Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Selling Honey
The morning dew was heavy, so Kang He got up early and went to the fields to pick some vegetables. Spring was coming quickly, the cold rains were gone, the sun came one after another, and the weather was getting hotter day by day.
When I returned to the yard, the two maids had just let out the chickens and ducks.
There are now eight ducks and six chickens in the house, clucking and quacking noisily around the food bowl that has just been filled with rice bran.
The little rabbits in the rabbit shed have grown up. They are no longer fed with milk and are happily eating vegetable leaves.
It's so furry that people can't help but want to touch it. It's just that there are too many rabbits, and they poop and pee. Even though the two girls clean up diligently, there is still some smell on them, so no one likes to hold it and play with it.
Kang He rinsed the vegetable leaves, took them into the kitchen, chopped them up and added them to the porridge. He would have porridge and pancakes for breakfast this morning.
In addition, Chen opened the jar and took out five salted ducks, cooked them, cut them in half, and put them on a plate.
Kang He looked at the freshly salted duck and cut it open with the shell. The golden oil flowed out along the blade, which was very tempting.
He took half of it to taste. This salted duck was not only rich in fat but also had a pleasant saltiness.
"Sanlang, does this taste okay?"
Kang He nodded. The salted duck had a crunchy egg yolk that melted in his mouth, leaving a mellow fragrance that went perfectly with the porridge. "Mr. Shen's cooking is truly excellent! Mother, you really know how to use people well."
Chen was delighted by Kang He's words, "Mr. Shen's cooking skills are so good that even those who don't like salted duck will praise it, and those who like it will love it even more!"
The next day, Kang He and Chen Sanfang packed up twenty pounds of konjac tofu, thirty salted ducks, and six jars of honey, weighing about five pounds in total.
After returning to the village, Kanghe went to the pottery kiln in the next village and bought some jars of different sizes. After washing and drying them, he packed the honey into them.
The larger jar can hold a full pound, then there are those that can hold half a pound, and the smallest is two ounces.
The two maids Zhen'er and Qiao'er had to collect fodder for the livestock and poultry at home. Chunyue had endless work to do in the fields every day, so Fan Jing followed his father Fan to the fields. Only Kanghe and Chen went to the county to do business.
"Master Zhao, wait a minute."
When the two men arrived at the official road at the entrance of the village, they happened to see an ox cart parked on the side of the road.
Chen happily took out four copper coins from her pocket and said to Kang He, who was carrying a heavy load on his back, "Let's take a carriage into the city."
Kang He agreed.
"We are my uncle and my son-in-law."
Chen gave the copper coin to Master Zhao who was checking the wheels, and Kanghe put the backpack on the cart.
The chef surnamed Zhao took one look at the basket and said, "You have to pay more for carrying so many things."
"A little konjac and tofu, and a dozen pairs of salted ducks. Let's go to the city and see if we can exchange them for some money for candles."
As Chen said this, she took out another copper coin and gave it to the master surnamed Zhao.
She couldn't help but grumble in her heart, and said that she wanted to see if the villagers could escape with a copper coin, because riding in an ox cart cost two copper coins per person, and if they brought heavy objects, they would have to pay an extra copper coin. Unexpectedly, Zhao Laosi was really unkind and refused to spare them the money.
Who would have thought that not only would the person not be willing to spare even a penny, but he would also complain that it was too little.
"Your backpack is so big, it takes up too much space, and it's also heavy. I'll have to pull people along in front of me later. If you two want to take the things with you, give me seven cents."
"Seven coins!"
Chen's eyes widened. "You're really too mean! You only add one cent for a person and something else, and only add two if it's too heavy. And now you're asking for three cents! There are so many ox carts out there, and you can't even get that price!"
"Let's not even mention how heavy and how much space this thing takes up. Madam Chen's family is so wealthy, owning land and doing business, why are you so stingy that you won't even give us poor folks an extra penny to help us?"
The man surnamed Zhao said, "If you think it's too expensive, you can sit in someone else's seat."
"Pah, it seems like you, Zhao Laosi, have an ox cart!"
Chen Sanfang was immediately enraged by his words and was no longer polite: "If you are so poor that you can't even afford to eat, then don't do this job. It's better to pick up a broken pot and go to the city gate to beg for copper coins than to be looked down upon by people here. We would rather walk to the city than take your car!"
After saying that, Chen took the backpack down.
