Chapter 160 - 160 Delivering Food to the Academy
160 Delivering Food to the Academy
Su Wenzhe was lighting a fire and could not help but look at the pastries. Su Binglan noticed the couple’s expression and smiled because she enjoyed seeing their genuine reaction. She felt gratified to have everyone look forward to her delicious food.
She took a knife and cut the pastries into a few pieces so they would cool down quickly, and then they could try some. The pastries were so flakey that their crust would crumble to the touch.
Liu Yinyin looked at the pastries and exclaimed, “I never knew such pastries existed. They look so crispy and fragrant!”
“Take a piece and taste them. You can also eat them with the haggis soup we made,” Su Binglan suggested.
The couple did not hesitate to take some pastries and scoop a bowl of haggis soup to taste.
Liu Yinyin said excitedly, “Wow, Binglan, the sesame bun is even more delicious once it’s dipped in the haggis soup! Eating these alone would be lacking, so eating them together is ingenious!”
Su Wenzhe added, “Little Sister, your ideas are the best! This pairing will undoubtedly become popular among the townsfolk and village folk!”
He was confident no other places in town served such unique dishes. Su Wenzhe asked, “Oh, right. How much should we sell the sesame buns and haggis soup?”
Su Binglan looked at the ingredients she bought from the market. After some thought, she said, “We can sell the haggis soup for ten coins per bowl. It might seem a little expensive, but it should be reasonable since the customers will get a few pieces of mutton along with the offal.”
“Don’t worry, Binglan. We won’t be stingy with the customers and give them less than what they paid for,” Liu Yinyin said.
Su Binglan knew her brother and sister-in-law well. She was relieved. “Of course, but we can’t be too generous because we might lose out. You should find a balance.
“Then we can sell each sesame bun for three coins each, and anyone can afford them. Even if some can’t afford our haggis soup, they can get a sesame bun to fill their stomachs. Moreover, we can earn more if we sell more.”
Su Binglan knew she had to earn money while maintaining purity and honesty. She also hoped the villagers would be willing to try her buns and soup.
Su Wenzhe and his wife understood what Su Binglan meant. Su Wenzhe seemed to have thought of something and said, “Little Sister, we can also serve the soup in either small or large bowls, right? The smaller portions will be cheaper, while the larger ones will be more expensive.”
Su Binglan’s expression changed. She said, “Wow, Big Brother, that’s an excellent idea. The customers can choose which size they want, and no one will feel discouraged to buy some.”
After some thought, she continued, “Since we’re planning to pre-make the soup, we can heat them whenever a customer wants to buy some. Also, the markets don’t typically keep offal because they don’t realize how good they are. I’ll tell Zhou Shan to go and buy them from the markets. I’m sure it’ll be cheap. You two can wash them clean and continue making haggis soup.”
“Okay, Little Sister,” Su Wenzhe replied.
Su Binglan arranged for Li Shi to look after the shop while Zhou Shan went to buy more sheep offal.
Meanwhile, Su Binglan continued to cook lunch in the backyard kitchen. She made braised pork ribs to send them to Luo Jin’an and the two little ones. She also packed some sesame buns and haggis soup for them.
She had been busy the whole morning. However, she thought of an issue and said, “Hmm, we still don’t have enough workers, but I don’t want to hire more people right now.”
She had just started making money and did not want to spend it on hiring someone yet. Besides, she did not know anything about hiring, even though she wanted to open more shops in the future.
Su Wenzhe casually said, “It would be great if Second and Third Brother could help us.”
After some thought, Su Binglan’s expression changed. “You’re right. It would be perfect if they were with us.”
However, she was also puzzled. Logically speaking, if her second brother went away to work as a delivery person while her third brother helped, they should have returned long ago. Despite that, the two brothers had yet to return.
Su Binglan was not concerned because she could sense that her two brothers were not in danger, but it had indeed been a long time since they left.
She asked Su Wenzhe, “Big Brother, what kind of goods does Second Brother deliver? Did you find out?”
Su Wenzhe replied, “Yes, I found out. He followed the staff from Hundred Herb Hospital to deliver medicine to the capital.”
Su Binglan frowned. “The Hundred Herb Hospital is big, so why would they need someone else to deliver their medicine? Why don’t they send their people to deliver medicine instead?”
Su Wenzhe shook his head and shrugged. “I’m not sure either. Back then, mother wanted us to work in the town for money, but it was not easy to find a job there, so Second Brother worked as a waiter at Zhu’s Guests.
“However, they fired him for some reason, and he went to Hundred Herb Hospital to be their errand boy. Later on, he became their delivery person.
“He wanted to become an apprentice there, but the doctor was picky about accepting apprentices. Second Brother didn’t have a solid foundation, so the doctor didn’t accept him.
“I thought that maybe Second Brother wanted to work at the hospital so he could learn as much as possible.”
Su Binglan said, “If Second Brother wants to learn about medicine, he can learn it from me when he returns. Then we can open a pharmacy or hospital for him when we have enough money.”
Despite what she said, it was not easy to open a pharmacy. They would need medicinal herbs and knowledge to be a doctor. Doing that would require her second brother to possess excellent medical skills, which was not something he could learn overnight.
Su Binglan could teach him, but it all depended on whether or not her second brother had the tenacity to do so.
Su Wenzhe said happily, “That’s great! Second Brother will be thrilled once he finds out what you said. Father and mother also want Second Brother to return as soon as possible so he can help us.”
“What about Third Brother?” Su Binglan asked.
Su Wenzhe explained, “Third Brother knows some martial arts, so Third Uncle had used his past favors to get Third Brother a job as a bodyguard. Initially, Third Brother didn’t need to help, but he heard he could earn a lot of money, so he became a bodyguard.
“However, he didn’t discuss it with us. Only after you woke up from your coma and said that you would bring him back that father and mother find out Third Brother was a bodyguard.”
‘So that’s how it is,’ Su Binglan thought.
Fortunately, she could feel that her brothers were not in danger and could rest a.s.sured. She said, “All right, it’s already noon, so you can set up a stall to sell the buns and soup. As for the herbal eggs and Chinese hamburgers, I’ll teach you later.”
Su Wenzhe and Liu Yinyin were looking forward to it as they thought of how delicious those dishes would be.
…
The students were on break when Su Binglan carried her basket to Blue Mountain Academy to deliver the food to her husband and nephews. Some of the student’s family members went to deliver food, while others brought their own dry rations to nibble on.
Blue Mountain Academy provided the students from humble families with conveniences, even though they were strict in accepting students. They would provide rewards to the students who studied well.
Therefore, many children from ordinary families who met these criteria would send their children to school. Of course, these people would be frugal regarding food.
The pa.s.sersby could not help but look at Su Binglan as she carried her basket to the academy. From afar, they could smell the fragrance coming from her basket.