Several children pushed and shoved each other, and finally the oldest boy spoke first: "My name is... Li Ye Gou."

Shen Qing almost choked on his saliva.

Of the children who are sold by their families, how many are the loved ones, unless the family is broken up and no one can survive? Although there is a saying in the countryside that a humble name makes it easier to raise a child - Miao once deeply hated herself for giving Chen Zhang the name "Zhang", thinking that he was just a farm boy and was afraid that he could not bear this name and died young.

But the name of a mean person is not as mean as "wild dog", which can't even be called "gouzi" or "goudan" - generally speaking, it is called "dan" or "gen", which, although not very nice to hear, is the more favored child in the family.

The rest were even more perfunctory: Liu Sangou, Li Caoer, Feng Shuigou, and the two little girls didn't even have a name. One was called Erniu and the other was called Liuya.

Shen Qing is not a cultured person, so he cannot give them any elegant and nice names. But if he was asked to call them wild dogs or ditch, he would find it difficult to say them. Shen Qing thought about it and asked them: "Do you want to change your name?"

Several people looked at each other. The traffickers had taught them that when they arrived at their master's house, the master should change their names and they should be called whatever name was given to them. But they were not taught how to respond when their master asked them if they wanted to change their names.

Want to change it? Of course I thought so. Who would want to be called a stray dog ​​or a ditch by a good person? Even when I was in the village, I would be laughed at by other children! The children grunted for a while, and before Shen Qing's patience was almost exhausted, they nodded one after another.

"Do you have any names you want to be called? If so, you can name yourself. If not, I will help you choose one. It may not sound very nice, but it will be better than the current one." Shen Qing said.

The children were silent for a while. Only the boy named Li Cao'er hesitated for a long time, then mustered up the courage to say, "Master, I want to be called Mudan... Is that okay?"

Li Cao'er is the fifth child in the family. He has three older sisters and one younger brother. When he was born, he was another little boy, and his parents threw him directly into a pile of straw. In late autumn, he was left there for half a day, but he didn't freeze to death. In the middle of the night, he was still crying like a weak cat. His mother finally couldn't bear it anymore and asked her eldest sister to take him back.

But it only saved his life. His life has been as cheap as grass since he was a child - and it's not just him, all his older brothers and sisters are also worthless.

Later, the family's harvest was poor and the younger brother fell ill again - his mother finally gave birth to a boy in her sixth pregnancy. When the human traffickers came to the village to buy people, the first one to be sold was Li Cao'er: his brothers and sisters were already grown up and old enough to work, and in two years they would be able to get married and get a dowry, but he was just ten years old, neither old nor too old.

After Li Cao'er was sold to a human trafficker, she once overheard the trafficker say that the peony was the most precious flower in the world, the king of flowers, and the one that the queen wore in her hair every day.

He didn't want to be as cheap as grass anymore, he wanted to be the most precious flower in the world.

Shen Qing was surprised for a moment. Although he felt that calling her Peony was a little strange, he was very happy that Li Cao'er had her own ideas: "Okay, then you will be called Peony from now on!"

With Mudan taking the lead, Li Ye Gou also mustered up the courage to say, "I want to be called Li Shuming."

This was the name of the son of a scholar in their village. The real Li Shuming and Li Ye Gou are the same age, but their lives are completely different. Li Shuming has been the apple of the family's eye since birth. He started to learn at the age of three and has a great talent for reading. Whenever the scholar mentioned his son, he always praised him endlessly. Unlike him, he was born in a poor family and his parents always belittled and despised him.

Shen Qing didn't know the reason, but there was no reason for him to refuse. Since the remaining children didn't have names they wanted, Shen Qing named Erniu agate, Liuya named Feicui, Liu Sangou was renamed Shuliang to correspond to Shuming, and Feng Shuigou was renamed Haitang to correspond to Mudan.

Fortunately, Shen Qing pretended to be a rich young man for a while and often learned from Ruyifang, otherwise he would have been able to only give himself names like Willow Leaf and Sophora Flower.

Shen Qing also said to them: "You are still young now. If one day you have a name you want to be called, you can tell me."

Several children kept these words in mind and silently recited their new names. Now that they are following new owners and living in a newly purchased house, they will naturally start a new life.

Shen Qing let the children settle down on their own, and he took Miao to stroll around the county town. The first thing is to buy more rice and grain. Now there are more than 20 empty houses. We can buy as much as we can after removing the rooms where the children live!

Refined rice, white flour, and various kinds of beans... Shen Qing no longer had to worry about the villagers' opinions. He selected the best ones and bought them. Grain trucks were delivered to the new house in a continuous stream. He also bought two stone of new soybeans.

