Chapter 39: 038: Caught the Little Rabbit i
Translator: 549690339
As Ni Yang had previously saved Yang Guobao, everyone in the village knew that she was quite capable.
Zhou Qingshang also took a great liking to this young girl, promptly taking the Bupleurum from Ni Yang’s hand, laughing as she said, “Thank you so much, Yangyang, I’ll decoct it into a drink as soon as I get home.”
Ni Yang gave a slight smile, speaking softly, “Auntie Wang, no need for formalities.”
The more Zhou Qingshang saw of Ni Yang, the more she liked her.
She regretted not having a good squabble with that gossipy woman, Wang Jinfang.
If she heard the gossipy woman bad-mouth Ni Yang again, she herself would certainly give her a slap!
After saying goodbye to Zhou Qingshang, Ni Yang continued on her way home.
It was already half past five.
Since it was June, the sun was still high in the sky.
When Ni Yang returned home, her younger sister, Ni Yun, was wailing loudly, while Ni Cuihua was trying to calm her down.
However, the little girl seemed to have suffered some wrong, the more she cried, the louder she became, refusing to stop despite the placating efforts.
“Mom, what’s wrong with my little sister? Why is she crying so pitifully?”
As Ni Cuihua peddled back and forth to shush the child, she said, “All children are like this, it’s fine, she’ll stop crying in a while, you just go about your business.”
Ni Yang had never had or cared for children in her previous life, and was clumsy at consoling children, so she could only first leave the room, allowing Ni Cuihua to soothe her alone.
Ni Yang went into the yard, and suddenly remembered that she still had eight cute little rabbits in her basket.
So she found a large cardboard box from her house, and put the little rabbits inside it. The little rabbits were highly adaptable, and as soon as they were placed inside the box, they began to happily hop about.
Thinking that the little rabbits hadn’t eaten anything all afternoon, Ni Yang took a few veggies from the kitchen and placed them in the box. The sight of the greens made the rabbits’ eyes practically glow, and they immediately began to nibble on the leaves.
After settling the rabbits, Ni Yang took the aloe vera and herbal medicine that she had dug up from the mountain, selected a few plants, and planted them in the ground in front of the door.
This was originally a wasteland that hadn’t been cultivated for many years, but Ni Cuihua was diligent. After reclaiming the wasteland, she not only sprinkled vegetable seeds on it, but also built a fence around it to keep chickens and ducks away.
The vegetable seeds that Ni Cuihua had planted a few days ago had already sprouted. Before long, they would be able to eat the vegetables they had grown themselves.
It hadn’t rained for several days, so after she finished planting the aloe vera and herbs, Ni Yang watered the vegetable sprouts. After doing all these, Ni Yang finally had time to prepare dinner.
There were still some river snails she’d found before. Tonight, she could cook spicy stir-fried snails.
And also a pig’s feet and clam soup, carrots stir-fried with meat, and stir-fried leeks.
Except for the spicy stir-fried snails, the other three dishes all have beauty benefits.
Some dishes can help with breast growth, some are good for the skin, smoothing wrinkles and anti-aging, while some are good for the hair.
The taste is excellent, she could cook even the most ordinary ingredients into a feast, causing one to be unwilling to stop eating.
When dinner was ready, it was already past seven. At this time, Ni Chenggui just got off work and came back home. “Yangyang, your cooking skills have improved greatly. I could smell it from far away, should we wash our hands and eat now?”
After living together for these days, Ni Chenggui had fallen in love with Ni Yang’s cooking.
Moreover, Ni Chenggui had surprisingly found that his physical condition had also undergone considerable changes recently.
For instance, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to have lightened a lot, and his complexion was not as dull as before…
He felt that all these changes should be attributed to the delicious meals that Ni Yang cooked.
“Auntie Ni is back, dinner is ready, we can start eating now.” Ni Yang replied, bustling about in the kitchen.
