Rebirth of a Village Girl

Chapter 587: 164: Pre-opening Celebration (Update 14)_1

She wrote the steps for making tomato sauce, stroke by stroke, very seriously. In no time, she had written half a page.

When she finished writing, she tore the paper from the notebook and handed it to Mr. Zhao, saying, “Uncle Zhao, you can go home and follow these steps to make tomato sauce.”

“Okay.” Mr. Zhao took the note and casually put it in his pocket.

After Ni Yang left, Mr. Zhao resumed selling steamed buns.

When Ni Yang arrived at the restaurant, everyone was cleaning.

The place had a pure vintage decor; even the ornate frames of the ceiling lights were crafted in traditional style. Wooden screens separated the tables, and the carvings on them depicted Tang poems and Song Dynasty lyrics, radiating an elegant aura.

Even doing nothing in such an environment would make one feel relaxed and joyful.

“Yangyang is here, this is the sample clothes delivered by the clothing factory this morning.” said Wang Tieniu, handing over a small bag.

Ni Yang put the large and small bags of food she had on the table, surprised, “They arrived so quickly?”

Having adopted a vintage theme, even the waitstaff’s uniforms were designed by her, reflecting Han cultural elements.

The men’s were black, and the women’s were red.

Ni Yang had just taken out the clothes when Wang Tieniu remarked, “Isn’t this a historical costume? It’s so beautiful, I’ve also seen it on TV.”

Ni Yang laughed and clarified, “This isn’t a historical costume. It’s Hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han people, which originated from the Yellow Emperor and thrived during the reigns of Yao and Shun.”

“Oh.” Wang Tieniu nodded, seemingly understanding.

Ni Yang put the clothes back and continued, “Uncle Tieniu, has everyone finished their tasks? We can have dinner once everyone is done.”

“I’ll go call them.”

“Mmm.” Ni Yang nodded, starting to tidy up the table.

By the time everyone had come downstairs, the large round table was already full of dishes, or to be precise, full of meat.

A pack of cigarettes was placed on each seat, and three crates of beer were placed on the side of the table, with baijiu displayed on top of the beer.@@novelbin@@

Eating meat and drinking heavily, what a blissful life!

Ni Yang called everyone to sit down, “Everyone has worked hard recently, tonight everyone must drink to your heart’s content.”

“It’s not hard at all! Yangyang, you’re too kind!”

“You must have spent a lot on these cigarettes and alcohol, right?”

They had never been treated this well anywhere they had worked! Nowadays, if a typical family could provide lunch every day, it was considered very good! But Ni Yang not only provides lunch every day, she ensures meat is available in every meal!

Working for her, everyone was full of energy and did not allow themselves to make any mistakes. Even if there were minor defects in their work, they would redo it, that’s why the restaurant was so beautifully decorated!

Ni Yang laughed, “It didn’t cost much, uncles please sit down.”

Under the warm invitation of Ni Yang, everyone finally sat down.

Though Ni Yang could drink alcohol, she was only eighteen and wanted to take care of her health, so she toast everybody with tea instead of alcohol.

Everyone enjoyed this meal immensely!

The day passed quickly.

Though Mr. Zhao changed his stall today, business was still not very good. Including the 50 steamed buns Ni Yang bought, he only sold 100 steamed buns in total and had over 100 left unsold.

As soon as he returned home, Zhou Danni come forward and asked, “How was business today?”

“Not very good.” Mr. Zhao handed all the money he had earned from selling steamed buns that day to Zhou Danni.

Zhou Danni took the money and exclaimed in surprise, “You earned all this today?”

“Hmm.” Mr. Zhao nodded.

“There’s two yuan and five jiao! That’s impressive!” A catty of flour costs five cents, a catty of flour can be made into ten steamed buns, two catties of flour can be made into twenty. There isn’t much overhead, so if you can earn two yuan and five jiao every day, you could earn 75 yuan in a month! That’s 900 yuan a year, so there’s no need to worry about the children’s schooling and rent anymore.

Mr. Zhao added, “Another one yuan and five jiao is from Ni Yang, who bought fifty steamed buns all at once.”

“Ni Yang?”

Mr. Zhao nodded and took out a paper bag from the stall, “This is what Ni Yang gave to me to eat at noon, you warm it up and let the children have a taste.”

