Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 54

Opening a breakfast stall with only soy milk and tofu pudding wouldn’t be enough. Though delicious, they’re not filling, so they needed to add other staples.

 

Buns were ruled out first, for a simple reason—they wouldn’t have time.

 

Kneading, proofing, chopping fillings, wrapping, and steaming buns—this process would take at least an hour or two for two people, not to mention they also needed to boil soy milk and prepare tofu pudding.

 

Additionally, there were already two bun stalls in town selling both meat and vegetarian buns. Meat buns sold for five coins each, vegetarian buns for three coins, and each bun only made a profit of one or two coins. The competition was fierce, and the profit wasn’t significant.

 

Another downside was that if buns weren’t sold on the same day, their texture would degrade by the next day, making them harder to sell.

 

So Lu Yao decided to go straight for fried dough sticks!

 

Fried dough sticks and soy milk are a classic pairing, loved throughout modern China. Bringing this to ancient times would surely work wonders.

 

Most importantly, no one in town was selling fried dough sticks yet. They used less dough, weren’t labor-intensive, and could be sold fresh and hot right out of the fryer.

 

The only downside was that oil was expensive. However, it could be reused multiple times. A jar of oil could last seven to eight days. In this era, as long as people could fill their stomachs, nobody cared whether reused oil was healthy or not!

 

—

 

The next day, Lu Yao went out with the wooden shopping list he had prepared the night before.

 

Fried dough sticks required an iron wok. The wok at home was already being used to boil soy milk and cook broth, so they couldn’t spare it. They went to the blacksmith’s shop and spent three taels to buy a new iron wok.

 

They bought two bushels of coarse flour for making dough sticks. It would last for now, and they could buy more when it ran out. Living in town had the advantage of convenient access to supplies.

 

The stove for frying dough sticks was built at the shop’s entrance, avoiding excessive smoke inside the house. A bamboo canopy was set up over it to prevent rain from ruining the setup.

 

During this time, the tofu stall continued operating. Even with the price reduced to four coins, sales were slow, with only one block of tofu sold per day.

 

Lu Yao wasn’t worried. The breakfast stall was about to open, so whether they sold the tofu or not didn’t matter.

 

In the morning, the carpenter delivered the ordered benches and wooden buckets. In the afternoon, Lu Yao removed the tofu stall’s signboard, reworked it, and turned it into “Lu’s Breakfast.”

 

With everything ready, all they needed now was the right time to launch.

 

On February 18th, an auspicious day, Lu’s Breakfast officially opened!

 

Early in the morning, before dawn, Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan got up. One kneaded dough while the other boiled soy milk.

 

The soy milk was divided into two portions: one filtered into a wooden bucket to be served directly, and the other made into tofu pudding.

 

Lu Yao carried the dough basin to the cart while Zhao Beichuan loaded several wooden buckets. Together, they drove the mule cart to the shop.

 

After opening the door, Zhao Beichuan moved the items inside while Lu Yao started the fire to heat the oil. Once the oil was hot, they could fry the dough sticks.

 

At the third quarter of the hour in the Yin period (around 5:30 am), the night soil collector came out with his bucket, knocking his wooden mallet as he walked through the streets.

 

When Zhao Beichuan returned, he washed his hands and began frying the dough sticks, worried that the hot oil might splash onto Lu Yao. The dough sticks were his responsibility.

 

They had tested it the previous day at home. Once the dough was stretched into long strips and placed in the oil, they would count to thirty, and the dough sticks would be ready—crispy and fragrant, tasting absolutely delicious.

 

Lu Yao focused on kneading the dough and shaping it into long pieces. The two worked seamlessly together, and in no time, they had fried a small basket of dough sticks.

 

“Stop frying for now. We’ll make more when sales pick up; otherwise, they’ll lose their crispness if they cool down.”

 

“Alright,” Zhao Beichuan replied, pulling the firewood slightly out from under the stove to prevent the oil from overheating.

 

The two sat on the bench, anxiously waiting. They were much more nervous than when they had opened the tofu stall because, at least back then, they had already sold tofu in the village. But this breakfast stall was entirely new territory.

 

Lu Yao nudged the person beside him with his elbow. “Hey, what if no one buys anything?”

