The next day, Li Hehua and Cao Simei went to sell pastries and brought the little guy with them.
The little guy was quiet and just squatted by the basket, watching Li Hehua sell the pastries. Many acquaintance even praised, "Your child is so good."
Li Hehua felt helpless. If she could, she would wish for him to be a little misbehaved or even a bit naughty.
Since the food stall will be opened tomorrow, Li Hehua explained to the customers the changes and that the pastries will be sold there one by one. Of course, she mentioned the opening of her stall tomorrow.
Many old customers said they would definitely go there to support her.
After selling for almost half an hour, Master Gu, whom she hadn't seen for many days, came unexpectedly.
Ever since he brought the old woman from before, it was always her that will come to buy pastries for the child at home. It was unexpected that he will come by himself today. Li Hehua guessed that it was school holiday today and Master had time to buy his things and the pastries himself.
Li Hehua greeted him, "Master Gu, you are here to buy pastries in person?"
Gu Zhijin smiled and nodded, "Exactly, the school is on vacation today, so I'm free."
Li Hehua remembered the Shuāng pí nǎi that she brought in the basket and said to Gu Zhijin, "Well, good timing. I made some Shuāng pí nǎi for my child yesterday and also made a portion for your child. You can take it back with you." Then she took out the Shuāng pí nǎi from the basket.
Gu Zhijin had never heard of "Shuāng pí nǎi" and thought that this was the boss's exclusive delicacy. Every time she made some of her own unique dishes, they were always all delicious. Even he as an adult can become addicted after eating them. It is no wonder why his nephew likes her food so much. This Shuāng pí nǎi must be delicious too.
Gu Zhijin took the Shuāng pí nǎi and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you so much boss. I'd like to trouble you to pack some pastries for me too. Just like before. I'll take them back together."
Li Hehua nodded and took out an oil paper bag. She squatted and skillfully packed the pastries for him.
At this time, Gu Zhijin noticed the child squatting next to the basket and couldn't help but ask, "Boss, is this your child?"
Li Hehua replied as she packed the pastries, "Yes, this is my son. His name is Shulin. He doesn't talk that much. I hope Master Gu won't mind."
Gu Zhijin shook his head, "No problem, children always have different personalities but it is quite rare to see a child with a quiet temper."
Li Hehua smiled, glanced at the quiet little guy, and touched his little face gently. The little guy raised his eyes and looked at her, as if asking, "Mom, what are you doing?"
Li Hehua smiled even bigger.
Gu Zhijin watched the interaction between mother and son and also laughed, thinking that the boss must be a very good mother.
"Master Gu, your pastries are ready, please have it." Li Hehua packed the pastries and handed them to Gu Zhijin. She also told him about her relocation and the food stall. "By the way Master Gu, there's another thing. Starting tomorrow, my pastry stall will be moved to the entrance of Yangliu Alley. If you want to buy pastries, you can just go there directly from now on."
Gu Zhijin was confused, "Why did you move all of a sudden?"
Li Hehua explained with a smile, "It's like this. I'm going to open a stall to sell food. It's at the entrance of the alley over there, so I'll sell the pastries there as well."
As soon as he heard the word "food", Gu Zhijin's heart skipped a bit and he became interested instantly. The pastries made by the boss are so delicious. He believes that her skills in making other foods must be extraordinary. His nephew won't eat her pastries every day otherwise. But it is also a problem since the child almost treats the pastries as his meal. How can a pastry be the same as rice? He was very worried about this and even thought that it would be great if the boss was not a pastry seller but a food seller. With that, he wouldn't have to worry about his nephew not eating.
He didn't expect that the boss would actually sell food.
Gu Zhijin's smile widened and he asked about the food stall with great interest, "Boss, I wonder what kind of food your food stall sells?"
Seeing that he was interested, Li Hehua just told him the menus one by one, "My food stall sells a lot of varieties, but they are all able to fill the stomach. There are fried rice, fried noodles, noodle soup, stir-fries, dumplings, and I will also sell mántou and bāozi ."
Gu Zhijin's eyes had already lit up, thinking that it was great! The little ancestor in the family would already have something to eat. Even he was eager to try these foods that the boss had mentioned, so he said, "The boss's craftsmanship must be good. I must go and try it tomorrow."
Li Hehua smiled, "Okay, then I welcome Master Gu to visit us tomorrow."
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After selling pastries, Li Hehua first took the little guy and bought the ingredients for the pastries. After sending these home, she started preparing for the food stall.
Since there are a lot of things to buy, she definitely wouldn't be able to do this alone with a child. After some thought, Li Hehua went to Mrs. Xie's house and called her for help.
Mrs. Xie put down what she was doing without a word and followed Li Hehua out.
The first thing to buy is flour. The amount of flour that she needs is quite many and she would probably need to buy several bags at a time. Li Hehua directly went to the grain and oil shop and bought three large bags of flour. She then discussed with the owner of the shop to deliver some flour for her every three days.
Seeing that Li Hehua wanted so much, the boss readily agreed. After asking for her home address, he said that he would deliver it on time.
The flour problem was solved and all that was left was meat and vegetables. This was no problem for Mrs. Xie. She took Li Hehua directly to a familiar stall to buy these things. Not only was it fast, but she also managed to save a lot of money by bargaining with the owner.
With the help of Mrs. Xie, the ingredients were quickly bought. After returning home, Li Hehua took out an apron and gave it to Mrs. Xie and the two of them began to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow.
"Xie Sǎozi, please make the dumpling fillings first. Make two types, one with chives and one with pork and chives. Make a basin of each. We will make dumplings later. After it's done, let's make the filling for bāozi, one meat filling, and one vegetable filling."
"Okay." Mrs. Xie nodded in agreement and sat aside to pick the vegetables.
Li Hehua took a wooden basin, poured half of the flour into it, poured in an appropriate amount of water, and started kneading the dough. This will be used to make dumpling wrappers, steamed buns, and noodles.
The dough for mántou and bāozi needs to be leavened so Li Hehua chose to make the dumpling wrappers first. She rolled the dough into long strips and then cut them into small pieces. She then rolled the small pieces into round dumpling wrappers with a rolling pin.
After Li Hehua had finished making all the dumpling wrappers, Mrs. Xie also quickly finished out the fillings. Li Hehua took the fillings and put seasonings on them herself to ensure that the dumplings tasted delicious.
After the fillings were prepared, Li Hehua handed over the dumplings to Mrs. Xie to work with, while she took advantage of this time to make the pastries to be sold tomorrow.
Both of them are quick in hands and feet. They work very quickly but the workload is really not small. By the time when everything is ready, it is already very late and everyone else already had their dinner and is going to bed.
Li Hehua made three bowls of noodles with the noodles she had just rolled out. "Sǎozi, you have worked hard today. Let's eat some noodles tonight. After you finish eating, you can go home and rest."
Mrs. Xie thought that she had really met a noble person. Not only was the work easy and the salary was high, but even free dinner was provided. She's even willing to use white flour for dinner. You can't find a master like that anywhere. She must work with all her heart, and try to get Li Hehua to keep on hiring her.
At the same time, Li Hehua was also thinking about Mrs. Xie. Through today's observation, Mrs. Xie is really fast at work. The dumplings and steamed buns she makes are very beautiful and taste good. It seems that she can be hired for a long time. This also saves her some money to find someone else.
*****
End of part 1. See you tomorrow!