Gu Yanxi patted his head, never imagining her younger brother had such aspirations in his childhood. It was only due to sudden family misfortunes that his studies were delayed.
Had it not been for this, he might have already passed the imperial examinations at the county or prefectural level.
“Ah Yu, after we save up enough money in a while, I’ll send you to Yunchang Academy.”
Hearing this,
Gu Yu suddenly turned around, his face full of disbelief. “Really?”
Gu Yanxi nodded.
“Sis, that’s wonderful!” Gu Yu choked up. “From now on, you’re my heaven and earth. I’ll protect you—anyone who dares bully you will have to step over my dead body!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s not that serious.”
Gu Yanxi poked her younger brother’s forehead with her finger.
Over the next few days,
Gu Yanxi and Gu Yu set up their stall early and returned late every day.
The customer flow at their stall gradually stabilized. While not as booming as the first few days, they now sold about five hundred portions daily.
Gu Yanxi calculated that since starting the stall, they had earned over thirty taels. After deducting costs and family expenses, they now had twenty-five taels saved.
She inquired and learned that Yunchang Academy’s Tuition Offering required twenty taels per year, with writing materials needing separate purchases—all expensive items. Twenty-five taels wouldn’t be enough.
They would need to run the stall for several more days until they had sufficient funds before considering this matter.
One day,
Gu Yanxi and her younger brother pushed their stall cart to its spot early.
Two days prior, she had rented a fixed stall at a high price—the location closest to Yunchang Academy’s back gate, where scholars could see it immediately upon exiting.
Upon arrival, they heard the neighboring bun shop’s hawking:
“Don’t miss out passing by! Freshly made iron plate pan-fried buns! Guaranteed to make you crave more after one bite, and remember them for a month after one day!”
“Two coins each! No regrets, no scams! Come and taste them~”
Shopkeeper Zhu of the bun shop enthusiastically called out customers.
Beside him sat a chubby child performing a eating show, holding a bun in each hand, his mouth stuffed full, eating until oil dripped from his lips—it truly looked delicious.
For a time, this attracted many scholars to gather around.
“Shopkeeper, are these iron plate pan-fried buns tasty? What’s the filling?”
“What kind of buns are iron plate pan-fried buns? Are they as fragrant and spicy as Tieban Tudou?”
“Your buns are bright red—they look quite festive. Give me one.”
“Let me try two to taste—”
After the first person tried them, other scholars followed suit to purchase.
The bun shop was surrounded tightly.
Seeing the neighboring business thriving while their own stall stood empty, Gu Yu grew worried.
“That bun shop owner specially hired someone to perform eating beside him. Can’t those people tell? That child looks about to throw up, yet they’re still rushing to buy.”
“Sis, he’s copying us with this iron plate pan-fried bun thing. If this continues, he’ll steal all our business.”
Gu Yanxi remained perfectly calm. “In business, we can’t control what others do. We just need to focus on doing our best.”
Just then, a customer arrived at their stall.
“Gu Boss, two portions of Tieban Tudou.”
“Coming right up, please wait a moment.”
“Gu Boss, your potato flavor is really good. When will you have new items? It’d be great to try new flavors.”
Gu Yanxi had an excellent memory. This Young Master Yang came to the stall every day to buy potatoes, always ordering five portions without fail, but this time he only asked for two.
Tieban Tudou and Liangmian had been selling steadily for nearly half a month.
Eating the same things every day would inevitably lead to boredom.
It seemed it was time to introduce new items.
After selling those two portions of potatoes in the morning, no one else came.
Gu Yu was pacing anxiously nearby.
The bun shop was right next door, and Gu Yanxi carefully observed Boss Zhu’s method.
She watched as he poured a little oil onto the iron griddle, placed raw buns directly into the pan to fry, sprinkled them with chili powder after frying, then flipped them a few times with a spatula… and then the buns burned.
Gu Yanxi shook her head inwardly.
At first, she thought Boss Zhu was clever for attempting pan-fried buns, but… he only grasped the surface without understanding the essence.
After the bottom of the buns turns golden brown, you need to add starch water. Only then will the buns cook through, with a crispier bottom.
Boss Zhu just kept flipping the buns, so the outside cooked while the filling remained raw.
“Just wait, the customers will come back.”
Gu Yanxi comforted her younger brother.
Now she felt even more confident about her Tieban Tudou and Liangmian.
Just then.
A large group of familiar faces suddenly swarmed over.
“Ugh—yuck, that was so bitter! They call it ‘Iron Griddle Pan-Fried Buns’? More like devil buns! Boss Gu, your potatoes and cold noodles are way better. Give me one of each. Ugh—”
“Those buns looked big, but the outside was burnt and the inside was raw. The meat… stank like rot! I’ll have one Tieban Tudou and one Liangmian too.”
“One Liangmian for me! That bun shop has never been good, and today’s taste confirmed it—still as awful as ever!”
“Pah! What crap buns, even dogs wouldn’t eat them.”
“All bitterness and rawness, they didn’t even bother with seasoning!”
“…”
Curses filled the air, all directed at the bun shop.
Some cheated students came back to demand refunds from the bun shop owner.
Boss Zhu refused outright, using the excuse “You’ve already eaten them, no refunds,” and fled with his cart.
With the ‘Iron Griddle Pan-Fried Buns’ as a comparison, Gu Yanxi’s business improved even more.
Everyone praised Boss Gu’s skills, saying they rivaled those of a top restaurant chef, unmatched by ordinary people.
Some even became die-hard fans of Gu Yanxi, vowing to buy potatoes and cold noodles every day and never ‘betray’ Boss Gu again.
Meanwhile, Boss Zhu hid at the end of the street with his cart. Seeing Gu Yanxi’s stall crowded again, his fat head and big ears flushed red with anger.
He yanked his chubby son’s ear to vent, “It’s all your fault! You didn’t eat appetizingly enough, so no one came to buy. I’ll beat you to death!”
Madam Zhu hurried over to stop him, “Husband, if the buns don’t sell, they don’t sell. What does it have to do with our son? Let go now, you’re making him bleed!”
“You damn woman!”
Boss Zhu shoved his wife, “How dare you say that? It’s your fault for making buns that are burnt and raw. You served them with the filling uncooked, and so many people are demanding refunds. Did you do it on purpose?!”
“How could I do it on purpose? You said everyone wants strong flavors in the morning and insisted I make these ‘Iron Griddle Pan-Fried Buns.’ Now you’re blaming me and our son? You’re inhuman!”
“Hey! You dare talk back to me? Take that, and that!”
Rain-like fists pounded down on Zhu’s wife.
It was only after a long while, when he had exhausted his strength, that he stopped.
“It must be the steamed buns’ fault. Tomorrow, I’ll sell Tieban Tudou and Liangmian too!” As he spoke, Boss Zhu grabbed his wife by the hair and snarled viciously, “Come back with me and make Tieban Tudou and Liangmian. We’ll start selling them tomorrow!”
“Husband, I beg you, stop this reckless messing around. Although our steamed buns are ordinary, they at least barely sustain our livelihood. If we keep messing around like this, our whole family will starve to death~”
Although Gu Yanxi’s business was booming, each customer only ordered small portions.
By the time the sun was directly overhead, there were still about ten servings of ingredients left.
Seeing that noon was almost over, Gu Yanxi decided to stop selling and began packing up to go home.
Just then, a man in black, carrying a large blade, approached. “One serving of Tieban Tudou!”