The next day.
Cheng Yue took Chen Lin to town again, this time to prepare all the necessary equipment for setting up a stall.
The noodle-making machine is ready; it's better to set up a stall sooner rather than later. If you're not proactive in making money, you're out of your mind.
Upon arriving in town, Cheng Yue immediately went to the dock to find Master Chen. She planned to buy the goods today so she could set up her stall tomorrow, but she would have to pay the stall fee first.
Cheng Yue greeted the woman selling wontons before heading to the wooden hut by the dock.
Just from the name, Cheng Yue thought that Master Chen was a burly man with a beard, but she was dumbfounded when she met him in person.
Master Chen looked to be in his early twenties, tall and handsome, with red lips and white teeth, a typical scholar.
However, he had a somewhat sharp demeanor and his eyes were unfathomable.
Cheng Yue concealed her surprise and stepped forward, saying only that she had come to pay the stall fee.
Master Chen gave a light "hmm" and casually asked what he did.
Cheng Yue answered truthfully, and Master Chen didn't ask any more questions. He then took Cheng Yue to choose a seat.
There happened to be a restaurant that wasn't coming anymore, and the stove was already built. Cheng Yue took a liking to it at first glance.
After receiving the money, Master Chen simply said that if anyone caused trouble, they should just come to him.
Cheng Yue bowed and thanked them before leaving.
Once outside the dock, Chen Lin patted his chest and whispered, "Mother, this Third Master Chen seems so scary."
Cheng Yue patted Chen Lin on the shoulder and said with a faint smile, "Indeed, but we're just doing business honestly, so what he does has nothing to do with us."
Chen Lin nodded without saying anything. This Third Master Chen is obviously quite handsome, so why does he look so scary when he smiles?
Cheng Yue went to the blacksmith shop first. The noodles had to be cooked fresh, so she needed a large iron pot.
Upon hearing the price, Cheng Yue was secretly astonished. A large iron pot cost one tael of silver. Although the size of the iron pot she needed was indeed a bit too big, it was still far too expensive.
Cheng Yue thought about it and decided to use the iron pot at home first. Even if it was inconvenient to carry it back and forth, it was still more cost-effective than making a new pot.
After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Cheng Yue went to the carpenter's shop, as she still needed a cart, benches, and tables.
Although Chen An knows how to make it, the quantity needed is quite large, and since his leg is inconvenient, it's difficult for him to do it himself, so he can only buy it from the carpenter's shop.
There are single-wheeled and double-wheeled carts, and Cheng Yue naturally chose the double-wheeled one. She couldn't handle the single-wheeled cart because it required balancing.
Two-wheeled vehicles are a bit more expensive than one-wheeled ones, but Cheng Yue thought that she could use them even if she bought a cow in the future; one should still have dreams.
Then I bought a taller, longer table, which can be used to place condiments, bowls, and chopsticks.
I also bought four small square tables and more than twenty small stools. They are mortise and tenon joints, can be folded, and are very convenient to use.
Because she bought a lot of things, the shop owner also gave her two large wooden basins as a gift. Cheng Yue thanked him, and the wooden basins came in handy.
As Cheng Yue was about to pay, her eyes caught sight of a wooden bowl in the corner. Her eyes lit up immediately. A wooden bowl would be perfect; it wouldn't break.
After asking the shopkeeper, who said it was two for one coin, Cheng Yue ended up buying thirty more wooden bowls.
Cheng Yue paid the money, and the boss helped tie up the tables and benches, then stuffed a bunch of bowls and chopsticks into a basin and tied them all to the cart, filling the entire cart.
Chen Lin gasped. He was worried that he might not make any money after spending so much silver. Thinking of this, Chen Lin spat out three more times.
My mom's cooking is so delicious, it's impossible for her not to make money; it's bound to be a huge success!
Cheng Yue pushed the cart, with Chen Lin supporting her, and the two went to the other side of the town, where Wu's pork stall was located.
