Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Let me see what's going on
After Children's Day, as expected, someone came to the store again to ask about the cake for that evening.
This time, Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming had sufficient experience in dealing with guests and had made preparations in advance.
A sign was specially hung at the door of the store, which read: New cup cakes will be available tomorrow, there will be discounts on the new products, so stay tuned!
Once the sign is hung up, it can kill two birds with one stone.
One is that people who come specifically for the cupcakes won’t ask again when they see the sign, and it also saves them from having to answer the same question countless times a day.
Another is that it can remind people who don’t know that the store will have new cupcakes. When these people see the brand, they will know that the store is going to launch new products.
The food they sell always tastes great, and when these people know there are new products, they can't help but be curious. By arousing more people's curiosity, the store's new products will attract more potential customers.
After all, not many people knew about the cupcakes last night, and even fewer people got to eat the cupcakes, so it is very necessary to intensify publicity.
On the second day of Children's Day, the two children had a day off. After Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming were busy in the morning, they also took half a day off with the two of them.
During this afternoon, Ning Shaoming planned to hand over the store to Ning Shichun, and then he and Zhao Ruyue would take the children to the county town for a trip.
When the two children went to the county town with them a few years ago, they made several friends there.
The last time I took them to the county town to buy clothes, the trip there and back was a bit rushed, and they didn’t get to have enough fun with their friends.
Ning Shiqiu and Ning Shixia made an appointment with their friends to go to the county town to play with them on June 1st. Zhao Ruyue even went to borrow a motorcycle from her cousin to avoid missing the last bus at night.
Before leaving today, the two children went to the convenience store and called their friends in the county town to remind them that they were about to leave.
The two children planned to go to the county town, first visit their good friend's house to play for a while, and then go out shopping.
Ning Shaoming knew that his children were going to visit a friend's house, so he made some cupcakes and asked the two children to take them to their friends to share.
Although the butter was used up yesterday, the store still has plenty of mayonnaise since they make hot dog buns every day.
The bean paste, chestnut paste and sweet potato puree were not all used up yesterday. They were all kept in the freezer. They don’t spoil easily and can be used right away.
Even without cream, these few ingredients are enough to make cupcakes.
Ning Shaoming even tried it specially, using it to make Dorayaki pancake crust instead of the cake base.
This time, he made two different types of cup cakes for the children, one made with cake base and one made with Dorayaki cake crust.
After Ning Shaoming finished, he and Zhao Ruyue shared a cup cake made with Dorayaki crust to taste.
After tasting it, I feel that the taste is not bad, but the crust of Dorayaki is a bit sweet.
They both thought the cupcakes were better with a cake base and less sweetness.
The cupcake made with Dorayaki crust tasted okay, but it was too sweet for them.
Ning Shiqiu, Ning Shixia, and Ning Shichun, who prefers sweet food, have opposite tastes to them and think that the Dorayaki crust is sweeter and more delicious.
The three of them also strongly suggested making more of these cupcakes to sell tomorrow.
Ning Shaoming didn't agree. He had to be more cautious when dealing with business: "Let's make half of each tomorrow and see how the customers react. If the customers are the same as you, then I'll make more of the ones you like in the future."
The two children arrived at their good friend’s house in the county town, and played there for a while, eating cake and playing games together.
After eating the cake, their good friends in the county took them out to visit stationery stores and boutiques.
Help them choose photo albums and some auxiliary materials such as glue for making photo frames.
A group of kids were very smart and even knew how to bargain with the boss when paying.
The parents just followed behind and watched without saying much, allowing them to go around as long as nothing unexpected happened.
Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming were originally worried that children in the county town would be controlled more strictly.
Just like Ning Laoer's daughter, she is not allowed to go out and play with others all day long. She can only stay at home to read books and do homework most of the time. The time she can watch TV is strictly controlled, not more than one minute, and it is useless to act coquettishly.
