Chapter 210 - Best Seller (1/2)
“Eh? Xiaocao, Xiaolian, you guys brought so much random stuff over, what are you trying to do?” Brother Six leisurely strolled over when he saw the two sisters bustling around. He was dressed in light summer robes and continuously fanned himself with his sleeve.
After getting some pointers from Xiaocao, his business office at the docks was already in its beginning stages. He had almost a hundred dockworkers under his supervision and nearly all of the business on the docks had been dominated by him. Foreman Sun was his right-hand man. A few other friends of his, who had been with him in the past, had also been promoted to management positions. Now, the only thing Brother Six needed to do was oversee the overall situation. There was no need for him to be involved in every little thing. Thus, the person who had the most free time on the docks had to be him!
Xiaocao had already made a batch of starch jelly at home and had also prepared all of the condiments. When she saw Brother Six come over, she decided to make him her first guinea pig. She filled one of her numerous crude-looking porcelain bowls with the hot and sour starch jelly and handed it over to him with a smile.
Brother Six naturally took it over and looked down at the bowl filled with translucent starch jelly. The clear white jelly contrasted quite nicely with green slivers of cucumber and bright red chili oil. It was a scene that roused a person’s appetites.
After silently swallowing down a mouthful of saliva, Brother Six scooped up a bit of starch jelly with a spoon and impatiently delivered it into his mouth. The spicy and sour taste combined with the tender and fresh texture provoked his taste buds. He had been feeling a bit listless and out of sorts from the scorching hot weather. Unexpectedly, this one spoonful of starch jelly revived his appetite.
After gobbling down a large bowl of starch jelly, Brother Six still desired to eat more. He let out a long sigh and grinned, “Xiaocao, are you planning on selling this at the docks? Pretty good. It whets the appetite and is a perfect food for the summer! In fact, if you were able to use some fresh cold well water with it, it would taste even more refreshing!”
This year, the summer heat had been particularly fierce and hot. They had just passed early summer, yet the temperature was as hot as if they were by an active volcano. The cruel rays of the sun made the sand on the beaches uncomfortably warm. Even the sea breeze that blew over was also tepid and sticky.
These circumstances made life difficult for the dockworkers. Under the burning sun, the workers labored tiredly with sweat dripping down their bodies like rain. Those who had slightly weaker bodies couldn’t persist and often fainted from the heat. Naturally, everyone’s appetites were affected by the heat. Very few people lined up to buy some piping hot noodle soup at noon, and the peddlers of steamed rolls and appetizers didn’t have many customers either. None of the food at the docks could rouse a worker’s appetites.
Every day there were some people asking for a day off out of the men working under Brother Six. Naturally, this affected their office’s work. Now, with something here to raise people’s appetites and also cool them down, it was absolutely a good thing for them!
Cool water from a well? The docks were on land not suitable for digging a well. Anyone who needed fresh water needed to haul it over from afar, so where could she get an easy supply of well water? However, this difficulty wasn’t going to stump Yu Xiaocao. Her eyes flickered as she calculated——she decided to go the oyster sauce factory, which was right next to the docks, to visit. She needed to borrow some saltpeter. Although there wasn’t a supply of well water at the docks, she did have the method to make ice cubes! Starch jelly mixed with ice cubes would be even more cooling and refreshing than well water!
In actuality, Brother Six was well aware of the circumstances at the docks. He was only mentioning the idea without much thought. However, he wouldn’t have expected that his one sentence would enlighten Xiaocao and allow all of the dock workers the opportunity to eat iced starch jelly.
At the docks, the workers nearby were all dripping with sweat as they transported cargo from the ships. In order to finish the preparations in time for lunchtime, Xiaocao’s family bustled around.
Xiaolian drove the donkey cart to the market at the docks to buy bowls, spoons, chopsticks and other necessities using the money from her private purse. Meanwhile, Yu Hai was nervously building the straw shack. Currently, all they needed was an awning that could provide some shade, so it was quite simple to construct. He just needed to anchor the bamboo poles in the corners, craft the canopy, and the structure would be ready to use. After Fang Zizhen finished his patrol at the docks, he came over to help Yu Hai build the shack.
Yu Xiaocao exploited her godfather’s beloved steed and rode it into the direction of the condiment factory. Third Young Master Zhou had recently went to the capital and was busy organizing the opening of the second branch of Zhenxiu Restaurant as well as the condiment shop. Currently, the person in charge of the factory was Head Steward Zhou.
Steward Zhou was well aware of Xiaocao’s relationship with his master, so when he found out she needed some saltpeter, he naturally didn’t say another word and gave her enough to last more than a month. Xiaocao politely thanked him with a couple of sentences to express her gratitude and then swiftly rode the horse back to the docks.
With Fang Zizhen and his two subordinates helping, the awning was almost completely finished. The awning was constructed right next to Old Liu’s noodle shack. Today was Old Liu’s last day at the docks. He was planning on terminating his business at the docks, whether or not he was able to transfer his noodle stand.
In the summer, it was the off season for the noodle stand’s business. Furthermore, his son was urging him to leave and live together. Thus, when Yu Hai proposed buying the store from him, Old Liu easily sold it at a low price and only asked for enough money to cover the remaining ingredients and silverware.
By the time Xiaocao got back to the docks, she saw that the ownership of their neighboring noodle stand had already been transferred over. Thus, she set up all of the tables and stools and moved the starch noodles and condiments over to a suitable place. Next to the noodle stand, Old Liu had a giant jar that held the water he used to make his pasta. The jar was still partly filled whatever water was leftover from the past two days.
Xiaocao added the correct proportion of saltpeter to the jar of water. Before long, a layer of thin ice gradually started to form. Xiaocao hurriedly placed a steel bucket she brought from home, which held starch jelly, into the vat. Steel conducted the chill quickly, so the starch jelly became iced rapidly.