Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

The next morning, everyone went to work in the store wearing the same uniforms. The clothes were bought at the clothing store.

The women all wore pink and purple cross-collared skirts and wrapped their heads with light pink cloths to prevent their hair from falling into the food.

The men all wore gray and brown cross-collared long-sleeved tops, black trousers, and brown cloth hats.

In the backyard, a row of charcoal stoves were set up, boiling green bean paste, red bean paste, chestnut soup, white fungus, red dates, lotus seed soup, lotus seed and lily soup, and sour plum soup.

The stove in the kitchen is steaming taro, sweet potato, and double-skin milk.

My aunt and her friends were chopping chicken, washing vegetables, pickling meat, and cutting fruits and other small condiments. Everyone was busy.

Song Sanniang began to make ice on the display cabinet, and then put some of the sweet soup ingredients that everyone had prepared into the ingredient packaging boxes.

Because there was no stainless steel, we bought thin porcelain. All kinds of small ingredients were placed on the counter and put in the display cabinet after they were frozen.

The small ingredients now include mango cubes, papaya cubes, peach cubes, bayberry, and mulberry.

There were no watermelons. The watermelons at that time were neither sweet nor red. Even if there were good ones, they would be offered as tribute to the emperor first.

Modern watermelons are bright red, juicy and sweet after generations of improvement and cultivation.

The colorful taro balls are soaked in sugar water so that they won’t clump together and become hard.

By 10 o'clock, almost 11 o'clock, everything was finally ready.

In the display cabinet, neatly arranged are various cut fruits, colorful taro balls, and lavender thick taro paste.

The snow-white original milk jelly, coconut milk jelly, green matcha milk jelly, and brown coffee milk jelly are all cut into neat small pieces.

There are also taro cubes, sweet potato cubes, candied red beans, and milk-water mochi, which are dazzling to look at. The prepared coconut milk is also packed in small wooden barrels and placed aside.

Everyone put the tables, chairs and benches in order, then opened the door and pushed the display cabinet out. Someone opened the sliding glass window on one side, and then everyone took their seats, waiting to start business.

To be honest, everyone was a little nervous since it was the first time. We asked a fortune teller to tell us that twelve o'clock today was an auspicious time, so everyone opened the door a little early to welcome guests who might come to congratulate us.

Not long after the store opened, two brothers, Master Hong, came in hand in hand. Master Hong Yuan presented a ceramic statue of the God of Wealth, while Master Hong Fei presented a ceramic statue of Guan Gong.

These two gifts are great. Guan Gong protects the house, brings wealth, wards off disasters, and ensures safety. Not to mention the God of Wealth, business is booming, and money is rolling in.

Song Laoer happily invited the two chefs to come in and sit down, placed their gifts on the cashier's counter, and then the kitchen staff served them some snacks to help them pass the time.

Huang Gui and Jin Fugui seemed to have made an appointment and arrived almost at the same time. Huang Gui gave a small treasure bowl ornament, while Jin Fugui's gift was more interesting, it was a gilded abacus.

They were all very good gifts. Song Lao Er thanked them and invited them to sit inside. He then served them drinks and snacks.

Then Master Tan came and presented a wooden sculpture of a Ruyi tree that he had made himself. Song Laoer thanked him cheerfully and accepted it. He immediately put the sculpture on the counter with great joy, invited him in to sit down, and served him snacks and drinks.

Next, we had to wait and see if Miss He would come. Passers-by on the road kept their eyes on the store, and it was obvious that they were very curious.

But I saw that the red cloth covering the signboard had not been removed yet, so I was not sure whether it was open for business or not, so no one came in for the time being.

Suddenly, three carriages with luxurious and exquisite decorations slowly drove over from a distance and stopped in front of the store.

After a while, a handsome young man holding a folding fan got off the carriage in front, followed by a tall young man in rich clothes and a cute little child.

