Chapter 1474 - 1469: Two Free Subordinates
It seemed like Mu Xiaxia had something shameful on her.
Mu Xiaxia didn’t dare speak much with the landlady, only nodding to whatever she said.
After all, she had already decided to rent it, and the rent was paid, so she had to stay at least a month.
The place was dirty, but she could clean it up.
As for the bedding, they had brought it with them.
No need to buy any; as for chairs, they didn’t need them either as they could just stand!
One room and one hall, the room didn’t seem small, and could be divided into two, one for her and one for her father!
Thinking of this, Mu Xiaxia’s face revealed a bit of a smile.
Soon, they would have a home in the county just for their little family!
...
Mu Shuangshuang spent two days alone in Xing City.
During these two days, she prepared everything needed to open her shop at home.
On the third day, she began making large steamed buns and ramen in the shop.
Of course, the buns and ramen were just a gimmick; what she really wanted to sell was the sauce.
When the stall first opened, business wasn’t good.
Because buns and noodles were staples in the Northwest, many people made these at home.
If she only sold sauce, even fewer people would come.
As soon as the buns were out of the pot, Mu Shuangshuang shouted at the shop entrance, "Fresh and sweet large white buns, delicious and chewy noodles, come in and have a look, try them; if they’re not tasty, you don’t have to pay!"
In Qingshan Town, whenever she shouted, there were always onlookers.
But in this Northwest Xing City, no one seemed interested.
Instead, two young beggars stared at her with wide eyes—no, at her freshly cooked white buns.
Mu Shuangshuang thought for a moment and took two buns, putting a spoonful of beef sauce in each.
"Eat up! When you’re done, go home!" Mu Shuangshuang said.
The two children took the buns but didn’t eat right away, swallowing hard instead.
The older one, a boy, asked Mu Shuangshuang, "Sister, are you hiring? We can work for food!"
Mu Shuangshuang was taken aback and looked at the two little beggars before her.
The older one seemed about twelve or thirteen, a boy. The younger, about seven or eight, was a girl.
The clothes on their backs were thin and dirty.
"Sister, we can clean up; we wear these dirty clothes so people give us money!" the older boy said.
"Work for me? What can you do?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"We can do anything; I can make buns!" the boy said.
"I... I can wipe tables, and I can learn to call in customers like sister, but... sister, you have to pay us in advance!"
Mu Shuangshuang suddenly found it a bit funny.
What did these kids take her for?
Or did they see "I’m very nice" written on her face?
Or perhaps, "I’m an idiot, come trick me?"
"Little girl, have you ever seen a boss pay someone who hasn’t worked yet?
If you run off, wouldn’t my money be wasted?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"We won’t run, I promise!"
The little girl’s eyes suddenly filled with tears.
The tears seemed on the verge of falling, making her look incredibly pitiful.
Mu Shuangshuang thought it over, "How much advance do you need?"
"Five... fifty coins!" the little girl said timidly.
Fifty coins wasn’t a big sum, so Mu Shuangshuang didn’t hesitate to give it to her.
"Here! Go home, change into clean clothes, and come help me tomorrow."
"Thank you, sister, thank you!"
The little girl, holding the fifty coins, bounced away with the little boy.
Watching them leave, Mu Shuangshuang didn’t feel like she was being scammed. Instead, she felt quite happy. Although she spent the money, which might never come back.
If she hadn’t given it to the little girl, she surely wouldn’t have been happy.
The girl’s expression reminded her too much of Little Zhi’s look of helplessness when she first arrived in this world.
That same helplessness, that same pitiable look.
If fifty coins could help someone, she felt like she was doing a good deed.
Getting back to work, Mu Shuangshuang resumed her loud shouts, convinced she’d eventually draw someone in.
As long as someone came, as long as someone tried her sauce, she’d definitely have her first customer.
Maybe it was her persistence, or perhaps the passerby just happened to be hungry.
In any case, finally someone came with money to buy one of her buns.
"I’ll take one!"
A very ordinarily dressed man said, tossing a coin to Mu Shuangshuang.
As usual, she grabbed a big steamed bun and put a spoonful of beef sauce inside.
The man didn’t think twice, taking the bun and leaving, which prevented Mu Shuangshuang from seeing his reaction.
But it wasn’t long before the man returned, looking at Mu Shuangshuang with excitement.
"Shopkeeper, what’s inside this bun? It’s so delicious! I’ve never had such a tasty filling!"
"Family’s secret sauce, it’s not just delicious with buns, but also enhances noodles’ flavor immensely!"
Mu Shuangshuang smiled at him.
Upon hearing that the taste was even better, the man’s mouth started watering.
"A bowl of noodles, please!"
He said, stepping inside, while Mu Shuangshuang happily began preparing noodles.
After cooking the noodles, she added a scoop of broth and another scoop of meat sauce before serving them.
The man slurped them up noisily and in no time, the bowl was empty.
"Another bowl!" he shouted, "I’ve never had such delicious noodles!"
His voice reached the ears of passersby, who stared at Mu Shuangshuang’s noodle shop, eyeing it curiously.
Some dared to venture in.
That’s how it is in business; the start is hard, but once people walk in, word spreads. If it’s good, more come, if it’s bad, they won’t!
Soon, three people came for noodles, then five...
By the end of one morning, Mu Shuangshuang sold eleven bowls, not a lot, but those eleven would remember why her noodles were so good—because of her family’s secret sauce.
Mu Shuangshuang was making plans for the future; she wanted people to start with her noodles and buns but end up remembering only her sauce.
When she starts selling her sauce by the bottle in the Northwest, those people would truly support her!
Once she started doing business, Mu Shuangshuang tended to forget many things, like Wen Nantian, whom she had mercilessly dumped.
Several days had passed, and Wen Nantian was barely eating a few mouthfuls of his meals.
Sometimes, he even had his food taken away entirely.
Wen Xiaoya felt that if this continued, things would spiral out of control.
She had to find that man named Lu Daniu.