Chapter 70 Even brothers should keep clear accounts.
Cheng Wanwan took the ice jelly out of the basket.
When I last visited, she only had eight bowls at home. Now that she no longer needs to set up a stall in town, she has twenty new bowls at home.
They all have white porcelain bases with pink petals printed on them, paired with pale yellow ice powder, making them exceptionally beautiful.
The Zhao family members held bowls of wine, drinking them with great satisfaction.
Old Mrs. Zhao said coldly, "Chunhua, take the rest of the bowl to your mother. Xiahua, wash all the bowls and put them back in the basket for your aunt."
After giving the instructions, the old lady looked at Cheng Wanwan and said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, you shouldn't send these things over anymore. Twelve bowls of ice jelly cost twenty-four coins. Isn't it a waste for us to drink them?"
Old Mrs. Zhao felt a pang of regret after drinking it; it was a rare treat that cost two coins a bowl, and she, an old woman, was hardly entitled to drink it.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Mom, how can I ask my second and third sons for help if I don't bring some food over?"
Zhao Youyin immediately stood up: "Sister-in-law, if you need anything, just let me know and I'll take care of it right away."
Zhao Youcai also said, "We're all family, no need to be so polite."
Cheng Wanwan sighed: "Making this ice jelly is very troublesome, mainly because it hurts your hands. Dashan injured his hands, so I didn't dare let him make it anymore. I had to ask the second and third brothers for help. You'll know what to make when you come with me."
Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai put down their work and prepared to go with them.
Sun, who was washing clothes in the back room, heard Cheng Wanwan's words and wished she could rush to the front yard to stop her husband from doing it. Why should her husband do the work that hurts his hands? Her sister-in-law felt sorry for her son, and she felt sorry for her husband too!
However, not daring to further displease the old lady, Madam Sun swallowed her anger.
Cheng Wanwan was still talking: "Xia Hua, you don't need to go dig wild vegetables for the chickens and ducks tomorrow, but your aunt has something else for you to help with. Go over after you've had breakfast tomorrow."
When Xia Hua heard that she didn't need to dig wild vegetables for the chickens and ducks, her heart sank. But when she heard that there were other things that needed help with, she immediately smiled and said, "I'll do whatever you say, Auntie."
After giving her instructions, Cheng Wanwan prepared to go back and busy herself with making ice jelly.
Before she could turn around, Old Man Zhao called out to her, "Eldest daughter-in-law, come and take a look. Is it okay to make the wooden bucket this tall?"
Cheng Wanwan was taken aback.
As soon as she entered, she saw the old man fiddling with a tree. She didn't understand what he was doing, so she didn't ask any questions.
Unexpectedly, it turned out they were making wooden barrels. When they asked for her opinion, they said it was a barrel made for her; she was even planning to buy wooden barrels and basins last night…
For a moment, she felt a mix of emotions.
After she transmigrated, she tried to befriend the two elders of the Zhao family in order to improve clan relations, which would also benefit her in building houses and buying land in the future.
She never expected to receive anything in return.
Cheng Wanwan's smile became more genuine: "Dad, just make it the same height as the wooden tub at home, and I'll pay you for the work."
Old Zhao tapped his pipe: "After this wooden bucket is finished, take it to town and spend some money to have a carpenter apply a layer of oil. It will last for more than ten years. Pass it down to Da Shan, Er Gou, and their brothers. This is our Zhao family's property. Why would we need your wages?"
Cheng Wanwan was unable to refute this logic.
She smiled and accepted Old Man Zhao's kindness, thanked him, and then left the Zhao family's old house.
Sun, who was washing clothes in the back, almost tore them to shreds. It was one thing for the old lady to be biased, but the old man was also so biased.
The wooden buckets and basins that were lent out last night haven't been returned yet, and now they're making to send new ones over.
Mrs. Sun was furious. She flung her hand away and rushed over from the backyard, suppressing her anger as she said, "Mother, the water in the water vat is almost empty, and we don't have a wooden bucket at home. How are we going to fetch water?"
This means we need to go and get the bucket back.
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Sanniu walked in through the gate of the courtyard.
He carried two buckets of water on his shoulders as he walked inside: "Grandma, we still need these water buckets at home, so I'll come and fetch water for you these next few days."
Grandma Zhao said with a warm smile, "Why are you all sweaty, Erwang? Go get a bowl of water."
As she spoke, she glanced at Mrs. Sun.
Sun's face flushed red and then turned pale. She thought her sister-in-law was just borrowing the water bucket for free, but she never expected that she would actually take on the task of fetching water from the old house.
Although the place to fetch water wasn't far, there were many people in the old house—twelve people in total—so the water consumption was quite high, and fetching water several times a day wasn't easy...
It took Zhao Sanniu four trips to fill the water tank in the old house. He carried the wooden bucket back and quickly helped wash the stone flowers.
Cheng Wanwan divided the three catties of agar seeds into six wooden basins. Half a catty of agar seeds were washed out of each basin and filtered to solidify into a bucket of ice jelly.
Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai were dumbfounded when they saw the pile of things in front of them.
They always thought that lanterns were boiled or steamed in a pot, then some unknown ingredients were added to make ice jelly.
Unexpectedly, their job was to peel out the brown seeds from inside the lanterns, and washing those seeds was their job.
Cheng Wanwan looked at them and said, "Second brother, third brother, this job is a bit hard on your hands and may cause peeling. You should think carefully before you do it."
Zhao Youyin said nonchalantly, "I've been through a lot of farm work before, it's nothing serious."
Zhao Youcai paused for a moment before asking, "How is the wage calculated?"
Zhao Youyin was stunned. Weren't they here to help? How did they get onto the topic of wages? He nudged Zhao Youcai with his elbow.
Cheng Wanwan witnessed this scene.
She smiled and said, "As the saying goes, even close brothers should keep clear accounts. Even if Da Shan's father were still alive, I wouldn't let you work for nothing. This job is not like picking lanterns. It's not just about hurting your hands; you also have to be careful to control your strength. If you crush all these seeds, it will be very troublesome to filter them later. It's five coins for every half pound washed, and you can wash a maximum of one pound."
Washing half a pound of water takes about half an hour. If your hands are soaked in water for more than an hour, they will become useless over time.
She also hoped for a long-term partnership, which is why she kept the weight under one pound per person.
Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai both looked incredulous. They were only paid five coins for washing half a jin of food, which would be ten coins for a jin.
Cheng Wanwan continued, "However, I have one condition: whatever you do or see here, don't tell anyone when you get back. As you all know, the biggest taboo in the food business is for recipes to be spread and imitated, otherwise the business will not be able to continue."
Zhao Youyin immediately stated, "Even if the old lady asks, I won't say a word."
Zhao Youcai nodded vigorously: "Even if my wife grabs my ear and asks me, I'll keep it to myself."
After the matter was settled, the two sat down to wash the ice jelly. It was their first time doing this, so they were both very careful, and it took a little longer than usual. Two hours passed after they finished washing the two basins of ice jelly.
Cheng Wanwan carefully examined the finished product and found it to be quite good. She promptly paid the wages, ten coins per person.
With ten copper coins in their hands, Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai were walking on tiptoe. When they got home, it felt like a dream.
Zhao Youyin, in particular, never expected to earn money by helping others; the ten coins were like free money.
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