Chapter 57 The Village's Hope Must Be Kept a Secret: Jiang Ji is Back...
Because they were traveling by mule cart, the sun had not yet set when Ye Liang entered the courtyard today.
Liu Yi and Tang Yu were sitting in the courtyard picking vegetables and peeling garlic.
Father Ye was cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Upon seeing him return, Liu Yi quickly got up and went over to him.
There were two baskets on the mule cart, one containing tofu puffs and the other containing fried dough twists.
But Liu Yi went up to them not to help Ye Liang carry his things. He asked, "What did Li Ge'er say?"
“He disagrees; he’s afraid the prescription will get out.”
Ye Liang carried two baskets and walked towards the kitchen.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yi sighed, "I knew he wouldn't agree."
Seeing this, Tang Yu asked curiously, "Brother Yi, what does Brother Li disagree with?"
“My eldest brother from my mother’s side also wanted to learn how to make preserved eggs, so he insisted that you two brothers ask Li Ge’er, but Li Ge’er did not agree.”
As Liu Yi spoke, she walked towards Tang Yu, preparing to continue preparing the vegetables.
Setting up a stall requires getting up in the middle of the night, so the vegetables must be prepared the day before.
However, Tang Yu was taken aback by what he said.
Tang Yu's hometown village is far away, and she is currently unaware of the popularity of the preserved eggs.
Liu Yi sat down on the bench again and said, "Brother Yu, if your family also wants to learn, you must not agree."
“Li Ge’er will not allow it. Although he has changed his temperament, if he really makes a fuss, even the chickens and dogs in the house will not have peace. Our father-in-law and father can’t control him.”
Tang Yu was even more stunned by these words.
On the day he married Ye Wencheng, Ye Li seemed very gentle and loved to smile.
But Tang Yu had indeed heard about Ye Li's completely different personality, so he immediately nodded: "I know."
“If my family really brings this up, I will definitely stop them. This isn’t our family’s business, and the two of us can’t make the decision.”
Liu Yi smiled upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "That's right. Whose decision can we make? My elder brother swore he would never tell anyone, but if he does, what can I do?"
"How can a married man like me cause trouble in his wife's family home?"
Although she is opinionated and insisted on marrying into the Ye family despite her parents' objections, can she really control her brothers from her maternal family?
What makes him so powerful?
He can't control it.
If it really leaks out, not only will the Ye family hate him, but Ye Li will definitely come back and make a scene.
Just thinking about that scene gives him a headache.
In fact, thanks to the sales of tofu puffs and preserved eggs, his parents' income has increased several times over.
In the past, a person could only sell about a hundred cakes a day and earn thirty or forty coins.
Now, I can earn almost two hundred coins a day.
Is the profit low?
That's five taels a month.
It's not much worse than his family's.
One should be content.
Tang Yu nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. We're living such a good life now, so let's not get involved in anything else. We'll definitely enjoy endless blessings in the future."
His family was originally better off than the Ye family.
But at that time, the Ye family had already started a business selling tofu puffs, and he quite liked Ye Wen's shy and timid nature, so he agreed to the marriage.
Who knew that after the marriage was arranged, another troublemaker would appear.
During the wedding ceremony, the number of eggs produced was small and somewhat inconspicuous.
But it quickly became very popular, with profits as high as those of tofu puffs.
At this rate, his family's income this month should be ten taels.
He and Ye Wen took 40%, which is four ounces.
A rural farmer earns four taels of silver a month!
He's been secretly happy lately.
This means he got lucky and stumbled upon a bargain.
If the Ye family had started selling preserved eggs before the engagement, he might not have gotten the chance to marry into the family.
Therefore, if his family really wanted to learn how to make preserved eggs, he definitely wouldn't teach them.
But when he goes back to his wife's home in the future, he can buy a few more pounds of meat and a few more packs of pastries.
On the other side, Ye Li saw Ye Liang off, locked the courtyard gate, and went to Jiang Fuzheng's house.
Now that he has even refused his own elder brother, it is even less likely that others will pass on the recipe.
At first, to keep it a secret, the villagers would go to his house to make preserved eggs.
But later, he mutated too many eggs, and his yard was too small to use them properly.
Moreover, with everyone coming, it would take up too much of his time, so he told everyone to go home.
This time, the method naturally became known to more people.
He felt it necessary to have Jiang Fuzheng give the villagers another warning.