Kang He didn't listen to what Chen Si said, so he put the backpack back on. He saw that this man clearly didn't want to pull them, so he tried to find something to say.
Zhao Laosi snorted coldly: "It's up to you to sit or not. If you don't sit, I'll be fine."
"My car is light, so I don't worry about others taking up space. Madam Chen, Brother Kang, get in the car."
Just as General Zhao Laosi finished speaking, he heard the sound of wheel from behind. Turning around, he saw Xu Yang driving an ox cart.
Seeing this, Chen Sanfang walked over happily.
"Dayang, are you going to the city too?"
"Hey. I'm going to the city to buy a few pounds of spring seeds."
After saying that, Xu Yang stopped the ox cart and jumped off to help Kang He move things.
Kang He had no choice but to ask him for help, and even got himself onto the cart.
Then Chen got on the ox cart, and Kang He sat in the front watching Xu Yang drive the oxen.
Passing by Zhao Laosi, Chen gave him a fierce look.
"Although Fourth Uncle Zhao was a bit rude in the past, he didn't ask for exorbitant prices. What's wrong with him now? Is he really in trouble at home?"
After the car drove a hundred meters away, Xu Yang said with a smile.
Chen Sanfang said, "Your Fourth Uncle Zhao has made a lot of money driving a cart these years. He has a green-tiled house with eight rooms. There's nothing wrong with his home.
He's a relative of our village chief, and our family doesn't get along with him. It seems he's helping the village chief to make us angry."
Xu Yang knew that the Fan family and Chen Yushun had a feud. Not to mention the previous incident with Sun Dasheng, he didn't know about it because he was not in the village.
On the day of the land measurement, Kang He said something that others might not have noticed was wrong, but as someone who had been outside, he could find it interesting.
Later, he went to inquire about it and found out what was going on between the Fan family and Chen Yushun. He felt that day that Kang He was a man with something special in his heart.
Originally, the second branch of the Fan family was very poor. He had been in contact with Fan Xin since he was a child, and he knew the second branch of the Fan family better than any other family in the village.
Not long after Kang He came to visit, the family bought a donkey and some land. Seeing that their life was getting prosperous, he didn't believe that Kang He hadn't been behind this.
With a person like this, the Fan family may have a bright future.
Xu Yang was determined to make plans in the village, which required connections. It would be difficult to accomplish anything alone, whether outside or in the township.
He took a fancy to Kang He and wanted to win him over, but he was too busy to find an opportunity.
Hearing what Chen said, he took advantage of the situation and said jokingly, "Then when the time comes for a change of township head, I'll run for election. If Uncle Fan votes for me, I won't let Madam Chen get upset. Madam Chen, what do you think?"
Chen Sanfang didn't think much of Xu Yang's words, thinking they were just some young man trying to comfort her. She smiled and said, "You're the only one with a sweet mouth. You've been able to talk since you were little. If you could become the village chief, I'd be so lucky!"
Xu Yang said nothing, and turned to look at Kang He: "Where is the third brother Kang? Are you voting for me or not?"
Kang He's eyebrows twitched slightly. He saw some seriousness in Xu Yang's eyes beyond the joking, and was surprised that this man actually looked up to him so much.
He smiled, but didn't say anything, only saying, "Can people who come to my house also vote?"
"Second Uncle Fan and Madam Chen love the three Kang brothers so much. They say Second Uncle Fan is supporting them, but in reality, it all depends on your opinion."
Chen Sanfang didn't realize the two were playing dumb and said, "Dayang, you're right. We're going to teach Sanlang how to run our family."
Kang He laughed: "I always listen to Da Jing."
Xu Yang said, "That's fine. Dajing and I have been friends since we were kids."
After chatting and laughing for a while, they arrived at the county.
Chen Sanfang wanted to give Xu Yang the money for the bus fare, but he refused to take it. He had some money on him, which he wanted to pay for Kang and the honey, but he was silent for a moment and still didn't take it out, planning to pay it back next time he went to Fan's house.
"Dayang is such a kind-hearted man. His own family is so well off, yet he never looks down on us because we are poor."
Seeing the ox cart driving away, Chen Sanfang put the copper coins back into his pocket and whispered a few words to Kanghe.
After saying this, he thought of Zhao Laosi's face and said angrily, "From now on, I will walk to the city or go back to the village instead of riding Zhao Laosi's ox cart."
