Transmigrated into the fat wife of the future prime minister

Chapter 8 First Opening

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then went to knead the dough. She kept the water warm in the pot and placed the kneaded dough on the pot so that she could wrap the dumplings as soon as she woke up the next morning.

After He Shi finished collecting the items, she wanted to come over and help, but Xiao Yunsheng was already drowsy sitting there. Xu Qingmeng quickly told He Shi not to interfere and to take the child back to sleep.

Madam He had no choice but to carry Yun Sheng back to her room first, and then bring the medicine to Gu Yunyi.

After finishing her work, Xu Qingmeng went back to her room to rest. She was quite tired today and almost couldn't keep going several times, but she gritted her teeth and persevered.

Xu Qingmeng tidied herself up, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Madam He sat in Gu Yunyi's room, not in a hurry, telling him about all the good things about Xu Qingmeng.

Gu Yunyi tilted his head back and finished drinking the medicine, thinking to himself, "You don't know what she did to your son. If you did, you probably wouldn't say that."

Xu Qingmeng slept soundly, but thinking about making steamed buns in the morning, she still got up early.

When I woke up, there was already some noise in the kitchen; clearly, Mrs. He had gotten up.

"The water on the stove is just right for washing your face, and there's some porridge on the stove. Have some to eat before you get to work."

Xu Qingmeng responded and quickly asked He Shi to cook some rice porridge. The cost of making rice porridge was not high; a spoonful of rice could make a large pot, and customers eating in the shop could have a bowl.

Mrs. He thought it wouldn't be much trouble, just adding a couple of bundles of firewood to the pot, so she went to cook rice porridge first.

Xu Qingmeng washed her face, drank some porridge, and then prepared to start making steamed buns.

After the dough had risen overnight, it was ready. Xu Qingmeng sprinkled some dry flour on the work surface, skillfully pinched the dough into small pieces, then picked up a rolling pin in one hand and held the dough in the other. With a slight twist of her wrist, she made round bun wrappers with thin edges and thick centers in just a few turns.

Looking at Xu Qingmeng's skills, and then recalling her own, Madam He felt it was best not to make things worse. The rice porridge was already simmering in the pot, so she went to wash the wooden bucket that Xu Qingmeng had bought, intending to use it to hold the rice porridge later. Then she went to tidy up the front hall.

When Mrs. He opened the door, thinking that no one knew that her family sold steamed buns, she moved two tables side by side across her front door. This way, everyone could see the buns and passersby could smell the aroma, killing two birds with one stone.

By the time Mrs. He had finished tidying up, the sky was beginning to lighten, and some people in the alley were already hurrying out to work.

He went inside after smelling the aroma of the steamed buns wafting out.

How long until this pot is ready?

Xu Qingmeng didn't look up. "Mother, it'll be ready soon. Take a big wooden basin and fill it with hot water. Put a wooden board on top, and I'll put the steamer directly on it. That way, the buns won't cool down so quickly."

"Good Le!"

Before long, the steamed buns were ready. Xu Qingmeng carried the steamer basket to the front, then went back to put the freshly wrapped buns in, and hurriedly put the fried pies on a plate and brought them out.

After finishing, Xu Qingmeng hurried back to the kitchen. Since there were no more steamers, she had to use the stove to steam them. She had to hurry, as the stove could only produce forty at a time. She also took the opportunity to look outside the hall. He Shi was trying her best to sell them.

"Selling steamed buns!"

"Freshly steamed meat buns!"

"Thin-skinned, generously filled, and juicy meat buns!"

"There are freshly baked pies!" "Hot pies!"

"One bite and you'll be hooked on more meat!"

"Free rice porridge! A sip of rice porridge, a bite of steamed bun, how wonderful!"

After Mrs. He called out a few times, people immediately gathered around out of curiosity, which put Xu Qingmeng at ease. She then continued making steamed buns and pancakes.

"Sister He, these buns really have thin skins, lots of filling, and they're all oozing oil!" a man said.

"Absolutely! We're all neighbors here, how could we lie to people? Smell it, it's all the real deal."

The man took a sniff. It smelled good, really good. It smelled tempting even from a distance, and now that he was closer, it smelled even more enticing.

Then he asked, "Sister He, how much are these steamed buns?"

"Radish and pork buns, with vermicelli and minced pork, are three coins each, two for five coins each; cabbage and tofu buns are two coins each, three for five coins each; pure meat pies are five coins each, and vegetarian pies are three coins each."

"Isn't this too expensive?"

"That's right! Old Li's meat buns are only two coins each, but your vegetarian ones are two coins each. That's not fair!"

Mrs. He had anticipated this, so she was not flustered. She smiled and, as Xu Qingmeng had said last night, directly broke open a radish bun and a meat pie.

Inside the radish buns, green and white radish shreds wrapped around perfectly balanced lean and fatty meat filling, were exposed to everyone's eyes. The meat pie was even more amazing, with the meat filling directly packed inside, making it look so delicious that it made people's mouths water.

"Everyone, we use only the finest ingredients in our kitchen, as you can all see. The minced meat is all real meat, and the flour is top-quality. As you all know, the noodles made from top-quality flour are both chewy and delicious."

After seeing what He had done, everyone took another look. Indeed, the meat filling looked substantial, and the dough looked smooth and chewy, quite different from the coarse dough made by Old Li's family.

"Moreover, we also offer free rice porridge. As long as you buy steamed buns, you can have a bowl of hot rice porridge. Although the rice porridge is not worth much, it is a token of our family's goodwill."

After Ms. He finished speaking, the aroma became even stronger, more fragrant, and more tempting, and there was even free rice porridge to drink.
"Okay, then give me two radish and pork ones, I'll try them first," the man said.

"okay!"

Mrs. He smiled and agreed, then began packing buns for him.

Of course, some people still thought it was too expensive, hesitated, and eventually left, but Mr. He didn't care.

People have a tendency to follow trends. When they see others flocking together, they want to join in too. Once one person buys, a second and a third will follow.

The people working around here are all doing manual labor, and their appetites are not to be underestimated. Some buy four or five at a time, while others just buy one or two to try. Of course, the pies also sell very well, although they are a bit pricey, because they are full of meat.

Soon, more than half of the hundred buns were gone. Just then, the buns on the stove were also ready. Xu Qingmeng carried the freshly steamed buns to the main hall. When He Shi saw this, she quickly came over to take over and placed the steaming buns one by one into the steamer, replacing the steamers that were almost sold out.

As dawn broke, more and more people moved around. Besides those rushing to finish their work, there were people opening their shops to do business and buying breakfast for their children. The west street entrance became even more lively, and sales went even faster.

"Sister He, your steamed buns are really delicious, with plenty of filling and thin, chewy skin. And these pies are pretty good too," praised Aunt Wang from next door. "Your husband used to be the one cooking, I never imagined you had such skills."

(End of this chapter)