Chapter 35

Of course, some people bought larger quantities.

The elderly lady who bought pan-fried dumplings from Yang’s family in the morning and found her grandson not liking the dumpling skins had a change of plan. She boldly purchased a whole fried chicken frame and asked Feng Yi to cut it open.

She gave a piece to her grandson on the spot, letting him gnaw on it, while she took the rest home.

Before leaving, the elderly lady had already prepared dinner, and when she arrived home, her son and daughter-in-law had just returned and were ready to eat.

“Mum, what did you buy? Why does it smell so good?” her daughter-in-law couldn’t help asking.

“I bought a fried chicken frame,” the elderly lady said, placing it on the table. “Let’s all eat together.”

“Fried chicken frame?” The lady’s son opened the bag and saw pieces coated with golden-brown batter… chicken bones?

He took a bite and found that there was still some meat beneath the batter. Most importantly, the fried batter was exceptionally tasty!

Even the chicken bones were crispy! The son wanted to eat even the bones.

When Jiang Liyun was cutting the meat off the chicken frame, she deliberately left some meat on it. The chicken neck was still on the frame as well.

She sold the fried chicken frame for one yuan, and it couldn’t be without meat entirely.

Moreover, the chicken frame was large, holding a substantial amount of batter.

In short, one fried chicken frame was enough to serve as the main course for a family meal!

On a regular day, when they bought a pound of meat, they didn’t feel as satisfied.

“This fried chicken frame is really good. Mum, where did you buy it? My dad’s birthday is in a few days, and I’ll buy one to bring over,” the daughter-in-law asked.

“I bought it at the entrance of Little Treasure Kindergarten. The girl selling fried chicken frames is the same one who sold pan-fried dumplings at the elementary school gate in the morning,” the elderly lady said.

“This person is quite good at business,” the lady’s son commented.

The elderly lady nodded. “The things she sells are delicious. Apart from this fried chicken frame, Little Treasure really likes the pan-fried dumplings she sells at her stall! Today, the Yang family also set up a stall selling pan-fried dumplings, and I bought dumplings from them, but they didn’t taste as good as the ones sold by that girl.”

The son of the elderly lady said, “Then, in the future, we’ll buy pan-fried dumplings from her, not from the Yang family.”

“I’m thinking the same.”

This family chatted while eating, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

Jiang Liyun and Feng Yi walked home together, and the atmosphere between them was also good.

“Feng Yi, we earned over ten yuan today selling fried chicken, and judging by today’s situation, selling five chickens a day in the future is no problem. By then, just selling fried chicken, we could earn twenty yuan a day. Add the twenty yuan we make in the morning selling pan-fried dumplings, and we could make forty in a day, which is a thousand two hundred in a month.” Jiang Liyun did some calculations for Feng Yi, getting happier as she spoke.

The more delighted she became, the more grandiose promises she made to Feng Yi about their future plans. “Ah Yi, today is the third day of the tenth lunar month. We have about three months until Chinese New Year. If we focus on the stall, we could earn a substantial amount by Chinese New Year. By then, we can buy a few new clothes, and I’ll get you two pairs of new shoes.”

Upon hearing the words “buy clothes,” Feng Yi’s ears turned red.

However, Jiang Liyun continued, “Clothes can wait. We need to hurry with your quilt. Tomorrow, I’ll buy some cotton pockets, and my parents will help you make a bed quilt.” In their village, they raised silkworms, and the silk was affordable. Many people’s quilts were made from silk. After collecting silkworm cocoons, they boiled them to produce silk and then made quilts by layering the silk.

“I already have a quilt; you don’t need to spend money on that.”

“Your quilt is made of cotton, not warm enough and too stiff. It’s fine as a mattress pad, but not suitable for covering yourself.”

“Then, Liyun, sister, you can make a quilt for yourself too.”

“Sure, my quilt isn’t warm enough either. In the previous winters, I slept with Xiaoyu to feel a bit warmer.”

As they chatted, they walked back home, casting two long shadows in the sunset.

In the morning, both the Feng Yi and Jiang Lame couples were in a bad mood, dealing with the Yang family snatching their business. It would be strange if their mood improved!

However, by the evening, they were all happy.

Jiang Liyun unexpectedly earned over ten yuan selling fried chicken!

In this way, even if part of their morning business selling pan-fried dumplings was taken by someone else, the total amount of money they earned in a day remained unchanged.

As for working a bit harder… In the eyes of the Jiang Lame Couple, manual labour wasn’t valuable, and working a bit harder was not a big deal.

Next door, the Feng family earned money by selling vegetables, and the entire process of growing vegetables was quite strenuous. However, they didn’t mind at all, thinking that selling vegetables was a business without much investment.

Jiang Liyun knew she couldn’t change their deep-rooted mindset. She just said, “Mum, Dad, I can make money, so you just relax. Tomorrow, let’s go to the town happily to sell pan-fried dumplings.”

When they were happy, the customers who came to buy pan-fried dumplings were also happy. If they had sour faces, customers might not come to buy.