Zhao Ruyue heard from her daughter that her second cousin would be scolded if she was caught watching TV, and would also be scolded if she did not rank among the top three in exams. The scolding was very harsh and she would even be beaten sometimes.
This surprised Zhao Ruyue very much. She had always thought that as a teacher's second child, the couple would be more scientific in raising children.
My sister-in-law, who didn't even finish third grade of elementary school, has never beaten her children.
Fortunately, her two children are staying with some friends in the county town, who do not have such tendencies, and their parents are quite kind.
When she first brought her child there, she was quite reserved because she was not familiar with the people there. But after chatting about the children, current prices, and the latest news in the town and county, they became familiar with each other unknowingly.
After buying photo albums and materials for making photo frames with the children, the group passed by a wholesale market.
Those parents said that they were too busy at work before Children's Day and had no time to buy clothes for their children, so they wanted to take their children to the third floor of the wholesale market to have a look.
Zhao Ruyue's family of four happened to have something to buy at the wholesale market, so they went in together.
When they got to the third floor, the parents of the children decided to buy at most one piece of clothing, one pair of pants and one pair of shoes, and then let their children choose clothes according to their own preferences.
Zhao Ruyue asked Ning Shiqiu and Ning Shixia to choose as well, but the two children shook their heads and said that they had bought clothes before Children's Day and didn't want to buy any more. She didn't persuade them anymore, but just told them to tell her if they wanted to buy again or wanted to buy something else.
She watched as her son and daughter helped their friend choose clothes.
As she watched, she discovered that one of the children had even worse taste in choosing clothes than she did. The clothes she chose were so ugly that even she couldn't bear to look at them, and the child's parents followed her lead.
Unlike some parents, who say they let their children choose by themselves, but in the end do not buy the clothes their children choose, and force their children to buy what they like.
During the game, there were also two children who were about the same age as Ning Shixia, but there was no crying or rolling around.
As she watched along, Zhao Ruyue also discovered that those parents were more respectful of their children's ideas.
Zhao Ruyue’s own children are very independent-minded, so it’s no wonder that their children can become friends with those children.
When they took the children to the third floor to look at clothes, Ning Shaoming stopped on the first floor of the wholesale market.
I went to the store where I had bought from several times before and ordered more cream and milk than before.
He also bought some large taro for making taro paste at a vegetable stall, and bought three large bags of sugar at a grocery store.
In the past, the taro paste we made at home was made from small locally grown taro, which had a sticky texture and was not sandy or dense enough.
Zhao Ruyue said that this taro paste was not tasty enough, and that she had just tried using small taro that day. It would be better to use large taro in the future, as it would taste better.
I bought three bags of sugar, one bag is brown sugar and the other two bags are white sugar.
Brown sugar is used to make candied red beans and red bean paste, while white sugar is used in making cakes and other bean pastes, chestnut paste, taro paste, and sweet potato paste, so buy more.
Red beans, mung beans, chestnuts and sweet potatoes can all be bought in the town, and they are cheaper than in the county town.
In addition to the ingredients, this time they also bought a lot of cups with lids to hold the cup cakes.
After all, we are going to sell it to others, so we can’t always cover it with paper plates. We also have to make it look better, cleaner and more hygienic.
I spent a day happily playing with the children.
After returning home, the two children went to bed early, and the adults had to prepare some things to be sold tomorrow in advance.
Things like candied red beans, bean paste, taro puree, sweet potato puree and mayonnaise can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator if you have a freezer at home.
The meat can also be marinated in advance and left overnight to make it more flavorful, so they don’t have to get up so early the next day to prepare it.
The next morning, Ning Shaoming taught Ning Shichun how to make soup, and then took him to make bread-shaped buns.
Making steamed buns looks simple and it is not difficult for Ning Shaoming. He learned it quickly before and almost never failed.
But for many southerners, making steamed buns only looks simple. It is really not an easy task to make steamed buns well.
