After waiting for him to finish cleaning up, Su Xi continued scooping dough batter to make Jianbing Guazi. Hearing his words, she smiled faintly.
If she hadn’t conducted market research earlier and learned that Zhouqiao was right next to the Prefectural Academy, she wouldn’t have chosen to sell Jianbing Guazi.
To put it jokingly, even in modern times, no student rushing to an 8 a.m. class could resist the temptation of a Jianbing Guazi.
With the young scholar taking the lead to buy, others followed suit, especially the auntie who had spoken up first—she quickly handed over her copper coins right after him.
“It really does taste good! Miss, I’ll take two basic Jianbing Guazi!”
“Miss, I’ll have one too! One deluxe Jianbing Guazi, no scallions.”
“One Jianbing Guazi, please!”
For a moment, countless copper coins “rained” down on the small stall.
Seeing this, Su Xi had no time to think about anything else. She quickly asked Su Ting to maintain order while speeding up her own movements.
Spreading the batter, adding an egg, brushing on the sauce.
Su Ting, with a smile in his eyes, busily collected copper coins, noted down the quantities purchased by customers, and kept the queue orderly—he was swamped with work.
As the sun gradually rose, a long line had unknowingly formed in front of Su Xi’s Jianbing stall.
Passersby, seeing this scene, stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to get a look, trying to figure out what was happening.
After all the commotion, they only saw people emerging from the end of the line holding cylindrical pancakes in their hands, eating and chatting as they walked.
“This Jianbing Guazi is even more tempting than the Hu Bing over by Zhouqiao!”
“Yes, this young lady’s skills are impressive!”
“Old Ma San’s Hu Bing over there costs three coins each and has no filling, while this young lady’s Jianbing Guazi costs five coins each and comes with crispy crackers and an egg. I’ll be eating here from now on!”
…
Listening to the praise, Su Xi flipped the bamboo spatula even faster, but fine beads of sweat appeared on her temples—she could clearly feel the dough batter in the wooden bucket decreasing much faster than expected.
“Miss, give me two more deluxe Jianbing Guazi! I’ll take them back for my grandson to try!” An auntie carrying a vegetable basket squeezed to the front of the stall and handed over her copper coins.
Su Xi glanced down at the wooden bucket. Only a thin layer of batter remained at the bottom, barely enough to make three or four more Jianbing, but the problem was that the fried crispy crackers were only enough for one more.
Su Xi’s heart sank slightly. She looked up and said, “Auntie, I’m really sorry, but the remaining crispy crackers are only enough for one more deluxe Jianbing Guazi.”
Before she finished speaking, the crowd behind her grew restless.
“I’ve been waiting in line for so long, how could it run out so quickly?”
“If you don’t prepare enough supplies to set up a stall, why even bother? How disappointing!”
“Everyone, please calm down!” Su Xi took a deep breath and raised her voice. “Today is our first day open, and we weren’t fully prepared. We sincerely apologize.”
At the same time, she felt relieved that she had considered this situation beforehand and quickly signaled to Su Ting beside her.
Su Ting hurriedly took out the bamboo slips from his sleeve.
Su Xi motioned for him to distribute them while raising her voice with a mix of apology and determination. “There’s enough batter left to make three more Jianbing, but there’s only one crispy cracker left, so it can only go to the auntie at the front of the line.”
This statement calmed the crowd considerably.
"Tomorrow we'll definitely prepare more batter and crispy crackers. If you're all willing to visit our stall again, please take these bamboo tokens. Bring them tomorrow when you buy Jianbing Guazi, and we'll give you extra side dishes for free!"
Only then did the people in line notice the bamboo tokens Su Ting was handing out, quickly reaching out to take them.
Just as Su Xi finished speaking,
she heard a young child in the crowd, munching on a Jianbing Guazi, shake his head and say in a milky voice, "The pickles in the pancake are yummy. I want lots more tomorrow."
Hearing this childish remark, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.
A woodcutter carrying firewood on his back, holding the token, chuckled, "I'll come earlier to queue tomorrow—I must taste that savory sauce again!"
The sun had reached its zenith, and the flow of people around Zhouqiao gradually dispersed.
Su Ting began packing up the stall.
Su Xi roughly counted the copper coins in the money box, and her eyes lit up as she calculated the total.
"Elder Sister, everything's packed up!" Su Ting said, then went to push the flatbed cart.
Su Xi looked at him, her eyes curving into crescents, and softly asked, "Do you know how much money we made today, Su Ting?"
Naturally curious, Su Ting nodded eagerly.
Su Xi gestured for him to lean down, then whispered a number into his ear.
Upon hearing it, Su Ting had to admit he was genuinely shocked.
He could hardly imagine earning so many copper coins in just a few hours with nothing but a bucket of batter.
It filled him with excitement and enthusiasm.
"Elder Sister, we should come even earlier tomorrow—we're sure to sell even more Jianbing Guazi!" Su Ting's eyes were alight with eagerness to sell the pancakes.
Hearing this, Su Xi's expression froze for a moment.
They had already risen at the crack of dawn today. If they had to get up even earlier tomorrow, she might just collapse.
It couldn't get any earlier, Su Xi thought with a touch of despair.
Su Ting didn't notice her reaction, his mind wholly occupied with selling Jianbing Guazi. "Elder Sister, when we get back, teach me how to make the batter. I'll help you with it!" He still felt bad about his elder sister doing so much work.
Su Xi's heart, which had been shattered by the early wake-up call, mended a little at his words.
"Su Ting, you're such a good younger brother!"
Hearing the praise, Su Ting's ears flushed slightly red.
Seeing this, Su Xi smiled faintly and changed the subject to more serious matters. "We handed out bamboo tokens today, so there will definitely be plenty of people buying Jianbing Guazi tomorrow. When we get back to the village, Su Ting, please ask Carpenter Chen to make a larger wooden bucket for us, and also the payment for Blacksmith Liu's iron wok…"
The two of them planned the next steps, then stopped by the grain shop to purchase flour before pushing the flatbed cart toward the village.
Walking from the east gate of Bianjing City to the village took about half an hour.
Just as Su Xi and Su Ting pushed the cart to the village entrance, they saw Su Cheng squatting under the large banyan tree, playing with pebbles.
"Su Cheng." Su Ting spotted him too and called out loudly.
Su Cheng looked up at the sound and, seeing his elder sister and brother, quickly stood up and toddled over on his short legs.
The little one arrived panting slightly, his eyes sparkling. "Elder Sister, Brother, you're back!"
The sweet, childish voice made Su Xi's lips curl upward, but her smile didn't last long. She noticed the two dark stains on the knees of Su Cheng's pants, and her expression darkened.
Su Ting, being observant, noticed it too.
His heart tightened as he asked Su Cheng, "Didn't we tell you to go to Auntie Zhao's house to play with Erniu? Why are you here alone?"
Su Cheng blinked in confusion at his question and answered honestly, "Brother Erniu said Fang Xiaofang won't allow them to play with me."
Fang Xiaofang, the younger brother of Fang the xiucai.
"They're going too far!" Su Ting said angrily.
A shadow flickered in Su Xi's eyes, quickly suppressed as she patted Su Ting's shoulder soothingly. Then she said to him, "Ah Ting, do you know what a dying fish looks like?"