 

“We’ll just eat it ourselves,” Zhao Beichuan replied.

 

“Ugh, I’m just worried the business won’t last, and we’ll have to go back to the village.” The mere thought of the petty squabbles back in the village gave Lu Yao a headache.

 

“That won’t happen,” Zhao Beichuan reassured him, holding Lu Yao’s hand to comfort him.

 

Before long, three men approached from the distance. They were laborers heading to work. They stopped in front of the shop, drawn by the aroma. “What are you selling here? It smells amazing!”

 

Lu Yao quickly stood up to greet them. “We sell breakfast—soy milk, tofu pudding, and fried dough sticks. Would you like to try some?”

 

The men hesitated before pointing at the fried dough sticks. “How much for one of these?”

 

“Two coins each,” Lu Yao replied.

 

“Two coins?!”

 

“That’s right! We also have soy milk and tofu pudding inside. Soy milk is two coins a bowl, and tofu pudding is three coins with a meat-based broth.”

 

Hearing this, the three men immediately entered the shop. The prices were reasonable; anyone heading out would have at least ten to twenty coins in their pocket.

 

After taking a look, they each ordered a bowl of tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks.

 

Lu Yao quickly served them. The tofu pudding, topped with hot, savory bone broth, was irresistible!

 

The three men slurped up their tofu pudding in no time, barely touching their dough sticks, which they took to eat on the way.

 

As they left, they couldn’t stop praising, “This tofu pudding is amazing—so smooth and rich with a meaty flavor. Will you still be open tomorrow?”

 

Lu Yao clutched the handful of copper coins, trembling with excitement. “Yes! We’ll open at the same time.”

 

Soon, more customers arrived—some in a hurry for work, buying two dough sticks to go, while others sat down for a bowl of soy milk or tofu pudding.

 

By the hour of Mao (around 7 am), the shop got busier. Workers passing by would stop to inquire about the food.

 

Lu Yao patiently explained, “These are fried dough sticks made from coarse flour. Two coins each—buy one and give it a try!”

 

For laborers lacking oil and fat in their diets, spending two coins on something fried was more worthwhile than plain bread! Many eagerly handed over their money.

 

Holding long chopsticks, Zhao Beichuan tirelessly flipped the dough sticks in the oil, his hands nearly cramping. But the thought of the money they were making washed away his exhaustion, leaving only joy.

 

By the hour of Chen (around 9 am), they had run out of dough. On their first day, they hadn’t dared to prepare too much, but it seemed they would need to knead more dough tomorrow.

 

The tofu was sold out, and half a barrel of soy milk was left. Lu Yao planned to take it back and turn it into tofu, which he would bring to the shop to sell tomorrow.

 

The two of them packed up and took a nap before preparing the things needed for tomorrow.

 

When they got home, Xiao Dou had already gotten up and gone to school, while Xiao Nian had finished feeding the chickens and pigs and was embroidering with Liu Yue at home.

 

Liu Yue’s mother was an embroiderer, and her skills were quite good. Liu Yue had learned some of them from watching, and now she was teaching Xiao Nian hand in hand. The two girls whispered softly, making them seem endearing.

 

“Big brother, sister-in-law, you’re back so early!”

 

Originally, Xiao Nian was supposed to help at the shop, but Lu Yao didn’t let her come, fearing it would affect her growing body if she woke up too early.

 

Lu Yao took the empty wooden tubs and basins off the cart. They would need to be washed clean, and the ceramic bowls and wooden spoons also had to be cleaned.

 

Xiao Nian quickly rolled up her sleeves to help.

 

“You go play with Liu Yue. I can clean up by myself.”

 

Xiao Nian shook her head. “Liu Yue, you go home first. I’ll find you later.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Lu Yao looked at his little sister with affection. How could anyone not like a child like her? Even his father and mother-in-law were softened by her charm!

 

After the bowls and chopsticks were cleaned, Zhao Beichuan wouldn’t let them do anything else and urged Lu Yao to go rest while he cleaned the remaining tubs.

 

After soaking the soybeans, feeding the donkey, and chopping firewood, Zhao Beichuan finally took off his shoes and lay down on the kang, holding Lu Yao as they took a short nap until noon.

