“Of course! I’ll go home and discuss it with my husband. Don’t worry-my Fat Sister’s Sweet Drinks are famous on Golden Beam Bridge. I’d never ruin my reputation!”
Shen Miao’s thoughtfulness impressed Miss Mi, who nodded while sipping her tea.
“That’s true. Eating noodles can make you sweat, and in the summer heat, without refreshing drinks, it’s easy to lose your appetite.”
After sitting for a while and seeing more people arriving to congratulate Shen Miao, the two decided to leave, not wanting to be a bother.
Ever since Shen Miao mentioned selling drinks, Mei Sanniang had been eager to rush home, afraid of missing out on this big opportunity.
Seeing the crowd, she quickly pulled Miss Mi away.
Xie’s chef, who had learned egg yolk pastries and cookies from Shen Miao over several days, already regarded her as half a teacher.
Just after Mei Sanniang and Miss Mi left, he arrived with half a freshly slaughtered lamb as a gift, the bloody sight startling Shen Miao so much she nearly tripped on the steps.
Many regular customers from Golden Beam Bridge also came.
A burly man who often visited her stall not only gifted her a bolt of linen but also sat down to eat noodles.
It was only then that Shen Miao learned this dark-skinned man’s surname was Bai.
And he had a particularly clean-sounding name: Bai Xueshan (White Snow Mountain).
As Shen Miao rolled noodles in the kitchen, she overheard the man’s introduction and couldn’t help but glance at his face through the counter window.
His complexion was even darker than Gu Tusu’s so dark that he could play Bao Zheng without any makeup.
She silently mulled over his name.
Such a beautiful name for such a dark-skinned man!
He sat boldly on the stool closest to the counter, flashing a bright smile as he turned to chat with Shen Miao.
“You can call me Bai Laosan (Old Third Bai). Don’t let my looks fool you, I’m only twenty-five!”
Twenty-five??
Shen Miao’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had thought he was at least forty…
Bai Laosan seemed to sense her surprise and said with a hint of grievance,
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve always looked like this-old as a kid, and still old as an adult. My wife says I must have landed face-first when I was born.”
Shen Miao lowered her head, stifling a laugh, her hands trembling as she kneaded the dough.
Don’t laugh at the customer-hold it in!
On her first trial day, Shen Miao had prepared only two types of noodles: Old Beijing Zhajiangmian (fried sauce noodles) and pork bone clear soup noodles.
The fried sauce had been prepared in advance, stored in a small jar sealed with oil paper and kept in the cool cellar.
She scooped out a bowl each day, and it could last for several days.
She figured that on the opening day, things would be busy, and the fried sauce noodles would be quick, easy, and delicious.
The pork bone soup had been simmering all night, the fire never extinguished, until morning.
Pork bone soup noodles were common, and other shops also served them, but Bai Laosan had never heard of “fried sauce mixed noodles” and chose that.
He curiously asked, “Shen Miao, what’s fried sauce?”
Shen Miao thought about where “Old Beijing” was at this time and smiled.
“It’s a method from Yanzhou, so it’s not common in Bianjing. It’s a sauce made with pork, paired with shredded cucumber, scallions, radish, and bean sprouts. It’s very fragrant-don’t worry, it’s delicious!”
Even though Shen Miao didn’t explain in detail, Bai Laosan’s mouth was already watering.
Shen Miao finished rolling the noodles, and the oil in the wok was hot-the fried sauce needed to be stir-fried again before use to remove all the moisture, separating the oil from the sauce, making it incredibly fragrant.
Sure enough, as Shen Miao stir-fried the sauce, Bai Laosan stood up, drawn by the aroma.
The sauce was stir-fried over high heat, and the noodles were cooled in advance.
The pre-cut shredded vegetables were arranged on the noodles, and a large spoonful of hot fried sauce was poured over one side.
When she brought it out, Bai Laosan couldn’t wait. “It smells amazing! It really does!”
Shen Miao showed him how to mix it.
With his strength, Bai Laosan quickly combined everything.
Each chewy, smooth noodle was coated in the rich, savory sauce.
He took a big bite, savoring the chunks of meat-perfectly stir-fried, with a balance of fat and lean, bursting with flavor.
He devoured the bowl, and before he had even swallowed the last bite, he called out,
“Another bowl!”
Shen Miao smiled and went back to make another bowl.
