AAWTSL 09

Chapter : 09

So This Is What Good Meat Tastes Like!

Bai Cha turned her ears toward the direction of Xu Yuan’s footsteps. Her eyelashes fluttered gently as she lost herself in thought.

The dormitory was located right in the back courtyard of the noodle shop—just a few steps away. Xu Yuan lifted the cloth curtain and immediately put on a bright, sweet smile.

In her past life, in order to save money, Xu Yuan had worked many jobs, including quite a few in the food service industry.

Jobs like greeting and seeing off customers required enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and warmth.

“Sister Cuicui, Sister Jiang Nan, what should I do now?”

Wang Cuicui was kneading dough and glanced at Xu Yuan through the window. “Since it’s your first day, why don’t you first get familiar with our noodle shop’s menu?”

“Alright!”

Xu Yuan walked to the counter with a smile. The menu was hung on the wall.

The shop’s basic product was hand-cut noodles, served with bean sprouts and cabbage, available in large, medium, and small bowls—priced at ten wen, eight wen, and six wen respectively.

Side dishes included: fried egg (1 wen), braised egg (2 wen), shredded chicken (3 wen), chicken leg (5 wen), duck leg (7 wen).

It was simple, and Xu Yuan memorized it in one glance, just as the morning sunlight grew brighter.

The small town seemed to come alive, with people coming and going in twos and threes.

Xu Yuan tied on her apron and stood at the entrance, enthusiastically calling out to customers.

“Two ladies, is this your first time here?”

“Our noodles are delicious—firm and chewy! I guarantee the aroma will win you over and you’ll agree it’s worth it!”

The two women in long dresses had no intention of paying attention to her at first.

But hearing her fluent, almost scholarly way of speaking, they couldn’t help but stop and take a closer look.

Xu Yuan let them look. These two didn’t seem poor, so they would probably order extra toppings. The owner had said that anything added under her recommendation would count toward her commission.

Xu Yuan looked at them with a smile, eyes practically glowing with the desire for copper coins.

“Alright then… let’s try it.”

Judging by their clothing, they were students returning from the county. Wang Cuicui immediately recognized them.

As Xu Yuan led them inside, she respectfully served tea and subtly asked about conditions in the county.

The two girls were not particularly reserved. Once Xu Yuan engaged them, they immediately began showing a faint sense of superiority typical of county residents.

They were students from Chongwen Academy in the county, and even now they still wore their school uniforms, unwilling to take them off.

“Ladies, what toppings would you like to add?” Xu Yuan asked.

“Toppings?”

“This little place is so troublesome. Unlike the county, where everything is served directly!” one of them said impatiently.

Xu Yuan smiled.

Of course, the original script would have been: “Would you like to add toppings?”

But she had subtly changed it so that customers naturally assumed adding toppings was standard.

“Just add whatever you have. Don’t hold back—we’re not short on money.”

“Alright!” Xu Yuan was delighted. “I’ll make sure you get the best!”

With a snap, she tore off a small slip of paper, handed it through the window to Wang Cuicui, and hurried off to serve other customers.

Wang Cuicui and Jiang Nan exchanged glances, both surprised.

It seemed they had really struck gold with this pair—Xu Yuan was genuinely charming and good at business.

With Xu Yuan’s help, Wang Cuicui and her partner felt much more relaxed and earned slightly more than usual.

That evening, when there were no more customers, Xu Yuan settled the accounts at the counter.

She didn’t know how to use an abacus, but her mental math was fast.

Daily income: 321 wen.

She even calculated the amount of toppings sold.

Wang Cuicui kept glancing at her. Normally, doing accounts took half an hour for her partner.

With Xu Yuan, it took less than fifteen minutes.

Even though she knew Xu Yuan was fast, she still worried there might be mistakes.

“Xu Yuan, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but this is too fast…” Wang Cuicui pursed her lips and personally checked with the abacus.

Click, clack.

It took her over half an hour.

When she compared it with Xu Yuan’s calculation—it was exactly the same.

Xu Yuan smiled faintly.

Wang Cuicui’s cheeks flushed slightly as she put the abacus away. “You’re really good at accounting. As for the commission on toppings, I’ll give it to you with next month’s salary.”

“Alright!”

“Sister Cuicui, I have a request…”

Wang Cuicui rubbed the account book. “Go ahead.”

“Like you can see, my wife and I came with nothing. We don’t even have a change of clothes, let alone daily necessities. Could I request half a month’s salary in advance?”

Wang Cuicui relaxed instantly.

So that was it.

She also remembered how miserable the two of them looked when they first arrived.

“Alright. How about I give you 300 wen in advance?”

After all, 250 wen sounded unlucky.

“That would be great. Thank you, Sister Cuicui.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wang Cuicui touched her cheek and glanced toward the kitchen window, where Jiang Nan was handing a worn lunchbox to Xu Yuan.

“Inside are two big bowls of plain noodles. Take them and eat with your wife.”

Xu Yuan thanked them, feeling the three rolls of copper coins in her hand.

The faint aroma of noodles made her hesitate for a moment.

“Sister Jiang Nan, I’d like to spend 6 wen to add a portion of shredded chicken for both of us.”

Thinking of that aroma, Xu Yuan couldn’t help swallowing.

She had not eaten meat since childhood in this body—and neither had Bai Cha.

Today was her first day of work, and she had even received an advance salary. She had promised to treat Bai Cha to noodles.

How could she only let her eat plain noodles?

Before Jiang Nan could react, Wang Cuicui already smiled and wrapped three portions of shredded chicken in oiled paper.

One set of chopsticks counted as one portion—and she even gave Xu Yuan an extra one.

“Don’t worry about it. Consider it a gift from me. Eat up. Your wife is wonderful—so beautiful, willing to work hard and stay by your side. Seeing how you treat her really moves me.”

“Thank you both, Sister Cuicui and Sister Jiang Nan.”

Xu Yuan didn’t act shy and thanked them warmly, feeling a rare warmth in her heart.

Sometimes, kindness from strangers really is moving.

Back in the narrow dorm room, Bai Cha stood up like a little dog the moment she heard footsteps.

“Oh…”

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Yuan quickly set down the lunchbox and reached over to help her. “Are you okay? Did you bump into something?”

Bai Cha shook her head and smiled. “I’m fine… I just forgot to duck…”

Xu Yuan sighed in relief and helped her out of the cramped room that felt like a rabbit hole.

In the dim light of the next room, she opened the lunchbox and unwrapped the oiled paper.

The rich aroma of noodles mixed with shredded chicken filled the air.

“There’s meat…” Bai Cha said excitedly.