After the first wave of customers, a steady stream of customers followed.
Lu Qiqi seasoned the noodles, Liu Tong made the noodles, Zhu Zi served the noodles and collected the money, and Dun Zi cleared the table. Everyone worked together very well.
It was almost noon when everyone finally had a chance to sit down and rest.
Liu Tong, having finished meeting his guests, wanted to knead another dough to avoid keeping them waiting too long when guests arrived later.
Seeing Liu Tong take out the flour bag again, Lu Qiqi said, "Uncle Liu, let's stop here for today. There shouldn't be anyone here after noon. Let's pack up and go home."
Liu Tong was taken aback for a moment, then said, "You're going back already? I haven't seen any other stalls close up this early!"
Zhu Zi also came up and said, "Yes, I see everyone is still setting up their stalls. It's just past noon, so there should still be people coming. Why don't we wait a little longer?"
Lu Qiqi shook her head and said, "It's past noon, and the market will be closing soon. Things haven't been peaceful lately, so everyone is going home early after shopping. If we go home late, we don't know what might happen on the way."
Liu Tong's eyes dimmed slightly. He hadn't felt this accomplished in a long time. Looking at the bustling stall, he recalled the days when he traveled all over the country with his master. He never expected that those happy times would be so short.
However, what the girl from the Lu family said makes sense. If we wait any longer, the risk will be too great. If we can't sell all the dough we make, it won't taste good when we take it back.
Liu Tong said, "Then let's pack our things and go back. Zhu Zi and Dun Zi, hurry up and pack your things. Qi Ya Tou, see if there's anything we still need at home, and go buy it. We'll wait for you at the city gate."
Lu Qiqi nodded. The house was indeed missing a lot of things, and she needed to find an excuse to release some of the things from her space.
Take cloth, for example. Everyone just makes do with those two sets of clothes. Lu Yao's clothes are all patched. A young girl should dress up a bit, so that she won't be easily fooled in the future.
As the days go by, the weather will get colder and colder, and we'll need to start preparing cotton-padded clothes and shoes, since there are more than a dozen people in our family.
Lu Qiqi put out the cotton, cloth, and insoles and waited at the city gate for Liu Tong and his apprentice to leave the city together.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Liu Tong and his apprentice finally arrived slowly in their oxcart.
Liu Tong noticed a large bag of things at Lu Qiqi's feet and knew it had cost a lot of money. He said, "Girl, hide these things in the middle so that bad guys don't see them."
Lu Qiqi nodded with amusement, "Okay."
Zhu Zi and Dun Zi worked quickly and soon loaded the goods onto the truck. Liu Tong, afraid of being noticed, pulled up some grass by the roadside as a cover. Lu Qiqi smiled but didn't point it out. Their actions only made them more conspicuous to others.
Fortunately, the journey was smooth sailing.
Back in the tent, Lu Qiqi found that the wooden house was gradually taking shape. The wooden frame stood about fifty meters away from the tent, which would be their future home.
When Lu Dahai and Li Qingshan saw that Lu Qiqi and Liu Tong and his apprentices had returned, they came over to help unload the things from the oxcart.
Lu Qiqi asked Zhu Zi to bring the large bundle into the house, and then Madam Lu invited everyone to eat together.
After finishing her meal, Lu Qiqi called Zhu Zi and Dun Zi to place the cloth on the table.
In front of everyone, Lu Qiqi opened the large bundle and said, "Here are cloth, cotton, and insoles."
Mrs. Lu leaned closer, her eyes wide, and asked, "How much money did you make? You bought so much cloth!"
Lu Qiqi laughed and said, "This is money I paid for myself. The money from selling noodles today is still with Zhu Zi, and I haven't calculated it yet, but I imagine it's quite a lot."
Upon hearing "a lot," Madam Lu realized it was a large number. Just as she was about to ask about the day's events, Lu Qiqi interrupted her, "There are over a dozen people in the family, mostly men and children. Aunt and Third Aunt, thank you for your hard work in making winter clothes and shoes for everyone. Especially Grandma Zhou, although the South isn't as cold as the North, she still needs a padded coat for winter. We must take care of ourselves, and our lives will surely become more and more prosperous."
When Madam Lu saw so much fabric, she was very happy, but when she heard that she also had to make clothes for Grandma Zhou, the Zhou brothers, and Liu Tong and his apprentice, she felt a little tired. After all, they were not her own family, and she couldn't just take everything away.
But when I saw that the boy was only ten years old on Saturday, he didn't talk much, and his clothes were all hand-me-downs from his older brothers, tattered and in poor condition.
These days, he'd been helping cut down trees on the mountain, and his feet were blistered, but he never said a word. It wasn't until she left something by the stream and saw him take off his shoes to wash his feet that she noticed.
When she remembered how he noticed her shoulder hurt and came over to massage her back without saying a word, she couldn't bring herself to refuse; all she felt was a heart full of contentment and tenderness.
Li said with a smile, "Don't worry, we've got your back. We'll make sure you don't get cold."
Liu Tong and his apprentice, along with the Zhou brothers, stood there in disbelief, unable to believe their ears that they were even entitled to a share in the new clothes.
When they came to their senses, their eyes were filled with tears, and they each made a silent vow to repay the kindness in the future!
After speaking, Li called the Zhou brothers to take measurements.
Lu Qiqi wasn't idle either. She asked Zhu Zi to calculate today's earnings so she could keep a detailed record of the daily profit.
Lu Qiqi took out an account book and a set of writing materials, which she had bought in the city.
Zhu Zi counted the money and placed it on the table, saying, "A total of eighty-eight large coins."
Everyone looked at Zhu Zi counting money, and they all craned their heads and peered over.
When Mrs. Lu saw so much money on the table, she couldn't help but click her tongue and say, "You can earn this much just by selling spicy noodles?"
She was both excited and annoyed. She was excited because selling these noodles was a quick way to make money, as if there were mountains of gold and silver right in front of her. She was annoyed because she hadn't gone with them, otherwise she could have gotten a share of the wages.
But then she thought again, they hadn't really separated their households after all, and the money was in the family coffers, so Seventh Sister wouldn't be shortchanged her, and she felt relieved.
Lu Dahai was also a little surprised, thinking to himself, no wonder so many people want to go into business. They can make so much money in a day, and then buy a piece of land to live out their old age. They can live such a wonderful life.
Upon hearing Zhu Zi announce the numbers, Liu Tong's smile deepened. He thought to himself, 'Working under Seventh Girl's guidance from now on, maybe I won't be far from leaving the Upper Restaurant!'
Lu Qiqi finished keeping the accounts and told everyone about the expenses, "After deducting expenses, our net profit today is sixty-five coins."
Lu Dahai gasped, "Sixty-five large coins!"
Upon hearing that so much was left after expenses, Mrs. Lu was overjoyed. "Good heavens! We've made so much money! We're rich! We're rich!"
Lu Qiqi closed the ledger. She was very happy to have so much money in daily income, but it was far from enough. It was still a long way from her goal of buying land and building a manor villa.
However, she couldn't make money in a way that was too lucrative, as that would be too conspicuous. Her family were just farmers, and they couldn't hold onto their wealth and were easily targeted by others.
Resentment towards the rich exists in every era.
With the Spirit Spring Space at her disposal, it wouldn't be difficult for her to gradually make a fortune!
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