When the Su siblings returned to the entrance of Shanghe Village in their oxcart, the sky was already dotted with stars.
A thin figure rushed out.
"Hua'er, you're finally back."
Su Hua looked up and saw Su Baishi standing under the paulownia tree with Su Dahu and Su Sanhu, craning their necks to look in the direction of the winding mountain road. Her heart warmed and she smiled, "Mother, eldest brother, third brother, let's go home first."
By this time, many people had finished dinner and gone to bed. Su Hua led the three of them onto the oxcart. The village was very quiet, and the sound of the ox's hooves on the path caused dogs to bark all the way.
After returning the oxcart to the village chief's house, head towards the end of the village.
Just as they reached the end of the village, a scream rang out.
"Honey, how are the snails selling? How much money did you make today?"
"Keep your voice down, you old hag!" Madam Su glared at Madam Qian and hissed, "All you ever think about is money, money! Don't you have eyes in your two big holes? Hua'er and Erhu have been busy all day, and you don't even know to bring out a cup of tea. How did my Su family end up marrying such a lazy bum..."
After being scolded, Qian looked dejected and lost all her initial excitement, only daring to steal a glance at her husband.
To her surprise, Su Erhu gave her a reassuring smile, then picked up the wooden basin and walked into the yard.
“The father of my child…” Madam Qian bit her lip.
I felt deeply wronged.
She had only asked about the price of the snails, but her mother-in-law immediately launched into a tirade of abuse, and even her own husband didn't protect her at all. She looked up at Zhao, who was diligently serving her tea and water, and felt even more resentful.
So what if she had two sons? What's there to be proud of!
"Hua'er, come on, you must be hungry. Have a bowl of soup first..."
The Su family had already prepared the meal, but Su Hua and her companion had not returned yet, so the food was left to warm in the pot. Hearing the sounds, Zhao brought out a large bowl of pork bone and radish soup, a dish of braised fish with dried chili peppers, a plate of spicy snails, and a bowl of stir-fried bracken.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Su Hua smelled the aroma and realized she was indeed hungry.
The meat is removed from the bones and melts into the soup, creating a tender, white bone marrow broth. One sip fills your mouth with freshness and flavor, without a trace of artificial technology or grueling techniques.
Su Erhu sat down at the table and handed two bulging money bags to Su Baishi, grinning as he said, "Mother, these are the copper coins I got from selling rabbits this morning and snails this afternoon. The rabbits were sold to Fugui Restaurant for a total of 250 coins. I gave five coins to the waiter at the restaurant. As for the snails..."
He smiled and glanced at the crowd of people with burning eyes.
"Everything is sold out today."
Upon hearing this, everyone swallowed hard.
"A total of 983 snails, of which 23 snails were exchanged for two pieces of tofu." Su Erhu looked at the family who were dumbfounded, and his smile widened. "The remaining 960 snails were sold for 192 copper coins."
"Good heavens! One hundred and ninety-two coins!"
Ms. Qian exclaimed in surprise, "How much money must that be?"
A pound of fatty pork costs 18 coins, so 192 coins would buy so much fatty pork!
Upon hearing this, the three brothers' eyes lit up slightly. Their aunt had said that as long as the snails could be sold, they could eat as much steamed, boiled, fried, and cured fish as they wanted. So, with business so good on the first day, could they also dream of eating so many different kinds of fish?
Su Dahu and Su Sanhu were so shocked that they almost dropped their chopsticks. They had only gone to help Xiao Jinhan build a house, and suddenly their family came up with such a money-making business.
You should know that in the past, they would only earn fifteen copper coins at most for carrying bags at the dock all day.
These river snails that nobody eats can be sold for such an exorbitant price after being stir-fried by my own little sister!
My little sister is truly their lucky star!
Seeing everyone's astonishment, Su Erhu then began to vividly recount the scene of selling snails that day, "When we first arrived at the town entrance, someone shouted that these snails were for chickens and ducks, and that humans shouldn't eat them. It looked like our business was about to fail. But then, quick as a flash, Hua'er had an idea. She picked up a snail and started eating it. And that one bite made everyone's mouths water..."
Su Hua almost choked on her soup.
Little did she know, her second brother was truly an all-rounder.
It's such a waste that he doesn't become a storyteller!
The entire Su family sat upright, listening intently. They held their breath at the crucial parts, and their eyes shone with an alarming intensity as they looked at Su Hua.
My little darling was just touched by Meng Po, and she actually knows the art of business, considering everything carefully from beginning to end.
"Our Hua'er has really suffered." Madam Su's eyes reddened as she listened, her slanted eyes sweeping over the family at the table. "Hua'er hasn't slept well these past few nights, finally coming up with this snail business. She works tirelessly, twice a day, and has even lost weight, all so that our Su family can live a better life. From now on, you can't be ungrateful wretches. You must remember what Hua'er has done for you all, understand?"
"Don't worry, Mother, your son will remember this." The three Su brothers patted their chests loudly.
The two daughters-in-law chimed in, "The daughters-in-law will certainly not forget."
Su Dalang's three grandchildren nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Don't worry, Grandma. As long as we have food to eat, we'll make sure Auntie doesn't go hungry. We'll take care of her in her old age and see her off when she's gone..."
Su Hua's lips twitched. Her mother was truly worried about her retirement all the time.
However, if she could really lose weight as Su Baishi said, she would be more than happy.
Thinking this, the girl unconsciously raised the arm holding the chopsticks—
Never mind, I should eat properly first.
You need to eat well to have the energy to lose weight.
Madam Su nodded in satisfaction, her gaze sweeping over the plate of snails on the table. After a long pause, she said, "This flavor of snails is the business that makes money for our Su family. Every step of the process must be kept secret from beginning to end. We must not let anyone else learn it. If I find out that anyone has spread it, don't blame me for turning my back on them!"
She couldn't help but feel regretful for having so many people present when she was cooking the stir-fried snails.
If she had known it would be so profitable, she would have driven everyone away.
Such a wonderful recipe should rightfully be part of Hua'er's dowry in the future.
Upon hearing this, Su Dahu immediately instructed Dalang and the others not to talk about it outside. After all, the three brothers were outside at the time and had no idea how to make snails. It was the little ones who needed to be careful.
"Don't worry, Mother, your daughter-in-law will definitely not," Zhao replied softly.
“The same goes for my daughter-in-law.” Madam Qian’s body stiffened, and her eyes shifted slightly as she said, “But this flavorful snail dish is so obvious that everyone knows what it is once they see it. Why do we need to say anything more?”
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