coobybook Chapter 46 Huifeng Steamed Bun Shop
Chapter 46 Huifeng Steamed Bun Shop
Chapter 46 Huifeng Steamed Bun Shop
Watching the water in the pot begin to boil, Wang Wenzhou wiped the sweat from his brow. Damn! The water finally boiled.
"Lazy Lan, stop looking! It's making me embarrassed! Go outside and wait!" Wang Wenzhou pushed Sheng Lan out of the kitchen.
"Okay! Okay!" Sheng Lan covered her mouth and laughed.
Picking up the noodles and throwing them into the pot, Wang Wenzhou suddenly realized that clear soup noodles had no vegetables—how could he eat them? He couldn't cook, and he couldn't very well ask Sheng Lan to stir-fry some side dishes!
Hmm... Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and decided to crack two eggs in; that way, it would be passable.
Wang Wenzhou picked up an egg, cracked it against the stove, and then squeezed the shell with both hands to knock the egg into the pot.
Perhaps the fire was too high, because the water in the pot immediately started to foam. Wang Wenzhou had no choice but to stick chopsticks in and stir it.
"Damn it!" Wang Wenzhou was very frustrated. After stirring it like that, the eggs were all broken into pieces and could no longer be recognized.
Wang Wenzhou wiped away his sweat and comforted himself, "Even if it's broken, it's still edible."
The noodles were finally cooked. But when Wang Wenzhou scooped the noodles into the bowl, he was completely dumbfounded.
The mixture of noodles and eggs, a dark, lumpy mess, was practically a culinary disaster.
Wang Wenzhou smiled wryly. The noodles must have stuck to the pan and burned. Why didn't they have non-stick pans in the Ming Dynasty? It's not my fault for being a bad cook! It's just that the kitchen equipment was terrible!
Wang Wenzhou stared blankly at the bowl of noodles in his hand, wondering whether to take it out or make a new bowl.
"Is it done?" Sheng Lan asked with a smile as she walked into the kitchen.
"Um, I'll cook another bowl," Wang Wenzhou said awkwardly, scratching his head.
"No need!" Sheng Lan snatched the noodles from Wang Wenzhou's hand.
"The noodles are burnt!" Wang Wenzhou said embarrassedly, "This is my first time using a big pot, I have no experience. I promise the next bowl won't be burnt!"
"It's okay! I like burnt noodles!" Sheng Lan smiled broadly, holding the noodles, and happily walked out of the kitchen.
Wang Wenzhou was extremely embarrassed. He had wanted to please his goddess by cooking her a bowl of noodles, but he hadn't expected to burn them. How could he possibly accept this?
Upon leaving the kitchen, Wang Wenzhou found Sheng Lan devouring noodles. Judging from the way the goddess ate, the dark noodles didn't seem burnt at all, but rather looked like a delicacy.
Wait a minute! Why is the goddess eating while wiping away tears? Seriously, is it that bad?
Wang Wenzhou said awkwardly, "Lazy Blue, if you don't like it, don't eat it! I'll cook you another bowl."
"Waaah..." Sheng Lan burst into laughter through her tears, her voice trembling with sobs as she said, "This is the best noodles I've ever eaten in my life!"
Wang Wenzhou was overjoyed. This was the first time in his life that a goddess had said such sweet words to him.
"Lazy Lan, you eat first! I'm going out for a bit, I'll come pick you up later!" Wang Wenzhou said, giving Sheng Lan a gentle hug.
"Mmm!" Sheng Lan happily ate the culinary disaster that Wang Wenzhou had made with love.
Actually, the noodles were quite unpalatable, with a burnt taste, but Sheng Lan didn't find them unpalatable at all. Perhaps that's what love is.
Wang Wenzhou strolled leisurely to the county government office.
Inside the county government office, the yamen runners, dressed in brand-new uniforms, stood in neat rows, undergoing drill training.
The female police officers were also training nearby. The girls from the Drunken Flower Pavilion looked quite attractive in their police uniforms. However, it was still winter, and Wang Wenzhou thought that if it were summer and the police uniforms were replaced with short skirts, rows of white thighs would definitely be even more eye-catching.
"Xiaoqiang, is everything ready?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"We've been waiting for you, young master! Why did you only just finish your run?" Wang Qiang asked.
