, haha!"
One can imagine Lin Qian's changing expressions. It is said that Lin Qian tried to escape again with the same trick, but no one knows what Qingdai said, and he became obedient and docile. After that, the two of them were together again.
"Qingdai's calmness must mean she has something on him."
Lin Yuesha had already discovered a more important piece of leverage than offspring.
"You're so smart. I can't think of that. I'd better eat more walnuts instead."
Zhang Qing'er joked that she had discovered Lin Yuesha also had something on her mind.
"I'm not clever at all. I'm too clever for my own good. I'm setting up a stall tomorrow, and I haven't even prepared the dishes at home yet."
Lin Yuesha wasn't short of money; rather, she was blaming herself for not thinking things through enough, which almost caused her family to lose money. She would learn from this experience and never be so arrogant again.
"Bowls and chopsticks?"
Zhang Qing'er suddenly realized that she could borrow bowls and chopsticks from the yamen (government office), as the yamen had plenty of them.
"There are many yamen runners in the county, and their bowls and chopsticks are all managed by the main kitchen. There are people who are responsible for washing them. If you want to use them, just take them and return them after washing them."
Zhang Qing'er waved her hand, saying it was no big deal.
Is this a good idea?
Lin Yuesha hesitated; she didn't want to take too much advantage and cause trouble for others.
“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like the yamen has never borrowed before. When the yamen runners didn’t have enough bowls and chopsticks for a wedding, they had to make up the numbers themselves.”
As long as it's not damaged, just wash it and return it. If it is damaged, just replace it with a few new ones, it won't hurt.
"That's wonderful!"
Lin Yuesha was grateful that Zhang Qing'er had solved her little troubles with just one sentence.
“We’re sisters, why are you being so polite with me over such a small thing? Remember to save me a big bowl of it tomorrow.”
Zhang Qing'er was particular; she always carried her own bowl and chopsticks with her, and she wanted a bowl of hot and sour noodles with lots of minced meat and pickled cowpeas.
Having solved the problem, Chen and Xiao Chenggui transported the bowls and chopsticks back, put them all in a large pot, boiled them in hot water, washed them clean, dried them, and put them in a bucket for later use.
In the evening, Uncle Chen Tieniu and his family finally braved the wind and frost to arrive from Chenjia Village, and the whole family squeezed into the small courtyard.
The back room wasn't large, but the kang (heated brick bed) was quite spacious. Chen Xiaohua and her sister-in-law, Wang, were with Xiao Shitou. Even though they were all family members, Lin Yuesha didn't sleep well that night because there were outsiders around.
The Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, arrived amidst everyone's anticipation.
Early in the morning, firecrackers went off in the streets. Lin Yuesha couldn't sleep in. By the time she got up, her family had already eaten breakfast.
The broth is ready, the ingredients are prepared, and making hot and sour noodles is simple. The Chen family only needs to make it twice to become proficient and master it.
“My parents asked me to come here to help out. We don’t need any extra help at home. Little sister, why don’t you and Miss Baozhu go see the lanterns?”
The Chen family had made a lot of money following the Chen family, so naturally they had to put in more effort; this was something the family had already agreed upon.
"How about this, we take turns doing it."
Lin Yuesha had to help out with the family business, as her family didn't have the money to hire workers.
The scenery on the four streets—east, west, south, and north—was pretty much the same; she only needed to walk through one street.
"I won't."
Chen Xiaohua shook her head; she was there to help, not to see the lantern festival.
"Sister Xiaohua, haven't you always wanted to see the lantern festival?"
The opportunity we have now may not come again in the border town, which is too far for our own people.
"I'm really not going, and besides, I'm not in the mood for it."
Chen Xiaohua didn't want to spoil the fun, but she really didn't plan to go. She could always go to the lantern festival sometime later, if not next year, then the year after.
She and her older sister had been looking forward to the lantern festival, but her older sister was no longer there, leaving her alone, and she was afraid that the sight of the lanterns would bring her painful memories.
"I understand. When I see something fun, I'll bring you a copy too."
Lin Yuesha understood that the pain of losing a loved one cannot be erased in a short time. Keeping the Chen family busy did not alleviate the pain, but rather prevented them from having time to overthink.
For the Chen family, earning money and having something to look forward to in life was already a great blessing.
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