Su Hua looked up and saw an ancient city wall.
The city wall is made entirely of rammed earth and large stones. Scattered small trees seem to grow in the gaps between the stones and earth. Now in March, the branches are covered with green leaves, adding a touch of vitality to the city wall that has weathered many storms.
In the very center of the city wall hangs a blue stone slab, on which are engraved three large characters in a vigorous and elegant style: Qingshui County.
Two rows of imposing yamen runners stood beneath the gate plaque.
Each of them had a large sword hanging at their waist, the tip of which gleamed coldly.
"As expected of a county town, its atmosphere is truly different." Su Hua sat on the oxcart, her toes swaying on the side of the cart shaft, and couldn't help but click her tongue. Her hands were hidden under her wide sleeves as she secretly peeled an egg.
There's no way around it, these eggs are too big, it's a hassle.
In the beginning, the three hens laid eggs that were at most the size of goose eggs.
Now, as the days go by, she can't find a single suitable word to compare it to.
It was about half the width of her palm.
If she didn't keep it a secret, she and the eggs would be stared at like monkeys.
“That’s right!” Su Dahu glanced at the constable and then looked away. “Every time we enter Qingshui County, we have to pay an entrance fee. It’s one coin for pedestrians and two coins for carriages. In the past, we had to think twice before we wanted to enter Qingshui County. If it weren’t for Hua’er coming up with the snail business, we might not have been able to come to this county today.”
Since Su Sui married into the Wang family in Qingshui County, the Su family members have rarely visited her.
Firstly, there were no carriages or horses, and secondly, the entrance fee to the city was also a problem.
"No wonder." Su Hua clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"This magistrate of Qingshui County must be out of his mind. Charging a fee to enter the city is clearly discouraging people from spending money in the county. If no one comes to spend money, how good can his performance record be?"
"You can't say that!" Su Dahu quickly stopped him. Seeing that the constable in front hadn't noticed, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, it's not just Qingshui County that collects entry fees. Other counties do the same. We're actually collecting relatively little here."
Su Hua chuckled, her sleeves fluttering slightly as she stuffed a large piece of egg into Su Dahu's mouth, then put another piece into her own.
"That's what I told my older brother: I absolutely won't say it in front of others!"
"Mmm—" As soon as the egg entered his mouth, Su Dahu found it incredibly delicious.
Looking again at his younger sister, whose cheeks were chubby like a little squirrel, he couldn't bear to say another word.
Soon it was the turn of the Su siblings. Su Dahu took out two copper coins from his sleeve and handed them to the gatekeeper.
The constable glanced at it and then waved it away.
The city and the outside world seemed like two separate worlds, separated by a watershed.
Upon entering the city gate, the streets were paved with bluestone, the hooves of cattle pounding on the ground. Shops lined the streets, offering everything from food and drinks to clothing and daily necessities. The air was filled with the aroma of cosmetics and food, and the lively cries of vendors filled the air.
The journey from Shanghe Village to Qingshui County is like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.
That was a real eye-opener.
Su Dahu drove the oxcart northwards.
The Wang family lived in the western part of Qingshui County. After entering through the city gate, it would take about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to go north, and then turn west and go through two alleys.
"Whoa—" Just as they turned onto the west side of the street, Su Dahu suddenly stopped pulling the oxcart.
Su Hua looked up and saw a large crowd queuing at the intersection of two streets. At the front of the crowd was a food stall, steaming with white vapor and smelling of flour.
The people in line were shouting at the shopkeeper to order their noodles.
"Hey buddy, give me a bowl of mutton noodle soup for fifteen coins, with coriander and chili, but no scallions!"
"Hey buddy, I'd like a bowl of pork noodles, with scallions, but no spice!"
"Give me a bowl of plain noodles..."
His first words stunned Su Hua, who clicked her tongue in disbelief, "Brother, the prices in Qingshui County are outrageous! A bowl of mutton soup noodles that costs ten coins in Cangwu Town costs fifteen coins here, and the business is still so good."
She suddenly realized that her snail business wasn't as lucrative as it used to be.
Although this eatery's business is slightly less booming than their own famous snail restaurant, it has lower labor costs and higher profits.
The profit margin for a bowl of noodles is approximately 40% to 60%.
If you sell two hundred bowls a day, you'll make a net profit of two taels of silver.
Compared to his own snail business, which sold nearly five thousand snails a day and earned one tael of silver.
This one or two taels of silver practically tied the entire Su family to this snail business from morning till night.
As Su Hua was pondering this, she heard a cold snort from beside her, "This is the Meng family's noodle shop in Qingshui County. Business is good, but the owner is too ruthless. I'm afraid it won't last long!"
Before he finished speaking, the people in line dispersed, and Su Dahu cracked his whip, crossed the street, and entered the western alley.
Su Hua turned around and happened to see a middle-aged man wearing a black cotton robe and matching black shoes smiling as he collected copper coins in front of the shop counter.
His face looked somewhat similar to Meng Yun'er's.
It turns out this is the Meng family's noodle shop!
No wonder the Meng family was able to acquire two hundred acres of fertile land.
Seeing his sister remain silent for a long time, Su Dahu felt a pang of sadness. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "If Meng Yun'er dares to cause trouble for you again, I'll set up my snail stall in front of her noodle shop and make sure she has no business left!"
Hearing these childish words, Su Hua couldn't help but chuckle.
A round trip from Shanghe Village to Qingshui County takes more than an hour.
If it were just for a day or two, it would be fine, but if they had to travel like this every day, not to mention whether his buttocks would suffer from sitting on the oxcart, even the old ox under the siblings would probably want to rebel.
Seeing his sister laughing hysterically beside him, Su Dahu's dark face slowly turned red.
He couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh, nor could he bear to. He opened and closed his mouth for a long time, but only managed to utter one sentence: "Don't laugh!"
"Hahahaha, okay, I won't laugh, hahahahaha..." Su Hua saw her cunning older brother with such an expression for the first time and burst out laughing. "Big brother, you're so adorable!"
So cute!
Su Dahu gripped the reins tightly, and the tips of his erect ears instantly turned bright red.
This is Hua'er, the first time she's praised him.
The old ox twitched its big ears slightly and looked up at the brother and sister behind it.
The cow's drooping tail swayed slowly with the laughter.
The two men and the ox strolled leisurely through the alley, and they were about to reach the Wang family's house after turning another corner.
Suddenly, a moonlit figure rushed out from the side, staggering and falling in front of the oxcart.
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