TTTQF Chapter 71

Skilled

There aren’t many expensive items in the shop; most are affordable for people. To get a free tea egg, people choose their favorite items to order.

Jiang Miao assigns Tang Lin to serve the guests and gives him a set of colored wooden sticks. After a guest places an order, they receive a wooden stick; different colors represent different foods. This prevents mix-ups with the items and makes it more convenient to pay the bill later.

Jiang Miao himself stays in the kitchen with Li Ping, preparing the items ordered. Daniu stands between the kitchen and the front hall, responsible for delivering the finished food.

"Shepherd's purse and egg dumplings are ready!" Jiang Miao announces. Daniu carries a tray forward, bringing a large bowl of cooked green vegetable and egg dumplings to the table of the guest holding the red stick.

Shepherd's purse and egg dumplings are one of the recommended ingredients this month, costing twelve wen. Generally speaking, breakfast on Mingfeng Street costs between four to ten wen. For those with a bit more money, twelve wen for a bowl of dumplings isn’t considered expensive. For example, Manager Zhong from the rouge shop orders a bowl.

"This is the egg dumpling?" Before it is served, Manager Zhong thinks the egg dumpling is a dumpling with egg and green vegetable filling. He is surprised to find that the dumpling skin is made from egg.

There are only fifteen dumplings in the twelve-wen bowl. They are quite big, looking golden, and floating in the soup like small ingots. Manager Zhong scoops one up with a spoon, puts it into his mouth, and takes a bite.

A bowl of dumplings for twelve wen contains only fifteen pieces. They are quite large, looking golden and floating in the soup like small ingots. Manager Zhong scoops one with a spoon, takes a bite, and finds that it’s not just filled with green vegetable but also pork. The pork is chewy, the green vegetable is very fresh, and combined with the egg skin, it makes for a delicious bite. Additionally, the soup contains a bit of vinegar and chili, which has a very appetizing effect.

Watching him eat dumpling after dumpling, Manager Zhang can’t help but swallow. The delicious aroma filling the room is quite unkind to his empty stomach. He can’t help but lean forward and ask, "Waiter, is my order ready?"

Tang Lin hurries over, seeing a green stick next to him, and says, "Yes, it’s ready. I’ll bring it right away!"

The green stick indicates soup-filled xiaolongbao, with eight pieces per basket. These are prepared in advance and steamed on the stove when someone orders them. Tang Lin goes to the kitchen and indeed brings out a small steaming basket, along with a small dish containing the vinegar sauce prepared by Jiang Miao.

"Sir, this is balsamic vinegar. If you want to try a different flavor, you can dip the xiaolongbao in it,” Tang Lin reminds him and then steps back to the entrance to continue attending to other guests.

Manager Zhang picks up a xiaolongbao with chopsticks and finds that although it is heavy with soup, the thin skin is very resilient and doesn’t tear when lifted. He brings the xiaolongbao to his mouth, gently bites off a small piece, and the soup flows into his mouth.

The jelly-like skin, having been simmered with various seasonings, becomes delicious after steaming, making Manager Zhang’s eyebrows twitch with delight.

After drinking the soup, he dips the xiaolongbao in the fragrant vinegar sauce and takes a bite, nodding with satisfaction. The twenty wen spent feels well worth it. If this were sold at another restaurant, it would definitely cost more.

The two of them enjoy their food carefully, and so do the other diners. Whatever they order, it’s all equally delicious. They come in for the free tea egg, but their taste buds are now captivated by other dishes. The first and second floors are filled with guests, and sometimes one has to wait for others to finish and leave before finding a seat.

After the guests finish eating and pay the bill, they receive a free tea egg. The unique aroma of the tea egg tempts even those who think they are full to find a little extra space.

While the customers are satisfied, Jiang Miao feels like crying because he still hasn’t hired a dishwasher. Piles of dishes and chopsticks are stacked in the wooden basin by the well, and they can only be quickly cleaned during the gaps between orders. Fortunately, he has bought extra dishes and chopsticks in advance; otherwise, they might have run out.

After the hour of the snake, which is 9 AM, the breakfast shop’s customers finally disperse. Jiang Miao rubs his sore arms and tells the staff to hang out the closing sign.

“Don’t start cleaning up just yet. See what’s left inside and bring it out to eat. Tomorrow, we’ll have our fill first before opening the shop for business,” Jiang Miao says. He thinks he will have time to fill his stomach, but didn’t expect so many people.

Tang Lin and Daniu go to the kitchen and bring out most of a pot of mushroom and pork porridge, several buns, and two plates of side dishes, including the remaining tea eggs.

“It seems like the porridge isn’t selling well,” Jiang Miao remarks. Isn’t it nice to have some porridge in the morning?

Tang Lin responds, “Boss, we sell three bowls of porridge this morning. The guests who try it think it’s quite good…”

Seeing that Tang Lin hesitates, Jiang Miao says, “It’s okay, go on.”

“Well, generally people cook porridge at home. If they want to eat it, they can have it at home instead of coming to the shop,” Tang Lin says. Although he hasn’t worked with Jiang Miao for long, he feels that Jiang Miao is reasonable and not the type to easily lose his temper.

“I’ve thought about that too, but our porridge is different,” Jiang Miao replies.

“But the customers don’t know that. They just see it as porridge. Even though it has mushrooms and lean meat, it’s still just porridge, isn’t it?” Tang Lin says, then goes to scoop another bowl of porridge. He thinks the boss is quite generous, allowing them to drink a porridge that costs fifteen wen.

