This was something Shen Jia had never anticipated. Purchasing soybeans at a price half the usual price would definitely not be a cost-effective deal if they were only used for livestock consumption.
Then there must be someone behind the scenes who is trying to trip me up and is willing to make a loss in order to defeat me. As for whether other people have also developed the tofu recipe, that is definitely impossible.
Every time he went to the pharmacy, Shen Jia would buy a few medicinal herbs on the pretext of buying medicine for his elderly grandmother and eliminating dryness and dampness. This did not seem very unusual to others.
Recently, in order to further protect her recipe, she has started pickling sauerkraut directly, and will use the sour water to make tofu in the future to avoid suspicion from others.
Looking at his anxious uncle, Shen Jia said confidently, "Didn't we just discuss this situation yesterday? We don't have to worry about running out of soybeans now.
I've also looked at the amount of soybeans in the warehouse, and they're enough to sustain us for a while."
Shen Jia's calmness immediately calmed Shen Hao down, but he still couldn't help but wonder in his heart: Who wouldn't panic after experiencing something like this?
She didn't show it on her face. Instead, she rubbed the back of her head and said embarrassedly, "Jia Niang, you're calmer. I almost forgot about what happened yesterday. Should we talk to Li Qin about it when he comes back today?"
"Let's see what the situation is. When they go back tomorrow, they can ask the villagers if they have any. We don't need to panic for now. We're not at the end of our rope yet."
Li Qin, whom they were talking about, was buying tofu in Wanjia Village under the jurisdiction of Ning'an Town. Li Qin, who was full of confidence in tofu, directly picked up 40 kilograms and went to his neighboring village.
This was the second village he had visited today, and he only had a dozen pounds of tofu left. Walking down the path at the entrance to the village, watching the smoke rising from the nearby chimneys, Li Qin shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Tofu for sale! Tofu for sale! Fresh and delicious tofu, authentic Shen's tofu! Three cents a pound, cheap and delicious!"
Selling tofu..."
The news immediately spread around. Now the tofu is famous in Ning'an Town. Everyone knows it, but now it is only sold in the town.
In the house closest to Li Qin, Old Lady Li thought there was something wrong with her ears, otherwise how could she hear the sound of someone selling tofu?
But as the sound got closer, she immediately ran out of the kitchen, looked at her grandson playing in the yard, and shouted into the house:
"Xing Niang, keep an eye on your brother. I'm going out to sell some things!"
"Okay, Grandma!"
Before Old Lady Li finished her words, she had already disappeared in the yard, leaving her little grandson digging the soil and staring blankly at the still shaking door panel.
As soon as Xing Niang came out, she saw her brother scratching at the wooden door, trying to climb out. She quickly shouted, "Little brother, don't go out. It's not fun outside."
Following the sound, Old Lady Li saw a man carrying a load not far away. Seeing the man walking towards her, she was too lazy to waste the energy and just stood there waiting for him to come over.
Seeing someone waiting not far away, Li Qin quickened his pace and asked the person who came, "Auntie, are you looking for tofu? We have authentic Shen's tofu. The price is the same as in town, very affordable!"
Thinking of her grandson's newly grown teeth and her family's love for tofu last time, Old Lady Li clenched the copper coins in her hand and said with a cold face:
"Open your basket and let me see if it's a good find. If you're bragging, the people in our village won't let you bully them!"
"Okay, okay, don't worry, Auntie. I'm from the neighboring Lijia Village. How could I lie to my fellow villagers?
Where is your home? I'll go directly to your house. It's safer to put this tofu in a bowl."
Hearing this, Mrs. Li felt very comfortable. She looked at the sweaty Li Qin and said, "Let's go. It's just ahead."
When she arrived at the door, Old Mrs. Li first took a look at the little white tofu left in the basket. If she hesitated any longer, there would not be much left.
He quickly rushed into the room, picked up a big bowl and ran out. He didn't show the shaky look he had just shown when he walked. Because there was no time to close the door, Xing Niang just held her little brother and watched together.
Old Mrs. Li looked at the neatly shaped tofu and insisted on picking two pieces that she thought were bigger. Looking at the white and tender tofu in the bowl, she contentedly put six copper coins into Li Qin's hand.
The younger brother looked at the familiar food and couldn't help drooling. He shouted with a childish voice, "Delicious, delicious, tofu..."
"My dear grandson, I will make tofu for you later."
Seeing her grandson's love for her tofu, Old Lady Li felt that she had done the right thing. As she watched Li Qin walk towards the path leading to the village center, she asked, "How often do you sell this tofu?"
"There are some every day, but I don't know if they're still there when I get to your village. Look, I only walked through one village today and this is all I have left."