As for the previously agreed-upon method of testing the villagers' character with preserved eggs to select people for the tofu puff workshop, that also counts.
Even though Jiang Fuzheng had repeatedly warned him, someone still leaked the information, so naturally he couldn't get involved in the tofu puff business.
When he arrived at Jiang Fuzheng's house, he told Jiang Fuzheng about the matter, and Jiang Fuzheng also took it very seriously.
Nowadays, preserved eggs are selling very well, and some husbands and wives will bring a basket of them when they go back to their parents' home to visit relatives, so that their parents' family can also have a taste.
If someone keeps a secret, it could harm the interests of the entire village.
So, as darkness fell, he had Jiang Mantang beat a gong to summon the villagers.
Once everyone had arrived, he first explained how Ye Li had politely declined his elder brother's offer. Then, with a stern face, he warned everyone not to pass on the method to people in other villages, or he would really kick them out.
Upon hearing this, everyone repeatedly said they dared not, and assured each other that they had no such intention.
These days, even buying eggs requires scrambling, so telling others would definitely harm one's own interests.
Moreover, sales of preserved eggs tend to decline in winter.
If people from other villages come to compete for it, then our own property might be stuck with it.
Supervision must be mutual; the expenses for building their brick houses and for their children and grandchildren's education and marriage depend entirely on Bian Dan!
This kind of lucrative business can earn five or six taels a month; anyone who ruins it will be furious!
Once everyone was home, they immediately held a family meeting. They couldn't just give instructions to their wives/husbands; they also had to remind their grandchildren.
How distressing it would be if a child were unintentionally tricked by someone!
Therefore, children should not be missed either.
Moreover, fearing that some people might not learn their lesson, this family meeting has to be held every day.
For a time, keeping the recipe a secret on Yezaopo became as important as making preserved eggs.
Ye Li was naturally pleased with this situation.
If you want to make money and make your business last, the whole village has to work together.
His life continued as usual.
Every day she makes tofu, raises her child, goes to Jiang Tong's house to check on the progress, inquires about expenses, and counts her savings.
The remaining twelve households also came one after another to settle their share of the profits with him.
Just as he expected, he received a total of six strings of cash, which, together with the previous two strings and seven qian, brought him nearly nine taels just from the commission.
Including the preserved eggs he made himself, his total profit exceeded ten taels.
At the end of the month, Bao Beiyuan delivered his commission for the drinks, which was at least two ounces.
Making tofu puffs and noodles earns you over a hundred coins a day, which adds up to four or five taels a month.
The income from wind chimes is negligible. Jiang Tong was busy building houses this month and didn't make many wind chimes.
But thanks to his three businesses—tofu puffs, beverages, and preserved eggs—he earned nearly twenty taels of silver this month!
What a huge sum of money!
However, the expenses are also considerable.
Aside from Jiang Ji's school fees and Jiang Liu, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya's wages, he spent two strings of cash just on food.
Walnut and black sesame powder costs 100 coins per serving.
Pork floss costs several tens of coins at a time.
This is Jiang Ji's meal at the private school.
He, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya also need to eat meat regularly, at least once a week, and each time it costs several tens of coins.
There's also rice, seven coins per pound.
Northerners don't eat rice in small bowls; they eat at least a pound of cooked rice at a time.
His appetite and strength are not comparable to those of a normal man, but he can still eat half a pound.
The two little ones have quite a big appetite. Every time he steams rice, he steams two pounds of raw rice. If they can't finish it, he'll make fried rice with eggs for the next meal.
As for flour, Jiang Dahe delivered fifty catties of wheat after the wheat harvest.
This amount of wheat would have been enough for three months in the past.
Ordinary families wouldn't use flour as a staple food; it's usually mixed into mixed grain flour to add flavor and viscosity.
But he was already tired of eating cornbread.
He needed to fry dough balls anyway, so he put away the wheat and only bought flour to eat—in this hot weather, he was too lazy to grind flour and just bought ready-made flour.
Flour was also priced at seven coins per pound, the same as rice.
Besides staple foods, there are also small fruits after meals, snacks before meals, and afternoon tea drinks. All these miscellaneous items add up to two strings of cash a month just for food.
If it weren't for the income from the eggs, this Engel coefficient would be truly frightening.
Fortunately, the egg turned out well.
And it can keep up the momentum for at least another two months.
