Li Yan held up a small notebook and said to the villagers, "My dear uncles, we have earned a total of 65 taels of silver in the second half of the month. According to this account, each household can receive one tael of silver! Do you have any opinions on this distribution of silver?"

The villagers standing in the courtyard couldn't believe their ears. They knew that the demand for charcoal had increased significantly after two heavy snowfalls in the second half of the month. Li Wenshan and Li Wenjian, who had gone to town with Li Dalang to sell charcoal, knew this best. In the past, they would have had to stand on the street and shout, waiting for a long time. But since the snow and the drop in temperature, whenever they hauled charcoal to the city, the whole cart would be sold out quickly.

When the villagers saw that they could get so much silver and money, they had no objections at all and stared at Patriarch Li with expectant eyes.

Patriarch Li coughed lightly, turned around and went back to the house. He took out a large bag of money and said to Li Yan who was standing beside him, "Second girl, you keep the records and I'll distribute the money!"

After distributing the money, Chief Li said to the villagers, "The people in the city have almost bought all the charcoal they needed. If the remaining charcoal cannot be sold, everyone can take some home to keep warm!"

Some villagers joked, "Such precious charcoal, we are thick-skinned and not afraid of the cold!"

The villagers burst into laughter at this.

Seeing the villagers' happy faces, Chief Li smiled and waved his hand: "Okay, everyone, go home!"

The villagers took the money they were given and went home happily. The Chinese New Year was only ten days away, so it was time to prepare for the New Year!

When Li Yan came back, she saw Lin and Li Xiaomei picking beans in the main hall.

It was winter and Li Xiaomei had nothing to do, so she wanted to grind tofu and sell it. The Chinese New Year was coming in a few days, and whether she had money or not, her family had to buy some tofu.

When Li Erlang first heard his sister wanted to make tofu, he disapproved and said, "Making tofu is hard work, and our family doesn't need this little income!"

Li Erlang's original intention was not to make his sister too hard.

Li Xiaomei felt a little insecure because she was a divorced woman who had returned home and ate and lived at home.

Li Yan had seen her aunt looking listless for a few days, so she asked Lin about what had happened. Li Yan went to her aunt and said, "Aunt, I support you in making tofu. I'll talk to my father when he comes back!"

Li Xiaomei, feeling down, heard this and asked hesitantly, "Can it be done? Your father just said a few days ago that he doesn't want me to do this!"

Li Yan smiled and patted her chest: "Auntie, don't worry, there will be no problem!"

When Li Erlang came back in the evening, Li Yan came to Li Erlang and said, "Dad, my aunt wants to start a tofu business, so you should agree to it!"

Li Erlang frowned. "She has a daughter. Not only is this work too hard, but your mother is pregnant, you're still too young, and I'm not at home. She's alone, so who's going to help?"

Li Yan: "I know that Daddy feels sorry for Auntie and is worried that she's tired, but Daddy, you should also think about it from Auntie's perspective. Auntie also wants to do her part for this family. Right now, this is all she can think of and will do. Daddy, please don't stop her. I think Auntie has been listless lately!"

Li Yan was worried that her father would not agree, so she assured him, "Don't worry, Dad. I'll ask my aunt to do less for now. If she's really too busy in the future, I'll find someone to help her. Is that okay, Dad?"

Since his daughter said so, Li Erlang was reluctant to let her down, so he finally nodded!

After getting her father's consent, Li Yan happily ran to Li Xiaomei's room to tell her aunt the good news. So the family started picking beans when they had nothing to do in the past few days.

In order not to delay Li Xiaomei's making of tofu, Li Yan begged Grandpa Li to help find a stone mill early in the morning. Now Li Yan helped her aunt to prepare the tools for making tofu at home.

Last night, Li Xiaomei soaked more than ten pounds of beans overnight, preparing to start making tofu today.