Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 20 The Boxed Meal Business Begins

The night he retrieved the cardboard box, He Yuzhu knocked on the door of the back room.

Old Li was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) pasting paper boxes. Cardboard, a paste basin, and a paper cutter were piled up on the edge of the kang, and the room smelled of paste.

He Yuzhu knocked on the door and was given permission to enter.

Old Li glanced up at him, his hands still busy, brushing on a layer of paste, pressing down a piece of cardboard, and making sure it was firmly packed.

"Uncle Li, I need to discuss something with you."

Old Li gestured with his chin towards the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and He Yuzhu sat down.

"I'll be selling boxed lunches at Qianmen Railway Station in a couple of days. I can't manage it all by myself, so I'd like to ask for your help. You can wash and chop vegetables, steam buns, pack them up, and set up the stall. Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day, and the pay will be 45 yuan a month."

Old Li stopped. Forty-five yuan. He could make less than fifteen yuan a month pasting cardboard boxes, even with his hands worn raw.

"But I have one condition," He Yuzhu said, looking at Lao Li. "To outsiders, you have to say we're partners. We'll split the profits proportionally. You can't say I hired him."

Old Li thought about it and understood. If the people in the yard knew that Zhu Zi was hiring people and paying them forty-five yuan a month, their eyes would pop out of their sockets.

"Okay." Old Li nodded. "Zhu Zi, thank you for using me."

"Uncle Li, it's me who's thanking you."

The two of them made a deal.

On the day he set up his stall, He Yuzhu got up at 5:30 in the morning to knead the dough.

At six o'clock, Old Li pushed open the door and came out, his cotton-padded coat wrapped tightly around him, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"Good morning, Uncle Li."

"Good morning, Zhuzi." Old Li nodded.

In the kitchen, the ingredients prepared yesterday were piled up on the counter. The pork belly was cut into thick slices about two fingers wide, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and arranged neatly. The ribbonfish was chopped into sections, glistening silver.

Old Li rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. There were two large coal stoves in the room. One had a four-tiered steamer, where Old Li was in charge of steaming buns. The other was a large pot for cooking rice.

Old Li started washing and chopping vegetables, tearing the cabbage by hand and shredding the potatoes.

He Yuzhu started cooking. First, he cooked the pork belly.

Blanch the sliced ​​meat and then stew it in a pot. The sauce is a bright reddish-brown, and the skin of the meat is trembling.

Next, braise the ribbonfish. Coat the ribbonfish segments with batter and fry until golden brown, then return them to the pot with sauce and simmer. This makes the ribbonfish look bigger and more saturated with the broth.

Two large coal stoves were started to steam buns and cook rice, with Old Li in charge of the stoves.

Once the two dishes are cooked, put them into four ceramic jars. Wrap them tightly with clean cotton quilts.

He Yuzhu started stir-frying vegetables.

Stir-fry the cabbage, then sizzle it with dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns in hot oil, releasing a burst of spicy and numbing flavor. For the hot and sour shredded potatoes, drizzle vinegar along the edge of the wok, letting the tangy aroma rise. Once cooked, transfer everything to a ceramic jar and place it on a cutting board.

The dishes were ready. The two started packing. First, they put rice at the bottom, then piled the vegetables and meat on top. The rice bowls with ribbonfish and the rice bowls with braised pork were packed separately.

The boxed meals are stamped on the outside to distinguish them: red stamps indicate meat, and blue stamps indicate fish. There is also a type without stamps, which contains one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and no steamed buns.

After packing, the food was loaded onto a tricycle and wrapped tightly in quilts. Folding tables and chairs were inserted on both sides of the tricycle, and four layers of steamers were placed in the back, also covered with quilts.

Yangshi Lei delivered the folding tables and chairs the day before yesterday. They were quite well-made, with several coats of dark paint. The paint was so glossy it was reflective, so it wouldn't be affected by food stains at all.

The bus departs at 10:30.

Qianmen Railway Station. 11:00 AM. People carrying loads, pulling carts, hurrying along, waiting for trains—all hungry and in a rush.

The tricycle came to a stop, the folding tables and chairs were set up, the steamer was opened, and the plump, steaming buns were steaming hot. The boxed lunches were taken out from under the quilt, three were selected, the lids were opened, and the aroma wafted out on the wind.

