After all, whether it was repaying debts, supporting the family, or allowing Su Ting to continue his studies, all required a significant amount of money.
"Is it because of the debt?" Su Ting's voice first softened, then grew louder. "Sister, I won’t go to school. I’ll help repay the debt!"
Su Xi glanced at him, then settled Su Cheng onto a stool and motioned for Su Ting to put down the vegetables and sit before speaking. "You must continue your studies. There’s no question about it."
Su Ting wanted to argue, but Su Xi silenced him with a single look.
"Not studying would dishonor the years of hard work our parents put in," Su Xi directly invoked the original host’s parents.
As expected, Su Ting fell silent at these words.
He knew that his honest and hardworking parents’ greatest hope for him was to study and pass the imperial examinations.
"Sister, setting up a stall is too hard," Su Ting said after a long pause.
Hearing this, Su Xi’s eyes curved into a smile. Instead of answering, she asked, "Then would you stand by and watch me struggle alone without helping?"
Su Ting shook his head.
"That settles it," Su Xi nodded.
Su Cheng chimed in from the side, his voice soft and childish, "A-Cheng will help Sister too!"
Su Xi chuckled lightly.
Su Ting was about to say more.
This time, Su Xi didn’t give him the chance. She cut him off, pointing to the stir-fried eggs with Chinese toon and pan-fried steamed bun slices on the table to change the subject. "Enough about that. First, try the dishes I made. How are they?"
Su Ting hesitated, but before he could react, Su Xi stuffed a steamed bun slice filled with stir-fried eggs with Chinese toon into his mouth.
He instinctively took a bite. The crispy steamed bun slice wrapped around the fragrant and tender Chinese toon eggs filled his mouth with flavor. Before he knew it, he had devoured the entire large steamed bun slice sandwich.
Realizing this, Su Ting’s ears turned slightly red. He glanced at his younger brother and saw him eating ravenously, which made him feel a little better.
Seeing this, Su Xi’s lips curved into a faint smile.
"A-Ting, how is it?"
Su Ting, his ears still red, unconsciously licked his lips and nodded honestly. "Sister’s cooking is delicious!"
Su Xi wanted to ask Su Cheng for his opinion, but when she turned and saw him eating bite after bite, she skipped the question.
Growing boys had big appetites.
Su Xi could only manage half a sandwich before feeling full, while Su Ting and Su Cheng finished theirs cleanly.
The taste of the stir-fried eggs with Chinese toon sandwich gave Su Ting some confidence in Su Xi’s plan to set up a stall, so he asked, "Sister, what are you going to sell at the stall?"
Su Xi was taken aback by the question.
Yes, what was she going to sell?!
In the faint morning light, amid the bustle of the early market at Wanzhou Bridge by the east gate of Bianjing City, a small, inconspicuous stall was set up in a quiet corner.
The stall’s setup was simple: a wooden table, a stove, and a flat iron pan glistening with oil.
Su Ting leaned the flatbed cart against the wall and looked around nervously before asking Su Xi, "Sister, will anyone come here for breakfast?"
Su Xi took down the prepared pickled vegetables and seasonings and placed them on the wooden board she had set up. Hearing Su Ting’s question, she raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Don’t worry. I can’t guarantee anything else, but for this, I absolutely, absolutely guarantee that someone will buy it."
"But…"
Su Ting still wanted to say more.
Su Xi didn’t give him any chance at all. With one hand reaching for the wooden bucket of batter, she said without looking up, “Su Ting, hurry up and hang out the sign you wrote. A new stall opening is sure to draw a lot of attention—don’t miss the opportunity.”
At her words, Su Ting also noticed the curious glances from the surrounding people, whether intentional or not. He could no longer dwell on the previous issue and quickly hung up the cloth sign he had written a couple of days earlier.
The moment the sign went up, everyone who had been watching noticed the words on it—Jianbing Guazi.
Taking advantage of the freshly hung sign, Su Xi tied on her apron and began calling out, “Jianbing Guazi! Crispy and delicious Jianbing Guazi! The basic version is three wen each, and if it’s not tasty, it’s free!”
As soon as her call rang out, several people who had already been eyeing the new stall moved closer.
A stout, middle-aged woman asked, “Young lady, is it really free if it’s not tasty?”
“Absolutely, truer than gold!”
While answering the potential customer’s question, Su Xi’s hands didn’t stop moving. She skillfully scooped a ladle of batter and poured it onto the flat pan. With a bamboo scraper, she spread the batter evenly into a round shape on the pan. When the edges of the flatbread skin began to change color, she flicked her wrist lightly, picked up an egg, cracked it on the side, and let the golden egg liquid flow onto the flatbread. Then, she used the bamboo scraper to spread it evenly.
The aroma of eggs and flatbread instantly blended together, wafting out and drawing even more people’s attention.
“Young lady, you said earlier that the basic Jianbing Guazi is three wen each. Does that mean there’s something even better?” A young scholar carrying a book bag stopped and asked curiously.
Su Xi raised her eyebrows slightly, her hands still moving deftly. She flipped the flatbread with the bamboo scraper, brushed on the secret sauce, then took a pre-fried crispy wafer from a nearby basket and pressed it onto the flatbread. She added chopped scallions and diced carrots, rolled and folded it, then cut it into several pieces with a knife and placed them on the wooden table, adding bamboo skewers. Only then did she speak, “The basic version has one egg and costs three wen each. The deluxe version includes the egg, crispy wafers, and pickled vegetable toppings for five wen each. As for the taste, no matter how much I praise it, it’s better for you to try it yourself.”
At the same time, she invited the other onlookers to sample it.
Seeing Su Xi’s generosity, the young scholar thought that even if only for this reason, he would buy one later, regardless of whether the Jianbing Guazi tasted good or not. So, he naturally picked up a bamboo skewer and took a piece of the “deluxe version” Jianbing Guazi.
Seeing him reach out, the others followed suit, picking up bamboo skewers to taste a bit.
Similarly, their thoughts were much the same as his—if it wasn’t bad, they’d buy one to try later. After all, the flatbread was quite large and came with eggs and toppings, so five wen didn’t seem unreasonable.
Su Xi had no idea what these customers were thinking.
The young scholar took a bite with the bamboo skewer. The crispy outer layer and the fragrant crunch of the wafer inside burst in his mouth one after another. Even more subtle was the sauce blended with the egg aroma, creating distinct layers of flavor. His eyes lit up, and he looked up, saying, “The flavor of this sauce is so unique!”
Su Xi thought to herself, of course it is—this was her secret sauce, simmered overnight.
Before she could finish her thought, the young scholar took out ten copper coins and handed them over, saying with an air of wealth, “Give me two deluxe Jianbing Guazi!”
“Coming right up!” Su Xi replied with a smile, taking the copper coins and handing them to Su Ting.
Su Ting hadn't expected the stall to open for business so quickly, and he was pleasantly surprised, holding the copper coins in a daze.
It wasn't until Su Xi gave him a push that he snapped back to reality. He stuffed the copper coins into the money box while helping to clean the batter left on the griddle from the previous pancake. At the same time, he couldn't help but whisper to Su Xi, "Sis, why is this Jianbing Guazi selling so well?"