Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Running a breakfast shop with just soy milk and tofu pudding isn't enough; although delicious, they don’t fill you up. Other staple foods are needed.

Firstly, exclude steamed buns—the reason is simple: too much work.

Kneading dough, proofing it, chopping the filling, wrapping the buns, and steaming them—two people would need more than an hour to finish, not to mention they also have to make soy milk and tofu pudding.

Moreover, there are already two bun shops in town selling both meat and vegetable-filled buns. Meat-filled buns cost five copper coins each, and vegetable-filled ones three. A single bun only earns one or two copper coins, making competition fierce and profits slim.

If buns aren’t sold out on the day, the next day’s crust won’t be fresh, making them hard to sell.

So Lu Yao decided to fry youtiao (Chinese fried dough)!

Youtiao and soy milk are a perfect match, having been popular throughout the country in later times. In ancient times, they should do well too.

Most importantly, no one in town sells youtiao yet. This dish uses less flour and is easy to fry, ready to eat right out of the pot.

The only drawback is that oil is expensive, but it can be reused. A jar of oil can last seven to eight days. In this era, as long as people can eat their fill, no one cares about the health implications of reusing frying oil!

*

The next day, Lu Yao took the wooden board he wrote on last night and went shopping again.

Frying youtiao requires an iron pot. The family's pots are used for boiling soy milk and making soup stock, so none are available. He had to visit the blacksmith and spent three strings of coins to buy an iron pot.

He bought two stones of gray flour for making youtiao, which could be replenished when needed. Living in town has the advantage of easy access to supplies.

The stove for frying youtiao was built directly at the entrance, avoiding excessive smoke inside. Bamboo poles were used to create a canopy, protecting from rain.

During this period, the tofu sales didn’t improve even after lowering the price to four copper coins. Only one tray of tofu was sold daily.

Lu Yao wasn’t worried; he was about to start selling breakfast, so if the tofu sold, great; if not, no big deal.

In the morning, the carpenter delivered the custom-made stools and buckets. In the afternoon, Lu Yao removed the old sign and replaced it with "Lu’s Breakfast."

Everything was prepared; all that was left was to open.

On February 18th, everything was auspicious. Lu’s Breakfast Shop officially opened!

Before dawn, Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan got up. One kneaded the dough while the other heated the pot to boil soy milk.

The boiled soy milk was divided into two portions. One portion was filtered into a bucket, and the other turned into tofu pudding.

Lu Yao carried the basin of dough, and Zhao Beichuan loaded several buckets onto the mule cart. They drove to the shop.

Opening the door, Zhao Beichuan moved the items inside and returned the cart home. Lu Yao started heating the oil, preparing to fry youtiao once it was hot.

At the third watch of the morning, the night soil collector came out, carrying a bucket and knocking a small wooden hammer as he walked through the streets.

Zhao Beichuan washed his hands and began frying youtiao, fearing the hot oil might splash Lu Yao.

They had practiced at home yesterday. Proofed dough was stretched into strips, fried in the oil, and counted to thirty before being done. The resulting youtiao was crispy and delicious.

Lu Yao kneaded the dough, stretching it into long pieces. The two worked in harmony, quickly frying a basket of youtiao.

"Let’s stop for now. We’ll fry more when we’re almost sold out to keep them fresh."

"Alright." Zhao Beichuan reduced the fire under the stove to prevent the oil from getting too hot.

Sitting on the bench, they anxiously waited, more nervous than when opening the tofu shop. After all, tofu had been sold in the village, but this was their first breakfast shop.

Lu Yao nudged Zhao Beichuan, "What if no one buys anything?"

"We’ll eat it ourselves."

"I’m afraid the business won’t work out, and we’ll have to go back to the village." Thinking of the trivial matters there, Lu Yao felt a headache coming on.

"It won’t happen." Zhao Beichuan held his hand to comfort him.

Soon, three people approached. They were workers heading to their jobs. Passing by the shop, they paused, "What are you selling? It smells so good!"

Lu Yao quickly greeted them, "We sell breakfast: soy milk, tofu pudding, and youtiao. Would you like to try some?"

They hesitated, pointing at the fried youtiao, "How much is this?"

"Two copper coins per piece."

"Two copper coins?!"

"Yes! Inside, we also have soy milk and tofu pudding. Soy milk is two copper coins per bowl, and tofu pudding with meat broth is three."

Hearing the prices, they immediately entered the shop. If the prices were higher, they might have considered, but two to three copper coins was cheap. Who doesn’t carry ten or twenty copper coins when leaving home?

Looking at the soy milk and tofu pudding, all three ordered tofu pudding and two pieces of youtiao each.

Lu Yao quickly served them, pouring hot bone broth over the tofu pudding. The taste was heavenly!

They slurped down the tofu pudding quickly, barely touching the youtiao, which they ate on the way.

Leaving, they praised, "This tofu pudding is delicious, smooth and meaty. Will you be here tomorrow?"

Lu Yao, holding a handful of copper coins, excitedly replied, "Yes, we’ll open at the same time."

More customers arrived gradually. Some hurried workers bought two pieces of youtiao and left. Others came in for a bowl of soy milk or tofu pudding.

By the fourth watch, the number of customers increased. Workers passing by stopped to inquire about the food.

Lu Yao patiently explained, "These are youtiao made from gray flour, two copper coins each. Try one!"

Those doing manual labor lacked fat in their diets. For two copper coins, a fried snack was better than a gray flour bun. Everyone reached into their pockets to buy some.

Zhao Beichuan held long chopsticks and repeatedly picked at the oil in the pot, his hand almost cramping. But thinking of the money they would earn, all his fatigue vanished, leaving only joy.

