Yun Yin had many things to do today. Besides preparing to open her food stall, she also needed to test her dishes.
Just in time, the workers Zhang Lin had invited from Linjiang Village to build the thatched hut had arrived. Yun Yin would be responsible for their lunch and dinner, so she planned to let them taste the food and see if it suited their preferences.
Zhang Lin had already tried the pickled fish stew. As for staples, besides rice, the other option would be noodles.
Yun Yin decided to make two types: simple clear broth noodles (Yangchun noodles) and scallion oil tossed noodles.
Yangchun noodles were easy to make. First, she prepared a broth. In the past, when she wanted something simple, she would just boil noodles, add a bit of lard and soy sauce, and sprinkle scallions on top—it was already delicious. But now that she would be selling to customers, she decided to make a proper broth.
She washed pork bones and threw them into a large pot, adding ginger to remove the smell. After adding firewood, she let it simmer on its own.
For the noodles, she poured flour into a large basin and mixed it with water at a ratio of one jin of flour to half a jin of water, adding a pinch of salt. She kneaded it into a rough dough, let it rest, then kneaded it again until smooth.
After that, she divided the dough into small portions, rolled them into strips, lightly oiled them, and set them aside. When it was time to cook, she could stretch them into noodles.
With the noodles ready, she began preparing the fish. Since there were more people this time, she added some cabbage. Cabbage cooked in pickled fish stew was especially delicious and went well with rice.
Lastly, she prepared scallion oil. She poured soybean oil into a pan and slowly fried chopped scallions over low heat until golden and fragrant, then added soy sauce and a bit of sugar. Once the sugar melted, the scallion oil was ready.
As Yun Yin cooked the pickled fish stew, the workers gradually lost focus. By the time she started frying the scallion oil, they were constantly glancing in her direction.
When the time felt right, Yun Yin began stretching and cooking the noodles.
Zhang Lin called the workers over. Yun Yin handed them bowls of Yangchun noodles.
“Start with this. There’ll be scallion oil noodles later. If you don’t like noodles, you can have rice instead.”
Once they began eating, Yun Yin also took a bowl of scallion oil noodles for herself.
Though simple, scallion oil noodles had a pure, original flavor—the wheat aroma of the noodles and the fragrance of scallions blended into something surprisingly delightful.
She quickly finished a bowl, then followed it with a hot bowl of broth noodles. It was so good that even immortals wouldn’t be able to resist.
After eating, she saw the villagers practically burying their faces in their bowls, and she felt deeply satisfied.
For a cook, nothing was a greater reward than seeing people enjoy the food so much.
They all praised her cooking, saying it was the best noodles and dishes they had ever eaten. Seeing how much they liked it, Yun Yin decided to start by selling these two types of noodles and expand the menu later.
She didn’t have much money yet, so it was best to begin with simple, affordable dishes.
The thatched hut was quickly completed. After inspecting it and finding no issues, Yun Yin paid the workers and said,
“As agreed, once this hut is finished, please help me build another one.”
She had already decided this—since Zhang Lin worked for her, he needed a proper place to live. The hut by the official road belonged to someone else; it was fine temporarily, but not long-term.
So she planned to build another hut nearby for him.
While the workers went to choose a location, Yun Yin prepared the final setup for her stall. She had already ordered tables and chairs in town—she just needed to bring them back.
She retrieved the baskets she had hidden earlier and fetched her glass jars and books from the mountains, storing them in the hut before heading to town again.
With Zhang Lin watching things, she felt at ease. There were still many seasonings she hadn’t bought. If the county weren’t so far away, she would have gone there instead.
She also needed to start preparing mushroom sauce for Luo Man.
Zhang Lin had bought dried mushrooms—mostly straw mushrooms, since they were the most commonly gathered locally. Yun Yin didn’t see any boletus mushrooms like the ones she had picked before. She wasn’t sure whether people didn’t recognize them or they simply didn’t grow here.
If she wanted those in the future, she might have to gather them herself.
She soaked the dried mushrooms, diced fresh lean pork, and chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Once the mushrooms were softened, she drained and chopped them. Heating oil in a pan, she stir-fried the pork until it changed color, then added the aromatics.
The pork sold in town had been properly processed, so it had no unpleasant odor—lean meat was especially suitable for her sauce.
After adding the mushrooms, she stir-fried them until soft, then mixed in soybean paste, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and spices. Finally, she added water and simmered it until thick, then stored it in jars.
She made extra batches while she had time.
By sunset, she had finished Luo Man’s order and even prepared dozens more jars. She had Zhang Lin deliver them.
The second hut by the roadside was also completed. After settling payments, Yun Yin prepared to open her stall.
She set up tables and chairs and hung a banner reading “Yun’s Eatery,” written by Village Head Sun.
Everything was ready—pre-made dough, firewood, and simmering broth.
Now all she needed were customers.
At dawn, the road was still empty. Yun Yin wasn’t worried. She cooked two bowls of Yangchun noodles for herself and Zhang Lin.
The morning air was cool, but the hot soup quickly warmed them.
After eating, Zhang Lin washed the bowls while Yun Yin peeled garlic.
Zhang Lin soon finished and sat beside her, helping—but he couldn’t sit still. He kept glancing toward the road.
“Don’t rush,” Yun Yin said. “It’s still early. When customers come, you’ll be too busy to keep up.”
Zhang Lin sighed.
“Yesterday, people passed by before sunrise. Now the sun’s almost up and still no one. What if no one comes all day?”
Yun Yin shook her head.
“Business requires patience. As long as the food is good and affordable, customers will come over time. It’s just the beginning—what are you so anxious about? I’m not worried at all.”
Zhang Lin tried to calm himself but couldn’t sit still.
Finally, Yun Yin said,
“If you can’t sit still, go clear some land. We’ve been given ten mu of land—I haven’t decided where yet. Find a good spot. We can start with one or two mu to grow scallions, garlic, and vegetables.”
“We shouldn’t have to buy everything—we need to save where we can.”
Zhang Lin grabbed a hoe and left.
After he was gone, the place became quiet except for the bubbling pot. Yun Yin sat by the stove, enjoying the gentle breeze and birdsong as she slowly peeled garlic.
Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats broke the silence.
She stood up, called Zhang Lin back, and said,
“You stay here. I’ll go take a look.”
She adjusted her clothes, touched the whip at her waist, and walked toward the road.
Listening carefully, she estimated over a dozen riders.
Soon, a tall, strong black horse appeared.
“What a beautiful horse,” she murmured.
Looking up, she saw a handsome man in fitted robes sitting upright on the horse. His sharp gaze held a fleeting hint of danger.
Instantly alert, Yun Yin rested her hand on her whip and stared at him.
The man noticed and stopped his horse without approaching. The others gathered behind him, guarding their goods.
Realizing her posture might seem threatening, Yun Yin quickly lowered her hand and smiled innocently.
“Um… would you like to have some breakfast?”