Seeing Su Qingluan's face suddenly darken, Yang couldn't help but ask with concern, "Daya, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Su Qingluan shook her head and asked in a very cautious tone, "Mother, is winter hard to endure?"
Yang's eyes turned red as if she had thought of something.
Su Guangfu patted her shoulder comfortingly, nodded, and then sighed: "Every year after winter, when spring comes, we find a lot of flowers outside..."
The man's lips trembled slightly, and he didn't say the words "people frozen to death" in the end.
But Su Qingluan still felt as if her heart was being weighed down by a weight, and she let out a heavy "bang".
Yang calmed down and added, "Every year when the roads are blocked by heavy snow, hard times begin for the village..."
Su Qingluan asked hurriedly: "What about moving to the town?"
"It's useless." Yang shook her head. "Except for a few wealthy families, who else has food stored? It's not that no one can afford to eat, but if people won't sell, what can we do?"
You save gold, silver and other valuables on a daily basis, but you can’t use them to fill your stomach when you’re hungry!
Su Qingluan understood instantly: in this time when food is extremely scarce and there are no advanced means of preserving food for a long time such as refrigerators and antiseptic sealing, it is difficult for ordinary families to store food for the winter.
In this cold winter, food is in short supply, and unlike the rich families who can burn earthen stoves and charcoal basins at will, the fate of the family is naturally to die of hunger and cold.
It is already July and winter is only three or four months away. She has to find a way to store more food for the family to survive the winter!
Although she understood that this process would not be easy, Su Qingluan comforted her, "It's okay. We have our daughter here. We won't be short of food this year!"
Su Guangfu and his wife also nodded in agreement.
The three of them talked for a while and then went to rest.
The next day, I went to the stall to help my mother cut out the fillings needed for twenty servings of "Juan Bai Cai" in advance, and then turned to go to "Hong Fu Lou".
Since it was only early in the morning, Hongfulou had not yet opened for business. There were only two or three waiters cleaning and tidying up the lobby on the first floor, preparing for the opening to welcome customers later.
One of them was the one who had treated Su Qingluan badly when she first came.
However, this time, thanks to the invitation from Shopkeeper Liang, the clerk, upon seeing Su Qingluan enter, draped his snow-white handkerchief neatly over his shoulders and hurriedly bowed to greet her with a warm smile, "Oh, Madam Su, are you here to see our shopkeeper?"
Su Qingluan nodded and looked towards the private room on the second floor: "Is Manager Liang here?"
"Yes, yes!" the clerk responded hurriedly, "Our boss specifically instructed that if Madam Su comes, she can go straight up. Please come this way!"
Su Qingluan nodded and went back to the room where she had signed the contract with Manager Liang last time - Manager Liang was drinking tea.
Su Qingluan smiled upon seeing this: "Manager Liang is in a very refined mood."
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liang turned around abruptly. Seeing that it was Su Qingluan, his chubby face immediately lit up with a smile and he clasped his fists and bowed, "Ah, Madam Su, it's a pleasure to have friends coming from afar!"
Su Qingluan understood that what Fatty Liang meant was "The first time is strange, the second time is familiar. Now that we have met for the third time, we can naturally call each other 'friends'."
She also returned the greeting: "It is my honor to be able to make friends with Mr. Liang!"
Shopkeeper Liang's eyes lit up when he heard the implication of Su Qingluan's words.
Then she said, "As the saying goes, 'Brothers should settle accounts clearly.' Since we want to cooperate long-term, the treaty must be rewritten."
Shopkeeper Liang laughed heartily, clapping his hands. "Very good, very good! Madam Su, please sit down for a moment. I'll have someone prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."
As he said this, he was about to summon a waiter to come and run errands.
Su Qingluan stopped him: "Shopkeeper Liang, I'm not busy now. I need to go buy some things now. Can you recommend a tea shop with affordable prices?"
"Tea?" Shopkeeper Liang was startled, then smiled and said, "I, Liang, although not very talented, have collected a lot of good quality teas. What kind would you like to drink, Madam Su?"
Su Qingluan shook her head: "I'm not drinking it, but using it to make that new dish. It would be a pity to use up the fine tea leaves. The effect would be even better if I only use the tea leaves."
More importantly, tea leaves are much cheaper than whole tea leaves or shaped tea bricks and cakes, and the cost will also be lower if used as food.
The shopkeeper showed a look of sudden enlightenment, and then led Su Qingluan to an elegant room on the opposite side facing the street. He pointed to the distance and said, "Young lady, go east along this street, turn south at the second intersection, and you will find the fifth house, 'He's Tea'."
"He's tea?"
Shopkeeper Liang nodded and said, "Madam Su, please go ahead and buy whatever tea you want. The bill will be put on this account with me."
Su Qingluan didn't bother to be polite with him - after all, this new dish would also be one of the income of "Hongfulou" in the future: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Liang. I will respectfully obey your command!"
After saying that, he walked towards the tea shop.
But before reaching her destination, Su Qingluan was attracted by a shop she saw along the way.
This shop is completely different from other shops with traditional architectural styles of blue bricks, white walls, flying eaves and brackets. Whether it is the colorful decorations inside and outside, or the shopkeepers with thick eyebrows and deep eyes, they are all full of exotic style.
"What can I do for you?" The foreign merchant, with his head wrapped in silk, smiled warmly on his dark brown face and asked in unstandard Chinese, "Here we have freshly cut gourds and radishes, Xingqu..."
Snore nearby? Interested?
Since the Hu merchant's speech was not very standard, Su Qingluan was full of questions, so she simply went into the store to take a look.
After seeing this, I was amused: the two things Hu Shang mentioned just now were none other than carrots and onions!
These two vegetables are very common in modern times, but in this era they are rare ingredients that have just been introduced by Hu merchants.
What’s more – these two vegetables are not only easy to grow, but also very durable in storage!
It’s a perfect dish to store for the winter!
Moreover—she looked around with her eyes shining—this small shop contained many ingredients, spices and seasonings that she had not bought at the market before, but needed very much!
Su Qingluan looked at this, touched that, and was extremely happy.
If conditions weren't limiting, she would have wanted to empty out the entire store!
Just as Su Qingluan was enjoying everything here, she heard Skinny Monkey yelling from outside, "Young Lady of the Su Family! The young lady of the Su Family who bought the 'Roll of a Hundred Wealths'!"
Su Qingluan quickly walked over and asked, "Brother Skinny Monkey?! Why are you here?"
This place is quite far from where the Su family sells "Juan Bai Cai".
"Oh, I finally found you!" Skinny Monkey's face was filled with anxiety. He didn't care about the rules between men and women. He grabbed Su Qingluan's arm and pulled her out. "I'll tell you the details while we walk. You better go back quickly - someone is causing trouble for your parents!"
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