Chapter Ninety-Nine: Buying a New Shop

Lin Sangqian’s eyes lit up. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” Lu Chengren smiled. “If I weren’t certain, I wouldn’t have told you.”

“What’s his name?”

“Yu Chun. He lives in Stone Gate Alley, and these days he most often goes to Little Zhang’s Tavern.”

That was the very tavern Zhao Xuwei was now running.

“I understand. Thank you, Manager Lu,” Lin Sangqian said sincerely.

Though she had learned from Zhao Laner that Gao Sao had a lover, she knew neither his surname nor his given name, and had had no way at all to search for him.

If not for Lu Chengren, who had lived in town for many years and knew everyone, she would not have known where to begin.

“Sangqian girl, why are you being so polite with me?” Lu Chengren said. “Ahem—if you truly want to thank me, then perhaps...”

He did not finish, but Lin Sangqian already knew exactly what he wanted most.

“I understand.” Lin Sangqian smiled. “I’ll go to the kitchen now. I already had something in mind before I came this morning.”

“Well now, that’s why you’re so likable,” Lu Chengren said cheerfully. “It’s not just one favor I’d help you with—I’d gladly help with a hundred or a thousand more! If you ever want to look into anyone else, just come find me.”

Lin Sangqian said, half amused and half helpless, “Thank you, Manager Lu. Still, I hope nothing like this ever happens again.”

The tragedy of Zhao Laner’s mother should never be played out again.

As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, the head cooks crowded around her at once.

“Miss Lin, what are you teaching us today?”

“You don’t know, but lately the shop across the street has already taken a fair amount of our customers.”

“Really?” Lin Sangqian blinked. “That makes no sense.”

“What? What does sense mean?”

“No, I mean, that’s not normal,” Lin Sangqian said. “The dishes I taught you should not be losing to theirs...”

Not only in flavor, but in novelty too.

After all, these were dishes that did not exist in this age.

How could Ten Thousand Splendors Tavern compare?

“It’s not exactly losing, but they are still quite formidable.”

Not only in flavor, but in novelty too.

After all, these were dishes that did not exist in this age.

How could Ten Thousand Splendors Tavern compare?

“It’s not exactly losing, but they are still quite formidable.”

“Never mind. The weather is getting hotter, and summer is almost here. Today I’ll teach you something especially suited to summer—cold noodles!”

“Cold noodles? What are those? I’ve never heard of them.”

“Noodles eaten cold? How does that even work?”

“Do you have buckwheat flour?”

The head cooks looked at one another, then shook their heads. “No. Our tavern doesn’t sell anything related to buckwheat flour.”

“Then have someone go buy some!”

Just then, Yang Shi happened to walk in, and thus he was honorably assigned the task of purchasing buckwheat flour.

During that time, Lin Sangqian also discussed cooking techniques with the head cooks.

Yang Shi soon returned with a sack of buckwheat noodles, and Lin Sangqian began kneading the dough.

She mixed buckwheat flour with starch in the proper ratio. The dough she worked out was slightly softer than hand-pulled noodles.

She covered the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for half an hour, then rolled it thin and cut it into strips.

The noodles were boiled, then rinsed several times in cold water.

What came next was the most important part: making the cold noodle broth.

The broth could be made with plain water or chicken stock. Beef stock would have been best, but beef was forbidden in this era, so there was no helping that.

She added vinegar, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and minced garlic to the water and stirred well. Then she added the noodles, which had already been rinsed several times in cold water, along with a little chili oil and mixed everything thoroughly. On top she placed a halved boiled egg. According to taste, one could also add shredded cucumber, shredded carrot, shredded chicken, and other toppings.

The noodles were wonderfully chewy and refreshing, with a bright sour and spicy flavor that opened the appetite. Several of the head cooks could not resist; after learning from Lin Sangqian, they made more for themselves and sat holding bowls, eating eagerly.

Yang Shi naturally got a bowl as well, and he even carried one over to Lu Chengren.

After Lu Chengren had finished every drop of the broth, he gave the word on the spot: they would begin selling it that very day.

Since he had done Lin Sangqian a favor, of course she taught them this one free of charge.

Even so, Lu Chengren still gave her a share, just as he had with the sweet and sour pork.

Lin Sangqian did not refuse. One would be foolish not to earn money when it was offered, and her cooperation with Blessed Full Tavern would continue; in the future, she had plenty of new recipes to provide them.

After leaving Blessed Full Tavern, Lin Sangqian went to Peck Chicken, ready to open for business.

Several customers were already waiting at the door, and one of them looked familiar to Lin Sangqian. Thinking carefully, was that not a servant from the Yu household?

She immediately set the pot, heated the oil, and began frying chicken legs and wings.

The Yu household servant bought ten fried chicken wings and ten fried chicken legs in one go. The people behind him were visibly alarmed, thinking, What if he buys all the fried chicken? What then?

Lin Sangqian had originally wanted to give him a discount, but then she thought of the several customers waiting behind him. It would not look good to let them see that, so she let the matter drop.

By noon, the crowd had thinned considerably.

During a lull, Lin Sangqian took out her little account book and tallied her earnings for the period.

Peck Chicken had made a net profit of ninety-eight taels. Her share from Blessed Full Tavern was fifteen taels. The chicken feet business had brought in another eighty taels net.

In less than two months, she had earned nearly two hundred taels!

Lin Sangqian jumped up in excitement.

Lin Hongda had already been advanced two months of wages, and from next month onward he would also receive pay.

As for Liao Shuxia, she had originally wanted to open an embroidery shop, but because she worked alone and could produce only a limited number of handkerchiefs and sachets each day, the plan had been put on hold for the time being.

Still, Lin Sangqian would occasionally take her embroidered handkerchiefs and sachets to sell, and they earned some money that way too.

If Kang Ya really helped promote them, then in the future Liao Shuxia’s embroidery business would only grow better and better.

Thinking back to when she had first arrived in this body, when the household had been destitute, Lin Sangqian felt as though she were dreaming.

When Peck Chicken closed in the afternoon, Lin Sangqian saw that the grocery shop next door was also preparing to shut its doors.

That grocery shop had originally had only middling business, but because Peck Chicken had become so popular, it had also brought some customers to the shop.

They usually stayed open until evening. Why were they closing so early today?

“Manager Wang, why are you closing so early today?” Lin Sangqian asked the shopkeeper next door in casual conversation.

Manager Wang gave a bitter smile. “I’m done with it. I’m planning to sell this shop.”

“Huh? Why?” Lin Sangqian asked, puzzled. “Business has been pretty good lately, hasn’t it?”

“My parents haven’t been in good health these past few years, and no one in the family is tending the fields. I’m planning to go back to my hometown,” Manager Wang said. “At first I wanted to bring them to town to live here, but they refused no matter what. Ah, well, it’s probably for the best. Living here alone doesn’t mean much. I’ll go back home, marry a wife, and take care of my parents.”

Lin Sangqian chatted with him for a while, then suddenly asked, “Manager Wang, how much do you plan to sell this shop for?”

Her milk tea shop really ought to be put on the agenda.