The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 121 Deliberately Provoking (2)_1

Chapter 121: Chapter 121 Deliberately Provoking (2)_1

By the time they returned home, it was already past midday.

Si Ya couldn’t manage the dough for the griddle cakes and made a simple noodle soup instead, which she warmed up and each had a bowl.

Pei Qin then soaked rice to make rice noodles, a process even more complicated than making regular noodles. The rice had to be soaked, ground into a pulp, steamed and then pressed into sheets before it could be cut into noodles and cooked.

After fiddling at home for two days, Pei Qin finally managed to make presentable rice noodles and cooked a bowl of hot and sour rice noodles for Lady Fang.

The hot and sour rice noodles tasted great, but such toil and trouble was truly exhausting.

Pei Qin sighed, "If I price them too low, I’ll be at a loss; if they’re too expensive, nobody will buy them! This isn’t a solution at all!"

"Then why did you buy so much rice!" Si Ya complained.

"We can steam rice or cook porridge at home! It’s so cold out that the rice won’t get bugs in it!" Pei Qin shot her a look. If only she could buy rice noodles already made and just cook them!

The rice noodle plan was abandoned, and they decided to focus on making just griddle cakes. They offered plain boiled noodles, bone broth noodles, spicy meat slices, vegetarian options, and beef, splitting the menu into three variations.

Zou Xing’s family had already finished the stove that Pei Qin requested and insisted on not taking any money for it.

"Even brothers should settle accounts clearly. If you really refuse to take the money, too much is as bad as not enough. Our relationship would suffer!" Pei Qin said, smiling as she handed over the silver.

Zou Xing, holding the silver, thought how such a clever and decent girl could possibly have such bad luck. Surely everyone must be blind not to see her good qualities!

Pei Qin also bought loads of coarse porcelain bowls and chopsticks. She stored these along with the stove and firewood at Sun Tiezhu’s house.

The market day was just a couple of days away.

Lady Fang got up in the middle of the night to prepare the dough, letting it rise in the house. She also prepared the sauces in advance, so they were ready to go before dawn. The whole family locked up and set out together.

When they arrived in town, it was just getting light. The market was still not very busy. Sun Tiezhu, Zou Xing, and Grandma Sun were already up, waiting at the doorstep. Seeing the group arrive, they pulled over a cart to help move the stove and the tables, chairs, and dishes.

They hauled everything to the end of the street beneath some trees, and set up the stall.

Zou Xing quickly fetched two buckets of water, saying, "When it’s almost used up, I’ll help you fetch two more."

"No need! No need! We’ve already troubled you too much!" Lady Fang said with a blend of appreciation and embarrassment, thanking him. She thought back to what Si Ya had whispered to her a few days earlier and took a good look at Zou Xing. Apart from being a little dark, the young man was well-built, looked honest and sincere, and was hardworking and capable. Noticing his eagerness, she couldn’t help feeling happy inside. Such a young man was truly a good match.

Zou Xing was also quite clever. He quickly noticed Lady Fang’s assessing gaze, which made him stiffen up and his heart race. Pei Qin was already busy setting up, so he offered, "Let me help you get the fire started!"

"No trouble at all, elder brother Zou! It’s already being taken care of!" San Ya lit the fire and, once the wood caught well, left Wendong in charge of it.

Pei Qin added water to the rich bone broth and brought it to a boil, then grabbed a lump of dough, "Let me prepare two bowls of griddle cakes for you to try first!"

Grandma Sun intervened, not letting her do so, "We haven’t even officially opened for business; how can we start eating now!"

"We’ve troubled you all so early in the morning, and it wouldn’t sit right with us. On such a cold day, a bowl of noodles would be warming. It’s also an opportunity for you to taste our family’s griddle cakes!" Lady Fang urged them not to be shy. She took two bowls, scooped up some cooked noodles, topped them with spicy meat, and also prepared a bowl for Grandma Sun, adding beef to the bone broth.

The three were quite taken aback by the novelty, and the aroma and steam from the bowls of noodles enticed them to sit down and start eating. After tasting the noodles, they couldn’t stop praising how delicious they were and said, "With such tasty noodles, you’ll surely sell well! Just wait for the lines of customers to come!"

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