The handsome young man got off the carriage and walked to the second carriage, knocked on the wall, and said, "We are here, get off."

When the people in the car heard this, a maid in pink and a maid in blue got out first.

Then two girls got off the car one after another. The one in front was elegant and pretty, wearing a bean paste green jacket and skirt.

The girl behind her has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her facial features are very deep. She looks heroic and gorgeous. She is wearing a red dress, which is very eye-catching.

The tall young man got to the third carriage and said to the people in the carriage, "We're here, get off now."

Two maids got out of the carriage first, and then they stood guard on the left and right.

The curtain inside the car was lifted, and two young ladies whose outlines were somewhat similar to the woman in red got out of the car, one on the left and one on the right, holding the hands of their maids.

Seeing this scene, some onlookers talked about it.

"Whose families are these young men and women from? They are so impressive."

"Look at the emblem on the car. It's the Jin family. It's the Jin family."

Someone gasped, "I'm so lucky today, I got to see the three daughters of the Jin family. But the Jin family only has three daughters, how come there's one more?"

"Doesn't the Jin family have four daughters? Why did you say three?"

"Tsk, the other daughter of the Jin family is the daughter of the illegitimate Fourth Master. Is she the one today?"

"It doesn't look like it."

"This store has some goodies. It hasn't even opened yet, but they've invited the young master and young lady from the Jin family. Let's go join in the fun later."

"What coupons were distributed yesterday? Did you get them? The one I got is worth eight cents, and you get free sour plum soup when you order snacks."

"Ah, I saw there was candy to eat, but after I took the candy I didn't know where I threw the receipt. I have to go look for it." With that the man ran away quickly.

Regardless of everyone's discussions, Song Sanniang was really surprised to see that Miss He and Master He San had come and brought so many people with them. She hurried forward to greet them.

Seeing Song Sanniang wearing a headscarf and an apron, Miss He and Master He San both laughed.

Song Sanniang was a little embarrassed. She scratched her head, then smiled and said, "Welcome. You've come all the way here. Thank you for your hard work. Go in and sit down for a while. We'll open on time later."

After that, she turned to Miss He and said, "I'll let you, the second boss, light the firecrackers later. Do you dare?"

"No, no, I'm scared." Miss He shook her head hurriedly.

"Let me do it, let me do it, I'm not afraid." The girl in red standing next to Miss He shouted excitedly,

"Okay, I'll let you come later." Song Sanniang agreed with a smile.

"Nonsense." The tall man said in a nonchalant tone, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the woman in red. "I am your sister, don't act like a brother."

"I'm sorry to embarrass you." Although Miss He said this, it can be seen that she is in a good mood at the moment.

She then went on to introduce him to Song Sanniang, "This is my third uncle. I heard that you have met him, so I won't introduce him."

Song Sanniang greeted Master He San, who was looking at her with a smile, and he nodded while shaking his fan.

"This is my eldest cousin from my uncle's family, Sister Zhaohua." Miss He took Jin Zhaohua's arm and introduced her.

"Hello, Miss Zhaohua." Song Sanniang followed suit and greeted.

"I heard that you and my cousin have a good relationship. We played the mahjong you made last night. It was really fun.

Just follow me and call me Sister Zhaohua." Jin Zhaohua said carelessly.

"Okay, then I'll call you Sister Zhaohua." Song Sanniang could see that Jin Zhaohua was a person who didn't like to be shy.

"This is my second cousin from my eldest uncle's family, brother Zhengan, and this is my third uncle's sister Zhaoyi, sister Zhaotong, and cousin Zhengren." Miss He then introduced the rest of the people to Song Sanniang one by one.

Song Sanniang also greeted everyone and was about to ask them to come in and sit down when Song Laoer came out and told her that the auspicious time had come, so everyone waited at the door.

Master Hong and his companions who were sitting inside also came out. Song Laoer and his companions brought a table and put an incense burner and offerings on it.