The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 42

Chapter 42: Learning to Make Sauce Flatbreads

The few of them huddled in a corner of the noodle shop and discussed for a long time.

Lin Shuang told them to go back and discuss it with their families. If they decided to do it, the sauce flatbread business in the city would be handed over to them. They would provide the dough and sauce, and for every flatbread sold, the two of them would get a commission of ten copper coins.

On the way back, Lu Erqiao said excitedly, “I heard from Third Aunt that they could sell thirty or forty flatbreads a day at the market. If we get ten copper coins for each flatbread, that’s three hundred copper coins for thirty. That’s one hundred and fifty for each of us. My goodness, that’s three or four taels of silver a month, isn’t it?”

Wang Zhimei had already calculated it in her head and was extremely excited.

“Qing-ge is a head constable, and he only earns a little over one tael a month. If we do this for a month, we can earn as much as he does in three months. That’s incredible.”

“Oh my, what’s the difference between this and a pie falling from the sky? Tonight, when A’Qing gets off duty, you can come to my house with him. We’ll discuss it properly again. Let’s set up the stall in these few days before the new year and earn some money first.”

The two families lived in the next village and often visited each other.

“Alright. We have to settle this quickly. Even if we can’t sell for a few days before the new year, the first and second of the new year are when there are a lot of people. We’ll be sold out.”

The more the two of them talked, the more elated they became. They pulled their children and hurried home.

On the other side, after Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen returned home, they also told Old Madam Jiang about this.

At first, when Old Madam Jiang heard that they were going to give the flatbread business to outsiders, she was very unhappy. But when she heard that Lu Qing had lent her money for her medical treatment, and with the matter between him and Jiang Gui, she reluctantly fell silent.

Lin Shuang did the math for her. “After deducting the cost of about ten copper coins for each flatbread, and giving them a commission of ten copper coins, there’s still a profit of nearly twenty copper coins. We just need to prepare the ingredients at home and don’t have to go out and work in the wind and sun. Not to mention more, even if we only sell thirty flatbreads a day, we can still have an income of nearly six hundred copper coins a day. Isn’t that better than doing it ourselves?”

The more the old woman listened, the more she felt that this was a good idea, and her face finally softened.

Her granddaughter’s identity was a major flaw, and she couldn’t bear to let her go out and be made to feel uncomfortable.

The next morning, Lu Qing came to their door with his wife, Wang Zhimei, and his sister, Lu Erqiao.

They didn’t come empty-handed, but with two chickens and a basket of eggs.

Seeing them with their gifts, Old Madam Jiang’s eyes crinkled into a smile. She pushed them away. “You’ve come, why did you bring things? We have chickens at home. You can take them back and keep them for laying eggs.”

Lu Erqiao said, “It’s just two chickens. It’s not a rare thing. Don’t be so polite with us. If it weren’t for Zhen’er and Shuang’er’s kindness in helping us, where would we find such a good job?”

After refusing for a while, Old Madam Jiang looked at the large and small eggs in the basket. “You have many children at home. You can take this basket of eggs back for the children to eat.”

Wang Zhimei smiled. “That won’t do. This basket of duck eggs was picked by Third Aunt at the riverside this morning. If we take them back, that girl will definitely be angry with us.”

In these times, food was scarce. The fish in the river and the wild ducks on the riverbank had long been wiped out. Wild ducks could fly, but their eggs could only be laid in the reeds. To find duck eggs, you had to be early. If you were late, they would all be gone.

Let’s put it this way, if you got up when the rooster crowed, it would be too late.

Lin Shuang smiled. “Guiying didn’t sleep last night, did she? She must have been waiting by the river to pick duck eggs.”

Lu Erqiao was afraid they wouldn’t accept them and quickly said, “How could that be? She only went at dawn.”

Jiang Huaizhen had gone to the riverside near their home to pick duck eggs once. She hadn’t slept all night because people had started to look for eggs at the third quarter of the Hour of the Tiger(3:00 AM to 5:00 AM). She could only stay there all night.

At that time, her grandmother was seriously ill, and the family was living from hand to mouth. Her luck was also particularly bad. She had set a trap on the mountain, but there was no prey. She sat by the dark riverside, with a hint of fear and boundless despair…

Now, holding this heavy basket of eggs, her heart was also heavy.

