The night before, Liu Tangxi said that the hawthorn seeds should be removed.

Although most of the ones on the market are not pitted, she has loved eating candied haws since she was a child and prefers the ones without the pits.

Since Liu Tangxi had a so-called secret recipe and Li and the others had never sold candied haws before, they all listened to her.

The next day, when Liu Tangxi got up, she found that Li had already removed the pits of the good-quality candied haws that she had picked out the day before.

Moreover, Li urged her a few times, "Third wife, are you up? Go and help your eldest sister-in-law cook. After the rice is ready, you can make candied haws. Hurry up and take it to the town to sell. If you go too late, I'm afraid there will be no one there."

Liu Tangxi reflected on himself.

She didn't think selling candied haws was a big deal, so she didn't care much about it. But for Li, it was a big deal, a very big deal.

When she thought of this, her hands moved faster.

After dinner, Liu Tangxi went to make candied haws.

All the previous tasks were done by Li, and she only took care of the last two steps, boiling the soup and dipping in sugar.

Liu Tangxi worked quickly and finished all the hawthorns prepared by Li in no time.

There are round ones and flat ones.

Seeing that the hawthorns were almost gone, Li looked at the shelf full of candied haws and couldn't help but say, "Third wife, isn't that too much?"

Liu Tangxi glanced at the not-so-full candied haws stand and said, "Not too many."

"Didn't we agree yesterday to only make thirty skewers?" asked Li.

The reason why she prepared so many hawthorns was actually because she was afraid that there would not be enough, and she also prepared more out of habit. But she didn't expect that her daughter-in-law had done it all.

Liu Tangxi did it because of his confidence.

So, after hearing what Li said, Liu Tangxi smiled and said, "I see that mother has prepared so much, there is no need to waste it, so I will use it."

Li frowned and seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

"Mom, don't worry, it will definitely be sold, believe me." Liu Tangxi promised.

Li had never sold candied haws before. He only brought a little apple with him when he went to the town to buy things.

This time there is really no bottom.

Listening to their conversation, Wei Lao San said, "Just do it, bring them over, and sell as many as you can."

Although Wei Lao San said this, he was actually a little nervous in his heart.

However, he also hopes to sell out all the candied haws.

After they were done, they covered the rack with a layer of cloth to prevent the candied haws from getting dirty on the way, and inserted a few longer bamboo sticks into the rack so that the cloth would not touch the candied haws and the candy would not fall off.

Everything was ready, and they went out with the candied haws.

Since it was their first time to sell the candied haws, and the rack and fifty strings of candied haws were quite heavy, Wei Lao San, Li, Zhang, and Liu Tangxi went to the town together.

In this way, there are more people and more confidence, and the four people can take turns.

Walking through the village, I met few people. Even if I did, when someone asked them what they were doing, they would say they were going to the town to sell some things.

Since they couldn't see what was under the cloth, the other party didn't know what they were doing.

At first, several people were talking and laughing.

However, as they approached the town, Wei Lao San and the others gradually became silent, and their faces became increasingly tense.

Liu Tangxi was quite calm, she just felt too tired.

Soon, she noticed the mood of the other three people, but she didn't say anything at the moment. After all, they would arrive in town soon, and then they would know whether they could sell it.

However, they didn’t expect that before they even reached the town, a little kid walking towards them spotted their candied haws stand with his sharp eyes.

"Hey, it's Tanghulu." After passing by, the child said while looking at the Tanghulu stand.

The child was short, and from his angle he could just see the candied haws covered under the cloth.

Hearing this, Wei Lao San, who was carrying the candied haws stand, stopped.

The child swallowed and stared at the candied haws.

Seeing that Li and the others were a little nervous, Liu Tangxi said with a smile, "Yes, it's Tanghulu."

After hearing this, the child's mother asked, "How do you sell this Tanghulu?"

Liu Tangxi quickly opened the cloth a little and said naturally, "One penny a string."

"Is it delicious? It doesn't look very big." The woman said after taking a look.

"If it doesn't taste good, I'll give it to you for free." Liu Tangxi said generously.

The man was just being picky out of habit, but when he heard what Liu Tangxi said and looked at her face, for some reason, he immediately believed her.

"Then give me a string," said the woman.

A penny a string is not expensive.

Liu Tangxi picked out a large bunch for her and said, "Here, this is for you."

The woman took the candied haws and handed it to her son.

The child immediately took the candied haws and started eating them.

When the woman took the money, she asked her son, "Is it delicious?"

"Well, it's delicious and sweet." The child nodded and said.

