After all the bickering and commotion, something seemed to have quietly changed. The atmosphere between the two became more harmonious.
Sheng An didn’t notice the change. After the meal, seeing that Xu Jinnian wasn’t immediately heading to Fuzi’s place, she pulled him to the study and insisted on learning to read characters.
Naturally, Xu Jinnian wouldn’t refuse. He first tested her on the dozen or so characters they had learned last time.
Seeing that Sheng An could read every single one without mistake, Xu Jinnian couldn’t help but praise her repeatedly, his handsome face filled with admiration and pride for her.
After learning another dozen or so characters, Sheng An decisively left the study, carrying a basket to the Zhang Family to fetch pork bones.
This time, Xu Cuilian had saved more for her, filling the rather small basket to the brim.
By the time she returned home, Xu Jinnian had already left. Sheng An didn’t pay it much mind and began preparing for the next day’s stall.
Early the next morning, Sheng An appeared at her stall right on time.
Unexpectedly, the old man who had eaten her Wonton yesterday and his companions were already waiting there.
Smelling the same tantalizing aroma as the day before, the old man directly pulled out a bowl he had brought with him: “Boss, give me four large portions to take home.”
Such delicious Wonton naturally had to be shared with his family.
The other four followed his example, each pulling out their own oversized containers:
“I want six portions!”
“I want three portions!”
“I want three large and two small!”
“…”
Fortunately, the pot was big enough and the fire in the stove strong enough. Sheng An managed to cook everything in just two batches.
From this single group of customers alone, she earned two hundred wen.
Other customers still waiting in line watched this scene with some envy and asked Sheng An:
“Boss, your Wonton is so delicious. Do you have some secret recipe? I’ve tried others, but they’re nowhere near as good as yours.”
Sheng An smiled cheerfully, neither confirming nor denying: “I’m glad you like it. Please come again often.”
Although she didn’t say anything, everyone was convinced there was a secret recipe.
Never mind how fresh and flavorful the Wonton were, just the broth alone was mouthwateringly fragrant, completely comparable to the carefully brewed tonic soups of grand restaurants.
Heaven knows how much effort went into it.
And yet the price was fair—no wonder her business was booming after just two days of setting up the stall.
Even though she had prepared thoroughly based on yesterday’s experience, Sheng An, working alone, was still overwhelmed. The line in front of her stall was packed with waiting customers.
Some impatient customers, seeing how busy she was, even offered to help her cook the Wonton.
But Sheng An didn’t dare agree. If someone accidentally got burned or some other mishap occurred, her small business would likely come to an end.
A few grew tired of waiting and left after a short while to buy something else.
Sheng An didn’t mind this either. She decided that after closing up for the day, she would return to the village and ask Grandma Sheng to come lend a hand.
Outside the crowd, a servant-looking young man trudged forward dejectedly.
By chance, he caught a whiff of an extremely enticing aroma. The smell teased his already empty stomach, making it rumble like thunder. He couldn’t help but swallow hard several times.
Looking up and seeing the long queue, the servant instinctively followed it to its source and spotted the bustling Wonton stall.
Even though he was in a hurry to return to the mansion to report and face his master’s punishment, his feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to take a single step away.
Before he knew it, the servant found himself at the end of the line.
As if struck by a thought, his earlier dejection vanished. He tugged at the shirt of the person in front of him: “Brother, it’s just a Wonton stall. Why is the line so long?”
The person who happened to be asked had eaten wontons just yesterday. Upon hearing the servant’s question, he spoke with such enthusiasm that spittle flew everywhere:
“Don’t let its ordinary appearance fool you—this wonton stall has an exceptional cook. Both the broth and the wontons are absolutely superb. I guarantee one bite will leave you savoring the memory for a whole year. Try it yourself later, and you’ll see I’m not exaggerating!”
Ignoring the spray of saliva on his face, the servant eagerly grabbed the enthusiastic man’s hand and pressed further:
“Are they really that delicious? Even better than Yun Ji’s wontons?”
Yun Ji was a time-honored establishment in Qingzhou City, specializing in wontons, dumplings, and other dough-based foods. It was widely recognized and praised by the locals—otherwise, it wouldn’t have endured as a century-old shop.
“I’ve grown up eating Yun Ji’s wontons too,” the enthusiastic man replied matter-of-factly, without any intention of disparaging the renowned shop. “But compared to this stall’s version, I’d say Yun Ji’s are barely passable.”
Upon hearing this, the servant’s eyes lit up remarkably, gazing at the wonton stall as if it were his dream lover.
The line moved forward slowly. Just as the servant was about to reach the front, Sheng An announced to those still waiting:
“We’re running low on wontons—only enough for about eight more bowls. No need to keep lining up; come earlier tomorrow if you’d like to try some.”