Miao started selecting fabrics to make clothes for her children. She is the most thrifty person and always chooses affordable fabrics. The pattern doesn't have to be very fashionable, as long as the material is good and it is warm and wear-resistant. You can sell the damaged ones at a low price and use them as lining. I also bought a big bag of new cotton. Since I wanted to make clothes, I also needed to buy two sets of needles and thread, scissors, thimbles and other things. Some other daily necessities needed for life were also added.

Shen Qing asked the store to deliver these directly to his newly purchased house. Upon hearing that Shen Qing had finally bought property in the county, familiar shop owners all came to congratulate him. Shen Qing didn't say much to them. He took out the tofu-making tools he had ordered earlier, bought a large stone mill, and took Miao back to Shiqu Village.

As soon as they left the city, some people in the city immediately gathered in the teahouses and restaurants on the streets to discuss: "We saw that they left the city and were heading towards the village below. Does this young man live in the village?"

"That girl must be from the village below... I just don't know which village she is from. Who do you think that girl is related to that young master? Has anyone seen her face clearly? Maybe she's not his wife or concubine, but there are several families who want to marry into that young master's family. He must be heartbroken."

The clerk in the cloth shop waved his hands and said, "No, that should be an elderly woman. The way she selects the cloth, she seems like someone who is thrifty and frugal." This was already said in a subtle way. In fact, it was obvious that Miao's habit of selecting cloth showed that she came from a poor family. "It's very different from that young master's move."

"How do you know it's an elderly woman?" When they heard that it was not his wife, some people became excited again. The veil was so tight that you couldn't even see her figure. How did this guy know? "Did you look at the face?"

"No. If you can't see her face, can't you see her hands? I saw it when she was choosing the material. Her hands looked like a pair of hands doing farm work." How many rich ladies and girls from small families does this guy see every day? How can you not have such good eyesight!

"Don't make blind guesses. That woman is the young man's aunt." This is the agent who sold the house to Shen Qing today and he knows the most inside information. "Boss, please book me a table of good food. I want to entertain the clerks of the government office tonight."

Seeing that he knew the inside story, the people nearby rushed to pull him to their table, poured him tea, handed him snacks, and served him attentively for a while: "Please tell us about it!"

The broker thought for a moment and told his guesses one by one: "The young man said that his aunt is in mourning in the village. I guess her husband died and she is having a hard time. This nephew has some money, so he comes to take care of her." There is only one boy registered under the name of the woman. If she didn't give birth to a boy, the clan members would most likely try to seize her family's property after her husband died. Perhaps that was why this rich young man suddenly appeared in Anping County, just to support his aunt.

The broker felt that his guess was very reasonable, and the criminal investigator was no more capable than that. Maybe this young man lost the fight with his aunt and failed to snatch the clan members, so he bought a new house for his aunt in the county town.

"I have to say that this young master is a very kind and filial person. Not only did he buy a property for his aunt, he also bought several maids and boys from me to serve her. This is how many people treat their own mother. In the future, his aunt can just rent out the few shops in front of her, and it will be enough for her to spend, and she will have no worries for the rest of her life!"

The people around were fascinated by what they heard and believed it without a doubt: "But his aunt is from the village below? If you know which village she is from, can she be his master?" The person who spoke smacked his lips and said, "Even if I can't be his master, it would be good to be able to help him. To be honest, my neighbor has a niece who I have always wanted to marry to this young master. She can be his concubine and the betrothal gift is easy to negotiate, but there is no one to help..."

The man ate his snacks and drank his tea, then stood up and patted his butt: "Oh, I have something else to do, I'll be leaving first!"

It would be fine if he just talked about his own guesses, but he really didn't dare to reveal any of the information on Shen Qing's post. What if you anger that young master and he stops taking care of your business? He was also hoping to make a big profit by completing the Dongshan deal!

Shen Qing didn't know yet, but in just a short while, his personality in the county had become much richer, he became filial and generous, but his fighting power with the clan was weak. When he came to Shiqu Village pulling a large cart of things, it also caused quite a stir in the village.

If nothing else, that big stone mill is eye-catching enough!

It’s not that Shiqu Village doesn’t have a stone mill, but rather that most villages have public stone mills that belong to the common property of the village, so each household does not need to prepare another one.

It’s easy to grind wheat flour or sweet potato vermicelli at home on weekdays. If you do business and occupy the village's public stone mill every day, the villagers will make a fuss in a few days! So it’s better to prepare one at home.

"Qing'er, why do you have such a big mill? Is this for your uncle?" The people of Shiqu Village walked around the mill twice. It was not as big as the one in their village: "Why did you buy this thing? The big mill in our village is not big enough for your two uncles?"

