Jiang Ran said, “Would you like to try the soup noodles? I adjusted the recipe. If you think it’s not spicy enough, you can add more chili oil. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
She was eager to find out whether her idea worked.
The man said, “Give me a bowl.”
The water had been boiling the whole time, and the rice batter was already prepared. While waiting for the water to come to a full boil, Jiang Ran quickly washed the bowls and chopsticks.
Once small bubbles appeared in the water, she poured the batter through the strainer to make the noodles. After cooking them, she transferred them into a bowl, topped them with minced meat, and poured over the bone broth.
Then she asked, “Would you like extra vinegar?”
The customer shook his head. “The same amount as yesterday is fine.”
Jiang Ran added a spoonful of vinegar and three spoonfuls of chili oil.
“There are little stools here. You can sit while you eat.”
Though there was no table, it was already much more convenient.
The customer carried his bowl behind the stall. Seeing Jiang Ran make her first sale, Auntie Zhao was delighted for her.
Jiang Ran turned and called out to the customer, “If the noodles end up being too spicy, you can try the sugar cakes from the auntie next door. They’re very delicious.”
Since there were no other customers at the moment, Jiang Ran took a bite of the sugar cake Auntie Zhao had given her.
The crust was golden, the inside soft and white, and the brown-red sugar filling flowed like molten sand.
Even just looking at it made it seem sweet and fragrant.
But the customer shook his head.
“I don’t like sweet food.”
Jiang Ran didn’t press the matter.
Instead, Auntie Zhao thanked her.
“Miss Jiang, thank you. Your idea was wonderful. Later, if anyone comes to buy cakes from me, I’ll recommend your stall too.”
Sugar cost a hundred copper coins per jin. Auntie Zhao sold her sugar cakes at seven coins each. Every cake earned her two or three coins in profit.
They were much more expensive than steamed flatbreads, but also far tastier. Kyoto was prosperous, and sweet cakes sold well. The fragrant scent released while cooking attracted many people to stop and ask about them.
The spice-loving customer buried his head in his bowl and slurped away.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ran sold two more bowls of noodles.
The lard-mixed noodles didn’t need any improvement for now. They were cheaper than soup noodles and sold faster.
The only problem was that there weren’t enough stools. Customers who came later had to stand while eating.
Jiang Ran planned to see how business went today. If sales were good, she would ask Jiang Song to make two more stools tonight.
The first customer had already finished eating.
By the time he stood up, the customers who came after him had also finished and left, leaving both stools empty.
The man’s face was bright red, and his lips were slightly swollen.
Jiang Ran asked worriedly, “Are you alright?”
The customer smiled.
“These noodles are delicious. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Although it was just a tiny street stall, it was the only one on this street willing to adjust flavors according to customers’ preferences.
This customer was especially important to Jiang Ran.
She said, “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll add even more chili for you.”
The customer seemed a little frightened.
He waved his hand quickly.
“No need. This is enough. But tomorrow, could you give me a larger serving of noodles?”
One bowl left a grown man in an awkward spot.
It wasn’t exactly enough to make him full, but it wasn’t enough to completely satisfy his craving either.
Jiang Ran smiled.
“That’s easy.”
After he left, another customer arrived and ordered the mixed noodles.
After finishing one bowl, he asked, “Miss, can I add more noodles?”
Jiang Ran replied, “Would you like another bowl? I’ll cook one right away.”
The customer hurriedly shook his head.
“No, no. There’s still some sauce left at the bottom of the bowl. Another bowl of noodles mixed in would be enough. If I only want noodles and no toppings, how much would that cost?”
Only noodles?
Jiang Ran immediately remembered what the spicy-food customer had said about wanting extra noodles tomorrow.
Could it be that they weren’t just trying to take advantage of her?
Maybe they genuinely weren’t getting full.
Her mind worked quickly.
The portions she served weren’t especially large or small. After all, this was a street snack costing only a few copper coins. No one expected to get completely full from it.
That was easy enough to solve.
If customers weren’t full, they could simply eat more.
Of course, Jiang Ran couldn’t give free refills every time someone wanted more, or she would lose money. The customers clearly weren’t expecting that either.
She said, “Just pay two more copper coins, and I’ll cook another bowl of noodles.”
A bowl of mixed noodles cost three copper coins, but most of that price came from the lard and seasonings.
