Meng Zhao brought a broom with him, quickly cleaned up the area around the stall, put away the cart's stand, and headed to the vegetable market street.

"Mom and Dad, I'm back after closing up shop."

Seeing their daughter return from her stall, Meng Dashan and Xu Yunrong were very concerned. They weren't worried about how the business was, but rather about whether their daughter was tired.

Meng Zhao shook his head. "Today is the first day of setting up a stall. I didn't prepare much, and I sold out very early. I'm not tired at all. Dad, could you cut me another piece of pork belly and five jin of hind leg meat?"

Meng Dashan responded and packed the meat that Meng Zhao had asked for. Meng Zhao handed over the money, and Meng Dashan knew immediately that he had given too much.

"Girl, you've given too much. You don't need so much."

Meng Zhao narrowed his eyes. "Father, did you deliberately save the best meat and give it all to me instead of selling it?"

When asked this question, Meng Dashan's eyes unconsciously drifted to the side. "No, I just grabbed them as I went."

"Hmph, don't try to fool me. I've inquired about the price of this meat. The meat you picked for me is all good quality, so naturally it's more expensive."

At this point, Meng Zhao changed to a coquettish manner, pulling on Meng Dashan's arm and saying, "Oh, Dad, my lunchbox isn't expensive to begin with. If you always give me the best meat, I'll have to spend a lot more money."

Meng Dashan said helplessly, "I didn't mean to think it's right to make money off my own daughter, so I picked out some good meat for you."

“What’s wrong with making money off my daughter? Others can’t even make that kind of money. Even if you don’t make money off me, I’ll still give it to you when I make money in the future. Next time, just give me whatever meat you have. Don’t save the best for me. Just take whatever price you’re charged.”

After hearing this, Meng Dashan was puzzled, but he still agreed. Although his daughter was now filial and considerate and good in every way, he really didn't understand why she was so clear about things with him now and no longer asked him for money.

Meng Zhao was unaware of Meng Dashan's thoughts. She needed to buy the ingredients she would need for tomorrow as soon as possible, so she bought ten steamed buns for five coins each, each one the size of a fist.

On the way back, I made a detour to the carpenter's shop and ordered another thirty plates. The food sold out quickly, and the thirty plates were just enough to keep up with demand. I guess they won't be enough when there are more customers.

When they returned to the village, they were all in high spirits. They had been busy all morning, but they did not feel tired.

Meng Zhao and Gu Shi took turns pulling the stroller. Meng Zhao was worried that the two children would get tired, so she wanted them to sit in the stroller.

"Qingze and Qingyu, are you tired today? Why don't you sit in the stroller and your mother and I will push you?"

"Not tired at all, sister-in-law. As long as I can eat good food and earn money, Qingyu isn't tired at all." Shen Qingyu looked full of energy and could even hop and skip while helping Meng Zhao push the cart.

"Our Qingyu is so good. You two have worked so hard today. Your sister-in-law saw it all. You two worked very hard today, not only greeting the guests but also helping to serve soup and water. You are both amazing." Meng Zhao always practiced encouragement and praise.

"Sister-in-law, Qingyu was especially good today, she even helped Mom collect the money." Although her parents and brother were all very good to her, only her sister-in-law praised her like this. The little girl was very happy to be praised and continued to ask for more praise.

"Yes, our Qingyu is so well-behaved and smart, her calculations are all correct." The little girl pushed the cart even harder after receiving the praise.

"Qingze was great today too, he helped his sister-in-law a lot." Looking at Shen Qingze, who hadn't said much to him but was busy pushing the cart, Meng Zhao still didn't hold back his praise.

Shen Qingze felt a little shy upon hearing the praise and said in a low voice:

"I am a man, and I will do a lot of things for my family."

"Yes, Qingze is a man, and he's strong. He'll be able to help his sister-in-law with more things in the future."

Listening to the conversation between the three, tears welled up in Gu's eyes. Since her husband and eldest son left, the house had become quiet. Her second son was always quiet and rarely at home.

The two younger ones are very sensible and know that they work hard. They have never made any demands and have always helped with the housework.

She naturally felt sorry for them, and now that she saw Meng Zhao getting along so well with the two children and that there was laughter in the house, she was the happiest one.

When they got home, everyone's stomachs were rumbling. Luckily, they had eaten a lot in the morning, otherwise they would have been exhausted after a busy morning. Meng Zhao heated up the leftovers from lunch and ate them with steamed buns.

They left in a hurry after cooking lunch, leaving behind a pile of used pots and pans. Meng Zhao and Gu Shi cleaned up the used plates and utensils together.

Then, quickly prepare the ingredients needed for tomorrow in advance to avoid being too rushed tomorrow.

After everything was prepared, Meng Zhao returned to his room and took out the cloth bag he had brought with him that day, which contained all of his earnings for the day.

A pile of copper coins was poured out with a clatter. Meng Zhao counted them one by one, and there were a total of 368 coins.

The cost of ingredients for today's meal was 195 coins. Including the firewood, seasonings, and stall fees, the cost should be around 240 coins. That means he made nearly 40 boxed meals and earned a total of 128 coins. On average, he could earn more than three coins per meal. If he could increase the daily portion to more than 100 meals, he could earn three to four hundred coins a day.

Meng Zhao's initial investment included 200 coins for the bricks used to build the stove, 700 coins for the square basin and pot, 380 coins for the cart modification and the first custom-made rice plates, and 210 coins for the thirty rice plates ordered today. These were the major expenses, totaling one and a half ounces.

In between, some small kitchen utensils such as pots and pans were added, and a piece of cloth was also purchased. The total investment should be less than two taels of silver.

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