CHAPTER 59

Many passersby, seeing the large crowds near the Malatang stall, went over curiously and asked for a bowl as well.

Wang Luosheng and a group of scholars were waiting for Su Wan to prepare and serve the meal. Su Wan was busy at the stall while Shen Lin went to greet new customers.

Originally there were more than a dozen scholars with them, and more than a dozen customers came, so the small stall was packed with people. Passersby saw it and became more and more curious. Hey, what kind of divine Malatang is this? Why are there so many people? So more people came over to ask.

Just at this time, Su Wan had made the spicy hot pot that the dozen or so scholars had requested. Ten of them asked for the spicy flavor, and the remaining scholars asked for the bone soup flavor. Su Wan had originally prepared two large soup pots. When cooking the spicy hot pot, she put it in the soup pot with a small cover. The soup pot was very large and could cook more than a dozen bowls at a time. Su Wan used two pots, both of which were filled with hot soup, so it cooked very quickly.

Su Wan poured soup on the prepared spicy hot pot and then sprinkled chives, coriander, or peanuts according to each person’s taste requirements. Su Wan had a good memory and remembered clearly what everyone wanted and what they didn’t want, without making any mistakes.

Shen Lin neatly arranged the ingredients that the new customers ordered and then served the spicy hot pot to the scholars in an orderly manner.

The stall was already filled with a rich, spicy aroma, and now that the Malatang was served on the table, the fragrance was even stronger, which immediately attracted more passersby. After all, the food on the table was red and green, had a good color, aroma, and taste, and was steaming hot, making people want to enjoy a bowl.

As a result, more people gathered around, and for a while, the Malatang stall was blocked.

Everyone went over to pick their dishes and ordered a bowl of spicy Malatang. Shen Lin told these new guests that they might have to wait for some time and there might not be any tables available for them to eat now.

These people didn’t really care since they could eat the meal while standing. So, Su Wan roughly calculated that, including the spicy Malatang ordered by the scholars, there were probably about many customers who ordered spicy Malatang.

Su Wan didn’t expect that the business would be so popular on the first day. She originally thought that it would take more than ten days for word of mouth to spread, but she didn’t expect that it would become so popular on the first day.

Come to think of it, it is probably because of the support of these scholars that it attracted so many people.

Unfortunately, Su Wan did not prepare so many ingredients, and soon, most of them had been picked up. Su Wan quickly told Shen Lin that it was too late to buy more and asked Shen Lin to refuse all the customers who came later.

Shen Lin could only explain in a nice way to the guests who were coming over later that there was not enough food and that they could come back in the afternoon.

Some people left with regret, while others left cursing, saying indignantly, “It’s just a piece of rotten food. I came to eat at your stall to give you face, but you don’t have enough for me.”

Wang Luosheng regretted it so much when he saw the good business in front of Su Wan’s stall. When these scholars came over, there was only one customer in front of Su Wan’s stall. It was only after they sat down that passersby saw that there were many people in front of the stall and ran over.

Most of these passersby came over and ordered a bowl of malatang before they even saw it, because there were so many people in front of the stall.

Wang Luosheng realized that it was because he brought the scholars here that Su Wan’s stall had such good business. He originally brought his colleagues here to laugh at Shen Lin, but now his colleagues saw that Shen Lin’s business was so good, and Wang Luosheng was very hurt.

After Shen Lin and Shen Yaya brought bowls of the Malatang to the scholars, everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating quickly without even looking up.

What are these things? They are obviously ordinary foods like tofu, vegetables, and sweet potatoes, but how come Su Wan made them so delicious, fresh, spicy, and mellow? The weather is cold today, and everyone was a little worried about eating at this open-air table. But after eating, they realized that this open-air table is perfect for eating these things. Although the weather is not warm at all, everyone felt that the coolness in their bodies had subsided as soon as they ate. After a few more bites, their bodies had warmed up. After eating some more, they felt a thin layer of sweat on their bodies. When the cold wind blew, they felt cool and comfortable.

The scholars no longer cared about their usual refined image and just focused on eating with big mouthfuls. This undoubtedly attracted another wave of customers. Shen Lin was busy serving the dishes, and Shen Yaya patiently explained to the diners that they could not take orders at noon today and they could come back later.

Wang Luosheng felt extremely uncomfortable. Because of his complicated emotions, he couldn’t eat. Also, someone was having the same problem as Wang Luosheng, and that was none other than Duan Jingtian, who was sitting next to Wang Luosheng.

Seeing that Duan Jingtian hadn’t picked up his chopsticks for a long time, Wang Luosheng asked tentatively, “Brother Duan, you don’t think it tastes good either, right?”

Wang Luosheng thought that Duan Jingtian didn’t like it. After all, the scholars all took Duan Jingtian’s words as their guiding principle. If Duan Jingtian said that it was not delicious, it would lead the other scholars who thought that the spicy Malatang was delicious to say the same thing. In this way, passersby would hear about it and would not think that the food was delicious.

After all, everyone is flocking here now, not because it’s delicious but because there are so many people.

