The man who arrived was none other than Old Man Zhang from Dawu Village. He drove an oxcart over, which was filled with baskets of duck eggs carefully wrapped in straw, a truly magnificent sight.

The oxcart traveled from one end of the village to Song Anxin's house at the other, attracting the attention of many villagers who followed it to Song Anxin's house to watch.

Song Anxin and several children helped Zhang Laobo move the duck eggs from the car to the yard, while Lin Dasao's family naturally helped as well.

Granny Han, Han Xiaohe, and Lin Shitou, who had come to watch the commotion, also helped out. Seeing so many duck eggs being carried in basket after basket, the villagers watching exclaimed:

"Why does Sister Lin's family still collect so many duck eggs? Almost everyone in our village sends them to her. She must be running a huge business!"

"....."

Among them was Gou Dan's mother, who had gone to the county town with Song Anxin last time. She said:

"A few days ago, I went to the county and Sister Lin Er happened to be taking a basket of duck eggs to sell there. I just assumed she only sold one basket."

Unexpectedly, today at the village entrance I saw Aunt Lin Er carrying two large wooden buckets of duck eggs, Fengnian Fengshou, going to the county to sell them.

Sister-in-law Lin said that the people in the county thought her food was pretty good, and she must have made a lot of money from it, otherwise why would she dare to buy so many duck eggs....

Granny Liu said, "Tsk tsk, so many duck eggs, that must be worth at least several taels of silver. It seems Fengnian's mother has made quite a bit of money. I wonder what kind of food she makes. Can those duck eggs be made into something fancy...?"

Upon hearing this, some of the village women silently calculated in their minds: duck eggs cost two coins each, and there were at least a thousand of them here, which would be worth at least two taels of silver, and the village had collected so many.

Furthermore, they discovered that everyone in Aunt Lin's family was wearing new clothes, suggesting that Aunt Lin must have made a fortune from her business, even though it wasn't a holiday.

Some people saw them going in Uncle Lin's oxcart. Uncle Lin happened to be passing by on his way back from the fields, so a villager asked:

"Uncle Lin, did you see how those duck eggs were made? And did you see how much money Fengnian's mother actually made?"

Uncle Lin honestly shook his head and said, "No, nothing at all, I'm just a carriage driver."

He would never reveal that Fengnian's mother was doing business with the restaurant owner.

Some women, finding they couldn't get any information from Uncle Lin, tiptoed to look into Song Anxin's yard. They saw nothing but baskets and baskets of duck eggs. Just then, Song Anxin came out, and the women surrounded her, saying:

"Aunt Lin, your food business is doing quite well, isn't it?"

"What kind of food do you eat? What else can you do with duck eggs besides frying, steaming, or boiling?"

"Fengnian's mother, how much did you earn? These baskets of duck eggs must have brought in a lot of money..."

"......"

Everyone tried their best to find out how much money Aunt Lin's family made from their food business, and whether they could make it the same way. As for duck eggs, everyone had them.

Song Anxin knew that this would definitely happen to her after she started doing business, and who wouldn't want to find another way to make a living?

She feigned a bitter expression and sighed:

"The profits are alright, it's rare to find city people who like it. The food itself isn't anything special, it's just that you have to be willing to use a lot of salt."

You all know how precious salt is. I buy it by the pound, and the money's gone as soon as I get it. Then I have to buy duck eggs. If I don't recoup my costs, I'll have to buy duck eggs on credit."

The salting of salted duck eggs is no secret that can be kept hidden. The most important thing is the pickling method, which Song Anxin is not afraid to reveal, because these villagers would not be willing to try it.

When everyone heard that they would have to add expensive salt, and by the pound, they realized that it was no wonder city people loved that food. Who doesn't like salt? It's such a precious ingredient that people are reluctant to use when cooking at home.

After carrying a basket of duck eggs, Sister-in-law Lin squeezed in and waved to them, saying:

"Go away, go away! How can you be so short-sighted? My sister-in-law can make money, but you don't even look at how much she's invested. If you're so capable, why don't you invest money and start your own business? Stop asking around here!"

They wouldn't dare invest money in business. Aunt Lin said they might have to buy on credit, and if they were stuck with bad debts, they'd be drowning in debt.

All the duck eggs were moved inside. Song Anxin invited Old Zhang to sit in the main room. The group of people felt there was nothing to see and dispersed to go about their own business. They completely gave up on inquiring about doing business.

Song Anxin and Old Man Zhang sat and talked, Zhang Mei went to cook, and Lin Fengshou, along with Lin Fenghe and Lin Fengyao, were counting the number of duck eggs in the yard.

The multiplication table is used; the duck eggs are arranged neatly, and the multiplication is done horizontally and vertically.

Song Anxin specifically instructed them when they first came in. Lin Fengshou and Lin Fenghe have already learned it, so these are not a problem. Lin Fengyao is in charge of counting.

Lin Fengnian hadn't returned from the fields yet; Lin's wife and her family left after helping out.

Song Anxin poured a bowl of tea for Old Zhang and said, "Uncle Zhang, please have some tea. I didn't expect you to be so efficient. You've collected so many duck eggs for me in just one day."

Old Zhang took a sip of tea and said with a smile:

“My benefactor, I dared not delay the task you entrusted to me. I visited several nearby villages and collected a lot of eggs. There are a total of 1,552 duck eggs here. Is this acceptable to you, my benefactor?”

“Sure, of course, the more the better. Didn’t we agree to call me ‘Fengnian Niang’? Uncle Zhang, why are you being so polite?” Song Anxin said.

Old Zhang chuckled and said, "Hey, Fengnian's mother, I haven't quite gotten used to it yet. But there probably won't be as many tomorrow; I'll have to go further afield, which will take a long time, and I won't be able to reach many villages."

Song Anxin said gently, "It's alright. You don't necessarily have to send it to me every day you receive it. You can send it over every two or three days when you have a lot left over. It will save you trouble."

Old Zhang agreed, and after Song Anxin asked him some more questions, Lin Fengshou came to report the number: exactly 1,556 duck eggs, no more, no less, but he found that six of them were broken.

Old Zhang was an honest man. He didn't want to pay for the broken eggs, so Song Anxin paid for them. Six out of 1,556 duck eggs were broken, so even if there were 1,556 eggs, the total cost would be 3,100 coins. Including the fee of 1 coin for every 10 eggs, the total cost to Old Zhang was 3,255 coins.

Old Zhang accepted the money, his face crinkling into a wide smile, and thanked them profusely before driving his oxcart back home.

Song Anxin said to Lin Fengshou, "Don't be fooled by how much Uncle Zhang has made. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. Uncle Zhang has essentially invested money to become a duck egg vendor."

Besides, even with the utmost care, there's always a risk of the duck eggs breaking. Uncle Zhang even wrapped each one individually with straw, but six still broke. If the driver isn't careful, he might have to pay for the entire cartload of duck eggs.

Lin Feng listened and nodded thoughtfully.

When Lin Fengnian returned from the fields, he was astonished to see the yard filled with duck eggs, which he learned were a gift from Old Zhang.

"My goodness! How long will it take to pickle all these duck eggs? We've harvested quite a few ourselves."

Song Anxin nodded and said, "These can't be delayed. Let's try to finish pickling them today or tomorrow."

The most pressing issue now is manpower; everyone in their family has their own things to do.