The servant’s heart tightened, and he quickly counted the people ahead of him. Fortunately, he was exactly the eighth person.
Those behind him, realizing they wouldn’t get to eat, grumbled in frustration:
“Missed out yesterday, and now we’re late again today. This young vendor really doesn’t know how to run a business—why not prepare more?”
“Exactly! Turning away easy money—is the owner foolish or what?”
“…”
Sheng An didn’t hear their complaints. She had been tirelessly wrapping and boiling wontons since early morning, while also handling payments, collecting bowls, and washing up. Her hands were so exhausted they barely felt like her own.
After serving the last bowl of wontons, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and handed it to the final customer seated at the small square table: “That’ll be eight wen, thank you.”
The servant promptly paid and eagerly picked up his spoon to taste. With the first sip of broth, his mouth was filled with a fresh, savory richness that instantly awakened his taste buds, clamoring for more. The weariness from days of travel seemed to vanish in that moment, his mind wholly captivated by this humble bowl of wontons.
He finally believed the enthusiastic man hadn’t overstated—compared to this deceptively simple stall, Yun Ji’s wontons were indeed merely adequate.
Resisting the urge to devour the entire bowl, the servant tentatively asked Sheng An:
“Ma’am, I’d like to take this home for my father to try. Could I return the bowl and spoon tomorrow morning?”
Sheng An, busy tidying up the stall, replied without looking up: “Leave a four-wen deposit. Return the bowl and spoon tomorrow, and you’ll get the full deposit back.”
The servant hurriedly reached for his money pouch, but finding no copper coins inside, he directly placed a piece of broken silver on the counter: “Keep the change, ma’am. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
With that, he picked up the wontons and strode away without a backward glance.
Sheng An: “…”
Since when did wealthy people become so capricious?
With the help of a kind passerby, Sheng An managed to lift the large stove onto the pushcart. The journey home proceeded relatively smoothly.
Seeing that his daughter-in-law had returned early again, Xu Chenglin knew business had been good. He promptly urged Sheng An to sit and rest, insisting that the cleaning and washing could wait for Xu Jinnian to handle later.
Thoroughly worn out, Sheng An poured a cup of water for Xu Chenglin and began counting the day’s earnings. She hadn’t kept precise track of the number of wontons sold, but she knew it was significantly more than the previous day.
After counting all the money, the total came to four hundred and twelve wen.
After deducting costs, the net profit was about two hundred and seventy wen.
This profit was quite substantial.
Seeing great potential in selling wontons, Sheng An was filled with enthusiasm. Without stopping to rest, she informed Xu Chenglin and hurried back to the village without delay.
She didn’t return home empty-handed, making a detour to the Zhang Family’s pork stall to buy three jin of pork to bring back.
The Zhang father and son initially refused to accept payment, but Sheng An dropped the money and ran off, leaving them no chance to decline.
This time, when she arrived at Huai Tree Village, she didn’t run into the annoying Liu Huazhi. Sheng An made her way smoothly to the Sheng Family home.
However, Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng were out working in the fields. She had no choice but to slip the pork through the door crack and then follow her memory to the Sheng Family’s farmland, where she indeed spotted the elderly couple busy at work.
“An An, why have you come back so suddenly? Is there something urgent?”
Seeing her granddaughter, Grandma Sheng was both surprised and delighted. She quickly put down her hoe and hurried over.
“Grandma, it’s nothing urgent. I just came back to ask for your help.”
In a few words, Sheng An explained her difficulties, then held Grandma Sheng’s hand and swayed it playfully while acting coquettishly:
“Grandma, I really can’t handle everything on my own. If I don’t get help, this business is bound to fail, and your dear granddaughter will have nothing to eat but the northwest wind!”
Grandma Sheng was genuinely happy for her granddaughter and very much wanted to go to the city to lend a hand.
But looking at the fields waiting for the seedlings to be planted, she was torn: “Can it wait a few days? Once the field work is done, Grandma will definitely come help you.”
This concerned the harvest for the entire year. If the seedlings weren’t planted in time, they would go hungry the following year.
“Grandma, hire someone to do it—I’ll cover the wages.”
Sheng An immediately suggested a solution to Grandma Sheng, elaborating on the benefits of hiring labor:
“Labor is cheap in the countryside. If Grandma helps me sell wontons, the extra money I make each day could hire several people to work at home. It’s a very cost-effective deal.”
There were plenty of families in the village with more labor than land. This surplus workforce couldn’t just sit idle; they had to hire themselves out to other families to earn a meager income.
For just twenty wen a day, one could hire a strong adult laborer.
It was absurd that this was less than the price of three large bowls of wontons, but such was the reality.