Chapter 61 : Human Touch

When Mother Xiao heard that a repeat customer had returned just a day later and was eagerly waiting for them to open, she thought to herself that she must have done something right, so she said:

“Then I’ll have to cook more noodles and add some meat for you two, so you don’t have to wait in vain so early in the morning.”

“The boss lady really knows how to run a business. I’ll have to come here more often in the future.”

These women just love little deals like this.

Once the water boiled, Mother Xiao started cooking the noodles. At first, the customers were mostly locals from the town.

If people didn’t feel like cooking in the morning, they would usually go out to grab some noodles or something similar.

The townspeople all had their own ways of making a living, and many of them owned farmland in the outskirts. In any case, their lives were much better than those of people from the countryside.

Those who were well-off didn’t care about saving a few cents.

When Jiang Sui served them noodles, many said they had eaten them the day before and liked the taste, so they came back again.

Some said they had the hot and sour noodles yesterday and wanted to try the sweet potato starch noodles today.

So that morning, the mixed noodle option actually sold slightly better than the hot and sour noodles.

Xiao Yi kept an eye on the other food stalls on the street, but none of them made any moves, they just kept doing their business.

Occasionally, people would stop by to eat noodles or wontons. Compared to the bustling Xiao family stall, the other stalls seemed deserted.

But the steamed bun shops remained steady in their business. The strong entry of the Xiao family didn’t affect them. Coarse grains always had their own market.

After the morning rush, Mother Xiao handed the stall over to Jiang Sui and went to the grain and oil store. She bought 20 kilograms of mung beans, 20 kilograms of flour, and 20 kilograms of brown rice.

When she got home, she stashed them directly in a small storage area, planning to move them home at night and hide them.

She always remembered Jiang Sui’s advice about stocking up on food, so she had bought the flour and brown rice for that purpose.

Whenever she had the chance, she’d buy some and hide it in her room and Xiao Lanlan’s room.

Soon, it would be time to harvest sweet potatoes again. She planned to dig up some potatoes too and store them in the cellar. Since she was preparing food reserves, she needed to store sweet potatoes as well.

—

Three days passed like this, and the Xiao family’s business in town was going smoothly. They made 630 coins on the first day, 580 on the second, and only 500 on the third.

But the Xiao family was already quite satisfied, expecting that the numbers would gradually decline.

After all, Baima Town was a small place, and nothing stays fresh forever.

On the fourth day, the Xiao stall returned to its original pricing.

Xiao Yi had observed the street vendors for two days but didn’t notice any changes. On the fourth day, he went back to town and started preparing again. Mother Xiao gave him some money.

It had been a while since they last visited Liu. She was still staying at her parents’ home and hadn’t made any moves. There was no news of Liu Jiang getting married.

Now, she was more than five months pregnant, and her belly had started to show.

Mother Xiao had given birth to five children. With her experience, she knew that pregnant women tend to have a big appetite during this time and need to eat well especially nutritious food for the baby’s sake.

So she sent Xiao Yi to the butcher’s stall in town to buy a few pounds of good pork belly, and then to the aunties selling eggs on the street to get some eggs to bring to his mother-in-law’s house.

Liu’s home was only a half-hour walk from town, and since there were fewer customers at the stall today, Xiao Yi had the time to go and check in on her. He figured he could make the trip quickly and be back soon.

Xiao Yi wasn’t angry anymore. He was still thinking about his wife and the baby growing inside her, so after receiving the money, he happily went off to buy meat and eggs.

After Xiao Yi left, Mother Xiao, Jiang Sui, and Xiao Hechuan continued running the stall. While there weren’t as many customers as before, there were still four or five people sitting and eating noodles.

These people came mainly for the flavor, the price wasn’t much of a concern to them, just a few extra coins after all.

They were from relatively well-off families and had money to spare, so they cared more about the taste than the cost. Of course, if the food tasted good and was cheap, then all the better.

Xiao Yi had built a clay stove overnight. After firing it, it needed to sit in the sun for a full day before it could be used.

While there weren’t many people around, Mother Xiao boiled some water and started making mung bean soup.

The mung beans had been soaked overnight and were now nice and plump. First, she brought them to a boil, then simmered them on low heat until the soup turned silky and smooth.

As it got closer to noon, the weather turned hotter, and the customers eating noodles were sweating. Mother Xiao seized the moment to serve each of them a bowl of mung bean soup.

Although there weren’t a lot of beans in it, it was a thoughtful gesture.

“It’s hot, easy to get heatstroke in this weather. Have some mung bean soup to cool down,” she said.

With warmth and care, Mother Xiao handed each noodle-eating customer a bowl.

The guests were tempted by the delicious-looking mung bean soup, but some hesitated, afraid they might be charged extra.

Noticing this, Mother Xiao quickly explained: “This mung bean soup is free, drink as much as you like. If one bowl’s not enough, just come get more. It’s not super thick, so don’t mind it too much it’ll help cool you off in this heat.”

Mother Xiao was great at speaking kindly, making the guests feel completely at ease.

“That’s amazing, boss lady. You really know how to run a business, no wonder you have the most customers!”

Hearing that it was free, everyone picked up their bowls and started drinking.

This mung bean soup, smooth and slightly sandy in texture, tasted wonderful. In ancient times, sugar was expensive, and most families didn’t add sugar to porridge, so people weren’t used to sweetened soups at home.

This mung bean soup was a simple, heartfelt gesture.

Once it was ready, Jiang Sui took out the wooden sign Xiao Yi had written beforehand and placed it in the most visible spot: “Our stall provides free mung bean soup for everyone.”

In other words, you didn’t have to buy noodles to enjoy the soup.

There were many street vendors selling small goods near the stall. They had tiny rented spaces, no tarp or shelter, and were all sweating under the blazing sun.

Seeing them like that, Jiang Sui brought out a water bowl and scooped out servings of mung bean soup for each one of them.

“You all must be roasting in this heat. If you don’t mind, have a bowl of mung bean soup to quench your thirst and cool off!”

Jiang Sui had naturally delicate features, but her adoptive mother’s mistreatment had left her pale and thin. Over the past two months with the Xiao family, she had eaten and slept well, slowly recovering her health.

Now, her complexion was rosy, her skin fair and soft, and she had gained some weight. She looked sweet and charming, with dimples that appeared when she smiled, kind, harmless, and very approachable. In short, she was incredibly likable.

Everyone was touched by Jiang Sui’s thoughtfulness. After all, making a living under the scorching sun wasn’t easy for anyone. And in that moment, when someone brought you a cool bowl of mung bean soup to ease your thirst, how could you not feel moved?