If extra noodles only cost one coin, everyone would order extra noodles. Few people would buy just the seasonings, and if anyone actually did, Jiang Ran would simply say the seasonings weren’t sold separately.
The customer nodded.
“Alright. Cook me another bowl.”
When the noodles were ready, Jiang Ran handed them over.
The customer poured them into his bowl, mixed everything together again, and ate happily.
The flavor was a little lighter now, but it still tasted good.
This time, he was finally full.
Before leaving, he pointed at the jar of chili oil on the stall.
“Can I add some of that chili oil and vinegar to the mixed noodles?”
If it was free, why not?
Jiang Ran replied, “If you like spicy or sour flavors, you can add them. But mixed noodles are meant to have a savory, rich taste. Adding chili oil and vinegar might clash with the flavor and cover up the fragrance of the lard. If you insist on adding them and end up not liking it, I won’t be giving refunds.”
The customer immediately abandoned the idea.
By now, Jiang Ran had already served four customers today.
Yesterday, she had only served seven customers all morning. Today, four had come in a short time after opening.
For her, business was already much better.
Not only that, but the last customer who ordered mixed noodles had bought a sugar cake from Auntie Zhao after Jiang Ran recommended it.
Auntie Zhao was so happy she barely knew what to do.
But she had no time to chat. Business at her stall was booming, while after Jiang Ran sent one customer away, two more arrived.
She sold two bowls of soup noodles.
One customer even ordered extra noodles.
Just like that, another twelve copper coins landed in her pocket.
Morning was always the busiest time.
Once people headed off to work and errands, the streets became much quieter.
Only then did Jiang Ran finally get a chance to rest.
By the end of the morning, she had sold nine bowls of noodles.
Five bowls of mixed noodles and four bowls of soup noodles.
Two customers had ordered extra noodles.
She had earned thirty-nine copper coins.
Maybe a couple more customers would come before noon.
Otherwise, she would wait for the lunchtime rush.
When the crowd thinned, Auntie Zhao said, “Go wash your bowls. I’ll watch the stall for you.”
Compared to Auntie Zhao, Jiang Ran had far more work.
She had to cook, mix, adjust flavors according to customers’ preferences, deal with requests for extra noodles, and clean bowls and chopsticks afterward.
At Auntie Zhao’s stall, everything was already prepared. She simply wrapped the cakes in oiled paper, took the money, and the customer left.
There was nothing else to do.
Now that she finally had time, Jiang Ran hurried to wash the used dishes.
Otherwise, she might not have enough bowls when the lunch crowd arrived.
Nine customers had used eleven bowls.
Jiang Ran immediately fetched water, washed everything clean, swept around the stall, and even wiped away drops of sauce that had accidentally spilled onto the ground.
During all this, she still managed to sell another bowl of mixed noodles.
Business was good for Auntie Zhao today.
She was grateful to Jiang Ran.
Seeing how hard Jiang Ran worked made her feel a little sorry for her, but even more happy for her.
“Tomorrow I’ll come even earlier. Maybe we can get a spot a little farther forward.”
Jiang Ran noticed that some stalls had already left.
Those vendors thought the morning crowd was too small and planned to return at lunchtime.
With no one nearby, Jiang Ran said, “There’s no need to move too far forward. Being too close to the front could bring trouble.”
Auntie Zhao had mentioned that people fought over the front spots.
Every stall there probably already had an owner.
If they tried to move forward and take someone else’s place, they would likely end up in a fight.
Better to stay farther back and keep a low profile.
They had only been doing business for two days.
Steady progress was best.
Auntie Zhao felt Jiang Ran made sense and urged her to eat something first.
Truthfully, Auntie Zhao could move forward herself.
Now that she knew how to make sugar cakes, there was nothing stopping her. Whether Jiang Ran wanted to move was her own choice.
But Auntie Zhao felt it was better to stay with Jiang Ran.
Yesterday, someone said the noodles weren’t spicy enough, and today Jiang Ran had already prepared separate chili oil and vinegar.
Someone said the portions weren’t enough, and she immediately came up with the idea of selling extra noodles.
If it had been Auntie Zhao, she would have kept insisting the portions were sufficient, afraid people would think she was stingy.
She considered herself slow-witted.
In the future, she would probably need to rely on Jiang Ran’s ideas.