Kang He said, "When our donkey grows up, we can make a cart for it. Then we won't have to ask anyone for help when we go in and out of the city."
Speaking of this, Chen Sanfang felt hopeful again. She said, "I'll tell your father when we get home that when the time comes to hitch a cart, I'll tell him to find Carpenter Wang, who drinks with me, to do it, so he can save some money.
He's been making a lot of money selling fat lately. You two didn't realize it when you went up the mountain, but now that he has money, he's been spending it lavishly on alcohol and is feeling pretty proud."
Kanghe smiled and said okay.
As they talked, they set up their stall.
Chen was already very familiar with it and started shouting at the top of her voice.
Kang He also shouted, and the two of them took turns shouting, which made their throats feel better.
"I haven't seen you for a while."
A regular customer heard the shouting, came over with a basket and chatted with Chen.
"I'm busy working in the fields during the spring months, so I don't have time to come every day. Madam Xiao, would you like to come and make some radish tofu to stew back home?"
The lady surnamed Xiao opened the basket and showed it to Chen, who saw a cube of black tofu inside.
"My daughter-in-law wanted this, so I went to He's Tofu Shop and bought a square."
"My daughter-in-law must be six months old."
When Chen Sanfang heard that people didn't buy, he didn't get angry, but just chatted with them warmly.
"You have a really good memory. My daughter-in-law's belly is getting bigger and bigger. The doctor said it looks like a baby!"
"Who has such good fortune as you? Just wait and teach your grandchildren to respect you!"
That Madam Xiao was cheerful.
I hadn't planned to buy anything else, but when I saw some jars and ducks besides the konjac tofu half-covered with a clean gauze, I asked what they were.
"At home, we have salted duck, and outside, my brother and son-in-law collect honey from the mountains."
Seeing this, Kang He quickly took out the honey and opened the lid to show the woman.
"Oh, it really is a floral scent, it smells sweet."
Kang He took a finger-long bamboo stick, dipped it in honey and taught the woman to taste it: "Madam, try it."
"How can I taste such a precious thing?"
"If it were someone else, I wouldn't easily let her taste it. But she's a regular customer of my mother's, so how could I not let her taste it? Even if she doesn't buy anything, she'll just try it for fun."
Only after Kanghe said this did the lady taste it.
After eating it, my whole mouth feels sweet.
She said, "It tastes really good. It feels much more fragrant and mellow than the ones in that shop."
Chen said, "This is genuine, genuine stuff. How can it be bad?"
Madam Xiao nodded. Some shops just liked to adulterate their products to deceive customers. The other day, when she went out for a drink, she heard Mr. Zou say that he had bought honey several times but never got a good one.
Still lost in thought, she said to Chen, "The third big shop by the bridge ahead is the one that sells lamp oil and candles. The owner, surnamed Zou, loves honey. If you're not bothered, you could ask him about it. He might not like the honey.
Madam Xiao felt that her uncle and son-in-law were easy to get along with. Although she was reluctant to spend money to buy the expensive honey, she was happy to spend a few more words to introduce business to them.
Kang He and Chen thanked her with a smile, then gave her two salted ducks to try, and they left happily.
Kang He saw that the sun was getting bigger and bigger, shining brightly on the stone streets, so he said, "Mom, I'll go ask. You stay here and watch over the stall."
Chen agreed.
Kang He held a honey pot and went to the place where Mrs. Xiao pointed out.
The light of the lamp oil and candles was so bright that it filled up the space of two floors of the small building. It was Kang He's first time there.
When he arrived at the door, he saw two or three waiters inside, but he didn't see the boss that Madam Xiao had mentioned.
If you rashly go in without buying anything and instead look for the boss to sell you things, you will probably be kicked out by the waiters.
Another thing is that it makes people wonder how he knew that the boss liked this kind of thing. He couldn't reveal the identity of Miss Xiao who was kind enough to do business with him.
So Kang He walked along the street, shouting loudly from a long distance away from the shop. When he passed the shop, he stopped for a while and shouted even louder, and then continued shouting forward.
It worked. After walking a few steps, the candle shop owner opened the window on the second floor and said, "Little peddler, bring me your honey."
Seeing this, Kang He went into the shop.
"What kind of honey is this?"
The man surnamed Zou was dressed in rich attire, wearing silk and three rings of different designs on his round fingers.