She had only known Hu Guiying for a few days. Since that girl had learned from Lu Qing that she was going to be an executioner, her eyes had been very eager, and she had always wanted to be friends with her. But she had a distant personality, and because of her identity, she had not had much contact with her.

Just because they had had a bowl of noodles yesterday, that foolish girl had sent a large basket of duck eggs, which made her feel both sour and moved.

“Aunt Lu, please thank Guiying for me when you get back,” she said.

“What’s there to be polite about? It’s just a few duck eggs. You can pick them up anywhere. Don’t take it to heart,” Lu Erqiao said nonchalantly.

But when the few of them entered the house, they were first attracted by the warm heated kang. They touched it here and there, finding it very novel. The old woman proudly showed it off again.

“Grandma Jiang, you’re so blessed to have such a granddaughter. You’re finally enjoying your old age.”

Old people, when they got old, loved to hear others praise their younger generation. Hearing this, Old Madam Jiang’s wrinkled mouth instantly curled up, but she still said with disgust, “Don’t mention her. She’s like a stubborn donkey. All she knows is to work herself to death. It was only after Shuang’er came that we got this heated kang. If it were just her, wouldn’t I have frozen to death?”

Wang Zhimei smiled. “Shuang’er is now part of your family, so she’s your granddaughter. What’s the difference who built the kang?”

Old Madam Jiang said, “That’s true. She’s already been registered at the yamen. Even if she gets married in the future, she’ll be married from our Jiang family. It has nothing to do with Lin Mancang.”

“Exactly.”

Lin Shuang was too lazy to explain to them that she was not getting married and just smiled. “Grandma, don’t worry. Even if I die in the future, I’ll still be a ghost of the Jiang family.”

With that, she glanced at Jiang Huaizhen as if possessed, and unexpectedly, the other was also looking at her, who knows for how long.

Lin Shuang was afraid that her thoughts would be exposed under the other’s gaze and quickly looked away.

Only then did Lu Qing, who was next to her, get to the point. “Huaizhen, my older sister and Zhimei plan to set up their stall tomorrow. They want to earn some money in these few days before the new year. Do you think it’s possible?”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “It’s possible. But Lin Shuang is the one who makes the flatbreads. I usually just help out with the chores. If you have any questions, you can just ask her.”

Lin Shuang smiled and took over. “The pot and stove are all ready. We’ll prepare the dough and sauce tomorrow morning, and you can just take them over and start your stall. I’ll teach you two aunts how to make the flatbreads in a while, and you can just follow that tomorrow.”

Wang Zhimei looked at her and praised, “Shuang’er looks like a capable person. The Lin family has lost such a god of wealth. How can they not be envious? No wonder the Ma sisters caused such a scene at the market.”

Old Madam Jiang snorted. “That’s because they weren’t human in the first place. They changed her birth characters and forced her to go for a chongxi marriage. When that failed, they wanted to send her to a brothel. They deserve to have no money.”

The few of them had also heard about Lin Shuang’s matter. Now, hearing Old Madam Jiang say this, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Lin Shuang didn’t want to be the center of attention and smiled. “Let’s go. The dough has risen. Let’s go to the kitchen, and I’ll teach you how to make the flatbreads.”

Only then did Wang Zhimei and Lu Erqiao reluctantly get off the kang and follow her to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jiang Huaizhen quickly lit the charcoal fire in the stove.

Lin Shuang said, “Auntie, this pot and stove, you can take them with the dough tomorrow morning. From now on, you can just take them back to your own homes after you’re done making the flatbreads at night. You don’t have to go to the trouble of sending them back.”

“Alright,” Lu Erqiao said. “Don’t worry. We’ll definitely take good care of this pot.”

Lin Shuang said, “It’s alright. This pot is made of iron. It’s not that delicate.”

With that, she took out a piece of the rested dough. “One flatbread uses 2 catties of dough. Huaizhen’s hands are very accurate. She can get it right every time. If you don’t have a feel for it, you can bring a small scale.”

Changping County was located in the central plains. A little further north, people grew wheat. The women of ordinary families all knew how to make pasta to some extent, and making a flatbread was not a difficult task for them.

Hearing her say this, Lu Erqiao said, “Girl, let me do it. You can just tell me what to do from the side.”

Lin Shuang stepped aside and guided her in spreading the oil pastry and then rolling out the dough again.

