Chapter 26 The Noodles and Fruits Sell Well - Jiang Dachuan
But Jiang Liu was not a man after all.
Even though she tried to conserve her energy, she quickly became covered in sweat and breathless.
Ye Li then advised, "Why don't you take a break? It won't delay the frying of tofu puffs."
If the tofu isn't ready by noon, then don't sell it; just fry it all into tofu puffs after lunch.
"It's alright." Jiang Liu had prepared a cloth, which she took out from her bosom, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said with a smile, "It's much more tiring during the busy farming season."
Ye Li wanted to persuade her again: "There's really no rush. Just get the tofu done before noon."
"Brother Li, I can manage. Just thinking about how I can earn ten coins just by grinding two buckets of beans gives me so much energy!"
“I could never earn this much money doing other hard jobs.”
As Jiang Liu spoke, she hung the cloth around her neck and then grabbed the millstone and started pushing it again.
Ye Li felt quite uncomfortable hearing her words.
But at this point, apart from grinding the millstone, Ye Li couldn't help her with anything else.
His only skill is cooking.
He only inherited the original owner's memories of needlework and knot-making, which the girls and boys were good at; he knew nothing else.
But if you can't come up with anything new, you won't make any money at all.
He should come up with something else...
The mill fell silent.
Although Jiang Liu was panting heavily from exhaustion, her speed was not much slower than Jiang Ji's.
When the first batch of beans was finished being ground, Ye Li once again advised her to take a break and not to push herself.
Really, taking a short break won't disrupt his business.
But Jiang Liu wiped his sweat and shook his head: "Brother Li, with such high wages, how can I take a break? If I really take a break, I'll definitely have to help you with other things during the day, otherwise I'll feel bad."
Ye Li: "..."
What a simple and honest girl!
I can't bear to see such a good girl suffer from poverty.
As dawn approached, Ye Li went to the kitchen to cook.
A little while later, Jiangmai and Jiangya, the two little ones, got up.
The two of them ran to the mill and carried a bucket of soybeans that had already been ground twice into the kitchen.
They've gotten used to filtering the soybean pulp whenever they can find a spare moment.
After breakfast was prepared, Jiang Liu still had some leftovers. Ye Li invited her to eat, but she shook her head and refused, telling Ye Li and the two little ones to eat first.
After Ye Li, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya finished breakfast, she finally finished grinding.
Compared to Jiang Ji, it took him the time it takes to eat a meal.
That's quite extraordinary.
Ye Li admired her from the bottom of her heart, and immediately went back into the house and grabbed ten copper coins for her.
Daily wages!
Jiang Liu was exhausted, her face flushed and her arms aching, but after taking the coins, she weighed them a few times and only a smile remained on her face.
Working hard all morning to earn ten coins is totally worth it!
The Jiang family's grain was all carried from her house, so she didn't stand on ceremony with Ye Li. She ate a steamed bun, two cornbreads, and drank a bowl of corn porridge, and then left happily.
Next, Ye Li boils soy milk and makes tofu.
Jiangmai and Jiangya carried baskets on their backs and went out to cut pig feed.
Without the work of grinding the millstone, Ye Li was much more relaxed. After curdling the tofu, he washed, swept, and wiped it, and then there was nothing else to do.
He went back to the west room, lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), and pondered new ways to make money.
Soon, someone came to buy tofu.
The visitor was Jiang Dachuan, Jiang's father's cousin.
When Jiang's father was alive, the relationship between the two families was still good. After Jiang's father passed away, Jiang Ji spent most of his time at the private school, while Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were raised in Jiang Dahe's family. As a result, the two families had less contact.
Moreover, Jiang Dachuan's family was also struggling financially.
Her husband injured his body during his fourth pregnancy and was unable to do heavy work.
His eldest son, Jiang Tong, is two years older than Jiang Ji. He has been learning the craft from a carpenter in Baxian Town for ten years.
He is not married yet.
The second daughter is already married.
The third son is the same age as Jiang Liu.
The youngest son is the same age as Jiang Liu's younger brother, Jiang Yu, and is fourteen this year.
As their three sons grew older, Jiang Dachuan and his wife were getting increasingly worried, as finding husbands for their sons was proving difficult!
However, Jiang Dachuan's face was no longer gloomy as usual. When he saw Ye Li come out of the main room, he smiled and shook the burlap sack in his hand: "Brother Li, Xiao Tong is back. I've come to exchange for three catties of tofu."
