Immediately afterwards, Ye Yun saw a figure coming to the gate of the courtyard. It was Old Ma, who sold tofu in the next village.

Why is Old Ma here?

Ye Yun gave Qin Zheng a wink, signaling him to keep an eye on Ye Jian'an and Mu Jingsheng, then got up and left.

In the courtyard.

Old Ma was standing at the gate of the courtyard waiting, and his face lit up with a smile when he saw Ye Yun.

"Qin family daughter-in-law, you're finally back." As he spoke, Old Ma walked up to Ye Yun with a beaming smile and stuffed a handful of small bills into her hand without saying a word.

There were one- or two-cent coins, and a few two- or three-yuan notes mixed in.

Ye Yun, puzzled, raised an eyebrow. "Uncle Ma, what's going on...?"

Old Ma had a simple, honest smile on his face. He slapped his forehead and said, "Look, I was so busy stuffing money into your hands that I forgot to tell you, I finally made the stinky tofu you taught me to make! And believe it or not, it's selling pretty well. It smells stinky but tastes delicious, and lots of people want it! This money is the profit after deducting the cost over this period. I heard you were back, so I quickly brought it to you!"

Oh, I see.

Ye Yun couldn't help but laugh.

She stuffed the money back into Old Ma's arms and waved her hand, saying, "Uncle Ma, this is money you worked so hard to earn, you shouldn't give it to me."

Old Ma looked surprised, clearly at a loss as he held the handful of small bills.

What does this mean?

She doesn't want it?

These days, why wouldn't you take money that's practically handed to you?

In Old Ma's mind, this money should belong to Ye Yun.

Although he did the hard work, Ye Yun taught him how to make stinky tofu. Having lived most of his life, he naturally knew what was most precious.

Everyone has a job that involves manual labor.

The least valuable asset for farmers is their manual labor.

But not for crafts.

These days, having a skill is like having a job; you'll never have to worry about making a living, no matter where you go.

In his view, the skills Ye Yun taught him were far more important than the money in his hands.

If it were in the old-fashioned era, he would have even formally acknowledged Ye Yun as his master.

"Uncle Ma, you should go back first." Seeing that Old Ma was still stunned, Ye Yun explained again, "This is your hard-earned money, it has nothing to do with me. I have guests at home today, so I can't invite you in for a drink of water. I'll come to your house to visit Xiuer another day, and we can talk about the stinky tofu then?"

"Okay, okay!"

Upon hearing this, Old Ma didn't want to delay any longer. After confirming with Ye Yun that she would be going home, he rode away on his tricycle.

As he left, he was careful not to let the tricycle snag on a parked sedan.

Just by looking at this small car, you can tell that Ye Yun's family must have a distinguished guest. If he had known that Ye Yun's family had such a distinguished guest to entertain today, he wouldn't have been so tactless as to come over at this time.

Ye Yun went back to her house, and Qin Xiang'e, who had just finished shopping, rode her bicycle into the village.

She bought two jin of meat from the town's supply and marketing cooperative and two lively, fresh grass carp from the roadside. When she saw Old Ma, she immediately waved for him to stop, thinking of buying some tofu to stew with the fish.

Old Ma waved his hand when he heard the news.

The tofu wouldn't be ready until evening; his purpose in coming was simply to deliver money to Ye Yun.

Qin Xiang couldn't help but feel sorry for this.

Tsk, I should have bought some tofu from the supply and marketing cooperative. But I still have some bean curd sheets and wild vegetables at home, so I can stew them together in the pot.

Qin Xiang'e waved to Old Ma and prepared to go back.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Old Ma suddenly called out to her.

Qin Xiang'e, her hands gripping the handlebars, turned around and smiled, "What's wrong?"

Old Ma glanced at the car parked by the roadside again and asked in a low voice, "Young lady, who are these people who came to your house?"

"You mean this?"

Qin Xiang'e understood, and her smile widened even further.

"These are my wife's parents who have come back. From now on, my wife has a family of her own," she said, her face beaming with genuine joy.

Old Ma slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's great! This is wonderful!"

"Yes, I won't say any more to you. I have to go back and cook for my niece-in-law's family!"

Qin Xiang'e was about to leave when Old Ma stopped her car.

Before she could react, a thick wad of small bills appeared in her hand.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Qin Xiang'e asked in surprise, and quickly tried to return it to him.

Old Ma immediately said, "Sister, this is the money from selling stinky tofu. The recipe for stinky tofu belongs to your wife. I went to her earlier, but she was busy and wouldn't accept it, so I didn't bother her any longer. Please give it to your wife. I'll be going now!"

After saying that, he got on the tricycle, pedaled hard, and sped away.

Qin Xiang'e, leaning on her old bicycle, looked at the small bills in her hand with a puzzled expression, then at the direction Old Matou had left in. After thinking for a couple of seconds, she put them in her pocket.

Since Old Ma said it was for her wife, she should take it back to her.

Qin Xiang'e rode her old bicycle up the hill.

After parking her car in the yard, she untied the pork and two fish tied to the handlebars, took out the small bills Old Ma had given her from her pocket, and went into the main room with a big smile on her face.

"His wife, I'm home..."

Ye Yun came out of the house to greet Qin Xiang'e. Qin Xiang'e chatted with her naturally about how fresh the grass carp she had bought was, saying that the fish seller was a young man who had just caught it from the river. Then, as if remembering something, she quickly handed Ye Yun a stack of small bills.

"This is from Old Ma."

"..."

As soon as Ye Yun saw the small bill, she knew what was going on. She smiled at Qin Xiang'e and told her to go inside first.

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