mtl008 Chapter 22 The First Distribution of Money
Chapter 22 The First Distribution of Money
Zhao Jinhua shrank back into the crowd, feeling guilty.
She was afraid of Liu San Niang...
Liu San Niang found her and gave her a disdainful look.
As a woman herself, Liu San Niang really didn't want to expose Zhao Jinhua's flaws in front of so many people.
"We're not selling tofu today." As for what they were selling, Liu San Niang didn't say.
But the people at the village entrance weren't about to give up.
In a village... nothing can be kept secret.
"Third Aunt, what were those yellow things hanging outside your house yesterday?"
No need to ask, it was Zhao Jinhua who said it.
Seeing that Liu Sanniang hadn't said anything to her earlier, Zhao Jinhua grew a little bolder.
"Oh dear, Third Sister must have come up with some new business idea. Why would she tell everyone?"
"But, Third Sister, are you bringing the Lu family into this business?"
Zhao Jinhua didn't say anything more.
She was afraid that if she mentioned those two words, Liu San Niang would start poking at her lungs again, just like she did that morning.
With so many people at the village entrance, she still has a sense of shame.
But she didn't say anything, there were so many people at the village entrance...
Then someone chimed in.
"That's right, Third Sister. Of all people to bring along, you had to bring along the Lu family, a bunch of jinxes. How can you expect to make this new business work?"
Liu San Niang originally wanted to let Zhao Jinhua go, but she insisted on speaking up!
"Zhao Jinhua, you should spend more time with your man and stop eyeing my Liu San Niang's family." Liu San Niang's words pierced Zhao Jinhua's heart and also amused the others.
She then looked at the woman who had spoken earlier, "And you!"
"This new business of mine was Tian Tian's idea. It wasn't me leading Sister Lu's family, it was Sister Lu's family leading me."
"What good business could they possibly come up with? Third Sister, don't be fooled."
Liu San Niang scoffed, swaying her hips as she pulled Lu Tao along.
The money has been received!
After they left, someone suddenly popped out from the crowd...
"Hey, Zhigao, did you hear that? The Lu family has started doing business with Liu Sanniang."
"They started making money after leaving the Tian family."
Tian Zhigao said dismissively, "What can a few widows possibly do?"
*
With some time to spare before dinner, Liu San Niang and Lu Tao decided to grind soybeans to make soy milk first.
"You soaked beans this morning?" Lu Tao asked in surprise.
When I set off this morning, I didn't know if I could sell any of the bean curd sheets.
Liu San Niang raised her eyebrows with delight, "Anyway, I don't know what I was thinking, maybe I thought the bean curd skin would sell!"
"Haha."
The two smiled at each other.
Liu San Niang usually grinds soybeans for milk all by herself, which is very tiring.
I was chatting and laughing with Lu Tao today, and before long, the soy milk was ready.
The fire in the stove was burning just right. Liu San Niang heated up the meat patties given to her by the young master of Fu Lai Restaurant and then ladled out some soy milk.
"It's time to eat."
Da Ya and Tian Jinghe smelled the aroma of meat pies all the way, but they managed to resist eating them.
I couldn't resist any longer, and took a bite as soon as I got it, even though it was burning my mouth.
This meat pie is one of the specialties of Fulai Restaurant. The meat filling is made by Chef Zhu, and it tastes savory and delicious.
The dough is also fermented with sourdough, making it much softer than the flatbreads made by ordinary families.
"The meat patties are so delicious," Daya exclaimed.
Tian Jinghe nodded in agreement, with juices dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Lu Tao took a bite and exclaimed, "Oh, it's delicious!"
She had never eaten a meat pie in her life. As meat juice dripped from the corner of her mouth, she quickly licked it clean with her fingers.
Liu San Niang picked up the soy milk and took a sip. "When I'm less busy in a few days, I'll go up the mountain to hunt some wild game to add some meat to everyone's meal."
While everyone was enjoying their warm and happy meal, Tian Tian said, "Tonight we need to hurry and make more bean curd sheets."
"Auntie, let the two of us do it first. Mother, you and my eldest sister can take a nap first."
