W Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Grand Opening!

There aren’t many food stalls here; there’s a noodle vendor not far away.

Shen Hui borrowed the earthenware bowls from him.

The stall owner is a tall, thin young man. When he saw the dough being set up at this stall earlier, his heart skipped a beat, thinking a competitor had arrived.

When Shen Hui went over, his face was long.

There were only so many customers. If two families sold the same thing, it would definitely affect his business.

But the other party was so tall and strong; this grown man only reached his chest. He looked muscular under his clothes. Not to mention, the official managing the stalls was chatting and laughing with this man.

He couldn’t afford to offend him.

Therefore, when Shen Hui went to borrow the earthenware bowls, the stall owner tried his best to restrain his expression, forced out a smile that was uglier than crying, and handed over the washed and undamaged earthenware bowls.

Later, he secretly glanced at the other stall a few times and realized they weren’t selling noodles, so he cheered up again.

Steaming buns takes time; Ling Xing is making them fresh. The round buns are neatly arranged in the steamer, each pleat perfect.

Because this food had never been seen before, many pedestrians stopped to watch.

In this small town, there’s rarely anything new. When something different suddenly appears, it always attracts attention.

But due to Shen Hui’s imposing presence, everyone was afraid to get too close, and even more afraid to ask.

They were afraid of somehow angering him and getting punched.

That would be an undeserved disaster.

After Ling Xing put all the buns in the steamer, he picked up the earthenware bowl and finished the water.

As he wiped his mouth, he noticed someone staring at the stall, looking hesitant.

He put down the bowl, his lips curved upwards, and he said enthusiastically, “Everyone, come and take a look! We’re selling big buns with thin skin and lots of filling, and big steamed buns bigger than your fist! All made with good flour, soft and delicious, honest and fair!”

Buns? Steamed buns? What are those? Never heard of them. Are they edible?

The more curious people are about new food, the more hesitant they are to try it.

Without a good reputation, no one wants to waste their money being the first to buy.

Anyone selling something will say it’s delicious. Who would believe them?

After listening for a bit, everyone dismissed their curiosity and went back to doing what they were doing, not lingering any longer.

The buns and steamed buns aren’t ready yet, so Ling Xing can’t even offer a sample.

It’s already fully light out, and the people out for breakfast are the last batch.

If he’s lucky, he might catch the tail end of the breakfast rush.

According to modern time, he left at four o’clock this morning, walked for two hours, and arrived at six o’clock.

By the time the buns and steamed buns are ready, it will be almost seven o’clock. In modern times, that’s when people eat breakfast.

But for ancient people who go to bed at seven o’clock, the sun is already high in the sky at seven in the morning. Even the wealthy young masters have been up eating, drinking, and having fun for a while.

Ling Xing looked at the people who had lost their curiosity and left after his speech and sighed helplessly.

“Oh well, I’ll leave an hour earlier tomorrow.”

He’ll leave at three in the morning!

Going to bed at seven o’clock, he can still get eight hours of sleep.

But he can’t decide this alone. He turned to Shen Hui and said, “Second Brother, would you mind getting up early and coming with me tomorrow?”

Shen Hui had no objection to this. He used to go hunting in the mountains, sometimes not sleeping all night.

“Okay.”

Hearing Shen Hui’s immediate agreement, Ling Xing felt grateful. He pursed his lips, smiled, and said sincerely to Shen Hui, “Second Brother, you’re so good.”

Shen Hui looked at Ling Xing’s face, then suddenly turned his head away, as if explaining, “Before he left, Eldest Brother asked me in private to take care of you, my husband.”

Ling Xing thought of Shen Hai’s thoughtfulness and felt both warm and sad. “Eldest Brother Shen, you’re truly a super, super, super good person!”

“If there’s a next life, I hope you’ll be healthy and have a family as good as the Shen family.”

Ling Xing silently prayed in his heart. When he came back to his senses, he noticed that Shen Hui had left.

When he returned, he had a small stool in his hand.

Shen Hui placed the small stool next to the steamer. “Your ankles are chafed. You shouldn’t stand for too long. Sit down and rest for a while.”

Ling Xing’s pants, patched countless times, couldn’t cover his ankles at all. He didn’t even have to pull up his pants; he could look down and see how badly his heels were injured.

But Ling Xing didn’t look.

He couldn’t stand seeing injuries; it made his heart clench with discomfort. No matter whose injuries they were, the sight of torn flesh made him feel dizzy and shaky.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he’d been like this since he was little.