"Then next time you come to our village first, I tell you, buying this little tofu in our village is child's play. Come once every three days, and I guarantee there will be no left."
The implicit meaning of his words was to ask Li Qin to come to Wanjia Village more often. Li Qin would not refuse his guests' kindness and responded repeatedly: "Okay, okay!"
After saying that, they continued on their way. Sure enough, when they arrived at the center of the village where the houses were more densely packed, the tofu was immediately sold out. Some people even wanted to make a reservation directly with Li Qin for tomorrow's tofu.
I originally thought that I could buy it myself when the villages under the jurisdiction of Ning'an Town went to the market, and people might be less fond of tofu, so I only arranged two people. Who would have thought that it would be sold out in less than two villages?
Li Qin felt that he should think carefully about the regional sales scope and how to maximize the regional utilization.
Because he had to pass by his home on his way back to town, Li Qin decided to go home first to put his things down, then meet up with his other brothers in town, and then explain today's business situation to Boss Shen.
When he got home, it was lunch time. Only his wife knew that Li Qin was not selling small items on the streets, but tofu. She looked at the water stains and tofu residues dripping from the basket.
Father Li, who didn't understand the situation, thought that Li Qin had accidentally fallen into the water and all the goods inside were lost.
He took a deep puff of his pipe, exhaled the smoke, and with drooping eyelids, he shook the pipe while saying earnestly: "Shuanzi, you should go with me and your brothers to carry sacks in the future. You can earn more than ten cents a day.
Not everyone can be a peddler. If you're doing this way today, I'm afraid you can't even pay back the copper coins you borrowed from your family. We farmers should focus on farm work."
The other brothers were also at a loss. They had originally wanted to see if their most eloquent younger brother could make a name for himself. They could also try this path and no longer have to dig for food in the fields.
Now it seems that they are not suitable for this path.
Looking at the family who had lost confidence in him, Li Qin ignored his original plan to tell his family after things stabilized and said,
"Mom and Dad, I'm actually no longer selling those sewing and snacks. I've signed a contract with the Shen's Tofu Shop in town, and today I've started selling tofu in other villages on their behalf. I've already earned 40 coins on the first day alone."
"What did you say?"
"40 wen!"
This is almost as much as the money that the four men in their family could earn by working together to carry goods at the dock. What's more, finding work at the dock is not stable, so now Li Qin is basically doing the work of four people.
If he did this every day, he could earn one or two taels of silver a month. Oh my goodness, the pipe in Li's father's hand slipped directly from his hand and fell to the ground, stirring up dust.
Seeing everyone's disbelieving eyes, Li Qin repeated his words again. This time, looking at the remaining tofu fragments in the basket, everyone finally believed Li Qin's words.
Father Li asked again, "They're selling well, why would they hand it over to you? Is there anyone willing to hand over such a profitable business?"
"Maybe Boss Shen is kindhearted? But everyone who wants to join must sign a contract. My penalty for breach of contract is 100 taels. No one should take such a risk."
100 taels, even if they sold their entire family, they probably couldn't even come up with that. Father Li looked at the high-spirited Li Qin and said sternly:
"Since Boss Shen trusts you so much, if you dare to play tricks behind your back, don't blame me for disregarding the father-son relationship. If you breach the contract, you should just leave the clan and don't bring trouble to our Li family's reputation."
Li Qin's two brothers, who were originally eager to join, now dare not ask if they can join as well. This is really terrible.
Seeing her husband's timid look, Wang was furious. Judging from the contract, as long as you do your job, you won't have to worry about not making money.
Wang pinched the flesh around her husband's waist fiercely, looked at her brother-in-law Li Qin with a smile, and asked, "Third brother, would it be okay if your second brother came with you? I hear you guys mean you don't have to worry about selling at all, so why not bring your family along?"
When the others heard this, they looked at him thoughtfully. Li Qin pondered for a few seconds and replied, "It's true that we haven't covered the entire county with manpower yet, but the tofu shop can't produce a lot of tofu in a day. I'll ask about this when I go back today."
Li Qin would never hesitate to bring his entire family on board Shen Jia, but he was not sure what Shen Jia was thinking. Seeing Shen Jia unable to open his eyes this morning, he knew that Shen's production was currently limited.
Hearing Li Qin's words, the eldest brother who hadn't said anything could not help but wink at Father Shen. Seeing his son's plea, Father Shen also put on an old face and said to Li Qin:
"If it doesn't affect you, bring your two brothers along. I, your father, am enough to keep the land here. Who knows, maybe we can renovate our house this year."
Looking at the dilapidated earthen house, Li Qin couldn't say no, so he agreed to Shen's father's request.
After dinner, Li Qin went to Li's house where his family was waiting. Along the way, he was thinking about how to tell Shen Jia about this matter.
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