Qin Xiangnuan originally planned to bring porridge as well, but she had oversimplified things. From the moment they started making pancakes, their hands never stopped moving. As for selling porridge, Qin Xiangnuan thought they might need to hire someone.
Sigh, this is how it becomes delicious. Auntie Ming’s eyes nearly disappeared from her face with delight upon seeing the pancakes fresh off the griddle. They were flaky and crispy, and especially once combined with vegetables and meat sauce, the taste was incredibly good.
Those who had tasted the pancakes knew this, so unconsciously, they bought an extra pancake to eat this time.
When Qin Xiangnuan was chatting with Aunt Ming, it just so happened that she mentioned how recently she and her brother were too busy to cope and were considering hiring someone. They would provide room and board, and pay twenty yuan a month. Auntie Ming kept this in mind and also quietly paid attention to it for them.
A few days later, Auntie Ming actually brought someone to them—a skinny little girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, looking rather timid. Aunt Ming said that the child’s family was extremely poor, they couldn’t even afford enough food, which was why she came out to look for work. The girl was quick with her hands and feet, and sincere, but it was difficult to find work here, and meals weren’t guaranteed; fortunately, Qin Xiangnuan was hiring, so Aunt Ming brought the girl over.
Qin Xiangnuan felt that the young girl was quite good. She had lived nearly forty years longer than other people and had some skill in judging character. Besides, Aunt Ming wouldn’t have brought over someone bad.
The young girl’s name was Wendi, which made it obvious at first hearing—her family valued sons over daughters, but at that time, that was the case in most families; everyone wanted to have a son.
Indeed, Wendi was quite capable. She didn’t talk much, but she worked quickly.
Qin Xiangyang took out some money to buy a bed and put it inside, along with blankets and the like. The stove outside was always lit, so the inside of the room wasn’t too cold. However, Qin Xiangnuan insisted that the large window next to it must be opened since there was a stove inside and there was a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning if not careful.
In the end, she was worried that Wendi might forget, so she had Qin Xiangyang fix the window in a way that it couldn’t be closed, only opened.
When they arrived the next morning, the shop’s door was already open, the stove was lit, and several benches were neatly arranged.
Qin Xiangyang took out the dough and started to make pancakes. Wendi took on some bigger tasks and could knead the dough. Her hands were strong, so she was faster than Qin Xiangyang and his sister. With her help, they were much more efficient. Qin Xiangnuan wasn’t worried about Wendi stealing the pancake recipe; not to mention trusting Wendi’s character, learning how to make pancakes wasn’t an overnight task. Of course, even if she did learn, it wouldn’t bother Qin Xiangnuan as she had other specialties.
Qin Xiangnuan opened the pot, which was already boiling. She put the seasoned meat inside, cooked it for a while, then added rice and glutinous rice, followed by the chopped preserved eggs. Yes, she was making preserved egg and lean pork congee.
People here liked sweet porridge, but there wasn’t much savory porridge around, so she planned to sell something special, something that no other place had.
This bowl of porridge contained meat, rice, and wheat, so she also planned to charge ten cents for it. Ten cents was easy to account for—plain noodles were 8 cents, vegetable soup noodles were 15 cents.
Although there were no noodles in her porridge, it contained meat, and she focused on flavor.