After the deep fryer was set up and started heated up, Tang Tang began to skillfully knead the dough. When the dough took on the form of a deep-fried breadstick, Tang Tang said to Xiao Chen: “Understand what’s going on? The process of kneading the dough isn’t difficult, you should try to learn it. The most important thing is controlling the deep-frying and I will be doing this part. We’ll put it off learning this until you’re skilled at the dough.
“Okay.” Xiao Chen was currently a Truth Cultivator, so his six senses were greatly improved. Very easily, he remembered the process Tang Tang used to knead the dough. While Tang Tang started to deep fry the first deep-fried breadstick, Xiao Chen began to knead the dough.
During the initial period of kneading the dough, Xiao Chen did his utmost to knead in accordance to Tang Tang’s method. However, after Xiao Chen kneaded a few dough balls, he actually unexpectedly discovered that he seemed to have a spiritual connection with the dough in his hand!
This kind of situation very mysterious. In short, whichever way his hand kneaded the dough ball, it was the best way of kneading. Xiao Chen was able to perceive everything that his hand did and this made him frightened enough to jump, still believing that it was just an illusion. But looking at his hands kneading the dough, Xiao Chen realized that it was plumper than how Tang Tang made it and its shape was extremely even, causing him to feel that it was very unexpected!
“Tian Lao, is this a Truth Cultivator’s ability?” Xiao Chen promptly asked after he recovered from the shock and thought of the matter of his six senses improving.
“Naturally, but this is my first time seeing someone using a Truth Cultivator’s ability to make food.” Tian Lao mockingly replied: “A Truth Cultivator is a incredibly high-end existence, how would they have spare time to make food?”
“This is something forced by life……” Xiao Chen’s face was quite thick: “Right, is that to say that I have a gift in cooking?”
“It is not that you have a gift for cooking, it’s just that you’ll be much better than an ordinary person in whatever new ability you learn. Because your six senses are powerful, you can perceive every minute change in the food and it’s the same with other things.” Tian Lao explained.
“So it was like this.” Xiao Chen didn’t feel that the matter of him cooking was in improper in any way. Instead, he was very happy. Originally, he had thought that he would take a few days to learn the skill. After all, he had never been in contact with it before, but now it seems that he made it better than Tang Tang.
“This is what you made?” Tang Tang incredulously looked at Young Master Xiao. Her eyeballs looked like they wanted to fall out: “This dough is what you kneaded? This is the breadstick that you made?”
“Yes……” Xiao Chen nodded.
“Young Master Xiao, don’t tell me that you previously also had the background of a stall vendor……” Tang Tang tossed the un-deep-fried breadstick that Xiao Chen made into the deep fryer and deep-fried the breadstick’s fullness out evenly. Tang Tang’s craftsmanship was pretty good, but it only due to practice, plus the fact that she was hardworking and had suffered hardships. Hence, she was the best-selling deep-fried breadstick stall on the early morning market street. However, when Xiao Chen’s breadstick went into the boiler, it was obviously that the number of people lining up increased!
Without him, this deep-fried breadstick wouldn’t come out too attractive. Its outward appearance was too eye-catching!
Not only that, but Xiao Chen’s making speed was also quick! This was due to Xiao Chen currently being equal to a Second Layer Inner Strength Martialist, so he had more strength than Tang Tang, greatly reducing the time needed to knead the dough. Adding his spiritual knowledge on the top of that, which allowed Xiao Chen to avoid repeating kneading the dough again due to a wrong step, his speed had an absolute dominance.
Watching Xiao Chen’s hands making a constant amount of un-deep-fried breadsticks, Tang Tang and her customers were stupefied. Wasn’t this speed a little too fast?
Xiao Chen’s speed was quick, but so was Tang Tang’s speed. After all, Tang Tang’s deep fryer was pretty large. In the past, Tang Tang was usually both kneading and deep frying the deep-fried breadsticks alone, so her speed naturally slow. But today, with Xiao Chen here kneading the dough and her deep-frying breadsticks, the speed naturally went up. However, even so, their supply didn’t meet the demand!