“Then I’ll go wash my hands.” Ni Chenggui made a beeline to wash his hands with quick steps.
Eating meals had become the thing he looked forward to the most after work every day.
In a short while, Ni Chenggui’s surprised voice echoed from outside, “Wow! What delightful little rabbits! Yangyang, did you buy these rabbits?”
Ni Yang laughed as she explained, “No, I caught them in the mountains this afternoon.”
Ni Chenggui marvelled, “You could even catch rabbits in the mountains, Yangyang, you are really lucky.”
Ni Yang nodded, “Yes, quite lucky. Auntie Ni, please come in and eat.”
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Three people sat around a table, chatting and laughing together in a lively atmosphere.
The next morning, Ni Yang got up before dawn as usual. After making breakfast, she headed out to set up her stall at the morning market.
Today, she had also made two barrels of fish soup, enough for more than five hundred and sixty bowls.
The noodles were selling incredibly well today, with a long queue that never seemed to shorten.
Seeing the success of Ni Yang’s business, Zhu Yonghong gritted her teeth in frustration.
Observing the long queue, Zhu Yonghong decided to take action. She announced loudly: “The price of meat buns has dropped! Six meat buns for just a cent!”
Vegetarian buns, which usually cost a cent for three, were now six for a cent, and they were filled with meat.
Even if she didn’t make a profit, she couldn’t let Ni Yang benefit today!
As some of the customers in line heard the announcement, they were tempted to run over there.
“I’ll take six meat buns.”
Zhu Yonghong smiled as she took the money. “Sure, just a moment.”
Seeing that she had taken half of Ni Yang’s customers, Zhu Yonghong felt even more smug, her mouth curling into a satisfied smile.
Selling six meat buns for a cent was indeed unprofitable, even at a loss.
However, the loss was only for this morning. She planned to replace the meat tomorrow and add more ingredients, naturally making a profit.
Ni Yang, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the customers flocking to Zhu Yonghong’s side and continued to calmly serve the remaining customers her noodles.
Such is business.
Competition creates pressure, and pressure creates motivation.
Someone raised their voice from the crowd, “Hey boss, the bun shop next door has lowered their prices. How about you lower the prices of your noodles too? With three cents, I can now buy eighteen meat buns.”
Ni Yang replied with a smile, “Sorry, you get what you pay for. I’ve already priced my food as low as I can. I can’t lose money selling it, now, can I?”
In fact, three cents for a bowl of noodles was not expensive, especially considering the delicious fish that came with it.
On the street, a bowl of plain noodles would cost two cents.
But with cheap buns on offer, people inevitably make comparisons.
Besides, human nature is greedy. If she really lowered her prices today, they would wonder just how much profit she must usually make from the noodles.
Ni Yang had always competed on the quality of the product, not on the price.
Just making it cheaper won’t ensure long-term business.
The key is good taste.
On hearing her words, the man sighed, “Oh, well, if you can’t make it cheaper, 1’11 just go and eat buns over there.”
Ni Yang gave a slight smile, “Please do.”
Seeing her customers constantly crossing over to her side, Zhu Yonghong looked at Ni Yang with a smirk on her face.
Yes.
It was a provocation.
Ni Yang finally realized why Zhu Yonghong was selling her buns at a loss. It was to undercut her.
Since she was the one starting trouble, Ni Yang could not just sit back and do nothing.
If she didn’t react, Zhu Yonghong would think that Ni Yang was like her steamed buns, to be handled as she pleased.
Ni Yang raised an eyebrow and met Zhu Yonghong’s gaze, a faint smile on her lips.
Although her smile was slight, Zhu Yonghong couldn’t help but feel a chill. She quickly averted her gaze.
She never expected Ni Yang to fight back so openly!
Ni Yang had completely exceeded Zhu Yonghong’s expectations. She had a feeling that Ni Yang wouldn’t be easy to deal with and was very different from the other country folks she had encountered before..