Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 54
After a busy day, everyone is exhausted. They never realize that business can be so prosperous. Customers come and go almost without pause, and the tables stay constantly full.
In fact, the other stalls are similar, as there are just too many people coming and going.
When night falls, Zhang Shu and his family close their stall. They return the tables, pay the rent, and lead the ox back. They harness the ox to the cart and head to the Lin Family Inn.
The dried vermicelli they made a few days ago weighs over 70 kilograms, which they cannot sell in a single day. It is not cost-effective to go back every day and make the long trip again. They decide to book two rooms at the Lin Family Inn and return after selling their goods. They bring plenty of peanuts, chili peppers, and pickled cabbage with them.
For the soup, they can buy ingredients from the market each day to make it fresh.
Lin Dongdong, a half-grown boy, is very interested in this new food. Hearing Laiwang’s vivid description of how guests love it and how delicious it is, he almost drools!
Seeing his interest, Zhang Shu soaks two kilograms of dried vermicelli so everyone can have it for dinner. After all, Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin have never tasted it.
Though the soup is gone, there is still broth in the kitchen. Each person pours a spoonful of broth, adds seasonings, and scoops some minced meat, making it even more delicious.
At this time, the inn is empty of guests. Zhang Shu and the others, along with the boss and waiter of the Lin Family Inn, eat up the two kilograms of dried vermicelli. Everyone is sweating and exclaims how satisfying it is.
Lin Shuanghe pats Zhang Shu on the shoulder and says, “You’re a young man, but you come up with such a fresh idea. You’re right to do business by the river. People here deal with water all year round, and their bodies are damp. This bowl of food will help them sleep better at night!”
Zhang Shu can’t help but admire Uncle Lin, who owns an inn in the county town.
Frankly, this business can be done elsewhere, but what makes it stand out is the novelty. It’s impossible to get people to pay five for a bowl every day. They’ll only eat it every few days.
Yet, Uncle Lin immediately sees the potential in Zhang Shu’s business—impressive!
“I just touched the dried noodles, and they’re firm, not easy to break, and easy to carry. They’re even more convenient than regular noodles. This could turn into a big business one day! By the way, can these noodles be used in other dishes?”
Zhang Shu admires him even more. People with foresight truly have a vision. His little calculations are seen through by these experienced folks. But what other dish can be made with this vermicelli?
Zhang Shu suddenly remembers a dish that is indeed made with this vermicelli. It is delicious, but he hasn’t tried making it yet. It’s cooked by the family he rents from when he goes to the provincial capital with his daughter-in-law during an exam.
Lin Shuanghe notices Zhang Shu deep in thought and knows he has an idea. “Go ahead and try it. It doesn’t matter if it goes wrong.”
Zhang Shu nods, finishes the vermicelli he has soaked earlier, and soaks some more. He then says to Lin Shuanghe, “I’ll need to borrow the kitchen for a bit.”
“Go ahead and use it. If you need anything else for cooking, feel free to take it,” Lin Shuanghe says generously. He is even a little interested in making this kind of business himself, but the inn mostly serves stir-fried dishes, and the sour and spicy noodles probably won’t sell as well in the county town.
Zhang Shu pulls Li Mujin to the kitchen to cook. The others are curious but do not follow. A group of people sits in the lobby, cracking melon seeds and chatting around the brazier.
Zhang Shu’s stewed meat is tasty, but he is not as skilled as Li Mujin at stir-frying delicate dishes. So, he explains the steps to Li Mujin and then helps with the prep.
Li Mujin takes a piece of tender meat and minces it finely, then prepares some ginger and garlic for later use. Once the fire is hot, he pours in some oil. When the oil is hot enough, he adds the minced ginger and garlic to stir-fry until fragrant. Once the garlic changes color, he adds the minced meat to the pan, and the delicious aroma fills the air.
Since this dish will later include soybean paste, Li Mujin doesn’t add salt to avoid it being too salty. After stir-frying the meat, he adds a spoonful of soybean paste and stirs it a few times before adding some broth to cook it over high heat.
