I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

**Chapter 97: Off to Set Up the Stall! Selling Tofu Pudding**

When Jiang Tingyun and the others arrived at Phoenix Square, they were stunned by the sight.

The town government and the local tourist attractions had really put in the effort for New Year‘s Eve this year.

Rows of colorful lanterns and banners decorated the entire square, giving it a dreamy atmosphere.

In the center of the square stood a large archway sign that read “Phoenix Town New Year’s Eve Snack Night Market,” strung with twinkling colored lights — very pretty.

The two rows of stalls had been divided up in advance. Vendors only needed to find their spots and set up as they pleased.

Though there weren‘t many customers yet, most of the vendors had already arrived.

Some were from nearby farmhouse restaurants — they’d simply brought over a big table. Others had special food carts. The most basic ones had just driven their own cars over and popped the trunk to sell their goods.

“Osmanthus Rice Balls in Sweet Wine,” “Teppanyaki Squid,” “Candied Hawthorn Skewers” — all kinds of signs hung from the stalls on both sides.

“Section A, Spot 2. Should be around here.”

For selling tofu pudding, a tricycle was all they needed. Jiang Tingyun and the others hadn‘t prepared anything extra. They simply drove the tricycle to the designated spot.

She had just finished organizing their things when an unfriendly voice yelled from next door.

“Move over, will you? Our stall is big. Scoot that rusty tricycle of yours out of the way.”

It had been a long time since anyone had picked a fight with Jiang Tingyun — life had been too good. She looked up with some interest.

The speaker had an utterly forgettable face, the kind you’d lose in a crowd. He was thin as a monkey, and he was walking over pointing at her nose.

Jin Feifan immediately shot back, “Why should we? This spot was assigned to us.”

Hearing an adult man‘s voice, the skinny man choked. The light had been dim, and he hadn’t noticed that this shabby tricycle stall had four people with it.

He’d thought it was just a woman and a half-grown kid, which was why he‘d tried to bully them.

Seeing how many they were, he didn’t dare push harder. He just lowered his head and muttered, “What a joke. A bunch of kids whose feathers haven‘t even grown in, trying to run a stall. Won’t sell a damn thing. You kids should just pack it in.”

Then he shuffled back to his own stall.

Jin Feifan and Zhu Lili had quick tempers. Hearing that filthy mouth, they wanted nothing more than to storm over and start a shouting match.

But Jiang Tingyun noticed that the man‘s stall sold teppanyaki squid. She suddenly remembered what Manager Xu had told her.

“Defa Home Cooking is selling teppanyaki squid. Is this guy from Defa Home Cooking?”

Pei Jingmo nodded. “He was the one that night.”

Jiang Tingyun raised an eyebrow. This guy really had some nerve — daring to provoke them again.

She cleared her throat. “Ahem, no need to argue. Just like before.”

With that, she winked at her senior disciple.

Pei Jingmo immediately understood. He gave an OK sign and walked off.

Jin Feifan and Zhu Lili were confused at first, but after a moment, they caught on and snickered. “Boss, you’re so bad.”

---

Putting that little incident aside, as the night grew later, the night market finally started filling up with customers.

Whether it was because their setup was too shabby or because Jiang Tingyun had been too lazy to even make a sign, Qionghua Restaurant‘s stall didn’t get any business for quite a while.

Meanwhile, Xie Defa‘s teppanyaki squid stall next door was doing pretty well. Several young people came by one after another to buy.

No matter how fresh the ingredients actually were, the strong smell of chili powder and cumin wafting through the air was clearly quite appealing.

“Hmph. Who’d buy that kind of garbage?” Xie Defa glanced at the tricycle next door, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. What a waste of a good spot.

Jiang Tingyun wasn‘t in a hurry. She simply lifted the lid off the tofu pudding bucket and expertly scooped a few spoonfuls into a bowl.

The tofu pudding was pure white and smooth, looking incredibly tender. It actually curled at the edges inside the bucket — a sign that the texture was perfectly balanced.

“You two want a bowl first — salty?” Jiang Tingyun looked up at her two companions.

Jin Feifan and Zhu Lili nodded eagerly, like chicks pecking at feed.

She topped the tofu pudding with dried shrimp, seaweed, chopped scallions, cilantro, pickled mustard root, and drizzled on her own secret sauce, which had a faint hint of chili oil. The aroma was mouthwatering.

Even though the temperature on New Year’s Eve had dropped very low, the tofu pudding had held its heat well inside the bucket and was still steaming.

Zhu Lili couldn‘t wait. She scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth. Just one bite, and she let out a blissful sigh.

“So soft, so smooth, so delicious!”

The rich, fragrant soybean flavor lingered on her tongue. With the saltiness of the pickled mustard root, the savory taste of the dried shrimp and seaweed, and the spicy, savory sauce Jiang Tingyun had made, every spoonful led to the next. She simply couldn’t stop.

Jin Feifan didn‘t know how to describe the tofu pudding’s deliciousness. He just squatted on the ground, eating spoonful after spoonful, almost grunting like a pig with joy.

Jiang Tingyun watched them happily enjoying their tofu pudding. Haha — this was the best advertising!

Sure enough, before long, a middle-aged man walked over curiously.

“Boss, are you selling tofu pudding? Wow, they’re really going at it.”

Jiang Tingyun quickly greeted him. “That‘s right! Farmhouse stone-mill tofu pudding, and the soybeans are homegrown too. Super delicious. We have both sweet and savory flavors. Want a bowl?”

The man scratched his head. “Only sweet and savory? But I was craving sour and spicy.”

“...”

Jiang Tingyun’s mouth twitched. What the heck? She‘d made sweet and savory, and now someone wanted sour? Selling tofu pudding was way too hard!

The man laughed. “It’s fine, it‘s fine. If you don’t have it, I‘ll take a bowl of savory. Thanks!”

---

The middle-aged man’s name was Guo Bing. After retiring from the military, he‘d opened a small auto repair shop in Phoenix Town.

Every New Year’s Eve, he went to Phoenix Temple to burn incense, praying for his family‘s safety and his shop’s prosperity.

This year, he‘d heard that the town government was organizing a snack night market near the temple, so he’d left home a little earlier than usual to check it out.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he smelled a spicy, pungent aroma. It was strong and attention-grabbing, so he followed it inside. But when he got there, he saw it was just an ordinary teppanyaki squid stall. The squid itself looked pale and soft — not fresh at all. The owner had just loaded it with seasoning to make it smell good.

Disappointed, he was about to leave when he noticed the two people squatting nearby, eating tofu pudding out of bowls.

They were hunched over on the ground, completely unconcerned with appearances, devouring their tofu pudding with such relish they looked like they‘d lick the bowls clean. It made him crave some too.

That was when he realized the shabby tricycle next door was a tofu pudding stall.

For Guo Bing, tofu pudding carried the taste of childhood. When he was little, an old man used to pedal a tricycle through the alleyways selling tofu pudding. Besides the regular savory version, he’d also had a special sour-and-spicy version made with a spiced pepper soup base.

The vendor today clearly hadn‘t heard of that flavor. Still, even without sour and spicy, a savory bowl of tofu pudding would satisfy his craving.

Without hesitation, he ordered one.