Chapter 106 [106] Opening a noodle shop.
The neighbor was amused by the aunt and laughed: "Is it delicious?"
Little Yuanyuan nodded seriously, "Yeah!"
It would be inappropriate not to buy this and try it.
In 1982, prices were calculated in cents. A meat bun cost 4 to 6 cents. In her previous life, her daughter had told her about the importance of profit, so she took a middle value and sold it for 5 cents each, making 1.5 cents a piece. Her neighbor bought three.
Little Yuanyuan stared at the money and licked his lips with his little tongue, as if he was looking at Wahaha.
Zhang Lan smiled and handed her a two-cent note. "Wait a minute. I'll take you to buy some buns after I finish selling them, okay?"
Little Yuanyuan nodded her head heavily. Her tiny hands were smaller than a two-cent note, yet she lowered her head and searched her pockets for a long time to put the note in. "Yes!"
Not to mention how cute it is.
"Selling buns, auntie, buying buns?"
Little Yuanyuan stopped in front of an aunt, tilted his head up, and asked seriously, "Selling buns, Yuanyuan, do you want soda?"
The adults all laughed at her. They had never seen such a clever child.
People are feeling lazy during the Chinese New Year and also like to treat themselves during these few days. The three baskets of buns I made were sold out one after another, and I earned about 50 cents. The rent for a day is 60 cents, which is just a difference of 1 cent.
Zhang Lancao still took Xiao Yuanyuan to buy a bottle of Wahaha, which cost 13 cents a bottle.
She wanted to make more tomorrow and add eight-treasure porridge to the mix, which would surely increase her earnings.
The weather is cold now, so the meat filling will be more flavorful if it is chopped and seasoned at night. However, the dough will not be ready until the next day. Zhang Lancao gets up at five in the morning to knead the dough and roll out the dough.
She was used to doing these tasks by herself, and with quick hands and feet, she finished everything in half an hour. All that was left was to steam it on the stove.
I went back to the room and opened the door quietly. My daughter was still sleeping soundly. I quietly closed the door again, took the stove out, and tried selling the eight-treasure porridge first.
Most people are still fast asleep, but there are always some special types of workers who do not rest during the New Year, such as cleaners, night shift taxi drivers, or people who play cards all night long.
I ate three big meat buns and had a bowl of eight-treasure porridge for 2 cents. My stomach was full and warm, and the total cost was only 17 cents, which was a great deal.
Making breakfast is hard work, but it is also the easiest to get started. As long as the ingredients are authentic and the taste is acceptable, there is no need to worry about business. Gradually, as the day breaks, people who don’t want to make breakfast come to buy buns and porridge.
But little Yuanyuan was still too young. After a good sleep, he opened his eyes and burst into tears when he didn’t see his mother.
Zhang Lancao suddenly heard her daughter's heart-wrenching cry. Turning around, she found that Xiao Yuanyuan had woken up without her knowing. She was wearing thin autumn clothes and autumn trousers, with tears in her eyes and her chest heaving.
This is the sadness of raising a child alone.
Children are like this. As soon as they open their eyes, they will look for adults, otherwise they will be scared when they are alone. Zhang Lancao felt so distressed.
In an instant, she changed her mind and opened a store!
There was a shop where she could set up a chair and let her daughter sleep next to it, so at least she would be with her.
She squatted down, picked her up, rocked her, and ran to the room to dress her. "Mommy hasn't left anywhere. She's selling buns to make money. I'll buy soda for Xiao Yuanyuan with the money."
The diner was holding up two cents. I have a daughter myself, so I can understand this feeling very well. I put the two cents on the stall, afraid that the wind would blow it away and press it under the bowl.
Zhang Lancao quickly put on Xiao Yuanyuan's clothes, and when she came downstairs, Pang Juan was watching over the stall for her and had already sold her several buns.
Facing Zhang Lancao's thanks, Pang Juan waved her hand and said, "It's not easy for you to take care of the child alone. I'll lend a hand."
Zhang Lancao: "I've decided to rent a storefront and make noodles. It's more convenient this way."
If we keep hesitating, when will we be able to open this store?
If buns can sell well, noodles can sell well.
It’s just that I lost money on this batch of newly bought furniture for selling buns, but my daughter is important, so I’ll just accept the loss.
Pang Juan said, "You're right. There aren't many people here now. Once all the outsiders have returned, someone will definitely say something. You'd better open a proper shop to last. The noodle shop called Laobanzhai on the main road is doing good business. You should go try it first. The Gongnong Noodle Shop is in this alley and is doing pretty good business, but they won't open for two days, at the latest on the tenth day of the first lunar month."
Zhang Lancao also thought so. The taste of buns here is different from that of people in Yucheng, and the noodles also depend on how they are made.
"Okay, I'll go try it at noon."
Pang Juan added, "By the way, after the 15th, kindergarten will start. You can send your daughter there then, and you can relax a little."
Children in Yucheng go directly to first grade when they turn 6 years old, and Zhang Lancao doesn't know about kindergarten.
Pang Juan said: "Teachers take the children to play games and so on, which can help them adjust to campus life. However, the fees are not cheap. It costs 20 yuan per semester, and the food expenses are 5 cents a day. It costs one yuan a month."
Zhang Lancao didn't hesitate at all: "Go!"
She wants to earn a lot of money to support her daughter's education.
The buns were sold one after another until eleven o'clock, and together with the eight-treasure porridge, I earned a total of 2.3 yuan.
Zhang Lancao is a little proud. This year, her salary for sweeping the streets in Yucheng is still 18 yuan a month, while the workers here earn 35 yuan a month.
She can support her daughter by herself.
