Fu Changfeng arrived at the stall the next day. He was still savoring the food Xichun had given him when he saw her standing there and ran straight over.
"Miss Chen, do you still have the food you gave me yesterday? I'd like to buy some so I can save it for lunch later."
"I haven't started selling yet, but if you need it, Young Master Fu, I can have someone come over at noon and I'll fry some for you. However, although that kind of food is delicious, it's easy to gain weight if you eat too much of it. You scholars should pay attention to your image, right?"
Xichun was worried that if he ate every day, he would become a big fat man and wouldn't be as handsome as he is now.
"It's okay, I don't eat it often. Just make it for me every three days. I'll pay whatever it takes. I just love the taste, especially the fried chicken and the dark duck meat. Make more of the rest, I don't like it."
"Sure, you can have someone come and pick it up at noon." Hearing his generous tone, Xi Chun had no reason to refuse, so she agreed.
Little did he know that his actions made many of his classmates at the academy aware that he was eating a very new delicacy. As a result, the classmates, lured by the delicious food, rushed to grab some, causing him to eat very little.
"Where did you get this delicious food, Brother Fu? I've noticed you're really good at finding these delicacies. Tell us about it so I can buy some to try. It's all gone before I could even savor it."
"Of course I bought this from Chen's Hot Pot. If you want to eat it, just go find Miss Chen. I haven't even had any yet." Fu Changfeng pretended to be annoyed.
"So it's another new dish made by Miss Chen! How come we didn't know? No, we'll go ask Miss Chen after school too, we want to try it too!" they all exclaimed.
"Yes, everything there is delicious. Now it seems there are even more delicacies we didn't know about."
Hearing them discussing food, Fu Changfeng wiped his hands clean and walked out discreetly, keeping his accomplishment hidden.
Xi Chun was unaware of what had happened. She was planning to get the hot pot going again, as the weather was gradually getting cooler and it was the season for hot pot.
As soon as school was over, many classmates who loved to eat food rushed to Xichun's stall, saying they wanted to buy fried chicken and asking when the new products were launched, since none of them knew about them.
Upon hearing this, Xi Chun realized that it must have been Young Master Fu who had helped, so she calmly replied, "Those who need it can pre-order it for me, and I'll make it for everyone tomorrow at noon."
Before long, Xichun wrote down the amount they wanted to buy in her charcoal notebook. After they left, she happily went to prepare the ingredients for the fried chicken.
Xi Chun never expected that fried chicken would be so popular. Since it was fried food, it was naturally not cheap. However, after seeing a scholar eating fried chicken, the people around couldn't sit still and came forward to ask why it smelled so good.
After Xichun explained the situation to everyone and fried the last few pieces of chicken, sharing some with them, these people clamored to buy some to take home and eat.
For a moment, Xichun almost didn't have time to register everyone, so she had to make them line up and register them one by one. This reminded Xichun of the fried crispy pork that could be put in hot pot. Since she was going to fry things anyway, why not make a few more kinds?
Because there were many people making reservations, Xichun and her family needed to buy more chickens, and with more things to do, Xichun handed over the task of slaughtering the chickens to Aunt An.
For killing a chicken and preparing it properly, Xichun gave her three coins. That added up to more than ten coins a day, which was more than what she could earn washing clothes. Anshi was very happy to do so.
Xi Chun never expected that his winter business would be opened up in this way. He could only ask the village chief to buy chickens in the village when he came over again, preferably young chickens, because this kind of fried chicken is not suitable for old chickens that have been raised for too long.
It just so happened that Aunt Xu, who was originally a temporary worker, stayed on because of this business and helped out at the stall.
In no time, business returned to its previous booming state before those thieves appeared. Moreover, as the weather got colder, even more people came out to eat. Xichun even had a shed built around the perimeter to prevent drafts.
Xi Chun originally thought that Fu Changfeng would grow into a big fat man, but he was still the same as before, and would come to the stall for a meal from time to time.
Xi Chun didn't originally have time to sell her snacks, but An Wuji took a liking to the business and wanted to talk to Xi Chun about whether he could learn to make them himself and then split the profits with her 50/50.
Xi Chun readily agreed, but her only request was that the tofu be from Taoyuan Village. An Wuji thought that since the tofu from Taoyuan Village was cheaper, he would naturally use it if he could.
Guo Xuewei, the daughter of Constable Guo, had been quiet for quite some time. These past few days, she came to Xichun's stall to chat with her again. After seeing the crispy pork that Xichun made, she said that it tasted great. When she heard Xichun say that it could be eaten as a snack on its own, she was actually tempted for a moment.
After trying it at home, she found that her cooking always tasted worse than Xichun's, so she took two taels of silver to ask Xichun for advice.
Remembering that she had helped him before and that this would also help him befriend Constable Guo, Xi Chun naturally didn't accept any money and instead taught her how to make crispy pork.
Guo Xuewei was also a smart person. After learning the method, she began to prepare to set up a stall. Coincidentally, she set up her stall next to An Wuji's stall.
After a few more conversations, the two realized that they both knew Xichun, and they quickly became acquainted.
Xi Chun has been extremely busy these days and hasn't had time to go back to the village, but Ma Dawei came over, bringing with him the winter clothes that Wang Shi made for Xi Chun.
"Uncle Ma, what brings you here? Please sit down. I'm busy right now, so please have a seat for a while." Xi Chun didn't have time to chat with him and thought she would talk to him after she finished her work.
However, after she finished her work, she noticed that Ma Dawei was no longer there. Taozi saw her looking in that direction and explained, "Uncle Ma just left. He said he had things to take care of at home. Oh, by the way, this is for you. He said it was from your mother."
"Okay, I understand. I'll check it when I get back." Xi Chun didn't expect him to leave so quickly. It must be because Wang Shi saw that she hadn't returned for a long time, so she had Uncle Ma bring something over.
When Xichun got home, she saw that she was wearing a brand new dress, a winter style, complete with both inner and outer garments. It must have been made by Wang Shi stitch by stitch.
She was about to put the clothes down when a string of coins fell out. After thinking for a moment, she put it away. She would go home and check on them later, not knowing how old the little one would be.
The weather was getting colder and colder, but Xichun didn't put on the clothes. She thought to herself that it was inconvenient to wear them while working, and she would wear them to Wangshi when she got home.
The following days were very fulfilling. The fried chicken business was no less successful than the hot pot business, and the crispy pork even surpassed the golden dumplings. Everyone who ordered hot pot would order a small plate of crispy pork.
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