Chapter 13: 13

Transmigrated into Substitute Bride Fu Lang

Chapter 13 : 重新开业

[Reopening the business] 

Chen Xing did not rush to open the stall after renting it, but took advantage of the time he had now to go for another stroll around the stall to ascertain the size of that stall and then started to calculate what to add to it.

    

Previously, when Chen Xing sold Mapo Tofu, he only had a wheelbarrow, so he was limited in what he could sell, but now that he had a fixed stall spot and could make a fire, therefore he had a lot more ideas to implement.

 

First, Chen Xing was going to get some bamboo curtains to cover both sides of the stall, so that it could not only block the wind but also rain. 

 

Secondly, Chen Xing also needed to get two sets of tables and chairs to put there, so that it would be convenient for customers and at the same time increase the flow of customers.

 

Finally, Chen Xing also planned to add one more food menu, so that customers could have many more options to choose from, and then he would be able to earn money more quickly.

 

Looking at what he had written down, Chen Xing sighed silently, glad that the official had not asked him to pay the stall fee for a year in one go yesterday, otherwise he definitely would not have the money to buy these things today.

 

Taking the detailed list, Chen Xing went straight to the carpenter’s shop where he had bought the unicycle last time and asked directly how much the cheapest tables and chairs were sold here. After all, he himself didn’t know how long the stall would last and there was no point in buying too good ones. 

 

The old carpenter obviously still knew him and looked at him twice after hearing his request and then quoted a price that was still quite low in Chen Xing’s estimation.

    

Chen Xing readily agreed and afterwards asked politely about the bamboo curtains.

 

This time, the old carpenter did not give him an immediate answer, but looked at him and asked, “What do you want to use it for?”

 

Chen Xing didn’t hide anything from him and told him about the curtain he wanted to use to keep out from the wind and also in a mild and roundabout way brought up the fact that he didn’t have much budget left.

 

The old carpenter looked at his worried look and after a little contemplation, he gave a suggestion, “If you don’t care about the aesthetics, I suggest you use cogongrass (thatch) to weave the curtain. It’s not only windproof but also waterproof. The most important thing is that it didn’t cost a lot if you compared that with a bamboo curtain, so you can save almost two-thirds of the money.”

 

Chen Xing’s eyes lit up immediately and he responded without hesitation. He felt that he could care less about aesthetics since the most important thing now was to save money little by little. 

 

Seeing that Chen Xing agreed, the two signed a contract. The old carpenter guaranteed to move the seats Chen Xing wanted to the designated location in three days as well as to get the barrier curtain Chen Xing wanted.

 

After dealing with the carpenter’s shop’s matter, Chen Xing took the remaining money and went to the vegetable market. He wanted to add new food so naturally needed more ingredients.

 

The owner of that tofu stall looked utterly surprised to see him. He looked at him incredulously and asked, “Are you alright?”

 

It was known that Chen Xing would not be able to set up his stall for some time after Lai Jiu had picked fault with him, so he had even come over to talk to the tofu owner about temporarily stopping the supply of tofu.

 

When he heard the tofu stall owner ask this question, Chen Xing was still a bit confused, “What’s wrong with me?”

 

The stall owner was a bit embarrassed and spoke in a squeaky voice, but finally he said, “You were so panicked when you came here that day that I thought you were haunted by the evil spirits in that residence and had to move to another place to escape.”

 

Chen Xing looked at the embarrassed man in front of him somewhat speechlessly, he really couldn’t figure out why the hole in his brain was so big for a man in business, it was too bad that he didn’t go to write a book.

 

However, Chen Xing quickly remembered that he was here to do business, he first explained his request to the stall owner and asked for more soya bean milk in addition to the original amount of tofu. 

 

Hearing that, the stall owner didn’t ask too many questions, and after accepting Chen Xing’s deposit, he promised that he would deliver the goods to the Gu Mansion in a few days’ time as promised.

 

A few days later, the stall Chen Xing had rented had a completely new look and he was ready to reopen.

 

The night before the opening, Chen Xing especially cooked a table of good food to celebrate his new start with Gu Lang and Qiu Jiu. 

 

Gu Lang looked at the ‘glowing with pride and happiness’ Chen Xing, slightly curled his lips, lifted the cup of tea in his hand and said to him, “I wish you a great opening (auspicious beginning).”

 

Chen Xing answered him with a foolish smile and also lifted the tea in his hand to toast the cup with him, thanking him cheerfully.

 

Gu Lang looked at the silly and cute Chen Xing, his eyes flickered slightly but he didn’t say anything more. 

 

The next day, Chen Xing finished making mapo tofu at the Gu family Mansion and a barrel of jellied tofu from the soya bean milk before heading to his stall. 

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Mapo Tofu

 

Jellied tofu/ Bean Curd Jelly

When he arrived at the stall, Chen Xing first made a fire to steam rice, then put the easily cooled mapo tofu on the stove to warm it up and found a good spot for the jellied tofu before finally taking out the special chilli oil to prepare the dipping water.

 

Until the old customers looked for Chen Xing’s stall, they first smelled a nice rice aroma, then a slight bean aroma, and finally the spicy smell of Mapo Tofu.

 

The one who rushed ahead was Aunt Sheng whom he had not seen for a long time. As soon as she saw Chen Xing, she shouted, “You, this little boss, where have you been lately? My grandson has been thinking about your food. In the end, I couldn’t find him but today, I finally found you. You have to give me more later!”

