Chapter 121: Trial Operation Successful

  Qiu Ye hasn't been helping Qiu's mother sell tickets at the bathhouse these days. She has a new plan to make money.

  She went to her brother's place a few days ago and found out that several new tea egg shops have opened, affecting her own business. She has a foresight about the future of her tea egg business, at most it will only last for another year before there is no market left. So now she wants to develop a new project, first do it on the side, when the tea egg business doesn't work out anymore, this project will be mature and just in time to start making money.

  And she had already made plans in her mind when she came back from Xinjiang, so now she doesn't need to think too much and directly asks her godfather for help. She's not unwilling to look for her real father, but he's too busy, either going to work or helping her mother at the bathhouse every day, with no time to spare for herself, so she can only ask her godfather for help.

  Qiu Ye's new plan is to set up a small stall in the market before the end of the year, roasting lamb skewers. When she was in Xinjiang, she specially bought a lot of barbecue seasonings back, especially cumin, and mailed back a big bag. Now that she's doing this business, all she lacks is a stove.

  Fang Haibo knew about Qiu Ye's plan and unconditionally supported her. He spent two days finding someone to weld a barbecue stove for her.

  Qiu Ye saw that the main tools were all ready, so she started preparing other things. First, she went to the wholesale market with San Zhuzi's tricycle and bought charcoal, bamboo skewers and other essential items for barbecue. Then, she bought a large piece of mutton and cut it into small cubes with Zhao Shuyan at home, marinating them with the seasoning sauce she had brought back from Xinjiang. She also took out the steamed buns from the balcony and prepared to make bun slices. Finally, she started simmering the barbecue sauce with the bought bean paste and other seasonings.

  It was a cold winter day, Qiu Ye didn't have any other ingredients, so she ended up stringing together many skewers of mutton and flatbread pieces. By the afternoon, around 4 o'clock, she used a tricycle to transport all the things to the bathhouse, planning to first grill them at the entrance of the bathhouse to try out the flavor. If it tasted good, she planned to set up a stall in the market tomorrow.

  Of course, when trying to eat, the two biggest contributors cannot be left behind. Qiu Ye called his adoptive father and mother to the bathroom, letting them go enjoy the charm of soaking in the bath first, and then they can eat the tender lamb skewers.

  Among these people at home, Qiu Feng is the most supportive of his sister. He has tasted the authentic flavor of lamb skewers and was deeply captivated by its charm. Now that he sees his sister also making lamb skewers, he is doubly enthusiastic in his approval.

  In winter days get dark early, Qiu Ye lit the stove at the entrance of the bathroom at 5 pm and started to roast lamb skewers over a low fire.

  At first, the fire control was not very good, either it was overcooked or the cooking time was too long and the meat became hard. Although Qiu Feng didn't mind, whatever it was, he ate with relish at his place, but Qiu Ye wanted to sell them in the future, if they didn't taste good, the business wouldn't work out, so she tried many times, finally roasting lamb skewers that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, of course, they were offered to the adults at home for tasting, after that her roasting skills got better and better.

  "Dad, how's the mutton skewer?" Qiu Ye looked at her parents eating happily, and while they were eating, Qiu Dad and Fang Haibo even started drinking beer.

  "Hmm, the flavor is really good, it's just that there's too little lamb on this skewer, I've already finished eating it after a few bites." Old Qiu was still very satisfied with the flavor, but had some opinions about the amount of meat on each skewer. If he were to eat his fill, how many skewers would he need?

  Qiu Ye didn't make a sound, as long as the flavor was good she was at ease. As for her father's question, she pretended not to have heard it. These lamb skewers of hers were meant to be sold, if they were all big chunks of meat, people would get full with just one string, how could she make money then?

  The size of the meatballs now, are all carefully calculated by her. The mutton she bought was 70 cents a catty, and she figured that one catty of mutton could be strung into about thirty strings, so she didn't set the price too high, just 20 cents per string. It's like this, already much bigger than the kind of lamb skewers in later generations that cost one yuan per string.

  Qiu Ye directly toasted a few pieces of mantou and sent them over to her father, "Dad, if you're not full, eat this, it's filling."

  Qiu Dad stared at the plate in front of him, where a piece of mantou had been brushed with sauce, and was taken aback for a moment. Then he smiled and shook his head, saying: "Old girl, are you using mantou to fill your dad's stomach? Are you afraid that Dad will eat too much of your meat skewers?"

  "Dad, you're wronging me! This mantou piece is carefully baked by me, specially for you to taste. Don't you see the red sauce on top? That's the secret sauce I made at home, it's absolutely delicious." Qiu Ye said, taking a bite of her own mantou piece. She had been busy running around, and only had two skewers of lamb kebabs earlier, now her stomach was still growling.

  "Really? My daughter says it's so good, I have to try some." Qiu Dad also became interested in what Qiu Ye said, picked up a piece of mantou and started eating.