Hearing her son say this, the woman smiled and handed a penny to Liu Tangxi.

After giving her the money, the woman saw her son biting a new one, so she said hurriedly, "Why did you forget to spit out the pit again?"

The child looked confused, squinting his eyes, and said, "This one has no core."

The woman seemed a little unconvinced.

Liu Tangxi quickly explained: "Indeed, there is no seed. My children also like to eat Tanghulu and often forget to spit out the seeds, so we remove the seeds. My mother got up early in the morning to make these."

After hearing this, the woman looked at Li with admiration and said, "That's great. I'll buy your house again in the future."

Liu Tangxi smiled and said, "Okay, we can go to the town from now on. We will sell it in the town every day from now on."

"OK."

After the woman walked away with the child, Wei Laosan and others finally smiled.

Li seemed particularly excited, feeling that his early morning work was not in vain.

"A whole string was sold out so quickly." Zhang sighed.

Liu Tangxi smiled and said, "That's right. Our Tanghulu is delicious. Mom has cleaned the pits. It will be easier later. Don't worry."

After hearing this, Li's smile deepened.

After successfully selling a string, everyone felt much more relieved.

Soon, the group arrived at the town.

At this moment, the people who got up early to sell vegetables started to go back one after another.

The originally crowded stalls are now much quieter, with a few good spots left.

After paying the stall fee, Liu Tangxi and others started selling here.

Liu Tangxi wanted to sit aside and watch without saying anything, but the other three people were new here and were quite nervous, so no one spoke.

So, she had no choice but to imitate the tofu seller nearby and sell it.

"I'm selling sugar-coated haws. Delicious sugar-coated haws. One penny a bunch. The pits are removed. They're delicious and not expensive."

Liu Tangxi's sudden voice startled Li, but gradually, she also imitated her daughter-in-law and tried to shout a few times.

Tanghulu is a favorite food among children, so gradually, children started to come and buy Tanghulu.

No matter what the publicity is, in the final analysis, it is the product quality that matters.

The candied haws made by Liutangxi tasted great, and they had no seeds inside. They came in two varieties: round and flat. Gradually, more and more people gathered here to buy candied haws.

Wei Lao San held the rack, Li picked out the candied haws for people, Zhang collected the money, and Liu Tangxi was in charge of the talk.

After about an hour, all fifty strings of candied haws were sold out.

Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu wanted to take a look during their lunch break, but when they found the place, the Tanghulu had already been sold out.

"How come all thirty skewers are sold out so quickly?" Wei Erhu asked in surprise.

Li smiled and said, "It's not thirty, it's fifty."

Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu looked at each other, both showing expressions of shock.

After saying a few words, Wei Lao San told his son: "Okay, you guys go back and rest for a while, work hard, your mother and I will go back first."

He was in a good mood at the moment and was anxious to go back and settle the bills, so he didn't want to say anything more to his son for the time being.

Wei Daniu said, "Okay, Dad and Mom, go back and have a good rest. Otherwise, leave this shelf here, Erhu and I will take it with us when we go back."

Wei Lao San waved his hands and said with a smile: "This thing is not heavy. I am in good health. I don't need you."

Wei Daniu lifted his head to support the weight of the shelf and said, "That's fine. Then you can go back and have a good rest."

"Okay, let's go."

All fifty strings of candied haws were sold out, which suddenly made Wei Lao San feel more motivated and happy.

On the way back, Wei Lao San started chatting with Li.

Liu Tangxi looked at the expressions of Wei Laosan and Li, and when passing by a pork stall, he looked at the big bone on it and swallowed.

"Mom, how about we buy some big bones and make soup?"

She didn't know whether this big bone could supplement calcium, but what she did know was that she liked the taste of bone soup and she started drooling at the thought of it.

Large bones are not expensive and are usually sold together with other meat.

Li looked at the smooth big bone and saw that there was no meat on it. She frowned and said, "Why buy this? There is no meat on it."

The butcher was about to close his stall. When he saw someone taking a liking to his big bones, he immediately said enthusiastically, "Take them back, my lady. They are very delicious when used to make soup. I'll only charge you two cents for these three bones."

Anyway, there is no meat on this big bone, so it is sold together with the meat. If it can be sold, I can make some money for free.

When he heard the two cents, Liu Tangxi's eyes lit up.

This is too cheap.

"Mom, buy it. My daughter-in-law can make it. It's guaranteed to taste good." Liu Tangxi said.

