For the lunch menu, she prepared longevity noodles with soy-braised pork slices, long strands which stood for resilience and fortune.
Steamed tofu with chili garlic sauce, soft and spicy, a balance of gentleness and fire.
Stir-fried seasonal greens with garlic and sesame oil, humble, earthy and nourishing.
And for dinner, she was preparing something different.
Lotus root and rib soup, this clear, fragrant was meant to cleanse and refresh.
Fried rice with salted fish and shredded omelet, an old countryside staple, comforting and nostalgic.
On the side, she set a fresh pot of chrysanthemum tea to steep.
It was light, cooling and fragrant, it was her personal favorite, and one her mother used to say cleared bad energy.
The ingredients had cost more today than usual. Between the pork belly, lotus root, and the extra tea leaves, she'd spent nearly 18 yuan, give or take.
A small dent in her budget, but the crowd from earlier had already given her hope that it would be worth it.
