Chapter 19 Selling Tofu

Then he pulled Zhuang Qingsui off the ox cart.

"You're welcome." The man grinned, and after the two sisters had completely left the ox cart, he whipped the ox cart and drove it away.

Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, carrying a bamboo basket full of tofu, looked around the street and finally found an open space to put down the baskets.

On the left is a vendor selling donkey rolls, and on the right is a vendor selling pea yellow. Both are selling food that is soft and tender and cannot withstand being dusty. The ground is also clean, so it is appropriate for them to sell tofu.

Open the bamboo basket and put a piece of white and tender tofu on the top, and the stall is ready.

Zhuang Qingning cleared his throat and started shouting out his wares.

"Tofu for sale, tofu for sale, delicious tofu, one penny per pound, tofu, tofu for sale..."

After she shouted a few times, Zhuang Qingsui, who was originally a little shy and embarrassed to open her mouth to shout, also imitated her sister and started shouting loudly.

This went on for a cup of tea.

There were many people coming and going, and some of them looked sideways when they heard the sound of tofu being sold, but no one was willing to stop and look at the tofu, let alone buy it.

"Sister, why doesn't anyone buy our tofu..." Zhuang Qingsui's face was wrinkled like a bun.

I've been standing here for a long time, my throat is a little dry from shouting, but no one is interested in the tofu. You can imagine how frustrated I feel.

Especially when the pea yellow noodles next door sold two portions and the donkey rolls sold three portions, the comparison made their business seem even worse.

Zhuang Qingsui looked around with some depression, and there were already some tears in his eyes.

Zhuang Qingning also frowned.

"You two don't come to town often, do you?" The woman selling donkey rolls nearby, a kind-looking lady named Liu, said as she looked at the two sisters who looked depressed.

"Yes, this is our first time to sell tofu in town. We rarely come here before." Zhuang Qingning answered with a smile, and moved closer to the auntie, and asked with a smile on her face: "Auntie, you seem to know something, why don't you tell us two sisters?"

"To be honest, my sister and I depend on each other for survival. We have finally found a way to make a living by grinding tofu and selling it. If we can't sell the tofu and instead lose money instead of making money, our lives will be really hard."

"Please give us some advice, my sister and I will be very grateful."

Hearing this, Liu laughed and said, "I just saw that you two little kids were selling tofu without even an adult around you. I knew that you must be poor children without a father or a mother, so I asked for this."

"You two don't often sell things in town, but you don't know that there is a big tofu shop in this town, called Changji Tofu Shop. The tofu they grind is sour tofu, which tastes good and is durable. The price is also reasonable. People who often come to the town only know this Changji Tofu Shop and only buy tofu there."

"A few years ago, there was a Wen's Tofu Shop in the village. I heard that the tofu was made by a widow, also made from sour plums. The taste was comparable to Chang's. It's a pity that I heard that she has stopped doing it in the past two years because she is too old."

"The tofu you two kids grind is definitely not as good as Changji's. It's normal that no one wants to buy it. Listen to my advice. Just forget about it this time. You two will lose money. Find another way to make a living. You can't continue the tofu business in our town."

When Zhuang Qingsui heard this, his face wrinkled even more fiercely.

At first, they were worried that they could not rent the tofu shop, and then they were worried that they could not make tofu. Now the tofu shop can be rented, the tofu is made, and it is brought to the market, but they say that the tofu cannot be sold.

These days are so hard.

Zhuang Qingsui's tears were about to fall.

Zhuang Qingning smiled upon hearing this and said, "Thank you for reminding me, Auntie. It also lets us two sisters know the reason behind this."

"Since you know, then just close the stall early, think about other ways to make a living, and find a way out as soon as possible. You two look pale and thin, which is quite pitiful." Liu sighed and said, "It's okay if the tofu business loses money. In business, there are gains and losses. I can only say that you are unlucky..."

"Thank you for planning for us, Auntie."

Zhuang Qingning grinned and said, "But this first pot of tofu has already been made, and we both took the trouble to carry it to the town to sell it. We must think of a way to sell this tofu."

"That's true. After all, this is already ground tofu. If we just throw it away, it would be a waste. But..."

Liu couldn't finish the remaining half of the sentence.

Two orphaned children, thinking about making money to make a living, came to the town carrying the heavy load of tofu. But now she kept saying that the tofu couldn't be sold, which really sounded unpleasant and made people feel uncomfortable.

"Okay, now that we're in town, let's just sell tofu."

"That's the thing. Since we're in town, we have to sell this tofu well no matter what." Zhuang Qingning smiled, and used the tofu knife to cut the tofu on the top into small pieces of half an inch square. "But Auntie, you should also try our tofu. The tofu we make is really not worse than the tofu made by the tofu shop you mentioned."

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"This..." The two little girls are pitiful enough. The tofu can't be sold. It's not appropriate for them to eat someone else's tofu.

Liu was a little hesitant for a moment.

"Don't be polite, Auntie. Please try it. Only by tasting it will you know whether our tofu is delicious or not, right?" Zhuang Qingning held one of the pieces with the clean cage cloth and handed it to Liu.

Now that it's right in front of me, it would be a bit arrogant to refuse it at this time.

Liu smiled and reached out to pick it up: "Okay, then I'll try it."

After saying that, he put the tofu into his mouth.

“Eh…”

After chewing it twice, the old lady was surprised.

This tofu is soft and fragrant, and it is indeed delicious. To be exact, it is much more delicious than Changji tofu. I was so full of tofu that I was reluctant to swallow it.

"Your tofu..." Liu swallowed the tofu reluctantly, staring at the white and tender tofu in the bamboo basket in disbelief, and was reluctant to look away.

"How does it taste?" Zhuang Qingning's eyes lit up and he asked with a smile.

"Delicious." Liu sighed, "This tofu is soft, tender, chewy, and fragrant. This tofu is so delicious when eaten raw. If it is fried, wouldn't it be so fragrant that it would make your teeth fall out?"

Then he asked again: "How do you make this tofu? Why is it so delicious?"

(End of this chapter)