199 Hard Work
Madam Liu said, “Our family will remember Binn’s kindness. Also, Xuerui will be more lively if we bring him with us more often.”
She looked at her grandson, and her heart ached. Su Xuerui was only two years old, yet he was too obedient.
He did not eat delicious foods likemb skewers in the past, but now, the family could make better food for Su Xuerui.
The family had prepared manymb skewers, but there have yet to be any customers in sight. Madam Liu took some pastries and broke them into small pieces for her grandson to eat.
!!
Su Binn had given them those pastries. Previously, she had given them to her third uncle and his family when she went to teach Su Fengzhi how to makemb skewers.
Su Binn made the pastries more suitable for children to eat. They were nutritious and could also improve a child’s appetite.
Su Xuerui did not usually eat much, but he enjoyed eating the pastries Su Binn made when he took a bite. Madam Liu was thrilled when she saw her grandson eating more.
Su Wenchi said, “Big Brother, you have no idea how good Binn was to us. She taught our father how to make spicy and non-spicy seasonings too.”
Su Wenlin said smilingly, “Are you intentionally making fun of me, Wenchi? I just happened to be away at that time.”
Su Wenchi smirked. “Hmph, it’s your fault for being away for so long.”
Everyone chatted andughed, and soon, customers starteding. The customers looked at themb skewers in Su Fengzhi’s hands and thought they looked very novel. Still, they could all smell how fragrant the barbecuedmb skewers were.
“Sir, are you barbecuing meat?”
“Yes, I’m makingmb skewers. I made them from the sheep I keep myself, so these are as fresh as theye. Are you guys interested in trying some?” Su Fengzhi warmly weed the customers.
A few more people came by at that moment. They gathered around to look at what Su Fengzhi was making and thought his cooking method was unique. They had never seen anything likemb skewers before.
The customers looked closer and discovered that Su Fengzhi used charcoal to barbecue themb skewers.
“Sir, are you using charcoal? Isn’t that costly?”
Themoners could not afford charcoal, yet Su Fengzhi and his family used it to barbecue themb skewers. Everyone felt their heads ache when they looked at the charcoal. They thought it was a waste.
The weather was getting colder, and the wealthier families would burn charcoal to keep themselves warm. Many looked at the uniquemb skewers and felt pain in their hearts when they saw all the burnt charcoal.
The people of that era were frugal, so they felt ufortable seeing others wasting precious supplies like charcoal.
Su Fengzhi chuckled. “We made this charcoal ourselves, so it didn’t cost much. We’re also selling thesemb skewers for one coin each and those for two coins each.”
Anyone could afford those prices, and the customers were always willing to try something new. Moreover, themb skewers were fragrant. Since the customers were already there, they might as well try it.
“I’ll have a smallmb skewer, sir.”
“Give me tenmb skewers, please.”
“I’ll try one too. I’ll buy more if I like these.”
…
Everyone was talking at once, and Su Fengzhi said happily, “Themb skewers will be ready soon.”
Madam Liu and her daughter-inw, Lin Tongtong, said in unison, “Someone, take care of Xuerui. I’ll go and help.”
Lin Tongtong said, “Mother-inw, Xuerui is well-behaved and will sit here quietly. He’ll be okay, so I’ll help too.”
She knew her mother-inw was a good person. Not only did Madam Liu help take care of Su Xuerui, but she would not allow Lin Tongtong to do any work.
However, Lin Tongtong felt guilty. She was diligent because her parents taught her to work hard and live a good life. Therefore, she could not bear to stay idle while the others worked.
Lin Tongtong looked at the busy family, looked at her son, and started to feel anxious.
Madam Liu said, “Since four of us can work, you should watch Xuerui. He is more important than anything else. Also, we’re in an unfamiliar environment, so you can rest assured if you took care of Xuerui.”
Initially, the family had suggested that Madam Lin stay home to look after Su Xuerui, but she thought she might be able to help if she followed along.
Madam Liu was delighted with her daughter-inw because she was diligent, respectful, and discerning. She told Lin Tongtong to keep an eye on Su Xuerui and went to help the others.
The four divided and conquered as they sold theirmb kebabs. One would handle the money, while others would host the customers or barbecue themb skewers.
“Sir, do you want the spicy or non-spicy seasoning?”
If it were the past, the customers would not understand the difference between the two seasonings, but most had eaten food from Su Binn’s shops, so they knew what spicy was.
“I would like to be spicy, please!”
“All right, here you go.”
“I-I can’t handle spicy food, sir. I’ll take the non-spicy seasoning, please.”
“Okay, no problem.”
…
Everyone was amazed when they tried themb skewers.
“These are delicious! The meat is sizzling and fragrant. They don’t even taste gamey.”
“Mm, I agree. I never liked eatingmb, but I never thought to cook it like this. It’s unique.”
“The spiciness is just right!”
“Give me another five bigmb skewers with spicy seasoning, please!”
“Okay, they will be ready soon.”
“I’ll have ten more smallmb skewers, sir. I’d like the non-spicy seasoning. Thank you!”
…
By noon, many others had smelled themb skewers’ fragrance and ran over. Then Su Wenzhe and the rest also pointed their customers to the barbecue stall.
Su Wenzhe even hired some beggars to publicize his third uncle’s stall. It was just like how Su Binn didst time.
In addition, everyone knew the Su family owned Binn’s Desserts, Su’s Tofu, and themb skewer stall, so they believed themb skewers would be delicious. Just like every other dish the Su family served.
The power of advertising was significant as many traveled from east to west to check out Su Fengzhi’s stall.
...
In a blink of an eye, many surrounded themb skewer stall. Su Fengzhi and Su Wenchi could barely keep up with the orders, even if they prepared moremb skewers in advance.
Madam Liu’s smile grew wider when she saw how many people were around her husband’s stall.
Meanwhile, Su Wenlin helped give the customers their orders. It tested his memory as he needed to remember which customers ordered non-spicy seasonings and which ordered spicy ones. He knew he could not make any mistakes.
Lin Tongtong was also thrilled when she saw more and more customers appearing. More customers meant business was booming, and they could earn more money.
She could not bear to stay idle, but she could neither ignore her son. Therefore, Lin Tongtong thought of a way to tie Su Xuerui to her back so she could help the family.
Carrying Su Xuerui on her back would not affect the family’s workflow. Therefore, Lin Tongtong helped clean up the stall with her son safely tied to her back. She also helped to bring the customers their orders.
They had suffered in the past but could earn money alongside each other now. The family wished to use all their might and worked their hearts out.
The family also wanted to earn as much money as possible, so they motivated themselves to work harder.
Initially, the surrounding area was empty and remote, but it had be lively because of Su Fengzhi’s stall. When noon passed, the family could take a breather as there were fewer customers.
Su Wenlin entertained the customers, so his throat was sore from constantly speaking loudly.
Lin Tongtong did not even drink water before hurriedly bringing some to her husband. Su Wenlin drank a big mouthful of water and panted. “You’ve worked so hard. Is Xuerui okay?”
...
Lin Tongtong said smilingly, “I didn’t work that hard. Besides, I fed Xuerui earlier, so he fell asleep on my back.”