Shen Qing took the opportunity to promote it: "My uncle is going to open a tofu shop. When you want to eat tofu, you can go to my uncle's house to have a look. It will definitely be cheaper for people in our village. Isn't it more convenient than going to the county town to buy tofu?"

"What? Your uncle is going to open a tofu shop?" The villagers were shocked. "I've never heard of anyone in your uncle's family making tofu?"

Shen Qing didn't respond to this, and just asked everyone to take care of the business: "I will make some tomorrow for the villagers to try. If everyone thinks it's good, I will make more. Come early tomorrow to try it!"

"My goodness, I heard that Liu Yue'e went around the village to exchange soybeans for cash today! People were wondering why she suddenly became generous. It turns out that she has found a way to make money." Seeing Shen Qing driving away, a group of people started muttering in the back: "You said we are all from the same village and clan, so everyone knows what everyone has. I've never heard of anyone in Miao Xing's family making tofu! I don't know how he got this way to make money?"

When they arrived at the Miao family, in just one day, the room where Miao Yu had originally lived was cleaned up, a door facing outwards was opened, and two stoves were built. There were bags of soybeans piled up in the yard. They were all exchanged by Liu Yue'e in the village today, and the capital was also provided by Shen Qing. Liu Yue'e still felt it was not enough: "Tomorrow I will go to my mother's village to exchange some, and I will also go to my second brother's village!"

"If the villagers are willing to exchange beans or grains in the future, I will accept them, but the price should be reasonable." Shen Qing said, "I will buy the grains at the same price as the grain shops in the city."

"Okay!" Liu Yue'e agreed happily. This meant they were getting the better deal. However, Qingge'er's family has no land, so it is reasonable for him to think about harvesting some food. The villagers are not worried because they have stored food at home. Are they waiting for the rice to be cooked today and then go and exchange it with others today?

Now that all the equipment was ready, Shen Qing began to teach the Miao people how to make tofu. Making tofu is not only a tiring job, but also a delicate one. Shen Qing also learned it after several times from Tang's mother. Every step must be done carefully. Even soaking the beans is a science - soaking the beans until they turn white and slightly swell is the most suitable.

If the beans are over-soaked and white mold appears on the surface, the tofu made from it will be watery and even difficult to shape, and will only grow into bean sprouts.

The soaking time of beans is not fixed, but also depends on the weather and temperature at that time. In winter, you need to soak for a longer time, and in summer, you need to soak for a shorter time. Experienced people will naturally have some experience and will know how to estimate the time. If a novice is not sure, he should check again from time to time.

Shen Qing did not expect everyone in the family to learn everything at once, so he arranged for everyone to be in charge of different steps: the men in the family naturally took turns grinding the beans, except for the youngest Miao Shan, all had to take part. The job of soaking beans was taught to my two cousins, Qiao Niang and Xue Niang, as the girls were more careful and patient.

As for the core technique of making tofu, Shen Qing asked Liu Yue'e and Li Yanzi to learn it, and in the end he felt that Liu Yue'e's was better: perhaps this kind of thing also requires a bit of talent.

So Li Yanzi was assigned to pick up bean curd sheets and tofu skins. Keep boiling the soy milk over very low heat and a layer of yellow oil will slowly form on the surface. Pick up the oil skin, and you will find a thin and tender layer of tofu skin. Pile the wet tofu skin into a narrow and thin strip and dry it or bake it to make yuba. The methods and names of tofu skin in many places are different. Some even coat it with starch, but I have never seen this way of eating it in Anping County.

Miao Shan, the only one who was free, was arranged to go to the main house to accompany Old Madam Miao. The old lady has bad legs and feet, and usually her two daughters-in-law take turns to take care of her. Now that the family has become busy, the young boy has to help as well!

"Take out the yuba and dry it. I don't think you should sell it yet." Shen Qing said, "The tofu business is only good in winter, and it can barely be done in spring and autumn. In summer, we can only make one or two boards in the morning and sell them immediately after they are made. If they are left for a while longer, they will go bad, and soaked beans will also ferment easily. It is better to save the yuba now and sell them in the summer, so that we can have income all year round."

There are only so many people in the nearby villages, and each family has a fixed number of tofu eaters and sellers. If you take out the bean curd sheets now, some people will not buy tofu after buying them. If there is only tofu for sale, they can only buy tofu. By converting the two, they can make more money.

After selling pig heads last time, Miao Xing and Miao Wang probably really awakened some talent for business. After listening to what Shen Qing said, their eyes lit up: "In the next few days, as long as we can make it, we should make more tofu. Don't worry about not being able to sell it. In this weather, if you leave it outside overnight, it will become frozen tofu. Frozen tofu can be stored and can be sold at the big market before the New Year. Why worry about not being able to sell it?"