Chapter 456 Stealing a needle when young, stealing gold when grown up

The first day that Dahe Village officially received tourists has come to a successful conclusion.

Zhao Tiezhu excitedly came over to report the accounts: "Today we received sixteen people, and the total income was thirty-eight taels. After deducting labor costs, food costs, and material costs, we made a net profit of twenty-seven taels of silver."

Labor costs are the wages paid to those who receive tourists, food costs include tea and other necessities, and material costs are the game released from the mountain...

Earning more than twenty taels of silver a day, and with the entire flowering season lasting about three months, it adds up to a considerable income.

The key is that this job isn't tiring; it's like someone is delivering money to your door.

The village head's breathing became unsteady as he spoke, "Auntie Dashan, this business is too profitable. Once summer is over and the lotus flowers have faded, won't we be unable to continue this business? No, I need to think carefully about how to make this business sustainable..."

Cheng Wanwan smiled and watched the village head walk away.

After the lotus flowers have faded, the pond is full of withered lotus leaves. The autumn rain is continuous, and the sound of rain falling on the withered lotus leaves is quite interesting. Otherwise, how could there be such a famous line of poetry: "Leaving the withered lotus leaves to listen to the sound of rain"?

Furthermore, she planted chrysanthemums in the flower garden. In autumn, enjoying the chrysanthemums and having some crabs would be a wonderful experience.

However, there's no need to tell the village head now. Let him think it over carefully; he might come up with something even more interesting.

As soon as Cheng Wanwan returned to her own courtyard, she heard Si Dan say that something had happened at the old house, and the old lady asked her to go there as soon as she finished her work.

As soon as she arrived at the gate of Old Zhao's courtyard, she heard Sun's voice cursing loudly: "You little brat, you have some nerve! You actually dared to steal the candy from the house! Stealing candy is one thing, but you even made some unknown stuff into water and sold it to scholars to drink! If someone dies from drinking it, you'll pay with your life! I'm so angry! How could I have given birth to such a reckless child!"

Donghua and Qiuhua knelt in the corner, the two girls with their heads down, not uttering a sound.

Grandma Zhao said sternly, "Alright, stop scolding. Let's wait for the eldest daughter-in-law to come and ask her how to handle this matter!"

Cheng Wanwan stepped into the courtyard: "What happened?"

"You heard about those two girls selling lotus flower drinks on the street today, didn't you, sister-in-law?" Madam Wen sighed. "I really thought they made the drinks from lotus flowers. Turns out, they stole sugar from home, mixed it with water, picked some red wildflowers from the mountain, squeezed the juice into the drinks, and then put a lotus flower on the side. That's their so-called lotus flower drink. Who knows if the wildflowers on the mountain are poisonous? What if those scholars drink a bowl of it and someone dies? It's so worrying!"

Cheng Wanwan was genuinely surprised.

These two girls are really bold to do something like this!

She crouched down and asked in a softer voice, "Donghua, your aunt is asking you, are the wildflowers you use for color mixing mentioned in any recipes?"

Donghua shook her head, her voice low: "No."

Cheng Wanwan continued, "Then how do you know this flower can be used to mix colors?"

“We used to use this flower to color our nails,” Qiuhua said, shrinking back. “If nails can change color, sugar water definitely can too…”

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

She didn't know what to say; they really would stop at nothing to make money.

Now, let's just hope that these dyed wild grasses are non-toxic.

Otherwise, if something were to happen to those scholars, the reputation of Dahe Village would be ruined.

She took a breath and said, "Could you go up the mountain now and find some wildflowers for me to see?"

Donghua hurriedly said, "We picked a lot this morning, and we kept some for tomorrow. They're under my bed."

"What? You still want to sell tomorrow?" Sun was furious. She grabbed some firewood and was about to hit her. "Our family's life is getting better and better, and you brat have to cause trouble. Don't try to hide, or I'll beat you to death!"

Cheng Wanwan quickly reached out to stop her: "Don't do it yet. Wait until you're sure the wildflower is poisonous before you take action. I won't stop you."

Donghua quickly ran into the house and brought out the wildflowers. The flowers she picked in the morning were already wilted. The flowers were red and yellow, and Donghua separated them and placed them on both sides.

Cheng Wanwan opened the system, and a notification had already been displayed.

[Natural wild safflower, 80 coins per pound!]

There's also information about this wildflower: it's non-toxic, can be used medicinally, promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, but pregnant women should use it with caution.

Fortunately, no woman came today, otherwise, if a pregnant woman had accidentally drunk this stuff, something really bad might have happened.

She put down the safflower and said calmly, "This wildflower is considered a medicinal herb. It's not poisonous, but pregnant women shouldn't take it. You two are lucky today. If something had happened, the entire Dahe Village would have suffered because of you!"

"Luckily, there was no poison." Mrs. Sun breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, sister-in-law, can this business continue?"

Without any more reservations, her mind started to wander. This drink could earn her seventy or eighty coins a day, more than the coal miners in the village earned.

Cheng Wanwan said seriously, "Of course we can do this business, but we can't deceive consumers. Since it's a lotus drink, it has to live up to its name. The drink must contain lotus leaves or lotus juice. I won't provide these things for free. If you want to continue doing business, you should pre-order the raw materials from Manager Yan."

Donghua happily agreed, "Thank you, Auntie. I'll buy you flowers to wear when I earn some money!"

She jumped for joy.

Old Mrs. Zhao said with a stern face, "Who told you to get up? Keep kneeling!"

Donghua shrank her neck: "Didn't Auntie say it was alright? Why do we have to keep kneeling..."

"You two stole the candy from home! How dare you steal from our house! I wish I could chop off your hands!" Old Mrs. Zhao grabbed a wooden stick and hit Donghua's legs, forcing her to kneel down. "As the old saying goes, 'He who steals a needle when young will steal gold when old.' Zhao Fugui from our village is a living example! No matter what business you do, you must be honest and upright. If you dare to do such petty theft again, you are no longer a member of the Zhao family!"

Winter Flower cried out after being beaten, while Autumn Flower sobbed softly.

"Stop crying! How dare you cry!" the old woman said angrily. "No food or sleep tonight, you'll kneel all night. You must learn your lesson!"

Cheng Wanwan agreed with the old lady's parenting style. Modern education does not advocate corporal punishment of children, but after making such a big mistake, she still spoke kindly and gently to persuade and teach them. Not many people have such good patience. Giving them a good beating would actually make them remember the principles and bottom line more deeply.

The next morning, Zhao Youcai hitched a ride to the city to buy candy for the two girls and also reserved lotus flowers at the lotus pond.

Once the stalls selling winter and autumn flowers are properly set up, they are considered officially open for business.

Five coins a bowl is a bit expensive, but tourists don't care about the price and almost everyone orders one.

Besides Donghua's business, everyone else's business was also doing well, especially Zhao Mazi, who sold wooden hairpins. Each hairpin cost twenty coins, and he could carve seven or eight a day. If he sold them all, he could earn more than a hundred coins, and his family's savings increased instantly.