Wang Wenzhou beckoned to Wang Qiang, calling him over, and said, "Change the slogan to 'Lord Wang's concubine, it's Sheng Lan's birthday, Lord Wang is treating everyone to steamed buns for free.'"
"Young Master, do you know that you are going to marry Miss Sheng?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Damn it! I can marry whoever I want, what's it to you? The old lady is still in jail. Do you want to go stay there for a few days and rest?" Wang Wenzhou cursed.
“Young master, I’m only doing this for your own good, just reminding you! Although your sister-in-law is very good, she is, after all, a girl from a brothel. If you really want to marry her, you won’t be able to get past the old lady! If you tell others about this now, it would be terrible if you couldn’t marry her later!” Wang Qiang advised.
"Pah! You little brat, my business is none of your concern. I'm leaving!" Wang Wenzhou said irritably.
Wang Qiang waved to Ma Bantou and Zhang Jiao, and shouted, "Ma Bantou, sister-in-law, let's go!"
"Uang!" The drummer struck the gong, and the procession began to move forward.
"Magistrate Wang of Hanshan County is on patrol! All unrelated persons please give way!" the horseman shouted from his horse.
"Greetings, Lord Wang!"
"Wang Qingtian!"
The people on the street shouted from the bottom of their hearts.
Wang Wenzhou sat in the sedan chair, waving to passersby from time to time.
Wang Qiang glanced at Zhang Jiao beside him and whispered a reminder: "Sister-in-law, after the next gong, it's your female police team's turn to shout slogans!"
"Hmph!" Zhang Jiao snorted coldly, squeezed her legs together on her mount, and quickly stepped forward, approaching the female police team formation.
The female police officers walked at the front of the procession. Because they had just started training, the female officers had not yet learned to ride horses and could only walk.
"Duang!" The gong rang out.
Zhang Jiao shouted, "Start!"
The policewomen shouted in unison, "It's Lord Wang's concubine Sheng Lan's birthday. Lord Wang is sharing the joy with the people and is treating everyone to free steamed buns."
Zhang Jiao pouted, turned around and glared at Wang Wenzhou. "You fatso, you wait! I'm going to find Mother right now! You think you can marry that brothel girl? Not so easy!"
The constables followed behind the policewoman team. Another gong sounded, and Li Hechen quickly took the lead, shouting, "Huifeng Steamed Bun Shop! Good quality and low prices! Vegetable buns are two coins each, meat buns are four coins each. Don't miss out!"
The people were all puzzled: What is a steamed bun shop? What are steamed buns?
Wang Wenzhou's elaborate street parade was to promote his steamed bun shop.
Huifeng Steamed Bun Shop was an enterprise that Wang Wenzhou instructed Geng San to open. On the surface, Geng San was the owner of the steamed bun shop, but the real behind-the-scenes boss was Wang Wenzhou.
Wang Wenzhou had a good impression of Geng San and considered him one of his own. As the head of a county, he wouldn't stoop to such a petty business. Naturally, he needed an agent, and Geng San was chosen by Wang Wenzhou as his agent.
Geng San would handle things that Wang Wenzhou couldn't do himself. The same principle applied to the steamed bun shop, and also to collecting tax receipts and winning big prizes.
The people of the Ming Dynasty had never seen anything like it. Such a grand publicity campaign, and it was even carried out personally by Wang Wenzhou, a man beloved by the people. More importantly, it was free steamed buns! Although the people didn't know what steamed buns were, upon hearing that they were free, they all followed the queue.
Many people asked the familiar yamen runners in the procession: What are steamed buns?
The yamen runners took a break to explain: Baozi are vegetable steamed buns and meat steamed buns.
"Oh!" The people suddenly realized.
Since it was Lord Wang's concubine's birthday, he wanted to share the joy with the people and invited everyone to eat steamed buns. No one could refuse Lord Wang's request, so they all went home and called their friends and relatives.
The procession circled the county town several times, and Wang Wenzhou felt it was about time to cut the ribbon.
"Xiaoqiang, go to Zuihualou and pick up Lanlan. It's her birthday today, she's the star of the show, how can she not come to the ribbon-cutting ceremony?" Wang Wenzhou waved to Wang Qiang and said.
"Okay, Master!"