Therefore, Ling Xing had been ignoring the injuries on his heels all the way here.

He could feel that the backs of his heels were chafed by the straw sandals. Walking such a long distance, they must be seriously chafed.

Now that he’s idle, his body isn’t generating heat to fight the cold, and he’s feeling very cold.

Ling Xing’s exposed ankles were also a little numb from the cold. He was indeed uncomfortable standing, so he simply listened to Shen Hui and sat down.

The stool was placed cleverly, providing some warmth and avoiding the scalding steam.

Ling Xing sat for a while, and his body warmed up a bit.

Every passerby, without exception, stared at the strange steamer, looking back and forth, but eventually kept their distance because of Shen Hui’s appearance.

Law-abiding commoners are afraid of people with such a strong presence and avoid them.

Ling Xing noticed this phenomenon, but he didn’t say anything.

When it was time, Ling Xing got up to change the position of the steamer, but Shen Hui put his hand on the steamer first. Ling Xing was a little puzzled. Then he heard Shen Hui say, “It’s heavy. I’ll do it.”

Ling Xing remembered that when he tried it out with the steamer last time, he didn’t put many buns in it, so he could lift it easily.

This time, the buns were all filled up, and the steamer itself was made of solid wood, so it had some weight. With his current physique and strength, he really couldn’t lift it.

He didn’t insist on trying, listened to Shen Hui’s words, and sat back down, watching Shen Hui do it.

It seemed that Shen Hui had watched and remembered when he changed the position of the steamer before. Without needing him to instruct, he smoothly adjusted it.

After the buns were steamed, the sun came out.

Ling Xing got up, cleared his throat, and, with a smile on his face, began to call out to customers.

“Come on, take a look! Freshly baked tofu buns, big and soft, so delicious they’ll make your teeth fall out! Don’t miss it! New stall opening, free samples! If it doesn’t taste good, you don’t have to pay! You don’t have to buy it!”

His voice was clear and cheerful, making people feel comfortable.

And his sales pitch was unique, at least compared to things like “Customer, come and take a look?” “Little lady, do you want to buy jewelry?” “Selling plain noodles, five coins a bowl.” It was more likely to attract attention.

Especially the phrase “Free samples, if it doesn’t taste good, you don’t have to pay.”

Hey, how novel! It’s the first time I’ve heard of someone selling food and giving it away before selling it.

The lure of the word “free” is extremely powerful, and for the people here, it’s simply irresistible.

Although pie doesn’t fall from the sky, the stall owner shouted it out loud in public, and many people heard it. Even if they went to the yamen, they would be in the right.

Lu Hua originally wanted to go to the rouge stall to buy some rouge for her third daughter, who was about to get married.

Those in the shops were too expensive for ordinary people to afford, but the ones on the stalls, although not as good as those in the shops, could be bought if they gritted their teeth.

As a result, halfway there, she heard a pleasant voice. Oh, that cheerful tune made people feel happy in their hearts.

Listening carefully to the sales pitch, the food being sold was something she had never heard of. It was novel, but she would just listen and satisfy her curiosity.

When she heard about the free samples, Lu Hua felt that her feet were out of control. By the time she realized it, she was already standing in front of the stall.

The person selling the food was dressed in old, patched clothes, but they were clean. Although his face was sallow and thin, his eyes were bright and seemed to speak. He also had a cheerful smile on his face, his eyebrows curved, which made people ignore his overly thin cheeks.

“Hello, Auntie. Besides tofu buns, I also sell steamed buns. Would you like to try both, or just one?”

The steamed buns and buns were all sliced and placed on two sheets of oil paper.

Shen Hui’s dagger, which he carried with him, was used. Because Ling Xing needed it to cut the buns and steamed buns, it had been boiled in the pot several times earlier.

At first, Shen Hui didn’t understand why he had to boil the knife, but Ling Xing said it would make the knife clean.

Ling Xing wanted to quickly establish a reputation, so he could only give some away to get more people to buy. He couldn’t bring the only kitchen knife from home, and it would be too embarrassing to tear it with his hands.

Later, he came up with the idea of using Shen Hui’s dagger.

Knowing that Ling Xing needed to use the dagger to cut things and that it needed to be cleaner, Shen Hui had also boiled it several times.

He boiled it again today when he got up.

Lu Hua listened to the voice and looked down at the oil paper on the table. On it were white dough balls.

Some of the dough balls were filled with tofu, and they were still steaming, with a fragrant wheat aroma.

