[Monthly Task: Sell 600 servings of ice porridge at a street stall!]
[Ice porridge recipe and food cart have been added to your system backpack!]
When Sheng Xia woke up the next morning and saw the system task had refreshed, she was delighted. "It really is about selling food!" she thought, pleased that the system was actually catering to its host's requests.
Although it was a coastal city, Linhai had felt like a giant steamer ever since July began. Even if the temperature was far lower than in the famous "furnace" cities, just stepping outside felt like being in a sauna. In this kind of weather, a bowl of cold, refreshing ice porridge was pure bliss.
It wasn't particularly filling, and she would still have to figure out her own lunch, but once they moved into the Yonghe Road Courtyard, that wouldn't be an issue anymore.
Sheng Xia checked her system backpack and saw a new slot had appeared. Inside was a pink food cart. She went over, locked the door, and took the cart out. The makeup kit the system had provided previously came with all the necessary tools and supplies, so she wanted to see if this one included the ingredients as well. If it did, it would save her a lot of trouble.
The food cart was rectangular and a soft, delicate pink. On one side, the words "Sheng Xia Ice Porridge" were written, and there was a collapsible sun umbrella mounted on top. The tabletop featured several recessed rectangular compartments. The largest one on the right, when opened, was filled with crushed ice, radiating a refreshing chill. The adjacent compartments contained the toppings: crushed peanuts, red honey beans, raisins, taro balls, watermelon, honey, and tapioca pearls.
Just like last time, the system had provided everything; she only needed to follow the recipe to assemble it. While standard ice porridge could also include coconut jelly, dragon fruit, or passion fruit, it was the 1980s, and logistics weren't advanced enough to make such fruits common in Linhai. The system had prepared the most commonly available ingredients, yet each one looked remarkably fresh and appetizing.
To see if it was as good as it looked, Sheng Xia took a bowl from the side of the cart, scooped up a large portion of crushed ice, and topped it with a generous amount of every ingredient. She stirred it with a small spoon, watching the red ice water swirl with the bits of ice. She took a mouthful; the sweet and sour flavors exploded in her mouth, bringing an instant wave of cooling relief.
"Delicious!" Sheng Xia couldn't stop eating, moved to the verge of tears. Before her rebirth, her daughter wouldn't let her have anything cold, and even when her granddaughter bought her milk tea, she always insisted on room temperature. Room-temperature milk tea had no purpose in life; it was no different from drinking nothing at all. This kind of pure, crisp chill was the greatest meaning of summer.
Before long, she had finished the entire bowl. She set the spoon and bowl down, still craving more, but forced herself to stop—she had to save room for an actual lunch.
After breakfast, Sheng Xia rode her bicycle into the city. She skipped the State-run Restaurant; that was a place for meals, not the target demographic for ice porridge. Desserts were for women and children, so she headed straight for the Linhai Textile Factory.
As she neared her destination, she found a secluded alley, took out the food cart, hitched it to the back of her bike, and towed it to the back gate of the factory. The Linhai Textile Factory was a major enterprise in the city, employing over 20,000 workers, most of whom were women. The back gate she chose led directly to the factory's residential compound, and there was also a primary school for the workers' children nearby. She arrived just before 11:00 AM; school would be out in half an hour, and the factory workers would be finishing their shifts shortly after.
Once in place, Sheng Xia got to work. She set out her bowls and spoons and took several folding stools from under the cart, placing them opposite the cart so customers could sit and eat. Finally, she put up the umbrella. Seeing she still had some time, she made herself another bowl of ice porridge and enjoyed it with delight.
"The East is Red, the sun is rising..."
At 11:30 AM Beijing time, music signaled the end of the shift for both the school and the factory. Classroom doors flew open as students rushed out, laughing and shouting. Inside the textile factory, workers began to emerge, some heading straight for the cafeteria, others toward the back gate to go home. Students followed suit; some walked home to the residential compound, while others went into the factory to meet their parents for lunch.
Regardless of their destination, everyone noticed Sheng Xia's stall at the back gate.
"Auntie, what's ice porridge?" a young student asked curiously.
Sheng Xia immediately showed them the unfinished bowl in her hand. "This is ice porridge. Do you want some? It’s two jiao a bowl."
Her bowl was only half-eaten, packed with ingredients and radiating a chill that made mouths water in the sweltering noon heat.
"Mom, I want some ice porridge!" a child immediately ran off to beg their parent.
"What kind of ice porridge?" the adult asked, curious. When she saw what Sheng Xia had, she couldn't help but swallow. There was no air conditioning in the factory workshops, and the workers were soaked through after a morning of labor. The sight of the cold, refreshing treat made it impossible to look away.
When they heard the price, some hesitated. Two jiao was enough to buy over a jin of flour; it was hard to justify spending it on something that wouldn't fill their stomachs.
"Give me a bowl!" There were, of course, those who weren't as tight with money. A young woman wiped the sweat from her face and pulled two 1-mao notes from her pocket, handing them to Sheng Xia.
"Coming right up!" Sheng Xia took the money, grabbed a bowl, added the crushed ice, and opened the topping containers. "Can you eat all of these?" she asked.
"I'll take them all!" The girl’s eyes lit up. No wonder it cost two jiao—it even had watermelon, raisins, honey, peanuts... these were real treats.
Sheng Xia added a generous spoonful of everything until the bowl was heaped high, then handed it over.
"Thank you!" The girl thanked her, grabbed a spoon, and couldn't wait to take a bite of the toppings. "So sweet!"
"It tastes even better if you stir it," Sheng Xia said with a satisfied smile, seeing the girl’s eyes crinkle with delight.
"Okay!" The girl quickly mixed everything together and took another bite. Although the ingredients were also chilled, mixing them with the crushed ice made every bite exceptionally refreshing. The soft, sweet honey beans, the crisp watermelon, the crunchy peanuts, the chewy raisins, and the bouncy tapioca and taro balls created a stunning, layered flavor.