He could eat less meat, after all, he was already old. But the children were growing, so if there was any meat, he would save it for them.

“What is this?” Zhou Danni looked down at it in surprise, “It’s meat! Did Ni Yang give this to you?”

“Hmm.” Mr. Zhao nodded, “Ni Yang is a good child. Not only did she look after my business, but when she saw me eating buns without any food at noon, she gave me this.”

Zhou Danni sighed and said: “Yangyang is really talented. Not only did she take Daya and her sister out, but she also managed to thrive! I wonder what good deed Daya did in her past life.”

If it wasn’t for Ni Yang, Ni Cuihua would still be stuck in Dam Village now.

Old Zhao added: “Yangyang talked about a way to make money today, I wonder if it will work.”

“What’s the plan?” Zhou Danni asked.

Old Zhao discussed the idea of Grilled Bun Pieces with Zhou Danni.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Danni said, “It should consume a lot of oil, right?”

They couldn’t even afford to use oil for cooking; where would they get the oil for frying bun slices?

What if they grilled them and couldn’t sell it? Wouldn’t they have wasted the oil?

Zhou Danni continued: “We can’t sell white-steamed buns, how can we sell them if they’re grilled? The more we fuss, the poorer we get. Let’s not fuss about it.”

Rich households can afford the toss; poor households simply can’t afford it.

Old Zhao scratched his head, “That’s true. Maybe we should make fewer buns tonight to avoid leftovers.”

“Yes,” Zhou Danni nodded, “We can’t keep failing to sell the buns. Should we think of more ideas?”

Old Zhao sighed, “The times are tough this year, but maybe things will get better next year. Let’s get by the second half of this year first.”

Zhou Danni smiled, “Yes, let’s not lose heart yet, perhaps business will pick up tomorrow?”

“Right!”

Although the couple had lost faith in the future, they were still full of hope.

After Ni Yang got home, she tried on the Hanfu. She walked in front of Ni Cuihua and asked, “Mom, do you think this dress looks good?”

It’s a Qi Ru style Hanfu, unlike traditional Hanfu. It has been modified so that the sleeves are narrow, and the skirt just reaches the ankles. This makes it easy to serve dishes and walk without getting caught or tripped.

The top is white, the skirt and ties are red.

Ni Yang, with her slender and tall stature, looked stunning in the Hanfu, which perfectly accentuated her figure.

The interweaving of red and white made her radiant and striking, as if she had stepped out of a classical beauty painting, captivating everyone’s attention.

Ni Cuihua nodded, “Beautiful! Even more beautiful than a fairy!”

Ni Yang happily twirled around, “Really?”

“Would your Mom lie to you?” Ni Cuihua replied with a smile.

Little Ni Yun excitedly clapped her hands on the side, “Beautiful! Sister, beautiful!”

Even Duoduo flew to Ni Yang’s side, chirping nonstop.

“By the way, Yangyang, I’m going to the mountain. Take care of Yunyun at home.” Ni Cuihua picked up the basket.

“What are you going to do on the mountain?” Ni Yang asked.

Ni Cuihua replied: “It rained last night; there should be plenty of Matsutake on the mountain. I’m going to pick some and we can stir-fry them for dinner.”

Matsutake can be stir-fried and even added to flour to make spicy strips.

Spicy strips with Matsutake sell better than regular ones.

Wild Matsutake is sold at sky-high prices in later years, but in this unpolluted era, they are everywhere and worthless. Ordinary families are too busy with farming to pick Matsutake.

Ni Yang nodded, “Alright, take care.”

“Okay.” Ni Cuihua walked out with her basket. Just as she reached the door, she turned back.

“What’s wrong?”

Ni Cuihua said: “I’ll bring my English book for a read.” She would read English whenever she was free. With her current level, simple communication with foreigners wouldn’t be a problem.

Ni Yang laughed, “It’s not safe to read while walking. You better not do it.”

“You’re right.” Ni Cuihua replied: “I better go.”

Ni Yang glanced at the sky and then said, “Wait a moment, Mom.”

“What’s wrong?” Ni Cuihua looked back.

Ni Yang ran inside to grab an umbrella, “It might rain later, take the umbrella.”

Ni Cuihua laughed, “How is it going to rain under such a bright sun?”