 

In the afternoon, when Lu Yao woke up, the first thing he did was pull Zhao Beichuan over to count the money. They hadn’t been able to count it earlier when there had been visitors at the house. After they finished, they had been so tired that they fell asleep without counting, but now, with a little free time, they poured out the copper coins they’d earned in the morning. The sound of the coins was like a waterfall.

 

One hundred coins strung into a bundle, and they had made thirteen bundles!

 

That meant they had earned a total of one tael and three qian in just the morning! After deducting the costs of the gray flour (100 wen per dou), soybeans (60 wen per dou), and other miscellaneous expenses, they still made at least one tael! It was as profitable as selling tofu!

 

And Lu Yao wasn’t worried about others learning these skills. Breakfast food was hard-earned money. With tofu sold for three wen a bowl, anyone else trying to lower the price would probably end up losing everything!

 

Lu Yao lifted the blanket, putting the money in a jar, and after adding today’s earnings, there were already over seventy liang of silver inside.

 

“When we save up five hundred liang, we’ll open a big shop in the county!”

 

“Alright.”

 

“By then, we’ll be shopkeepers, hiring five or six assistants. We’ll be like Xu Bin, enjoying a leisurely life. When we’re free, we’ll go out and explore the world.”

 

“Mhm.” Zhao Beichuan smiled, brushing his fingers through Lu Yao’s hair, messing it up before pulling his hand away.

 

In the afternoon, they still needed to grind soybeans, prepare the soup for the tofu, and turn the remaining soy milk into tofu to take to the shop tomorrow.

 

As the hot soup simmered, Lu Yao wiped the sweat off his neck after loosening his collar.

 

While wiping, he noticed Zhao Beichuan standing in the yard, staring at him intently with a look full of desire.

 

Teasing, Lu Yao pulled his shirt down a little, revealing the mole on his collarbone, and asked, “Hey, do you think this is good-looking?”

 

Zhao Beichuan swallowed hard, “Don’t tease me.”

 

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow and lowered his shirt a little more, exposing his smooth shoulder, “What if I do?”

 

Seeing Zhao Beichuan’s pants tighten, Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh, making his stomach hurt.

 

Zhao Beichuan blushed, turned away, and refused to look at him. If Xiao Dou hadn’t been coming home from school soon, he might have given Lu Yao a “correction.”

 

“Woo… Woo… Sister-in-law… Woo woo…” Zhao Xiaodou cried loudly, running back home.

 

Hearing the cries, Lu Yao quickly tied his shirt and went outside. He saw Xiao Dou’s clothes were dirty, and the little bookbag that Lu Yao had sewn for him had a strap torn off.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Woo… woo…” Xiao Dou threw himself into Lu Yao’s arms and cried loudly, “Lin… Lin Zijian bullied me… and broke my bookbag…”

 

Zhao Beichuan frowned and walked over, “Stop crying. You can’t beat him, so you come back and cry? How embarrassing.”

 

Lu Yao shot him a look, “Not everyone is like you, with all that brute strength. Don’t cry, Douzi. Tell your sister-in-law why he bullied you.”

 

Xiao Dou sniffled and told them what had happened at school. Yesterday, the teacher assigned them twenty characters to practice, and this morning, the teacher tested them. Lin Zijian tried to copy Xiao Dou’s characters, but Xiao Dou refused. After school, they fought, and Lin Zijian even broke Xiao Dou’s bookbag.

 

Lu Yao was furious when he heard, “This is outrageous! Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the academy and see how this child can be so unreasonable!”

 

Zhao Beichuan opened his mouth as if to stop him but thought better of it. Given how fiercely protective Lu Yao was, he might end up taking his anger out on him.

 

The author’s note:

 

I made some adjustments to the price of the iron pot.

 

Also, the price of pork has been updated to fifty wen.

 

Character ages (after the New Year): Lu Yao is 20, Zhao Beichuan is 19, Zhao Xiaonian is 8, and Zhao Xiaodou is 6.

 

The Lu family: Lu father is 56, Lu mother is 53, Lu Hai is 27 (deceased), Lu Lin is 24, Lu Yun is 17, and Lu Miao is 15.