Cheng Yue packed her things early in the morning and was about to leave. Thinking that Cheng Yang and his family of three would also be coming, she didn't want the three children to go.
Too many people would just make things chaotic and look messy; it's better to let the three children rest at home.
However, Chen An repeatedly emphasized that Chen Lin should come along, saying that the oxcart was carrying a lot of things and the road was bumpy, so it would be impossible to leave it unattended.
Listening to advice makes sense, and Cheng Yue didn't want things to fall apart halfway, so she let Chen Lin go along.
As soon as the mother and son arrived at the dock, they saw Cheng Yang and his two companions craning their necks to look in their direction. "Little sister, Xiao Lin!"
Cheng Yue jumped out of the car and asked, "Big brother, how long have you been waiting?"
Cheng Yang scratched his head and chuckled, "We came with my parents not long after."
Cheng Yue smiled but didn't say anything. With her older brother's personality, he would always make a lot of ulterior motives when he lied, so she decided not to expose him.
I guess they were excited but also afraid of causing trouble, so they came early to wait.
Chen Lin parked the oxcart and untied the rope. Cheng Yang rushed over in one stride, saying, "Come on, Xiao Lin, I can carry it."
Liu and Cheng Feng also hurried over to move things.
You adapted to this new identity pretty quickly.
As Cheng Yue was setting up the stove, Chen Lin came over and whispered, "Mom, the stall selling big pot dishes across the street has also been set up. Don't they usually only come at noon?"
Cheng Yue looked over and, sure enough, it was the two brothers who sold the large pot of vegetables. They were tilting their chins at a 45-degree angle and looking at them sideways.
If it weren't for their arrogant and smug expressions, one might have thought they were showing off their jawlines.
Cheng Yue withdrew her gaze, threw the large pork bone, scallions, and ginger into the pot to start simmering the broth, while Liu Shi watched and learned from the side.
Chen Lin's voice rang out again, "Mother, they've set up the pot and started making soup too."
No wonder he felt something was off about the two people opposite him. Weren't they copying them? Were they trying to steal their business?
It was soon noon, and the men came over as soon as they finished work. Cheng Yang and Liu Shi's hearts jumped into their throats, and they became uncontrollably nervous.
Before the two could even catch their breath, the people on the other side started shouting.
"Noodles for sale! Delicious he luo noodles, a big bowl for six coins, generous portion, you'll be full!"
Cheng Yang paused in pressing the dough. "Little sister, isn't that the place across the street selling stew? Why are they selling he luo noodles now?"
Wasn't the idea for he luo noodles my own idea? Do you think others can make them too?
And it's two coins cheaper than theirs, what's going on? There aren't any noodle-making machines on the other side either.
Chen Lin said angrily, "They're stealing my business!"
Cheng Yue was also puzzled. No competitors had appeared for so long, but they came at this time. Could it be that they saw that Master Chen was not here these past two days?
Cheng Yue calmly said, "Perhaps they think selling noodles is more profitable than selling stew. They sell theirs, we sell ours, there's no need to worry about it. In business, everyone relies on their own abilities."
The market is right here. If she can sell noodles, why can't others?
What does it matter if there's a competitor? It's all minor.
Besides, she dared to price it at eight coins because she had a cheat code, while the other side only wanted six coins. It's hard to imagine that she had anything good.
Even if you're going to engage in a price war, the taste and quality have to be roughly the same.
Liu sighed and said, "That's true, but the taste might not be as good as ours."
The men coming from the other side stopped in their tracks when they heard the shouts. "Hey, listen, those noodles over there are only six coins!"
"Isn't that the owner of the big pot stew restaurant? Why is he selling he luo noodles now?"
"I don't know how it tastes, but their big pot dishes are alright." Although there wasn't much meat, the portions were still large.
"Why don't you try it? It's two dollars cheaper than over there."
As they spoke, a small group of men were tempted and went directly to the other side.
Even two coins are hard-earned money.
"Brother Dali, are you going?"
The man called out, Hu Dali, was eating he luo noodles for the first time. He never missed a stall set up by Cheng Yue, making him a loyal fan of he luo noodles.
"I'm not going. Look at his stall, he doesn't even have the necessary tools. What kind of noodle stall is that?"
Hu Dali has a naturally loud voice, and as soon as he said that, the two brothers opposite him were immediately unhappy. "Brother, that's not how it works. Does it mean it's not noodles without the tools? The noodles we make by hand taste better!"
"The owner is right. It's all made of dough, so what does it have to do with tools? Let's go try it."
Then a few people thought about it and realized that there was nothing wrong with what they said.
Hu Dali scoffed and said gruffly, "If you're going to sell noodles, just sell noodles! Why do you have to call them 'Heluo noodles'?"
He just couldn't stand it. The name was chosen by someone else first, and that's how they did it. If they're so capable, they should choose their own name. It's clearly just a deliberate attempt to disgust people.
After saying that, he turned around and went straight to Cheng Yue's stall, chuckling, "Hey girl, get me a bowl! I only buy from your stall!"
Cheng Yuesheng quickly served the noodles and said with a smile, "Then thank you for taking care of me, brother."
Hu Dali took the bowl, grinned, and sat down to eat it with slurping.
Quite a few people came to queue with Hu Dali, but not many compared to the previous few days, only about forty people.
Cheng Yang and Liu Shi were unaware of how popular the business had been in the past, and since they felt there were quite a few people queuing up, they weren't discouraged at all.
Even if someone steals my business, I can still earn several hundred coins this way, which is more than my parents earned selling pork.
Chen Lin, however, knew what was going on and said worriedly from the side, "Mother, we've lost half of our business."
Cheng Yue remained calm. It's not easy for workers to earn money, so it's understandable that they would try to save money for just two coins.
Cheng Yue said optimistically, "But half of the business is still there."
Everything has two or even more sides, and she doesn't want her child to only see things from one perspective.
Chen Lin suddenly felt his mind clear. His mother was right; things weren't as bad as he thought.
Then a smile slowly spread across his face, and he became even more efficient at scooping up the noodles.
While Cheng Yue and her friends were having a good time, things were getting chaotic at the stall across the street.
"This isn't noodles, it's all cooked into a mush! How are we supposed to eat this?"
The man at the front looked at the bowl in his hand, his face was all scrunched up. It wasn't noodles at all, it was practically noodle soup!
It's a dark, unappetizing lump without even a scallion or cilantro. How can anyone eat it?
It was the brothers' first time making it, and they didn't expect the sweet potato flour to be so weak. They didn't control the kneading strength and the heat well, and it turned into mush as soon as it hit the pot.
But they were confident that the taste would be good, and said with great assurance, "Brother, you should try it first. Although it doesn't look good, the taste is definitely good!"
The man thought to himself, "I've already spent the money, so I have no choice but to bite the bullet and try it. As soon as I put it in my mouth, I frowned."
It was bland and watery, without any meat or fish, and the taste was just average, but it wasn't inedible, so we just had to eat it anyway.
I only have myself to blame for being greedy for cheap deals; I'll definitely not come here again next time.
Those in line behind him didn't think much of it when the man didn't say anything, and continued to queue up to buy noodles.
After taking one bite, he immediately complained loudly, "How can they sell it for six coins when there isn't even a single meat star?"
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