Today’s deep-fried breadstick being particularly good was actually real, but the marketplace often had this kind of phenomenon. That was, the more people gathered around a vendor stand, the more people would increase. Everyone likes to get in on the action, so when they see people line up for something, they would go over to see the outcome!
This was one of the reasons why there was a long queue at Tang Tang’s stall!
Tang Tang had held the idea that even if Xiao Chen wasn’t able to help, she would still give Xiao Chen his part of the profit. But now it seems that pulling Xiao Chen to become her partner was truly a wise action!
In just a little while, the number of deep-fried breadsticks that she would sell on an ordinary morning was completely sold out! It was just that the deep-fried breadsticks dough required yeast and Tang Tang didn’t make a lot of dough yesterday. Thus, this caused the yeast dough to be sold out very quickly, but the customers still lining up!
Upon seeing so much people line up, Tang Tang promptly cupped her hands and said: “Sorry everyone, the dough has all been used up. I will prepare some more tomorrow. Everyone that hasn’t bought anything yet can come again tomorrow!”
When these people saw that Tang Tang’s breakfast stall had sold out, although they were unwilling, they still went to other breakfast-selling vendors. Meanwhile, Tang Tang and Xiao Chen were already starting to put away the stall.
“Right, Young Master Xiao, it truly can’t be seen that you have this kind of gift.” Tang Tang was both startled and delighted. Every previous morning, she usually wouldn’t sell out all the yeast dough. The leftovers, besides using it to give Xiao Chen and Deng Xiaokun breakfast, would be put in her storing vehicle and the equipment at the nearby grocery store auntie. However, she didn’t expect that when it just hit six o’clock today, everything would be sold out.
“What I just learned was just sold. So, how much money was made?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Apart from the cost, there is a profit of 200; today is the day with the most profits. In the past, getting 150 would be good enough!” Tang Tang’s face was full of dangerous contentment. Seeing her appearance, it did not seem to have any resemblance to her former ‘BaiFuMei’1 self at all.
“Haha, still pretty good.” Xiao Chen also wasn’t the former Young Master Xiao. Towards making profit off of this, he was happy. He knew that worrying about some things would not be of any use. Being able to make some profit is still profit and being anxious was useless.
Xiao Chen helped Tang Tang ride the tricycle, with her sitting on the vehicle’s back. There was actually the feeling of being those street married couples, a married couple combo that would do a small business. The husband in the front pedalling, the wife sitting on the back. Both going to set up a stall, then putting away the stall together.
The grocery store auntie had just opened business when Tang Tang arrived at the grocery store that she would usually store her tricycle and equipment. Upon seeing Tang Tang, the grocery store auntie smiled and welcomed her in: “Tang Tang, how come you’re done with work so early today?”
“There is another person today, causing the selling became a bit quicker, so I sold out at six o’clock.” Tang Tang pointed at Xiao Chen and said: “But there is no surplus auntie, there is no remaining dough to give to you.”
“Hehe, that’s all right, this old woman is only one person. I am poor and alone, so I don’t need to each much. If you give me some dough, I will steam a steamed bun to eat. If you don’t give me, I can eat something else. My grocery store earns enough money to use.” The auntie waved her hand and said with a smile: “You earning a little more money makes this auntie happy. Whenever I saw you, a lone girl, set up a stall first thing in the morning, auntie had heartache. But now, it’s fine because you have a boyfriend that can help you!”
“Ah……he……” Tang Tang this girl was rarely shy when the auntie talked, but just as she wanted to explain, the auntie continued to talk.
“Young man, Tang Tang is a good girl. Don’t look the fatness of a person, but their honesty, whether they are worth living with and if they can bear hardships!” The auntie turned her head towards Xiao Chen and said sincerely: “She isn’t like those gold diggers in society that look good, but are looking for local tyrants to be friends with all day long and searching for a ‘GaoFuShuai’ boyfriend. How could that be someone to live out one’s life with?”
