Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 195: 99 Double Ninth Festival, Giving Each Other Double Ninth Cakes

I was busy until the end of the You hour when the market closed. Finally, no customers came into the shop and all the prepared ingredients were sold out.

Several people were pounding their sore arms and sitting on stools to rest.

Although Li was extremely tired, she was still in high spirits.

She smiled and said, "Originally, I was thinking that during lunch break when there are a lot of people, I would have to deliver meals and take care of the customers in the store, which would be a bit overwhelming. I would have to hire two more people to help in the store."

"I didn't expect those shopkeepers would not allow food delivery. It saved us a lot of trouble."

Shen Yu nodded and said, "They heard from guests yesterday that our meat skewers are delicious, so they came here today to try them. The reactions were pretty good."

"Since we can eat whenever we want and there are so many dishes, we don't need to have food delivered anymore."

"They take turns coming over for lunch at noon, or send someone to order food to take back, saying that this way they can eat different meals every day. It's more comfortable than eating meat buns."

As they were talking, a carriage stopped in front of the shop. Shen Yu heard the sound and turned around to see He and Qiqi walking in together.

Shen Yu went up to them in surprise and said, "Third sister, why are you here at this hour?"

He smiled comfortably: "Yesterday your brother-in-law said that you can go out without worry in the future. That person has been taken to the Ji'an Prefecture Prison."

"I've been bored at home for so long, so I took Qiqi out for a walk today. I know you opened your shop yesterday, so you must have been very busy these past two days. I picked this time to come and see your restaurant. How is business?"

Li and his friends also greeted He with a smile, thanking He for always thinking about Shen Yu.

Shen Yu said, "Business is pretty good. There are customers eating in all day, and some taking food away. The market is closed, so there are no customers coming in now."

Just as He was about to speak, Aunt Xu came in holding a potted flower tree.

It was a kumquat tree with a big red hydrangea wrapped around the pot. The fruits were not yet ripe. They were small oranges the size of a baby's fist, with green peel, which were very cute.

Aunt Xu squatted down and saluted Shen Yu, smiling and saying, "Fourth Miss, the Second Young Madam just picked out a pot of kumquat trees at the flower market. I would like to congratulate you on the opening of your business and wish you good luck."

Shen Yu took it with a smile on her face and placed it side by side with the pot of fortune seeds on the table at the entrance.

She thanked He and said, "Thank you, Third Sister. I have been busy these days and have not had time to visit you. Instead, I asked you to come here."

Qiqi looked around the store curiously. He said, "I have nothing to do at home. It's more interesting to come to your place and have a look than to stay bored at home."

As the two were talking, people from the shop who were delivering customized ingredients came in one after another. The shop was bustling with people coming and going.

When He saw that Shen Yu had a lot of things to do, she took Qiqi and said goodbye.

Shen Yu said, "Sister, please sit down for a while. I'll fry some meat skewers for Qiqi to take away."

He was afraid of delaying Shen Yu's work, so she hurriedly said, "Don't bother. When I have free time in the future, I will bring Qiqi over to play. Then you can cook for him."

No matter how Shen Yu and Li tried to persuade her to stay, He still took Qiqi away.

Only after watching He's carriage go away did Shen Yu return to the shop.

Li felt a little guilty: "Madam He came all the way to congratulate us on the opening of the business and gave us such a beautiful kumquat tree, but she left without even having a cup of tea."

Shen Yu thought about it for a while and came up with an idea: "The Double Ninth Festival will be in two days. I will make some Double Ninth Festival cakes tomorrow and send them to my third sister's house."

Li agreed, "That's good. In the village, on the Double Ninth Festival, good neighbors and relatives would make Double Ninth Cakes and give them to each other. I wonder if it's the same here in the county."

After Li finished speaking, she thought for a moment and said, "I will make more Chongyang cakes tomorrow. I want to give them to Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Zheng. When I sell the small reunion cakes, they will help recommend them to their relatives and friends, and they will also order a lot more."

Shen Yu nodded in agreement, thinking of Lu Lang who loved chestnut cakes. Forget it, I will send him one tomorrow as well.

On the morning of the second day, Shen Yu cooked the meat dishes to sell and went to the big kitchen in the backyard.

Since he didn't have to deliver meals at noon, Shen Yu suddenly had a lot more free time.

When steaming buns in the morning, make the amount for lunch and set them aside to rise.

When the breakfast is almost sold out, the buns are steamed and kept warm on the stove so that they can be sold until lunch time.

A pot of red bean porridge was cooking on the stove in the big kitchen. Shen Yu opened the lid of the pot and stirred it with a spoon. The porridge had become sweet and sticky.

After Shen Yu asked Zhou Dalang to bring the porridge to the shop, he began to prepare to steam the Chongyang cake.

The ingredients of Chongyang cake are very simple. It is actually a rice cake steamed with rice flour. Its deliciousness lies in the fillings in the middle and the ingredients sprinkled on the top.

Mix appropriate amounts of glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour, add some powdered sugar, add water in small amounts several times, and stir evenly until lumps form.

Use your hands to rub the lumps together, then pass through a fine sieve until the powder is fine and loose, then you can proceed to the next step.

Because we make honey cakes and candied date cakes every day, the fillings are ready-made.

Shen Yu took the small steamer used to steam round cakes and put a layer of mat in the steamer.

Put the kneaded rice flour into a fine sieve, hold it above the steamer and sift the rice flour into it into a thick layer.

Add a layer of fine red bean paste on top, and then sift a layer of rice flour until the steamer is 80% full.

Use the same method until all eight small steamers are filled, then place walnut kernels, whole red dates, and almond slices on top.

Put the small steamer into the large steamer used for steaming buns. It will fit perfectly. Put four on each layer, for a total of two layers.

While waiting for the Chongyang cake to be steamed, Shen Yu also took the time to go to the shop to help out for a while.

After the hustle and bustle of the previous two days, everyone has become much calmer.

It's no longer like the previous two days when we were flustered and panicked when seeing guests coming in.

The customers were no longer as anxious as they were in the previous two days. They now knew that the food at Fengnian Restaurant would be hot anytime they came as long as the restaurant was open, and they didn't have to worry about not having food to eat after mealtime.

One by one, they began to enjoy their food slowly.

And I don't know who started it, but after eating, they would help put the used tableware into a large basin in the corner of the store, saving Yutao the effort of collecting the dishes.

Yutao no longer has to go from table to table to collect the used dishes, she just needs to make sure to wipe the table clean at all times.

To keep the skewers fresh and crispy, don't fry too much at a time.

Li and Jiang took turns sitting in front of the oil pan to fry the meat skewers. The one who was replaced could take a break before greeting the guests.

Zhou Dalang would make the pancakes in the morning, and when he had enough to sell, he would go to the front to help.

The staff work in perfect harmony with each other, the store is always clean and tidy, and the hospitality is attentive.

A customer passing by had no intention of entering the store, but following the aroma, he involuntarily stopped in front of this snack shop which looked clean and had many customers.