No one likes to see others in a bad mood.

As long as the money their daughter earned didn’t decrease, the Jiang Lame Couple nodded repeatedly, agreeing.

The next day, the whole family continued to pull the cart to set up the stall in town.

Jiang Liyun resumed discussing her plans with Feng Yi: “By the end of the year, I want to buy a tricycle and another bicycle for convenience in doing business.”

Pulling the cart was slow, and a tricycle would make things much easier.

However, what she wanted, a slightly larger tricycle, cost two or three hundred yuan. Just after giving the Jiang Lame Couple a total of one hundred yuan as wages, she didn’t have enough money.

Oh well, she thought, let’s earn it slowly!

Yesterday, the Yang family set up their pan-fried dumpling stall after Jiang Liyun’s stall, but today they woke up early, so their stall was set up before Jiang’s.

Without hesitation, Yang’s father and mother took over the spot where Jiang Liyun had set up her stall.

Yang’s mother, occupying Jiang Liyun’s spot, was quite happy. While wrapping dumplings, she urged her son to make pan-fried dumplings quickly.

After calculating their earnings last night, she found that they earned twenty yuan in a day!

Twenty a day, six hundred in a month… Although there were four people in their family, averaging it out meant each person could earn about one hundred and fifty yuan a month.

Yang’s elder and second sons had recently received a raise, earning around one hundred and fifty yuan a month each. Their daughters-in-law earned even less, only a hundred or so a month.

The two retired elderly Yangs being able to earn this much while supporting their children was pretty good.

“Yesterday, the family next door also sold a lot of dumplings, taking away quite a bit of business. If we can drive them away, we might be able to earn forty in a day!” Yang’s mother was very excited. “Those people are from the countryside; they are very dirty. I don’t know why customers want to buy their pan-fried dumplings.”

“Mum, don’t talk about them like that,” Yang Haitao said.

“Why can’t I speak the truth?” Yang’s mother glared at her son.

Yang Haitao lowered his head and said nothing.

Yang’s mother then said to her husband, “Since we took away their business, those rural folks must be feeling uncomfortable.”

While they were talking, a customer approached and said, “You set up your stall so early today? Oh, why did you change personnel?”

This customer, who didn’t buy pan-fried dumplings yesterday, was surprised to see a different person at the stall today.

Yang’s mother said, “Yeah, we changed personnel. They stopped selling… How many pan-fried dumplings do you want?”

This customer didn’t understand why Jiang Liyun suddenly stopped selling pan-fried dumplings but said, “I want five for fifty cents.” With six people in their family, buying fifty-cent pan-fried dumplings allowed each person to have one, paired with congee.

“Only fifty cents? Is that a bit too little? Do you want to buy more?” Yang’s mother asked.

“I’ll just take five for fifty cents.”

Seeing he didn’t want to buy more, Yang’s mother muttered to herself, “Really stingy.”

The customer didn’t hear clearly what Yang’s mother said but felt the sudden coldness from her and became a bit unhappy.

The girl who sold dumplings before was better; the old lady talked a lot, while the girl handling the dumplings didn’t say a word.

As soon as this customer bought the pan-fried dumplings, he saw Jiang Liyun and Feng Yi coming with their cart.

He immediately asked, “Are you still selling pan-fried dumplings? Why did they say you’re not selling anymore?”

Hearing this, Jiang Liyun became even more speechless about the Yang family.

But she still smiled and replied to the customer, “We’re still selling pan-fried dumplings. Come next time!”

“Sure.” The customer also left with a smile.

Seeing her stall location taken by others, Jiang Liyun wasn’t annoyed. She set up her stall in a different place, still caring for Feng Yi. “We walked fast today. Feng Yi, did you sweat? If you did, don’t rush to take off your coat.”

Yang Haitao looked at Feng Yi with envy, observing someone who cared about him.

But Yang’s mother was a bit angry.

After occupying Jiang Liyun’s spot, Yang’s mother wanted to see Jiang Liyun get angry.

Before Jiang Liyun and her team arrived, Yang’s mother had even thought about how to argue with Jiang Liyun.

She was particularly skilled at arguments and was confident that she could leave Jiang Liyun speechless!

However, Jiang Liyun did not react as she had imagined. Instead, she happily set up her stall when they arrived.

Yang’s mother felt uncomfortable for a moment.

After Jiang Liyun and Feng Yi set up their stall, Feng Yi started making pan-fried dumplings.

Feng Yi, with growing experience, handled the flat-bottomed iron pan expertly, making the process seem like a piece of cake.

While he was cooking, more customers arrived.

Yang’s family had already prepared a pot of pan-fried dumplings, and the new customer was someone Yang’s mother recognized. She immediately greeted him, “Manager Liu, here to buy pan-fried dumplings. How many do you want?”

Manager Liu smiled at Yang’s mother and said, “Yes, I’m here for pan-fried dumplings.” Saying that, he walked to Jiang Liyun’s stall and waited.