Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 87 - 86: Lu Chuan (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Lu Chuan (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Upon hearing this, Chen Aman quickly nodded her head. She was only a few months younger than Chen Aju but was much more sensible.

Chen Shi also knew about the fate the old monk had foreseen for Chen Afu and seeing that Afu’s dementia had indeed improved and that he was highly competent, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Afu is fortunate, my second brother and sister-in-law will be able to enjoy their life."

After Chen Shi and his wife had settled their belongings, they came to the courtyard to chat. Whenever someone buying something called out from the shop, Chen Shi would go out to attend to them. After each sale, he would return to the back yard to join the conversation.

The conversation turned to the siblings Chen Ayu and Chen Atang. Chen Ayu, lacking natural talent for study, couldn’t progress no matter how hard he tried. Chen Shi’s plan was for him to finish his schooling this year and follow him into the business next year. Next year Chen Ayu would turn fifteen, and it was high time for his betrothal. Their family was now earnestly saving up. If the marriage talks went smooth, they might hold the wedding the year after. Chen Aman, who had also turned twelve, was also in marriage talks. There had been several suitors, but none of them came with satisfactory conditions.

As the sun gradually inclined in the west, sounds of children’s laughter and chatter floated over. Mrs. Zhang said it was dismissal time at The Zengs’ School.

Their home was right across from the back gate of The Zengs’ School. Mrs. Zhang proudly mentioned their younger son, Chen Atang, was a student there. The school boasted quite a reputation, attracting not only the Zeng clan members but also a lot of other children. For outsiders wishing to enter, they needed to know someone in charge at the Clan School and also pass the instructive course, which was rather expensive.

Chen Afu had heard that Chen Atang, like Chen Ming, was both studious and talented.

She asked, "With all this noise, there must be a lot of students in the Clan School, correct?"

Chen Ming replied, "Yes, there are more than one hundred students." Then he said to Mrs. Zhang, "Let’s go, it’s time to prepare dinner."

Mrs. Zhang nodded in agreement and went to the kitchen with Chen Aman. Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu wanted to go help but were pushed out by Mrs. Zhang who insisted, "You have travelled all day and must be tired. Take a rest."

Before long, Chen Atang returned. A year younger than Alu, with a clear complexion and facial features resembling Mrs. Zhang’s, he greeted everyone cheerfully before he began playing with Alu, Dabao, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui.

Soon after, Chen Ayu also came back. He was enrolled in a private school a little farther away, two streets from here. He resembled Chen Shi more and was a very handsome young lad. After exchanging greetings, he took the money given to him by Chen Shi and went out to buy Luwei on the front street.

It was quite evident that all the children in Chen Shi’s family were brought up well.

At night, with no outsiders, the two families sat together at the large square table in the living room for dinner. The vegetables were brought from the main house. They had also fried a plate of peanuts and a piece of dried tofu, and bought half a pound of Lu pig’s head meat and half of a salted duck.

Chen Shi constantly put Lu meat and duck into Alu and Dabao’s bowls while Mrs. Zhang did the same for Mrs. Wang and Aju. Chen Atang, eyeing the meat dishes, swallowed hard but did not take any; Chen Shi mostly ate peanuts with his wine.

Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu put meat from their bowls into Atang and Aman’s. The two children dared to eat only after seeing their father’s approving look.

Although there were not many dishes on the table, laughter filled the room continuously.

Chen Afu said to Chen Shi, "Third Uncle, your house is next to the Clan School, you could earn money from the students." In her previous life, not only were houses near schools expensive, but the shops and peddlers that catered to students nearby were also numerous.

Chen Shi shook his head, "Kaiwenzhai requires a lot of money, and our family does not have that kind of capital."

Chen Afu laughed, "We don’t need to sell stationery. We can sell affordable snacks instead."

Mrs. Zhang shook her head, "Those students mostly use the front gate and the front street is much larger. There are already two snack and candy shops there. Moreover, your Third Uncle and Aunt don’t know how to make tasty snacks to attract them."

