CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: RETURN

Li Qinghai laughed and agreed.

Sure enough, underneath the eaves was a big basin of water, and as soon as you put your hand in, you could feel the warmth.

After the five people washed up, they sat by the table.

Looking at the delicious food, even Li Qinghai, who was never one to care about eating, found it incredibly satisfying. Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaojie also sat down at the table.

Jianguo couldn’t hold back anymore; the food smelled too good.

He grabbed a bun and handed it to Li Qinghai, saying, "Grandpa, you better start eating. We’re all starving here. Who dares to start if you don’t?"

This was the truth.

The Li Family is very particular, and respecting the elderly while caring for the young are the family’s virtues.

Li Qinghai took the bun, laughed, and jokingly slapped Jianguo’s head, saying, "You little glutton, aren’t you afraid your siblings will laugh at you?"

Jianguo shyly rubbed his head and said to Gu Xiaoqing, "Sister Xiaoqing won’t say anything about me, haha. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made such delicious food for us."

Li Qinghai took a bite of the food with his chopsticks and, with the bun, couldn’t help but praise, "This girl Xiaoqing’s skills, I must say, are on par with the top chefs in the village."

Li Weimin, while stuffing his face with buns and food, retorted, "On par with the top chefs? Her skills clearly surpass theirs. I’m hoping Xiaoqing can teach me a few tricks so I can boast a little as the eldest uncle."

Li Weiqiang nodded. Eldest brother said that the family had already started a business selling steamed and fried dumplings, making ten yuan a day!

He was skeptical at first because food businesses are hard to run. A brother of his once tried a dumpling business in town.

Unfortunately, it failed within half a month, losing more than a dozen yuan in capital.

So Li Weiqiang wasn’t as optimistic as Li Weimin and remained doubtful.

Even though he was envious inside, he knew that making good fried and steamed dumplings wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Once elder brother spoke, Xiaoqing said she would teach them other food preparations, which instantly excited the whole family.

Especially his wife, who was almost eager to start learning right away.

Were it not for their father’s restraint, she would have come over days ago.

The family simply wasn’t wealthy enough to afford it.

Eating this fragrant meal now, Li Weiqiang had to admit, Xiaoqing truly had skills.

If she were to sell with these skills, it would indeed be possible.

Li Weiqiang also acknowledged this in his heart.

Over there, Jianhui and Jianguo were wasting no words, maximizing the function of their mouths, swiftly gobbling up buns and food, and chewing rapidly.

In just a short while, both had stuffed their bellies full.

Soon they sat in the yard, clutching their round bellies, unwilling to move.

It’s not that they didn’t want to move; they simply couldn’t. Every movement made their stomachs ache.

Li Qinghai laughed, scolding these two for being useless.

Gu Xiaojie had long gone over to the two brothers, curiously touching their round bellies and giggling, covering his mouth.

He had never seen bellies that resembled watermelons so closely.

Jianguo and Jianhui were so ashamed; they wished they could crawl into a hole if there was one.

After a long rest, once the sun started setting, Li Qinghai took the kids to the fields again.

Gu Xiaoqing, on the other hand, started thinking about what kind of food her uncles could make.

Nothing too trendy.

She had a brain full of food ideas, from spicy hot pot, skewers, to various snacks, all of which could be supplied.

But here in this small place, overly trendy foods are hard to introduce as people are reluctant to try them.

People prefer economical, filling foods. It’s not about variety; it’s about barely having enough now that they’re leaving scarcity behind. They crave satisfaction in both taste and quantity.

To consider the business more thoroughly, Gu Xiaoqing finally thought of handmade noodles.

Not many people are eating white noodle dishes yet due to limited economic conditions. Plus, the main customers in town are workers from three factories and some offices.

These people mainly have lunch and dinner needs.

Many single workers, who can’t cook, would just buy something to eat.

The factory canteens aren’t open yet, and even if they do open, they’ll use meal tickets, meaning you can’t choose what you want to eat.

Therefore, if her uncles were to sell handmade noodles, using different fresh toppings, the biggest advantage is not needing to use just white flour. Cornmeal mixed with white flour or oatmeal—all would work.

The taste is good, and there are variety choices.

With so many hands in Grandpa’s family, adding a few cold dishes would fit a food stall business model well.

There is merit in it.

In winter, a hot bowl of topped noodles would surely be appealing.

Moreover, Gu Xiaoqing was thinking of adding more items to their own menu these days. Just steamed and fried dumplings are monotonous. Adding things like meatball soup or hot and sour soup would be quite distinctive too.

Just as she had formed her ideas, Gu Xiaoqing heard sounds from the yard—Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai had returned.

As soon as the wheelbarrow entered the yard, the voices of her eldest and second aunts followed.

"Y’all take a break. We just wanted to stop by, but you ended up helping us push all the way."

Li Xuemei unloaded the cart by the wall and greeted Liu Fen and Han Xue.

"Xiaoqing, come out quickly and pour some water for your aunts."

Gu Xiaoqing hurriedly opened the curtain and came out, bringing two chairs, placing them beside Liu Fen and Han Xue, saying, "Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, please sit down; I’ll get you some water."

Liu Fen laughed, pulling Gu Xiaoqing and said, "Your Aunt’s so old already, no need for you to pour water for me. Besides, why be so polite at your own house?"

At this moment, Liu Fen found Gu Xiaoqing increasingly pleasant to the eye. Gone were the days when she got annoyed at the sight of this quiet little girl.

She couldn’t help but admire that Gu Ruhai was truly lucky, having a daughter who, with just one idea, pulled the family out of hardship.

If only it were her daughter.

She would certainly treat her like a treasure.