The group quickly returned to Fish and Bird Lane. Ning Wu and Gou Dan saw that Jiang Yuwei had returned with a carriage, and they all ran to the door to see. Jiang Yuwei smiled and patted Ning Zhao's head, saying:
"Zhao'er, today you will be in charge of teaching them how to drive a horse-drawn carriage, okay?"
Ning Zhao nodded.
"Mother, don't worry, leave this to me."
Jiang Yuwei led Ning Wan into the house and called Aunt Zhou and the others to the yard.
“I just went for a walk outside and found that the food in the capital is nothing new. Let’s pack up and start setting up a stall to do business in the next few days.”
Ning Qiu was very pleased to hear this suggestion.
“That’s great, Madam. I’ve been wanting to set up a stall for a long time. There’s not much to do at home. This yard is small, so a few of us cleaned it out in our spare time. We’ve been idle most of the time.”
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"This time, let's do something different at the stall. Let's set up more stalls, put all the chairs together, and arrange the stalls in a row. I'll think of a few simple snacks to make so you can serve food faster and earn more."
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she looked around at everyone and said:
“I’ve also thought it through. In the future, when our stall grows bigger, I’ll find a larger shop or street in the capital to build a food court. I’ll make you old folks shareholders, and all the profits from the food court will be distributed to you proportionally.”
Hearing this, Ning Qiu exchanged a glance with Aunt Zhou and said happily:
"Yes, madam, we must make this food court you mentioned a reality!"
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"Well, I'm going to save the money I earn from this stall, after deducting the costs, for the future."
Ning Daya chimed in from the side:
“Madam, we’ll do whatever you say. We all come from farming backgrounds, so we’re not afraid of hardship or fatigue.”
Seeing that everything was settled, Jiang Yuwei said to Liu Shi:
"Now that you know how to make fried rice cakes and gardenia soy milk, I'll teach you how to make layered cakes and fried dough twists. You can make these at home and take them out to sell, which is very convenient."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei looked at Aunt Zhou and said:
“Aunt Zhou, from now on you will be in charge of this mala tang stall. I will arrange for someone to serve the food separately. As for collecting money, I will set up a counter at the front of our stall to collect money. I will also make some bamboo tags of different colors. After customers pay, they can take the bamboo tags to your respective stalls to exchange for food. This will save us the manpower to collect money.”
Aunt Zhou nodded hurriedly and said:
“Okay, as long as someone serves me the dishes and collects the money, I’ll take care of cooking. I can manage.”
Seeing that Aunt Zhou had been persuaded, Jiang Yuwei then looked at Ning Qiu and said:
"Ningqiu, you can set up your own stall to sell fried skewers. They'll be delicious when you sell them with spicy hot pot. I'll teach you how to make them in a bit."
Ning Qiu nodded and said:
"Madam, I've had enough of making mala tang, so it would be nice to try something new."
Jiang Yuwei then looked at Ning Daya and said:
“Da Ya, you don’t need to make the pounded pepper and preserved egg anymore. I’ll teach you how to make savory pancakes, hand-pulled pancakes, and egg pancakes in a bit. You can make them at home and then take them to sell, which will save you trouble. Later, we can make some more gray tofu and take it to the stall to sell together.”
After giving instructions, Jiang Yuwei went out to call Uncle Cai and Ning Wu to come in and help set up two simple stoves in the backyard. This way, the stoves would be usable when she prepared the things to sell at her stall at home.
Jiang Yuwei first taught Liu how to make layered cake.
Jiang Yuwei fetched well water to wash the pork fat, then chopped it into small pieces and set it aside. She then steamed flour in a pot, mixed it with the chopped pork fat, added appropriate amounts of white sugar, osmanthus sauce, cooking wine, and sesame oil, and kneaded it into a pork fat candy filling.
Then, Jiang Yuwei mixed the fermented dough with baking soda, added some sugar, kneaded the dough until smooth, and then rolled it out into a rectangular pancake.
Then Jiang Yuwei spread one-third of the lard and sugar filling evenly on two-thirds of the dough, and then folded the dough into three layers.
Next, use a rolling pin to press down on both ends of the dough at the slits, and roll it into a thin sheet. Then, use the remaining lard and sugar filling in two batches. Brush a layer of sesame oil on the surface, and stack it into three layers. This completes the dough for the thousand-layer cake.
Jiang Yuwei then taught Liu how to use vegetable and fruit juices to make different colored layered cakes. After that, she cut the purchased candied fruits such as green plums, candied hawthorn, jujubes, and dried apricots into thin strips and arranged them on the surface of the layered cake base.
Then steam it until cooked, take it out and let it cool, then cut it into pieces that are 1 inch long and 7 fen wide. That's how you make the layered cake.
Liu wrote down the recipe and steps, and then tried it herself under Jiang Yuwei's guidance. She finally got the hang of it. Then, Jiang Yuwei taught her how to fry dough twists. The two of them worked on it all day and finally learned how, making a lot of food.
Jiang Yuwei plans to have Liu take Gou Dan to the market tomorrow to set up a stall and try selling the dog.
Afterwards, Jiang Yuwei taught Ning Daya the recipe for making pancakes. She watched as Ning Daya prepared the dough and let it rise overnight so that she could get up early the next morning to make the pancakes.
Before going to bed, Jiang Yuwei went into the kitchen to research and make the sauce for the fried skewers. She then wrote down the recipe and gave it to Ning Qiu.
After a long day, Jiang Yuwei was exhausted. She took a bath in the spiritual spring water and went to bed.
The next day,
Jiang Yuwei had just gotten up when she discovered that Liu Shi and Gou Dan had already driven the oxcart out to set up their stall.
When they arrived at the backyard, they saw that the makeshift stove from yesterday had been built. So they taught Ning Daya how to make savory pancakes, scallion pancakes, and hand-pulled pancakes. Ning Daya learned quickly and mastered the skills in no time.
Seeing that she hadn't made many pancakes today, Jiang Yuwei told Daya to share them with Aunt Zhou and the others.
"Da Ya, this afternoon, make some dough early so that you can make pancakes and go out to set up a stall with Liu and the others first thing tomorrow morning."
Ning Daya nodded in agreement. Just as she carried the cakes to the front yard, she saw Princess Qinglan leading a group of people into the yard in a flurry of activity.
"What is this? It smells so good."
As soon as Qinglan finished speaking, she noticed the stack of flatbreads Ning Daya was carrying, and then waved to her:
"Hey, you, come here, let me see what you're carrying?"
Ning Daya walked over warily, looked at Qinglan, and said:
"Princess Qinglan, what brings you here? Why didn't you knock before entering our courtyard? You just swaggered in like that?"
Seeing that a maid dared to question her like that, Qinglan slapped Ning Daya across the face without saying a word. Yang Liu, seeing this, also stepped forward, snatched the pancake from Ning Daya's hand, and scolded her:
"Pah! Our princess can go wherever she wants. Many noble families beg her to come, but she won't go. The fact that she's willing to come to your courtyard is already a favor to you. How dare you, a mere maid, challenge our princess!"
As she spoke, Yang Liu turned to the servant behind her and called out:
"Guards! Take this wretched maid and beat her to the ground! Let her learn her lesson!"
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