Two cents is not expensive, and today's candied haws made a lot of money, all thanks to the daughter-in-law, so before Li opened her mouth, Wei Lao San spoke.

"Buy it, or else buy another two ounces of meat to give to the children as a snack."

They haven't seen any meat for some days.

When the butcher heard this, he immediately perked up.

However, the next moment, Liu Tangxi poured him a basin of cold water: "Dad, we just ate so much meat during the Chinese New Year, I guess the children don't want to eat it. Otherwise, buy some pork skin, which can also be considered a little meaty."

She had seen it and realized that the meat was what others had picked out and it wasn't very fresh. But she wasn't the type to criticize others, so she didn't point it out.

"Okay, just do whatever you think is appropriate." Wei Lao San said with a smile.

With only five cents, Liu Tangxi bought a lot of pig bones and pig skins. On the way back, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"These bones can be used to make soup for the children, and the pig skin can be used to make jelly. These things are delicious, inexpensive, and have a fishy smell."

She doesn't like eating meat that much, and she ate a lot during the Chinese New Year, so she doesn't want to eat it that much now.

However, thinking of the bone soup and jelly that she hadn't had for a long time, she felt like eating them.

Wei Lao San and Mrs. Li were very pleased to see that their daughter-in-law was so sensible and knew how to live.

Of course, thinking of their daughter-in-law's cooking skills, although the two of them were not very greedy, they were also full of anticipation for dinner.

After returning home, everyone ate a quick meal and then started to do the math.

I didn't spend any money on the hawthorns or the bamboo sticks, only the sugar and the stall fee.

After careful calculation, they earned twenty-five cents in half a day.

However, this was because the hawthorns were free of charge. Fifty strings of candied haws used about ten catties of hawthorns, and one catty of hawthorns cost one penny, so ten catties was ten pennies. Therefore, they made fifteen pennies.

I earn about one penny from eating three strings of candied haws.

The eldest and second sons were in their prime and could earn more than ten cents a day if they went to work. They could earn so much in just half a day, and the old couple were very happy.

After finishing the calculation, Wei Lao San did not rest and ran to the back mountain to cut bamboo.

Liu Tangxi walked for about an hour and was extremely tired. After eating, he went to sleep.

After waking up, he saw Wei Lao San cutting bamboo sticks and asked quickly, "Dad, why didn't you go to rest?"

Wei Lao San smiled and said, "I'm not tired. This little job is nothing."

He was happy to be able to make money. He didn't feel tired at all. Instead, he felt full of energy.

Looking over there, Li was also picking hawthorns, picking out all the bad and ugly ones.

Seeing that they were busy, Liu Tangxi went to the stove to process the big bones and meat skin.

After processing, put the big bones on the big stove and boil them, and chop the skin into small pieces, add water and seasonings and slowly boil them on the small stove.

Because it would take a long time to cook, Liu Tangxi put a few large pieces of firewood at the bottom of the pot and let it cook on its own.

After washing her hands, she took her embroidery work and sat aside, embroidering while looking at the bottom of the pot.

By dinner time, the bone soup was ready. Liu Tangxi put some coriander in it and added a few drops of sesame oil, which made the aroma of the bone soup even richer.

As soon as Bosheng entered the door, he ran to the kitchen. Seeing Liu Tangxi busy, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

After taking a deep breath, Bosheng asked, "Auntie, what delicious food did you make? It smells so good."

"Auntie has cooked a pot of bone soup. Go wash your hands and eat right away."

"Okay, okay." Bosheng ran to wash his hands excitedly.

Although the pork skin was cooked, it was still hot and not formed, so Liu Tangxi scooped it out and put it aside instead of serving it on the table.

Judging from the situation, I guess we can’t eat until tomorrow morning.

At dinner, everyone praised the bone soup made by Liu Tangxi.

Li said, "I never thought that this bone soup would taste so good. Normally, no one eats that."

Wei Lao San smiled and said, "Well, this stuff is cheap and tastes like meat. I'll buy more in the future to satisfy the children's cravings."

The bone soup was delicious. Not only the children but also the adults drank two bowls.

After dinner, Wei Lao San talked about going to the town to sell candied haws.

"I made 25 wen in total, because I didn't spend any money on the hawthorns. They were sent by your second uncle, and they are considered public property. Ten jin of hawthorns cost ten wen. So, I made 15 wen. So, the eldest and second brothers got two wen each, and the third brother got ten wen."

Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu quickly refused.

Wei Daniu said, "This is the secret recipe of my third brother's wife. The money earned belongs to my third brother."

