Zhou Laocai had eaten the ice jelly sold at Yan's shop, and he specially asked the pastry chef in the shop, who never went out, to buy some.
Compared to the other, Yan's Shop may taste better, but what if it were cheaper?
Zhou Laocai looked smug.
He planned to put half of the money from selling ice jelly into the shop to fill the gap in the accounts, and then put the rest into his own pocket.
In two years at most, he will be able to open his own shop.
If we poach the pastry chef, my cousin won't be able to manage his shop at all.
"Not bad, not bad, well done. That Yan family's daughter is beautiful, even more so than my daughter-in-law, and you actually managed to win her over. Did you steal her chastity?"
Zheng Yangliu told a lie.
He didn't mention that he bought the ice jelly from an old woman.
Instead, he said that the jar of ice jelly was stolen from him by Guihua.
I told him I'd get him more after he finished using it.
That way, the next time Brother Zhou asks him for ice jelly, he can charge him again. Isn't that a sustainable business? He won't have to worry about money in the future.
Zheng Yangliu thought he was incredibly clever.
“Of course it was taken away.”
The three men exchanged a glance and gave each other a lewd smile.
However, Zheng Yangliu's smile betrayed her guilt.
"This jar can sell at least five hundred cups. Here's what we'll do: once it's sold out, you can bring another jar, and from now on, each jar will be worth three taels of silver. How about that?"
Zhou Laocai planned to sell each cup for two strings of cash.
It's more than half the price of Yan's Pastry Shop.
It only costs three taels of silver; you can earn it back by selling 15 cups.
Zheng Yangliu immediately agreed.
You can buy a jar of ice jelly for less than two strings of cash, and then resell it for three taels of silver.
Oh my god.
His family's tofu shop only earns this much money in half a year.
Both sides felt they had made a huge profit.
Take the four and a half taels of silver that Manager Zhou gave me.
Zheng Yangliu immediately headed to a brothel to begin his decadent nightlife.
I spent three days preparing the weekly journal entry.
On the morning of the fourth day, a string of firecrackers was set off.
"Crackling and popping—"
"Today, Zhouji Crispy Shop is officially launching a new product: Bingfen (iced jelly)! It's only two strings of cash a cup. Everyone is welcome to buy! If you don't buy, that's okay too. There are samples in the shop for you to try."
They copied Yan Xia's marketing tactics from beginning to end.
Many of the customers of Yan's shop rushed into Zhou's shop.
Of course, a small number of customers also bought peach shortbread and flower cakes as usual.
There are no such entries in the weekly journal.
There's no need to join in the fun.
Time slowly approached noon.
This is the hottest time of day.
Even though it's already autumn, the sun is still scorching.
The people coming and going all had sweat on their faces.
"Mom, we've only sold half of the ice jelly at the shop today. Usually, it would be sold out by now."
"It's alright, there's still the afternoon. If we don't sell them all, we'll eat them ourselves."
Yan Xia remained unusually calm, while Jin Fu and Gui Hua, unaware of the situation, looked on with worry.
Just as they guessed.
It's already afternoon and there's still a little bit of ice jelly left.
"Let's take the ice jelly home. We'll have this for dinner. I don't know if it's going to rain today. It's so stuffy. Look at Mom, she's all sweaty. We'll make some cold noodles tonight to cool her down."
"Yes, Mother."
"Alright, go pack up. The weather looks bad, let's hurry back."
Around 2 p.m., the mother and her two children boarded Zhao Dali's oxcart and left the city.
Logically speaking, Yan Xia already had enough silver to buy an oxcart.
But now it is harvest season, and families who planted early rice have already started harvesting it. No one would sell cattle during the planting and harvesting season.
So I haven't met the right one yet.
Even if you do encounter one, it will be an old, toothless cow or a seriously ill cow.
After buying them, let alone being able to pull an oxcart, it would be difficult for them to even survive.
They quickly returned to the village before the rain started.
Shortly after I got home, a light drizzle began to fall, which then gradually intensified.
Until it turned into a torrential downpour.
It was so big it looked like a basin had been poured down from the sky.
The family sat warmly in the main room, eating cold noodles and shaved ice, chatting and laughing about the latest gossip in the village.
I'm incredibly happy.
The new house didn't leak a single drop of rain, and it was already dark.
They then washed up and went to bed.
However, at this time, Shuangqiao Town...
Countless households kept their candles burning all night.
The firelight moved from inside the house to the outhouse, and then back inside the house.
The fire went on and on all night without going out.
It's unclear how many candles burned out.
"Ouch, my stomach hurts so much! I can't take it anymore! Quick, get a doctor for me..."
"Child, what did you eat today? We all ate dinner, and everyone at home is fine. Did you eat something unclean outside?"
"No, I only bought two cups of ice jelly from Zhouji this morning and didn't eat anything else."
"That's the jelly that's causing the problem, child. Just bear with it. Your father has already gone out to fetch a doctor."
"Oh no, I need to go to the toilet again! Mom, help me up, ugh—"
Before the young man could finish speaking, he leaned over the bed and vomited all over the floor. The yellow and white contents were mixed together and smelled foul.
"puff--"
Then came another loud fart, and the man's face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.
"Mother, go get me some clean clothes. I don't need to go to the outhouse; I need to wash up."
Good grief, he's tugging in his pants pocket.
But what mother would dislike her child? The man's mother, with a look of heartache, took his clothes, helped him to the water bucket, and, worried that her son would catch a cold, boiled a kettle of water before closing the door and leaving.
This happens in many households.
They all share common characteristics: vomiting, diarrhea, stomach aches, and various loud, uncontrollable farts.
I couldn't fall asleep until morning, my stomach was empty from vomiting and I had a bowel movement.
Their family carried them to the entrance of Zhou's shop.
They made a huge scene.
"It seems everyone got sick from eating the ice jelly from this week's diary. Look at my son, he was tormented all night. My precious son just passed the preliminary examination. If this leaves him with a chronic illness, I will not forgive this shop!"
"Where are the people inside? Come out here! We demand an explanation!"
"Bang bang—"
The weekly journal hasn't opened yet.
These people banged on the shop door loudly, disturbing the nearby residents who came out to make noise.
"What's going on? Why is it making such a commotion so early in the morning?"
"It's all because of this week's diary selling toxic ice jelly. My whole family of four was vomiting and had diarrhea, and we didn't sleep all night. The medicine prescribed by the doctor didn't work at all. We came here to demand an explanation as soon as it was light!"
"Oh dear, is this toxic ice jelly? My whole family of eight shared a cup yesterday, no wonder we all have upset stomachs. Luckily we didn't eat much, thank goodness!"
"Get out here, Zhou Laocai! If you don't come out, I'll call the authorities right now!"
"I'm going to the government office. My family knows some of the officials. Damn it, he made me suffer all night. If I don't throw him in jail, I'm not Xu Dadao!"
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