章 32: Chapter 32: The Opening Business
Ye Xinyan was quite dismissive of her grandfather's words, rolling her eyes secretly and complaining, "Great Uncle is absolutely right about Grandpa restarting his old trade. How old are you now, still thinking you're a young lad?"
Qi Younian laughed, "Even if I'm old and lack strength, my skills are still with me. I can take on two apprentices, teaching them while earning money. Once they've learned, your dowry will nearly be ready."
"Dowry, dowry?" Ye Xinyan heard this word for the first time from Qi Younian and was utterly astonished, "What dowry? What do I need a dowry for?"
Nanny Jin chuckled to herself at the side, thinking how thoughtful the old master was.
Qi Younian said in surprise, "Of course, you need a dowry to get married. With a good dowry, we can have the confidence to choose a good family when making a match, and others will be willing to become relatives with us."
"I... I've already been married, so what family am I supposed to find?" Thankfully, Ye Xinyan had swallowed the rice in her mouth, else she might have spit it out.
Before Qi Younian could reply, Nanny Jin became anxious, "Child, you've just turned nineteen, of course, you need to find a family to marry into. This time we'll look for a decent family. Given our Ye Zi's literacy, sense of reason, and handsome appearance, we will surely find a heartening husband."
Nanny Jin had really considered the matter; the young miss had just turned nineteen, the prime of her youth. Although the miss had already been married once, she didn't have any children to speak of. If she were to continue living alone, how could that be? Now they had the old master and her to accompany the miss, but what about when they're gone? When the miss grows old and becomes lonely, what then?
Although among the young ladies in the capital our miss wasn't exceptional, in this countryside, you wouldn't find another like her within miles—young, beautiful, and knowledgeable in literature. Even though her needlework was somewhat lacking, she had now begun to learn earnestly. The two quilts at home, she had taken the initiative to sew them herself.
Seeing all the conditions, the miss was certainly a match for the well-off families in the county town and countryside.
Qi Younian also chimed in seriously, "Ye Zi, Nanny Jin is right. As a woman, and so young, you have a long life ahead. It's always better to have someone to rely on. Marriage is something you definitely need to consider."
"Um, well, let's eat, let's eat first." Ye Xinyan, seeing the one-sided situation, made an immediate decision to drop the topic for now. It wasn't just for the moment; she hoped it would never be brought up again.
Damn, wasn't there a stipulation in ancient times that a woman should not remarry? Weren't they all about chastity and such? How come when it came to her, everything changed, and before anything else, they were already planning her next marriage?
With most of the home matters handled, the three began planning to set up a stall to sell rice tofu.
The folding tables and chairs were already made, and a small charcoal stove was ready. What remained was to prepare the broken rice, seasoning, and purchase bowls, chopsticks, and spoons.
In addition, there was the staple that accompanied the rice tofu. The best option would have been the baked rolls sold in the county town, but as they were just starting out, making their own staple food was more labor-intensive, yet it would generate additional income for the family.
A few days earlier, while Qi Younian was repairing the tables and stools, Ye Xinyan and Nanny Jin tried making two kinds of staple foods.
One was made with corn flour, which Ye Xinyan had once eaten in a village in the north; it was called 'spread cake.' It required making a thin batter from the corn flour and then fermenting it, adding food-grade lye to adjust before spooning it onto a flat pan. The corn batter naturally spread out in the pan. Covered with a lid for a few minutes, it was cooked, and while the 'spread cake' was still soft and warm just after cooking, it was folded into a semicircle—the finished product of the 'spread cake.'
This type of corn pancake, eaten while still warm and soft, did not have the coarse texture often associated with whole grains.
Another type was a partially leavened pancake. Alkaline was mixed with water to neutralize it, then added to the freshly kneaded soft dough. After repeated kneading until the half-leavened dough was smooth and tenacious, it was divided into small portions, wrapped with a small amount of lard, rolled out, folded several times, and shaped into triangular pancakes before being baked until done.
The two tried making these two types of foods twice, and with reasonable success, they began to prepare for setting up their stall in earnest.
In early April, the three from the second branch of the Qi family rose early. Nanny Jin and Ye Xinyan, one baking the triangular pancakes, and the other simmering the rice milk from the previous night into rice tofu. Then, along with the baked pancakes and fermented corn dough, as well as the prepared rice tofu, seasonings, and dipping sauces, everything was loaded onto the cart.
As the sky just started to brighten, the family of three locked their door, hitched up their donkey cart, and headed toward the county town.
While purchasing items for their home and stall, Ye Xinyan had scouted for a good location in the county town. Qi Younian inquired about the relevant matters for setting up a stall and paid the clerks managing the market at the Yamen, essentially obtaining a business license.
With a regular spot for their stall secured, they brought all their wares and went straight to the location they had picked out.
Ye Xinyan chose a spot on a busy street, and the three of them arranged the rice tofu, dipping sauces, triangular pancakes, and other items on display.
Additionally, they set up a charcoal stove and a flat pan, with Nanny Jin beginning to make corn pancakes.
Qi Younian and Ye Xinyan set up two tables, placing stools by each.
Once everything was in place, Ye Xinyan called out in a voice that she, Qi Younian, and Nanny Jin had seen being used to hawk goods before, "Delicious, affordable fresh food! Salty, savory rice tofu, robust, and crispy triangular pancakes, soft, fragrant corn pancakes! Those who haven't had breakfast, come and have a taste, a cheap and satisfying morning meal."
As they set up their stall, passersby had been looking on from both near and far. Now, upon hearing the sun-darkened young woman's call—indeed, Ye Xinyan, pampered as a young lady of the Duke's Mansion, still stood out in this humble place. While others applied makeup, she could only let herself tan, making herself plain looking...
Hearing Ye Xinyan's call, someone asked, "What are you selling?... Rice tofu? I've never heard of this kind of food before."
Ye Xinyan swiftly responded, "Yes, it's rice tofu, a fresh new food that's delicious and affordable. Just three pennies for a big bowl. Our toppings are also rich and tasty. Would you like to try it? Our stall also offers main dishes that go with rice tofu, all at low prices, and you can choose any two types."
Some shook their heads and walked away, while others leaned in to see just how big the 'big bowl' Ye Xinyan mentioned was and indeed found it to be quite sizable.
If people came over to look, it meant they were hesitating, pondering whether or not to eat.
Ye Xinyan encouraged them: "Today is our grand opening, why don't you sit down and have a taste? We can offer you a special price, rice tofu for two pennies a bowl. What do you think?"
Lowering the price was something Ye Xinyan and the others had discussed. Rice tofu was a novel food, and on the first day, they needed to let people taste and see how it was in order to attract more customers.
The person seemed tempted, "How much for your main dishes?"
Ye Xinyan promptly replied, "Two pennies for a triangular pancake, one penny for a corn pancake. If you eat here, we'll only charge you one penny for each. What do you say?"
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