Chapter 11

Considering the midday foot traffic and the level of acceptance from the nearby residents, Qian Jianing brought out five hundred portions of liangpi. At first, Li Wanzhen was worried they wouldn’t sell out and might go bad, but now she realized that just her daughter standing there was like having a living billboard—there was no such thing as not selling out, only not being fast enough to get some.

The shredded cucumber and carrot she brought along were quickly used up. Qian Jianing taught Li Wanzhen how to mix the liangpi, then took out some washed cucumbers and peeled carrots to shred.

Qian Jianing pulled out the kitchen knife gifted from Food Elder, adjusted her posture slightly, and with a few swift strokes, a line of paper-thin cucumber slices appeared on the cutting board. With a gentle swipe, the slices in the blink of an eye turned into perfectly even matchstick strips.

As Li Wanzhen handed a bowl of liangpi to the young man in front, she noticed he hadn’t even looked at her, his eyes were glowing as he stared at her daughter slicing cucumbers. Li Wanzhen cleared her throat and raised her voice, “Young man, your liangpi.”

The young man snapped back to attention, realizing he had been caught in a daze. Embarrassed, he gave a little cough and awkwardly said, “Xiaomi slices vegetables so well.”

Li Wanzhen pressed her lips together, “My Xiaomi is even better at studying.”

The young man, remembering Qian Jianing’s age, turned red in the face, grabbed the liangpi, and bolted. The older lady next in line was thoroughly amused by his flustered escape. While putting fifty cents into the cash box, she chuckled and said to Li Wanzhen, “Your daughter’s good looks and skills are sure to attract admirers. Just wait, with looks like that, who knows how many boys will fall for her.”

Hearing this, Li Wanzhen couldn’t help but think of Qian Jianing’s early romance and felt a twinge of gloom. Both she and her husband doted on their daughter. Any slight shift in her mood never escaped Li Wanzhen, let alone something major like a romantic relationship. In fact, when Chen Kai started pursuing Qian Jianing, Li Wanzhen had already sensed something was off from her daughter’s expressions after school. But ever since starting high school, due to the environment change and mounting academic pressure, Qian Jianing’s emotions had been unstable, and she was reluctant to talk about her school life. After falling into a relationship, she became even more secretive, barely saying a word at home. Though Li Wanzhen had held back her worries, she continuously mentioned university to plant a seed in the girl’s mind.

The couple had been anxious for two months and hadn’t yet come up with a solution when Qian Jianing came home with a mid-level report card. At that moment, Li Wanzhen felt all their efforts had been in vain. But fortunately, Qian Jianing seemed to have been awakened by this. After a big cry and two days of sleep, she suddenly matured. She completely cut ties with Chen Kai, realized how hard life could be, and besides helping with the food stall during the day, she seriously studied at night. Seeing her dedication to work on problems each evening, Li Wanzhen was confident she’d top her class when school reopened.

After taking a few wrong steps, their daughter had finally come back on the right path. The last thing Li Wanzhen wanted to mention was dating. She quickly smiled and said, “My Xiaomi is still young. It’s not too late to start dating after she graduates college.” She glanced nervously at Qian Jianing, afraid she might be upset.

But Qian Jianing, having lived through one lifetime already, understood her mother clearly by now and looked up with a smile. “Mom’s right. I don’t even know which university I’ll get into yet. It’s too early to talk about that now.”

Li Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief and resumed cheerfully greeting customers, but the crowd lined up for liangpi was stricken. They exchanged troubled glances and whispered to one another, “Does this mean when Xiaomi goes to college, we won’t get to eat her food anymore? Oh man! Why doesn’t Zibo City have a university? This is too frustrating!”

Qian Jianing laughed, “You’re welcome to visit my little shop during winter and summer breaks. For now, I’m going to hurry and get someone to renovate the house so I can open the store as soon as possible.”

***

Over the course of two days, Qian Jianing took Li Wanzhen to all her regular street vending spots. The familiar customers now knew that little Xiaomi was preparing to open her own store and her mother would be taking over the street vending.

With Li Wanzhen joining in, Qian Jianing felt much more relaxed. During the day, Li Wanzhen handled the vending; at night, Qian Jianing taught her how to make liangpi. Though it sounded easy, it was actually tricky to master. If the process took too long or the temperature wasn’t right, the liangpi wouldn’t come out smooth, translucent, and elastic.

Having worked at a textile factory for years, Li Wanzhen had nimble fingers. On top of that, she had quit her job and was now fully committing to this business, going all in. Even if her first batches were not up to standard, she didn’t get discouraged. Instead, she paid even closer attention to Qian Jianing’s demonstrations and learned from her mistakes. In less than an hour, she could pull out a batch of acceptable liangpi.

Relieved, Li Wanzhen picked up a towel and wiped the sweat off Qian Jianing’s forehead before patting her own face, “Xiaomi, go rest now. I’ll handle the rest.”

Making this was a skill honed through practice. Qian Jianing poured her a glass of warm water, “Alright, I’ll go study. When you’re done with the liangpi, we’ll talk about starting a business together.”

Li Wanzhen smiled and looked up, “You’re taking this so seriously.”

