After a few days of keeping watch, Lin Wan discovered that the shoe factory had its own cafeteria, and the employees rarely came out to eat. So, she and Mom gave up on this spot. There really wasn’t any storefront near the pig-slaughtering stall. They were the only ones.
For all the days they’ve been here, they’ve only spent money without earning, which worried Liang Hongmei a lot. She stopped wandering around with Lin Wan.
They bought cucumbers, bean sprouts, shredded kelp, vermicelli, and sesame paste at the early market, and started making flatbread wraps and their regional specialty burnt rice cakes.
The most they could make in a day was a little over twenty, and they bought an extra large flat basket at the early market.
Inside were a few small porcelain bowls holding the dishes and flatbreads.
Waking up around five in the morning, they’d start preparing, and by six, they’d be heading to the early market with the basket.
Without a sign, Liang Hongmei would shout loudly to sell.
Flatbread seems to be a delicacy of the Central Plains District, while the burnt rice cakes are from the south. Many people hadn’t seen them before, so when Liang Hongmei shouted, they came over out of curiosity. Three mao for each piece wasn’t expensive for folks in the city. A few dozen sold out in just over an hour.
They pocketed over ten yuan in a morning, and after deducting costs, they still earned seven to eight yuan. After two days, they’d have enough for rent.
Liang Hongmei suddenly felt coming to the city was worth it. She stopped worrying about Lin Wan and started her early market business.
Lin Wan wouldn’t go out too early to look for storefronts every day, so she helped Mom cook in the morning. She bought rice to make burnt rice cakes, fortunately, they also ate rice over here, otherwise Mom wouldn’t be able to adapt.
On Sunday, Lin Yinghui returned and helped Lin Wan look for a property together.
Near where they lived, they hadn’t gone to the hospital area.
In the morning, Lin Yinghui helped Mom bring the food to the early market, then took Lin Wan to check out the area near the military hospital. The hospital wasn’t far from the early market, just a bridge away.
The hospital area was rather remote, not matching her expectations, a little rundown and shabby. But there were many people coming for treatment.
Yet despite its condition, Lin Wan and Lin Yinghui still diligently explored around.
Apart from a small storefront selling medicine and a supply and marketing cooperative, there were hardly any shops around, but there were two or three carts selling food and fruit.
Outside the hospital next to the pharmacy was a small storefront closed off.
There were a lot of people coming and going at the hospital entrance. They came at a bad time, not during mealtime, so it was hard to see how the restaurants were doing.
So they wandered around the hospital, and at mealtime, they observed two carts selling food. The customer flow was significant, with people coming out with meal tins to buy.
In front were five or six tables set up, and they were quite full.
It seemed that business during meal times was pretty good.
They also sat down and tried it.
Lin Wan took a look and ordered a large stew, with two servings of rice.
"Brother, how do you think their dishes are?" Lin Wan asked her brother as they left the stall.
"Not bad, quite authentic."
Lin Wan nodded, "The prices are quite fair, a big bowl of stew for just six mao."
"That place’s business is also good," Lin Yinghui pointed at another wonton cart.
Lin Wan chuckled as she patted her own belly, which had been quite indulged and grown round.
She had originally planned to try more wontons, but now a serving of braised stew had stuffed her full, truly a good value.
However, Lin Wan still walked around with her brother, and she got a rough idea of the hospital’s customer flow.
She decided that renting here wouldn’t be bad, and she had her eye on the property next to the pharmacy, but there was no one around nor a contact number.
Lin Wan brazened herself to ask the pharmacy next door, and coincidentally, the storefront happened to belong to them. She inquired about the rent, which was twenty yuan for a space just over ten square meters.
The rent was a bit high, and Lin Wan hesitated, noticing that there were no shops in the nearby row available for rent.