 

Chen Xing looked at that fiendish and fierce look of Aunt Sheng, but the smile on his face did not diminish at all. He good-naturedly said as he looked at her, “Okay. I’ve had some troubles recently, so I’ve been absent from the stall for a few days. I’m sorry!”

 

That Aunt Sheng looked at Chen Xing who always had a gentle expression on his face no matter what she said, thinking of the rumours she had heard a few days ago, she was a little embarrassed, thus he looked at Chen Xing with a slightly awkward expression.

 

Chen Xing could see her embarrassment and pretend that he didn’t see it. He knew that Aunt Sheng was just a bit short-tempered but she was not a bad person, so he smiled and asked her, “Aunt Sheng, do you still want two bowls of mapo tofu today? I’ve made something new, would you like to try it?”

 

When she heard Chen Xing say this, Aunt Sheng looked at him with some suspicion, “What kind of food?”

 

Chen Xing smiled faintly as he opened the wooden bucket with the jellied tofu inside and introduced it to her, “This is jellied tofu complete with a dipping water, suitable for people who don’t eat much spicy food. Because there is no meat, it is cheaper than Mapo Tofu, only five yuan for one portion.”

 

Aunt Sheng looked at the tender tofu that was white and different from usual tofu and then at Chen Xing’s smiling face, hesitated for a moment and said straight away, “Then I’ll have one portion of flower bean curd and one portion of mapo tofu.”

 

“Okay!” Chen Xing took the money given by Aunt Sheng, and quickly prepared the two portions for her. Besides that, he also gave her a little more as she had instructed.

 

After Aunt Sheng took away her meal, more and more customers came behind her. What Chen Xing did not expect was that the bean curd jelly rice was actually more popular than the mapo tofu, and most of the people who came chose the bean flower rice after hesitating for a while. Looking at the rapidly decreasing number of bean curd jelly, Chen Xing began to think in his mind that he would have to prepare more bean curd flowers tomorrow. 

[/mfn]Wow, I didn’t know it could be eaten with rice. I only know the sweet version as dessert one[/mfn]

While Chen Xing was so busy, a boy was walking around with a piece of canvas at the place where he previously had set up his stall and shouted as he walked, “Mapo Tofu has moved to the end of the street, go there if you want to eat it!” The boy’s voice was so loud that anyone passing by could basically hear him.

 

After the boy shouted several more times, a woman who had been staying next to Granny Sun gave the boy a fed up look and then looked coldly at Grandma Sun and said unhappily, 

 

“Granny Sun, why is your grandson fussing around in the middle of the day instead of helping you with your business? How can we do business when he is drawing business to others?”

 

Granny Sun handed the customers the freshly made wontons in her hand and said without raising her head, “He basically informed the customers who wanted to eat there, even if my grandson didn’t tell them, those customers wouldn’t have eaten anything else either, so how could he take away your business?”

 

The woman felt more and more unhappy at her words, but she knew that although Granny Sun looked polite, yet she was able to make a living here peacefully bringing her grandson, so she was obviously not someone that easy to be pushed around or mess with either.

 

Hence the woman’s eyes rolled and she deliberately said aloud, “The official invited both you and that Ger that day. As a result, that Ger is now being kicked out of this street, so couldn’t it be that you guys did something to provoke that official to punish him right?”

 

Her words immediately drew the eyes of the busybody people around her and they all looked towards Granny Sun, wanting to know if what she said was true.

 

But Granny Sun wiped her hands unhurriedly and said slowly, “Ordinary people and civilians like us, how can we make any mistakes? The official took us there because the county magistrate knew about Lai Jiu’s kicking over Chen Xing’s stall. The Lai family had recently been punished and their assets seized, including a stall on a street corner. The county magistrate rented that stall to him cheaply in order to compensate him.”

 

“What? The stall on the street corner was rented to him?!”

    

Granny Sun lifted her eyelids and looked at the woman’s face that had become slightly distorted from knowing about it, “Yes, that’s right, the County Magistrate is a good man, knowing that he doesn’t have much money, he especially charges him with only half of the money.”

 

Hearing this, the woman covered her chest with a pained look and gritted her teeth, “Such a good thing, how come it’s not my turn?”

 

The other street vendors who had been listening to their conversation nearby, nodded along uncontrollably. Everyone knew that the best place to do business was at one end of the street, because the entrance and exit were the places with the highest traffic.

 

Chen Xing’s current stall was not only in such a location, but it was also not easy for anyone to cause trouble as there were officers and soldiers stationed not far away around. The most important thing is that the stall’s rent is so low.

 

At once, those hawkers who had thought that Chen Xing had suffered great pain and hardship a few days ago revealed a ‘green with envy’ look, wishing that they were the ones whose stall had been kicked over in the first place.

 

While the hawkers were beating their breast and stamp on their feet in sorrow and regretting, not far away from the entrance of the restaurant, a plump woman was leaning against the door, her eyes first sweeping over the desolate tables of customers inside the restaurant, then looking at the boy who kept shouting with the banner in his hand. In a stern tone, she said to the idle young waiter beside her, 

 

“Go and find out what that damn old woman’s grandson is doing? Besides that, ask also what’s the situation with that little Ger?”

 

 

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