Chapter 15: Bamboo Tube Rice

“Mother, what do you think about setting up a stall for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?” Xu Nuo looked at the considerable amount of silver on the table and thought that if they operated three times a day, their income could double.

Wang was surprised. “Three times? Will we have enough time?”

Today, the weather was not as hot as in previous days. A gentle breeze wafted by, causing strands of hair to dance in the air. Sitting in the pavilion, there was still a hint of coolness—a delightful ambiance.

Shangguan watched Xu Nuo with her eyes closed, lost in the gentle spring breeze, and a slight smile crept onto his lips. “Setting up a stall three times a day does indeed seem impossible. However, we can try it twice a day. But if we sell the same dishes at both times, I’m afraid people will grow tired of it quickly; it is likely that in just a few days, our customer flow won’t be as large.”

Shangguan pointed out the main issue with their current stall operation. At the start, people came out of curiosity, leading to a large customer base, but once the novelty wore off, the traffic could drop by half. The academy entrance was not like a modern tourist spot, and they couldn’t keep reaping the same harvests over and over.

His words acted like a bucket of cold water, dousing the enthusiasm of Wang and Xu Nuo.

“However, we can try to introduce new dishes. To avoid being eliminated, we must keep innovating!” Xu Nuo pondered for a moment and brightened, realizing that with China’s vast and varied culinary culture, there would surely be opportunities to shine in this culinary wasteland of the past.

Xu Nuo’s indomitable spirit affected Wang as well as Shangguan Ziqian. Looking at the pile of bamboo in the courtyard, Xu Nuo had a flicker of inspiration.

“What time do the students go to the academy every day?”

“What time do the workers usually leave for work?”

“Do most people have enough time for breakfast before heading out?”

Xu Nuo threw out three questions in quick succession, causing Shangguan’s brows to relax. The questions hit the nail on the head. It seemed that his wife had set her sights on breakfast foods.

“Most students arrive for classes very early, often at dawn or even earlier. The workers also tend to leave around that time.”

Xu Nuo listened to the answers, which aligned with her own thoughts. If converted to modern time, it was around 4 or 5 in the morning. She had observed for some time in this small county; the various eateries and small vendors were bustling during lunch and dinner, yet no one seemed to be operating a breakfast stall. This represented a perfect opportunity that she had to seize.

Xu Nuo exclaimed, “What are we waiting for? We’ll start selling breakfast from now on and continue with cold dishes and braised items at noon!”

Having said that, she picked up the brush and ink on the table to start writing. Thankfully, this body still retained some muscle memory, and her calligraphy turned out quite decent.

Shangguan and Wang gathered around Xu Nuo and saw the three characters for “bamboo tube rice” appear on the paper. Xu Nuo carefully noted some ingredients for the bamboo tube rice as well.

In addition to bamboo tube rice, Xu Nuo brainstormed about making soy milk, wontons, dumplings, steamed buns, and mantou (steamed buns) as well. However, implementing all these with the stall method would still require tables and chairs, which was a significant undertaking.

Xu Nuo shared her thoughts, and Shangguan immediately took charge of the matter. Sometimes Xu Nuo wondered whether his background was scholarly or martial; if she hadn’t seen his future, she would have started to suspect he was a carpenter.

Compared to the normal breakfast foods like soy milk, wontons, dumplings, and steamed buns, bamboo tube rice was something she had never heard of anyone making, so it definitely had to be sold.

“Hey, Nuo Nuo, we have a grinding stone in the middle of our courtyard; we can make and sell soy milk! We could also sell tofu pudding!” Wang might not be very skilled in cooking, but she was quite adept with snacks and pastries, having learned from the family cook as a child.

Xu Nuo’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. “Ah! Mother, you’re so amazing!” She rushed over and hugged Wang in excitement.

Wang’s face turned red. It had been a long time since anyone embraced her like this; her reserved son had never liked to be held since he was little.

Shangguan felt a bit uneasy seeing the look in his mother’s eyes; after all, what kind of boy continues to follow his mother around after the age of ten?

Xu Nuo playfully teased Wang and then slipped back into the kitchen, pouring boiling water over the bamboo tubes and mung beans. Wang ran to a blacksmith’s in town and bought a stove, which Xu Nuo thought looked like an enlarged version of a 90s charcoal stove. To avoid affecting the braised dishes and cold dishes for the next day, Wang repeated the previous process, while Xu Nuo began to tinker with her new business in the courtyard.