Therefore, once Jiang Ji returns from the prefectural city, construction on the new house can begin.
He didn't build any more. The courtyard now holds many fond memories for Jiang Ji and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and he doesn't plan to demolish these rooms.
He plans to tear down the wall next to the vegetable garden and expand the yard to the west.
Since there are no neighbors to the west, he can do whatever he wants.
As for the warm pavilion, his current plan is to build three rooms, but in order to keep it warm, the middle room will not have an outer door, but only two inner doors connecting it to the rooms on both sides.
Then the whole room is covered with a kang (heated brick bed). Once the kang is heated, the effect should be similar to underfloor heating.
Of course, this is just his idea, and whether it can be realized is still unknown.
After Jiang Ji set off for the prefectural city, he went to discuss the matter with the craftsmen.
After waiting and hoping, and almost turning into a statue waiting for her husband, the day finally came when Jiang Ji returned.
Jiang Ji returned home at noon. When he arrived, Ye Li had already prepared the bone broth.
Ye Liang had also arrived and was squatting by the well with Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, washing watermelons.
He brought two watermelons with him today.
Upon seeing him enter the courtyard, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya immediately cheered and ran towards him: "Big Brother!"
"Big brother, you're back! I missed you so much."
Ye Li was slicing cucumbers at the cutting board when he heard the noise and came out of the kitchen. Seeing that the person he had been longing for had finally returned, he immediately smiled and said, "You're back just in time. The bone broth is ready. I'll just make a cucumber salad and we can start eating."
Jiang Ji met his gaze, stared at him intently for a moment, and then raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Okay, I'll go wash my hands now."
That familiar smiling face greatly eased Ye Li's longing. He was satisfied and walked briskly back to the kitchen to continue his work.
Jiang Mai ran to fetch water.
Jiang Ya grabbed Jiang Ji's hand and walked towards the well: "Big brother, come quick! The two brothers bought watermelons!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji looked at Ye Liang, and when he saw the two large, green watermelons, he couldn't help but say, "Brother, there's no need to buy these; they're too expensive."
These watermelons are big; one costs thirty or forty coins.
"We don't buy it often. You're going to take the exam, so eat something good before you leave."
Ye Liang said with a smile.
Actually, he and Ye Wen wanted to give Jiang Ji 500 coins each for the exam—now that they were financially better off, they wanted to make sure Jiang Ji had a good meal on his trip.
But Ye Li refused, saying that they wouldn't be short of five hundred coins. He and Ye Wen had no choice but to each buy a large watermelon and some pork bones.
Seeing the sweat on Jiang Ji's forehead, he knew Jiang Ji had run back again, so he said, "Wash your face first. By the way, when exactly are you going to the prefectural city?"
"We have to leave very early the day after tomorrow," Jiang Ji said.
"So fast?" Ye Liang exclaimed in surprise.
"Go early, settle down early, so you can focus on your studies," Jiang Ji explained.
At this moment, Jiang Mai placed the washbasin in front of him, and he squatted down to wash his face.
Ye Liang nodded: "That's true. There are too many things to do at home, and it's easy to get distracted. It's better to go earlier. Now that our family is better off, we can afford to spend a few days' worth of food."
Jiang Ji hummed in agreement. If he stayed at home, he would definitely be distracted.
Although Ye Li was busy in the kitchen, he was also listening to the sounds in the yard. When he heard Jiang Ji and Ye Liang's conversation, he sighed softly, "So fast."
This get-together was far too short.
At this moment, Jiang Ji appeared at the kitchen door. He tugged at his sweaty long robe and said, "I'm all sweaty. I'll go back inside and change my clothes."
Ye Li quickly suppressed her melancholy and nodded, "Go ahead."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Liang appeared at the kitchen door carrying a watermelon. He smiled and said, "It's all changed. Time to have a slice of watermelon to cleanse your palate."
Jiang Ji hummed in agreement and walked towards the main room.
Ye Li then asked Ye Liang to cut the watermelon, and he carried the dining table out of the kitchen.
It's hot, so we've been eating in the yard lately.
He placed the dining table under the shed, and Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya immediately went into the kitchen to help bring out the bowls, chopsticks, cucumbers, and preserved eggs.
Then the two little ones stood in front of the stove under the shed and wouldn't move.
The bone broth was in the stove under the shed. Ye Li lifted the lid of the pot, and a rich aroma immediately wafted out in all directions.
