Chapter 33: Yang Family

Jiang Liyun, while selling pan-fried dumplings, glanced at the neighbouring dumpling stall.

The man selling pan-fried dumplings appeared quite young, around his early twenties.

His dumpling stall was almost a replica of hers, using the same pan and the same coal stove, and even had the words “Northeastern Pan-Fried Dumplings” written on red paper, posted on a wooden board as a sign.

The couple helping him wrap dumplings seemed to be of a similar age to Jiang’s lame husband and herself. Most likely, they were his parents.

In addition, there was a young girl, probably in her teens, selling dumplings. She bore a strong resemblance to him, and she was likely his sister.

This was clearly an attempt to copy her stall and attract her customers.

Jiuqu Town, where Jiang Liyun resided, used to be a county town in ancient times with a large population due to its location in the fertile Jiangnan region and proximity to the provincial capital.

In her previous life, the town flourished, with a permanent population of twenty thousand and a total population of over a hundred thousand.

Though the town was not as populous at this time, it was still more than just a single location suitable for selling breakfast.

Now, with two identical dumpling stalls side by side, their customers would undoubtedly be divided.

As for the future, it was likely that the one who could consistently run a good business would retain customers.

In her previous life, Jiang Liyun had encountered similar business competition. She had always set up her stall near the elementary school, and later, her shop was not far from the school. There were several breakfast shops nearby, not limited to just one.

Some shops even sold the same things as hers.

However, some businesses thrived while others closed after a period.

Her shop’s success had reasons behind it: she offered affordable prices, and the ingredients for making buns and dumplings were of excellent quality.

For instance, the meat used for fillings was always pork foreleg, avoiding the lesser-quality meat that some others used, the kind Jiang Li Hai brought back from the big city.

Some people would use miscellaneous and undesirable parts of the pig’s body for fillings, like the meat with lymph nodes from the pig’s neck.

The prices of these meats are very cheap. While they can be consumed after thorough cleaning and removing lymph nodes, some vendors, to save costs, use these meats for fillings without bothering to clean or remove lymph nodes.

These vendors not only use these meats but also mix them with good-quality meat. Customers may not always notice, but Jiuqu Town is a small place, and their actions are unlikely to go unnoticed.

People selling meat in the market know each other and are aware of which breakfast places use good-quality meat and which ones do not. They share this information with others.

In her previous life, Jiang Liyun’s breakfast shop had a good reputation among these people. Though she occasionally lost some business, she had a loyal customer base that never let her down.

Later on, even the teachers’s canteens in nearby elementary schools and kindergartens would buy buns from her for the teachers because they trusted her.

As her online shop flourished, when she eventually sold the business to others, those people were reluctant to let her go.

The common people have simple requirements: good-quality ingredients, affordable prices for breakfast that tastes decent, and they will keep coming back.

As for creating exceptionally delicious food, it’s challenging to make ordinary buns and dumplings.

Jiang Liyun felt her dumplings were good enough, and she didn’t care if someone tried to compete for business.

In her experience, dealing with competitors was simple: just stick to her own pace and continue making good dumplings. Over time, customers would recognise the best breakfast place.

Moreover, she was contemplating selling fried chicken!

Fried chicken sells well in the afternoon, and since she already had a bustling breakfast business, she didn’t have the energy to sell fried chicken in the afternoon. So, things were fine as they were.

Jiang Liyun wasn’t bothered by the competition, but others felt differently.

Feng Yi, while making pan-fried dumplings, looked frustrated as he glanced at the neighbouring stall.

Wu Xiaochun, with a guilty expression, looked at Jiang Liyun and said, “Liyun, it’s all my fault. I talked to him about many things before…”

At that time, Wu Xiaochun only felt that the man was talkative. Now, thinking back, he had been constantly inquiring about how they made their dumplings!

She knew nothing, and he asked her about where she bought pork, the prices, and how many dumplings could be made from a kilogramme of meat, and she actually answered everything.

“Mum, it’s okay. Even if you don’t tell him, he can still figure it out,” Jiang Liyun said. “Besides, pan-fried dumplings are something I learned from someone else. It’s not fair for me to sell and others not to.”

However, Wu Xiaochun remained worried. Despite their current good earnings, she wondered if they would end up making only a few dollars a day after someone else started competing.

