Reborn 99 Days Later, Becoming a Landlady and Getting into Tsinghua and Peking Universities

Liang Ruotao paused in her carrying of firewood, straightened up, and was about to speak up in rebuttal.

But the next second, a feeling of powerlessness welled up inside her, forcing her to swallow the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.

She narrowed her eyes, scooped up a lot more firewood, and turned to walk into the kitchen.

"Pear, let's switch hands, you teach me how to stir-fry it."

Liang Ruotao put down the firewood, turned around and washed her hands. Her gaze lingered on the beads of sweat, the size of soybeans, on Liang Yili's forehead.

With the spatula taken away, Liang Yili wiped her sweat with her sleeve, shook her aching arms, and began to teach her sister how to stir-fry crayfish.

After hearing Liang Yili say not to make the fire too big, Hua Yuansheng, who was tending the fire in front of the stove, put a piece of firewood that could burn for a long time into the hearth, turned around and went out the door.

When he returned, he was carrying two large wooden basins.

After scalding and washing it with boiling water, it was handed to Liang Yili, her eyes sparkling as she said:

"It's clean and unused, is it okay to use this to store it?"

Liang Yili slapped her forehead, realizing she had completely forgotten about packaging it. She smiled and nodded, "Of course."

Hua Yuansheng chuckled and said, "Your great-grandfather is a carpenter. He lacks everything except wooden products. Let's make do with these today, and we'll get more tomorrow if we need more!"

Seeing her grandfather's self-righteous, bandit-like demeanor, Liang Yili nodded, both amused and exasperated.

After cooking the crayfish, Liang Yili did not immediately put them in a bowl.

Instead, he immediately picked up the lobster and handed it to Liang Ruotao and Hua Yuansheng respectively.

"Taste it!"

Before the two could refuse, Liang Yili started eating the lobster on her own.

The moment you take a bite of the spicy crayfish, the intense aroma of spices hits your nose.

Immediately afterwards, the spiciness and numbing sensation came at almost the same time.

As you bite down, the numbing and spicy sensation begins to spread across your tongue. The spiciness is stimulating but not unbearable, while the numbing sensation travels through your mouth like a weak electric current.

The crayfish meat is tender and smooth, coated with a spice sauce, and every bite is full of complex flavor stimulation, making it irresistible.

"Hiss! This flavor is potent!" Hua Yuansheng's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up as he exclaimed.

Liang Ruotao's fingers, hanging by her sides, touched each other, and her tense body seemed to relax a little.

Suppressing the intense gleam in his eyes, he said impatiently, "Shall we go sell crayfish now?"

Liang Yili ran to the door, glanced at the sun on the horizon, estimated the time, and made a final decision: "Let's go, now!"

Hua Yuansheng said matter-of-factly, "I'll go and bring the ox over!"

Wait, Gyeon-niu?

Don't we have bicycles?

Watching Hua Yuansheng's carefree figure disappear into the distance, and seeing the deep expectation in Liang Ruotao's eyes, Liang Yili smiled and said, "Alright! Let's all go!"

Liang Ruotao's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Go, all of you!"

And so, after securing the goods to the oxcart, the three generations of the family set off on their journey to the crossroads in the county town to sell crayfish.

While it was still early, before lunchtime, the workers hadn't finished their shift.

Liang Yili deliberately chose a spot with a good ventilated view. She set up a folding table and wrote something on a small wooden board. Before long, many children curiously gathered around.

"Spicy crayfish, one yuan per pound!"

Seeing people crowding around, but no one actually buying anything, Liang Ruotao, who was standing to the side looking a little reserved, felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

It was clear that Hua Yuansheng and Liang Yili appeared completely unperturbed, and she took a deep breath.

Almost as soon as the factory's closing bell rang and the first batch of workers rushed out of the factory gate, Liang Yili made her move.

She lifted the lid off the wooden basin and began to call out: "Come and take a look! Spicy crayfish that everyone in the provincial capital loves to eat. Fresh, hot and spicy, waiting for you to taste."

"Free samples! You won't lose out, you won't be cheated! If you don't like it, you don't have to pay!"

"The best snack to go with drinks, bar none. I guarantee you'll want more after you try it!"

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, carrying away the fresh and pungent aroma of the crayfish.

The moment the words "everyone in the provincial capital loves it," "free," and "appetizers" were uttered, the workers who had been busy all day couldn't hold back any longer.

"Little girl, what are you selling in this pot with all that bright red stuff?"

Liang Yili picked up a crayfish from the portion reserved for free tasting and handed it over:

"Spicy crayfish! Stir-fried with various spices, made fresh this afternoon, want to try one?"

The workers, already drawn by the aroma, couldn't help but drool as soon as they approached the stall.

He swallowed hard: "Free? No money required?"

"Yes! Everyone can try one for free! Can you handle spicy food?"

After confirming several times that it was truly free, the workers immediately took the crayfish and, under Liang Yili's guidance, promptly sent them in.

"How's it going? Is it delicious?"

"What does it taste like? It looks so red."

The workers around him, who were waiting for the worker to give feedback after tasting the food, eagerly pressed him for more information.

Although it's free, it's still a new food, and it looks very red, so not everyone has the courage to try it.

"Why does it look so much like... Crimson?"

A middle-aged man with a square face squinted and muttered to himself.

Liang Ruotao felt a pang of anxiety when she realized someone had recognized her.

Unexpectedly, Liang Yili readily admitted with a smile, "Uncle has a good eye; it is indeed bright red. However, people in the provincial capital call it crayfish."

The crowd fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

Several people who were waiting for feedback on the taste test left immediately.

Although I'm from the city, who hasn't heard of the infamous Scarlet, an invasive species that grows rampantly in the summer and crawls all over the fields and ditches?

Except for those years of famine, nobody eats this stuff; it's very fishy!

Hua Yuansheng opened his mouth slightly, as if to explain.

Before he could speak, the worker who was tasting the food exclaimed, "Delicious! This flavor is really strong!"

"Gangzi, have you not eaten for days...?"

The young man called Gangzi ignored the teasing from the people next to him, smacked his lips, savored the spicy taste on his tongue, and looked longingly at the crayfish in the basin.

Unable to resist the temptation of crayfish, Gangzi gritted his teeth and said, "One yuan a pound, right? Give me a pound!"

"Alright! Young man, you live around here, right?"

Gangzi nodded.

Did you bring a lunchbox?

Gangzi was taken aback, and quickly took out a lunchbox from his bag and handed it to Liang Yili.

Liang Yili took the lunchbox and skillfully filled it with crayfish, finally drizzling a large spoonful of broth inside.

"If you think the crayfish on top isn't flavorful enough, you can soak it in the soup below!"

Looking at the lunchbox that was packed full, Gangzi didn't care about the one yuan he had spent; all he wanted to do was get home and eat crayfish.

"Gangzi, don't go! This stuff is really delicious!"

"Whether it's good or not, you'll know once you try one for free! I'm not lying, there's no candy for me! Don't stop me, I'm going home to eat lobster."