Chapter 19, Second Update

Zhou Futian sniffed the aroma of the rice porridge, feeling quite content. As the weather began to turn chilly, having a stove at his fruit stall to keep the porridge warm made him feel quite satisfied.

"If I can sell fifty or sixty bowls, I'll make an extra ten yuan. That’s another nice bit of income," Zhou Futian said, rubbing his hands together with a sly smile.

His wife, He Meihua, replied, "That’s for sure. That girl is so pretty, but she’s truly black-hearted!"

The "girl" she referred to was none other than Lin Xuexia. To think she dared to sell a simple bowl of porridge with a side of cold vegetables for fifty cents—it was exorbitant, truly black-hearted, yet people were actually buying it.

Zhou Futian and his wife had plenty of free time. Usually, one person was enough to watch the fruit stall, as it wasn't much trouble. However, since the other person had nothing to do all day and was quite lazy, they both refused to leave the stall, relying on it to make a living.

When they noticed Lin Xuexia selling porridge nearby, the couple figured they could do the same. Plain porridge and pickled vegetables weren't worth much; how much rice could it take to boil a pot of porridge? As for the vegetable side dishes, they could just go to the vegetable market, ask for the bruised or worm-eaten bits from the vendors, trim away the bad parts, and turn what was left into "cold dishes" to fool the customers.

By doing this, they could keep their costs extremely low and turn a tidy profit even at forty cents a serving. They felt no shame in mimicking her; in fact, they felt quite righteous, as if they were doing it because they couldn't stand her overpricing. They planned to tell the customers this, hoping to lure them all over to their stall and pocket the money.

"You're selling porridge too? Oh, forty cents a serving—cheaper than over there."

With the forty-cent sign as a draw, people naturally came over to inquire. Who would want to pay more when they could pay less?

He Meihua beamed, "This plain porridge and small side dish aren't worth much. Fifty cents is just too expensive—it's a rip-off, black-hearted! Come to our place for porridge from now on; it tastes just as good. A bowl of porridge, and you can pick any of the side dishes here."

He Meihua waited for the customer to buy, but the woman was a shrewd, calculating type who lived by her own strict budget. She glanced at the cold dishes; they didn't look as appetizing as the ones at the rice noodle stall, but they were ten cents cheaper.

He Meihua urged her, "Buy a bowl and try it. If you like it, you can keep coming back. Our food is affordable and delicious!"

The woman didn't respond. Silently, she turned and slipped over to Lin Xuexia’s stall. He Meihua’s expression soured. Was her cooking really that bad? Unable to resist, she followed, wanting to see for herself the difference between her dishes and Lin Xuexia’s.

She then heard the woman say to Lin Xuexia, "Girl, the place next door sells porridge for forty cents. How about you sell it to me for forty cents too? I'll take two portions."

He Meihua’s eyes widened: "!!!" They could do that?

The woman’s eyes sparkled with "calculated" cunning. She really wanted the porridge and that side dish, and saving ten cents was a huge temptation. However, the side dishes at the fruit stall didn't look as good as the ones next door. Rather than risking forty cents on mediocre food, she decided to try bargaining for the quality she actually wanted.

He Meihua was shocked. She and her husband had assumed that by dropping the price by ten cents, they would lure customers away from the neighboring stall, but instead, the customers were going over there to haggle. If Lin Xuexia lowered her price, would they have to drop theirs too? He Meihua’s heart skipped a beat.

But then, she heard that beautiful "black-hearted" girl reply, "My porridge is fifty cents a bowl. No bargaining."

He Meihua’s mouth split into a wide grin. Good! That black-hearted girl was doing exactly the right thing. She was just relying on the fact that she’d sold well for the past two days; she was arrogant, shortsighted, and lacked any business acumen. She was only looking at small gains and driving customers away. He Meihua felt relieved.

But the next second, she saw the girl flash a sweet smile: "Sister, you bought porridge yesterday, didn't you? Why not try something fresh today? I’m also selling sticky rice with meat and vegetables for only fifty cents. It’s filling, and you can choose between beef or char siu."

The woman’s gaze fixed on the bowl of sliced char siu. She swallowed hard. "Give me a portion, then. I'll try it and see if it's good. I want the char siu."

"This char siu looks so fragrant!" The woman couldn't think of anything else; the oily, glistening meat, with its perfect ratio of fat to lean, was beckoning her. For her, buying meat wasn't difficult, but cooking it well was another story, and ordering a meat dish at a restaurant was expensive. Fifty cents for a taste was a bargain.

Lin Xuexia opened a food bag, scooped in some sticky rice, topped it with the cold vegetables and a large slice of char siu, added another scoop of rice to tuck the garnish in the middle, and handed it to the woman.

The woman ate it right there. When she hit the char siu in the middle, she was amazed. "Your char siu is delicious—it has its own unique flavor."

Lin Xuexia smiled, "We also sell char siu rice at noon for one yuan and fifty cents. If you don't feel like cooking, you can come by and grab a portion."

The woman was stunned. "Char siu rice for only one-fifty? With this much meat?" She did the math quickly. One-fifty wouldn't even buy a pound of pork belly, and if she went to the butcher, the vendor wouldn't even give her the time of day for half a pound. But for one-fifty, she could get a full meal?

