Today, market-goers noticed a new wonton stall had appeared in the marketplace.
Selling wontons wasn’t unusual – there were already three or four wonton stalls in the market, along with numerous other food vendors.
What was remarkable was that the stall owner was a young Niangzi. Despite this being her first time setting up shop, her movements were deft and efficient, showing no trace of the awkwardness typically seen in those unaccustomed to working in public.
Sheng An paid no mind to the curious glances from all around. Hearing the bubbling sound from the pot, she set down the freshly wrapped wontons and stepped forward to lift the lid.
A massive cloud of steam billowed out, and an irresistible meaty aroma instantly filled the air, striking straight to the crown of one’s head.
Gulu—
A chorus of swallowing sounds echoed around as passersby who hadn’t had breakfast yet felt their stomachs growling with sudden craving. They stopped in their tracks, looking toward the source of the fragrance.
People couldn’t quite describe how tempting the spreading aroma was, only feeling an overwhelming desire to eat.
Sheng An was hungry too. Instead of immediately soliciting customers, she first cooked herself a bowl of wontons.
The meaty scent in the air grew increasingly rich and potent, attracting more and more pedestrians. This was simply incomparable to homemade meat broth.
Just as Sheng An was about to sit down with her steaming bowl of wontons, a well-dressed elderly gentleman approached, gazing eagerly at the bowl. “Boss, how’s the taste?”
Sheng An hadn’t expected such a question.
After glancing at the old man, she stood up and brought over a clean bowl and spoon, transferring about a third of her wontons along with broth. “First day in business, and you’re the first to ask. Please have a taste.”
The old man’s face lit up with delight. He lifted the hem of his robe and sat down without ceremony. “How generous of you, boss. Then this old man won’t stand on ceremony.”
Sheng An smiled, pushing the bowl and spoon toward him before burying her head in her own meal.
The old man didn’t immediately eat the wontons. Instead, he carefully took a spoonful of broth.
The moment the hot soup touched his tongue, it was like a hundred flowers blooming in spring, instantly blossoming in his heart.
The old man’s narrowed eyes flew wide open, staring at the bowl of wontons as if in disbelief.
Urgently, he took another spoonful of broth, closed his eyes to savor it carefully, and gradually revealed an expression of astonished delight. “Good, good, absolutely wonderful!”
Without hesitation, the old man immediately scooped up a wonton.
Looking at the translucent wrapper that clearly revealed the filling inside, he couldn’t help but marvel, continuing his tasting with great anticipation.
When the fresh, fragrant, tender, and smooth wonton – completely free of any meaty odor – entered his mouth, the delight in the old man’s eyes intensified. He gave Sheng An a thumbs up. “Young lady, remarkable skill!”
Sheng An remained composed. “I think so too.”
The old man was taken aback, as if encountering such an unmodest person for the first time.
Then he burst into hearty laughter that drew the attention of numerous passersby. “Excellent! Get me a bowl – a large one!”
“Coming right up! I’ll cook it as soon as I finish eating.”
Despite landing her first customer, Sheng An didn’t let it interfere with her meal.
She quickened her pace and soon finished most of her bowl of wontons.
By the time Sheng An reached the stove to cook the wontons, several people who knew the old man had gathered to ask: “How’s the taste?”
The old man answered truthfully: “Absolutely wonderful.”
Hearing this, the questioners didn’t hesitate any longer and immediately called out to Sheng An: “Boss, another bowl!”
The remaining three people, seeing this, raised their voices one after another: “Five bowls! We need five bowls in total, all large ones!”
The first day of setting up the stall brought a roaring success, and Sheng An was overjoyed. With exceptionally swift movements, she cooked five large bowls of Wonton: “Large bowl, eight wen. Thank you for your patronage.”
Eight wen was the market price for a large bowl of pure meat-filled Wonton, while the small bowl cost six wen.
The elderly man and his companions didn’t mind spending a little on a meal of Wonton. They paid cheerfully and began enjoying the Wonton that had tantalized their cravings.
Forty wen in hand, Sheng An gleefully tucked the coins into her money pouch.
Whether it was because the elderly man and his friends ate with such relish or because the aroma was simply irresistible, a crowd of customers soon gathered:
“Boss, one small bowl, extra soup—I love the broth.”
“Boss, I have a big appetite. Give me one large and one small, two bowls in total.”
“Boss, your Wonton smells incredible. I’d like to take one bowl for my son. Can I bring the bowl back tomorrow?”
Faced with the takeaway request, Sheng An promptly offered a packaging service:
“Of course. An additional deposit of four wen is required. When the bowl is returned, the full deposit will be refunded.”
The request was perfectly reasonable, and the customer immediately paid the extra four wen deposit.
With so many people, the small square table and four stools were far from enough.
The customers didn’t mind at all. They simply crouched in a corner with their bowls and ate, enthusiastically praising the delicious Wonton with those around them.
People tend to follow the crowd. Passersby, seeing the Wonton stall swarmed with customers and everyone ordering large bowls as if they were free, couldn’t help but gather around to see what the fuss was about.
Once they joined the crowd, they too succumbed to the enticing aroma, unconsciously opening their money pouches and thrusting copper coins toward Sheng An.
Sheng An hadn’t expected business to be so booming on the very first day. The over two hundred Wonton she had prepared earlier were all cooked and sold in no time, leaving no chance to wrap the remaining ones.
When Xu Cuilian arrived, she saw from a distance that the stall was surrounded by a crowd, with no sign of Sheng An visible.
Startled, she thought someone was causing trouble. Immediately rolling up her sleeves, she barged through the crowd with fierce determination:
“Shameless scoundrels, bullying a young married woman? Just wait till I teach you a lesson!”
When Xu Cuilian finally pushed her way through and saw Sheng An, drenched in sweat and constantly urged by customers, she realized what was happening and stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
Could this niece-in-law of hers, who didn’t seem to have an ounce of meat on her chest or hips, really be this skilled at business?
Just look at these grown men crowding around, acting like starving ghosts who hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years.
Sheng An spotted Xu Cuilian right away and immediately called out to her as if seeing a savior:
“Aunt, come quickly and help me wrap Wonton! I can’t manage with just my two hands!”
Xu Cuilian wouldn’t refuse. Following Sheng An’s instructions, she washed her hands, took over the task of wrapping Wonton, and urged Sheng An to attend to the customers.
With an extra pair of hands, Sheng An’s pressure eased significantly. She boiled Wonton, collected payments, cleared bowls, washed them, and sterilized them with boiling water, barely pausing for a moment.
Soon, the remaining two hundred or so Wonton were sold out, with not a speck of filling left. Only the Bone Soup in the pot could fill two more bowls.
The customers who missed out on the Wonton were disappointed, but one person actually spent three wen to buy both bowls of meat broth.
This scene left Xu Cuilian utterly dumbfounded.
After nearly two hours of intense work, Sheng An felt completely drained. She plopped down on a stool, not wanting to get up at all.
Xu Cuilian clicked her tongue, gazing regretfully at the bustling market:
“We can still sell for another hour. Tomorrow you should prepare more wontons. I think we’ll need at least a thousand.”
Sheng An said gloomily: “Do you think I don’t want to? It’s not that I don’t have three heads and six arms. As you can see, auntie, I simply can’t handle everything by myself.”
She had still underestimated the temptation of good food for people.
Especially people in this era, who hadn’t experienced the baptism of various delicacies from her previous life – they had no resistance at all to a bowl of buff-enhanced wontons.