By the hour of Chen, the dough for the fried bread sticks was sold out. On the first day, they hadn't prepared too much dough, so it seemed they needed to make more tomorrow.

The tofu pudding was also sold out, with half a bucket of soy milk left. Lu Yao planned to take it back and turn it into tofu, which he could sell at the shop tomorrow.

They packed up their things to catch up on some sleep, then prepared for the next day in the afternoon.

When they got home, Xiaodou had already gone to school. Xiaonian had finished feeding the chickens and pigs and was now embroidering with Liu Yue at home.

Liu Yue's mother was an embroidery artisan, and her skills were excellent. Liu Yue had learned some from her, and she was now teaching Xiaonian. The two girls whispered softly, making them delightful to watch.

"Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you're back so early!"

Xiaonian was supposed to help at the shop, but Lu Yao didn't want her to wake up too early, fearing it might affect her growth.

Lu Yao unloaded the empty wooden buckets and basins from the cart. He would need to wash them clean later, along with the ceramic bowls and wooden spoons.

Xiaonian quickly rolled up her sleeves to help.

"You play with Liu Yue; I can manage by myself."

Xiaonian shook her head. "Liu Yue, go home first; I'll come find you later."

"Okay."

Lu Yao looked at his little sister with satisfaction. How could anyone not like such a child! His father and sister-in-law's hearts were melting!

After washing the dishes, Zhao Beichuan wouldn't let them do any more work and urged Lu Yao to rest, while he cleaned the remaining buckets himself.

He soaked some beans, fed the mules, and chopped a load of firewood before taking off his shoes and lying down with Lu Yao for a nap around noon.

When Lu Yao woke up in the afternoon, the first thing he did was pull Zhao Beichuan to count the money. Earlier, when they returned, there were outsiders at home, making it inconvenient to count. After finishing their work, they had been too tired to count the money and fell asleep. Now, during this break, they poured out all the copper coins they had earned that morning, scattering them across the bed.

One hundred coins made one string, and they strung together thirteen strings!

That meant they had earned thirteen strings of coins in the morning! Subtracting the cost of a dou of flour (100 coins) and a dou of beans (60 coins), plus other miscellaneous expenses, they still made at least a string of coins! It was no less than what they used to earn selling tofu!

Moreover, Lu Yao wasn't worried about others learning these skills. Earning money from selling breakfast was hard work. Tofu pudding was already sold for three coins per bowl, and if others lowered their prices further, they might lose their pants!

Lu Yao lifted the bedding and put the money into a clay jar. With today's earnings, there were already over seventy taels of silver inside.

"When we save up five hundred taels, we'll open a big shop in the county!"

"Okay."

"Then we'll be the proprietors, hiring five or six assistants to help us. We'll be like Xu Bin, living leisurely every day, going out to see the world whenever we have time."

"Mm." Zhao Beichuan smiled secretly, running his hand through Lu Yao's hair, messing it up before stopping.

*

In the afternoon, they still needed to grind beans, boil soup stock, and turn the leftover soy milk into tofu to sell at the shop the next day.

As the hot soup stock boiled, Lu Yao broke into a sweat, unbuttoning his collar to reveal his slender white neck and wiping it.

While wiping, he noticed Zhao Beichuan standing in the courtyard, staring at him intently with a suggestive look.

Lu Yao teasingly pulled down his shirt, revealing the pregnancy mole on his clavicle. "Hey, is it nice to look at?"

Zhao Beichuan swallowed hard. "Don't tease me."

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow and pulled his shirt down a bit more, exposing his snow-white shoulder. "What will you do if I tease you?"

Seeing the bulge in Zhao Beichuan's pants, Lu Yao laughed until his stomach hurt.

Zhao Beichuan turned red with embarrassment and turned away, not looking at him. If Xiaodou hadn't been coming home from school soon, he would have given Lu Yao a "stick education."

"Waaah... Waaah... Sister-in-law... Waaah." Zhao Xiaodou ran back crying from outside the gate.

Hearing this, Lu Yao quickly buttoned his clothes and came out. He saw that Xiaodou's clothes were dirty, and the strap of the small book bag Lu Yao had sewn for him was broken.

"What happened?"

"Waaah..." Xiaodou sobbed as he hugged Lu Yao. "Lin... Lin Zijian bullied me... and broke my book bag..."

Zhao Beichuan frowned and came over. "Stop crying. If you can't beat someone, don't come back crying. How embarrassing."

Lu Yao glared at him. "Do you think everyone has your brute strength? Good boy, stop crying. Tell Sister-in-law why he bullied you."

Xiaodou sniffled and recounted what happened at school. Yesterday, the teacher assigned homework, asking them to learn twenty characters on their own.

This morning, the teacher tested them. Lin Zijian wanted to copy Xiaodou's writing, but Xiaodou refused, leading to a fight after school, which resulted in Xiaodou's book bag being torn.

Lu Yao was furious. "How outrageous! Tomorrow, Sister-in-law will take you to the school and see why this child is so unreasonable!"

Zhao Beichuan opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. His husband's protective nature might end up venting anger on him.

---

Note: The price of the iron pot had a bug, which has been corrected.

Also, the price of pork has been updated to fifty coins.

Characters' ages (after the New Year): Lu Yao is 20 years old, Zhao Beichuan is 19 years old, Zhao Xiaonian is 8 years old, and Zhao Xiaodou is 6 years old.

The Lu family: Lu's father is 56 years old, Lu's mother is 53 years old, Lu Hai was 27 (deceased), Lu Lin is 24 years old, Lu Yun is 17 years old, and Lu Miao is 15 years old.