Ning Shichun didn’t dare to say that he could make the steamed buns well. If he ruined a pot of steamed buns, he wouldn’t be able to sell today’s hot dog buns.
He felt a great psychological burden about this. Even though Ning Shaoming told Ning Shichun that he could already do it alone, Ning Shichun still didn't dare to do it himself.
Ning Shaoming couldn't force him, so he could only steam the buns himself every day and leave the job of frying the buns and assembling hot dog buns to him.
However, when it came to making something like Dorayaki pancake crust, which didn't require ruining the entire pot at once, Ning Shichun quickly dared to make it by himself, and he did a pretty good job.
Ning Shaoming handed this over to Ning Shichun, while Ning Shaoming himself made the cake base, whipped the cream, and assemble the cupcakes.
If a customer came early and wanted to eat rice noodles, he would put down what he was doing and make what the customer ordered.
Generally, the stove would be handed over to Ning Shichun in the afternoon when there were fewer people around, allowing him to practice more leisurely.
The earliest group of people who come to have breakfast are usually drivers who are rushing to get up early, and those who want to take the first bus to the county town.
Ning Shaoming thought that these people would most likely not buy cupcakes. After all, they were not children anymore. If they did buy them, they would usually buy them for their children after get off work.
Unexpectedly, after finishing his breakfast, the driver of the first bus in town asked Zhao Ruyue, who was collecting money at the front desk: "Xiao Xia's mother, are you going to start selling cupcakes today?"
Zhao Ruyue didn't expect someone to buy it so soon, and quickly replied: "It's on sale today, you want to buy it now? Don't you have to drive to the county town?"
The driver said in a tone that was a bit helpless and a bit doting: "It's all because of those two little debt collectors at home. Last night, they told me that your Xiao Xia said that it was the first day you tried to sell the new product and you might not be able to make a lot. So they told me to buy it early, otherwise I wouldn't be able to buy it later."
Zhao Ruyue didn't expect this to happen. Her daughter really knew her and Ning Shaoming well. They really didn't prepare much today.
It’s always like this when new products are first released. I would rather buy less than have leftovers.
Zhao Ruyue asked, "Your car isn't driving that fast, is it? I'll go see if my husband is ready."
"It's ten minutes before it opens."
Zhao Ruyue opened the refrigerator and took a look. There were already a dozen cupcakes inside.
The weather is hot now, so after the cake is made, it is put in the refrigerator to prevent the cream from melting.
She called the driver over to have a look: "We have made more than a dozen of them, in several flavors, come and have a look. Which one do you want?"
Ning Shaoming specially bought cups of different colors. Each color and pattern represents a flavor. Labels have been written on them and pasted on the plastic frames that hold the cupcakes.
The driver had been told several times by his two children that he had dreamed about cupcakes last night, so he quickly made his choice: "I want these four first. How much are they in total?"
Cup cakes are relatively expensive and priced a bit high. If you buy one, it costs 80 cents. If you buy two, you can get a discount of 1.5 yuan.
"Four cupcakes cost three dollars in total. Today we have a new product on the market, so I'll give you two Dorayaki for free." Zhao Ruyue said as she had already packed the cake and handed it to him.
The Dorayaki that was given as a gift was also packed and placed inside.
The driver happily took it and said, "My child also likes this. Luckily I gave two. If I only gave one, they would definitely fight when I take them home, and it would be hard to comfort either of them if they cried."
Zhao Ruyue smiled and said, "You are also good to the children. Buy them four at a time. If you only buy two, there will only be one gift."
After the driver left, those who were still having breakfast also sped up their pace, as they all wanted to catch the bus driven by this driver.
Among the guests, three also bought cup cakes.
There was even one customer who saw the cupcakes and bought one to taste, then bought sixteen at once.
The customer said with a hint of snickering in his voice, "I was just worrying about what to bring to my relative's home in the county town today. He has kids at home, so this is perfect. It looks no worse than the bakery in the county town."
