Siheyuan: Started in 1950, third-level cook

The next day, early in the morning.

After a simple breakfast, Chen Jun and Lin Yao started to work.

In order to keep up with the supply for lunch today, Chen Jun arranged for Lin Yao to start steaming rice early in the morning, while he was kneading dough and steaming buns on the side.

After all, Beijing is in the north, and more people eat noodles than rice.

When they were setting up their stall yesterday, many customers were not used to eating rice and came to them to ask for steamed buns.

But yesterday I decided to set up the stall on a whim and didn’t prepare any steamed buns at all.

Two large wooden barrels were prepared for today's rice, and two baskets of steamed buns were also steamed.

Chen Jun was busy until eight o'clock in the morning before he found time to go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables.

In addition to the ingredients needed to cook the four dishes, Chen Jun also bought a lot of cabbage and radishes.

When setting up a stall to do business, the environment is definitely not as good as those in big restaurants. If you want more repeat customers, you can only compare the taste and the details.

So Chen Jun bought some cabbage and radishes, planning to make some spicy cabbage and pickled radishes as side dishes.

Small cold dishes and broken tea leaves are provided free of charge.

Having some cold dishes with your meal can also help whet your appetite.

Sour radish needs to be pickled, so today I can only provide kimchi as a cold dish.

With the current stall environment in Beijing, Chen Jun’s free tea and cold dishes will definitely leave a deep impression on customers.

Apart from anything else, Fengdeng Building definitely doesn't have this kind of service. The only thing they provide for free is hot water, and you have to get it yourself.

People always like to get small bargains, even if it is just a cup of tea or a plate of cold dish, they will give priority to Chen Jun’s stall next time.

Even though there are so many rich people in Beijing, they are still human beings. If they can eat delicious food and get some small bargains, they will even feel that they have made a good deal.

When Chen Jun returned home after buying groceries, the steamed buns and rice were already prepared.

The rice was put into a wooden barrel to keep it warm, and the steamed buns were placed in a bamboo basket and covered with a newly made quilt.

Seeing Chen Jun coming back, Lin Yao hurried over to help, and even his mother Wang Xia came out.

After taking the Wenshen Yangyuan Pill, Wang Xia was almost recovered except for being a little weak.

After finishing the work, Chen Jun gave Lin Yao a task, which was to borrow a cart.

Today they added several tables and prepared so many more ingredients that the cart at home definitely couldn't hold them all.

Lin Yao thought for a moment and then said, "It seems that Uncle Wang in the front yard has a cart. I'll go ask him."

When Chen Jun heard that it was the cart from Uncle Wang's house in the front yard, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

"No, Lin Yao, what do you think? Uncle Wang used to be a dung hauler. Do you want to use their cart to transport vegetables?"

"Uh, I haven't done anything in the past two years." Lin Yao scratched his head.

Uncle Wang previously worked at the street office, responsible for cleaning several public toilets nearby.

A couple of years ago, Uncle Wang was in poor health, so he quit his job and the cart became idle.

"That won't work. No matter how clean the cart is, we can't use it."

In his previous life, Chen Jun spoke out online about the issue of mixing kerosene and cooking oil in tanker trucks. Now he cannot do such an immoral thing.

Even though this cart hasn't been used to carry manure for two years!

Seeing this, Lin Yao scratched her head, then pointed to the east and said, "How about I go to my classmate's house at the entrance of the alley and borrow a cart. They used to sell vegetables with a cart."

"Okay, the vegetable seller is fine."

After saying that, Chen Jun took out a dollar from his pocket and put it into Lin Yao's hand.

Lin Yao looked at the money in her hand with some confusion.

"Even though we are classmates, we can't use someone else's cart for free. This dollar is the rent for one week."

"When we have money in the future, we will buy a new one ourselves."

"One dollar for seven days?" Lin Yao subconsciously wanted to refuse.

"We have a good relationship, so there's no need to give so much. One dollar can buy more than a pound of pork."

Alas, having been so poor before, Lin Yao was really reluctant to spend a dollar to rent a cart.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jun reached out and tapped Lin Yao's head: "It's just one dollar, it's better than owing someone a favor, right? We are not short of money now."

Wang Xia on the side also nodded: "Your brother is right, and your classmate is also a child, she may not be able to make the decision."

After listening to what they said, Lin Yao nodded as if she understood.

"Okay, I'll go now."

After saying that, Lin Yao went out with one dollar in her pocket and headed straight to her classmate's house at the entrance of the alley.

After Chen Jun and Wang Xia prepared all the ingredients, Lin Yao also pushed the cart back home.

The three of them began to load the cart, loading the tools and other things onto their own cart, and loading the ingredients and steamed buns onto the borrowed cart.

This way, tools and ingredients can be separated to ensure the cleanliness of the ingredients.

After finishing all this, it was already past nine in the morning.

"Okay, mom. Lin Yao and I are going out first. You should have a good rest at home."

After telling their mother to go back to the house and rest, the brother and sister pushed the cart out.

After they left, the information exchange center in the hospital went into an uproar, with people speculating about what the brother and sister were going to do.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about? It's so lively."

The aunties looked in the direction of the voice and found that the person who spoke was actually Sha Zhu.

The lady was a little surprised and asked, "Why did you just go out? It's already so late."

"Hey, I'm cooking now. No need to clean and chop vegetables early." Sha Zhu raised his chin with some pride.

When the aunts heard this, they all praised it.

"You are really capable, Zhuzi. It didn't take long for you to be able to cook at Fengdeng Tower. You are born to be a cook."

"Haha, it's not bad, not bad." After being praised by the aunties, Sha Zhu felt a little embarrassed.

"Hey, what were you guys talking about just now? Why is it so lively?"

The aunt looked at the backyard and then said, "Just now, the Chen brothers and sisters pushed two carts out of the house. I don't know what they went to do."

"Pushing a cart?" Sha Zhu was also stunned and didn't understand what was going on.

But this is not important. Sha Zhu didn't take it to heart. He waved to the aunt in the yard and went out to work.

The courtyard is not far from Fengdeng Tower. Chen Jun and his sister talked as they walked, calculating how much money they could make today.

When Lin Yao heard that she had made money and could buy new clothes for the New Year, she jumped for joy.

Lin Yao hasn't worn new clothes for many years, and even the cotton jacket she was wearing had some traces of splicing at the cuffs.

This is because the cuffs are not long enough, so new cuffs are sewn on.

Chen Jun's clothes were not much better, his cotton jacket had eight patches on it.

Just as the two of them were chatting enthusiastically, a familiar voice came from behind them.

"Hey, it really is you two."

"You're still pushing the cart. What are you doing? Are you going to set up a stall?"