Chapter 10 Level Max Mung Bean Dessert Making Techniques!
Lu Qin returned home with his little girl.
“Daddy, are we home yet?”
“Yeah, we’re home. I’ll carry you to wash up, then it’s bedtime.”
“And you have to tell me a story, too,” Lu Xiyao said sleepily in her little baby voice, rubbing her drowsy eyes.
“Alright, I’ll tell you a story.”
In the room, Lu Qin gently patted her back and was about to start the story, but she turned her head and had already drifted off to sleep.
Lu Qin smiled tenderly, shook his head slightly, and planted a light kiss on her soft, fair forehead. He quietly turned off the lights and left the room. There was a faucet in the yard. Lu Qin filled a half bucket of water and cleaned the food cart, then went inside to take a shower and sleep.
Lying in bed, he massaged his slightly sore arms, feeling both fulfilled and content. He had sold a total of 215 portions of stir-fried noodles today, and between his Alipay and WeChat accounts, he made 2,580 yuan. After deducting the cost of ingredients, containers, and napkins, the profit was around 2,000 yuan.
If he could make this much every day, it would be far better than working a regular job.
One pound of rice noodles could make four or five portions on average, and today he had used up 10 pounds of eggs, 3 pounds of ham, and lean meat.
In reality, the amount of ingredients wasn’t quite enough. When buying them, Lu Qin had roughly calculated the portions based on a balance between the noodles and the toppings, so they would be just about sold out, but not much leftover. However, he overlooked one thing—some customers wanted to add a lot of extra toppings.
One customer even wanted 15 eggs for two portions of noodles!
Adding too many eggs would upset the balance of flavors, ruining the harmony between the ingredients, and Lu Qin wasn’t going to let that happen. After some persuading, the customer compromised but still added 8 eggs. That kid sure loved eggs.
With the 215 portions of noodles sold on the first day, Lu Qin earned 215 system points. Every 100 points allowed for one raffle draw.
Lu Qin immediately used the points to draw.
Lying in bed, completely relaxed, Lu Qin soon absorbed all the rich experience and perfect techniques for making mung bean dessert. It all blended seamlessly in his mind.
A thought crossed Lu Qin’s mind—now he could make the best mung bean dessert. He was itching to try out his new skills, but it was too late at night. He would wait until tomorrow to buy mung beans and start selling them at his stall.
As for the fatigue-reducing aura, his body didn’t feel any different at the moment. Not long after, Lu Qin drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, at 4:30 a.m., Lu Qin got up, washed up, and rode his three-wheeler food cart out.
No doubt, these trikes were popular for a reason. Not only were they convenient for getting around, but they could also carry goods and people, and didn’t need fuel. Truly an all-purpose vehicle.
Around this time, the elderly in the nearby neighborhood were also getting up—some to exercise, others to go shopping for groceries.
Uncle Ge, who lived next door, spotted Lu Qin riding by and was a bit surprised. He greeted him with a smile.
“Up so early, Xiao Lu? Not many young people wake up this early anymore. My lazy son, already almost thirty, still oversleeps and is always late for work. Makes me want to whip him with my Seven Wolves belt!”
Lu Qin chuckled and replied, “If I could sleep longer, I definitely would, but I have to get up early to buy ingredients and set up my morning stall.”
“Ah, I saw your trike and cart yesterday and wondered if you were running a business. Now that I see you today, it’s true. What are you selling at your stall?”
“Stir-fried rice noodles, and today I plan to sell some mung bean dessert as well.”
“Nice, where’s your stall? I’ll drop by when I have time.”
“I set up my morning stall at the gate of Sunshine Elementary School on the next street, and in the evening, I’m at University Town.”
After chatting briefly with Uncle Ge, Lu Qin headed to the market.
Uncle Ge, with his hands behind his back, nodded as he watched Lu Qin walk away. “What a good young man. Hardworking and diligent, really impressive!”
Two old men who were exercising nearby came over.
“Old Ge, that young fellow who just moved in yesterday, right? Is he running a business?”
