The next day, around noon, Zhou Sui noticed several familiar faces at the shop entrance.
"Oh my, it really is owned by the Zhou family?"
"Isn't that Sister Zhou and Sui Sui? Let's go in and take a look."
Several women walked in one after another; they were all from the village.
Li Qiuju went up to greet them, "Sister-in-law Zhang, Sister He, Sister Chen."
As soon as these people came in, they looked around, finding this strange and that unusual.
Wu Ruonan stared in disbelief at the brightly lit shop, then excitedly grabbed Li Qiuju's hand.
"Sister-in-law Zhou, you guys are really unfair. You opened such a big shop without saying a word, you must have made a lot of money."
As soon as she stepped inside, she smelled the aroma of food, and especially when she saw the food arranged on the kitchen table through the glass, she couldn't help but swallow.
The Zhou family didn't publicize opening the shop; they just didn't want the villagers to know.
But now that he's met Li Qiuju, he's not holding back either. "What money can you make? The rent here is four or five hundred yuan a room, plus utilities and all that. The expenses are huge."
“Huh.” Wu Ruonan pursed her lips. “My Xiaoqing works in a restaurant. She said that you can make money even if you just eat.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Sui walked over and said, "Aunt Wu, your Xiaoqing works in a big restaurant, where people come and go every day. Our little shop can't compare."
"Look at the store now, there's not a single person in it."
Their arrival was truly opportune; it wasn't mealtime, and the dishes from the previous table had just been cleaned up.
Wu Ruonan looked around and saw that it was true; apart from them, there were no other unfamiliar faces in the shop.
They peered curiously through the glass into the kitchen, and the sight of that pot of spicy red broth alone made their mouths water.
Wu Ruonan asked Li Qiuju, "Sister-in-law Zhou, what kind of things do you sell? I've never seen them before."
"It looks pretty good, but I wonder how it tastes."
Li Qiuju didn't understand what she meant by those words, but Zhou Sui noticed her swallowing.
"Mom, there are still some vegetables in the backyard that haven't been washed yet. Could you help Dad wash them? We're afraid we won't have enough time later."
Zhou Sui made an excuse to send Li Qiuju away and answered Wu Ruonan's question.
"I bought these recipes from other people and then tried to make them myself."
"Huh? You have to pay to learn how to cook this?" someone exclaimed.
Zhou Sui nodded solemnly, "Of course, otherwise where would you find all this food on the market?"
One of the tall, thin women asked, "How much did you spend on these formulas?"
"There are probably six or seven hundred." Zhou Sui casually gave a number.
Everyone gasped. "Six or seven hundred more, and then there's the rent of four or five hundred. You've already spent over a thousand in the beginning."
How much money can you earn in a day?
"It's about a hundred yuan. After deducting the cost of buying vegetables and ingredients, I estimate I can still save fifty or sixty yuan."
"Fifty or sixty," Wu Ruonan muttered, looking up. She was probably doing some math.
"That's not bad either, it's 1,500 to 1,800 a month."
Upon hearing this number, everyone's eyes widened. Over a thousand, almost two thousand—that was practically making a fortune!
Zhou Sui suddenly sighed, "Ah, if only we had this many."
"The money we earn has to be deducted from the rent, and we can't open every day. If the weather is bad or something happens, we'll just have to waste the rent."
"The main problem is that we spent too much money upfront. We reorganized the whole house, and the tables and chairs cost a lot of money. These kitchen utensils were also custom-made and were not cheap."
"Anyway, we've emptied our savings and even lent some money to others to open this shop. We don't know when we'll break even."
She spoke with such sincerity that everyone believed her.
Wu Ruonan's topic shifted to food again, "Hey, I see something dark in that plate, what's that?"
"Stinky tofu".
"I haven't heard of that name before," Wu Ruonan said casually. "It's already past two o'clock, past lunchtime. You ate breakfast quite early."
Zhou Sui picked up where she left off, "Aunt Wu, you haven't had lunch yet?"
Before anyone else could speak, Wu Ruonan nodded hurriedly, "We haven't eaten yet. We were just strolling around when we saw you guys, so we came over to check on you."
Zhou Sui didn't believe her nonsense. She had seen these people looking around at the door; they were clearly there on purpose.
"Since we're here, let's eat here. Aunt Wu is curious about what it tastes like."
Wu Ruonan was all smiles when she heard the first half, but Zhou Sui's words made her lose her composure.
"It's perfect timing, ladies. Auntie, please patronize our business."
“We’re all from the same village, so for the same price, you should definitely charge a little more than others.”
As Zhou Sui turned to go into the kitchen, Wu Ruonan called her back.
"Sui Sui, you just said the same price?"
"yes."
"The price is different for each kind, Auntie. What would you like to eat? I'll get it for you."
Wu Ruonan only wanted to freeload and didn't want to pay.
"We're all from the same village, why would I charge you?"
Zhou Sui sneered inwardly, but her smile remained unchanged. "Why aren't you taking any money? Does Auntie want to eat for free?"
This statement left Wu Ruonan in a dilemma, unsure whether to admit it or not.
Zhou Sui continued, "We're all from the same village, so please support our business. It's all the same whether we eat here or not, and it costs the same amount of money, right?"
Wu Ruonan instinctively clutched her pockets tighter; there was no way she would spend money.
She glanced at Zhou Sui sideways. This brat was so clueless. If it were Li Qiuju, she would have already given them a taste of their own medicine.
"Your mother isn't finished yet?" Li Qiuju asked, glancing away at the other topic.
"My mom is very busy."
"Auntie, what would you like to eat? I'll get it for you right now."
Zhou Sui brought up the topic herself, and Wu Ruonan quickly waved her hand.
"I'm not eating anymore. Auntie just remembered she needs to go find Xiaoqing. She only has time right now, and she's afraid that eating will delay her."
Unable to wait for Li Qiuju to come out, and seeing Zhou Sui's insensible behavior, Wu Ruonan, who didn't want to spend money, had no choice but to make an excuse to leave.
Zhou Sui looked regretful. "Then I wouldn't dare to be so lucky."
"You don't have to eat in the store, these can all be taken away. How about I pack them up for you, and I can bring one for Xiaoqing so she can try it."
Wu Ruonan didn't dare to linger any longer; she said as she walked out.
"Next time, Auntie will come over to eat again."
The two people who came with her saw that she had gone out, so they had no choice but to follow her out.
As soon as the three people walked out of the store, the smile on Zhou Sui's face vanished instantly.
You think you can eat and drink for free here? No way!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com