Just as she brought it out, an elderly woman and a young girl entered the shop.
The old woman’s kind voice rang out at the entrance,
“Madam, congratulations on your grand opening…” Before she could finish, Leiting, who had been dozing in the backyard, suddenly stood up, shaking off three half-grown chickens from his back and rushing into the shop.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Shen Miao turned around in surprise to see Granny Wu, her hair streaked with silver, holding Xiang’er’s hand and carrying a basket of eggs, nearly knocked over by Leiting.
Granny Wu cried out in panic, “The eggs, be careful with the eggs!”
Xiang’er jumped up and hugged Leiting’s neck.
” Leiting, sit! You’ve gotten fat! Granny’s back can’t take this!”
Leiting obediently sat down, his tail still wagging.
Fortunately, Bai Laosan wasn’t afraid of dogs.
He sat with his bowl of noodles, a ring of fried sauce around his mouth, watching the scene with curiosity.
“Granny Wu, you’ve finally come. Didn’t you say you’d visit Leiting often? It’s been so long, and we’ve been waiting for you.”
Shen Miao chided her gently as she helped her sit down, pointing to Leiting.
“You have no idea-ever since you left Leiting with me, he’s been waiting at the backyard gate for you, refusing to come inside or…..”
A few days ago, Xiangjie was playing on the front porch while I was busy inside the house.
Unexpectedly, the child was hopping around and accidentally slipped as she was about to fall down the steps.
But Leiting, without a second thought, broke free from its leash and rushed in, using its own body to cushion the fall, preventing Xiangjie from getting hurt.
When I came out, I noticed blood on the ground and realized Leiting had injured its neck while breaking free from the leash, yet it didn’t make a sound.
After that, I kept it in the yard to recover, and it’s been fine since, no longer insisting on going out.
Shen Miao spoke softly to her about Leiting’s actions, and Aunt Wu’s eyes welled up with tears again.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to come, but things at home haven’t settled yet, so I didn’t dare. Fortunately, these past few days, we’ve managed to compensate their family with some money.”
“After much persuasion and signing a written agreement, they finally agreed to let it go and stopped pursuing whether Leiting was alive or dead…”
She then held Shen Miao’s hand, repeatedly expressing her gratitude,
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Shen. Leiting looks so healthy and shiny now, all thanks to you! It’s truly a good dog, isn’t it? I didn’t lie to you.”
“Now that it’s over, better days are ahead. Don’t cry anymore,”
Shen Miao gently patted Aunt Wu’s back to comfort her, smiling.
“Of course, you didn’t lie to me. I’m endlessly grateful that it saved Xiangjie! By the way, my shop has just opened. Please sit down, and I’ll make some soup noodles for you and Xiangguo.”
She then pinched Xiangguo’s cheek,
“Xiangguo, you haven’t been eating well, have you? Your little face has lost its chubbiness! Come over often and play with our Xiangjie. Not only can you keep Leiting company, but we also have another little dog at home!”
“It’s naturally short and stout, with yellow fur and a white belly, and a big, round face—it’s so chubby!”
Xiangguo, who was thin due to her poor appetite but had large, delicate eyes, was a very pretty girl.
She listened to Shen Miao’s words with great interest and nodded repeatedly.
“Don’t trouble yourself. You’ve already done us a huge favor. How can I take advantage of you? Today, you’re busy, so we’ll just sit for a while and leave. We’ll come back another time to properly support your business.”
Aunt Wu stood up to stop Shen Miao from cooking and took out a large sandalwood statue of the God of Wealth from her cloth bag.
Despite Shen Miao’s protests, she insisted on placing it on the counter.
“This is something I got for you from the Taiqing Temple in the suburbs. It’s been blessed and will ensure your business thrives and wealth flows in. The old Taoist there is quite powerful, so just place it here, and it will surely work.”
After saying this, she bent down to rub Leiting’s furry head,
” Leiting, be good and protect Mrs. Shen’s family. Don’t be stubborn anymore. Stay peacefully at Mrs. Shen’s house, and Grandma will come back to see you.”
Leiting’s almond-shaped eyes, moist with emotion, reflected Aunt Wu’s aged face, and it barked loudly once.
Afterward, Aunt Wu and Xiangguo left, looking back every few steps.
But this time, Leiting didn’t follow.
Once Aunt Wu was far enough, it pushed open the curtain to the backyard and lay down in the yard.
