Over the next few days, Shen Jingyan was full of energy. She not only developed more new flavors, but also bought a lot of cardboard boxes to package the Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls) into high-end gift boxes.
With more attractive packaging, the price naturally has to increase as well.
Shen Jingyan keenly realized that by offering different levels of products according to different customer needs, more buyers could be attracted.
People in this era are generally short of money and cannot afford fancy gift boxes under normal circumstances.
However, there are also some people who always give gifts during festivals, and they feel more respectable to bring a well-made gift box than a bag of loose glutinous rice balls.
Shen Jingyan produces a limited number of gift-boxed Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls) for the Lantern Festival, with a daily limit of fifty boxes.
Gradually, she discovered that gift-boxed glutinous rice balls were also selling very well. People who needed to give gifts or visit relatives were willing to spend a few extra cents to buy gift-boxed glutinous rice balls.
In the past few days, her Lantern Festival market has been fully opened.
Everyone who comes to the town market knows that there's a little girl who sells glutinous rice balls in all sorts of flavors, all fresh and reasonably priced.
Every day, even before she sets up her stall, there are already long queues at her spot.
Sometimes, the glutinous rice balls made that day sell out, and many people regret not being able to buy them, so they need to pre-order.
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Shen Jingyan laid out one hundred gift boxes of Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls) in one go.
Before noon, seventy boxes of gift-boxed Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls) had already been sold.
Shen Jingyan was busy cooking glutinous rice balls for tasting and serving customers who wanted to buy them. She was sweating profusely and her feet barely touched the ground.
There were many people queuing up for the tasting, so Shen Jingyan specially prepared a few small tables and stools, which she redeemed with points in the space mall.
Some children, with their sweet tooth, lined up without adults by smacking their fingers. Calm and quiet, she smiled and gave them glutinous rice balls to eat.
A child can't eat many, and she's doing business with no initial investment, only putting in a little labor, so she's exceptionally generous.
As a result, the children in the neighborhood are happy to gather in front of her stall, and some of the more diligent ones will even promote her glutinous rice balls for free, shouting their wares louder than she does.
In the bustling market, amidst the throngs of people, Gu Zhiyun spotted Shen Jingyan at a glance.
The little girl stood in front of a steaming pot, the heat making her cheeks flush red, and her delicate skin appeared even more fair and pink, like a fresh and juicy peach.
Wearing a white apron and white sleeves, she deftly cooked glutinous rice balls, while also introducing them to customers, weighing them, and collecting money.
Her movements were methodical, and she always wore a smile, which was very pleasant.
People of all ages and genders, whether they're buying glutinous rice balls or not, are happy to glance at her a few times.
It took Gu Zhiyun a long time to come to his senses. He realized that he was like a silly deer, staring blankly at Shen Jingyan for a long time, not even noticing the people bumping into him.
He hadn't spoken to the little girl for several days.
He always saw the little girl riding her tricycle, leaving early and returning late. Occasionally they would catch a glimpse of each other, and he would just nod and say hello.
It seems he never had the chance to sit down and have a proper chat with the young girl.
Driven by a desire to communicate, Gu Zhiyun took a few steps toward the Lantern Festival stall.
Wait a minute, wouldn't it be too abrupt to just walk up like this?
Will Jingya suspect that he deliberately tried to flirt with her?
The step that had just been taken was then halted with hesitation.
Just as he was racking his brains, trying to find a suitable reason to go up and greet him, a clear and gentle "Comrade Gu" reached his ears.
Shen Jingyan held a spoon in one hand and waved enthusiastically at him with the other, her smile bright and radiant.
"Comrade Gu, over here!"
Gu Zhiyun was just wondering why he couldn't find a reason to strike up a conversation when the girl spotted him.
What a wonderful coincidence!
His lips unconsciously curled up, and he walked forward with light steps.
"Jingya, what a coincidence."
Shen Jingyan raised her arm to wipe the sweat from her forehead and said with a smile, "Yes, you are so tall, you stand out in the crowd. I saw you from far away."
Gu Zhiyun felt a sense of pride in being noticed by someone he liked, and his smile widened.
"What are you doing in town?" Shen Jingyan asked while stirring the glutinous rice balls in the pot.
The sweet aroma of glutinous rice wafted around Gu Zhiyun's nose, and he couldn't help but twitch his nostrils and sniff a few more times.
"I'm sending a letter home." He waved the letter in his hand.
As noon approached, fewer people were buying glutinous rice balls, and the few small tables were all empty. Only one table had two greedy children sitting on it, wolfing down their glutinous rice balls.
Seeing that Gu Zhiyun's gaze kept shifting between his face and the glutinous rice balls in the pot, Shen Jingyan smiled and said:
"Comrade Gu, you haven't eaten yet, have you? How about trying some of my glutinous rice balls?"
Before Gu Zhiyun could politely refuse, she filled a large bowl to the brim and pulled Gu Zhiyun to sit at a small table.
Gu Zhiyun wanted to remain reserved, but the aroma of glutinous rice balls wafted over, and his stomach started growling uncontrollably.
He seems to have no resistance to only two things: Jingya and the food she cooks.
He stopped struggling with his thoughts and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Halfway through the meal, Shen Jingyan added another large spoonful to his plate.
She knew that young men in their early twenties like Gu Zhiyun had particularly large appetites.
Since you're treating someone to a meal, you should make sure they're well-fed.
As Gu Zhiyun was eating, he looked up and suddenly noticed a little boy wearing a melon-shaped hat staring at him warily across from him.
The little boy was about the same age as Anzi. He had just finished eating glutinous rice balls, and there were still a lot of glutinous rice crumbs on the corners of his mouth.
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