After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 128 The Blow of Reality

Everyone craned their necks to look, and they saw that there really was a small piece of meat the size of a fingernail in the center of the vegetable dumpling. It seemed that one penny a piece was really not expensive.

Immediately, some people bought them because they were cheap, and others followed suit. The wild vegetable dumplings that Xiong Kai brought out were almost all sold out.

He immediately felt a sense of triumph and thought about making more tomorrow so he could send it to Dahe Town and ask if any restaurants wanted it.

If he could sell four or five baskets a day, he would become rich.

The next day, Xiong Kaizhen had Mo Chunxiang make a full basket of vegetable dumplings. They sold seven or eight on the boat and arrived at Dahe Town.

He first went to small eateries to ask, and each shopkeeper bought three or four, but none of them offered to buy from him.

Xiong Kai was a little frustrated. He walked through a row of houses, asking from house to house, and it took him most of the day to sell a basket of wild vegetable dumplings.

When he returned to town on the third day, he found that all the eateries, big and small, were selling wild vegetable dumplings. Not only were they filled with more ingredients than his, but they also tasted better, and each one cost one coin.

He was so angry that he immediately got into an argument with the owner of a restaurant, "You guys are too insidious, actually copying me to sell wild vegetable dumplings!"

The shopkeeper remained calm and said indifferently, "Sir, you need to have evidence to back up your words. We didn't ask you for the recipe for wild vegetable dumplings, nor did we make any promises to you. How did we become someone who copied you? What kind of amazing and unique delicacy are these wild vegetable dumplings?"
"Don't think my family is the only one selling them; every restaurant and inn on this street sells them! Even the more hardworking people in town can forage for wild vegetables to make them themselves. Do you really think wild vegetable dumplings are something only your family makes?"

Xiong Kai's face turned pale and then flushed as he was being talked about, which was quite a sight.

After the shopkeeper went inside, the waiter stepped forward with a sympathetic look and whispered, "Hey! If you want to learn how to sell guokui (a type of flatbread), you have to show some real skill. Everyone wants to make their own guokui, but look at how much time has passed and not a single chef has figured it out yet. Only this kind of business can last!"

Xiong Kai was confused, bewildered, and frustrated. "That guokui isn't a family recipe, so why can't we make it anymore?"

The waiter shook his head. "I don't know about that. I just heard from our cook that the filling of the guokui is very special. You can't find the preserved mustard greens in the preserved mustard greens braised pork. The texture is more like dried and soaked. Nobody knows what it originally looked like. That alone is enough to deter a group of people."

And the flavor isn't just from adding salt; it's just that the other party is clever enough to turn it into powder, so you can't tell the difference. Even if you could, you wouldn't know their proportions and couldn't replicate it.

The scallion flavor and sweetness can be imitated, but the result is never as fragrant as the original, and it takes too much effort. It's not worth spending so much time and effort; it's better to order everything from the Shen family.

I also heard Master Shen say that his wife made this guokui (a type of flatbread), which shows how clever and resourceful she must be.

If you really want to do business, then learn how to make something that others can't imitate. Otherwise, don't bother learning; you'll just be burning through your savings, wasting money and effort, and in the end, it'll all be a waste of time and energy.

These words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling Xiong Kai to the bone. His get-rich-quick dream vanished in an instant, and Xiao Er's words kept replaying in his mind.

He simply couldn't accept that such delicious guokui (a type of flatbread) was made by a woman he disliked.

That day, after delivering the guokui (a type of flatbread), Shen Yi overheard the waiter at the restaurant whispering about the wild vegetable dumplings. He also learned that someone wanted to imitate him by selling off their stock. He just smiled and didn't comment.

When he got back, he casually mentioned the news to Su Tai.

Su Tai immediately said with a look of relief, "Luckily we took on Ma Xingteng's order. No, I have to find a way to upgrade our guokui (a type of flatbread) so that others can't even copy it!"

Shen Yi chuckled bitterly, "Isn't it good enough as it is now? I think it's fragrant enough!" Su Tai shook her head seriously, "Not enough. For example, if it's sweet, it would be even better if you sprinkled some black sesame seeds on it. If you could replace the maltose in it with brown sugar, the taste would be even better. Unfortunately, we can't make it now. We have to wait until autumn."

However, we can add flavors to those that can't be upgraded, like shredded cabbage and carrots, shredded pickled cabbage and bamboo shoots, or chives and eggs. In short, we're going to conquer the entire guokui market!

After saying that, she went back into the house with high spirits, went into the Wood Time and Space Vegetable Store and bought several kinds of vegetables to cook at home.

Shen Yi had no other choice but to spoil her.

The final product was quite amazing.

So, when Shen Dagou and his sister came over the next day, they found that they had added three more types of fillings to their buns. As soon as the buns came out of the oven, Shen Yi let them try the taste, and they both gave them high praise.

When they got to work, none of the three uttered a sound. They were all focused on pressing the dough into flatbreads. Shen Dagou even learned how to flatbreads from Shen Yi. This way, with two people baking, the speed increased considerably.

The three new flavors of guokui (a type of flatbread) have been well received by diners since their launch, with some even preferring the pure vegetable filling.

After all, many wealthy women here are Buddhists and eat vegetarian food on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, but vegetarian food is really not very tasty.

The guokui (a type of flatbread) with cabbage and radish shreds, and pickled cabbage and bamboo shoot shreds, instantly captured the taste buds of all vegetarians and Buddhists. Even people from Buddhist temples came to Shen Yi, hoping that he could send a batch of vegetarian guokui to the temple on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month.

Su Tai would never refuse such a deal; she would accept any number of orders.

Shen Yi was about to try to dissuade her, but seeing that Su Tai was enjoying herself, he could only let her be.

After seeing off the last customer, the couple sat down to tally the costs, and Su Tai finally couldn't smile anymore.

"Brother Shen, this quantity is more than three times more than usual, how could this be?" Su Tai panicked.

Shen Yi smiled wryly and said, "I wanted to remind you a long time ago, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and I was afraid of offending people, so I didn't mention it. Now we need to get more charcoal stoves and find more people to help. Luckily it's only the first and fifteenth of the month. If it were this much every day, we wouldn't be able to survive."

Su Tai chuckled sheepishly and said coquettishly, "I was too happy and got a little carried away. I'll definitely change next time! Here's what we'll do! Go to Dongmen Village and tell my parents about the situation here. Ask my brother and his family if they can come to work on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. We'll pay them."

Shen Yi nodded; it seemed that this was the only option for now.

The next day at noon, Shen Yi took some snacks to Dongmen Village.

After learning of Shen Yi's purpose, Su Chunlin and his wife immediately called over Su Zhan and the other two, saying, "Your eldest sister and brother-in-law are too busy. They need someone to go and help on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. You all need to go and lend a hand. Leave a day early."

The three nodded in succession.

Su Zhan said, "Brother-in-law, Sister Su Yan is pregnant, and Brother Song is also looking for work. Do you think we should call him along?"

Since the wild boar incident, their family has become much closer to Song Yongnian, and they often keep in touch, always remembering each other when good things happen.