“Yeah, it’s not easy. Getting up early like us old folks. But we’re just killing time because we can’t sleep, while he’s working hard to support his family. Raising a kid on his own isn’t easy.”
“True, where does he set up his stall? Maybe we’ll stop by later and support him. What does he sell?”
“He sells stir-fried noodles,” Uncle Ge replied,
“Stir-fried noodles, huh? A bit greasy for breakfast, but my daughter-in-law loves it. I’ll get her some later.”
“I’ll grab a portion too. It’s tough to run a food stall these days—there’s so much competition.”
At the market, Lu Qin headed straight for the small rice noodle shop.
“Auntie, I’m back for more rice noodles.”
“What? Didn’t you just buy 50 pounds yesterday? You finished all that?”
Most people buy five or ten pounds at a time, enough to last a month.
“Auntie, I sell stir-fried noodles at my stall, so I buy in bulk.”
“Ah, that makes sense if you have a stall. You sold out in one day? Business must be good! From now on, just come to me. I’ll give you a discount! Our handmade rice noodles are top quality, authentic Anyang rice noodles, no fillers.”
Lu Qin nodded, thinking it would be smart to have a reliable long-term supplier.
After exchanging WeChat contacts with her, Lu Qin bought 120 pounds of rice noodles this time. Auntie called her husband to help, packing the noodles into six large boxes, each weighing 20 pounds, and helped load them onto his cart.
It was a big order, and Auntie was happy. On top of yesterday’s 4-yuan discount, she knocked off an extra 20 cents per pound. Lu Qin scanned the QR code and paid 456 yuan in total.
Auntie’s husband shook hands with Lu Qin and said with a smile, “Hey, young man, from now on, you don’t have to come here in person to buy noodles. Just send my wife a message on WeChat, and I’ll deliver it to you.”
“Thanks, that’s great. I’ll keep ordering from you, looking forward to working together.”
“Pleasure doing business with you. Take care!”
Getting delivery was ideal for Lu Qin. He could place orders by phone in advance. Besides noodles, all the other ingredients he needed were available at this market—fresh and affordable.
Lu Qin spent about 20 minutes browsing the market, purchasing 30 pounds of farm-fresh eggs, half a pound of scallions, 2 pounds of onions, 6 pounds of pork tenderloin, 6 pounds of ham, 50 pounds of mung beans, and various other seasonings and ingredients, spending a total of 397.80 yuan.
At Mr. Zhao’s kitchenware store by the market entrance, he bought two boxes of food containers—150 yuan for 480 containers, with an extra 20 containers thrown in for free. He also purchased 1,000 soybean milk cups, 330ml each, for 65 yuan (Mr. Zhao gave him a 5 yuan discount). Additionally, he bought a 60-liter stainless steel pot for 450 yuan, made from food-grade 304 stainless steel. This pot was meant for cooking mung bean dessert. Ideally, a ceramic pot would be better for cooking it, but it wasn’t efficient enough for his needs, so he opted for the stainless steel one, sacrificing just a bit of flavor.
“Mr. Zhao, do you have a sealing machine?”
“Of course, I do, my friend. It’s in the warehouse. Let me grab it for you.”
A few moments later, Mr. Zhao returned with a brand-new sealing machine. It was slightly bigger than a household soybean milk maker but heavier, weighing about 20 pounds.
“My friend, this is the only model I have. Don’t worry about the quality—if it breaks within a year, I’ll replace it for free.”
“I usually sell it for 1,200 yuan, but since I like chatting with you, I’ll give it to you for 950 yuan, just making a small profit.”
“Great, I’ll take it,” Lu Qin replied cheerfully.
He quickly scanned the QR code to pay. Before purchasing, he had checked the prices online, and the average was around 1,000 yuan.
“I’ll show you how to use it. This machine can seal both hot and cold items, and it’s fully automatic and foolproof…”
After buying everything, Lu Qin returned home, and it was 5:47 AM. He organized his supplies, then headed to the kitchen to soak the rice noodles, wash the vegetables, and chop the ham and pork.