Chapter 19: You Don’t Understand Anything!
After that, Nie Qiu spent another hour wrapping all the dumplings. Once the dumplings were wrapped, Nie Qiu looked at the clock on the wall; it was already ten o’clock.
She tidied up the house, then took her keys and the tin foil she had bought at the market, and left with the dumplings on her back.
Night market, this term can be heard in many big cities. In increasingly prosperous urban life, people need to study and work during the day, and night is when urban dwellers truly relax. Nie Qiu remembered that when she was in high school, once the committee funds were not fully used, the class monitor took some of the class cadres to the night market to eat and drink, eat barbecue, and drink beer.
In the environment of billowing smoke and fireworks, she really didn’t have the courage to stay, and left after a short while.
Now, to go to the night market again, to be honest, Nie Qiu didn’t struggle too much mentally; she needed money.
Although she extremely disliked that place, the night market.
Night market, night market, meaning a market at night. At night, the night market is crowded and bustling, even more so than during the day. Countless vendors set up street stalls in the open-air market, shouting their wares. Further inside, there are places specifically selling cooked food and snacks, such as barbecue, spicy hot pot, and various other snacks.
In front, there was an open-air area. Nie Aifang had a tricycle there, with a large umbrella tied to it. Beside it were three folding tables and several plastic stools. Sitting there was a young couple who had only ordered two bottles of orange juice and a few skewers of dried tofu and chive barbecue. At another table were several men, with chicken, chicken wings, and fish balls being grilled on the table, along with quite a few beers.
Nie Qiu, carrying the dumplings in her small back basket, walked over from a distance. Nie Aifang, busy with her work, did not notice her daughter’s arrival.
Nie Qiu walked forward with a smile, took down the dumplings from her back, and called out to Nie Aifang, who hadn’t noticed her yet, “Mom.”
“Qiu Qiu, why are you here?” Nie Aifang scooped up a piece of fried dried tofu, coated it with seasoning, and delivered it to the young couple. Then she walked over to Nie Qiu. “Why are you back so late today? I’ve kept your meal warm in the pot, did you see it?”
Nie Qiu nodded with a smile. “I’ve eaten, Mom. Where did you put that iron plate?” On the tricycle, only charcoal grill and deep-fried items were visible, but not the iron plate for teppanyaki.
“I’ve got it! No one ordered teppanyaki squid today, so I didn’t take it out to use,” Nie Aifang then noticed what Nie Qiu had brought. “Qiu Qiu, what is this?”
“Mom, please get the iron plate for me and wrap the tin foil around it,” Nie Qiu said to Nie Aifang as she lowered her head and took out the tin foil from her back basket. She still couldn’t stand the dark iron plate! Wrapping it with tin foil made it more acceptable.
Although Nie Aifang was puzzled, she still took out the iron plate and wrapped it with tin foil. Then, as Nie Qiu instructed, she removed the charcoal grill rack and replaced it with the tin foil-wrapped iron plate.
Nie Qiu brushed a layer of oil onto the tin foil, then arranged the dumplings one by one on the tray for ingredients and began to pan-fry them.
Nie Aifang watched and couldn’t help but ask, “Qiu Qiu, where did you get so much money to buy meat?” As soon as she spoke, Nie Aifang froze. Thinking about the money she had given Nie Qiu yesterday for exam papers, she wanted to scold her, but seeing Nie Qiu’s serious expression, she fell silent. If she were capable, how could she let her daughter come here to help her sell things? If the family had money, why would her daughter use the money for exam papers to buy things to help her business?
The iron plate wrapped in tin foil was metallic silver, and it looked much more appetizing than other grilled items. Nie Qiu grilled ten pan-fried dumplings, then put five into a disposable food container for barbecue and brought them to the young couple at their stall. “This is our first time selling pan-fried dumplings, so consider these five a gift to you both. Please try them.” Nie Qiu knew the principle that you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.
The woman happily accepted. “Thank you.”
Nie Qiu smiled and shook her head, then returned to the front of the tricycle. Nie Aifang whispered to Nie Qiu, “They didn’t order pan-fried dumplings.”
Nie Qiu smiled and packed the other five. She said with a smile, “Mom, you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. There’s gain only through giving.” After saying that, Nie Qiu smiled and brought the other five to the table of five big men. The white lime on their trouser legs indicated they were construction workers.
Nie Aifang frowned disapprovingly. How could she give them away for free? Meat was so expensive! Ten yuan a jin for meat!
Most people who eat at night markets generally like snacks. While pan-fried dumplings are a type of snack, it was unexpected that the pan-fried dumplings made at this small stall were surprisingly delicious. After the young couple finished their pan-fried dumplings, they called out to Nie Qiu, “Young lady, how much are your pan-fried dumplings?”
Nie Qiu smiled as she made the pan-fried dumplings. “The same as others, fifty cents for two, one yuan for four, two yuan for eight.”
“Alright then, make us another eight pan-fried dumplings, and then ten to go,” the boy said with a smile. “I didn’t expect you, a young girl, to have such good skills.”
“That’s eighteen in total, right? Got it!” Nie Qiu smiled and picked out twenty dumplings from her back basket. In business, if others feel they’ve gained, and you feel you’ve gained, you can develop long-term clients.
Nie Qiu deftly brushed a layer of oil onto the tin foil with a brush, then placed the dumplings on it one by one. She turned on the small fan by the charcoal grill, and the charcoal glowed red. Nie Qiu gently flipped them with small tongs, and soon twenty pan-fried dumplings were ready. She packed ten to go and brought the other ten to the young couple.
Nie Qiu smiled and said, “You are our first customers for pan-fried dumplings, so here are two on the house.”
Nie Aifang, while grilling barbecue for customers who ordered to go, looked at Nie Qiu. Seeing Nie Qiu giving more away, she frowned again. However, in front of everyone, she didn’t want to lose her temper with Nie Qiu. But when she saw Nie Qiu walking over to make pan-fried dumplings, she gave Nie Qiu a rather intimidating look.
Nie Qiu shrunk her neck under Nie Aifang’s gaze and stuck out her tongue at her mother. She had given away two more, meaning she had given away twelve in total, which was six yuan. Actually, she was just afraid of not selling them all. She knew her pan-fried dumplings were good, but everyone’s taste was different, and they liked different things. Whether they would like them or buy them, Nie Qiu had no idea. She even regretted buying so much meat.
After drinking beer and eating pan-fried dumplings, those men also ordered ten each, which amounted to fifty.
Nie Qiu was so happy that her worries were greatly reduced. While frying dumplings, she also helped Nie Aifang count the money.
