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Chen Shi smiled and told the buyers that if they returned the bamboo skewers after finishing, they would receive a peanut. The skewers were worthless but challenging to carve. After the neighbors finished eating, some children actually returned the skewers, then popped a braised peanut into their mouths, looking quite satisfied.
There was no small table at home, so they placed two small stools at the door. Occasionally, someone would sit here to eat. Surprisingly, someone even bought a bit of wine from the neighboring liquor store, enjoying it with braised skewers or peanuts. The cheerful liquor seller even came to buy a few more skewers.
Seeing that the school was about to dismiss, Mrs. Zhang and Chen Shi carried a large basin of skewers to the school gate. Many students had already smelled the aroma and, feeling hungry with a few coins in their pockets, came forward to buy. While selling, Chen Shi also told them that their shop was located behind the school, and if their families wanted to eat, they could buy from there.
Chen Shi and Mrs. Zhang didn’t expect that all the ingredients they bought today were sold out. Even when it was dark, there were still families of students from far away coming to their house to buy skewers.
It was the first day, and they didn’t buy many ingredients or bamboo slips. After deducting costs, they actually earned over 800 yuan. It was much more than what they made from their miscellaneous business. If they could build a reputation and expand their offerings, they would earn even more.
Chen Shi was overjoyed.
Chen Feng suggested, “We can buy chicken, duck, and goose hearts, livers, intestines, etc., from the restaurant. These parts are not good for stewing or cooking, but they can be braised and taste good. Nowadays, people prefer whole chicken and duck, so it’s hard to sell chicken feet, duck webs, and necks, only these internal organs.”
Chen Shi agreed with enthusiasm. If this business did well, they would change their miscellaneous business to braised skewers.
Chen Feng further proposed that they must strengthen the brand “Chen San Braised Skewers” and have a special secret recipe. Although braised skewers seemed simple, someone would surely imitate and sell them. If they first established the reputation of “Chen San Braised Skewers” with a distinct flavor, people would selectively buy from their shop.
Chen Shi agreed and promptly found two large wooden boards, writing “Chen San Braised Skewers” in bold with a brush. One board was hung in front of their home, and the other was taken to the school gate when selling skewers.
The writing was really not up to par with Chen Shi’s handsome appearance. Not to mention Chen Feng’s silent criticism, even Chen Dabao secretly shook his head, thinking it would have been a big hassle for him to write it properly if asked.
After dinner, Chen Shi and Chen Yu started carving bamboo skewers again. Chen Yu suggested that since they were now doing both miscellaneous business and braised skewer business at home, he might as well drop out of school and help at home, which Chen Shi agreed to. If they became too busy, they would have to hire someone.
Early the next morning, Chen Feng and the others saw Mrs. Zhang leading Chen Yu and Chen Aman busily working, saying that Chen Shi had already gone to the restaurant to collect poultry offal.
For a small business to make more money, one must work hard from dawn till dusk.
Chen Feng pondered in secret, admitting that she had a lazy bone and wouldn’t be willing to work so hard for such little money.
After breakfast, Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng took Lu to the Qianjin Clinic. Dabao wanted to go but wasn’t allowed, so he helped Grandma Zhang run errands.
Before leaving, Chen Feng specifically told Mrs. Zhang that if they brought back the intestines of chickens, ducks, and geese, they should be cleaned but not braised until she returned. These things needed to be timed precisely, if left for too long, they would become tough and lose their flavor.
Dachun era was quite modern, and it was not common for girls to wear veils. However, girls from wealthy families seldom went out. If they did, they would be surrounded by attendants.
The military in Dingzhou Prefecture was substantial, and the public order was relatively good. Even during the day, Chen Feng didn’t need to hide her appearance.
The Qianjin Clinic was in the south of the city, quite far from here. They hired a donkey cart and arrived at the clinic after half an hour. The old doctor who was treating Chen Lu looked at his leg, pinched it, and said Lu’s recovery was excellent. While it takes others a hundred days to recover from a bone injury, he would be fine in sixty days. For safety, he should use crutches for another three months.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang and the others were overjoyed. Especially Chen Lu, who would turn eleven next month and could then go to a private school. After buying a few more medicines, they left the clinic.
After finishing at the clinic, the group went to a noodle shop for lunch and then hired a donkey cart to return home.
As the cart entered the alley, the aroma of braised food wafted through the air. Upon arriving at Chen Shi’s doorstep, they were surprised to see several children holding a few copper coins, waiting by the braising pot. As soon as the aroma of the braised food was just right, they bought skewers and ate them with satisfied expressions.
Chen Shi whispered to Chen Feng, “Today, I brought back over ten pounds of poultry offal from the restaurant. I’ve braised everything except the intestines.”
After washing her hands, Chen Feng saw that the intestines had been cleaned, so she cut them into roughly five-centimeter segments, boiled them in the braising pot for about thirty seconds, then scooped them out. They were cooked but not flavorful enough. She took a large bowl, poured some braising liquid into it, and soaked the intestines. After they had absorbed the flavor, she drained them, threaded them onto bamboo skewers, four segments on each slip.
This time, Chen Feng also noticed two pig heads and four pig trotters in the braising pot. Chen Shi said not to touch these items, he would send them to Mr. Zeng, who was in charge of the school, and Mrs. Chen, who was Mr. Zeng’s wife.
Chen Feng thought to herself that Chen Shi was smart enough and a good person. She believed they would be able to continue working together in the future.
Today, they earned even more than yesterday. After deducting costs, they had an extra sum of money, which made Chen Shi’s family extremely happy.
However, according to Mrs. Zhang, the person selling braised food on the main street had been loitering around their shop. It was no surprise that their shop would also start selling braised skewers in a few days.
Chen Shi laughed, “Let them sell. We have our special secret recipe, which they can’t match.” He then smiled at Chen Feng and said, “A’Feng, you handed the secret recipe to Uncle, and he appreciated your gesture.”
Chen Shi and his son had already used up all the bamboo skewers and had to go out to ask for help to carve more.
The next day, on the 10th of September, Chen Feng and her son were going to stroll around the streets. This was the excuse they gave to Chen Shi’s family, but in reality, they were going to sell jewelry at the silver shop.
Originally, Mrs. Wang was going to go with them, but seeing that Chen Shi’s family was really too busy and they hadn’t found any workers yet, she felt awkward about going and said she would help with the work. She whispered to Chen Feng that she and her son were going out to have fun today, and when Chen Shi’s family hired workers, she would accompany them to sell things. She was also worried they might not find their way, so she arranged for them to take a cart both ways.
Chen Feng nodded. If Mrs. Wang hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t have dared to walk such a long distance. Moreover, she had decided to visit the silver shop.
Later, Chen Feng realized that it was truly a stroke of luck that Mrs. Wang had changed her mind at the last minute. Otherwise, she didn’t know how she would have handled the situation.