He sniffed the honey pot, seemed satisfied with the smell, and asked Kang He.
"My husband has multi-flower honey in his hand. I also have locust flower honey, but I didn't bring it over."
"Let me taste your honey to see if it's authentic."
Kang He took out the bamboo sticks, but the boss refused to use them, as if he thought it was shabby, and asked the waiter to get a small spoon.
The spoon had a long handle and the spoon was no bigger than a finger. It was made of silver and was very fine.
A small spoonful goes into the mouth, it is sweet and slightly sour, and there is a choking feeling when swallowing.
An experienced connoisseur can tell the authenticity of honey after just one taste: "Your honey is really good. How much is it?"
Kang He didn't bid. It was hard to be cunning with such a businessman. He said, "Three hundred yuan a can. It weighs one jin."
When Mr. Zou heard the price, he felt it was cheap, but who would mind spending a small amount of money to buy a good thing?
He then asked, "Is this the only jar? I heard there's also locust flower honey. How much honey do you have?"
Kang He said, "There are five kilograms of honey on the stall. I still have some at home."
"Give me everything on your stall."
Mr. Zou was generous, thinking that he could eat the five pounds himself and make some snacks. The honey was good, so he would go back and buy a loud porcelain jar to seal it and give it to others, which would also be decent.
He then asked Kang He, "Is your family's food also this good?"
"The honey is filtered and divided into jars, so that the taste of the jar to which my husband tastes is the same as that of the other jars."
Kang He said, "I see that my husband is a straightforward person. So, if you like my honey, how about sending a whole jar of it to my husband to taste?"
Seeing this, Zou Fulang said, "That's pretty solid."
So he took out three hundred coins and gave them to Kang He, leaving the jar of honey. Kang He went to get the remaining four pounds and received the remaining two hundred coins.
The two parties agreed that Kanghe would deliver the remaining eight kilograms of honey to his shop tomorrow, and they would settle the remaining payment then.
When Chen Sanfang returned to the stall with the silver in his pocket, he realized that not only had the customer bought all the five pounds of honey, but he had also taken away all the honey from his family. He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling:
"It's true that one mouth is followed by another. From now on, I have to make sure that the people who come to our stall are more polite. Maybe they will bring us some big customers."
Kang He smiled and said, "Just be yourself, mother. Be tough when you need to be tough, and be gentle when you need to be gentle. If you're too gentle, you'll be easily bullied, and if you're too tough, people won't want to bother you."
"That's true! Then I'll stick to the old way."
While they were talking, someone came up and asked about salted duck. Chen said it was three coins a piece, with sand and oil, and was very good.
The man just asked and left.
More than an hour had passed, the sun was rising higher and higher, and four squares of konjac tofu and three pairs of salted duck had been sold.
The hotter the weather gets, the harder it seems to sell konjac tofu. On the contrary, it sells better in winter.
Kang He thought, people buy konjac and tofu, mostly to stew meat or duck, but this konjac and tofu is hot and warms the heart, and it is warm to eat in winter, so people love it.
When the weather gets hotter, people tend to prefer lighter dishes, so stews are less often on the table than in the cold winter.
It is normal that it does not sell as well as in cold weather.
But if you look at it according to the season, salted duck should be a good seller.
However, when he came back from the bridge, he saw that there were many stalls selling salted duck along the way, much more than those selling konjac.
As a result, even if many people want to buy salted duck, the amount that can be distributed to their stall will be even smaller.
Kang He was silent for a moment, picked up four salted ducks and took them to a noodle stall at the end. He gave the stall owner two coins and asked the stall owner to cook the salted ducks for him.
Chen thought Kanghe was hungry because of shouting and wanted to eat some salted duck to fill his stomach first.
When the servants returned with the salt duck, she said, "Why are you so frugal? You're using a few copper coins to buy two steamed buns and some noodles. It's not as good as this salt duck. It's hot out, and eating too much salt will make you thirsty."
Kang He cut the four salted ducks into as small pieces as possible and placed them on a plate.
Seeing this, Chen realized that he was not going to eat it himself, but was going to give it to others to taste. She couldn't help but say with pity: "Oh, if you teach others to eat it like this, how many more can we sell?"
She couldn't bear to cook one for each person at home, so she felt bad if she just cut a few out and gave them to people for free.
What Kang He had given to Madam Xiao was not so bad, after all, he had introduced a big business deal to them.
