Chapter 64: Pan-Fried Buns

On their way to town, Jiang Fenlan and Jiang Anshu were constantly worried about their mother. According to their father and grandparents, their mother worked from dawn until dusk every day, and she couldn’t even come home.

Although not being able to come home seemed like a good thing, in their imagination, their mother’s life must be very hard.

But now, Feng Qiufeng’s complexion looked good, giving off a sense of… revitalisation.

The previous Feng Qiufeng seemed lifeless.

“Mum has been eating very well recently. This morning, she even had egg-fried rice, and yesterday she had braised pork. I also had that foreign fried chicken.” Feng Qiufeng smiled as she spoke to her two children. “Your sister Liyun asked me to help, so I’m here to assist.”

Jiang Fenlan and Jiang Anshu approached Feng Qiufeng, and she hugged them, saying, “Go back to school quickly. Make sure to study well; education is essential. Your sister Liyun and your Uncle Feng Yi are still studying even though they’re older.”

Jiang Fenlan’s eyes welled up.

When she was in primary school, her mother used to hug her and advise her to study well.

At that time, although her father occasionally acted crazy after drinking, it wasn’t as severe as now. Her mother would smile when she saw them, and during work in the fields, she would let them sit by the edge, fearing they would get bored, and even catch grasshoppers for them to play with.

But later, her father drank more and became increasingly irritable. He became more violent, and her mother grew silent.

Her mother no longer hugged them or advised them to study well.

Jiang Fenlan and Jiang Anshu always missed their previous mother, but they didn’t know how to make their mother return to that state.

Now, their mother was back.

The two didn’t give away the chicken heads; on their way back home, they nibbled and talked.

“Sis, chicken heads are so delicious. I love eating chicken heads the most,” Jiang Anshu said.

Jiang Fenlan nodded; she also found the chicken heads unexpectedly tasty.

“Sis, the day after tomorrow is Saturday. Let’s come find Mum again,” Jiang Anshu suggested.

Jiang Fenlan said, “Yeah, we’ll come to see Mum again that day. But the delicious food Mum left for us, let’s eat less of it and let Mum eat more.”

Jiang Anshu nodded seriously.

His father seemed like a fixture at the table. Whenever he came home, he would see his father sitting at the table, drinking.

The atmosphere at home was still very unpleasant. Grandparents had to work, and Mum also had to work. The one who had always taken care of him was his sister.

He listened to his sister the most and, of course, to his mother.

He remembered that when he was little, his mother was exceptionally good to him. She would put him in a basket and carry him.

The basket swayed as she walked, and when his mother crossed the bridge, he was even suspended over the river, but he wasn’t afraid at all; he just wanted to laugh.

“Tonight after school, let’s go help Sister Liyun,” Jiang Fenlan suggested.

Many people were willing to help in the shop after Sister Liyun called for assistance. In the end, she invited their mother and let her stay in the shop.

Jiang Fenlan didn’t understand before, but now she does.

Sister Liyun wanted to help them!

Jiang Liyun continued to collect chickens today. The number of people selling chickens today wasn’t as many as yesterday, and with the experience gained, everything was well- organised.

She didn’t directly participate in the work but observed, making various records. The number of chickens plucked, the ones cut into pieces—all had to be documented for future wage calculations.

The village was getting piped water, and thanks to the temple’s favourable location, it was connected to the water supply, making things much more convenient. However, she had to pay the water bill for the temple.

After the chicken meat was prepared, Jiang Liyun instructed someone to clean it and set it aside. Around noon, she would pack it into paper boxes bought from the food factory and have Feng Yi deliver them to the factory for freezing.

Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan went to Shanghai with the ship from the brick and tile factory today, so she had to handle these matters.

In a few days, when the shops in town opened, there wouldn’t be much demand for Feng Yi’s three-wheeler. At that time, the three-wheeler had to be stored at her place, and she would hire someone specifically to help her transport goods.

“Are you sure you can sell so many chickens?” Jiang Liping, curious, came to ask Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun replied, “When they are sent to Shanghai, they will definitely be sold.”

All these chickens were obtained on credit; if she couldn’t sell them, she would end up owing a large sum of money!

Doing business really requires having capital.

Unfortunately, at this time, it wasn’t so easy to get a loan from the bank…

Jiang Liping said, “Indeed, Sun Jinshan knows so many people.”

All these chickens were collected by Sun Jinshan, right? Sun Jinshan really had money.

She really should marry a nouveau riche. In the past, when she couldn’t do business, having a secure job in town was indeed valuable, but times had changed!

A worker’s salary was fixed; it was a small amount per month, unlike the nouveau riche, who were better.

Seeing Jiang Liping idle, Jiang Liyun asked, “Aren’t you going to work? Just staying at home doing nothing?”

Jiang Liping replied, “Can’t I rest for a few days?” She didn’t want to go to town now and didn’t want to see the Li family.

Living here was so comfortable, and the Li family definitely wouldn’t dare to come to her door.

She had told the Li family before that her relationship with her family wasn’t good. She also mentioned that there were many people with the surname Jiang in their village. If any one of them suffered injustice, others would help.

The Li family wouldn’t dare come to Bridgehead Village!