Seeing Wu Xiaochun looking concerned, Jiang Liyun knew she was fretting about this and that again. Wu Xiaochun’s personality was like that, and there was nothing she could do.

Despite the morning rush, Jiang Liyun couldn’t afford to think too much. She greeted the customers buying pan-fried dumplings with a smile.

Having gotten familiar with some customers recently, she chatted with them and learned that the stall next to hers was indeed a family living nearby.

The family’s surname was Yang, and the young man learning from her was named Yang Haitao.

His parents provided jobs for his two older brothers, but when it came to Yang Haitao, he struggled to find employment.

In recent years, some small factories have emerged in town, hiring people to make clothes, among other things. However, they mostly hired female workers, and Yang Haitao, lacking specific skills, could only do labour-intensive work, which was also hard to come by.

Young people from rural areas were more accustomed to hard work, and construction sites didn’t want someone like him, soft-skinned and tender.

It started off okay, but over time, he inevitably faced criticism from his brothers and sisters-in-law.

If nothing unexpected happened, Yang Haitao, unable to find work, set his sights on her pan-fried dumpling business, wanting to learn and follow suit.

“Yang Haitao is learning from you at every step, and he even set up his stall right next to yours. That’s not very fair,” remarked a customer buying dumplings from Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun smiled and said, “Looking at today, I might not even sell out my dumplings. Do you want some dumplings? Thirteen for a dollar. Boil them at home, add some greens, and make dumpling soup. It tastes really good.”

This customer, who dressed well, likely had good living conditions, prompting Jiang Liyun’s recommendation.

“Dumplings can be eaten like that?” the customer asked curiously.

Jiang Liyun said, “There are many ways to eat dumplings; you can even steam them. But I like pan-fried and dumpling soup. Cooking a pot of dumpling soup, especially in this season, warms up your whole body.”

The customer was intrigued. “Then give me a dollar’s worth of raw dumplings.”

Jiang Liyun handed her raw dumplings and added, “When making dumpling soup, besides greens, you can also add wood ear mushrooms, oil tofu, spinach, and more. Just one pot in the evening is enough for the whole family.”

The customer, now interested, asked, “Does it taste good?”

“Delicious! If you want it even tastier, you can fry two eggs and add them. Pre-cook the spinach slightly before adding…” Jiang Liyun shared her experience in making dumpling soup.

Not only did the first customer buy a dollar’s worth of raw dumplings, but another customer nearby, who overheard, also bought the same.

Afterwards, whenever Jiang Liyun spotted a suitable customer, she would recommend the dumplings. Though there were fewer customers at her stall, the dumplings continued to sell.

As for the family next door, after learning about the Yang family’s situation, Jiang Liyun vaguely recalled who they were.

Living in the same town, she had encountered the Yang family in her previous life, especially Yang’s parents.

However, she hadn’t seen much of Yang Haitao and his sister.

According to the gossip she heard in her previous life, it seemed like the two older brothers of the Yang family had driven away their younger siblings. Later, the younger siblings went to work in the county and settled there.

She didn’t know much about the Yang brothers, but she heard quite a bit about Yang’s mother from customers.

As far as she knew, Yang’s mother wasn’t an easy person to get along with.

In her previous life, as Yang’s mother’s health declined, her children pooled money to hire a caretaker. However, she caused so much trouble that they went through several caretakers, and eventually, Yang’s family couldn’t find one. They had to send her to a nursing home.

Jiang Liyun wasn’t interested in others’ gossip; she just patiently sold her dumplings.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for her to go to the workers’ club’s reading room to read the newspaper.

Usually, they would have just a few dozen dumplings left by this time, but today there were over a hundred.

It was still better than expected. With this amount of dumplings, they could either eat them themselves or give them away.

Jiang Liyun looked at Feng Yi and said, “Feng Yi, I’m going to read the newspaper.”

Feng Yi wasn’t very happy and replied in a low voice.

At this moment, Feng Yi felt an urge to have a fight with Yang Haitao next door. This guy was taking away their business, causing Jiang Liyun to earn less money!

When Jiang Liyun earned less money, the speed of their house construction slowed down!

Feng Yi had been preoccupied with the house construction, and the possibility of delaying it now made him very uneasy.

