"What? Selling river snails... no, flavored river snails?" Su Bai licked the broth off the snail shells.
The group of people who were engrossed in their work were also stunned. This kind of snail was delicious, but there were so many of them in the river. They were usually used to feed chickens and ducks. Would anyone be willing to spend money to buy them?
"Yes, we're selling snails." Su Hua nodded with a smile. "Five snails for one coin, what do you think, Mother?"
Su Baishi stumbled.
If Zhao hadn't caught him quickly, he probably would have fallen to the ground.
You know, the villagers usually grow vegetables and radishes that they can't finish eating, and they take them to town to sell. Even if they can sell them for one cent per pound, that's considered a high price. If it happens to be spring or autumn, when the vegetables in the fields grow well, it's common to sell two or three pounds for one cent.
Nowadays, Hua'er is asking for five snails for one coin. Five snails, each the size of a thumb, probably don't even weigh an ounce.
Only a fool would be willing to spend that much money to buy it.
“Hua’er, the taste of these snails is indeed very good. As for the business, and the price of five for one copper coin, let’s reconsider?” Madam Su looked at her little girl, pondered for a long time before speaking, not wanting her to be sad when the snails couldn’t be sold.
Su Hua raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when a surprised voice interrupted.
"What business is Mother talking about? What kind of thing can you buy five for one copper coin?"
The stunned crowd turned around and saw Su Erhu grinning as he stood at the entrance of the kitchen. In his hand, he was holding a large, lively grass carp with cloud-like scales that were bluish-white and plump. It looked to weigh about ten kilograms.
"Honey, where did this fish come from?" Mrs. Qian asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
His eyes were practically shining.
I've been living the good life lately.
I hadn't even finished eating those snails when this huge fish came along.
The three of them, sucking on the snail shells, stared wide-eyed. Such a big grass carp should be enough for what their aunt had just mentioned—steamed fish, grilled fish, fried fish, and so on.
"This grass carp was given to me by Boss Xiao. He said he wanted to thank Mother for helping him build a house." Su Erhu stepped closer and handed the fish to Su Baishi. "Mother, do you plan to eat this big grass carp fresh, or should we kill it and marinate it to make preserved fish?"
"Oh my, this young man from the Xiao family is too kind." Madam Su took the fish, her smile almost reaching her lips. She pointed to the snails on the stove, "This fish isn't urgent. We'll kill it and smoke it into cured fish later, so we can save it for later. Come and try these snails, Hua'er made them herself!"
"You made this, little sister?" Su Erhu was taken aback.
Just looking at those bright red snails made me swallow hard.
Without needing anyone to teach him, he simply picked up the snail, glanced at it briefly, and then gently sucked on the snail's tail. Once the meat was sucked in tightly, he moved it to his mouth.
The next moment, his eyes looked at Su Hua and shone brightly.
"Is this the deal we were talking about, five copper coins a day?"
Su Hua smiled and nodded. "What do you think of this deal, Second Brother?"
“Of course, it’s excellent.” Su Erhu glanced at the snails in the iron pot, and after some restraint, he didn’t take any more. “Five snails for one coin, a hundred snails would be twenty coins, a thousand snails would be two hundred coins, and ten thousand snails would be two taels of silver. These snails are naturally grown; we just need to bend down and pick them up. The biggest cost is the seasoning in the snails. As for the seasoning…”
"These seasonings are the same medicinal herbs that Hua'er brought back today!" Su Erhu's voice became noticeably excited as he said this. "This business is sure to make money. There's a night market at the entrance of Cangwu Town every day. I need to hurry and get going."
Su Hua smiled, thinking that her second brother was indeed very clever.
Even a cursory glance reveals that the cost and profit have been thoroughly calculated.
"Wait a minute." Madam Su stopped Su Erhu, pulled him aside, and scolded him in a low voice, "You brat, you already have a child, how can you still be so irresponsible? Your sister doesn't know, but don't you know? Five snails for a copper coin, what fool would be willing to buy that? If you can't sell them, won't Hua'er be heartbroken!"
Su Erhu looked at Su Bai's furrowed face and pondered, "Mother is right, but since my little sister wants to do business, how can we spoil her fun? How about this, if we can't sell them, I'll go carry the sacks and make up the difference for her..."
"Alright!" Before Su Erhu could finish speaking, Su Baishi readily agreed, "Let's do it that way!"
Su Hua, who was listening intently, couldn't help but twitch her lips.
If my second brother is a little fox, then my mother is clearly an old fox.
Moreover, he's an extremely doting old fox.
Regardless of how the business of selling these snails goes, we won't let her suffer a loss.
“It will take at least an hour to walk to Cangwu Town, and by the time you get there, the snails will probably be all cold,” Su Bai said after a moment’s thought. “I’ll go to the village chief’s house and borrow an oxcart; that will be much faster.”
You can't just show up empty-handed to borrow an oxcart.
Su Bai gritted her teeth and ladled a plate of snails from the iron pot.
"You mustn't eat this precious stuff anymore." She carefully put the pot lid on, told Zhao to watch the fire in the stove, and then instructed Qian, "Take advantage of the good weather now and go to the river to catch some more snails."
Whether or not these snails can be sold, since they are a food, bringing back more will at least fill our stomachs.
Qian choked. She had originally planned to go with Su Erhu to sell snails and help count the money.
But when she looked at her mother-in-law's cold face, she couldn't say a word.
Having nothing else to do, Su Hua went with Su Baishi to the village chief's house.
The village chief's home is located in the center of Shanghe Village.
Both are adobe houses, but the village chief's adobe house has a foundation of bluestone, and several vegetable patches are planted in the small yard in front.
Unlike the rows of malnourished vegetable plots in Old Su's yard, the village chief's vegetable plots were lush and green, with scallions and cabbages that were very pleasing to the eye.
"Oh, is the Su family so poor that they can't afford to eat?"
Just as Su Bai and her daughter reached the entrance of the village chief's courtyard, a mocking voice rang out.
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