Chapter 57: Freshly Fried and Sold

Chapter 57 Freshly Made, Freshly Sold

However, when the Wang family knocked on Su He's door the next day to look for her, no one answered.

Because it was market day, Su He had gotten up before dawn to steam eggs and corn for the children's breakfast.

She also warmed two cartons of milk.

By now, the two kids had gotten used to drinking milk and no longer found the taste off-putting.

Just as she finished packing, Aunt Niu called out at Su He's doorstep.

"Miss Su! Miss Su!"

Su He immediately replied, "I'm coming!"

This time, she was taking much more to town than before.

Oil, flour, sliced sweet potatoes, salt, pots, pans, and cooking tools—basically all the tools needed to make fried dough.

Aunt Niu was stunned when she saw her carrying so much stuff and asked, "Miss Su, you're bringing all this with you today?"

"Yes, I want to fry them fresh and sell them right there," Su He said with a smile.

"Oh my, that sounds like a lot of trouble," Aunt Niu frowned.

This Miss Su was really going all out to make money.

"So this time, my fried dough will be more expensive—three mao each. When folks see how much oil goes into it, they’ll be willing to spend the money," Su He said with a laugh.

Not many people in this era were generous with oil, so she planned to show off the whole pot of oil openly for everyone to see.

"You’ve got such a quick wit. After what happened yesterday afternoon, everyone’s been saying how clever you are," Aunt Niu teased with a smile.

"Heh, the main thing is that we had justice on our side. If we didn’t, I’d have had to pay up," Su He sighed.

She’d rather pay money than see Zai Zai suffer that slap—it had just about broke her heart.

"Yeah, that Wang family... many villagers have long had issues with them. They act like village tyrants just because they have so many sons in the family," Aunt Niu said indignantly.

Su He sighed and didn’t respond further. Once everything was ready, she told the kids to hop on the cart.

"Mom, I don’t need to sit. I can walk by myself," Zai Zai offered thoughtfully.

"Mom, I’ll walk too," Niu Niu added, glancing at her brother.

Seeing how well-behaved the kids were, Aunt Niu was touched.

"Oh my, what good kids."

Su He looked at their earnest expressions and didn’t insist they ride on the cart. She simply said, "Alright, but if you get tired, let me know, alright?"

Both kids nodded obediently.

Watching the scene, Aunt Niu couldn’t help but say to Su He, "No wonder you dote on them so much—they know how to care for their mom too. If only my grandkids were this well-behaved. I have to switch them daily."

"Oh, kids will be kids—it’s normal for them to be mischievous. Mine are just too sensible, and honestly, I wish they’d be a little more playful. It hurts my heart to see them so mature at this age," Su He sighed.

As Su He and Aunt Niu pushed the cart and chatted, the two kids followed quietly behind their mother, perfectly behaved little angels.

The road to town takes forty to fifty minutes at a brisk pace, or about an hour at a slower pace.

Since Su He and the others were pushing a cart, they naturally made slower progress.

But because they left even earlier than last time, they arrived in town before seven o'clock.

"Let’s check if our old spot is still free," Aunt Niu said, then led Su He to the previous location.

Luckily, the spot hadn’t been taken by anyone, so the two decided to set up shop there again.

After arranging her things, Su He said to Aunt Niu, "Auntie, could you keep an eye on the kids and the stall for me? I need to buy some charcoal."

"Sure, go ahead," Aunt Niu replied with a smile.

"Zai Zai, take care of your sister and wait here for me, okay?" Su He said to the two children.

"Mm, don’t worry, Mom. I’ll guard the stall for you," Zai Zai answered seriously, like a tiny grown-up.

His grown-up demeanor had Aunt Niu in stitches.

Su He went to the market's general store to ask about charcoal. The shopkeeper looked at her curiously and asked, "Charcoal this early?"

Su He smiled. "Need it for the stove."

"Thirty cents a pound," the shopkeeper said.

"Uncle, I’ll need it regularly—every market day. Could you give me a discount?"

The shopkeeper hesitated but finally said, "Twenty-five cents, no lower. This charcoal isn’t cheap to begin with."

"Alright, twenty-five it is," Su He quickly agreed.

In the end, she bought ten pounds of charcoal for two yuan fifty.

When Aunt Niu saw her hauling a sack of charcoal back, she asked sympathetically, "That couldn't have been cheap, huh?"

Country folks rarely buy charcoal when there was plenty of firewood to gather from the mountains.

"Not too much," Su He replied with a smile.

"We already sold two," Aunt Niu said. "Here's the six mao I took in."

Su He was surprised customers came so fast—she’d only been gone about ten minutes.

"Thank you, Auntie," Su He said gratefully.

"Mom!" Niu Niu called out, not wanting to be overlooked.

"Oh, my good helpers! You both did such a great job guarding the stall for me," Su He praised the children.

Hearing their mother’s praise, Zai Zai and Niu Niu grinned from ear to ear.

Then Su He rolled up her sleeves.

She fed the charcoal into the stove, lit the fire, set up the pot, and poured in a whole bucket's worth of oil she had brought.

Aunt Niu looked on, grimacing as if the oil grew on trees.

Some observant bystanders noticed Su He's energetic movements and stopped to see what she was up to.

Su He wasn’t bothered by the gathering crowd. She began mixing the flour right away, and once the oil in the pot was scalding hot, she started frying the dough cakes.

It was the first time many had seen freshly made fried food, so they all paused to watch.

When the amazing smell wafted through the air, someone finally couldn’t resist asking, “Boss, how much for one?”

Su He’s fried dough cakes were generously sized, golden brown, and making many want to try one.

“Thirty cents each,” Su He replied with a smile.

“Thirty cents? That’s pretty steep, isn’t it?” grumbled one passerby discontentedly.

“The cost of these cakes isn’t low to begin with. The oil costs money, the flour costs money, and so do the sweet potatoes as ingredients. Plus, these are freshly fried—doesn’t the charcoal cost money? And my portions are generous—just one fried dough cake will fill you up,” Su He explained cheerfully.

After all, good business is about salesmanship too.

After Su He’s explanation, thirty cents for a fried dough cake suddenly didn’t seem so hard to accept.

“Give me two,” the person said after some hesitation.

Su He smiled, pulled two from her nearby basket, bagged them up, and handed them over.

“I thought you said they were fresh out of the fryer?” the person asked, displeased.

“They are fresh—go ahead and feel how warm they are,” Su He replied.