Jiang Liyun noticed Feng Yi’s low spirits and said, “Ayi, let me tell you, I’ve actually been thinking about selling fried chicken. If I sell fewer dumplings in the morning and start selling fried chicken in the afternoon, we might make more money.”

Feng Yi was surprised. “Sell fried chicken?”

“Yes,” Jiang Liyun affirmed.

She hadn’t rushed to start because she was too busy, and the weather had been a bit too hot before. Selling fried chicken would require slaughtering and marinating the chicken a day in advance, but without a refrigerator, she preferred waiting for slightly cooler temperatures.

Hmm, the weather had cooled down these days, so it was time to begin.

Hearing Jiang Liyun mention fried chicken, Feng Yi’s mouth watered.

Yesterday, Jiang Liyun made fried chicken again, and it tasted even better than the first time.

Since Jiang Lihai was away on a boat and hadn’t given any to the bricklayers or Uncle Jiang, Feng Yi got to eat a lot.

Jiang Liyun had given the two chicken legs from the chicken last night to Uncle Jiang and his wife, but Feng Yi got the chicken wings and drumettes. Jiang Liyun was right; the wings and drumettes were more flavorful than the chicken legs and exceptionally delicious.

If Jiang Liyun wanted to sell fried chicken, selling fewer dumplings in the morning wasn’t a big deal.

Feng Yi relaxed, and he wasn’t as concerned about the neighbouring Yang family’s pan-fried dumpling stall.

“Don’t worry; I’ll make a lot of money. We’ll build our own house sooner,” Jiang Liyun comforted him.

Feng Yi couldn’t help but smile, revealing his two small tiger teeth.

Jiang Liyun thought about kissing him again but refrained, finally just pinching Feng Yi’s cheek.

After Jiang Liyun went to the reading room, selling dumplings became Feng Yi’s responsibility.

In any case, Jiang Lihai and Wu Xiaochun definitely couldn’t handle this job.

Feng Yi wasn’t fond of dealing with people, but he liked Jiang Liyun, so he was willing to learn from her.

Learning to greet customers like Jiang Liyun, Feng Yi slowly sold the remaining dumplings.

On the other side, Yang Haitao was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Before setting up the stall, Yang Haitao wanted to practice his pan-fried dumpling skills, but his mother thought making dumplings well was sufficient. She forbade him from practicing more, deeming it a waste of money.

He hadn’t worked for a while, and the capital for the stall was provided by his parents. However, they were unwilling to spend money on buying flour and pork for him to practice. This left Yang Haitao with no choice.

This resulted in him being quite slow in making dumplings today.

Initially, Feng Yi was also slow when he started making pan-fried dumplings, but Jiang Liyun never rushed him and generously shared her experiences from her previous life.

Gradually, Feng Yi improved.

However, Yang Haitao had no one to guide him, and his mother kept urging him to work faster to prevent customers from leaving.

Yang’s parents had lived in the town for most of their lives, and Yang Haitao had grown up there. They were acquainted with many people in the town, and being close by, people in the neighbourhood knew them.

Seeing the Yang family selling pan-fried dumplings, people who knew the Yang family started flocking to their stall to buy them.

Some others, curious about the new stall, wanted to taste and compare the flavours, so they also went to the Yang family’s stall.

Business at the Yang family’s stall was booming, but Yang’s mother kept nagging Yang Haitao about being too slow.

Under pressure, Yang Haitao became more flustered, resulting in some pan-fried dumplings being undercooked while others were burned.

If Feng Yi had seen it, he would have noticed that the pan-fried dumplings Yang Haitao made today were similar to the ones he made when he worked at the brickyard, albeit for free, while Yang Haitao was selling them for money.

As many people had gone to work or school by now, there were fewer customers buying pan-fried dumplings, giving Yang Haitao some breathing room. He complained to his mother, “Mum, why do you keep pushing me? If I work too fast, the dumplings won’t cook properly.”

“You take longer than the people next door to cook a pot of dumplings. How could they not be cooked?” Yang’s mother retorted.

Indeed, Yang Haitao had timed the people next door making dumplings, and today he took longer.

Yang Haitao continued, “Mum, why do we have to set up our stall here? Isn’t it better to go somewhere else?”

His skills were self-taught, and he felt embarrassed to compete for business with others, so he wanted to sell elsewhere, away from the competition.

