Chapter 12 Don’t Run Back Next Time

“Quickly bring the tricycle over, let your sister-in-law go inside to rest, Mom will go make noodles right away.”

Gu’s mother said excitedly.

Gu Yunchi let go of Jiang Yiyi, took the tricycle, put it in the shade, got water for Jiang Yiyi to wash her face and hands, quickly went inside to pour a glass of cold boiled water for her. After Jiang Yiyi finished drinking, he helped her into the room to rest, then went to the kitchen. He saw that Gu’s mother had already boiled the water, so he took the pre-rolled noodles and put them in the pot. After they were cooked, he rinsed them in cold water, added eggs, tomatoes, diced eggplant, shredded cucumber, and minced garlic, and took them to Jiang Yiyi’s room.

Jiang Yiyi was indeed hungry. While she picked up a large mouthful and put it in her mouth, she took out the money from her pocket and put it on the bed.

Mostly it was loose change, only three one-yuan bills.

Gu Yunchi excitedly laid the bills out flat, carefully counting them, as if afraid of accidentally damaging them.

Jiang Yiyi wanted to laugh, “It was all sold in half an hour today, we can make more tomorrow.”

Gu Yunchi nodded wildly, her eyes never leaving the money in her hand. A total of seventeen yuan and four jiao! She had sold so much in just one day!

“S-sister-in-law, can I take this to let Mom count it?”

“Go ahead.”

Gu Yunchi ran to Gu’s mother’s room like a gust of wind. It wasn’t until Jiang Yiyi finished her bowl of noodles that she came back, her eyes red, clearly having cried.

Knowing she was excited, and to avoid embarrassing her, Jiang Yiyi pretended not to see it. “I see that there aren’t many cucumbers in the vegetable garden, we need to buy some from other people’s houses.”

“I’ll go buy them.”

Gu Yunchi put the money on the kang (heated bed), feeling full of energy. She and her mother had just calculated that they had earned fifteen yuan today, four hundred and fifty yuan a month, and several thousand yuan a year. In two years, their family could become a ten-thousand-yuan household.

“Just tell the truth if anyone asks.”

Having a vegetable garden and still buying cucumbers, the villagers would definitely ask. Sooner or later they would find out, and it would be worse to try to hide it.

Now Jiang Yiyi was the god in Gu Yunchi’s heart. Whatever Jiang Yiyi said, Gu Yunchi listened. She didn’t even take a nap and went to the village to buy cucumbers.

Jiang Yiyi slept for half an hour. This was a habit she had developed before she transmigrated. No matter the season, she would rest for half an hour at noon.

When she woke up, she saw two little girls playing under the shade of a tree in the yard, so she got up and went out.

The two little ones were no longer afraid of her, and childishly called out, “Auntie.” “Auntie.”

Jiang Yiyi touched their heads, “Auntie will take you to buy ice cream.”

The two little girls’ identical eyes lit up instantly.

Jiang Yiyi held one hand each, leading them to the village’s small shop, buying them popsicles and snacks.

This was the first time Jiang Yiyi had come to the small shop to buy things since she got married. The shop owner looked at her a few more times. In her impression, Jiang Yiyi was not very talkative and did not like to interact with the villagers. The villagers all gossiped behind her back, saying that because she was a high school student and married Gu Yunze, she received a monthly allowance of tens of yuan without having to work, and looked down on the villagers.

Noticing the shop owner’s scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Yiyi looked back. The shop owner quickly avoided her gaze. She had heard about Jiang Yiyi making a scene at the Qin family’s house. She was known to have a bad temper, so she dared not provoke her.

Jiang Yiyi led the two children back home. Gu Yunchi also returned, carrying a basket of blossoming cucumbers, tender and juicy.

“Three cents a pound, I bought thirty pound.”

The villagers all had vegetable gardens, and they all grew cucumbers. Hearing that they could be sold for money, they were eager to sell them to her. Some people also inquired what she was buying the cucumbers for. Gu Yunchi told them as Jiang Yiyi had instructed. The villagers didn’t know what liangpi (cold skin noodles) was, but from the literal meaning, they knew it must be something cool, and they all inquired about the price. When they heard thirty cents a serving, they were shocked.

……

Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan ran home after school. Both of them were soaked. When they entered the gate and saw the tricycle in the yard, and Jiang Yiyi and Gu Yunchi busy in the kitchen, he ran to Gu’s mother’s room, closed the door behind him, and said in a low voice, “Mom, how much money did we sell today?”

Gu’s mother’s brows were relaxed, her face full of smiles, “Seventeen yuan and four jiao.”

Gu Yunyang quickly calculated in his mind. Thirty cents a serving, sixty servings would be eighteen yuan, so seventeen yuan and four jiao was… He counted on his fingers for a while before his eyes lit up. They had sold fifty-eight servings, which meant that his sister-in-law had almost brought all the money back and hadn’t given any to that man.

His anxious heart finally settled down. He slumped into a chair and gasped for breath.

Gu Yuncan was slower, running until she was out of breath. When she entered the room, she lay down on the kang. Her older brother had pulled her all the way home from school, exhausting her.

Gu’s mother helped them wipe their sweat and said, “There’s nothing wrong at home, don’t run back next time.”

……

After the first day’s trial sale, Jiang Yiyi had one hundred servings made the next day. She went to the aluminum plant gate to sell them. She still offered a free sample first. There were fewer workers at the aluminum plant, maybe two or three hundred people, but next to it was the iron plant, also with two or three hundred people, and they all passed by the aluminum plant gate on their way to and from work.

“Liangpi, delicious liangpi, don’t miss it if you pass by!”

Most of the workers at the aluminum and iron plants were men. Hearing her crisp call, they all looked over. Seeing that it was a pretty young girl, they gathered in groups of three or five. When they got closer, they were attracted by the liangpi.

Jiang Yiyi handed chopsticks to the person at the front, “Free tasting, no charge!”

Such a good thing! The worker at the front didn’t even bother to look at Jiang Yiyi, he took the chopsticks and tasted it. He ate several mouthfuls before reluctantly putting down the chopsticks when he heard the urging of the people beside him. He slowly chewed and swallowed the liangpi in his mouth, “How much is it?”

“Thirty cents.”

“Too expensive!”

He smacked his lips. It was too delicious. If he wasn’t too embarrassed, he would have wanted to taste everything in the enamel bowl.

“Ten cents a serving is about right.”

Those who had tasted it behind him also wanted to buy it and echoed in agreement.

“Our whole family got up early this morning and made it. We didn’t finish making it until ten o’clock, plus the ingredients, thirty cents is just us earning our hard-earned money, we can’t reduce the price.”

“Then forget it, we won’t buy it.”

Having said that, the man pretended to leave.

Jiang Yiyi didn’t call him. She knew how refreshing it was to eat a serving of liangpi on a hot day. As long as they tasted it, no one wouldn’t want to buy it. Hers was unique, and the price would definitely not be lowered.

The man just wanted to haggle. Seeing that Jiang Yiyi didn’t call him, he felt a little embarrassed, but he really wanted to eat it, so he compromised, “Twenty cents, I’ll buy two servings.”

Jiang Yiyi smiled and shook her head.

“You’re so stubborn selling things, do you still want to sell here? Let me tell you, I’m from the factory…”

“Big Fat [Dapang], what are you doing?”

Hearing the voice, Big Fat [Dapang] quickly turned around and said with a smile, “Brother Liu, I just wanted to buy two servings of liangpi, this girl…”

“Brother Liu.”

Jiang Yiyi called out.