"It's alright, sister-in-law, let him tinker with it. It's not made of tofu."
"Okay, I'll cook for you! Aren't Minghan and his brother coming back for dinner?"
Lin Haitao didn't see the two people when she came in. She thought they hadn't returned yet, but then she noticed that her sister-in-law had cooked an unusual amount of rice, so she asked curiously.
"They've already set up a stall at the night market. They ate early tonight, and I'll just make them a bowl of noodles when they come back later."
"You still have stalls at your night market!"
"Yes, that's why we said the breakfast place is too busy! Minghan and the others also set up a noodle stall there at noon and go to the night market in the evening. They really can't handle it, so we asked you to come over."
"So you're still thinking of us. By the way, what time should we come over tomorrow morning?"
Zhang Xuemei thought for a moment, "Why don't you come over at 4:30? Minghan has basically already started working on it by then."
"Okay, we'll be there at four o'clock." Lin Haitao knew that if you wanted to take on someone else's business, you had to learn everything first!
"Actually, it's not that difficult. Now we sell stir-fried rice noodles, glutinous rice, and freshly made wontons for breakfast."
Basically, just keep the flavor packs consistent. And don't be stingy. Some people might ask you to give them a little more, but that's not a big deal; it's all about retaining loyal customers!
Zhang Xuemei carefully explained the techniques of setting up a stall. Taste is the most important thing, and of course, service is also important. The main goal is to make people happy with their food!
Lin Haitao nodded; she knew that. Just like when she sometimes went to eat in town, she preferred to go to whichever restaurant had a friendly and generous owner.
"Third sister-in-law, we're back." Xu Mingwan carried her niece's little schoolbag on her back, held a bottle of beer in her hand, and held her niece's hand with her other hand.
Xu Panpan was pulled into the house by her aunt, with a sweet lollipop still in her mouth.
"Auntie, you're back, Panpan. Do you still remember your uncle?" Zhang Xuefeng was resting in the living room when he heard the door open and stood up. He immediately saw his little niece with a candy in her mouth.
Hearing the commotion, Lin Haitao came out of the kitchen first, smiling as she said, "Panpan, your aunt is here. Do you remember your aunt?"
"Hello, Uncle and Aunt." Xu Panpan took the candy out of her mouth and greeted the two of them loudly.
"Oh, good, Panpan has grown up too."
"Dinner's ready, brother and sister-in-law, please wash your hands and eat! Xiaowan, you're so smart, you even brought a bottle of beer." Zhang Xuemei knew her sister-in-law had bought the beer from the table.
"I heard from my third brother that my eldest brother also likes to drink. I happened to pass by the convenience store on my way back, so I bought a bottle. If it wasn't enough, I would go back for more. I couldn't carry two bottles with Panpan in tow."
Lin Haitao glanced at her cheerful husband and quickly waved her hand to refuse, saying, "No need, no need. I don't usually give him any at home. It's good enough that he has a bottle today."
"Hurry up and sit down to eat. Minghan should be at home with you, but he's too busy to handle everything by himself over there. Xiaowan hasn't been feeling well these past two days, so there's really no other way."
Zhang Xuemei explained why her husband couldn't entertain her elder brother and sister-in-law at home, so they wouldn't feel that her husband didn't value them.
I could have swapped shifts with Xiaowan, but she happened to be on her period these past two days, so we ended up working together.
"What's the big deal? We're all family. Making money is the most important thing," Lin Haitao said nonchalantly. They weren't so particular; they could meet anytime, and making money was the priority.
"That's what I said too. He insisted that I apologize to you and treat you to a meal next time."
"Minghan is being rather polite." Zhang Xuefeng scratched his head and chuckled twice.
"He overthinks things. By the way, we've discussed it. You guys come over early tomorrow to see how it's done, then try it out the day after tomorrow, and the day after that we'll hand it over to you directly. What do you think?"
"Great, we can both do that." Lin Haitao was overjoyed at the thought of earning money every day from now on.
After dinner, Zhang Xuemei wanted to take them both home, but they refused.
"We'll go back ourselves, and do some sightseeing on the way. No need to see us off."
"Okay, if you can't find your way home, come back! My place is easy to find, right next to the market." Zhang Xuemei was worried they might not be able to find their way home after arriving.
"You still don't trust my sense of direction? It's not far at all, it'll be fine." Lin Haitao has a good sense of direction; she can basically remember any route she's walked once and rarely gets lost.
...
In the following days, Lin Haitao and his wife first learned to make breakfast from Xu Minghan, and quickly got the hang of it.
Zhang Minghan also introduced them to the places where he usually sourced his goods, telling them which vendors had high-quality rice noodles and which vendors had fresh and cheap vegetables.
After freeing up his breakfast business, Xu Minghan felt much more relaxed. He no longer had to get up at four o'clock every morning and could sleep in a little longer.
"I'm not used to not having to get up early all of a sudden!" Xu Mingjiang mumbled, biting into the fried dough stick he had just bought.
"Don't try to act innocent after getting the benefit." Xu Minghan rolled his eyes at him, though he himself felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything!
Xu Minghan thought for a moment and decided to bring it up in advance, "Your third sister-in-law and I have discussed it. You've all worked hard these past few months, so we'd like to adjust your salary to three hundred per month. You've been working for almost three months now, so we'll keep it at three hundred from now on."
"Really? Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, you're so kind!" Xu Mingjiang jumped up happily and thanked Zhang Xuemei repeatedly.
"Thank you, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law. Ah, this way, I can save a lot of money this year."
Xu Mingwan was also happy, as her third brother and sister-in-law provided room and board, and she could basically save her salary.
I occasionally buy myself clothes and daily necessities, and some snacks for Panpan; otherwise, I can save money.
Seeing them happy made Zhang Xuemei happy too. "I still want to thank you for your help. Otherwise, your third brother wouldn't have been able to run such a big business by himself."
Also, regarding what I mentioned before about Xiao Jiang finding another place to sell braised food next spring, we need to look for a place in advance. I just want to ask Xiao Wan, what are your thoughts?
Do you want to continue working for your third brother, or do you want to end up like Xiao Jiang?
This was the first time Xu Mingwan had heard that her brother was going to go solo next year, and she looked at Xu Mingjiang with curiosity.
"Don't look at me like that, it's my third brother and sister-in-law who are good to me. But it's a deal, third brother, I might have to stay here with you for a while, and I can only move out after I find a place to live."
"Why are you moving? You're staying at home, it's not like you don't have a place to stay," Xu Mingjiang said angrily, which clearly showed that he didn't treat him like an older brother.
"Yes, Xiao Jiang, it's good to live together so we can look after each other. We're worried about you being alone." Zhang Xuemei's words were sincere; after all, it's not like there's nowhere else to go.
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