Once the contents of the pot are boiling, Li Mujin adds the soaked vermicelli and lets it cook. When the soup has almost dried up, he sprinkles some chili powder, stir-fries it for a few more moments, and puts it in a bowl.
“Ah’shu, try it. I wonder if it tastes as you expected?” Li Mujin is unsure, even though he follows Zhang Shu’s instructions to the letter.
Zhang Shu grabs a chopstick, scoops up some food, and puts it in his mouth under Li Mujin’s watch. His eyes light up immediately. This tastes even better than what he has eaten before.
He quickly feeds a chopstick of food to Li Mujin. “Try it! It’s delicious!”
Li Mujin chews thoughtfully and then smiles. “It’s really good. It’s smooth, tasty, and the meat is chewy.”
“Take it out for everyone to try!”
The young couple brings the dish out, and as soon as the door opens, a crowd gathers. There are so many people present that almost everyone takes a chopstick. Lin Dongdong even goes to the kitchen to grab a steamed bun to finish the last bit on the plate, wiping up the remaining soup.
“Brother Zhang Shu, Brother Ah’Jin, this is so good! Can we eat this tomorrow?” Lin Dongdong asks excitedly, “Oh!”
Zhang Shu smiles. “It’s fine. Since Dongdong likes it, I’ll teach the chef the recipe, and we can have it again tomorrow.”
“No, no,” Lin Shuanghe quickly waves his hand. “What I mean is, I’ll buy the recipe from you and sell this dish at the inn.”
Zhang Shu’s stall is only suitable for selling sour and spicy vermicelli. Selling it fried like this would be too much trouble.
“Uncle Lin, don’t refuse. We’re always bothering you, staying here without charge and eating your meals. We really can’t repay you enough.”
“This is what we should do. The villagers have taken good care of my family. Farmers have their duties, and they usually don’t get the chance to go out. Now that I’ve settled down in the city, who else can I take care of but the villagers?”
“In that case, Uncle Lin, please don’t refuse. You’ll be buying the vermicelli from the villagers in the future. The recipe isn’t worth much—it’s something I heard from others, and people have praised it.”
Laiwang and He Yue exchange glances. Did Zhang Shu just say he’ll teach the villagers how to make vermicelli?
Lin Shuanghe, too, understands what Zhang Shu means. After thinking for a while, he says, “Since you said so, Zhang Shu, I won’t refuse. Let’s discuss the price of dry vermicelli.”
Zhang Shu calculates in his mind. Making dry vermicelli isn’t too difficult, and it isn’t very expensive. While it sells better when made into sour and spicy vermicelli, there are still plenty of other ways to cook it.
“This dry vermicelli is 25 yuan per catty,” Zhang Shu says. Though this price is relatively high, it can definitely yield a profit when used in dishes at the inn.
Lin Shuanghe thinks for a moment, and then nods. “Alright! Let’s go with this price. Ah’shu, give me ten kilograms tomorrow. I’ll try selling it.”
Zhang Shu agrees, then adds, “There are probably other dishes that can be made with this vermicelli. I’m not sure about all of them, but you can ask the chef to try more and come up with fresh dishes.” Zhang Shu isn’t as good as a professional chef, but if it weren’t for his unique experiences, he wouldn’t know anything.
The others don’t interrupt during the business talk. When it’s over, they go back to chatting. Lin Dongdong, still looking at the empty plate, suddenly asks, “Brother Zhang Shu, what’s the name of this dish?”
“It’s made of minced meat and vermicelli. It’s called minced meat vermicelli, right?” Laiwang guesses.
Zhang Shu suddenly laughs as he remembers its real name. “This dish does have a name, but it’s not called minced meat vermicelli. It’s called !”
(Translator’s Notes: “Ants Climbing a Tree” is a popular Sichuan dish made of ground meat (usually pork or beef) and glass noodles, typically served with a spicy sauce. The name comes from the appearance of the dish, where the minced meat resembles ants climbing up the noodles, which are the “tree.”)
Everyone looks at each other in confusion. Why such a strange name? Could there be ants in it? But they don’t taste anything unusual!