Only then did she put the large iron pot on the stove, added a large spoonful of lard, and let the melted oil cover the bottom of the pot, about half a finger thick.

“You can’t be stingy with the oil. We common people usually have little oil and salt in our meals, and our stomachs are growling. When we’re outside, we want to eat something salty and oily. If there’s not enough oil, the flatbread won’t be crispy enough.”

“We have to give to get.”

Lu Erqiao said, “I understand, I understand. We’ll put in as much as you say. It’s not like the two of us are setting up the stall together. If I put in too little, my sister-in-law will remind me.”

When the flatbread was in the pot, and they saw the layers of folds and crispy skin, the two of them couldn’t help but be amazed. “This thing, how can it be so crispy? The ones we make at home are as hard as a rock.”

Lu Qing, who was next to his wife, looked at her. “The flatbreads you make at home have no oil. How can you expect them to be crispy?”

Wang Zhimei smiled. “Sigh, I do put some, just not this much. Shuang’er just said that the secret is in that layer of oil pastry.”

Lin Shuang said, “This oil pastry, I’ll prepare a small jar of it every day. When you’re rolling out the dough, spread the oil pastry on it before you fry it, and the flatbread will be crispy.”

Making flatbreads was not a difficult task. The two of them were both quick workers. Seeing that one side of the flatbread was cooked, they flipped it over, and finally, when both sides were golden brown, they spread the sauce and sprinkled the scallions.

By the time the first flatbread was ready, they had each tried a piece and were full of praise.

Wang Zhimei asked, “This sauce is a little different from the previous one, but they’re both delicious.”

Her husband had brought back some flatbreads last time, and she had also tried two pieces. But it wasn’t this taste, but it wasn’t any worse than the previous one. They were both delicious.

Lin Shuang said, “I changed a few ingredients, so it doesn’t taste too much like our last one. People might say it’s from us, and it will be difficult for you to do business.”

Lu Qing waved his hand. “What are you afraid of them for? When you set up your stall, I’ll have Guiying go to the market a few times a day. I’d like to see who dares to gossip.”

“Besides, so what if they know? If they don’t eat it, others will.”

So, it’s good to have someone in the yamen. The only bad thing was that Jiang Huaizhen’s job was special, so she couldn’t take advantage of this.

“There’s still some white flour at home. When you go to the city tomorrow, you can tell the owner of the Fude Grain Shop to help deliver a hundred catties. We won’t have to make another trip.”

The two of them agreed.

Jiang Huaizhen asked, “When will you be here tomorrow to get the goods?”

“We’ll be here at the fourth quarter of the Hour of the Rabbit(5 a.m. to 7 a.m.). We’ll set off from here and arrive at the county seat just as the city gates open.”

“A’Qing is a head constable at the yamen, after all. It’s not good for him to get involved in our business. It just so happens that we have an old cow at home that can still walk. From now on, I’ll have my Old Hu come and get the goods. I’ll go with the cart for the first two days. After he’s dropped us off, he can go back to farming,” Lu Erqiao said.

Old Hu was her husband, Hu Guiying’s father.

“That would be for the best,” Lin Shuang said. “With more people in the family, you can take care of each other.”

“It’s good, but with the old and the young, and so many mouths to feed, it’s also difficult.”

Seeing that the teaching was done, the few of them were about to leave. Lin Shuang said, “There are still four dough balls left. They’ll go bad if we leave them for tomorrow. Let’s make them and take them back for the children to eat.”

“How can we…” the three of them quickly refused.

Old Madam Jiang said, “Take them back. They’ve been making flatbreads every day for over a month. I’m almost sick of the smell.”

With the old woman’s words, they accepted with a blush, and the two of them took turns.

As expected of good workers, they got the hang of it in no time. By the second and third one, they were no different from the flatbreads that Lin Shuang had made herself.

Lin Shuang smiled. “You two aunts are so skillful. You don’t need me to teach you.”

“Sigh, what are you being so modest for? If it weren’t for the pot you had made, with every side of the dough being heated, and the flatbreads cooking evenly and quickly, how could they be so good?”

The few of them chatted and laughed, and soon, the flatbreads were ready.

Lin Shuang found a cloth bag, wrapped them in mustard green leaves, and put them inside. Only then did the three of them take their leave.