The most important thing is that it is not only good-looking, but also very cheap. If you make enough of it, it can be used as a gift.
And now there is a welfare activity, buy two cupcakes, and get a Dorayaki for free.
He bought sixteen at a time, and the store gave him eight Dorayaki for free. He had eaten that Dorayaki before and it tasted great.
Putting it together, it is equivalent to giving two gifts, which is quite decent. The numbers sixteen and eight are also auspicious.
It’s just that this customer ordered too many cupcakes at once, and Ning Shaoming only prepared a dozen in advance. He just sold a few of them, so there are less than sixteen left.
The customers had to catch the first bus and were in a hurry, but another customer came to the store to eat rice noodles. Ning Shaoming had to make the rice noodles and couldn't leave, and Zhao Ruyue had to greet the customers, collect money, and clean the table whenever she had time, so she couldn't leave either.
I had to ask Ning Shichun, who was frying steamed buns, to turn off the fire under the oil pan and assemble the cake first.
Ning Shichun was always anxious and easily panicked. He was a little flustered and even put the topping in the wrong place in the middle of a cupcake.
Fortunately, Ning Shiqiu and Ning Shixia woke up and changed their clothes and washed up by themselves.
When they came out and saw that the store was so busy, they put on gloves and helped assemble the cake without asking or being told.
Although Ning Shiqiu is younger than Ning Shichun, he is like a little old man, with an orderly and steady temperament.
Ning Shichun was standing beside him and was also infected. He quickly calmed down and did not make any more mistakes.
There is strength in numbers and the materials were prepared in advance. The sixteen cupcakes requested by the customer were assembled quickly and did not delay his bus trip.
As the primary school students get up and go out, the store becomes more and more crowded and busier.
More people came to buy cupcakes. Although each person did not buy as much as the previous customer, the demand increased sharply due to the large number of people.
Seeing that the store was so busy, Ning Shiqiu and his sister decided not to rush for breakfast and instead helped assemble the cupcakes in the back.
The two of them divided the work and worked together at a pretty fast pace, and were busy until almost time for morning reading.
There were fewer people in the store, so Zhao Ruyue gave each of them a hot dog bun and a cup cake for breakfast and told them to hurry to school.
Fortunately, Ning Shiqiu had a bicycle. He took his sister and pedaled hard all the way, finally arriving at the classroom before the morning reading bell rang.
I only had time to take a quick bite of the breakfast I brought with me before the bell for morning reading rang.
In the store, Ning Shaoming and Zhao Ruyue felt the tiredness again this morning after a long time, when the market day coincided with the day when students returned to school on the first day of opening.
Zhao Ruyue took a sip of water. Her voice was a little hoarse after speaking all morning. "Fortunately, today is not the day for junior high school students to return to school, otherwise we would be so tired that our legs would cramp!"
They priced the cupcakes a bit high, thinking that even if they were popular, not many people would buy them.
"Are people in this town so rich now? They actually give their kids so much pocket money," Ning Shichun recalled the way those elementary school students gave money, and it still felt a little unreal. "When I was a kid, I couldn't even get 50 cents in pocket money a week. Even if I had a few cents in my pocket, I wouldn't necessarily be willing to spend it like this."
After hearing what Ning Shaoming said, he took a glass of water with Sterculia lychnophora in it, walked out of the kitchen and handed it to Zhao Ruyue.
Then he also sighed: "It means that the lives of people in the town are getting better and better. If everyone lives well, it will not be difficult for us to make money as businessmen."
Zhao Ruyue nodded and said, "That's right. Xiaochun, you should hurry up and learn your craft. There are few craftsmen in business now, so it's not difficult to open a shop and make money. But when more and more people open shops in the future, the competition will become more and more fierce. If you want to make money, you have to spend more energy and think of more ways. It's good for you to become a master as soon as possible, whether you open a shop in the town or in the county."