Duan Jingtian looked up at Wang Luosheng and said coldly, “Brother Wang, didn’t you come here to show your support to Brother Shen?”

Wang Luosheng looked embarrassed. “I am here to show my support, but when I smell the Malatang, it makes my throat choke, and I can’t eat it.”

Another scholar immediately refuted Wang Luosheng, “Brother Wang, this spicy Malatang is obviously delicious. I haven’t eaten such delicious food in a long time. How can you say it’s not delicious?”

Other scholars echoed this.

Li Sheng rolled his eyes at Wang Luosheng and said, “Brother Wang, since you feel your throat is choking, why didn’t you order a bowl of clear soup instead of  spicy flavor? This is really your own fault; don’t blame the food.”

Other scholars also said that Wang Luosheng should order clear soup instead of spicy soup.

After hearing what Wang Luosheng said, Duan Jingtian started to eat the Malatang in his bowl with big mouthfuls. Because he was in a bad mood, he didn’t order the spicy one, but the clear soup flavor. He took a few bites, and his appetite was instantly aroused. The food made by Su Wan was indeed magical. Even if he had no appetite, it could arouse it.

Duan Jingtian had never eaten so voraciously before. At the end of his meal, he didn’t even raise his head.

This stimulated the scholars’ enthusiasm for eating. They no longer cared about being polite and started eating with big mouthfuls. After finishing a bowl, they wanted more, but there was no more food.

Everyone had to get up and pay the bill, and Shen Lin gave everyone a bottle of still hot apricot juice.

When Duan Jingtian paid the bill, he put down a handful of silver coins, and Shen Lin quickly handed the silver coins back to Duan Jingtian and gave him the change according to the price. Shen Lin was so determined that Duan Jingtian could not insist.

As soon as the scholars left the table, a new wave of customers quickly took up their seats. Otherwise, they would have to eat standing up.

Many customers went to the dim sum shop next door to buy some dim sum while waiting. A few who felt their food was too spicy also bought some dim sum to sweeten their stomachs. However, there were fewer customers in the steamed bun shop. Some customers originally came to buy steamed buns, but when they saw that the malatang shop next door was so popular, they bought malatang instead, which made the couple selling steamed buns very angry.

Miss Xu, who sells dim sum, is very grateful to Su Wan. On weekdays, there aren’t so many customers buying dim sum. It’s obvious that this is all due to the malatang business.

(The above picture is of dim sum.)

(T/N :- Dim sums are small snacks in Chinese cuisine that are eaten for lunch. They too have fillings covered with dough, but the dough is semi- or completely transparent)

As soon as Miss Xu had some free time, she would rush over to help Su Wan clear the dishes and the table. After all, the Malatang stall was too busy. Su Wan was cooking Malatang, Shen Lin was serving the dishes and clearing the table, and Shen Yaya was explaining to the guests who came later. She was really too busy to handle it.

The last batch of Malatang was ready, but it’s not time for lunch yet.

Shen Lin and Su Wan had sold out their ingredients, and after the last wave of customers left, they quickly closed up their stall.

Shen Lin and Su Wan were counting money together, and Shen Lin was shocked.

Today, a total of 87 bowls of Malatang were sold. A bowl was made for Miss Xu for free. Each bowl cost about 15 cents, depending on the  ingredients. The total sales of Malatang were 1,290 cents. The almond milk for the scholars and Miss Xu was free. The other guests were charged 3 cents per bowl. A total of 18 bowls of almond milk were sold, which is 54 cents. The total of the two is about 1,344 wen.

Su Wan calculated that her rent was one tael of silver, the pots, pans, and seasonings were one tael in total, and the ingredients were three hundred cents.

If you only count the cost of the food, Su Wan earned one tael of silver this afternoon.

Shen Lin really didn’t expect to earn so much. In addition to selling at noon, he can also sell in the afternoon. If he can sell so much in the afternoon, he can sell two taels a day.

Su Wan and Shen Lin were happy for a while, and then Shen Lin quickly washed the dishes and went to buy ingredients for the afternoon. After all, these ingredients still had to be cleaned up; otherwise, it would be too late.

On the way back, the scholars were all discussing how delicious Shen Lin’s Malatang was. They wanted to come again in the afternoon tomorrow. Wang Luosheng was listless. It seemed that no one looked down on Shen Lin because he was doing business. Shen Lin even got some attention in front of his classmates.

Such a good business is really enviable. Thinking that Shen Lin’s booming business is because of himself, Wang Luosheng was so sad that he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

At this time the scholars started talking again. They said that Shen Lin was indeed a good student and a good businessman. It seemed that he could make a lot of money. At the same time, the scholars also laughed at themselves for being useless and penniless.

Wang Luosheng really didn’t expect that everyone would actually envy Shen Lin. It seems that being rich can also make people respect you.

Wang Luosheng suddenly developed a deep yearning for money. There is a golden house of theirs in the book, but the golden house is still far away from him now. Shen Lin’s copper coins are real. It seems that he has to persuade his father to open the mill in the city.

In his previous life, after his family’s mill was opened in Qingyun County, the money was rolling in, and he never had to worry about money.