It seems she just used a similar method yesterday? "Auntie, your pancakes taste pretty good." The pancake-selling auntie chuckled, "Complimenting me won’t get you a free meal!" Lin Xiang: "...Do I look like someone who’d eat for free?" "Who was it just now that, seeing me just finish making pancakes, directly asked for one?" "But I didn’t say I wouldn’t pay!" "I don’t want money for the pancakes; you’ll cook me a bowl of spicy noodles later." The aunt calculated with her fingers, "This porridge is five cents a bowl, my pancake is also five cents each, your spicy noodles are ten cents a bowl with a bowl of porridge thrown in, which is equivalent to the spicy noodles costing five cents, I don’t want the porridge, just the noodles, so it evens out with the pancakes." Lin Xiang: "That’s not exactly how you calculate it. Fine, I’ll cook a bowl for you right now." She stood up and took away the pancakes Auntie had just finished making again, "My brother hasn’t had breakfast yet, I’ll take it to him to try." "Hey, you little rascal!" The aunt scolded lightly, but didn’t seem angry. By the time Lin Xiang carried the pancakes back to the stall, Lin Yun had already placed the aluminum bucket on the earthen stove and was stirring the bottom of the pot with a spoon. "Brother, you’ve been busy all morning and haven’t eaten. Here’s a pancake for you; the auntie at the next stall sent it." Lin Yun accepted the steaming pancake, "Did you eat?" Seeing Lin Yun glance over, she supplemented, "I didn’t come over earlier to watch the commotion; mainly because I figured you’d handle it with your wits, so I didn’t want to interfere." Turning her head, she saw the "interfering" Liu Pei, who was smiling at her, though the smile seemed a bit bitter and helpless. Lin Yun didn’t mind whether Lin Xiang came over or not; he wasn’t so incapable that he needed his sister to help him stand up. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Smartie Liu, have you finished shopping?" Lin Xiang greeted Liu Pei proactively. Liu Pei nodded, "There are a lot of things for sale at this big market, but many are just trading household goods, not much good stuff." She didn’t buy what she needed. "This kind of big market is mainly for a few brigades to exchange goods, naturally incomparable to supply and marketing cooperatives. It’s just past ten o’clock; if you’re in a hurry to buy something, it’s still time to go to the cooperative." While speaking, Lin Xiang grabbed two handfuls of noodles, placed them in two colanders, and put the colanders in the pot, so the noodles wouldn’t scatter at the bottom. And Mr. Niu was considerate enough to make a small hook on the handle of the colander, just the right bend to hang on the aluminum bucket without falling. The fire on the earthen stove was strong, and soon, two bowls of noodles were cooked. Lin Xiang served a bowl for Liu Pei, along with a bowl of porridge. "Smartie Liu, you eat first. If it’s not enough, tell me, and I’ll cook more for you." She carried the other bowl to Aunt Ge, of course, still with a bowl of porridge. "One bowl of noodles paired with one bowl of porridge, exactly ten cents, evens out the money for two pancakes, so you don’t lose out." Aunt Ge glanced at her and snorted twice, "You’re just good at boasting." "Not at all! My cooked noodles are really tasty; try them if you don’t believe me?" Aunt Ge was long attracted by the aroma of the spicy noodles and started eating on her own, ignoring Lin Xiang. When it got a bit spicy, she’d have a sip of porridge, which paired perfectly. The connection between Lin Xiang and Aunt Ge came from ten minutes earlier. Her shirt pocket had a little hole, causing the wool money inside to fall out. Aunt Ge stopped Lin Xiang and told her to pick up the money, quickly using needles and thread under the chopping board to patch up the hole in Lin Xiang’s shirt. "Auntie, I wasn’t just complimenting your pancakes for a free meal. They really taste good. I blindly guess, did you add eggs while making the dough? And the ratio of white flour to gray flour must be at least eighty-twenty. More white flour and eggs make for a great taste, right?" Aunt Ge took a moment amidst her busyness to glance at Lin Xiang but said nothing, continuing to eat her noodles. Lin Xiang didn’t mind, continued, "Though, even if you’re generous with ingredients, it’s just a pancake. Almost every household can make pancakes. For someone who knows how to live, five cents can make three to four pancakes; who would spend money to buy one?" "If you want to sell pancakes, you have to work on its appearance." Aunt Ge finished her last bite of noodles, pulled out an embroidered handkerchief to wipe the grease from her mouth, "Then tell me, how can the appearance be improved to sell?" "Selling just pancakes surely won’t work, but you could add something to them, make wraps. It’s not difficult; just fry a pan of spicy shredded potatoes before setting up your stall, someone buys a pancake, you add and wrap it, and it’s both nice-looking and tasty." "Selling them now at five cents each is honestly a bit pricey. Potatoes aren’t really worth much; in the countryside, a few cents can buy a big sack, lasting ten days to half a month. You could bundle things like me, put the unit price up a bit, and throw in a bowl of porridge." "If you don’t mind the hassle, you could even add some homemade pickled turnips or other sauerkraut. With porridge and pancakes, isn’t that a standard breakfast?" Aunt Ge clearly took Lin Xiang’s words seriously, began to consider the feasibility. But she quickly dismissed the thought. "There’s a big market only once every half month; why bother?" After all, not everyone is like her, trying to make money every day by setting up a stall at different big markets. Lin Xiang silently wiped a tear of hardship in her heart, collected Aunt Ge’s two empty bowls, "I’m going back to my stall, let’s chat when free." Meanwhile, Liu Pei had just finished her spicy noodles, Lin Yun asked proactively, "Have you had enough? Want another bowl?" Liu Pei waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no more." Actually, she didn’t eat much generally, and Lin Xiang’s servings were ample. If not for the great taste, she wouldn’t have finished. Seeing her refusal, Lin Yun collected the two empty bowls and took them aside to wash. The factory had a well; using water didn’t cost anything, especially since Lin Xiang willingly paid protection money, naturally facing no obstructions. However, using well water to wash dishes in winter was really cold, so Lin Yun never let Lin Xiang do it; he always washed the dirty dishes himself. Lin Xiang returned with two empty bowls and saw Liu Pei’s table empty, "Smartie Liu, have you finished eating?" Liu Pei nodded, "The spicy noodles tasted very good. Right, I’ll give you the money."