Chapter 181

When Xiao Roubao and Xiao Tangyuan returned to the newly renovated restaurant, they looked at the murals painted by their older brothers with joy and were eager to join in.

Su Xiaoxiao asked them to draw small grasses and flowers at the bottom. Xiao Roubao was not interested in anything other than food and insisted on letting his sister paint the flowers and grass while he wanted to draw bird eggs within the grass and flowers.

‘Yeah, picking up bird eggs in the grass is also possible.’

After enjoying the sesame candy biscuits prepared by Bai Lan, the “little workers” resumed their work.

The adults were busy wrapping dumplings. With many hands, the work progressed quickly, and within a couple of hours, they had wrapped over a hundred dumplings with three different fillings.

Su Xiaoxiao started preparing the sour soup base. She put scallions, minced garlic, dried shrimp, sesame seeds, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and chili oil into a pot. She added a bit more vinegar, brought the water to a boil, and then added the dumplings. She ladled two spoonfuls of the dumpling soup into each bowl to dissolve the original soup, then added the cooked dumplings and mixed them evenly. Finally, according to personal taste, she added some pickled and diced radish and sprinkled some cilantro on top. A pot of steaming, hot, and flavorful sour soup dumplings was served.

The stove set aside specifically for the pot was already hot. If they felt it wasn’t hot enough, they could heat it up when adding the original soup. Scallions and cilantro were to be added just before serving.

The amount of chili oil and vinegar could be adjusted according to personal preference. For the two little ones, Su Xiaoxiao skipped the chili oil. For the three older ones, she used a bit less. The adults were served with a normal spoonful. Old Yang preferred stronger flavors and could add extra vinegar and chili oil himself.

Originally, a simple bowl of dumplings, after Su Xiaoxiao’s seasoning and served in a pot, transformed into a dish that whetted the appetite, easily surpassing dumplings from other places.

As they ate, Bai Lan exclaimed, “Xiaoxiao, your mind is truly remarkable. If I were to open a dumpling shop, like others, I’d just cook them and serve them directly. Customers could add chili oil and vinegar to their liking. But you, by making this sour soup and serving it in a pot, it immediately becomes unique and outstanding. The taste is truly different. It could easily become the signature dish of our shop. You truly… what’s the word? Oh yes, you have a magic touch.”

Old Yang pointed to the sour soup dumplings painted by Fantuan on the wall and said, “Exactly the same.”

Bai Lan looked over, and indeed, they were identical. Each dumpling in Fantuan’s pot was dripping with bright red chili oil, and even the white sesame seeds and vibrant green cilantro were clearly visible. The lifelike portrayal could almost make Bai Lan smell the tantalizing aroma of chili oil combined with vinegar, which is truly enticing. 

Bai Lan said: “Xiaoxiao if we only sell this sour soup dumpling, I bet we’ll have customers flocking in. Being able to eat such a bowl in the dead of winter is like not needing any other meat.”

Su Xiaoxiao said: “No matter how delicious something is if you eat it for three days straight, you will get tired of it at some point. Instead of exhausting ourselves by making various dishes every day, it’s better to offer something different every day but only sell one type of item. This way, customers can enjoy a new dish every day, and we can save ourselves the trouble. Let’s start with this for now.”

Xiao Roubao devoured dumplings one after another, saying, “Mom, these dumplings are so delicious. I could eat them for ten days straight, ten bowls a day, and not get tired of it!”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at her little son, who had sesame seeds all over his mouth. She wiped his mouth and said, “You’re not like others; you never get tired of eating.”

Xiao Roubao disagreed again: “If it’s not delicious, I won’t like it. The wontons we had the other day weren’t tasty.”

Indeed, the first day after school, they went to eat wontons, but Xiao Roubao didn’t want to eat after just one bite. Not wanting to waste food, he reluctantly ate half a bowl, and Han Cheng finished the rest. Since then, he didn’t want to go to that shop again.

Su Xiaoxiao tasted it herself; it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t particularly tasty either. Xiao Tangyuan, however, wasn’t picky and finished the ones her brother gave her.

Later, they went to eat braised noodles one day, and he said they were just average; he barely finished eating them. He didn’t want to go there again either.

It wasn’t until they found a restaurant with good dumplings that the little one was barely satisfied, still thinking about going back today.

Since that day, Su Xiaoxiao has realized that Xiao Roubao has quite high standards for food. He didn’t love everything; it had to be well-made for him to enjoy it. In other words, everything they had at home in the past was delicious, which was why he ate so much.