“Brother Datong is back, that’s right, we should have something good to eat. But the tofu is still a bit watery and not firm enough,” Ye Li said.
"It's alright, even if it's a little tender, it can still be stir-fried without delaying the cooking process."
Ye Li smiled upon hearing this, "That's true, then I'll weigh out two more ounces."
"No need, you guys have had it pretty tough too," Jiang Dachuan quickly waved his hand.
As the eldest uncle, he hadn't helped the three Jiang brothers over the years, so how could he possibly take advantage of them now?
"Uncle, that's only right. We can't let you suffer just because we're close."
Ye Li said with a smile.
Every family has its own problems. Although he now sincerely wants to live with Jiang Ji, he doesn't resent Jiang Dachuan.
After exchanging a few words, Jiang Dachuan finally gave in and took two extra ounces of tofu.
After Jiang Dachuan left, more people came to buy tofu.
Ye Li greeted everyone while preparing lunch.
We're out of flour at home, but we still have a few steamed buns left. We've been eating extravagantly these past few days, so let's keep lunch light.
He cut a piece of tofu and steamed it together with steamed buns and cornbread. After steaming, he put the tofu in a ceramic bowl and made a dish of tofu with scallions.
Add some more cornmeal to the pot to make a cornmeal porridge, and lunch is ready.
The food was simple, but apart from the leafy greens, the wheat, sprouts, and leaves were all quite delicious.
While eating, Ye Liang talked about the sales of the noodles.
If you were to buy this kind of noodle dish at other stalls, very few people would be willing to do so.
But now Liu's pancake stall has gained a small reputation. Everyone knows that the food sold at the stall is not cheap. A top-of-the-line pancake with fillings, including tofu puffs, large skewers, green vegetables, eggs, and white tofu, costs eight coins in total.
With that price, then five coins for a noodle roll isn't unacceptable.
Who can blame them when it's made with white flour, deep-fried, and sweet!
The key is that they're also good-looking; once they're displayed, everyone who passes by can't help but take a second look.
"Of the five pastries, one was taken for tasting, and the remaining four were quickly sold. Mr. Zhu from the oil mill bought two, and the other two were bought by a wealthy family."
"That family was quite grand. The master and mistress didn't even get off their carriage; they sent their servants and wet nurses to the stall to buy it."
Ye Li was somewhat surprised to hear this: "Do people like this really want to eat at our roadside stall?"
“Our stall is famous. Even though it’s just a roadside stall, some wealthy people who aren’t too picky are willing to try it.”
Ye Liang said with a smile.
Before Ye Li could speak, he suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said with a serious expression, "Didn't that pancake stall in town imitate us before? Today, Boss Zhu said that his shop not only sells eggs and white tofu, but also fried tofu!"
"Huh?" Ye Li asked in surprise.
Jiang Ya and Jiang Mai, who were munching on steamed buns, suddenly widened their eyes and looked at Ye Liang with their little heads in unison.
Ye Liang was quite satisfied with the three people's reactions. He smiled again and said slowly, "But the fried tofu at his house tastes just like the fried tofu slices at home. It's firm, not soggy, and doesn't absorb the sauce."
"Mr. Zhu originally thought that this bakery was close to the oil mill, so it would be more convenient to eat bakeries in the future. But he didn't expect that their fried tofu was just ordinary fried tofu. Mr. Zhu was very disappointed."
These words calmed Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, who had been holding their breath.
The two started eating steamed buns again, but their big eyes were still fixed on Ye Liang.
Ye Li nodded and said, "Of course, only our family has tofu puffs and big skewers."
If you steam regular tofu and then fry it for ten minutes, the resulting product can also be considered tofu puffs.
However, the swelling and juice absorption are not as good as the method he is currently using.
Moreover, steaming and frying for ten minutes are both essential steps, so how many people can guess correctly?
He really isn't worried at all about others copying it.
This only makes their genuine products look even more delicious.
He changed the subject and asked, "Brother, so tell me, how many fried dough sticks should I fry tomorrow?"
There's no flour left in the house.
We can only start bombing tomorrow.
"Hmm... I discussed it with your brother Yi, and you should fry thirty of them tomorrow."
Ye Liangdao.
Today's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's success. We can't be rash; we have to take it one step at a time.
"Okay," Ye Li replied.
After the meal, Ye Li fried tofu puffs as usual.
After seeing Ye Liang off, he took the copper coins and went to find Jiang Fuzheng, intending to buy some wheat.