The bamboo tubes were soaked in boiling water and scalded, while glutinous rice, black rice, red dates, and red beans were washed clean and poured into the bamboo tubes, sealed with lotus leaves and placed in a steamer. While the bamboo tube rice steamed, Xu Nuo diced the pork into small cubes and mixed them with the glutinous rice and black rice, adding diced carrots and mushrooms, then drizzling in some soy sauce, sugar, and salt, repeating the same steps and placing it all into the steamer.

As Xu Nuo looked around the courtyard, she turned to Shangguan Ziqian, who was under the sun hammering nails into the legs of a low table. His usually cold demeanor had turned red, and beads of sweat covered his forehead.

Xu Nuo wondered why his long fingers were so delicate, but as she gazed at the nearly completed low table in the courtyard, she started to think about whether to have Shangguan build her a grill in the courtyard. That would allow for even more food options. However, out of human kindness, she decided to hold off for now.

Half an hour passed, and the courtyard was filled with the aromatic scent of bamboo tube rice. Not only the three people in the house but even the children from the neighboring courtyard sneaked peeks through the door, curious about what kind of deliciousness was being prepared.

Just as Xu Nuo lifted the lid, her hand grazed the bamboo tube, burning her hand, causing her to stomp her foot in pain. She had to hold her hand to her ear for a while before it felt better.

“You girl, be careful! That just came out of the pot; it’s very hot!” Wang lightly tapped Xu Nuo’s forehead, still treating her like a little child.

Shangguan couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter was like a spring breeze, warm and gentle. For a moment, Xu Nuo was dazzled by his smile, and when Shangguan pinched her cheek, she realized what was happening, her face flushing.

Xu Nuo turned around, grabbed her homemade heat-resistant gloves, and started taking out the bamboo tube rice from the pot to cover up her embarrassment.

Lifting the lotus leaf seal, Xu Nuo took a small knife and gently split open the bamboo tube. A rush of sweet aroma enveloped her, and she picked up chopsticks to take a piece and share it with Wang.

Wang put it in her mouth. The combination of black and glutinous rice created a sticky texture, and when savored, it also revealed the sweetness of the red dates and red beans. “This is really delicious! You two should try it too!” After saying this, she couldn’t help but have another taste.

“Mother, try dipping it in some sugar,” Xu Nuo suggested.

As Wang followed Xu Nuo’s advice, she discovered that it was indeed quite tasty.

Meanwhile, Xu Nuo opened the savory dumplings and handed them to Shangguan. During this time, she noticed that Shangguan’s taste seemed a bit heavier compared to others; he didn’t seem to enjoy sweets very much. The leftovers were given to the group of children outside the door, and all of them were thrilled to find they had gotten their share.

The children didn’t expect they would have their own portion, and they were all ecstatic, surrounding Xu Nuo and showering her with compliments, saying every flattering word they knew. Who wouldn’t like to be praised? Happy, Xu Nuo promised them that she would definitely share new dishes with them next time.

“This will surely sell well tomorrow! However, we need to balance the savory and sweet flavors because most people prefer sweet, so we should make more of those!” Shangguan said with a smile while holding a bamboo tube.

“Exactly! I was thinking the same! We can soak the ingredients tonight, and then tomorrow morning we can pack them up and steam them right away.” Xu Nuo was overflowing with confidence.

“We could even make some tofu pudding and soy milk to sell. Let’s price the bamboo tube rice at eight wen each, tofu pudding at six wen a bowl, and soy milk at five wen!” As Xu Nuo spoke, her enthusiasm grew, and her big eyes sparkled with excitement.

Shangguan added, “Soy milk is easy to make, but the steps for tofu pudding are a bit complicated. How about we switch the tofu pudding to dumplings instead? That would give people more choices.”

Xu Nuo had just considered that, but since it was Wang who suggested it, she didn’t want to dampen their spirits right away. Shangguan knew Xu Nuo had understood this, but Wang was his mother, and she wouldn’t be angry about it, which was why he straightforwardly pointed it out.

“Ziqian is right. I wasn’t thinking it through just now. Let’s switch to dumplings!” Wang realized the issue with her initial idea.

Looking at the two people in front of her, Xu Nuo teased, “No, we’re not making dumplings!”

“Huh?” “Wait, Nuo Nuo, you need to think this through…”

Xu Nuo laughed at the bewildered expressions on their faces and said, “We’re not making tofu pudding either; we’re going to make wontons!”