There were some dumplings left for Han Cheng to eat when he came back at night. The “little workers” wanted to work overtime at night, but Su Xiaoxiao thought it wasn’t necessary; it’s not like they were in a hurry to do it for just one or two days. The temperature at night was colder than during the day, so she asked them to stay warm on the heated kang, read, tell stories, or play games.

Zhuzi had been staying with the Han family for the past few days. Whenever there was a yard for sale, he would be asked to take a look first. The old master said they would listen to Zhuzi’s opinion. If he thought it was good, they wouldn’t need to check it themselves. Xiao Wu had seen families who spoiled their children, but he had never seen such indulgence, letting a twelve-year-old make decisions about buying a yard. However, Xiao Wu was steady, and he could easily spot any flaws in a yard he didn’t like. After seeing two or three that weren’t suitable, they had to wait patiently.

Xiao Tangyuan also wanted to play with her brothers. Su Xiaoxiao allowed her to play in her brother’s room, but she needed to come back to sleep in her room before ten.

Han Cheng didn’t return home until after eight o’clock, exhausted. Su Xiaoxiao served him a bowl of sour soup dumplings, which he particularly liked. Sometimes, when he ate noodles, he preferred this soup base. However, Old Yang used rapeseed oil for the chili oil, which seemed to enhance the flavor.

Su Xiaoxiao also explained the progress of the store to Han Cheng.

Han Cheng nodded, picked up a dumpling, and handed it to her, saying, “Your business acumen and economic studies are spot on. You might become a business tycoon in the future.”

Su Xiaoxiao took a bite of the dumpling Han Cheng fed her and shook her head, saying she didn’t want to eat anymore. Han Cheng finished the remaining half she had bitten and ate it with some sour soup.

“I’m not thinking that far ahead. As long as this little shop can pay the salary of our employees and feed our kids, that’s enough. Whether it makes a profit or not, we’ll think about it later,” Su Xiaoxiao said.

Nowadays, most small restaurants are run by couples, and making ends meet is not a problem. However, Su Xiaoxiao has a large family and has always been generous with food. So, from the beginning, Su Xiaoxiao made it clear that she would give fixed salaries to Bai Lan and Old Yang regardless of whether they made a profit or not. They would receive their fixed wages first, and then the profits would be distributed. 

As for herself, she only took care of the family’s meals. They all knew that Su Xiaoxiao had her own way of doing things. She said she was in charge of the children’s meals, but she would always dig into her own pocket to provide “extras,”  like today’s dumplings. She was generous and always considered others before herself, not minding a little loss. They could only silently remember her kindness and work hard. Helping to take care of several children when she couldn’t manage was their way of repaying her.

Han Cheng would come back from the laboratory and study for his graduate exams until late at night. Sometimes Su Xiaoxiao would wake up from a nap and find him still burning the midnight oil. Su Xiaoxiao felt sorry for him and could only find ways to prepare some delicious food or stew some soup to replenish his body.

The next day, the kids worked hard all day again, finally finishing painting various beautiful murals in two rooms along with the stove and water tank. The outside of the courtyard remained plain, and entering the courtyard was just like entering an ordinary residential house. It was only when you entered the kitchen and dining room that it revealed a different world. This created an even greater contrast, with the beautiful restaurant resembling an art gallery. Even if the food was slightly lacking in taste, just attracting the first customer who came in to see the murals would guarantee a second customer who came specifically for the paintings. Moreover, their food was guaranteed to be better than that of other restaurants, right?

So, Su Xiaoxiao was very confident about her restaurant.

The first two days before school started happened to be on the weekend, and Su Xiaoxiao planned to try opening for business for two days. Instead of following a weekly menu, they would sell pot-sour soup dumplings for two days to tantalize the customers’ taste buds. These were the delicious dumplings that Xiao Roubao could eat for ten days straight, ten bowls a day. Su Xiaoxiao was very confident in using them to kickstart their business.

Another important point was having good prep work. As long as the dumplings were wrapped in advance and the ingredients were prepared properly, they could be cooked and served as soon as they were ordered, making it convenient and worry-free.

As for the menu, Su Xiaoxiao had several “little workers” copy it multiple times and even had them design some promotional flyers. The “little workers” tried to incorporate their own creativity as much as possible. For example, the sour soup dumplings had Xiao Roubao’s recommendation with five thumbs up. He insisted on drawing five thumbs up. Xiao Zhuzi liked spicy hot pot the most, so he drew three red peppers. Xiao Fantuan preferred braised pork rice, so he drew a few Xiao Fantuans in the background. Xiao Doubao liked preserved meat claypot rice the most, so he drew several Xiao Doubaos, and so on.