Lin Xuexia added, "It also comes with vegetables and an egg. It’s absolutely delicious and filling."

The scales in the woman’s heart tipped instantly. "I'll try it at noon today."

After finishing half the sticky rice, the woman bought a bowl of porridge from Lin Xuexia and left.

He Meihua returned to her fruit stall with a sour face. The black-hearted girl next door had started selling new things—braised beef, char siu—things she didn't know how to make. The cold dishes she currently sold were the result of several failed attempts to imitate Lin Xuexia. If she ruined the vegetables, she didn't mind throwing them away, but to buy meat for practice... that would cost a fortune!

He Meihua watched helplessly as customers flocked to Lin Xuexia. Even though Lin hadn't lowered her price, she was adding a small piece of char siu or two thin slices of braised beef to the porridge. Saving ten cents was appealing, but if that same ten cents meant getting a piece of good meat, even the stingiest person would be willing to pay.

By the end of the morning, He Meihua and her husband hadn't sold many bowls of porridge. After all that effort, they hadn't made a profit; they had actually lost money on the pots. They ended up eating the porridge themselves for lunch with the side dishes, saving on a meal cost.

But what kind of lunch was plain porridge and pickles?

Zhou Futian grumbled, "I hate porridge! I need to eat rice. If I don't eat rice at noon, my stomach feels unsettled."

He Meihua asked, "Then what do we do with all this porridge? Pour it out?"

The couple felt miserable. Reluctant to waste the food, they held their noses and ate the porridge for both lunch and dinner. Zhou Futian regretted ever trying to copy Lin Xuexia. Without skill, who would buy their porridge? You could make that at home for pennies!

The couple sat there, drinking their porridge, their stomachs craving some fat. Meanwhile, the stall next door was bustling with the sale of lunch boxes. They couldn't help but glance over—the char siu, the braised beef, the fragrant sauce drizzled over the rice, steaming hot. The aroma was enough to make their mouths water uncontrollably.

Finally, Zhou Futian couldn't take it anymore. Swallowing his pride, he walked over to Lin Xuexia and spent one yuan and fifty cents on a box of char siu rice.

When Zhou Futian returned with the food, He Meihua complained, "Why did you have to go buy from her and let her make that money? Couldn't you just eat something else?"

Zhou Futian replied, "You eat whatever you want. I’m eating this."

He Meihua swallowed her saliva as she looked at the rich-colored pieces of char siu, the fragrant sauce on the rice, and the boiled egg with its vibrant orange yolk. She couldn't hold back any longer. She lunged forward and snatched the box from his hands. "Let me have a taste!"

"Let's share."

The couple sat in their fruit stall, eating the "black-hearted girl's" rice with tears in their eyes. They had tried to be clever but ended up losing instead. Not only did they fail at selling porridge, but they also ended up putting money into her pocket.

What was even worse was that they were already planning to buy another one tomorrow. If they brought their own rice from home, heated it up at noon, and shared a one-fifty portion of braised beef rice, the cost per person would be less than a yuan, and they’d have meat, vegetables, eggs, and delicious sauce.

*

Because of the "advertising" during the morning porridge sale, Lin Xuexia’s beef and char siu rice sold out quickly at noon. Everyone who ate it praised it. Even after the meat was gone, people were still waiting to buy more, and Lin Xuexia could only suggest they come back tomorrow.

"The meat is all sold out?" The crowd dispersed with great regret.

After they sold out, Lin Xuexia sat on her stool to catch her breath. Although the sales were great, she was exhausted. Her current body couldn't handle such heavy labor; she needed to hire someone to help with the sales while she focused on making the meat and handling the money.

Gao Chunyan was also exhausted and had fallen asleep on the table. She hadn't slept well the night before, had been busy all morning, and had helped sell lunch boxes at noon, along with various braised snacks that had been a huge hit. Gao Chunyan was counting money even in her dreams.

Lin Xuexia made a rough estimate of the money in her bag. It was bulging with loose change. She didn't dare count it carefully on the street, but she was certain she had made a three-digit sum—probably over a hundred yuan.

She would count the exact amount when she got home. With this much money, she could afford to hire someone. Hiring help for six or seven yuan a day would be easy. Even manual laborers at construction sites earned around ten yuan; if someone had a trade, like a mason, they earned even more. Her job was easy, and she just needed to find an honest woman.

A hundred a day meant a thousand a month. Before long, she would be able to open a real shop.

Lost in thought, Lin Xuexia grew sleepy and curled up on the table, clutching her bag tightly. When she woke up, the first thing she saw was Fu Wei looking at her with a smile. Gao Chunyan had also woken up and was winking playfully at her and Fu Wei. "He’s been here for a while. I said I’d wake you, but your boyfriend wouldn't let me. He’s so doting."

"It's fine to sleep a bit more," Fu Wei said, reaching out to tilt Lin Xuexia’s chin. The woman had slept on the table, and there were faint red marks on her lovely face, making her look like a little kitten.

Lin Xuexia looked at the watch on his wrist; it was already past three. They had agreed to go to Zheng Yukang’s school to find him. But after making so much money today, Lin Xuexia felt so happy that she couldn't be bothered with Zheng Yukang—it would just delay her from going home to count her money!

All she wanted now was to go home and count her money!