Thanks to her enhanced memory, Qian Jianing had reviewed all her first-year high school material and even refreshed her entire middle school curriculum. After going over everything she had learned, she borrowed second-year textbooks from the neighbor to begin prepping. Since she planned to juggle studying and making money in the future, summer break was a good time to push ahead.

In her last life, during her second year of high school, she often daydreamed in class because of her relationship, and her grades were terrible. But now, as soon as she opened the math textbook, vivid memories of her past teacher’s lectures flooded back—including detailed explanations and even the exact questions the teacher posed. Qian Jianing was stunned. She hadn’t remembered this much even when she was in class the first time. The elixir refined by Taishang Laojun was too miraculous, almost like carrying a built-in tutoring system.

With such a powerful cheat, Qian Jianing focused wholeheartedly on reviewing second-year material. Meanwhile, Li Wanzhen prepped all the liangpi and wheat gluten needed for the next day, stored them in the new refrigerator, then cut up a chilled watermelon and gently opened Qian Jianing’s door.

Seeing her daughter studying at the desk, Li Wanzhen smiled even more warmly. She carefully sat on the bed with the watermelon, waiting patiently until Qian Jianing finished her problem set and stretched. Only then did she get up and softly ask, “Tired? Come have some watermelon.”

Startled, Qian Jianing turned around and saw her mother waiting with the watermelon—who knows for how long—and hurried to stand and take it. She also grabbed a small stool for her mother. Taking a bite of the sweet icy watermelon, she mumbled, “Next time, just call me. No need to wait.”

“Your studies are important.” Li Wanzhen smiled and handed her a wet cloth to wipe her hands. Then she asked, “So, what’s this about starting a business together?”

Qian Jianing blushed slightly, “To be honest, I didn’t start vending food on a whim. I wanted to save money. That means the money I earn is for myself, not the household. That’s true now and will remain true in the future.”

Li Wanzhen looked at her without much surprise, “Your money is yours. I would never ask for it. In fact, even the money I earn from the stall will be split with you—after all, those customers are coming for your food. The rest will be enough for our household. But…” She changed her tone and looked a bit stern, “The money I give you is yours to hold onto—but don’t be giving it out carelessly.”

Qian Jianing understood exactly what she meant and nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, Mom. I know what’s most important.”

“Good.” Li Wanzhen left the topic at that and moved on. “About the store—you mentioned turning the storage room into a restaurant, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s small, and remodeling will be expensive—not really worth it. But just the other day, Aunt Zhang next door said she wanted to sell her house and move to the provincial capital with her son. I was thinking maybe I’ll buy her place. It’s right next door, ready to use after a little work. Even if you don’t open a restaurant later, the two houses side by side could be one for you and one for your brother. That way, you can look after each other.”

“You think far ahead.” Qian Jianing smiled. Actually, she was reminded of the home-style restaurants popular in the future, many of which were set up in small courtyards like this. “Alright, but the money for the house—consider it a loan from you. I’ll pay you back.”

“No need! When the time comes, the house will be in your name. Let’s just say I gave it to you early.” Li Wanzhen patted her head affectionately. “As long as you study hard and get into a good college—just don’t get involved with all those messy boys again, and I’ll be happy.”

Qian Jianing’s heart warmed, and her eyes turned a little red. “Don’t worry. Never again.”

Everybody in the neighborhood knew one another well. Li Wanzhen had some cash on hand, and within a couple of days, the property transfer was done. Aunt Zhang left with the money to join her son, handing over the keys to Qian Jianing.

Since Aunt Zhang’s yard hadn’t been cluttered with random sheds, it felt spacious. A few years back, her son had come home with money and laid brick flooring in the yard and planted some flowers and greenery, giving the place a peaceful atmosphere.

The interior layout was similar to the Qian home: two bedrooms on the east side, a central room connected to the kitchen and bathroom, and an extra room on the west. If it were to be turned into a restaurant, quite a bit of remodeling would be necessary.

Back at home, Qian Jianing sketched out plans to divide the house in two—linking the two east bedrooms into a kitchen, and the remaining rooms into a main dining area. As for the bathroom, it would be moved out into the courtyard. There was proper drainage anyway, so no need to worry about odors.

***

During the days that Qian Jianing stopped street vending, people across the districts of Zibo City felt a sort of emptiness. Although Li Wanzhen brought some of Qian Jianing’s steamed buns and braised snacks to satisfy cravings in addition to selling liangpi, people still felt like something was missing without the smiling girl at the stall.

“Hey Xiaomi’s mom,” an old man who had just bought liangpi and a pound of pig head meat stuck around rather than leave, insisting on an answer from Li Wanzhen, “When exactly is your daughter opening her shop? Don’t keep brushing us off with ‘soon.’ Just give us a date!”

Li Wanzhen laughed, “Honestly, I wasn’t trying to brush you off. Xiaomi hadn’t set a date before. But today, as I was heading out, she said the grand opening will be on the 25th. It’s at the southernmost end of East First Street. The sign’s already made—‘Xiaomi Qian’s Shop.’”

The old man beamed. “That’s a great name! With that, no one will get lost!” Smelling the aroma from the pig head meat, he glanced warily at the young folks behind him, “I better have my son go line up early. Otherwise, we won’t be able to beat these little beasts to it!”

Li Wanzhen nearly wanted to kneel in exasperation. “Sir, please have mercy on your son. It’s only the 20th!”