Chen Afu replied with a smile, "The snacks I’m thinking about are different from what they sell." Seeing the troubled look in the eyes of Chen Shi and his wife, she further said, "Don’t worry; it’s a small business that doesn’t require a lot of investment. Furthermore, we already have most of the things we need and only need to buy some more food ingredients. While we continue our sundries business, we can also care for this."

Chen Afu sincerely wanted to help them.

Chen Shi secretly thought, now that Afu’s dementia is improved, her second brother’s family life should be getting easier. She is definitely a competent worker.

He then smiled at Mrs. Zhang and said, "Let’s listen to Afu."

Chen Afu said, "Tomorrow we will just test the waters and prepare only a little. If Third Uncle finds it feasible, we will continue to do it. Otherwise, we will drop the idea." Then she explained what she wanted the Chen Shi family to make.

The ideas intrigued everyone. They all felt this could indeed make money.

After the meal, Chen Afu asked Chen Shi to gather some wooden sticks or bamboo and whittle them into thin, long strips. Chen Shi and Chen Ayu are both hard-working people, so they kept whittling until midnight.

Early in the morning on the following day, Mrs. Wang went with Mrs. Zhang to the market to buy spices. Afu also requested them to get some cardamom and dried tangerine peels from the herbal shop. By adding just these two ingredients, the flavor of their Luwei would be different from the others’, yet it wouldn’t taste the same as the Xile Restaurant’s nine-spice Luwei, so they wouldn’t be breaking any agreement. Chen Afu especially urged Chen Shi and his wife to never reveal these two secret ingredients.

At the same time, they bought some inexpensive pig skin, lean meat, pig liver, pig intestines, quail eggs, and additionally got some more dried tofu, soy tendons, soy skin, lotus root, and seaweed.

It’s a pity that potatoes don’t exist in this era.

Once the purchases were made, they all immediately started sorting through them. Except for the pig intestines which took longer to cook and, therefore, they started first, the rest of the things were set aside to be cooked as Lu food directly in the late afternoon.

After lunch, Chen Afu asked Chen Shi to bring out the small stove from the ear room and place it beside the shop’s entrance. She had already fried the Lu spices in the kitchen and switched to a pot of water. She then took the large iron pot outside to continue boiling. This way, the fragrance of the Lu spices would waft all around.

For fear of people seeing the Lu spices, she used a white cloth to wrap them up. At about eleven o’clock, she sequentially added meat, peanuts, soy products, vegetables, and quail eggs into the pot for Lu cooking.

The smell grew even stronger.

She bought out the big basin and chopping board to the front of the shop and, as the food was ready, took them out and cut them into small pieces. The chunks of meat, pig liver, and intestines were cut smaller, while vegetables were left larger. They were skewered on thin sticks. Chen Afu was responsible for cutting, whereas the others were responsible for skewering. Even Dabao participated in the process. Peanuts couldn’t be skewered, so they were put into dishes.

Chen Afu called these skewers "Lu Chuan". The kebabs from her previous life were a bit complicated, so she started with these simple ones.

After Chen Aman and Dabao each tasted a skewer, they both exclaimed, "Delicious!"

While they cut and skewered the food, the delicious smell attracted a lot of passersby and neighbors. Even more surprising to people was seeing vegetables also being cooked as Lu.

A meat skewer cost four pennies, or two skewers for seven pennies. A vegetable skewer cost two pennies, or two skewers for three pennies. The prices were not high, and one or two skewers were enough to whet the appetite and relieve one’s cravings.

The living conditions of the residents here were not very good, so getting to eat tasty Lu food for just a few pennies was welcomed by everyone. Soon, they attracted a few buyers, some buying one skewer, others buying two. In a short while, they had repeat customers, and the crowd gradually grew. Some adults, not willing to indulge themselves, bought a skewer for their children when they saw the kids clamoring for it.

Some people loved the taste and bought a lot, so they would directly weigh out their portion.