As for badmouthing her in town, the Li family probably wouldn’t do that. Her reputation in town was already not good, and no matter how much the Li family spoke ill of her, it wouldn’t have much impact on her. However, if she spoke ill of the Li family in town, it would humiliate them.

The Li family wouldn’t dare to confront her.

“Want to help out? I’ll pay you a salary,” Jiang Liyun suggested. Although Jiang Liping was lazy, her work ability was still good.

She was dealing with some old folks now, and they really couldn’t understand simple calculations.

Without much thought, Jiang Liping declined, “I don’t want to work.”

Whether it was killing chickens or collecting them, it was dirty and tiring work.

She was going to marry Sun Jinshan in the future. Why bother with this now?

She was going to be the wife of a boss!

“In that case, go home and boil some water. Clean up the house. Don’t stay here causing trouble,” Jiang Liyun said.

Jiang Liping snorted and left.

When she becomes Jiang Liyun’s boss lady, she’ll still talk to Jiang Liyun like this.

Busy throughout the day, at four in the afternoon, Jiang Liyu came to find her. They had finished school; lately, the days grew darker earlier, leading to an earlier school dismissal.

Accompanying Jiang Liyu were some other children. Jiang Liyu said, “Sis, we’ve come to watch the chicken slaughter!”

Jiang Liyun replied, “Then watch carefully, but be careful not to dirty your clothes.”

Cleaning winter clothes was troublesome if they got stained, and there might not be replacements.

Jiang Liyu nodded earnestly. At that moment, a girl in her early teens and a boy around Jiang Liyu’s age ran to the area filled with chicken innards and began to help clean the chicken intestines.

“You don’t need to do this,” Jiang Liyun said.

Jiang Fenlan looked at Jiang Liyun and said, “Sis Liyun, we want to help.”

Just then, someone spoke besides Jiang Liyun, “These are Jiang Honghai’s daughter and son. I heard Jiang Honghai’s wife is working in your shop? Today, I even heard Jiang Honghai’s mother say she wants her to come back, saying she can make money killing chickens here, and it’s close to home.”

Hearing this, Jiang Liyun understood why these two kids came to help.

She also noticed that, after hearing these words, the two kids looked a bit stiff.

Jiang Fenlan added, “Sis Liyun, my mum doesn’t know how to kill chickens.”

Jiang Liyun smiled and said, “Right, Aunt Qiu Feng works slowly; she might not be able to handle this. I think she can only do some rough work.”

The woman who was talking to Jiang Liyun said, “True. It’s strange. Qiu Feng used to be a very capable person. However, these past few years, no matter what she does, it’s all slow and sluggish, like she’s become a different person.”

Jiang Liyun remained silent.

Being constantly beaten and frightened, not eating well, or sleeping well would make anyone lose the spirit to work.

For the task of cleaning chicken intestines, Jiang Liyun had hired two old ladies to help, paying them one yuan per day. Of course, the chicken gizzards they peeled off were taken by the two old ladies.

Jiang Fenlan and Jiang Anshu helping the old ladies made them quite happy, and they praised the two.

In the village, the old ladies were actually very formidable. They always sat in front of their homes, doing some sewing or other small tasks, appearing inconspicuous, but…

They knew who was with whom in the village, which family had visitors, which family’s daughter was good, and which family’s son was capable—they knew it all.

Just by looking at people and hearing a few words, they could guess what a person did.

Jiang Honghai’s family didn’t interact much with outsiders, and Jiang Fenlan and her brother had little presence in the village. The old ladies had never paid attention to them before.

However, in the coming days, these two siblings will probably have a good reputation in the circle of the old ladies.

In the next few days, Jiang Liyun continued to collect chickens. The price she paid for chickens wasn’t high because, with fewer chickens available in the market, the money she could make by selling them individually in town was higher than what she paid for them. Gradually, she found that there were fewer chickens she could get.

Jiang Liyun was pleased.

If she collected too many chickens, the cold storage of the town’s food factory wouldn’t be able to accommodate them!

Moreover, she had other things to do.

The carpenter has already finished making all the tables and chairs for her, and the paint has been applied. She plans to open the shop as soon as possible.

To open the shop, various preparations need to be made, such as teaching Gu Lanlan and Feng Qiufeng how to knead dough and make buns.

Dumpling dough doesn’t need to be fermented, so it can be used directly after kneading. However, the dough used for buns needs to be fermented.

Additionally, she needs to arrange for soy milk and tofu flowers from the tofu maker and try making noodle soup.

Fortunately, she has experience in all of this.

Early in the morning, Jiang Liyun asked Jiang Xiaogu to watch over the broken temple area for her. She went to the town to teach Feng Qiufeng and Gu Lanlan how to make buns.

“The dough is already fermented. Let me show you how to make buns.” Jiang Liyun demonstrated the process of making buns and cooked them in a flat iron pan.

She made small buns that would later be turned into pan-fried buns, commonly referred to as “shengjian bao” or “jian bao” in their area.

“The buns will expand later, so don’t place them too close. Leave a little gap,” Jiang Liyun explained while guiding Feng Qiufeng and Gu Lanlan to try making the buns.

Although Feng Qiufeng and Gu Lanlan worked slowly, the buns they made looked quite good.