Chapter 30: Adding Fish and Shrimp Balls to the Stall

Chapter 30: New Additions to the Stall: Fish Balls and Shrimp Balls

Before they knew it, a week had gone by.

The Xuehe Rice Ball stall opened for business right on time at 10:30 AM on the snack street outside Taoxi Middle School's entrance. Jiang Yingxue neatly arranged the day's food on the Warm Crystal countertop, covering it with a transparent dust cover.

The food was served at the perfect eating temperature—not too hot and not cold. Food that's too hot isn't good for you, and solid food that is cold affects the taste. At this temperature, students could start eating right away, and they loved it.

Today, laid out on the counter were rice balls, grilled skewers of fish balls and shrimp balls, as well as raw, boxed fish balls and fresh shrimp.

Perhaps because the environment in her special space was so good, the fish and shrimp not only grew well but also reproduced quickly. If left to develop freely, the pond would soon be overcrowded. Therefore, Jiang Yingxue decided to turn them into meatballs and add them to her stall. Considering the low consumption level in the small town, she also priced the fish balls and shrimp balls very low.

Each skewer of grilled fish or shrimp balls had four pieces and cost 10 yuan a skewer. The raw fish balls were larger, with 20 pieces per box, priced at 100 yuan. Each box of raw balls came with a small container of sauce.

No sooner had Jiang Yingxue finished setting up than her first customers arrived.

The first customer today was Wang Juguang, with his friend, an elderly man named Liu Junping.

When they were still about 20 meters from the stall, Wang Juguang pointed at Jiang Yingxue's stall as they walked and introduced it to Liu Junping. "Junping, this is the stall run by my student that I told you about. It's only been a dozen hours since I last ate, and I already miss the taste. Haha, let's go check it out before the students are on break."

Liu Junping adjusted his glasses, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. "The shrimp rice ball you keep talking about is made by this young lady? Is it really that delicious, making you miss it so much?"

Recently, he had often heard Wang Juguang rave about how delicious and fragrant his student's rice balls were, even surpassing state banquets, and praising the sauce that came with them, saying it could make him eat two big bowls of rice. He didn't believe it, thinking Wang Juguang was just being biased because she was his student. But unable to resist the constant praise, he decided to come and taste whether the rice balls were really that good. "What does this young lady's family do? Are they chefs?"

Wang Juguang thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, they're not chefs. Her family used to sell farm-fresh vegetables at the market."

As they talked, they arrived at the stall.

"Teacher Wang, you're here," Jiang Yingxue greeted them with a smile. "Hello there."

Wang Juguang chuckled and said to Jiang Yingxue, "Yingxue, I brought my friend to try your special rice balls. My friend has never tasted such good shrimp. Please give us two orders of the special rice balls and two cups of freshly squeezed Qiong Peach Juice. We'll eat here, not take away."

He handed Jiang Yingxue 300 yuan, and she took it without argument. On the first day, Wang Juguang had made it clear that Jiang Yingxue was not to refuse his money; he wasn't looking for a free meal and insisted on paying. He had been a frequent customer at her stall recently, always paying.

For the money Wang Juguang spent, Jiang Yingxue accepted it but would also give him some fresh shrimp, Spirit Guzhi Powder, or Qiong Peaches. In Jiang Yingxue's heart, Wang Juguang was a good teacher, a respected and beloved elder. When the Coiling Dragon Vine matured in large quantities some time ago, Jiang Yingxue even gave him and his wife a month's supply for their baths, to help build up their strength.

"What's this?" Wang Juguang noticed the new meatballs and fresh shrimp on the stall counter and turned to look at the blackboard. Seeing they were new items, he immediately became interested. "Give us two skewers each of fish balls and shrimp balls."

"Coming right up."

Wang Juguang and Liu Junping had just sat down at a table under the shade of a tree when Jiang Yingxue brought over the rice balls and skewers. Then she went back and placed two cups of freshly squeezed Qiong Peach Juice on their table.

They had ordered a total of 4 skewers, but there were 8 skewers on the table. Wang Juguang said, "Yingxue, you've given us too many."

Jiang Yingxue smiled gently. "It's the first day for the new items. The extra ones are for you to help taste and give feedback on the flavor, to see if there's anything that needs improvement. If it's too much, just call me over to pack them up."

Wang Juguang knew it was a gift from his student. Even though he hadn't tasted them yet, he smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Your skills are top-notch, full marks, no improvement needed."

"Thank you for the praise, Teacher Wang." After saying this, Jiang Yingxue returned to her stall. She had prepared ample stock today: besides pre-orders, there were 10 portions of shrimp seaweed rice balls, 30 portions of pork chop seaweed rice balls, 50 portions of ham and egg seaweed rice balls, 20 skewers each of fish balls and shrimp balls, 5 boxes of fresh shrimp, and 10 boxes of raw balls.

At the table, Liu Junping first picked up a skewer of fish balls and took a bite. The juice and flavor exploded in his mouth, as if a warm gas had rushed into his body, warming his heart. He widened his eyes in surprise, then closed them to savor the taste.

After swallowing one fish ball, he opened his eyes, picked up a skewer of shrimp balls, and took a bite. It was another astonishing meatball.

Wang Juguang inserted straws into both cups of Qiong Peach Juice and handed one to Liu Junping. "Try the juice."

Liu Junping took it, lowered his head to take a sip, and also closed his eyes, his expression one of enjoyment as if savoring rare delicacies.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, looked at the food on the table, and said, "This juice has a unique flavor. And aren't these sold too cheaply? These balls at 10 yuan are practically being given away."

Wang Juguang held the Qiong Peach Juice in one hand and a shrimp ball skewer in the other. Having eaten stir-fried fresh shrimp before, eating the shrimp ball now gave him a feeling of "this is exactly how it should taste."

"This is a blessing for the people of our town!" Wang Juguang felt that Jiang Yingxue opening her stall at the middle school entrance was a boon for the teachers, students, and the town.

He slowly put down the Qiong Peach Juice, a proud expression appearing on his face. Over the past week or so, soaking in herbal baths, drinking Spirit Guzhi Powder water, eating food from the Xuehe Rice Ball stall and fresh shrimp, etc., the changes in his body were clear to him, even if others didn't know. His student was different from ordinary people, truly remarkable. These foods were excellent for dietary therapy and nourishment.

He had also asked Jiang Yingxue if the prices for the food at her stall were too low, given that with this taste and hidden effects, they were unique in the town or even the city, and the price could definitely be higher.

Wang Juguang also believed that once more people discovered these hidden effects, Xuehe Rice Balls would rise to great heights. By then, the street would be packed with people coming to the stall, and the queue to buy rice balls would likely stretch all the way to the Xihua Oil Factory.