  "How is it? Doesn't it taste good?" Qiu Ye asked as she saw her father finish a piece of mantou in just three bites.

  "It's really good, the outside is crispy and the inside is fragrant and soft. With this sauce, it tastes extremely delicious." Mr. Qiu lavished praise on it.

  Qiu's mother and others also picked up the steamed buns after hearing Qiu's father's evaluation, and finally they all praised consistently.

  "Xiaoye, this mantou piece is really not bad, it can fill you up and the taste is good." Zhao Shuyan ate the mantou piece and praised it. She was puzzled when she saw Xiaoye stringing the mantou earlier today, but now that she's tasted it, she finally understands.

  "Haha, if everyone in our family agrees, then this small business of mine will definitely be a success. Auntie, tomorrow when you have time, please steam more buns for me, I'll sell roasted bun slices."

  "You're still making your godmother work for you." Qiu Ma started scolding after hearing Qiu Ye's words.

  Zhao Shuyan stood up for the child and quickly said, "It's nothing, I'm not doing anything at home, just steaming buns or something big."

  Qiu Ye nodded vigorously as she listened from the side, and when it came to ordering her family members around, she was completely unencumbered psychologically.

  Qiu Ye was barbecuing at the entrance of the bathroom, and the fragrance of the meat attracted many people who had just finished bathing.

  "Teacher Fang, what's this delicious smell?" asked Li Hou, a physical education teacher at the university. He had just come out of the bathhouse and caught a whiff of something savory in the air, causing his mouth to water uncontrollably. His stomach, still warm from the steam, began to rumble with hunger. Thinking he needed to replenish his energy after the exhausting bath, he walked into the main hall and spotted Fang Haibo eating meat skewers in a small room. He mustered up the courage to ask, "Teacher Fang, what's this delicious smell?"

  Li Houren is still a honest person, and he only knows Mr. Qiu's face, they have never talked before. The teaching staff of the Normal University has hundreds of people, plus the logistics staff, so even in one unit, there are unfamiliar faces. However, Li Hou is after all a teacher, and he knows Professor Fang Haibo, a famous teacher at the Normal University, although it's just a nodding acquaintance, but it doesn't hinder his meat-eating trip.

  "Oh, it's Teacher Li! Just finished taking a bath, huh? You must be tired. Hehe, these kebabs are all made by my cousin who sells them outside, they're really delicious, you can try some if you're interested." Fang Haibo heard someone calling him and looked up to see a familiar teacher, so he politely chatted with him for a bit.

  Qiu Ye heard from outside, but she let out a sigh of relief. She was afraid that the adults at home would generously invite people to eat meat skewers for free, and then she would have to give away so many. She looked back at the pot of skewered meat behind her, and then looked at another pot of unskewered meat cubes, thinking that if they were given away for free, it was likely that what she had skewered wouldn't be enough to give away. It's just that most people here know each other, so if you offer one person something, you'll have to offer the others too, otherwise you'll offend them.

  It's better to say it's for sale from the start, so as not to offend anyone, and you can still make a little profit. Maybe you can even earn back the money spent on today's skewers of meat. She bought nearly 50 yuan worth of meat today.

  "Is it? I asked from afar and smelled the delicious meat, I reckon it's going to be tasty." Li Hou said as he walked out of the door and asked Qi Ye who was roasting skewers outside: "Little girl, how do you sell these meat skewers?"

  "Two mao per string, meat strings and mantou slices are the same price." Qiu Ye replied without lifting his head, his hands were still too small, it was a bit difficult to hold twenty strings at once to roast.

  "Two mao per skewer... give me five skewers." Li Hou didn't say anything else, after asking the price he started ordering, his stomach was tortured by the aroma of the meat skewers, and he couldn't wait to eat them immediately.

  "Alright, just wait a minute." Qiu Ye said, flipping the twenty skewers of meat in her hand again, then told her brother beside her: "Brother, you go grill forty more, mine will be done soon."

  After finishing, she took a large medicine bottle and poured some seasoning onto the meat skewers in her hand. This was Qiu Ye's self-made seasoning bottle, where she mixed salt, cumin powder and other seasonings in proportion and put them into the medicine bottle. She tied several big eyes on the lid of the medicine bottle, so when using it, she just needed to shake the bottle mouth towards the meat skewers, which was convenient and saved seasonings. Moreover, people couldn't tell what she sprinkled, especially cumin, which was currently not sold in Oil City, so this also effectively protected her secret formula.

  Qiu Ye sprinkled the seasoning, divided into five strings on the charcoal fire and pressed them down. The lamb skewers had lamb oil dripping down, making people's appetite. Then she handed the five strings in her hand to Li teacher who was waiting, "Here you are, a total of five strings, one yuan. After finishing eating, you can throw the bamboo sticks into that bucket." Qiu Ye pointed to an iron bucket beside her.