Jiangmai and Jiangya, oblivious to the heat, were simply inhaling deeply, savoring the aroma.
Ye Li told the two of them to wash their hands. After the two little ones ran off, Ye Li picked up the flatbread from the steamer rack and put it in the bread basket. He then scooped the pork bones from the pot into a basin and placed the basin on the dining table next to him.
At this time, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya had also washed their hands, so he called the two little ones to gnaw on the bones first.
He then picked up a spoon and ladled soup into the bowl.
Since they were family, there weren't many formalities. Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya happily agreed and then sat down at the table to start eating.
Jiang Ji changed his clothes and came out of the main room. Ye Liang had already put the watermelon slices on the dining table.
He walked over, sat down, picked up a piece of toothpick, and started eating.
The ample, slightly sweet juice flowed down his throat, quenching his thirst. He finished a bite in a few bites before turning to gnaw on the bone.
The meat on these big bones has been stewed for a long time and is very tender; you can easily tear it off with your teeth.
It's almost entirely lean meat, but not dry at all, and the seasoning is just right. How could anyone not be in a good mood when they're starving?
He looked at Ye Li.
Ye Li was also looking at him.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Ye Li swallowed the meat in her mouth and asked, "What are the names of the other candidates who accompanied you? Where are they from?"
He rarely inquired about matters concerning the private school.
But with parting imminent, he wanted to ask a few more questions.
Jiang Ji said, "One of them is named Shi Yi, and he and I are both from Chen Ji Academy. The other three are from other private schools..."
Although only two people were from Chenji Academy, Master Han was public-spirited and charitable, and did not turn away people just because they were not his students.
This time, he and four other students and two government-subsidized students chartered four carriages.
Beiyang County is a major transportation hub, so the car rental industry is very developed and cars are easy to rent.
To save money, the two students with government stipends rode in a horse-drawn carriage, while the five students with only a few years of education rode in a mule cart.
The journey will take three days. We will depart early the day after tomorrow, and if there are no unforeseen circumstances, we should be able to enter the city by the evening of the third day.
After entering the city, the car went straight to Master Han's old residence. On the fourth day, we went to the prefectural government office to submit the official document issued by the county government to register and verify our identity. On the fifth day, we could prepare for the exam with peace of mind.
Meals were prepared by the old servants of the Han family; they only needed to pay the money and didn't need to worry about anything else.
“Master Han is so kind. When you return from the prefectural city, bring gifts and visit him to thank him properly,” Ye Li said.
"Okay." Jiang Ji nodded.
He went there last time.
The only problem was that the gift he brought last time was rather meager; it was spicy peanuts made by his second aunt.
Regardless of whether we win the lottery or not, we definitely can't bring our own agricultural products this time.
The group chatted about other things for a while, and soon lunch was over.
Ye Liang got up to fry tofu puffs and large skewers, while Ye Li and Jiang Ji returned to the main room to pack their luggage.
The two little ones also missed their older brother quite a bit and didn't want to take a nap, so they followed the couple into the west room.
As soon as Ye Li entered the room, he opened the bottom drawer of the five-drawer chest, which contained a lot of money. He asked Jiang Ji to take out five strings of cash from it.
This was the money he had prepared for Jiang Ji to take the imperial examination.
Merchants frequently traveled between Beiyang County and Fucheng, and there were plenty of inns and roadside tea stalls along the way.
As long as you have money, you can make the journey comfortable—given the road conditions and carriages of this era, it's not exactly a comfortable one. If you have enough money, you can only be sure to eat and sleep well at the inn.
If you're on the road, you're bound to experience bumps and jolts.
When Jiang Ji last took the imperial examination, he stayed in a dormitory and ate cornbread made by Liang Erxiang. At tea stalls and inns, he would only ask for a bowl of tea.
They really try to save money wherever they can.
Now that we have enough money, we can no longer endure such hardship.
Jiang Ji had previously deposited more than ten taels of silver with Jiang Dahe. Ever since Ye Li promised him to study, Ye Li has been giving Jiang Dahe one string of cash every month for the past four months.
With the five strings of cash that Ye Li sewed into his clothes, he was quite well-off this time.
But as the saying goes, "a poor family travels with wealth," those five strings of cash were the last resort.
So Ye Li gave him another five strings of cash so that he could eat something better.
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