Chapter 184 Octopus

Wen Zhenyi sat on a chair in the yard, leaning back from time to time. She wondered if she should make a rocking chair, which would be much more comfortable.

The thought flashed through her mind, and she began to consider the food available. The food in town was quite comprehensive, but also quite lacking.

For example, there are tofu and bean sprouts, but no tofu skin; there are sweet potato flour and potato flour, but no sweet potato chips.

It's not impossible for her to do it herself, but it would be a waste of time, and she can't supply too many people if she does it herself.

In addition, there are a lot of sauces and pickles missing here.

If such secondary processed products can form some production lines, I wonder if everyone can make money.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the weight of Cream jumping back into her arms. She looked at Cream, whose belly was round from eating, and said, "You've gained a lot of weight since before you came." Then she carried it back to her room to sleep.

The next day, not long after the shop opened, Mrs. Wen and her friends arrived, bringing with them over a hundred woven bamboo baskets. "Yi Yi, take a look at these bamboo baskets and see if they are the right ones."

Wen Zhenyi looked at the bamboo baskets and several tables, chairs, and benches on the ox cart: "Grandma, why did you bring tables, chairs, and benches?"

"Aren't you going to prepare refreshments for the flower viewing party these days? We were afraid the two tables in the backyard wouldn't be enough, so we bought a few more."

"You're very thoughtful."

"Look at the bamboo basket."

Wen Zhenyi picked up a bamboo basket and examined it carefully. It was well made, with no fuzz on the edges or corners, and it was very smooth. "Grandma, it's all very well made."

"That's all. The village chief is worried that he can't meet your requirements."

"That's great, but we can't use it right now. We need to put it in the warehouse first."

Wen Chengwen unloaded all the tables and chairs from the ox cart and placed them in the yard. The yard, which was originally spacious, now became a bit crowded.

Wen Zhen looked around but didn't see Old Man Wen and Old Man Ma: "Grandma, where are Grandpa and Grandpa?"

"They couldn't help much when they came, so they stayed home to build pig pens and weave bamboo baskets."

Wen Zhenyi chuckled and shook his head: "Grandma, is there enough money to build a pigpen?"

"That's enough. We plan to build ten pig pens first. There's not much to do in the fields right now, and many people in the village have come to help. We're moving pretty fast, and we should be able to finish it by the time the pigs arrive."

"That's good."

Old Mrs. Ma wiped the tables and chairs clean with a rag: "Yi Yi, what should we do first?"

"Grandma, please help me make chrysanthemum pastry. You all know the method, just follow it."

"Okay, let's do it now."

Ma Yinghe and his colleagues took out flour, sesame oil and sugar from the warehouse and started working.

Because the quantity this time is relatively large, and the chrysanthemum crisps are more complicated to make, it takes the most time.

Xiong Lu walked up to her and said, "Miss, what do you want me to do?"

"Wait a minute."

Wen Zhenyi brought out the shaved ice machine from the warehouse: "Take a look at this first and see if you can improve it."

Xiong Lu looked at the thing on the table and studied it carefully. After a while, he knew the working principle, but he didn't know what it was used for. "Just what is it used for?"

"This is for crushing ice."

Xiong Lu frowned after hearing this: "Ice is water. Over time, these iron objects will rust."

"Do you have a solution?"

"I can try. I've tried folding and forging iron repeatedly before, and it can make it extremely hard. It's not comparable to ordinary iron."

Wen Zhenyi looked at her with a broad mind. He must be talking about steel. She had heard of the saying "steel is made by tempering a hundred times" a long time ago. But when she heard it, she was still shocked.

"But there is still a possibility of rust."

Xiong Lu nodded: "I need to try again."

"If that doesn't work, you can only use steel, but it's tougher than what you're using now. Besides, this thing is made entirely of iron, which is not only too heavy, but also prone to rust."

"What do you think it should be replaced with?"

"Wood or bamboo would be more suitable, as it would reduce rust."

"Then I'll teach you how to make it. I also need an egg beater, a peeling tool, a noodle making machine, and so on."

Xiong Lu was confused: "What are these things?"

Wen Zhenyi told him the general working principle, and the rest was up to him.

Xiong Lu's eyes lit up when he heard this, then he lowered his head and pondered: "Miss, I don't have any iron tools right now."

Wen Zhenyi thought for a moment and said, "Come with me later. We'll go to the blacksmith shop and borrow his things. I'll pay him when the time comes."

Xiong Lu nodded: "Okay."

Wen Zhenyi saw that it was getting late and everyone in the market should have set up their stalls, so he said something to them and took Xiong Lu out of the shop.

She first brought Xiong Lu to the blacksmith shop: "Boss."

When the blacksmith shop owner saw Wen Zhenyi, his smile brightened a lot: "Miss Wen, what do you need?"

"I don't need that today. I do want to discuss something with you."

"What's up."

Wen Zhenyi then repeated his purpose.

The blacksmith shop owner thought for a moment and looked at Xiong Lu: "I do have an empty blacksmith furnace in my yard. If you don't mind, you can use it. I will only charge the cost."

Wen Zhenyi smiled and thanked him: "Thank you, boss. I will come over to settle the bill for you when the time comes."

"Miss Wen, you're too polite. I made some money from the frying pan you made for me last time, and I haven't even had time to thank you yet."

Wen Zhenyi exchanged a few words with him, said a few words to Xiong Lu, and then left.

She wanted to go to the market to see if there was any octopus for sale, otherwise her octopus balls for tomorrow would be ruined and she would have to think of something else to replace it.

"Smell the girl, smell the girl."

As soon as Wen Zhenyi walked to the place where seafood was sold, he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw Haiwa's family walking towards him, carrying a lot of things.

Haiwa's sister is called Yaya. When she saw Wen Zhenyi, she jumped up and ran over, "Sister Wen."

"Yaya, are you coming to the market today too?"

"Well, my brother is coming to give us coconuts today, so my parents and I are here to sell what we caught from the sea."

As they were talking, Haiwa and the others came over: "I just delivered coconut to the store, and they said you came to the market. I didn't expect to see you here."

Haiwa's parents smiled shyly: "Miss Wen."

"Are you here to sell seafood?"

"Yeah, I caught a lot today, so I thought I'd go to the market and take a look."

“Are there any octopuses?”

"What is an octopus?"

"Octopus."

"Yes, I just caught one today. Take a look." Haiwa's father put down the shoulder pole and took out an octopus from the bucket.