TSWPF – Chapter 34 Impressive

Li Qingfeng sniffed the air and ran over to stand beside Li Qingling. “Sister, it smells so good! When can we eat?” He swallowed hard, staring intently at the egg pancake without blinking.

“Smells… so good…” Liu Zhirou, no longer bothering to pick at the vegetable leaves, hurried over to Li Qingling as well. She hugged Li Qingling’s calf, murmuring continuously about how fragrant it was.

Li Qingling looked at the two little gluttons and laughed. She told them to wait beside her and not to get too close, lest the oil splatter on them.

Li Qingfeng pulled Liu Zhirou back a step, careful not to get too near, but his eyes still locked onto the pancake. That longing gaze made it seem like he wanted to devour it immediately.

Li Qingling shook her head with a smile and sprinkled some more vegetable leaves over the egg. She then poured another layer of flour batter on top.

Once one side was ready, she carefully flipped the pancake, frying both sides to a golden brown before placing it in the basket.

“It’s too hot now; wait for it to cool a little before eating,” she warned the two little gluttons, then turned to fry the remaining pancakes.

Li Qingfeng held Liu Zhirou’s hand as they obediently nodded, standing in front of the basket and blowing gently on the pancakes, hoping they would cool quickly so they could taste them.

Seeing their little actions, Li Qingling laughed again. Her first attempt at making egg pancakes had been a great success. She was confident that these could be sold.

Liu Zhimou, who had already finished chopping all the vegetable leaves, put them into a bowl, added some oil and salt, and mixed them.

After finishing these tasks, he stood next to Li Qingling, watching her every move. Once he learned the process, she wouldn’t have to work as hard.

He watched all the steps carefully and found it wasn’t very difficult, so he asked Li Qingling to let him try.

Li Qingling glanced at him, nodded, and gave him the spot, standing beside him to guide him. Having someone help share the work meant she wouldn’t get so tired.

“What’s the name of this pancake?” Liu Zhimou gently flipped one over and looked up at Li Qingling. “Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Egg pancake.” To her, that’s what it was, and she didn’t want to change it.

Liu Zhimou nodded. The name was appropriate: it contained an egg, was called an egg pancake, and was easy to remember.

“Sis, can I eat?” Liu Zhirou reached out a tiny finger, touched the pancake, and felt it wasn’t as hot as before. She tugged at Li Qingling’s clothes, asking to eat.

Li Qingling smiled, cut the pancake in half with a clean knife, took one piece, and tasted it. It was good, though the filling could use more vegetables—more veggies would make it even tastier.

Seeing Li Qingling eat, Liu Zhirou swallowed hard and called to eat again.

Li Qingling picked up the other half, blew on it, and held it near Liu Zhirou’s mouth. “It’s still a little hot. Eat slowly.”

Liu Zhirou opened her mouth wide, took a small bite, and after swallowing, nodded her little head, saying it was delicious. She eagerly reached out with both hands to grab Li Qingling’s pancake and slowly nibbled it herself.

“Here, one half for each of you.” Li Qingling cut the last pancake in the basket in half, handing one to Li Qingfeng and the other to Liu Zhiyan.

Finally, they had something to eat. They grabbed it eagerly and started munching, nodding as they ate—it really was delicious.

Once the three children had finished, Li Qingling asked for their opinions: Was the pancake good? If sold, would it sell?

“Delicious,” Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan replied in unison. They’d only eaten half and already wanted more.

“I think if we sold it, it would definitely sell. It’s fragrant and delicious,” Liu Zhimou added.

He admired Li Qingling even more for making such tasty egg pancakes.

Hearing this, Li Qingling felt even more confident.

“I’ll fry the pancakes! You taste them and tell me what you think.” Li Qingling took the cooked pancakes and placed them in the basket for Liu Zhimou to try.

Liu Zhimou nodded, picked one up with chopsticks, blew on it, and took a bite. After finishing one, he eagerly took a second bite.

When he finished, he nodded. “Very good. How much do you plan to sell each for?” In North Street, there weren’t any pancakes like this. Usually, pancakes there were spread flat and thin—not like these.

