Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 11

The young lady began to grow anxious. She had never seen that method of making noodles before, and she imagined most people in Louxu County hadn’t seen it either.

Driven by the desire to join in the excitement, she was certain many people would buy them.

Even if they didn’t taste good, it wouldn’t matter; she would just consider it paying for the novelty. If they were delicious, then she had struck gold.

She had been the very first person to circle around the “Knocked Fish Noodle” stall and could have been the first to eat. Who would have thought that due to a momentary lapse in judgment, she now didn’t even know if she could make it back in time to eat?

In truth, this young lady didn’t hold much hope for the knocked fish noodles.

She wasn’t someone who particularly enjoyed eating fish; she simply saw that the preparation method was fresh and wanted to have a taste no matter what.

“What happened? Why did you suddenly stop?” The person beside the young lady looked at her with concern, worried that she might be feeling unwell.

“I’m fine! Come, accompany me to buy something!” With one hand, the lady pulled her companion’s sleeve, and with the other, she pushed through the wave-like crowd, rushing back toward Mu Jinyu’s stall.

Meanwhile, at Mu Jinyu’s stall, quite a few people—upon hearing they would have to wait so long—had left immediately, just like that young lady.

In an instant, only a few scattered people remained by her stall, all of whom had just arrived.

Mu Jinyu watched the receding backs of those departing customers with longing, her mouth slightly open as she called out to retain them: “Alright then! You must come back and try some after you finish strolling through the night market street. Mine are top-tier delicious!”

Anyone could tell that the customers were just being polite. They said they would do a lap and come back, but in reality, once they left, they wouldn’t return.

Mu Jinyu desperately wanted to keep those people there, but it was true that the noodles would take a long while to finish. Even if she kept the customers there, it would only add to their frustration.

Sigh… Mu Jinyu sighed inwardly, withdrew her gaze, and began slicing the fish noodle sheets.

The noodles she sliced were not as thin as the ordinary noodles people usually ate; instead, they were about two knuckles wide, somewhat resembling “Pugai” (bedsheet) noodles.

The noodles were quickly sliced, but the fish broth in the pot wasn’t ready yet.

Customers came and went, and then went and came, making Mu Jinyu rather anxious as well. She added several pieces of firewood to the stove in succession, wanting the fire to burn more fiercely so the fish broth would finish simmering quickly.

Another fifteen minutes passed. Watching the fish broth in the pot bubbling and turning a milky white, the fish heads and bones were finally simmered until soft and tender.

A fresh, fragrant white steam wafted from the pot, spreading through the streets and alleys.

She knew the broth was finally ready.

Mu Jinyu shouted happily to the surroundings, “The Knocked Fish Noodles are ready! Ten wen a bowl!”

She had calculated it in her heart: one and a half catties of fish meat could yield about two catties of knocked fish noodles. Two catties of noodles could, in turn, fill twenty bowls.

Adding in the cost of sweet potato starch and other seasonings, selling a bowl of knocked fish noodles for ten wen was most appropriate.

She could earn more than half the price in profit.

The pedestrians gathered around heard that the knocked fish noodles were ready and displayed expressions of great interest. Just as they were about to open their mouths to ask for a bowl, they heard Mu Jinyu say it was ten wen per bowl.

Their forward movements jerked to a halt; the pedestrians were somewhat surprised by the price.

If it were a bowl of noodles sold for ten wen, they could accept it, but that was only if they were eating breakfast or dinner on the main street.

To spend ten wen on a small snack while strolling through the night market street felt a bit impractical no matter how they thought about it.

Everyone looked at one another, feeling incredibly hesitant. They were all waiting for someone else to be the first to try. Only after the other person confirmed the noodles were truly delicious would they be willing to buy a taste.

However, the scent of the broth was indeed very fragrant.

It wasn’t that they had never eaten fish before, but every time they did, they felt the fish was quite fishy and pungent. No matter how expensive the fish was, it was always the same; after a few bites, they didn’t care for it anymore.

It wasn’t like today, where the scent alone made their mouths water. Despite having just finished their evening meal, their stomachs let out faint rumbles.

It felt as though they were hungry again.

After Mu Jinyu finished her hollering, she expected the customers who had waited so long to step forward and eat.

Who would have thought that no one came!

She pretended to be busy, moving items around on her small cart, while her large eyes secretly scanned the customers gathered around.

She could clearly sense that they wanted to eat, so why were they hesitating to step forward?

Mu Jinyu felt a bit panicked. Not only was sweat breaking out on her forehead, but her back felt chilled, fearing that no one would buy what she had made.

It shouldn’t be like this. The fact that the original owner’s mother and aunt could sell fried small fish in the night market meant the people in this area didn’t reject eating fish.

Then why was no one willing to try?

After a thought, she took the lead by throwing a handful of noodles into the fish broth.

Extremely long communal chopsticks stirred the soup a few times. More steam rose, making her small stall appear shrouded in mist, as if surrounded by a celestial aura.

It looked like a scene of warmth and bustle.

In less than a breath’s time, the noodles in the soup were cooked!

She first ladled half a bowl of noodle broth into a bowl, then used a large slotted spoon to scoop the noodles in.

“Come, come, come! Everyone who comes is a guest! Thank you all for your support. This little boss is inviting everyone to taste our family’s knocked fish noodles!”

“Everyone have a taste, have a taste! If you think it’s good, then buy it. I guarantee no one will spend a single cent in vain!”

Holding the bowl and several pairs of chopsticks, she stepped out from behind the cart and handed them toward the gathered customers.

Seeing the bowl she offered, the people around were a bit dazed. It was their first time hearing of a “try before you buy” concept for noodles.

The crowd looked at each other again, their expressions the definition of conflicted.

After a good while, one person finally stepped out and said, “Then I’ll be the first to taste. Don’t go asking for silver afterward.”

Seeing that someone was finally willing to try, Mu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “This bowl of noodles is for everyone to sample; I guarantee I won’t collect any silver from you.”

The man took the chopsticks Mu Jinyu offered, picked up a single noodle from the bowl, and stepped aside to eat it.

Seeing this, the others also took chopsticks and picked a noodle from the bowl to eat privately.

The moment the fresh, sweet, and supple noodles entered their mouths, everyone’s eyes showed a look of astonishment. They stood frozen in place for a long time, unable to react.

Was this really a noodle?

It was far more delicious than the plain noodles they usually ate!

Not only was it fresh and fragrant, but the texture was much better than other stiff, lifeless plain noodles.

Soft.

Smooth.

Springy.

They had never eaten such delicious noodles!

“I want a bowl!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Isn’t it just ten wen? Give me a bowl!”

“Boss, make mine first, make mine! I want a bowl too!”

Now, how could the surrounding people remember that just a few breaths ago they thought ten wen was expensive?

They crowded around the small stall, jostling one another to order noodles from Mu Jinyu, for fear that someone else would get ahead of them.

Their enthusiasm was extraordinary.

“Good, good, good! Everyone can sit first! The noodles will be ready very soon!”

The heart that Mu Jinyu had held in suspense was finally put at ease.