The chicks had grown into half-sized chickens, and Leiting’s black fur was dense and thick.
One by one, the chickens flew onto Leiting’s back to perch.
Among them, the speckled hen, which had eaten the most and was the fattest, had already started laying eggs—just yesterday, it had laid a warm egg right on Leiting’s forehead.
Later, several waves of customers came, and by the time the fried sauce prepared for the day ran out, she temporarily closed the shop.
She went out and, following the same pattern, signed supply contracts with Zheng the butcher, Manager Xu from the grain shop, and Mrs. Wang, who sold fruits and vegetables.
Finally, she visited the Gu family.
Coincidentally, Gu Tusu had gone to the outer city to deliver wine, so Shen Miao explained her intentions to Aunt Gu.
She wanted to stock a few types of small wines in her shop, preferably ones that were refreshing and not too intoxicating, and also reasonably priced.
This was something she had planned to do, but there had been so much to prepare recently.
She had previously hinted at it with the familiar shopkeepers and owners but hadn’t fully settled on it, so it felt a bit rushed.
Fortunately, they were all acquaintances, so it was easier to discuss.
“Are you really going to sell wine? Your father’s shop only ever offered cool well water to quench thirst and didn’t sell anything besides soup noodles,”
Aunt Gu teased with a smile but still picked up the wine ladle and took Shen Miao to the front of the wine shop to taste the wines.
Shen Miao sampled about seven or eight types and selected three.
One was the common millet wine that ordinary folks often drank, another was a refreshing cypress leaf wine.
The last one was slightly more expensive, the Sangluo wine.
This wine was crystal clear, smooth in taste, and especially refreshing when chilled with well water, making it perfect for the hot summer.
Now that May had passed, Shen Miao had already switched to lighter clothing.
Eating noodles was particularly prone to making one sweat, especially since she planned to sell oil-splashed noodles, dandan noodles, and fried sauce noodles all of which needed a complimentary drink to complete the meal.
By the time all this was done, it was almost dark.
Today’s trial run had sold about forty bowls of noodles, but since she closed early in the afternoon, it was hard to gauge how well the business would do.
Tomorrow would mark the official start of a full day of operation, and Shen Miao was feeling a bit nervous.
She had invested a significant portion of her savings and wondered if the business would thrive in the future.
Lost in thought about what lay ahead, she silently carried a lantern back to the shop, planning to double-check the candles and locks before securing the door.
Just as she turned the corner, she saw a plump, round boy in green clothes sitting on the doorstep.
She shone the lantern on him and realized it was Yanshu, who was often by Jiuge’s side. Surprised, she called out, “Yanshu, what are you doing here?”
In the flickering light of the lantern, the slender shadow of a woman swayed.
Yanshu jumped up, grinning, and bowed,
“Jiuge heard from Chef Fang that Mrs. Shen’s shop has opened, so he specifically sent me to congratulate you.”
As he spoke, he pulled out two pieces of silk cloth with writing on them.
“No need, no need, Jiuge is too kind,” Shen Miao hadn’t even had a chance to see what was written when Yanshu hurriedly took out a scented, gold- sprinkled invitation.
“By the way, on the 15th of next month, our family is hosting a grand banquet and has invited a troupe of performers for acrobatics! Jiuge said he’d like to invite Mrs. Shen to bring Jige and Xiangjie to our house to relax and have fun!”
With three items suddenly thrust into her arms, Shen Miao was a bit overwhelmed and instinctively asked,
“Huh, has the academy already gone on holiday? Since you’re out running errands for Jiuge, does that mean he’s on break?”
Yanshu shook his head, sighing deeply with a pained expression,
“The academy hasn’t gone on break. It’s just that our Jiuge’s bad luck has struck again. A few days ago, he went with some students to Yaoshan Temple to watch the sunset over the golden mountain and got bitten by a snake— fortunately, it wasn’t venomous.”
“Then, on the way down, he tried to save Meng San, who had slipped, and ended up injuring his leg-fortunately, it wasn’t broken.”
“But on the way back to the city for medical treatment, Qiuhao was so anxious that he overturned the carriage-fortunately, Jiuge had anticipated it and skillfully jumped out.”
“But while dragging Qiuhao out from under the carriage with his injured leg, he strained his arm, so he’s now back home to recover.”
“Ah?”
Shen Miao was stunned.
That… that’s really a streak of bad luck.