These egg pancakes should sell well. They were new, delicious, with a slightly crispy crust, tender eggs, and vegetables, leaving no greasy feeling after eating.

“I plan to sell them for five wen each,” Li Qingling said without looking up.

Hearing this, Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan both gasped. Five wen? A big bowl of wontons was only two wen, meat buns only two wen. Could egg pancakes really sell for five wen? Would anyone buy them?

“You think it’s expensive too?” Li Qingling asked Liu Zhimou with a smile. “Our eggs, flour, vegetables—they cost money. Plus labor. Five wen isn’t really expensive.”

If the food tasted good, selling wouldn’t be a problem.

At first, Liu Zhimou thought five wen was steep, but after her explanation, he agreed it wasn’t too much. “Then let’s tentatively price them at five wen each. If they don’t sell well, we can lower the price. What do you think?”

They could try first. Maybe five wen each would sell well.

“Okay!” Li Qingling nodded. “But I don’t know what to use to serve the pancakes to customers.”

Oilproof paper was too expensive; she couldn’t afford it. And she couldn’t have customers eating with their hands. This was tricky.

“You two help think of what to use to hold the pancakes for customers,” Li Qingling said, taking a deep breath and looking at Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan. Perhaps they’d come up with an idea.

The two nodded and started thinking hard. After all, this was their family’s small business, and they wanted to contribute.

“How about little baskets woven from reeds?” Liu Zhimou suggested.

Little baskets?

Li Qingling’s eyes lit up. She nodded and asked if he knew how to weave them, since she didn’t.

“Yes! I’ll go cut some reeds,” Liu Zhimou said with a smile. “You two come too.” He took Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan along.

The three collected reeds, and Liu Zhimou immediately started weaving. Soon, a small, delicate basket appeared.

Li Qingling gave him a thumbs-up. She hadn’t expected him to be able to make something so cute.

She carefully placed an egg pancake inside. It fit perfectly.

Such a small basket looked elegant for holding pancakes. She thought it might attract young girls.

“Perfect. Let’s do this. Tomorrow we’ll set up the stall,” Li Qingling said with a big smile. “Brother Zhimou, teach me to weave these baskets! We can make some today and bring them tomorrow.”

One person was too slow; with two more, it would go faster.

“I want to learn too,” Liu Zhiyan said.

Li Qingfeng nodded as well. They both wanted to help, to ease the workload for their older siblings.

“Alright, you two learn. You can weave baskets at home while Brother Zhimou and I run the stall. We’ll divide the work,” Li Qingling suggested.

It was a good plan. The two children could take care of the younger sisters at home and weave baskets, achieving two goals at once.

“Okay…” they both nodded, happy to help.

Liu Zhimou also liked the idea. He waved for them to come over and watch how he wove the baskets.

The two children were smart. After watching twice and trying twice, they got the hang of it, though their baskets didn’t look as good as Liu Zhimou’s.

“I really can’t handle this,” Li Qingling sighed after trying multiple times. Her baskets were a mess. She really wasn’t cut out for this kind of work.

Liu Zhimou smiled and told her to leave it to the two little brothers. She just needed to fry the pancakes.

“Exactly, sis. Leave it to us!” Li Qingfeng comforted her. He hadn’t expected their all-capable sister to be unable to weave baskets—it was surprising.

Li Qingling nodded and sat aside to watch them. She didn’t force herself to do what she couldn’t.

In one day, the three children wove nearly a hundred little baskets. Li Qingling was amazed at the speed.

Before dawn, Li Qingling got up, dressed, and went to Liu Zhimou’s house.

When she arrived, she saw light in the kitchen and knew he was already up.

She called softly. Soon, the yard door opened.

“You’re here…”

“Mm, why get up so early? Why not sleep a bit more?” Li Qingling asked as she walked in.

Liu Zhimou smiled. “Couldn’t sleep, so I got up.” In truth, he wanted to get more work done.

Li Qingling nodded, entering the kitchen to see him preparing some semi-finished products. Later in town, they could be turned into finished products, saving a lot of time.