Chapter 8: First Opening
Xu Qingmeng thought about it and decided to knead the dough first. He put warm water in the pot and placed the kneaded dough on the pot so that he could make dumplings as soon as he woke up early tomorrow morning.
After He finished collecting the things, she wanted to come over to help, but little Yunsheng was already drowsy sitting there, so Xu Qingmeng quickly told He to stop interfering and to take the child back to sleep.
He had no choice but to carry Yun Sheng back to the room first, and then brought the medicine to Gu Yunyi.
After Xu Qingmeng finished kneading the noodles, she went back to her room to rest. After all, she was very tired today and almost couldn't do it several times, but she gritted her teeth and endured it.
Xu Qingmeng tidied herself up, lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
He sat in Gu Yunyi's room, but she was not in a hurry and told him all the good things about Xu Qingmeng.
Gu Yunyi raised his head and drank the medicine, muttering to himself, "You don't know what she did to your son. If you knew, you probably wouldn't say that."
Xu Qingmeng slept soundly, but she got up early as she was thinking about making dumplings in the morning.
When I woke up, there was some movement in the kitchen. It was obvious that He had gotten up.
"The water on the stove is just enough for washing your face. There's also porridge on the stove. Fill your stomach first before you get back to work."
Xu Qingmeng responded and quickly asked He to make some rice soup. Rice soup was not expensive to make, and one spoonful of rice could make a big pot. Customers eating in the restaurant could have a bowl of it.
He thought it was not a big deal, at most it was just a matter of adding two more pieces of firewood to the pot, so she went to make rice porridge first.
Xu Qingmeng washed her face, drank some porridge, and prepared to start making dumplings.
After the dough had risen overnight, it was just right. Xu Qingmeng sprinkled a handful of dry flour on the chopping board and skillfully pinched the dough into small pieces. Then he took the rolling pin in one hand and held the dough with the other. He turned his wrist slightly, and after a few turns, round buns with thin edges and thick middles were ready.
He looked at Xu Qingmeng's craftsmanship, then recalled her own craftsmanship, and felt that she should not add to the trouble. The rice soup was already boiling in the pot, so she went to wash the wooden barrel bought by Xu Qingmeng, intending to use it to hold the rice soup later, and then went to the front hall to tidy up.
He opened the door and thought that no one knew that she sold buns, so she moved two tables side by side and placed them across her door. This way everyone could see them and passers-by could smell the fragrance, killing two birds with one stone.
When He had almost finished cleaning up, the sky was already gray and bright, and people in the alley were already starting to hurry out to work.
He smelled the aroma of the buns and went in.
"How long will this pot last?"
Xu Qingmeng didn't look up. "Mom, it will be ready soon. Take a large wooden basin with hot water and put a layer of wood on it. I will put the steamer directly on it so that the buns won't cool down so quickly."
"Okay!"
After a while, the buns were out of the pot. Xu Qingmeng came directly to the front with the steamer, then went back to put the new bun dough in, and quickly put the fried pie on a plate and brought it out.
After Xu Qingmeng finished, she hurried back to the kitchen. As there was no steamer, she could only use the stove to steam the dumplings. She had to hurry because the stove could only produce forty dumplings at a time. She also took the opportunity to look outside the lobby and saw that He was working hard to sell the dumplings.
"Selling buns!"
“Meat buns fresh from the pan!”
"Thin skin, big filling, juicy meat buns!"
"And there are pies fresh from the oven!"
"Hot pie!"
"It's full of meat in one bite, and you'll want more after you finish it!"
"Free rice soup! A mouthful of rice soup and a bite of steamed bun, so delicious!"
After He shouted a few times, people immediately gathered around curiously. Xu Qingmeng felt relieved and continued to make dumplings and pies.
"Mrs. He, these buns have really thin skin, big fillings, and they're all juicy," a man said.
"Of course we do. We are all neighbors here, how can we be deceiving? Smell it, it's all real stuff."
The man smelled it. It smelled good, really good. It smelled tempting even from a distance just now. Now that it was close, it smelled even more tempting.
Then he asked, "Auntie He, how much do you sell these buns for?"
"The radish and meat buns, the ones with vermicelli and minced meat are three cents each, five cents for two, the ones with cabbage and tofu are two cents each, five cents for three, the pure meat pie is five cents each, and the vegetarian one is three cents each."
“Isn’t this too expensive?”
"That's right. Old Li's meat buns are only two cents each, but you charge two cents for a vegetarian bun. That's really unfair!"
He had expected this and was not panicked. She still had a smile on her face. She did as Xu Qingmeng had said last night and directly broke open a radish bun and a meat pie.
In the radish buns, green and white shredded radish are wrapped with meat filling of just the right amount of fat or lean, exposed in front of everyone. The pie is even more amazing, with the meat filling directly rolled up in the pie, making people drool just by looking at it.
"Everyone, our family uses real ingredients. You can all see that the meat filling is made of real meat, and the flour is also top-quality. You should all know that the noodles made with this top-quality flour are chewy and delicious."
After He performed this trick, everyone took another look and found that the meat filling looked solid, and the dough looked smooth and chewy, which was completely different from the coarse flour used by Old Li's family.
"And we also give away free rice soup. As long as you buy buns, you can drink a bowl of hot rice soup. Although this rice soup is not worth much, it is also a token of our family's thoughtfulness."
After He's words, the taste of the broken pieces became stronger, more fragrant and more appetizing, and there was also free rice soup to drink.
"Okay, then give me two of those with radish meat, I'd like to try them first." said the man just now.
"Okay!"
He responded with a smile, then started packing buns for him.
Of course, there were still people who thought it was expensive and hesitated, and finally left, but He didn't care.
People tend to follow the trend. When they see others gathering in a group, they want to go over too. As long as one person buys, there will be a second and a third.
The people working around here are all doing manual labor, and their appetites are not to be underestimated. Some buy four or five, and some buy one or two just to try. Of course, pies are also selling very well. Although they are a bit expensive, they are full of meat.
Soon, more than half of the hundred buns were eaten, and the ones on the stove were just out of the pot. Xu Qingmeng brought the freshly-cooked buns to the lobby. When He saw this, she hurried over to take over and placed the steaming buns one by one in the steamers, replacing those that had almost been sold out.
As the sky brightened, more and more people walked around. In addition to those who were rushing to work, there were also people opening businesses and buying breakfast for their children. The West Street intersection became more lively, and sales became even faster.
"Sister He, your buns are really delicious, with plenty of fillings and a thin, chewy crust. The pie is also good," praised Aunt Wang from next door. "You used to be the chef in your family, but I didn't expect you to have such a skill."
(End of this chapter)
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