Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 3

Seeing Rong Heng’s body go limp, Mu Jinyu felt a surge of panic.

She immediately caught Rong Heng’s body, dragging and pulling her toward the house. She forced the woman’s hands behind her back, binding her wrists with rope and stuffing a cloth strip into her mouth.

She pushed her down to sit on the bed.

Then, tearing strips of cloth from Rong Heng’s own clothing, she tied them tightly over the burst wounds to stop the bleeding.

She shut the bedroom door, walked out into the courtyard, and locked the courtyard gate to ensure Rong Heng had no way of escaping.

All in one smooth motion!

Only after finishing this did Mu Jinyu stand with her back to her own courtyard, staring at the long street where only a few sparse figures flickered by. She placed her hands on her hips and took several deep breaths.

She had done a clean job; Rong Heng shouldn’t be able to run away or call for help.

As long as she went and came back quickly, nothing would go wrong.

Once her breathing steadied, Mu Jinyu looked left and right to get her bearings and headed straight for the medical clinic.

However, on the way there, she felt a constant chill down her spine, as if she had committed some grave, guilty deed.

But how could that be?

Mu Jinyu pressed her palm to her forehead, momentarily confused as to why she felt this way.

She could only mutter the socialist core values—”Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony”—a few times to comfort herself.

There were no medical clinics on their night market street; she had to walk out to the main thoroughfare to find one.

The original owner of this body was somewhat frail. Mu Jinyu had barely walked a few dozen paces before she began gasping for air, finding the trek exhausting.

But thinking of the injured person at home, she gritted her teeth and walked for nearly fifteen minutes before arriving at the clinic. She asked the physician inside to examine the wounds on her neck and head.

Her injuries were not light.

After the middle-aged physician scrutinized her for a moment, he asked how the wounds had been caused.

Mu Jinyu simply said she had had a disagreement with a friend and they had shoved each other a bit; it was nothing major.

The physician looked her over again, knowing the person before her wasn’t telling the truth and likely had gotten into some sort of trouble.

She stopped asking and prescribed a few patches of medicinal plaster before sending Mu Jinyu on her way.

Before leaving, Mu Jinyu asked the physician to give her several more sets of wound dressings and hemostatic medicine.

Wound medicine was not cheap. For just those ten sets of medicine, she spent the largest of her three silver pieces.

She estimated that the remaining silver was less than one tael.

On the way back, she took a detour to the breakfast street and bought two bowls of Hulutang (Spicy Soup).

Spicy Soup was a specialty of this region.

To ensure the soup was fresh and delicious and to protect their reputation, the shop owners usually got out of bed before dawn to begin preparing the ingredients.

After soaking dried tofu skin, wood ear mushrooms, peanuts, and vermicelli in clear water, the owners would haul a large cloth bag of flour onto the stove counter.

They prepared to make the dough.

Massive amounts of flour were poured into wooden basins, mixed with an appropriate amount of salt, and then kneaded into dough with the addition of water.

To speed up the process, the owners used a lot of flour, making the kneading naturally more strenuous.

Over time, their arms became thick with visible muscle, and their hand strength became quite formidable.

Through the vigorous kneading of the owners, combined with the effect of the salt, the finished dough would become much more chewy and elastic.

The kneaded dough was divided into several smaller, equal-sized dough balls and placed in different wooden basins with lids on.

While waiting for them to rest, the owners didn’t have time to relax. They wiped the sweat from their brows, washed their hands, and hurriedly began preparing the seasonings for the Spicy Soup.

Pepper powder and Sichuan peppercorns provided a spicy and numbing heat, which, when combined with the fragrance of cinnamon, grass fruit, and star anise… the scent of Spicy Soup—spicy but not dry, numbing but not bitter, with a fragrance reaching for miles—began to waft out.

There were many small stalls and eateries making Spicy Soup in this area. To make it taste good and make a name for oneself here…

The seasonings used by each family were largely similar yet distinct.

This house was a bit spicier, that house a bit saltier; this one a bit more numbing, that one a bit more fragrant.

They attracted different diners to eat, each possessing their own flavor.

Once the dough had rested, a basin of clear water was fetched. The rested dough was placed in the water and kneaded slowly but forcefully with the palms.

It was just like washing clothes.

This step was called “washing the gluten.”

With the kneading of the palms, the clear water in the basin gradually turned snowy white, while the dough in the hands gradually shrank.

The process of washing gluten was quite complex and required frequent water changes until the water no longer turned white and the dough was washed into a slightly yellowish gluten.

Accompanied by the crowing of roosters, the barking of yellow dogs, and the appearance of a pale blue streak on the horizon…

The owners, who had woken up early to work in the dark, finally finished washing the gluten.

The washed gluten and the milky white water were set aside for later use.

A large iron pot was placed on the stove, oil was poured in and heated, and green onions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns were added to release their fragrance. Then, the soaked wood ear mushrooms, peanuts, and tofu skins were poured into the pot.

After a few tosses…

Clear water could then be poured into the pot.

While waiting for the water to bubble and boil, the vermicelli was added. Then, the yellowish wet gluten that had just been washed could be torn into small clumps and dropped into the pot.

They were left to sink and float along with the bubbling water.

After all the gluten was in the pot, the prepared seasonings were poured in.

An extraordinary fragrance immediately erupted from the pot. Even just a single sniff could make a person feel invigorated and forget the chill of the early morning.