After finishing the work, Zhang Lancao took Xiao Yuanyuan to Laobanzhai on the main road to eat noodles. The most affordable Yangchun noodles were 10 cents a bowl, pickled vegetable noodles were 12 cents, spicy sauce noodles were 16 cents, and the most expensive was pork rib noodles, which cost 30 cents a bowl.
Shanghai cuisine emphasizes rich oils and red sauces, and the noodles also follow this style, with a hint of sweetness and saltiness.
Zhang Lancao spent 1.2 cents to order a bowl of pickled vegetable noodles. She was not used to the taste and felt that spicy noodles were better.
But the place is full of customers. Is it possible that this kind of noodles is the only one that has a market?
She saw someone ordering spicy noodles. The person was wearing leather shoes, suggesting he often ate out. However, judging by his accent, he didn't seem to be from Shanghai. She sat over and asked, "Brother, my noodles are sweet. Do you prefer salty or sweet?"
"It's sweet, this is spicy. People in Shanghai don't eat spicy food. Alas, I'm from Sichuan, and I can't even eat spicy oil here."
Zhang Lancao: "So, outsiders can't eat spicy food, so they eat sweet food?"
"That's right, all the noodle shops here have this flavor, and this one is a bit better."
Zhang Lancao asked, "If there's a noodle shop or restaurant that sells spicy food, would you like to go there?"
"Do you know where I can find it? I'll go try it."
"I'm going to open one."
“…”
Zhang Lancao feels that there are far more people from other places than local residents in Shanghai. Take the tube-shaped building she rents as an example. There are so many rooms separated by small compartments, and they are all occupied by people from other places.
Pang Juan herself said that there are many outsiders here, and during the Chinese New Year, when they go back, the place becomes empty.
Zhang Lancao doesn't think she can make food more authentic than the locals in Shanghai, so why not do business with outsiders?
"Sister, tell me the address and I will definitely go and try it when the time comes."
Several tables nearby were filled with people from other places, and they also joined in, complaining: "Everything here is sweet, I can't get used to it."
"Big sister, I don't like sweet food either. Just open it and I'll try it too."
Zhang Lancao carefully wrote down their requirements and felt that her idea should still be feasible.
However, she still went to the night market in the evening. There were a few more stalls doing business here. Zhang Lancao ordered one, which was also sweet. The base soup should be flavored with lard and soy sauce, which was not difficult.
Even the small vendors are catering to the tastes of Shanghai locals.
Then she will do business with outsiders.
Zhang Lancao rented a small shop the next day. Naturally, she didn't have much money to renovate it. The floor and white walls were fine. She just needed to buy some noodle-making supplies, such as a big pot, a stove, and tables, benches, and bowls and chopsticks.
Naturally, she was reluctant to spend the money to hire someone else to transport the baby, so she entrusted Xiao Yuanyuan to Pang Juan and rode her bicycle to carry the baby to the store one trip at a time.
Little Yuanyuan noticed that her mother always brought back new things. She was at the age where she asked the most questions, so she would ask if she didn't understand something. Zhang Lancao would patiently answer her and then go to buy the next thing.
Little Yuanyuan waved to her obediently, but his little legs kept chasing after his mother's bicycle: "Goodbye, Mom, Yuanyuan will be waiting for you to come home!"
Zhang Lancao had to stop the car: "You can only play at the door. If you go too far, the bad guys will take you away."
Little Yuanyuan walked back to the door of the tube building with his short legs, drew a circle for himself, sat down in it, and waved his little hands: "Mom, little Yuanyuan is so good, I won't leave you."
Zhang Lancao smiled at her again.
After two days of running around, I finally got everything ready and was able to open the business.
Noodle shops only open at noon. Zhang Lancao didn't want her daughter to wake up and cry alone without seeing her, so she waited until seven o'clock to wake her daughter up, dressed her, made breakfast, and told her to only play with other children downstairs.
Still, I can't rest assured: "Don't leave, if a stranger wants to give you candy, that's a beggar, if he wants to kidnap you, you can't leave either."
"Yeah!" Little Yuanyuan nodded vigorously: "Yuanyuan only wants mommy, not food!"
Zhang Lancao looked back every few steps, but she had to make money. At this time, the benefits of renting this house came into play. Pang Juan's child was the same age as Tang Yuanyuan, and they were now playing together. Pang Juan and her mother-in-law were watching over them, and Tang Yuanyuan herself was a very well-behaved child.
The vegetable market here is also very close. In fact, it is cheaper to buy things at the wholesale market, but Zhang Lancao does not dare to rely on others for her daughter's survival, so she buys things nearby and comes back quickly.
She prepared the soup base for the noodles, braised pork, and made broth with chicken bones, and then kneaded the noodles. When she looked up through the glass, she could see her daughter either walking on the street or playing in the store.
It was already the tenth day of the first lunar month, and those who came to Shanghai to work had already returned home one after another. She named the restaurant "Stranger Restaurant", and the strangers carrying heavy luggage were all delighted when they saw the name.
I always feel that the name of this restaurant is very friendly.
Shanghai locals are very xenophobic. Their sense of superiority is evident everywhere, whether on buses, in banks or among landlords. The work in factories is heavy, and even in restaurants, people in the catering industry are keen on pursuing the tastes of locals this year.
But how many people are locals in Shanghai? And how many are migrants?
There are not many restaurants that cater to migrant workers like them. Just these few words make people feel comfortable.
When I asked about the price, it was very affordable: Yangchun noodles were 8 cents, pickled vegetable noodles were 9 cents, and meat noodles were 12 cents.
Then try it once.
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The author has something to say: I checked the prices in 1982 again today and found that there was a huge difference between the prices in 1992. The prices in the previous chapters have also been changed.
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