The Liu family's mother and son were so excited that they couldn't sleep well all night. They got up early the next morning. After washing up, they subconsciously wanted to go to the kitchen to cook breakfast. They had even scooped out the rice, but then they remembered that Li Yuemei said she would pack brunch yesterday, so they stopped again.
"Ah, are you really saying that meals are included? We really don't need to cook breakfast?" Yue Ge'er asked cautiously.
Widow Liu hesitated for a moment, and then she felt that Aunt Zhao would not lie. She comforted Yue Ge'er and said, "It should be true. Aunt Zhao is a good person and would not tell lies."
After saying that, she urged Yue Ge'er to cut more rotten vegetable leaves to feed the chickens, otherwise the chickens would definitely be starving since they would not be back until this afternoon.
"I understand." Yue Ge'er hurried to the backyard.
"Add some more water." Widow Liu shouted towards Yue Ge'er's back.
The two of them had almost finished their housework, and it was almost noon, so they locked the door and prepared to leave.
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"Aunt Zhao." Widow Liu and her partner arrived at Zhao Shiyun's door and saw them loading their belongings onto the donkey cart. Li Yuemei responded and introduced Widow Liu and Yue'er to the others. "You two come with us. We still need to prepare some things. We can just walk there later," Li Yuemei instructed. The donkey cart couldn't hold so many people, and since the apprenticeship ceremony didn't need to be that early, they might as well go later. Widow Liu and Yue'er were both skilled workers, so they'd be able to learn after a little instruction at the shop.
Widow Liu and Yue Ge'er got on the donkey cart nervously and nodded to Lin Yan, who smiled in response.
Luoyang Village was not far from the town, so taking a donkey cart was even faster, arriving in less than a quarter of an hour. Zhao Shiyun jumped off the donkey cart and began to unload the things. Widow Liu and Yue Ge'er hurried down to help.
Lin Yan spoke at the right moment: "Auntie, Brother Yue, this is my shop, Douxiangzhai. We sell pumpkin cakes, steamed buns, soy milk, and tofu pudding for breakfast."
"The steamed buns are already made at home, just put them on the steamer and steam them. The pumpkin cakes are also made, just fry them." Lin Yan used to get up very early every day to prepare the ingredients. Now that she is pregnant, Li Yuemei doesn't let him get up so early, so she took over these tasks.
Then I taught them how much sugar to put in the soy milk, and what ingredients to add to salty tofu pudding and sweet tofu pudding respectively. The two of them learned very seriously.
"Then Auntie, you and Brother Yue will make soy milk and tofu pudding in the store, and clear the tables after the customers have finished eating. Brother Shi Yun and I will sell pumpkin cakes and steamed buns at the door." Lin Yan said finally.
Widow Liu nodded, saying that this job was not difficult.
"By the way, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll get it for you." Lin Yan scooped over two bowls of sweet tofu pudding. The steamed buns were not cooked yet, so he would eat them after they were cooked.
"Sorry, these steamed buns and pumpkin pie are not cooked yet. You guys can eat the tofu pudding first."
Zhao Shiyun had already started steaming buns at the door, and put the pumpkin cakes into the pan. Soon they were fried until both sides were golden brown. Lin Yan quickly took two and gave them to Widow Liu and Yue Ge'er. They were said to be ready to eat, so how could he let them work on an empty stomach?
Widow Liu took it gratefully and urged Yue Ge'er to eat quickly, otherwise guests would come soon.
Customers arrived soon. Lin Yan was afraid that they would not be able to relax since it was their first time, so he helped them in the kitchen and prepared a few bowls. After seeing them gradually get the hang of it, he went back to the door and helped them sell steamed buns and pumpkin cakes.
The business of fragrant tofu was not as good as before. It was probably because someone started selling it again on West Street. Lin Yan didn't care. Now he only started making fragrant tofu at 9:00 am. Anyway, not many people ate it in the morning, so he would sell as much as he could.
Business is still good today. The supply of bean curd sheets is a little insufficient to meet the demand. Lin Yan brings three baskets every day, and they are gone once they are sold out. Of course, he brings more for making rice bowls.
After selling breakfast, several people washed and prepared vegetables in the yard. When Lin Yan started cooking, he asked Widow Liu to watch from the side. In fact, the dishes were not difficult, it was just a matter of personal skill. Lin Yan asked her to make fried bean curd with pork, and he watched from the side.
Widow Liu had been cooking for so many years, her cooking skills were not bad. The fried bean curd sheets and pork she made were comparable to Lin Yan's. Lin Yan took a bite and praised, "Auntie, this is very well made. It's delicious."
Widow Liu lowered her head and smiled.
Before too many customers arrived, Lin Yan asked them to eat first. They were eating dishes from the restaurant. They could serve themselves a bowl of rice and scoop out their own dishes. Widow Liu and Brother Yue were a little hesitant and didn't dare to scoop out too much. Lin Yan saw this and simply took a large bowl, scooped some of each dish, handed it to Widow Liu, and told them to eat in the yard.
"Boss, this is too much." Widow Liu took it in surprise.
"Not much. I need to eat enough to have the energy to work." Lin Yan was tired of these dishes. In the past, if he didn't want to eat them, he would make other dishes or cook noodles.
There were several kinds of meat in this dish. Widow Liu looked at the bowl of food with a distressed look, thinking to herself that she should take the initiative next time and scoop out one meat dish and one vegetable dish. Otherwise, if she let the host do it, there would definitely be so many meat dishes again. She whispered a few words to Yue Ge'er, who said he understood and quickly quickened his pace to eat.
"Oh, it's delicious, there's so much meat." Yue Ge'er had never eaten so much meat at one time.
Widow Liu hadn't eaten so much meat for a long time. Usually, the family would buy some pork and offal to satisfy their hunger, and would only kill a chicken during the Chinese New Year.
"Then we have to work harder, understand?"
Yue Ge'er nodded vigorously.
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