At this time, the milky white water left over from washing the gluten was poured into the pot in small portions.

This water was starch water. When poured into the pot, it would make the soup gradually become thick and viscous. Taking a slurping gulp, the satisfying sensation of the thick texture would fill the mouth.

Swallowed down in a gulp, the stomach felt steaming hot. Happiness followed a satisfied burp; it was extremely refreshing!

It was now morning, and the breakfast street was exceptionally lively.

As soon as Mu Jinyu entered the breakfast street, she was dazed by the fragrance. She wanted to eat this and she wanted to eat that.

But her stomach was only so big; it wasn’t enough for her to eat from one end of the street to the other.

Furthermore, there was an injured person waiting for her at home. She couldn’t afford to spend too much time in the breakfast street, so she chose the most classic Spicy Soup.

In her nineteen years of life in her previous world, she had spent all her time at school and had never left Sichuan, so she had never tasted authentic Spicy Soup.

But she could guarantee she would absolutely love the taste, because just smelling that scent made her feel as if her soul were floating away.

Mu Jinyu briefly forgot the panic of having transmigrated. Carrying a food box containing two bowls of Spicy Soup, she happily hurried home.

For this food box and the bowls, she even had to leave a deposit of two copper coins.

Upon returning home, Mu Jinyu was suddenly struck by the realization that she had actually bound that “slaughtering god” Rong Heng and locked her in the room.

The brief happiness brought by the aroma of food dissipated, and her heart began to race!

She placed the food box and the medicine on the courtyard table and hurriedly opened the bedroom door, intending to let Rong Heng out.

She hoped Rong Heng wouldn’t misunderstand; she only wanted her to stop running away and to stop getting hurt.

She didn’t want to harm her.

While Mu Jinyu prayed in her heart, she also felt that she truly wasn’t far from death.

She pushed the door open, and the sight that met her eyes was Rong Heng lying motionless on the bed.

She looked as if…

Mu Jinyu’s heart, which had just been pounding, suddenly stopped.

A feeling of terror swept through her entire body.

Blood rushed to her head, leaving her unsure of how to react.

She knew Rong Heng was covered in injuries and bleeding incessantly, but she hadn’t dawdled on the road. She had gotten the medicine, bought breakfast, and hurried back.

It had been twenty minutes at most.

Could it be that because of this little bit of time, Rong Heng had met with disaster?

Mu Jinyu stumbled, one foot tripping over the other, as she ran frantically into the courtyard, grabbed the medicine, and ran back into the room.

With trembling hands, she untied the cloth strips on Rong Heng’s arm.

Sweat and tears flowed down together.

She was too afraid—too afraid that a life would end at her hands. Added to that was the sight of the mangled, somewhat blackened wound.

Mu Jinyu gagged several times, feeling dizzy.

Just as she was about to apply the medicine in her hand to the festering wound…

Rong Heng, who had been lying motionless on the bed, suddenly snapped her eyes open. Like a small cannonball, she arched her back and slammed her head into Mu Jinyu!

“Oof—ugh—!”

Mu Jinyu was completely caught off guard. With a thud, she fell to the floor.

Her chest and abdomen felt as if they had been struck by a bull, causing a moment of suffocation. Her throat constricted in a gag, and she nearly vomited!

She slumped on the floor, her whole body aching. Her vision flickered between black and white. She almost went to see her ancestors.

Meanwhile, Rong Heng seized the opportunity and ran toward the courtyard!

She wanted to escape!

Mu Jinyu didn’t care about anything else. After scrambling on the ground for a few moments, she chased after her.

“Don’t… don’t run! Cough, cough… Stop running! I’m begging you! Cough, cough…”

Mu Jinyu shouted at Rong Heng while enduring the urge to vomit.

“You’re covered in wounds; you’ll die if you run out there!”

“Stop running, stop running… Cough, cough… Can’t you at least eat something before you run?!”

Mu Jinyu lunged at Rong Heng, wrapping her arms tightly around her to stop her from running further.

The two entangled and fell to the ground again, rolling and crawling; they were just short of reverting to primitive instincts.

“Wooo—don’t run—please don’t run—wu wu.”

Mu Jinyu’s tears flowed freely as she endured both mental and physical torment.

Did she not want to run?

She also really wanted to run, really wanted to escape this world.

But she didn’t dare.

She didn’t dare to die, nor did she dare to go mad.

She only dared to take things as they came and live honestly.

But even so, it was very difficult.

Rong Heng ignored her and even gave her a “daoguai zi” (an elbow strike)!

The pain made Mu Jinyu grimace, feeling utterly humiliated.

Her emotions hit rock bottom and rebounded. She simply let go of Rong Heng, slumped on the ground, and said self-destructively, “Run then! Go ahead and run if you want!”

She grabbed the Spicy Soup sitting on the stone table and, without a second thought, took a large, slurping gulp.

“Go ahead and run! I’ll eat your portion too!”

As she drank the Spicy Soup, her tears pitter-pattered into the broth.

So salty.

This was the saltiest Spicy Soup she had ever eaten.

It was salty right down to her heart.

Mu Jinyu ate while crying, and soon finished her own portion of Spicy Soup. She then reached out to take the other bowl on the table.

Seeing this, Rong Heng stopped running. She pounced toward the table and snatched the last bowl of Spicy Soup.

She gulped it down ravenously!

Mu Jinyu: This Rong Heng is too much!

Rong Heng: This Mu Jinyu is too much!