Chapter 56: Chapter 56 She Earned this Money Without Regrets
Translator: 549690339
“What’s this?” Yuan Ding asked in surprise, looking at the big rough ceramic bowl in Qiao Xiaomai’s hand, curiosity evident on his round face.
“It’s called tofu pudding. Do you want it sweet or savory? For sweet, we add cane sugar, and for savory, we add soybean paste,” Qiao Xiaomai explained. “Both taste pretty good.”
“Add cane sugar,” Yuan Ding quickly replied.
For him, a waiter, cane sugar was quite a precious commodity, not to mention its sweet taste was much more appealing.
Qiao Xiaomai immediately scooped a spoonful of cane sugar into the bowl, “Go ahead, give it a try.”
After giving his thanks, Yuan Ding took the bowl, stirred it a bit until the sugar dissolved, and then hesitantly tried a mouthful.
His eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Qiao Xiaomai, nodding vigorously, “Delicious!”
It was richly flavored with the fragrance of soy, very sweet, smooth, and delicate!
Seeing his reaction, Qiao Xiaomai grinned and asked, “So, Brother Yuan, you think we can make money selling this, don’t you?”
“Absolutely!” Yuan Ding nodded again, more firmly this time.
A wider smile spread across Qiao Xiaomai’s face. “Well then, let’s head to town with Brother Yuan later and talk to Shopkeeper He about it.”
“Sure,” Yuan Ding agreed with a nod.
And so, once the tofu was loaded onto the horse cart, Qiao Xiaomai and Qiao Dami climbed in as well. Of course, she still held another bowl of tofu pudding in her hands.
The horse cart moved quite swiftly, albeit a bit bumpy. It was unavoidable. The roads at that time were all dirt tracks, and the wheels of horse carts didn’t have tires for shock absorption. You just had to put up with it.
Upon arriving at Jiweiju Restaurant, they entered the courtyard through the back door. Yuan Ding took off the wooden vat loaded with tofu, “Miss Qiao, Dami, get off quickly. I’ll go fetch Shopkeeper He.”
“Thank you, Brother Yuan.” Qiao Xiaomai delicately climbed down the horse cart, carefully cradling her bowl of tofu pudding, while Qiao Dami jumped down.
Upon hearing that Qiao Xiaomai had arrived and brought tofu pudding with her, Shopkeeper He immediately stepped out, grinning from ear to ear, “Miss Qiao, come on in.”
As Qiao Xiaomai walked in, carrying the bowl, a smile also appeared on her face, “Shopkeeper He, I’m back again.”
“Welcome, welcome.” Shopkeeper He stepped aside, gesturing for Qiao Xiaomai to enter, while patting Qiao Dami’s head affectionately and tossing him some melon seeds from the table.
“Thank you, Shopkeeper He,” Qiao Dami responded earnestly, then took his seat on a small bench and started to crack the melon seeds.
Qiao Xiaomai handed the bowl to He Zhanggui, “Give it a try. You can either put sugar or soybean paste.”
Having already heard from Yuan Ding about the deliciousness of the tofu pudding, Shopkeeper He called over a waiter. He divided the bowl of tofu pudding into two, adding sugar to one half and soybean paste to the other.
As the tofu pudding had cooled down, it didn’t taste as good as when it was freshly made.
However, this didn’t affect its silky-smooth texture, which left Shopkeeper He spooning up every last bit from both halves of the bowl.
Afterwards, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and commented, “Not bad.”
“Does it taste better than the tofu?” Qiao Xiaomai asked.
Having only tasted three pieces of the stir-fried tofu yesterday, Shopkeeper He had now finished an entire bowl before speaking.
Shopkeeper He cleared his throat slightly, “1 suppose so. How much are you planning to sell it for?”
“For a bowl this size,” Qiao Xiaomai tapped the large ceramic bowl on the table, “Ten wen per bowl.”
Despite preparing himself for Qiao Xiaomai’s potentially high price, Shopkeeper He still couldn’t help but show a slight twitch in his facial expression, “Miss Qiao, this is made from soybeans too, right?”
“But I’m the only one who knows how to make it,” Qiao Xiaomai asserted, her clear, watery eyes unwavering.
Why didn’t Qiao Changshun curdle the soymilk into tofu after boiling it today?
Because he simply didn’t know how to!
Scarcity makes a thing precious!
She was merely taking advantage of the wealthy!
After all, this wasn’t a staple food. Ordinary folks wouldn’t starve if they couldn’t afford it.. She earned this money without the slightest bit of guilt!