When Xiao Chen heard the auntie’s words, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. In addition, he didn’t expect this auntie to be so modern. Whichever local tyrant or ‘GaoFuShuai’, she would all know, indeed fashionable. Xiao Chen intended to explain but was afraid that once the words came out, Tang Tang’s self-respect wouldn’t be able to bear it. Thus, he just nodded and said: “Auntie, I know……”
“I am just an old woman chattering away. Okay! You guys need to go to school, right? I won’t delay you, you guys should hurry up and go!” The auntie said as she waved her hands at Xiao Chen and Tang Tang.
The two of them bid goodbye to the auntie and left the grocery store. Only then did Tang Tang say: “Xiao Chen, auntie, this person, likes to chatter a lot. You don’t need to take it seriously.”
“No problem, aren’t the two of us buddies? It doesn’t matter.” Xiao Chen said with a laugh.
“That’s true, I was actually being pretentious. Let’s go to school.” Tang Tang glanced at Xiao Chen and asked: “Do you take the bus?”
“Do you normally take the bus?” Xiao Chen questioned back.
“The distance from here to the school is only 1 bus stop. It isn’t too far away, so I always walk.” Tang Tang replied: “Seeing that you’re an ‘11 way’ enthusiast, I will accompany you walking.”
“Eleven way?” Xiao Chen was a bit confused.
“The two 1’s represent two legs, so it is the ‘11 way’2!” Tang Tang said with a smile: “Have you never heard of this?”
“This analogy is quite high-end. Indeed, this my first time hearing this.” Xiao Chen previously would either drive or have a driver drive him to school, so he truly had not heard of ‘11 way’.
The two people walked to school together and the time was early morning. It was only when they just entered the school gate that Tang Tang abruptly stopped in her steps: “Ya! I forgot to leave you some breakfast. You seem to not have eaten yet right?”
“Haven’t you also not eaten?” Xiao Chen indeed had not eaten. With that many people lining up, he was embarrassed to leave himself a share.
“I am losing weight right now, but with your appetite, if you don’t eating, wouldn’t you starve by noon?” Tang Tang said as she looked at Xiao Chen: “I’ll go and buy you some steamed buns to eat.”
“No need, I’m not too hungry today.” Xiao Chen had discovered that when he didn’t cultivate, his food requirement wouldn’t be as intense. He didn’t cultivate yesterday, so at this moment his hunger wasn’t unbearable. Because he was busy for only one morning, it was normal for his stomach to be a bit empty.
“How about we be luxurious for once. Let’s buy a bread and milk and some western food!” When Tang Tang thought about today’s profit, she became a bit happy. Thus she teased Xiao Chen and didn’t wait for him to open his mouth. Instead, she pulled on Xiao Chen’s hand and ran towards the small supermarket near the school.
Xiao Chen was slightly distracted. Actually with his strength, he could easily break free, but probably because the one pulling him along was Tang Tang, he didn’t guard against it. If it were some other schoolgirl pulling his hand and running along, Xiao Chen would probably not adapt as quickly.
Although he had previously been a dandy young master, that was just his outside appearance, something that was nothing more than a facade for survival. When had he ever held hands with a girl before?
- TLN: For males, it would be ‘GaoFuShuai’ in Chinese, which literally translates out to ‘Tall, Rich, Handsome’, describing the perfect man. In this case, ‘BaiFuMei’ describes the perfect woman, which is ‘White, Rich, Beautiful’. For males, the literal translation basically describes everything, but for females, the ‘Bai(White)’ part refers to having lighter skin. ↩
- TLN: 11 way is the literal translation. What it means is ‘going by foot’. This is because the two 1’s represent legs, so if we change 11 with legs, it becomes ‘legs way’ or ‘going by foot’. Also, Tang Tang says ‘11’ while Xiao Chen says the Chinese for 11, which is ‘十一’. ↩