288 Sell Rice Noodles
The next morning, Jiang Yue sat on her small stool and sipped on her porridge while watching Xue Sifu and the others load the things onto the ox cart.
There was a tarp used to block the sun and rain, two dismantled tables with mortise and tenon structures, long stools, pots, stoves, wicker baskets, wooden buckets, scoops, basins, and chopped firewood loaded on the cart.
There were three wicker baskets, with one basket containing 12 kilograms of dried rice noodles. As it was the first day of selling in town, the family was actually worried that they would not be able to sell everything. One basket was filled with bowls and chopsticks, while the other basket was filled with the side ingredients and condiments used to enhance the flavor of the rice noodles.
There was a place to get water in town, so there was no need to bring water.
The cow had been fed at dawn. It wasn’t hungry now, but it would only return in the afternoon from town, so it would definitely be hungry by the time they got home. Xue Sifu originally wanted to bring two bundles of dry straw for the big yellow cow to eat in town, but the ox cart simply couldn’t fit anymore. It was difficult to tie them up, so he gave up. He decided to send the cow to a place in town where the ox cart was kept. There would be someone there to help watch over the ox cart, and he could also buy grass from that person to feed the cow.
Usually, Tian would park his ox cart there when he drove it to town. However, Tian was reluctant to spend money to let others look after the cow, so he would look after the cow himself.
Xue Sifu didn’t think that he had the time and energy to take care of the cow. It was best to leave it in the dedicated ox cart for others to look after.
Jiang Yue’s gaze fell on the large stove on the ox cart. It had a large chamber and was covered with a layer of iron. The iron was embedded with a thick layer of soil, and the middle of the soil was concave, forming a rather large chamber. The firewood was burned in the chamber, and a pot could be placed on top of the chamber.
According to Sifu, just this furnace alone had cost close to one silver. It was mainly because the iron sheet outside was expensive.
They hadn’t even sold a bowl of rice noodles yet, and the family had already invested a lot in this business. If they didn’t hit it back, their family would lose a lot of money.
When everything was tied up, only the front seats were left.
Jiang Yue glanced at it and felt that only she and Xue Yan could sit there.
At this time, Jiang Yue had finished her breakfast. Xue Yan had also finished his breakfast and was standing beside the ox cart, while Liu Guixia and the others were standing beside the ox cart at the gate of the courtyard.
“I’ll give you some copper coins. You might need change.” Liu Guixia gave Xue Sifu a money bag filled with copper coins.
“Thank you, Mother.” Xue Sifu thanked them and then shouted to Jiang Yue and Xue Yan, “Hurry up and get in.”
Jiang Yue and Xue Yan climbed up and sat on the two of them.
Xue Sifu led the bull and held the whip, wanting to walk in front. There was nothing they could do about it. They couldn’t let their two precious children walk to town. They would be fine when they returned in the afternoon. Before they returned in the afternoon, they would send a lot of things to Yuxuan’s house, so they would sit on the ox cart as well.
“You really don’t want me to go with you?” Liu Guixia was still worried.
Xue Sifu laughed.
“Haven’t I been following you around the stove these past few days? Fried rice noodles, sweet and sour rice noodles, vegetable rice noodles, pork rice noodles, and pork broth rice noodles. I’ve learned how to make them all, haven’t I?
“Mother, don’t worry. There aren’t that many anyway. I won’t sell the complicated and expensive ones now. If I have to sell them one day and I can’t handle them myself, I’ll definitely ask you to come with me.”
In one of the wicker baskets was the meat and pork broth soup that Liu Guixia and Li Hehua had cooked before dawn. They were all ready and boiled. If someone wanted to buy a bowl, he could directly add them to the rice noodles and heat them up. This was also how other restaurants sold their noodles.