Wheat costs five coins a pound, and flour costs seven coins. It's definitely more cost-effective to buy wheat and grind it yourself.
Ten catties of wheat cost fifty coins.
After taking it home, he washed it first, and then spread it out in the yard to dry.
Night fell quickly, and another day had passed.
Jiang Ji is still having trouble sleeping tonight.
Lying on the hard kang (heated brick bed), listening to the snoring in the room, he sighed softly. He had just slept with Ye Li for one night, but he couldn't get used to the kang he had been lying on for so many years!
bother.
He went to bed late, and when he got up early the next morning, he washed his face twice with cold water to shake off his sleepiness, and then hurried to the lecture hall in the main courtyard.
Morning reading is about to begin, and we can only go to the dining hall for lunch after that.
Upon entering the lecture hall, he went straight to the middle row on the left, near the window.
He sat down in his seat, picked up a commentary on the Analects, and began to read it aloud in the dim light.
After flipping through a few pages, the teaching assistant who was patrolling the classroom entered the lecture hall.
He glanced at the empty seat beside him, his long eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Why hasn't Bao Beiyuan arrived yet?
He missed class yesterday, and he's nowhere to be seen today either...
On the other side, Jiang Dahe and his daughter Jiang Liu arrived at the Jiang family home on time.
This time, Jiang Liu still advised Ye Li to go back to bed and rest, saying that she could handle it on her own.
“Since we’re already up, I’ll do some odd jobs,” Ye Li said.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu did not insist and simply agreed.
The first bucket of fermented water filled up quickly. While Ye Li was changing buckets, she wiped the sweat from her face and said, "Our Brother Datong is back. Brother Li, do you know that?"
“I know, my uncle came to buy tofu yesterday.” Ye Li said, placing an empty wooden bucket under the outlet of the groove.
Then he picked up a spoon and scooped soybeans into the millstone.
At this moment, Jiang Liu added, "Brother Datong won't be going to town anymore."
"Huh? Brother Datong has graduated? I didn't hear Uncle mention this yesterday?" Ye Li said in surprise.
"He didn't graduate; he simply stopped learning."
Jiang Liu's face showed anger as she spoke: "He followed that carpenter Wang for ten years, serving him like a son for ten years, and all he learned was some menial tasks like plane making and line drawing."
"The night before last, the carpenter said that Brother Datong's foot bath water was too hot and that he did it on purpose, and he scolded Brother Datong for fifteen minutes."
"Brother Datong couldn't take it anymore, so he packed his bags and came back overnight."
"...There's such a story behind it?" Ye Li was stunned.
"Absolutely! That's so unfair!" Jiang Liu angrily flung the cloth around her neck.
In normal circumstances, learning a craft involves paying an apprenticeship fee, recognizing a master, and then learning for three years and following the master for three years – three years to learn the craft and three years to take on jobs with the master. In total, it takes six years to complete the apprenticeship.
But teaching apprentices might starve the master, so some masters keep their secrets to themselves and refuse to teach their most valuable skills.
Jiang Liu could understand this situation.
Jiang Tong served Wang the carpenter like a servant for ten years, but only learned the most basic skills. He also had to endure Wang the carpenter's beatings and scoldings. It was truly outrageous!
She was furious when she heard about this yesterday and wanted nothing more than to go to Wang the carpenter's house to seek justice.
But her father said that the Jiang family had too few men and couldn't handle the situation.
Moreover, the saying goes, "A teacher for a day is a father for life." What's wrong with a father scolding his son a few times? With this principle in mind, even if you make a scene, you'll most likely not get away with it.
Can't you see Jiang Tong is prepared to tolerate this?
These words made her even angrier.
But as a young woman, her words carried no weight.
At this moment, all he could do was mutter a few words to Ye Li and vent his anger.
After hearing these words, Ye Li's anger was not as intense as Jiang Liu's. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go ask the clan chief today and see if we can get an explanation."
The Jiang family has lived in Yezaopo for centuries. Although they all share the surname Jiang, the families have long since become distant relatives.
But this is for internal use.
When dealing with external threats, we must be united.
Jiang Dachuan and Jiang Dahe are not as bold and decisive as Jiang's father.
They were bullied like this and were still going to endure it.
If Jiang's father were still alive, he probably would have knocked on that carpenter's door yesterday.
Jiang's father dared to go to the enemy camp and burn their supplies!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com