Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Perhaps he was thinking of something. As soon as the wooden fish was struck in the street to announce the dawn, Shen Yu woke up. Just as he was about to sit up, there was movement on Li's bed.

Although the family was so poor that they could not even afford to eat, Li was just a scholar's wife who was supposed to do housework at home, but was forced to become a peasant woman who had to work in the fields to make a living.

On weekdays, he only interacted with the neighbors in the village and rarely talked to strangers. On the surface, he was very fierce when fighting with villagers, but when he met strangers, he still didn't dare to talk much.

It was the first time in her life to set up a stall at the market to sell food and talk to a group of strangers. Li was nervous but was too embarrassed to say it out loud for fear that the children would laugh at her for being a useless mother.

As soon as Shen Yu and Li got up, Yutao also got up.

The three of them placed the bowls of kneaded dough and prepared fillings steadily on the cart. Li held the front of the cart, while Shen Yu and Yutao each held the handlebars on the side of the cart, and they were ready to set off.

At this time, Yucheng came out while buttoning his clothes. As he walked, he said, "Mom, I want to go too. Although I am not strong enough, I can help you pull the cart."

Mrs. Li always loved her youngest son the most. It was a pity that he lost his father at a young age. The lack of food made him thin and small, and he was half a head shorter than other children of the same age.

She was reluctant to wake Yucheng up to go out so early, and she also felt that the child knew nothing and would be of no help.

She didn't expect that the child of a poor family would grow up so early. Seeing Yucheng being so sensible made her feel warm in her heart.

Li stopped the cart and asked Yucheng to get a rope and tie it to the front rail of the cart. She also asked Yucheng to help pull the cart and hold a torch to illuminate the way.

After closing the gate, Li and Yucheng pulled the cart in front, while Shen Yu and Yutao pushed the cart one on each side, then they turned out of the alley and walked along the street towards the market entrance.

Unexpectedly, the axle of this new car was very smooth, and it was very stable and effortless to drive. Shen Yu's original worries were finally put to rest. Soon, several people pushed the car to the entrance of the market.

It was just after the Yin hour and the sky was still dark, but the entrance to the market was very busy.

The food stalls that arrived early had already set up the stoves and started lighting fires, and every food stall had large oil candles as thick as a child's arm lit.

At the stall making wonton noodles, steam was already rising from the big pot and the stall owner was cutting noodles quickly on the board.

The stall making Hu Bing probably arrived the earliest. The first batch of Hu Bing had already come out of the oven and was placed in a winnowing basket, steaming hot and emitting the crispy aroma of the dough. The chef maker was slamming the dough on the dough board, making a loud bang, which was quite lively.

Shen Yu's family pulled the cart to the porridge stall. The old couple who sold porridge had just arrived and were busy setting up the stove and unloading the tables and chairs. They saw a new food stall cart next to them. The old man saw that it was the girl who had come to inquire about it two days ago, and greeted her happily: "Girl, you are starting to set up a stall today."

Shen Yu quickly responded, "Yes, uncle, I will start setting up the stall today. I'll trouble you and aunt to take care of me in the future."

The old woman had set up the tables and chairs. Seeing the steamer on Shen Yu's car, she realized that he was going to steam buns for sale. She felt that it would not compete with her own food stall for business, so she enthusiastically said, "Look after each other in the future. Girl, if you have any questions, just ask us. We have been here for several years."

Shen Yu agreed. Seeing the addition of a new food stall, the stall owners of the nearby food stalls also came to watch. Some of them were curious and asked Li: "Madam, what food are you going to sell at your food stall?"

Li was a little nervous at first when being questioned by strangers, but when she saw that they had no ill intentions and looked friendly, she relaxed and answered the questions more freely.

After hearing Li's answer that she wanted to steam some buns to sell, they all asked Li questions.

Someone asked curiously, "Did you learn this from someone? It's not easy to make noodles with old dough!"

Someone said in a worldly tone: "What kind of filling do you want to use for your buns? I heard that the buns not only need the dough to rise well, but the filling also needs to be well prepared. Mutton ones are delicious, but they are very expensive. I wonder if this is okay at the entrance of the market!"

Li felt guilty when asked. She had never learned this before. It was just that these people saw that she was the oldest and thought she was the one in charge, so they all surrounded her and asked her questions.

Seeing that Li's face was red and she couldn't answer, Shen Yu hurried over to help her out. She smiled kindly and bowed to everyone before saying, "Hello, uncles and aunts. My family just arrived and is setting up a food stall at this time. I'll have to trouble you to take care of us in the future. The steamed buns will be ready soon, everyone come and try them. Although I'm young, I have learned the work of this noodle counter for a long time before I dare to use it to make a living. I can't say that it's as good as the soft lamb buns at Xingshenglou, but it's also delicious and big, and it's very filling and delicious."

She has a slim figure, a sweet voice, and a cheerful smile, but her words are thoughtful, neither humble nor overbearing, but polite and courteous.

After the conversation, everyone cheered in their hearts: "This girl is pretty and generous, and from the tone of voice, she seems to have great skills. It turns out that she is the boss of this food stall."

Everyone agreed, as the diners would be arriving soon, so after a few polite words they all went back to their own food stalls to get busy.

Li was relieved when she saw everyone leave. She whispered to Shen Yu, "These people think that mom can make dumplings. I have to learn how to make them quickly, or I will be laughed at."

Shen Yu also whispered to comfort Li: "Mom, it's okay, you will learn it after a few times, and no one will laugh at you. Here, everyone is busy making money to support the family, and no one cares who makes our buns. It's not like in the village, where you just sit there and stare at others and laugh at them."

Li thought of the bullying she had endured in the village and nodded in agreement.

After setting up the stove and adding water to the pot, Shen Yu asked Yutao to start boiling water. She put the dough and stuffing in place, and skillfully began to divide the portions, roll out the dough, and wrap the stuffing. Li was responsible for placing the wrapped buns in the steamer. It didn't take long before all three baskets of buns were wrapped and ready to be steamed.

After finishing the work at hand, he remembered the small wooden board with the prices written on it, so he quickly took it out and placed the small wooden board upright in front of the stall.

At this time, there was movement over there at the market, the sound of carts and the crisp hooves of horses and mules breaking through the darkness. Gradually, guests began to come over from the market, preparing to finish their breakfast and leave the city.

As the steam rose, the aroma of the meat buns spread. The old man at the porridge shop next door praised: "These buns smell so good, they must taste good."

The old woman smelled it and said, "Hey, this is not the same smell as when I worked in that rich family. It's even more fragrant than that."

Shen Yu calculated the time in his mind and estimated that the meat buns that were put into the steamer first could be taken out of the pot, so he took down the two steamed buns wrapped in a cloth towel. Sure enough, the steamed buns were white and plump, and the steaming hot air gave off waves of tempting meat aroma. Because the filling of the buns today was added with cooking oil and broth, it smelled even more fragrant than the steamed buns yesterday.

Li happily whispered, "Yuzhi, this smells even better than the buns we had yesterday."

Shen Yu also whispered playfully: "Mom, this is the effect we want. Only when the buns smell good will people buy them."