In the future, there will be a variety of methods, such as opening a food delivery platform, hiring someone to queue up, asking bloggers to visit the store, marketing online to make your own store an Internet celebrity store, etc.
Just thinking about it, she felt that it was really difficult for those shop owners.
Ning Shaoming and Ning Shichun were both a little surprised by Zhao Ruyue's words.
They probably didn't expect her to bring this up so casually.
Although she had said similar things before, Ning Shichun thought that those words were somewhat polite, and her real thought was probably that she hoped he would open a store in another town. After all, it would cost too much capital to open a store in a county town, and it would be easier to open a store in another town.
What Ning Shichun learned in Pengcheng were just the basics; the real skills were taught by Ning Shaoming.
When he taught Ning Shichun the craft, he was not like those people who were afraid of hard work and worried about starving themselves to death after teaching their apprentices. Ning Shaoming did not hide anything at all.
If Ning Shichun opened a store in the town, it is possible that he would take away some of the business.
Ning Shichun was also a bit confused. He actually asked out loud what he was thinking: "Aunt San, aren't you afraid that I will open a store in town and take away your business?"
"What are you afraid of? Didn't I say before that if you don't earn this money, someone else will. It's better to give it to your own people than to give it to others. Do you think I'm joking?"
It is true that Zhao Ruyue wants to use Ning Shichun to block the troubles at the old house, and it is also true that she hopes he can live a better life independently. Anyway, there is no conflict.
"Your skills were all taught by your Third Uncle. At present, it seems that it will be very difficult for you to surpass your uncle. It's not that I'm not afraid of you taking away the business, but I believe in your Third Uncle's ability."
Ning Shaoming listened to this and said modestly: "I only know a little more than Xiaochun. I still have a lot to learn. I have to continue to work hard and learn in the future."
In fact, he felt so happy that he felt like he was floating in the air.
But he didn't really get carried away. He said he wanted to continue learning, and when he went to the county town to purchase ingredients again, he bought several cookbooks from the bookstore.
I’ll take a look at it when I’m not so busy, and then cook the dish according to the steps in the recipe and let my family taste it to see how it tastes.
If he couldn't buy ingredients, he would try to replace them with something else. After making the dishes according to the recipe, he would try to improve them.
For many days in a row, they could have different dishes for dinner at home, and the dishes he cooked were rarely bad, which made every dinner more interesting.
Ning Shaoming was researching a new dish again that day, and this time the new dish would be made using an electric rice cooker.
Because they wanted to use an electric rice cooker to make cake base, they bought a new one.
The new one is used specifically for making cake bases, and the old one continues to be used for cooking.
Ning Shaoming bought this old rice cooker after he got married and has used it for several years.
He first stewed the rice in advance, then served it out to free up the rice cooker.
Then put the marinated pork belly into the rice cooker and press the cooking button.
The recipe says to just put the ingredients in, press the cook button and forget about it.
He was just about to wash the vegetables for dinner when he heard a bang from the rice cooker. The sound was not loud, but the indicator light went out.
"Huh? What happened? Is it broken?"
Ning Shaoming unplugged the rice cooker, looked it up and down, inside and out, but couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Zhao Ruyue picked up the child and was surprised to see him holding the rice cooker with a pot of raw meat next to him.
These past few days, when she went to pick up the children, she could have hot meals and dishes as soon as she got home. What happened today?
Ning Shaoming came back to his senses after hearing the noise and put down the rice cooker. "I wanted to use the rice cooker to make you some barbecued pork with honey sauce, but this rice cooker broke down for some reason and I can't fix it either. Today we can only have fried pork with honey sauce. After dinner I'll take it to a repair shop to see if it can be fixed."
Zhao Ruyue walked over, picked up the rice cooker, and waved at him: "Go fry the meat first, I'll see what's wrong with this rice cooker."
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