This color and this smell meant it was definitely made with good flour, and probably even with more expensive refined white flour. Otherwise, it couldn’t be so white.

Her family had some money, so they could eat good noodles every now and then. That stuff was nourishing and delicious.

The last time she had it was five days ago, and she missed it a bit when she smelled the aroma.

Not to mention, the food on this stall looked even better than what could be made with pure good noodles.

Lu Hua stared at the oil paper and confirmed again, “You really don’t want money and are giving it to me to eat for free?”

Ling Xing nodded. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll try both.” Lu Hua coughed lightly and reached out to take them.

The buns and steamed buns were cut into even small pieces. If she took too much, her hands would be full. And there were people all around, all attracted by the stall owner’s sales pitch, probably all waiting to eat.

Lu Hua’s hand, which she had extended very boldly earlier, suddenly stopped and became hesitant. In the end, because there were so many people around, she was embarrassed to take too much and pinched two pieces of each and placed them in her palm.

The people around, seeing someone taking them and the stall owner not stopping them, were tempted, ready to take some.

Just as they were about to reach out, they heard the first woman taking the food shout.

“Goodness!”

Everyone paused and looked at Lu Hua.

Lu Hua was chewing on the tofu bun, her eyes wide, her face full of surprise.

She pointed at the tofu bun she hadn’t eaten in her hand and asked Ling Xing, “This is a tofu bun, right? Why is it so fragrant and so soft? How did you make it?”

Everyone thought there was something wrong with the food, but it was because it was delicious. This made the people around even more curious. How fragrant and soft could it be?

Ling Xing smiled and replied, “These are all made with a unique recipe, using only good flour without any adulteration. The taste is naturally good. Even the tofu filling is bought from the best tofu maker in the village. If you think it’s delicious and love to eat it, you might as well buy one. You can buy a big one for three coins.”

Three coins wasn’t cheap. Good flour was twenty coins a pound, and the money to buy six or seven buns could buy a pound of good flour.

Lu Hua weighed the price in her mind, feeling it was expensive. But then she thought, this bun is so delicious, the flour must have refined white flour added. The price seemed very worthwhile…

Ling Xing saw that she was hesitating and struggling, so he reached out and opened the steamer.

Seeing how big a whole bun was inside the steamer, Lu Hua made a sound of surprise.

The buns inside were white and plump. Just looking at one, she estimated it was bigger than her palm.

“Wow, it’s so big? You’re too honest. How much flour do you use for one?”

Lu Hua has always been straightforward. She was really shocked. As someone who manages the household and cooks, she knows the amount of flour used.

Such a big pie would use a lot of dough. These buns are similar to pies, both with dough wrapping the filling.

However, the bun skin tastes soft as anything and is delicious.

Because old dough starter is used to leaven the dough, the dough skin will expand and double in size, making it seem like a lot of flour is used.

Ling Xing, who is doing business, wouldn’t be foolish enough to tell people that he didn’t use much flour. He wants people to feel like they are getting more than they paid for.

Besides, he didn’t intentionally want a high price. He couldn’t sell it if it was too high.

He could only sell more with a small profit.

“Are you still satisfied, Auntie? Would you like to take one home to eat?” Ling Xing asked.

Before knowing how big the bun was, Lu Hua hadn’t thought about buying one. After knowing, she didn’t feel like she was losing out and nodded directly, “Give me one.”

While saying that, she stuffed the steamed bun piece into her mouth. Ha! Why is this also so fragrant!

She had never eaten such delicious dough! Not only was it soft, but it also tasted a bit sweet when she chewed it.

“How much are these steamed buns?” Lu Hua stared at the steamer, “Let me see how big they are.”

Ling Xing wrapped a tofu bun in oil paper, then opened the layer with the steamed buns, showing Lu Hua the size clearly.

Seeing that size, Lu Hua was tempted.

How much flour would be used for such a big steamed bun! Bigger than a man’s fist! And it was solid!

“Four coins for one steamed bun, seven coins for two.”

Hearing four coins, Lu Hua wanted to open her mouth and say she wanted one without thinking. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she heard seven coins for two.

She couldn’t turn her mind around for a moment, and after pausing, she shouted, “Give me two!”

Spending ten coins at once, but Lu Hua felt it was worth it.

Good flour was already expensive, and with such big buns and steamed buns, she might only be able to make a few with a pound of flour.

The key was that she didn’t have a unique recipe and couldn’t make it so delicious.

Ling Xing smiled and wrapped two more steamed buns.

The opening was a success, he made money, he was happy!