Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

The target for making snail rice noodles remains 1,000 servings, with a limit of 200 servings of ingredients that can be purchased on the first day.

Shen Qing directly purchased two hundred portions of ingredients.

The next morning, she went straight into the kitchen after washing up.

The main ingredient in snail rice noodles is rice vermicelli, which is a special round rice vermicelli from Liuzhou provided by the system. It is elastic and not easy to break. She soaked the rice vermicelli in water in advance.

Next, prepare the soup base by blanching pork bones and chicken carcasses, then simmering them with scallions, ginger, and star anise.

Pour oil into another pot, sauté scallions, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, perilla leaves, and other spices until fragrant. Add the snails and stir-fry over high heat. Add cooking wine to remove any fishy smell, and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates and the aroma is released.

After stir-frying the snails, pour the previously prepared bone broth into the pot and simmer together. It will take about an hour.

Next comes preparing the side dishes.

Deep-fry the dried bean curd sticks until they puff up and turn golden brown. Fry the peanuts in cold oil over low heat. Cut the pickled bamboo shoots into strips and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates. Then add chili oil and stir-fry until fragrant. Stir-fry the pickled cowpeas in the same way and set aside.

In addition to these basic side dishes, Shen Qing also prepared water spinach, soft-boiled eggs, and braised pig's feet.

Once everything was ready, she pushed the cart to the entrance of Shuiyue Tower.

It was still early, and the morning market was already bustling with people, but the entrance to Shuiyue Tower was empty, with hardly anyone around.

This is normal. Shuiyuelou opens quite late. Right now, let alone the customers, even the girls inside are probably still asleep.

Shen Qing set up the stall on his own, lit the stove, and arranged all the ingredients.

"Madam Shen, you've arrived so early!"

It was Peony Girl from Shuiyue Tower. She had been thinking about Shen Qing's stall, and when she saw him upstairs, she quickly came down.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "The sooner we sell out, the sooner we can go home. How's it going? How are the improved pastries selling?"

"Oh dear!" Mentioning this only made Peony more excited. "The pastries last night were incredibly popular; the cooks couldn't keep up with the demand! Everyone's clamoring to come back for more today!"

"Madam Shen, you are truly amazing! With just a few words, you can transform ordinary pastries into incredibly delicious treats. It's absolutely incredible!"

"If it sells well, that's good. To be honest, I feel a little bad about setting up a snail rice noodle stall in front of your Shuiyuelou restaurant." Shen Qing's tone was somewhat apologetic.

After all, the smell of pickled bamboo shoots is really not very pleasant, except for those who like to eat them.

"There's nothing to feel bad about. Our boss said that you're like her own sister. Even if it's displayed in the building, you don't need to feel bad."

"How much is your snail rice noodle soup? I'll have one serving first!"

Peony was preoccupied with supporting Shen Qing's business, as the entrance to Shuiyue Tower was too deserted, with hardly any people around.

She had already decided that she would call all the women in the building downstairs later, and each of them would buy one serving, while also helping Madam Shen attract some business.

Shen Qing: "The taste of this snail rice noodle soup... you might not be able to accept it."

"Whether you accept it or not, give me one first!"

"A serving of snail rice noodles costs fifty coins."

Without saying a word, Mudan took out fifty coins.

Shen Qing stopped talking and took out the soaked rice noodles. After the water boiled, she put the rice noodles in.

In less than 15 minutes, the rice noodles were cooked. They were quickly rinsed with cold water and then spread at the bottom of the bowl.

Next, she picked up two mouthfuls of water spinach, added some peanuts, dried bean curd sticks, pickled cowpeas, soft-boiled eggs, and braised pig's feet.

Only at the very end did she open the jar containing the pickled bamboo shoots and scoop some into a bowl.

"This smells... weird," Peony frowned.

As soon as the pickled bamboo shoots were served, she sensed something was wrong; a strange sour and foul smell had inexplicably mixed in with the previously fragrant aroma.

She was too embarrassed to say it smelled bad, she just said it was weird.

"You'll know once you try it."

Shen Qing smiled faintly. After adding the pickled bamboo shoots, she poured the boiling soup base onto the rice noodles, drizzled some chili oil, and added a little vinegar.

When hot soup is poured over it, the unique aroma of the pickled bamboo shoots becomes even stronger.

Peony instinctively covered her nose as she took the bowl of snail rice noodles and examined it closely.

The snow-white rice noodles were soaked in the bright red broth, with a layer of chili oil floating on top, glistening with oil.

The reddish-brown pig's trotters, with their wrinkled skin soaked in broth, are topped with golden fried tofu skin, fried peanuts, and pickled cowpeas, while the bright green water spinach adds a refreshing touch of green to this bowl of rice noodles.

You can still vaguely see the soft-boiled egg lying in the rice noodles.

Just looking at its appearance made Mudan's mouth water.

But the smell in her nasal cavity was extremely unpleasant, like a strong, pungent odor of sweat that assaulted her senses, making her afraid to even pick up her chopsticks.

This bowl of rice noodles looks so delicious, but why does it smell so bad?

Which part of the process went wrong?

Peony frowned slightly. After hesitating for a long time, she finally stood up and said, "Madam Shen, I'll take this back upstairs to eat. I'll bring the bowl down to you after I'm done eating."

"That way, all the ladies in the building can try it too."

She couldn't eat anymore, but she couldn't let it go to waste.

Perhaps her nose was damaged; she took it back for the other sisters to try.

"Okay." Shen Qing smiled.

She could tell that Peony didn't actually want to go back to eat; she simply couldn't eat and was too embarrassed to refuse.

These snail rice noodles are really not selling well.

Unlike before in Ping'an County, where she sold stinky tofu and had a similarly indescribable taste, she had a shop and regular customers in Ping'an County, so her stinky tofu quickly gained a market.

This snail rice noodle soup is really...

Shen Qing was somewhat worried, mainly because she could only sell her wares at the entrance of Shuiyue Tower.

......

Meanwhile, Peony carried the bowl of snail rice noodles into the Water Moon Pavilion.

"Ugh, why does it smell so bad? Did someone spill the swill?"

Ru Yan could smell a sour, foul odor from afar, with a hint of earthiness. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was absolutely awful.

Peony, carrying a bowl, rushed over to Ruyan: "Quick, try this! It's snail rice noodles, sold by Madam Shen at the door. Try it and see what it tastes like!"

Ru Yan took two steps back, covered her nose, and fanned herself with a handkerchief, her eyes filled with deep confusion: "Luosifen (river snail rice noodles)?? The stench is coming from this luosifen?"

"No, no, it's Ah Si who was emptying the swill who accidentally spilled some, making the smell everywhere. It's impossible to hide it. This snail rice noodle is delicious; I've already eaten a bowl. This bowl was bought especially for you, so try it!"

Peony smiled and pushed the bowl towards Ruyan.

She had a good relationship with Ruyan, and Ruyan helped her with a lot of things. The two were like sisters.

Therefore, she had to let Ruyan try this bowl of smelly rice noodles.