Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

Shunzi's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

"It smells so good!" He looked in the direction of the smell and saw that Li's Wonton Shop, which usually didn't have many customers, was now emitting wisps of white smoke.

The usually meek and obedient boss was now standing behind the iron furnace, stirring constantly with long chopsticks in his hand.

Shunzi swallowed hard, his feet seemingly moving on their own as he walked over. "Manager Li, what are you cooking? It smells so good!"

Li Chunsheng looked up. "Brother Shunzi, I just made some bone broth. It's so cold outside, would you like a bowl to warm yourself up? I also have freshly made bone broth wontons, thin wrappers and generous fillings, only five copper coins."

Five copper coins? Shunzi hesitated. Five copper coins could buy three big steamed buns!

But the bubbling broth and golden oil in the pot smelled absolutely amazing!

"Come on! One bowl!" Shunzi gritted his teeth, thinking he could just make a few more trips that night!

"Alright! Please have a seat!"

The meat filling definitely can't be remade anytime soon, but the wonton wrappers were just rolled out again by Li Chunsheng. They're as thin as cicada wings. Wontons are all about thin wrappers and lots of meat.

"Boil three times, then it's ready!" Li Chunsheng took out a rough porcelain bowl, rinsed it with water, and laid out finely chopped scallions and a few dried shrimp at the bottom of the bowl, then drizzled a little soy sauce and a drop of sesame oil on top.

A large ladle is used to scoop up the boiling hot bone broth and pour it into the bowl, steaming hot and fragrant with scallions!

Next, use a slotted spoon to scoop ten translucent wontons into a bowl and serve!

"Your bone broth wontons, enjoy." Li Chunsheng placed the bowl on the old wooden table in front of Shunzi with both hands.

Shunzi is long gone!

Ignoring the heat, he picked up the bowl and took a deep breath.

"So comfortable!" Just that breath of warm air made him feel like every pore on his body had opened up.

In those days, who would make soup with pork bones and old hens? Every family just simmered some minced meat with one or two pieces of discarded pork bones.

This soup, if you add some boiling water to it every day, can last for more than a month or two.

Shunzi couldn't wait to scoop up a wonton and put it in his mouth, soup and all. In that instant, Shunzi's eyes widened in surprise!

Hot! Fresh! Smooth! Tender! The scalding hot broth instantly dispelled the chill in my body, followed by the rich and mellow meaty flavor of the bone broth, which exploded on my tongue. It was a real meaty aroma, so rich and mellow that it felt like a thick quilt wrapped around my tongue.

With a gentle bite, the wonton wrapper bursts open, and the meat filling inside slides out. Although there isn't much meat, it's savory and delicious.

"Mmm! Mmm!!" Shunzi couldn't bear to speak at all; he felt that if he opened his mouth to speak, the delicious flavor would disappear.

In less than two minutes, Shunzi devoured a bowl of wontons, broth and all, and even licked the scallions from the bottom of the bowl into his mouth.

"Ha! That feels so good!" Shunzi put down his bowl, exhaled a long breath of hot air, his face flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Awesome! So awesome! Absolutely awesome!

"Manager Li!" Shunzi slammed ten copper coins on the table and shouted, "Another bowl, please!"

There were already quite a few people watching from the sidelines. These days, nobody has much money to eat, so who could resist the temptation of that aroma? And then, looking at Shunzi's blissful expression, who could possibly resist?

"Shopkeeper! I'll have a bowl too!"

"I'll have a bowl too! Extra scallions, please!"

Suddenly, seven or eight people gathered around the previously deserted stall.

The progress bar on the system panel is also jumping:

[Stock Making Proficiency: 30/100]

[Wonton making proficiency: 10/100]

"Alright! Gentlemen, please wait a moment, the wontons will be ready soon!"

The white steam in front of the stall grew thicker and thicker. In the cold winter wind of Beiping, this small wonton stall became the warmest place on the whole street.

"Boss, is it ready yet?"

"Here they come! Please wait a moment, these are all freshly made wontons!"

As his skill improved, Li Chunsheng's technique visibly became faster. At first, he was still a little clumsy when wrapping wontons, but by the tenth bowl, he could lightly touch the meat filling with his chopsticks and pick up just the right amount of filling. He would then turn the dough in his palm and gently close it with his thumb and forefinger.

One by one, the wontons, shaped like ingots, leaped into the boiling soup.

"Your wontons, be careful they're hot!" Li Chunsheng handed the last bowl of wontons to a schoolteacher wearing an old cotton robe and took five warm copper coins from him.

"This soup is delicious!" The gentleman took a sip, his eyes lighting up. He didn't even bother to wipe the fog off his glasses. "Young master, your cooking is really good! It's just as good as Dongxinglou's! These five copper coins are well worth it!"

Li Chunsheng smiled and nodded his thanks. With the two bowls from Shunzi, he had earned 80 copper coins in just two hours!

After paying Ma San 50 in interest, there will be 30 left!

Li Chunsheng breathed a sigh of relief, and just as he turned around, he heard a voice coming from afar.

"Wow, business is booming! Mr. Li, I can smell the aroma from far away."

The crowd quieted down, and the diners' expressions changed when they saw the newcomer. They quickly moved aside with their bowls, afraid of being tainted by bad luck.

Ma San was still spinning two iron balls in his hands, followed by two henchmen with their hats askew. He swaggered over and glanced at the empty bowls on the table that hadn't yet been cleared away.

"Not bad, kid," Ma San said, stepping onto a bench. "Looks like I underestimated you. You've sold quite a bit this afternoon, haven't you?"

"Third Master, please count. Fifty copper coins, no more, no less. This is today's interest." Li Chunsheng placed a cloth bag on the table.

Ma San was stunned for a moment, not expecting that this poor scholar-like Li Chunsheng could actually collect the money. He gave his subordinate a wink, and one of his underlings stepped forward, grabbed the bag, emptied it out, counted the money, and looked up to say, "Third Master, fifty coins, just right."

In the past, Ma San would have just taken the money and left, but today is different.

Ma San sniffed. He had been around Qianmen for over a decade and had seen all sorts of restaurants. But this smell was just too damn strange; it was so delicious that even someone who had just eaten felt hungry again.

More importantly, this stall was doing incredibly well. In these chaotic times of war, such good business was like a goose that lays golden eggs.

Ma San's eyes darted around, his fat twitched, and without reaching for the copper coins on the table, he sneered, "The interest is enough, but what about the principal?"

Li Chunsheng frowned slightly: "Third Master, we agreed that we would only pay the interest today, and give us a few more days to pay the principal."

"That was just now!" Ma San slammed his hand on the table, making the chopsticks in the holder jump around. "Now I've changed my mind! Either you slam three silver dollars right here, or this stall will be under the Black Tiger Gang's control from now on, and you'll be my cook. I'll give you a job!"

The true intentions are revealed! They want to seize the stall and exploit him as free labor!