Customers came one after another to eat wontons.

“Give me a bowl of wontons!”

“Okay.”

“I want two bowls of wontons, and put more of your scallion oil…”

Before noon, this wonton stall was already quite busy.

The small pot of wonton stuffing prepared by Su Yujin was sold out at the stall that opened at the beginning of Sishi.¹

After closing the stall and going back, the master and servants closed the courtyard door and counted the money together.

The unit price of a bowl of wontons is ten cents. Today, more than seventy bowls were sold, earning a total of seven hundred and forty cents, a net profit of more than four hundred cents.

“On the first day, we earned more than 400 yuan. So by the end of the month, we can earn…”

Ai Cao was not very good at arithmetic, so she counted on his fingers.

“We can earn twelve taels of silver a month!” Mother Liu answered with a smile on her face.

Amitabha, if they could earn twelve taels of silver a month, would they still worry about having a hard time?

“Mother Liu, go to Qianji to buy a fairy chicken² and some braised vegetables.”

She opened the business the day before and made a lot of money. She was also thinking that Mother Liu and Ai Cao were very tired today, so Su Yujin was quite generous, “Bring back some more minced meat pancakes. Ai Cao has a big appetite. Buy her one more. Mother Liu, if you like to eat yuba, buy more.”

“Thank you, girl.”

Mother Liu took the money and was very happy going to Qianji.

Ai Cao also put away the bowls and spoons with a smile on her face and cooked the porridge for dinner on the stove.

While cooking, she added a few pitted red dates.

The wonton stall business continued to operate because it made money.

Su Yujin, Mother Liu, and Ai Cao were busy every day. This wonton stall was becoming increasingly lively because of its fair price, generous portion, and good taste.

Some people came from the east of the county to the west of the county just to eat two bowls of wontons.

However, no matter how good the business was, the daily net income of this wonton stall was around five or six hundred yuan.

The reason was that selling wontons was strenuous work. The amount of labor was just right. If they made more, all of them would probably feel too tired.

The money at the moment was enough for food and clothing, and if she wanted to achieve financial freedom, just working hard at the wonton stall was not going to help. She needed to think of other ways.

Su Yujin saw things thoroughly and was able to control this speed.

The days passed day by day, and in mid of the fourth lunar month, when it was warm with a little bit of heat, there was something new to eat at the wonton stall – zhàjiàngmiàn.

Tender and refreshing noodles, cooked and then cooled with a rinse of cold water. Top them with freshly grated cucumber, some cooked green peas, and then pour over a spoonful of five-spice meat and eggs cooked with soybean sauce, creating a flavorful meat sauce. Mix it all together…

Every strand of noodle was covered with meat sauce. When you take it into your mouth, you just feel it is extremely fragrant and full of aftertaste.

All of a sudden, the sales volume of wontons and zhàjiàngmiàn at the Su Kee stall seemed to be evenly divided.

By the end of the fourth lunar month, excluding daily food and various expenses, Su Yujin’s savings had an extra ten taels of silver.

Touching the heavy silver, Su Yujin felt sad.

The record was good, but the road to wealth was long, so she still had to work harder.

Mother Liu and Ai Cao were washing dishes in the yard and chatting casually.

“It’s already fifth lunar month now, and the Second Master is still nowhere to be seen…” Mother Liu sighed.

“Yes.” Ai Cao also sighed, her head drooping, but she soon became nervous again, “But now the girl is leading us to make money, and even the monthly money is a hundred cents more than before. Whether Second Master comes or not, I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“So when you were expecting the Second Master to come, you were thinking about the Second Master coming to give money to the girl?” Mother Liu rolled her eyes at Ai Cao.

“What else?” Ai Cao was stunned.

With an irritated tone, Auntie Liu handed Ai Cao a chestnut. “You really are a silly girl. You used to work as a second-rate maid for others. It seems like that was a waste.”

“Girl can make money now, but these three melons and two dates are just enough for the girl and the two of us to eat, drink, and clothe ourselves. The better things, the girl is reluctant to buy them. After all, we are living in poverty. To say the least, the girl will really make a lot of money in the future. No matter how much better we live, no matter how much money we make, in the end, she can only be an outside room with no name or status. When others ask us, we can’t tell them who we are.”

“Second Master, from now on, if he never comes, the girl will have to live in this courtyard for the rest of her life, with no one to rely on, and when she gets old, she will have no one to care about her. Isn’t this even more miserable?”

“So for our place in future, we still have to hope that the Second Master will come, not only he has to come, but also he has to come more often. Then only Second Master will miss our girl. Only in this way will the Second Master be willing to take our girl back and give her a status after he gets married. Only with a son and a daughter, can a woman have someone to completely rely on.”

There was some truth to that!

Ai Cao nodded like a little chick pecking at grains. “Auntie Liu is right. We need to look forward to Second Master’s return.”

Su Yujin said, “…”

During this period, she had been busy selling wontons and zhàjiàngmiàn. Su Yujin saw both Ai Cao and Mother Liu rarely mentioned the Second Master’s affairs. She thought that because they felt their wallets visibly bulging, they no longer worried about whether the Second Master would come or not.

Unexpectedly, this was still on their mind.

And the obsession was deep.

But she couldn’t blame the two of them. The natives of this era only think about issues from the perspective of this era.

The two of them were eagerly looking forward to He Yanxiu’s arrival, but it was a sign of their sincerity towards her and their sincere intentions for her.

Combining the memory of the original owner and her personal experience, Su Yujin felt that Ai Cao and Mama Liu were indeed good people.

Dutiful, honest, not breaking any rules, no cheating, not stupid, she felt quite comfortable using them.

If possible, Su Yujin plans to take the two of them with her when she leaves here and becomes free.

However, the contract of sale of these two people belonged to He Yanxiu.

He Yanxiu also had her own deed of sale.

It would be great if the Second Master could come…

Su Yujin also had this idea in his mind.

——

In the fifth lunar month, pomegranate flowers bloomed.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the day gradually became a little hot.

A carriage moved forward slowly, and the person inside suddenly sneezed loudly.

“Second Master, are you okay?” Xing’an, the young man, asked with concern through the curtain.

“It’s okay.” He Yanxiu paused and said in a low voice, “Where are we going?”

“Back to the Second Master, we have arrived at Qinghe. It’s only half a day’s journey to the capital. We are almost there now. At noon, if you go further, there is only a teahouse and tavern on the roadside. Would you like to stop here and have something to eat?”

Qinghe.

He Yanxiu raised his eyebrows lightly, “Go and come back quickly.”

This answer was because he didn’t want to get out of the car and stay too long.

“Yes,” Xing’an jumped down from the carriage and began searching for something that would allow He Yanxiu to enter.

He Yanxiu’s taste can be said to be quite picky. He didn’t like greasy food, hated sweets, and didn’t eat spicy food.

Xing’an turned around and saw nothing close to his eyes until he saw a quite busy stall.

---

Footnote

1. 9 AM to 11 AM
2. I was also curious about what kind of dish this is, and found this blog.

Ahhh this chapter mentions one of my favorite noodles dish zhàjiàngmiàn. Most people are familiar with its Korean cousin Jajangmyeon (thanks to KDrama). I also tried making it, and was somewhat of a success. So, here is a picture of my modest try at making Jajangmyeon with homemade danmuji and an Youtube video of zhàjiàngmiàn from one of my favorite Youtube channel for Chinese cooking.