The Wu family were all hunters, so they learned to slaughter pigs and sheep from a young age.
Although it doesn't sound good for a woman to be a butcher and sell pork, at least she can support her family.
Moreover, Ms. Wu is a straightforward and good-natured person, so she has quite a few repeat customers.
At the meat stall, Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu were busy working together. When they saw Cheng Yue and Chen Lin coming over, pushing a cart, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Girl, what are these tools you bought to set up a stall? Why are they so big?"
Cheng Yue knew her father was worried about the money, so she replied, "Yes, I run a noodle stall, I can't let customers eat standing up."
Besides, these aren't disposable items; they can be used again later.
Mr. Cheng nodded, and Mrs. Wu didn't say anything. She turned around and took out the large bone, pork, and pig's blood that she had prepared in advance and handed them to Cheng Yue.
He then handed over a cleaned pig offal, saying, "Take all of these. Your father cleaned them all. You can stir-fry them when you get home and it'll make a nice dish."
Cheng Yue's eyes lit up as she held it in her hand. Who said that people in ancient times didn't eat offal? This large intestine was cleaned even better than hers.
"Mom, keep all these wastewater pipes for me from now on, I have a use for them."
Pork offal is cheap, and if cooked well, it tastes even better than meat. It can be used to make braised pork offal, which is more cost-effective than meat.
She hadn't considered using pig offal before because she was afraid of the hassle.
Now that her parents can handle it, things are much better. She'll give them a few extra coins as a fee for helping them with the process.
Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu didn't know what Cheng Yue wanted so much pig offal for, but they didn't ask any further questions. Since the child wanted it, they would give it to her.
"Okay, I'll keep it all for you. It's just that this truckload of stuff is a hassle, you'll have to haul it back every day."
The shop is so small that it's hard for two people to even turn around, let alone fit a whole cart of tables and benches.
Cheng Yue didn't care about that. It wasn't very far anyway, and it wasn't difficult for her to use her two-wheeled vehicle. They could just set off early.
Cheng Yue was in a hurry to get home, so she didn't linger. She tossed down a string of copper coins and left with Chen Lin.
Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu were both amused and exasperated. "This child, she never said she didn't want her money, yet she ran away so quickly."
Cheng Yue took Chen Lin straight home and didn't buy anything else.
She had the seasonings, and she didn't need to buy sweet potato flour, as she had nearly 20 jin at home. With the addition of the sweet potato flour that Zhao Xiangxiu and her mother brought back, there were more than 30 jin, enough to make nearly 90 bowls of noodles.
On the first day, she didn't plan to do too much; she wanted to see how things went first.
The mother and son were pushing a cart full of things. As soon as they entered the village, the villagers who saw them were all dumbfounded. Goodness, what is Chen An's wife doing?
Some villagers couldn't help but come up and ask, and Cheng Yue said that she was going to do business. Hearing this, the villagers were even more stunned, but seeing that Cheng Yue was pushing a cart, they didn't ask any more questions.
As soon as Cheng Yue left, they started discussing how things were different after the family split up; even Chen An's wife, who was usually gentle, dared to do business.
Thinking of Chen An's leg, they all hoped that Cheng Yue's business could take off, otherwise how would they make a living?
The road home was uphill. Chen Lin pulled the cart in front, and Cheng Yue pushed it from behind. It was a lot of work, and they were both covered in sweat when they got home.
Cheng Yue is now even more motivated; her next goal is to buy an oxcart!
It was not yet noon when they got home. The Chen sisters, Chen Tong and Chen Ning, were mixing wheat bran with wild vegetables to feed the chickens and pigs.
Chen An sat in the yard, his hands busy, retying the hoes, sickles and other tools in the house with rope.
Seeing Cheng Yue and Chen Lin return with a cart full of things, they hurriedly told the two to sit down and rest. The two sisters went into the kitchen and made two bowls of sweet soup.
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