“That’s true,” Jiang Miao agrees after considering it. “So, we won’t serve this porridge for now. By the way, Tang Lin, did you hear any feedback from the customers while you were serving them?”

Jiang Miao originally plans to be outside himself, but due to the large number of customers and a shortage of help in the kitchen, he had to go in.

Tang Lin shakes his head, saying he only focuses on serving and doesn’t notice what the customers say. Daniu, who is nearby, speaks up with some hesitation, “When I was serving, I heard a customer say that everything here is savory. He wanted something sweet but couldn’t find it. He also wondered if the oil sticks were sweet like the doughnuts.”

Jiang Miao smiles and nods, “You all did a great job. We just need to pay attention to customer needs and respond accordingly. How about this: tomorrow we’ll make some sweet porridge to sell. Also, I’ll look into other sweet treats and bring in some suitable ones.”

Everyone eats while talking and soon they quickly finish everything on the table. Although the breakfast shop only operates in the morning, their work isn’t done yet

Most of the items sold in the shop need to be prepared in advance; otherwise, they won’t be able to keep up with the morning rush.

"Daniu, you go back first. You have to sell fried buns in the afternoon," Jiang Miao says, patting Daniu on the shoulder. The filling is ready, so he just needs to make the dough and wrap them.

Daniu grins and says, "Boss, I'll send the stuffing back and come back later. My grandmother will handle the wrapping, so I can just set up the stall in the afternoon."

"Why do you call me boss?" Jiang Miao laughs. He’s used to hearing Brother Jiang and finds it a bit strange to hear this.

Daniu scratches his head. "Isn't that what everyone calls you? Now that you’ve opened such a big shop, it makes sense to call you Boss."

"Alright, call me whatever you like. Just manage your time well and come over when you’re free. You won’t lose out on the wages here."

Daniu quickly waves his hand. "No need, the fried buns already take up a share. I can’t accept more here." After saying that, he leaves in a hurry for fear that Jiang Miao will refuse.

Jiang Miao shakes his head, marveling at the simplicity of this guy. In modern times, such an employee would definitely be the first to be exploited by those black-hearted bosses.

Jiang Miao asks Tang Lin and Li Ping to continue with their tasks and then takes the drawer from the counter along with the receipt slips to the room used for resting.

Today, Pei Mu brings Xiao Baidian with him. With its company, he doesn’t feel lonely at all. Practicing calligraphy, playing with the cat, time passes quickly. Pei Mu is brought here by a guard from the Pei residence. Since Jiang Miao’s shop opens today and he wakes up early, the guard takes over this responsibility. After delivering Xiao Shitou to school, he also brings Pei Mu to the shop.

Seeing Jiang Miao enter, Pei Mu looks up with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"Xiao Mu, let’s count the money," Jiang Miao says, dropping the coins from the drawer to make a clinking sound. This piques Xiao Baidian's curiosity; it perks up its ears and watches with its round eyes.

Pei Mu doesn’t know how to count money, so Jiang Miao counts out ten coins in a pile slowly and repeats the process. After a few attempts, Pei Mu also extends his little hand to grab coins from the drawer and stack them in piles of ten.

"Very smart!" Jiang Miao praises him. Pei Mu’s mouth curls into a smile as he continues with the task.

After counting all the coins, Jiang Miao finds that there are nearly three taels of silver in the half-drawer of coins. Earning so much in just half a morning explains why everyone wants to open a shop on such a busy street!

Jiang Miao is pleased for a while, then compares the receipts with the coins. Adding in the buns sold earlier, the amount of money is just right.

After tallying up the money, Jiang Miao takes out the ledger to record the accounts. Once done, he sighs. Although he initially thinks there is a lot of money, after deducting rent, labor, and ingredients, the profit is quite thin. But it’s okay; getting started is always tough. Many things aren’t ready today; only one basket of buns is sold, so he needs to make more tomorrow. For most customers, buns are still more economical.

He puts down the ledger and takes Pei Mu to the still-busy morning market, buying a large amount of necessary items to be delivered to the shop.

In the backyard, Li Ping and Tang Lin are washing and cutting with great efficiency.

"You two will have to work hard for the next couple of days. Once I find someone, you won’t need to handle the washing and vegetable prep anymore," Jiang Miao says. Aunt Liu was a good candidate, but unfortunately, her location is too far and inconvenient.

"Boss, the work isn’t difficult," Tang Lin replies with a smile. "But it can be inconvenient when it’s busy. If you’re looking for someone to do the washing, you might want to ask on the street next door. There’s a woman named Wen at the end of the street who works very efficiently."

Jiang Miao becomes interested and asks, "Do you know her?"

Tang Lin says, "Not personally, just heard about her. Her husband passed away years ago while doing business, leaving her to support the whole family."

Jiang Miao nods, not asking further. He decides to inquire about her later. If she has a good reputation, he will hire her.

At noon, when he goes to pick up Xiao Shitou, he deliberately goes a little earlier and asks the local elders about the woman named Wen. They all speak highly of her, saying she is efficient, hardworking, and straightforward, with a pleasant demeanor. After gathering this information, Jiang Miao decides to visit her home in the afternoon.

Xiao Shitou runs out with his backpack, looking very excited. He has been eating at the private school for so long, and now he can finally have lunch with his brother and Xiao Mu, so he is naturally happy.

Jiang Miao cooks a table full of dishes. After Li Ping and Tang Lin try them, they can’t stop praising him. It seems the boss not only excels at making breakfast but also at cooking regular meals!

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