This trip to town had a very clear purpose for Lu Yan.
She first spent twelve copper coins on a basket of potatoes and two baskets of sweet potatoes. Then she went to the butcher’s and spent thirty-four coins on two pounds of pork. Finally, she bought some charcoal, spending five coins on a basket of charcoal chunks. After that, she stopped by the spice shop and bought a pile of seasonings, and lastly purchased a stack of oil paper.
Once she had bought everything, she walked around to figure out the best place to set up her stall.
She planned to sell breakfast.
Although many people nowadays only ate two meals a day, those who worked outside generally ate three proper meals. They had to start work early in the morning, and without food they wouldn’t have the strength to labor.
After observing for a while, she noticed several large shops near the area where food stalls gathered—there were grain stores, blacksmith shops, carpenter shops, and more. These businesses certainly hired workers, and in the mornings the food stalls nearby were crowded with customers and bustling with activity.
Lu Yan now had a rough idea in mind. Having picked a suitable spot, the two of them drove the donkey cart back home.
As soon as she got home, Lu Yan started another batch of dough to rise. While the dough was rising, she took out the bones left from last time and began simmering them into broth.
This time, she wasn’t planning to make braised pork. Using bone broth would give the dishes an even richer meat flavor.
Lu Sheng didn’t stay idle either.
The moment Lu Yan put the bone broth on the stove, he quickly peeled an entire basket of sweet potatoes and chopped them into pieces at lightning speed. The task of making sweet potato starch was handed over to him.
Following Lu Yan’s instructions to the letter, Lu Sheng ground the potatoes into pulp, strained them, and repeatedly washed and kneaded the mixture. By the end, he had finally produced a large basin of starch water and left it in the courtyard to settle.
His arms no longer felt like his own.
“You’re lacking exercise,” Lu Yan commented critically. “You need to work out more to stay healthy.”
Lu Sheng felt thoroughly aggrieved, but he couldn’t argue with her.
The dough was rising, the bone broth was simmering, and the starch water was settling.
Once again, Lu Yan had nothing to do.
She turned to Lu Sheng.
“How about we play chess?”
Lu Sheng was shocked.
“You know how to play chess too?”
Lu Yan snorted.
Of course she didn’t know how to play Go…
But they could play Five-in-a-Row!
The two of them took a pair of sticks and sat on the ground, drawing a grid in the dirt. One made circles while the other filled in black dots, and they actually went back and forth quite seriously.
Only when the aroma of the bone broth became increasingly rich and drifted out from the kitchen into their noses did Lu Yan throw down her stick and scramble to the kitchen.
A pot of milky-white bone broth had finished simmering.
Lu Yan set half of it aside for braising meat later in the afternoon. The other half was perfect for making noodle soup for lunch.
She mixed another basin of dough, kneaded it a few times, rolled it out, and pulled it into noodles, which she dropped into the bone broth.
After serving it, she sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions on top, making it both beautiful and delicious.
After spending the whole morning making sweet potato starch, Lu Sheng was starving. He wolfed down three large bowls of noodles, washed the dishes, and then went off to study.
The starch water had settled nicely by then.
After pouring off the water, a large basin of wet starch remained. Lu Yan stirred it with a spoon and left it in the courtyard to dry under the blazing midday sun.
When she finished dealing with the starch, she returned to the kitchen.
By now, the dough had almost finished rising.
Lu Yan made more than thirty lotus-leaf buns, which took four batches to steam.
While the buns were steaming, she sorted out the spices for the braised meat.
This time, she wasn’t making red-braised pork. Instead, she used a braising recipe she had improved back in modern times. Just matching all the spices together had taken quite a while.
Still, even after buying all those seasonings, they were cheaper than sugar.
Sugar really deserved its reputation as a luxury item. No wonder a single candied hawthorn skewer could sell for eight copper coins.
Once the lotus-leaf buns were done, it was time to braise the meat.
From the two pounds of pork, Lu Yan cut fifteen pieces, added the seasonings, and simmered them in the bone broth.
After an hour of braising, the meat was tender and flavorful, and the entire courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat.
She removed the meat and placed it in a separate bowl, then poured the broth into another basin.
The starch had dried enough by then, so Lu Yan went outside and brought back a jar full of dry starch.
Using the broth, she made menzi.
By the time the menzi was finished, the entire afternoon had passed.
The lotus-leaf buns, menzi, and braised meat for tomorrow’s stall were all prepared. The shredded potatoes, however, would have to be stir-fried the next morning before leaving.
They couldn’t keep eating the food intended for the stall every day.
Since they had eaten radishes yesterday, Lu Yan decided to eat cabbage today.
She took out a cabbage, washed it, chopped it finely, squeezed out the moisture, and made an entire basin of cabbage pancakes.
The cabbage pancakes were fresh, sweet, and crisp, once again winning everyone’s approval.
Lu Sheng devoured one in just a few bites and didn’t stop until he had eaten three.
“I think you could make money selling these too,” he suggested while eating. “Cabbage is so cheap. If you sold these pancakes for two copper coins each, plenty of people would buy them, and we’d still make a profit.”
“Not necessarily,” Old Lu said. “They’re delicious, but people don’t really value cabbage. Probably not many would buy them on purpose.”
Lu Yan stroked her chin.
“You both make good points. Let’s wait and see. I’ll start by selling the lotus-leaf buns, and once the business gets going, we can add more varieties.”
She asked Old Lu for a wooden board and begged Lu Sheng to write a sign for her.
At Lu Yan’s request, Lu Sheng took a brush and elegantly wrote two large characters on the board:
Lu Ji.
The strokes flowed effortlessly and looked exceptionally graceful.
Lu Yan couldn’t appreciate calligraphy, but she still thought it looked beautiful.
Thinking about her business, she woke up especially early the next morning.
Before dawn had even broken, she was already out of bed.
She hurried to the kitchen and quickly stir-fried a batch of shredded potatoes. She left half of it and five lotus-leaf buns at home for breakfast, and packed the remaining half into a jar.
She also reheated the menzi and the braised meat and packed them into separate containers.
Into the bottom compartment of the insulated bucket Old Lu had made for her, she placed a glowing piece of charcoal and closed both lids. Then she put the three jars and all thirty-odd warmed lotus-leaf buns into the bucket, covered everything with a thick cotton quilt, and loaded it onto the donkey cart.
She also brought along a chopping board, a knife, the hundred or so small bamboo skewers that Old Lu had carved for her, a table for displaying the food, and a small bamboo basket for collecting money.
Then, driving the donkey cart, she set off toward town.