Kang He said patiently, "Our products are better than others, so people should know about it. Otherwise, why would they be willing to buy from us? There are many people selling salted duck on this street, and we have never sold it before. If we don't give up this little bit, it will be difficult to start this business in the future."
Chen was reluctant to give it up, but the salted duck didn't sell well no matter how hard she tried, so she followed Kang He's lead.
After cutting the salted duck, the two men held the plates and called for people to come and taste it.
There's no need to say anything nice about the free food; people will come around and eat it.
In just a few seconds, there were only two salted eggs left on the plate.
Kang He insisted on introducing: "Our homemade salted duck is so juicy, anyone who is used to it will recognize us!"
After a while, the salted duck was finished and five pairs were sold.
Kang He cooked it again. He used up ten salt ducks for the tasting, making a total of thirty ducks. In addition to the two he gave as gifts, he sold eighteen ducks today, and made only fifty-four cents.
The konjac tofu hasn't been sold out yet, and there are about ten pounds left.
Chen Sanfang felt sorry for the ten salted ducks from the bottom of his heart. Farmers want to make the best use of every penny.
Although business today is not very smooth, fortunately the honey is selling well, which makes me feel a little comforted.
She also stopped harping on about the salted duck, which made people feel annoyed.
When they got home, both of them were sweating as they walked back.
Fan Jing was washing his muddy feet in the yard. He had been working for most of the day and was so hot that his trouser legs were rolled up high.
Seeing that he had finally returned, Qiao'er said happily, "Mom and my husband have been in the city for such a long time, and my big brother has come back to visit several times, and he hasn't even had two bites of lunch."
Kang He put down the backpack and said with a smile, "Is this true?"
"My brother-in-law didn't believe me, so he asked my eldest brother. He only ate one bowl of rice. He usually ate two or three bowls. My second sister wanted to give him more, but he refused to eat."
Chen also laughed when she heard this: "You little girl, you're exposing your big brother's shortcomings. It would be strange if he doesn't pull your braids."
Kang He walked towards Fan Jing, scooped a handful of water and poured it on his face, which immediately cooled him down a bit.
He looked at Fan Jing, who acted as if he didn't hear the teasing, and was still carefully washing the mud off his feet, flicking some water droplets over with his fingers.
Fan Jing's eyebrows moved slightly, he raised his hand to wipe the water droplets on his mouth, which still tasted salty, and then he kicked Kang He.
Kang He poured some more water over, and Fan Jing grabbed the man and pressed his fingers.
“It hurts, it hurts!”
Kang He begged for mercy: "I won't make water anymore."
Only then did Fan Jing let go.
Kang He rubbed his fingers and saw that the man looked indifferent. He said, "It seems that Qiao'er was lying. If she only ate a bowl of rice at noon, how could she have so much strength?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Jing glanced at Kang He's fingers. Seeing that there was nothing wrong at all, he didn't use any strength. It was a pity that the other person was screaming so loudly.
Kang He smiled and went to get a pair of clean straw sandals for Fan Jing to wear.
Fan Jing stuffed his wet feet in and asked, "Is it hard to sell?"
"Not bad. Sold all your honey. I sold half of the salted duck and gave it away. The konjac and tofu were not sold out."
Fan Jing didn't think it was bad and nodded.
The two of them went into the house together.
The konjac tofu had not been sold out, and Chen didn't dare to keep it for too long, so she sent two squares to the first wife's house and two squares to Mr. Shen.
When she went to the other end of the main room, Zhang Jingui was still lying on the couch. She usually loved to go out and chat, but now she didn't like to go out more than twice in three days.
She looked listless as if she had lost her temper. She still couldn't accept the fact that Fan Xin didn't choose to take the imperial examination.
People who used to love showing off can no longer do so now. They are afraid that others will ask about their family affairs, so they simply stay at home.
Chen Sanfang went to the bedside and comforted her, telling her not to be so depressed.
Zhang Jingui took her hand and wiped her tears, saying that she was so kind and was willing to come to see her and talk to her.
In the evening, Kanghe cooked and made konjac and tofu for his family.
The food was fried in oil and the whole family enjoyed it very much despite being tired today, except Fan Jing who didn't eat much.
Kang He picked up some food for him and he ate it. After finishing a bowl, he left the table.
Everyone in the family was a little surprised and didn't know what was wrong with him.
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