"When my aunt and I get tired, you and my older sister can take over for us, Mom."
"I'll trouble you to make the delivery by yourself tomorrow morning."
"In the afternoon, Daya, Jinghe, and I went to deliver goods."
"Aunt, Mother, and Eldest Sister, you all continue making bean curd sheets at home."
No one had any objections to her arrangements.
Before making the fried tofu skin, Tian Tian took out the remaining money.
Of the 605 coins they sold for honeysuckle, only one coin remained.
Of the 2,200 coins spent on selling bean curd skin, 1,580 coins remained.
One tael of broken silver and five hundred and eighty copper coins.
"Auntie, Mother, we'll charge separately for the copper coins we make selling flowers."
"Six hundred copper coins, two hundred for each person."
Tian Tian counted out four hundred, leaving one hundred and eighty coins.
“We’ll ride in an oxcart, it’ll cost twelve coins.” They counted twelve more people off, making it one hundred and ninety-two coins.
She pushed the coins to Daya, saying, "These are Daya's, Auntie. You still owe Daya four coins for the oxcart."
Daya stuck out her tongue, touched the copper coin in front of her with her little hand, and looked excited.
He gave Liu San Niang a tael of silver, saying, "This is the silver from selling bean curd sheets. After deducting the deposit for the pot, it's the remaining tael."
"We still owe the blacksmith 1,320 coins."
"Once we sell the bean curd sheets tomorrow, we'll have enough money for the pot; anything extra is profit."
Liu San Niang gave Lu Tao a thumbs up, "Tian Tian is so quick-witted and good at math."
Tian Xiang was completely bewildered.
Those bean curd sheets... they really made so much money!
Tian Tian counted out another forty-four coins and gave them to Liu San Niang, saying, "Auntie, this is the money for the beans."
To make 22 jin of bean curd sheets, 44 jin of beans are needed. The cost of beans is two coins per jin, and their family needs to contribute half of that cost.
Then she counted out another hundred, saying, "Auntie, this is the rent you paid on behalf of our family."
Seeing how meticulously she had calculated, Liu San Niang felt a little embarrassed. "Sweetie..."
“Auntie, it’s a good thing that our two families are doing business together and making money together now.” Tian Tian looked at her seriously, “But if we want it to last, we have to make sure that no one takes advantage of the other.”
“Sweetie is right.” Lu Tao nodded in agreement.
Liu San Niang pulled the copper coins on the table to her face. "Alright, then I'll listen to Tian Tian."
"This is a good deal. It would be best if our two companies could continue doing business together for a long time."
Upon hearing her say that, Tian Tian swallowed the words that were about to come out.
The business of making tofu skin... is destined to be short-lived.
Because it's so easy to make, anyone who makes tofu can figure it out with a little thought.
With everyone's enthusiasm so high right now, she didn't want to dampen their spirits.
For now, let's focus on earning as much money as we can, and then...
She has many more ideas.
Tian Tian had 44 coins left out of her 200 coins, while Tian Jinghe hadn't touched the 200 coins in front of him.
He stood up and pushed the coin to Tian Tian.
He didn't want the money; he gave it all to his sister.
Tian Tian rubbed his head and pushed the two hundred coins to Lu Tao, "Mother, you keep it for Jinghe."
"I'll keep these forty-four coins to buy rice tomorrow."
Lu Tao said she was coming back to buy rice today, but... she forgot!
Luckily there were meat patties, otherwise we would only have soup tonight.
At 5 PM, Lu Tao took Tian Xiang and Tian Jinghe home to sleep.
Tian Tian and Liu San Niang started making bean curd skins at 5 PM and continued until the end of 9 PM.
Lu Tao and Tian Xiang came to take their place.
Exhausted, Tian Tian lay down and suddenly remembered the system upgrade.
She accessed the system...
"System upgrade successful."
"Current system level: LV1"
Tian Tian couldn't wait to check the list of items available for purchase in the system...
Previously, there were only rice, flour, disaster relief kits, and first aid kits; now...
The list is long, spanning several pages.
Upon closer inspection, Tian Tian almost jumped for joy!