On the first day of the trial operation, the primary task is to distribute flyers to inform everyone about the restaurant’s existence. The kids have designed the “Three Meals and Four Seasons” flyers to be quite unique. The flyers were only slightly larger than the bookmarks. In addition to the restaurant’s name and address, each child drew a small map with landmarks marked, ensuring that no one would get lost. Each child’s flyer focused on different highlights, showcasing their recommended specialty dishes.

The day before the start of the school year at Peking University, Su Xiaoxiao went to register early. A few kids volunteered to accompany her to the university gate to distribute flyers. Despite the short distance, the cold winter weather turned their faces red. Han Cheng took Su Xiaoxiao to the new student registration office and handed his watch to Fantuan, instructing them to keep an eye on the time. They were only allowed to stay at the school gate for half an hour. Regardless of how many flyers they distributed, they had to return to a safe place to wait for them afterward.

The little ones didn’t create many promotional flyers; their goal was to bring five people to the restaurant for dinner that day.

In the cold winter months, under the banner of “Warm Welcome to New Classmates of the 7th and 8th Sessions” at Peking University, a few kids, bundled up like zongzi, eagerly greeted people as they arrived. They began introducing their restaurant and handing out leaflets.

New classmates were puzzled when they received promotional flyers that looked like pieces of art. They thought, “Oh my, the capital city is indeed a place where outstanding people thrive. Even the promotional flyers for a small restaurant are so exquisite. The young people here are truly talented; at such a young age, they are already out making a living, with clear thinking and fluent speech. It’s really incomparable to people from smaller places like us.”

In short, even if not everyone visited the “Three Meals and Four Seasons” restaurant, it had already left a strong impression on those who saw the flyers.

When the students returned to their dormitories, they used the restaurant’s promotional flyers as an initial conversation topic with their new roommates. If one person in a dormitory received a flyer, it was eagerly shared among all the residents. Some dormitories received two different flyers, each unique in font and imagery, sparking curiosity and prompting students to compare them to other dorms.

A knowledgeable student discovered that the calligraphy and artwork on the flyers matched those of the talented young artists featured in the daily newspaper. Coincidentally, the flyers were distributed by three children, adding to the intrigue. Excited by this revelation, students rushed to verify the information, but the children had disappeared, leaving only the red banners fluttering in the wind.

Students cherished the exquisite flyers, using them as bookmarks in their favorite books, and planned to follow the map on the flyer to explore the “Three Meals and Four Seasons” restaurant.

Of course, Han Cheng and Su Xiaoxiao were unaware of any of this.

Han Cheng took Su Xiaoxiao to the registration office and then rushed back to the laboratory. Su Xiaoxiao filled out a bunch of forms with her admission notice, ID card, household registration transfer certificate, grain and oil relationship certificate, party organization relationship, introduction letter, etc., and got her own food tickets and subsidies. Because she didn’t live on campus, she also had to fill out an application report for non-residence, etc.

Su Xiaoxiao rushed back to pick up the kids, but she was in such a hurry that she almost bumped into the new students coming toward her.

A round-faced girl with a dark complexion and a hint of redness, carrying a large quilt, was covered in pots and pans, with round eyes shyly smiling. The girl spoke Mandarin with a non-standard accent as she asked Su Xiaoxiao, “Excuse me, do you know where the new student registration office is, senior sister?”

Normally, Su Xiaoxiao would have helped the girl first, but today she was in a hurry, so she just pointed her in the direction and said, “Over there, but I’m not a senior here. I’m also a freshman this year.”

The little girl exclaimed “Ah~” and thought about the educated youth in her village who got into university and were much older than Su Xiaoxiao. It’s not surprising: “Okay, thank you.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Isn’t there anyone at the reception desk to help you with so much stuff?”

The girl shook her head and said, “I didn’t see anyone when I came in.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked around and beckoned to a volunteer with a red armband, “Brother, please take this sister to the new student registration office.”

The volunteer brother ran over took her stuff and said, “Welcome, little sister, please follow me.”

The girl bowed and thanked him. “My name is Mu Xiaocao; I’m from the Hui ethnic group. Nice to meet you.”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled and said, “My name is Su Xiaoxiao; nice to meet you too.”

Su Xiaoxiao was concerned about the kids who were still standing in the wind at the school gate and soon forgot about this little incident, rushing back to the gate to pick up the shivering kids.