......

Ye Caiping had just finished a walk with Shen Zhiyan and returned home, happily pruning potted plants in the garden.

"Cai Ping." Tie Niu's wife and Zhao Jinshan walked in.

"Oh, it's you, sister-in-law and Jinshan. Please have a seat." Ye Caiping said with a smile.

Tie Niu's wife didn't sit down, but smiled and said, "Cai Ping... I see so many people coming and going from the village shops, and they all eat in town. I was thinking..."

"Sister-in-law, you want to set up a stall?" Ye Caiping understood immediately and said with a smile, "That's great! With such a large flow of people, we shouldn't waste it. We should start some small businesses. A few days ago, I asked Li Zheng to set up an inn in the village, hoping that everyone could make some money."

Tie Niu's wife was touched: "Thank you, Cai Ping."

She knew that many rich people, even if it didn't harm their own interests, were still reluctant to let others benefit from their wealth.

Ye Caiping said, "What's the big deal? We're all from the same village, so we should help each other out. When I came to Lijia Village to take Jin'er and Huan'er away, my sister-in-law also came to help without hesitation."

"By the way, what kind of products do you want to sell?"

Zhao Jinshan said, "We want to sell food."

Ye Caiping nodded: "That's a good idea. By the way, does going into the mountains mean we won't be going to school?"

Zhao Jinshan smiled awkwardly: "I'm a good-for-nothing. I've never passed the exams, and studying is too difficult. I get itchy when I see this crowd. If I don't set up a stall now, I'm afraid I'll regret it later."

Ye Caiping laughed and said, "What do you mean by being unambitious? As long as you work hard, whether it's farming in the fields, working in a workshop, or setting up a stall to do business, you're doing well."

Encouraged, Zhao Jinshan's guilt finally dissipated: "Thank you, Aunt Ping."

"From what you've said, it seems you have a plan. Come, let's sit down and talk."

As she spoke, Ye Caiping invited them to the stone table, and the three of them sat down to discuss the matter.

......

That evening, Tie Niu's wife told Zhao Tie Niu about setting up a stall.

Zhao Tieniu had long suspected that his son had lost interest in studying. He sighed slightly and nodded, "Alright! Let's give it a try. It won't cost much anyway."

Zhao Tieniu's family spent two days preparing.

Before noon on the third day, Zhao Jinshan and his son pushed their things to the front of the glass workshop.

Merchants came and went, some were shopkeepers and merchants looking at the goods, and others were porters carrying things; the flow of people was extremely large.

Zhao Jinshan watched, feeling both expectant and nervous.

Zhao Tieniu moved two large tables down and placed them on the ground, then moved down ten small tables and matching stools.

One large bowl of brown rice and one small half bowl of white rice were placed on the large table.

Then came a dish of stir-fried bok choy, stir-fried eggs with chives, stir-fried pork offal with green peppers, and stir-fried pork blood with chives.

In addition, there was a large bucket of cooled boiled water.

As soon as the food was put down, the aroma of food wafted out.

There were already many people around here, and seeing so much food set up, they knew this was a food stall. Three porters walked over:

"Boss, are you serving food?"

This was the first time in his decades of life that Zhao Tieniu had been called "boss," and he was a little unaccustomed to it. He grinned and said, "Yes!"

One of the porters said, "We were just on our way to town for a meal. We didn't expect to find something here! How much is your food?"

Zhao Jinshan said, "One serving of meat and one vegetable costs 10 coins, two servings of meat and one vegetable cost 15 coins, and three servings of meat and one vegetable cost 20 coins. If you want to exchange brown rice for white rice, you have to pay an extra 5 coins."

The porter laughed and said, "It's not too expensive, even a penny or two cheaper than in town. I'll have one meat dish and one vegetable dish. And I'll have eggs with the meat!"

Another porter: "I want eggs too!"

The last one hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'd like a swimmer!"

Offal and pig's blood are cheap items; you can get a pound for just five coins at the stall.

But eggs cost two coins each, which seemed more expensive.

Moreover, offal and pig's blood smell terrible, and not many people like to eat them.

Zhao Jinshan smiled and said, "Okay, thank you. It'll be 10 coins per person."

As he spoke, Zhao Jinshan picked up a large bowl and began to scoop out food. The three porters counted out the money and gave it to Zhao Tieniu.

Zhao Tieniu received the money and couldn't stop smiling. He never expected that his business would start so soon after he set up his stall.

Three porters, each carrying a large bowl of rice, sat down at a small table and began to eat.

His eyes lit up after the first bite: "The owner's cooking is quite good."

Zhao Jinshan laughed and said, "You flatter me."

Another porter took a bite of the pig offal and his eyes lit up: "This offal doesn't smell bad at all; it's crispy and fragrant."

The other two porters, hearing that the offal looked delicious, quickly traded it with the person who had bought it for meat and vegetables. After finishing, they both gave a thumbs-up and praised it:

"Only chefs in top restaurants know how to cook offal. I didn't expect you guys could do it too."

Zhao Jinshan was even happier: "That's right!"

Master Qian was very devoted to his students, ensuring they ate meat at every meal. However, meat was too expensive, so they often ate offal and pig's blood.

The cook at the Qianfu family knows how to make this. As long as it's washed clean enough, marinated properly, and seasoned generously, the taste won't be bad.

Zhao Jinshan has been cooking for the school for so many years, he has developed a skill.

The three porters ate with great relish.

Some passersby saw this and came over to eat.

Not only merchants and porters who came to pick up goods, but even employees of glass workshops who were off work would come and try it.

The workshop pays high wages; even the lowest-paid employees earn one or two taels of silver per month, so they are quite willing to spend money on meals.

Several large bowls of vegetables were sold out in just one hour.

Some people came upon hearing the noise, but couldn't get any food.

"Oh dear, didn't you say there was food here? What happened to it?"

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