Chapter 57 : Boss He got angry

The crowd slurped their noodles in unison. After just a few mouthfuls, they were all sweating, but they couldn’t stop eating.

Even though the hot and sour noodles were spicy and intense, that was exactly what made them so enjoyable.

As the stall owners ate, none of them spoke, but their expressions clearly showed both surprise and satisfaction.

As for the sweet potato noodles, the addition of peanut butter was a stroke of genius. Combined with the unique meat sauce, it sounded like an odd pairing but it worked perfectly.

Unlike the hot and sour noodles, the sweet potato noodles didn’t have a strong spicy or tangy flavor. Instead, they had the rich aroma of peanut butter and the chewy, satisfying texture of the noodles themselves.

Mother Xiao and Jiang Sui exchanged knowing smiles as they watched everyone’s reactions.

Previously, Jiang Sui had made an upgraded version of the hot and sour noodles for them to try, and the response had been even better than the first time.

Back then, they were short on time and ingredients, yet still received unanimous praise. Now, with the upgraded recipe, everyone was convinced this business had real potential and would definitely turn a profit.

So now, watching the other stall owners’ reactions, Jiang Sui felt completely at ease. The only thing left to worry about was how to spread the word and attract more customers.

The stall owners were fully satisfied with the meal, but when they looked down and saw their empty bowls, completely drained of even the soup, they fell into deep thought.

Especially the noodle stall owners, who felt a growing sense of crisis.

And the wonton vendors weren’t at ease either. Faced with something as delicious as these hot and sour noodles, they were afraid of losing customers too.

Only the steamed bun sellers were relaxed. No matter how noodles evolved, steamed buns would never go out of style.

Steamed buns were easy to pack, lasted a long time, and were very filling so they were a staple. The bun sellers had only come to watch the excitement, and now it was clear: Boss He and his group had definitely encountered a serious new competitor.

Boss He was the last to realize the threat, and quickly wiped the pleased look off his face, clenching his fists instead.

These hot and sour noodles were far too much of a threat to ignore, he had to take them seriously.

His face turned dark, but there was nothing he could say to vent his frustration.

Noticing this, Mother Xiao kindly spoke up: “Boss He, you’ve been in this business longer than we have. Can you give us some advice? How do our noodles taste?”

Boss He replied dismissively, “Your noodles are just average. What are they even made of?”

As a rival, he could only talk big and try to probe for information. Of course, they weren’t about to tell him.

“Well,” Mother Xiao said, feigning concern, “I guess I’ll have to think about how to improve the flavor.”

The more she pretended to be unsure, the angrier Boss He got.

Frustrated and humiliated, Boss He stood up, face grim, and turned to leave but Jiang Sui stopped him: “Hold on, Boss He…you haven’t paid yet. That’ll be seventeen cents.”

Embarrassed to be called out, Boss He scowled, slapped the money onto the table, and grumbled: “Here’s some advice: your stall is way in the corner. It’s not going to be easy to get customers.”

“Well, that’s not something you need to worry about, Boss He,” Jiang Sui replied cheerfully. “Take care!”

With a bright smile, she completed her first sale of the day.

The rest of the stall owners also paid and left one by one. Just from them, they had made seventy to eighty coins already.

It looked like, as long as the business stayed steady, earning a few taels of silver a month wouldn’t be a problem at all.

After the group left, the two began cleaning up the table, with Xiao Yi and Xiao Hechuan lending a hand.

During this time, no new customers came by. It was clear that foot traffic at the end of the street was quite low. Occasionally, a few people would pass by, but they were usually just picking up groceries to take home.

Most people in town preferred to eat breakfast at home.

However, as long as there were people passing by, there was always a chance someone would stop to try the food especially if the offer was tempting enough.

“Suisui, you mentioned earlier you had an idea to let everyone know about our stall. What is it?” Mother Xiao asked.

Jiang Sui smiled mysteriously, grabbed a wooden board and a brush, called Xiao Yi over, and asked him to write something on it.

All four of the Xiao brothers had received some education. Reading and writing for daily life wasn’t a problem for any of them.

“Fourth sister-in-law, what am I writing?” Xiao Yi asked, holding the brush with a puzzled look.

“Just write: ‘Grand Opening! Meat Noodles for Only Five Cents a Bowl – Limited Time, Three Days Only!’” Jiang Sui said, watching him with a grin.

“Five cents a bowl with meat? That’s way too much of a loss!” Xiao Yi exclaimed, stunned and hesitating to write.

But Mother Xiao reacted quickly and said: “Just write it. You still don’t get it, do you? Sure, it looks like we’re losing money these few days, but it’s worth it to attract customers. Our hot and sour noodles taste amazing, once someone tries it, there’s no way they won’t come back for more.”

Mother Xiao was clearly sharp and quick-witted, no wonder she was in charge of the family.

Xiao Yi suddenly understood and quickly got to work, writing carefully and neatly to make sure it was clear and readable.

Jiang Sui did some quick calculations in her head. If they could maintain sales of 30 bowls a day, even at the discounted rate of five coins per bowl, that would be 150 coins a day about 4.5 taels of silver per month. After deducting costs, they’d still clear at least 3.5 taels in profit.

And that was a conservative estimate. She figured they could earn at least five taels a month.

Sure enough, once the wooden sign was put out, passersby started stopping to take a look.

People love a good deal especially ordinary folks. Who wouldn’t be tempted by a five-cent bowl of meat noodles?

Come in now for the discount because once the three days are over, the price goes back up.

The results were immediate. As soon as the offer went up, three customers came in, all men.

With business coming in, Mother Xiao perked up and started cooking.

Three steaming bowls of noodles were served, and just the sight of them made the customers start to drool. The meat sauce was plentiful, much more generous than what other noodle stalls offered.

One bite in, and they were hooked. They dove in with gusto.

One customer with a big appetite finished a whole bowl of hot and sour noodles and immediately ordered a bowl of mixed sweet potato noodles. Mother Xiao got to work on it right away.

The other two finished eating and started reaching for their wallets, but Jiang Sui stopped them which left them a bit confused.

“Didn’t the sign say five cents a bowl? Why aren’t you taking our money?” one of them asked, puzzled.

Mother Xiao and Xiao Yi were confused too, until they heard Jiang Sui explain: “You’re our first customers of the day. We won’t charge you, this meal is on the house. We hope you enjoyed it and will support us in the future. If you have time, we’d really appreciate it if you could help spread the word and let people know about our stall. Of course, only if it’s convenient, we won’t pressure anyone. But this five-cent meat noodle deal is only for a few days. If you miss it, you’ll have to pay full price next time!”

Turns out Jiang Sui had been planning to get some word-of-mouth advertising going.

A few free bowls of noodles weren’t much of a loss, especially if it worked as marketing.