It looked like she was helping Jiang Ran reserve a stall spot, but in reality, she depended on Jiang Ran just as much.
Jiang Ran took a couple bites of her sugar cake, cleaned all the bowls and chopsticks, and tidied up the entire stall.
The stall was simple but clean.
Pretending to be a customer, Jiang Ran walked past it twice and suddenly realized something was missing.
A price board.
She could place it in front of the wooden barrel.
If it were made large enough, it would block prying eyes from seeing too much while also making prices clear at a glance.
The empty space underneath could be used for future menu items.
As business gradually improved, Jiang Ran didn’t think she would only sell these two items forever.
Not everyone could read, but for those who could, a menu would save her a lot of explaining.
Besides, clearly displayed prices reassured customers.
Back in her previous life, she had always preferred restaurants with visible prices.
Some little shops looked completely ordinary, yet a tiny piece of bread could cost twenty or thirty yuan.
They were price traps.
Looking at her small stall, Jiang Ran felt more and more satisfied.
Two more customers came in the morning.
For the rest of the time, she chatted with Auntie Zhao to pass the time, learning about all kinds of things happening around Kyoto.
Then, around noon, the market became lively again.
People came to buy meals, meat, and vegetables.
The small food stalls also received plenty of customers.
Every customer who came to the noodle stall was told that extra noodles were available.
People ate more at noon.
Among twelve customers, eight ordered extra noodles.
Some also wanted noodle soup, which Jiang Ran provided for free.
There weren’t enough bowls, so she washed them while continuing to serve customers.
After lunchtime, business slowed down.
There wasn’t much minced meat left either.
Jiang Ran packed everything up and prepared to head home.
Auntie Zhao felt sorry for her.
“If only you lived inside the city. The evenings are the busiest. You could earn so much more money.”
While there had been no customers in the morning, Auntie Zhao had told her about Kyoto’s famous night market.
It was lively and bustling, staying busy until midnight.
Meanwhile, life at the estate followed the rhythm of sunrise and sunset.
Jiang Ran’s eyes filled with longing.
“One step at a time. Maybe someday I’ll be able to rent a house in Kyoto. Then doing business will be much more convenient.”
Buying a house was still too expensive for her.
Even a remote house cost over a hundred strings of cash.
For the Third Branch in the past, buying a house would have required twenty years of saving.
Now there was finally a little hope.
But buying was still far beyond reach.
Today, Jiang Ran’s total sales reached one hundred and thirty-nine copper coins.
After buying meat, she would still have over eighty coins left.
Adding yesterday’s earnings and the two silver peanut-shaped ingots, she still only had enough money to buy the patch of ground she was standing on.
Renting was definitely the better option.
After packing everything up, Jiang Ran said goodbye to Auntie Zhao and pushed her cart to the butcher’s shop.
She bought a little over half a jin of pork and several bones before heading home.
When she returned, Madam Lin came over again.
“You came back early. Couldn’t sell anything? Yesterday you could at least afford a jin of meat. Today you can’t even buy enough meat for your family. Didn’t you say everyone needed more nourishment? Why bother making all those trips back and forth? You’d be better off like your brother, turning over a few more plots of land.”
Jiang Ran ignored the first part entirely.
What interested her was the last part.
She had been away all day and didn’t know what had happened at home.
Right now was rice-planting season.
From a distance, several fields shimmered emerald green like jade.
Tiny dark figures could be seen transplanting rice seedlings.
The other branches of the family might be lazy, but now that the family had divided its land, they still had to work it properly.
They couldn’t simply wait for Jiang Song and Jiang Chuanli to finish planting all of the Third Branch’s fields before helping with their own.
If they missed the planting season, the harvest would suffer.
If the harvest was poor, the Marquis Estate would be dissatisfied and might stop renting land to them.
Jiang Ran had returned early today, so Jiang Song hadn’t come to meet her.
Curious, she asked, “Did my brother reclaim more land again?”
Madam Lin snorted.
Her eyes slanted upward with obvious disdain.
“There’s a plot here, another there. I think there are eight or nine plots by now.”
Each reclaimed plot had been fenced off and was located close to the Third Branch’s land.
Yesterday they had only had four plots.
Now there were already eight or nine.
That was wonderful news.
Jiang Ran immediately asked,
“So is it eight plots or nine?”