But his mother insisted on setting up the stall here.

“We live here, and everyone nearby knows us. Business is better here. Why go far away?” Yang’s mother explained.

This area not only had a primary school but also a morning market, attracting a lot of people, making it an ideal location.

Selling pan-fried dumplings was Yang Haitao’s idea, and it was the business he wanted to do. However, once he started, he no longer had control over it.

The capital came from his parents, so he had to listen to them.

Yang Haitao fell silent and removed the iron pot from the coal stove, intending to replace the coal ball.

“Why are you changing the coal ball?” Yang’s mother frowned.

“The coal ball is almost burned out,” Yang Haitao replied.

“Isn’t there still some left? There aren’t many dumplings left, and if you add a coal ball now, it won’t burn out in time,” Yang’s mother lamented, reluctant to let Yang Haitao use up the coal balls.

But the fire was too weak for the dumplings to cook properly! Yang Haitao explained his concerns to his mother, and after some consideration, she reluctantly allowed him to change the coal ball.

However, she only allowed him to change one of the three coal balls.

Meanwhile, those who bought pan-fried dumplings from Yang’s stall have already started eating.

An elderly lady, who used to frequently buy pan-fried dumplings from Jiang Liyun for her grandson, knows Yang’s mother. Today, she bought pan-fried dumplings from Yang’s mother.

Returning home with the dumplings, her grandson immediately rushed over, calling for his grandmother and eagerly awaiting the dumplings.

The child loves pan-fried dumplings, but after taking a bite today, he frowned. In the end, he only ate the filling and the bottom layer of the dumpling skin, leaving the outer edge untouched.

“Little treasure, what’s wrong?” the old lady asked, noticing the leftover dumpling skins.

The little boy said, “Grandma, the dumpling skin doesn’t taste good.”

“You used to finish them before. Why not this time?” The old lady, reluctant to waste, picked up a piece of dumpling skin with chopsticks and tasted it.

Upon trying it, she also found it not appetizing. When making dumplings, folding the skin creates a few wrinkles on both sides. Her grandson had left behind the outer layer with these wrinkles, and she discovered the skin was too thick, dry, and somewhat tough.

If the dumplings were boiled, it wouldn’t be an issue as the skin softens during boiling. However, pan-fried dumplings are different; the thicker skin on top can be dry, hard, and less flavorful.

Jiang Liyun knew this in her past life. She rolled her dumpling skins thinner and even reminded the Yang family to be mindful not to make the wrinkles too thick when pressing the skins together.

Thus, on her side, no one complained about thick skins, but it seems the Yang family overlooked this detail.

After finishing the dumpling skins, the old lady contemplated and decided that next time she buys pan-fried dumplings, she will go to Jiang Liyun’s place.

The Northeastern pan-fried dumplings made by the Yang family are simply not authentic!

Similar incidents have occurred in other places as well.

A woman bought pan-fried dumplings for her husband from a different stall, and he found them less enjoyable. He questioned, “Why did you switch stalls? These dumplings aren’t as good as before—the bottom isn’t crispy, and the skin on top is too thick, making it dry. Did someone else start making them?”

She replied, “No one else is making them. I just changed the place I buy them from.”

He asked, “Why would you change where you buy them when they were fine before?”

“These dumplings are made by your cousin. He sells them there. Should I buy from someone else?”

The man fell silent.

In reality, these two families were considered lucky. On that day, a few people discovered their pan-fried dumplings were undercooked after taking a bite. Despite their disappointment, going to confront the seller seemed inappropriate. They ended up steaming or boiling the dumplings for lunch but felt uneasy about it.

In the future, they decided to stick to the authentic place when buying dumplings.

Jiang Liyun remained unaware of the situation in the Yang family. After reading the newspaper, she returned to find only around twenty pan-fried dumplings left.

Next door, the Yang family still had plenty and planned to continue selling, but she decided to close her stall and head home. The construction workers were building their house, and they needed to prepare lunch.

With only a few dumplings left, they would finish them for lunch. In the afternoon, Jiang Liyun intended to buy some chickens from Jiang Yuxian.

She planned to start selling fried chicken in town the next day, and the kindergarten entrance seemed like a good spot.

Today’s middle and elementary school students might not all be only children, but the children in kindergarten were undoubtedly cherished and often the only child in their families.