"Boxed lunch. One meat dish and two vegetable dishes, three cents a serving. The meat dish is either braised pork or braised ribbonfish, whichever you prefer. The two vegetable dishes are stir-fried cabbage and hot and sour shredded potatoes. The staple food is rice or steamed buns. Pick what you want to eat."

A crowd gathered. I craned my neck for a peek; the braised pork belly was glistening with oil, a deep reddish-brown, a thick slice. Three pieces of ribbonfish, soaking in sauce. Cabbage, shredded potatoes. The rice was piled high. I swallowed hard, pulled out my money. A box was handed over, I squatted by the roadside, broke open my chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised pork belly, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, my eyes widened, and I buried my head in my rice.

People around him gathered around when they saw him eating like that.

"Give me a box."

"I'll have one too."

"Sanmao, right? Two boxes, please."

Old Li collected the money and handed out the boxed lunches, while He Yuzhu greeted the customers. The folding table was full of people, some squatting and some standing, all shoveling food into their bowls. Some people saved the meat for last; after finishing their rice, they would pick up a piece of meat, take a big bite, and chew until their cheeks bulged.

In less than two hours, all three hundred portions were sold out. Those who arrived late surrounded the tricycle and asked questions.

"That's it?"

"Sorry, we're sold out."

"Make more tomorrow."

Pack up the stall. Fold up the tables and chairs and tie them up, stack the empty jars and steamers, and load them all onto the tricycle.

Back at the courtyard house, it was two in the afternoon. There were only a few people in the courtyard. Jia Zhangshi was sitting at the door of the west wing, eating melon seeds. Tan Xiulan was picking vegetables at the door.

He Yuzhu and his companion parked their tricycle in front of their house, unloaded their belongings, and carried them inside.

He deliberately took out his cloth bag and emptied it into the truck bed. A small pile of small bills appeared. He sat down and smoothed them out one by one. Jia Zhangshi couldn't crack any more melon seeds, and Tan Xiulan stopped picking vegetables.

After counting, there were exactly ninety pieces.

He Yuzhu counted out twenty-five yuan and handed them to Lao Li.

"Uncle Li, here you go. This is yours. We'll split the profits proportionally." This was what He Yuzhu had agreed upon with Old Li; he was just playing along.

Old Li took it and put it in his pocket. "Hmm."

The people in the courtyard stared at the twenty-five yuan. Old Li usually made paper boxes and did odd jobs, earning less than twenty yuan a month. He split the twenty-five yuan with Zhu Zi for a day when they set up a stall together.

They don't care how much capital you need; they only see that the two of you can split ninety yuan.

The melon seed shells in Jia Zhangshi's mouth were stuck to her lips, and she forgot to spit them out.

He Yuzhu put the money back into the cloth bag, pushed the cart back into the house. Old Li followed him in and closed the door.

He Yuzhu counted out another twenty yuan from his cloth bag and handed it to Old Li. "Uncle Li, this month's wages are settled in advance."

Old Li took it, and his mouth moved slightly. "Pillar, there's too much."

"Not much. You're a hard worker, you're worth the money."

Old Li carefully pocketed the money and stood there for a while. "Six o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"Six o'clock."

Old Li pushed open the door and went out. He Yuzhu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and put the money into his spatial storage. There were ten tons of seafood stacked in his space; how much money could he make from that? Even if he sold it for ninety yuan a day, he could earn at least thirty yuan a day, and nine hundred yuan a month.

Master only earns 120 yuan a month at Fengzeyuan.

However, we still need to account for rainy days, and where to build several large rain shelters. They should be retractable, like the large parasols of later generations.

The next day at six o'clock. He Yuzhu got up to knead the dough; Old Li had already arrived. He washed and chopped the vegetables, put the pork belly and ribbonfish into the pot, and the aroma wafted out. The people in the courtyard woke up.

The bus departs at 10:30. Jia Zhangshi, sewing shoe soles at the doorway, glanced at the lunchboxes on the bus and her throat tightened.

"Show-off. What's there to brag about?"

He Yuzhu didn't turn around. A smirk played on his lips.

The tricycle wheels clattered over the blue brick pavement, heading towards the courtyard gate. Old Li pushed it from behind, his steps steady.