Wei Erhu said, "We didn't help much, so we won't take the money. Just give the money to the third brother's family."

Liu Tangxi also refused.

She didn't come up with the idea of ​​making candied haws for the sake of making money. Besides, the money from selling candied haws was just a drop in the bucket for her. She didn't know what the situation would be like when she arrived in the capital.

Besides, she also saved the money for embroidery.

She just wants to improve her quality of life and eat more delicious food.

"I don't want the money anymore, please keep it for me, Dad and Mom."

It would have been fine if Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu didn't want it, but no one expected that Liu Tangxi would also say he didn't want it.

"Although I came up with the idea and I have the skills, I actually don't do much work. I just do some small jobs like boiling sugar and dipping sugar. Dad makes the bamboo sticks and mom handles the hawthorns. When we go to town, Dad, Mom and Sister-in-law usually take turns carrying the candied haws rack. I don't have the strength in my hands and I can't carry it for long. At most, I just run errands. I think there's not much use for me to go to town. Besides, there's a lot of work to do at home and we can't just leave it to Sister-in-law. In a few days, Dad and Mom will get the hang of it and I won't go. Dad and Mom have worked hard and you can keep the money. If you really think I've done a good job, buy more delicious food when you come back."

All the humble and polite words said before are nonsense. The last sentence is Liu Tangxi’s original intention.

Liu Tangxi's words made Wei Laosan and his wife feel very comfortable. However, they were all kind people and would not really not give her money.

After discussing for a long time, seeing that Wei Lao San and his wife were determined to let her take it, Liu Tangxi thought about it and said, in order to reassure them, "Then let's give me five cents. No matter how much or how little I sell, just give me five cents a day, and let my parents keep the rest of the money. How do you think?"

There was no end to the excuses, so Wei Lao San finally decided: "Okay."

The reason why Wei Lao San decided to do this was because he thought about the purpose of their current savings. They worked so hard to earn money, wasn't it for Lao San's education? The money was the same for them and for the third daughter-in-law.

Liu Tangxi only asked for five cents, and Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu naturally did not ask for any money.

Early the next morning, Liu Tangxi ate jelly.

Having drunk bone soup the day before and eating jelly today, she felt that the good days were back.

After dinner, just like yesterday, Liu Tangxi and Zhang went to the town together.

After about two or three days, Liu Tangxi and Zhang did not go with them, and Wei Laosan and his wife went instead.

Every now and then, Mr. and Mrs. Wei would buy some bones, pork skin, or ribs and meat from the town.

Looking at the four dishes placed back on the table, Liu Tangxi felt extremely relieved.

I kept sighing in my heart, this is what life is!

There was a market in the town that day, and Wei Laosan and his wife sold out all their candied haws in less than half an hour. Seeing the disappointed customers who didn't buy any left, Wei Laosan felt a little regretful.

When he came back that day, he got more bamboo sticks and planned to bring more tomorrow.

But carrying more weight would increase the distance. It would take an hour to go to the town and back. Liu Tangxi was really worried that these two people would not be able to handle it.

However, Wei Daniu came up with an idea and asked Wei Laosan and his wife to take a mule in the village to go to the town to sell vegetables.

This is convenient, but the mooring car requires payment, one cent per person.

Wei Lao San refused at first.

But later, Liu Tangxi said, "Dad, although you and mom spent two cents, you don't have to carry the candied haws rack on the bus, but you can make more skewers. Three skewers can earn one cent, so why not make six more skewers?"

Wei Daniu and others responded to Liu Tangxi's words.

Wei Lao San thought about it and agreed.

However, they just go there by car and come back carrying the candied haws rack.

With a car, you can carry more things.

Wei Laosan and his wife went out to sell more candied haws every day. On the harvest day, they each carried a rack, with fifty strings on each.

Wei Daniu and Wei Erhu were afraid of tiring their parents, so they took on the job of carrying the shelves.

Therefore, Mr. Wei and his wife would ride in their mule to the town every day, sell their goods, leave the shelves to their son, and then walk back.

After coming back, I took a short break at noon and started making bamboo sticks again.

Liu Tangxi's life finally returned to normal, and he seemed to be eating better than before, which made him very happy.

Wei Lao San and Li were busy selling candied haws and counting money every day, with smiles on their faces all day long.

When Wei Hanzhou returned home from the county town, the first words he received were from his biological mother, Mrs. Li, who had always cared about him very much.

"Hey, why are you back today?"

If this sentence came from his wife's mouth, Wei Hanzhou would not be surprised, but when it came from his mother's mouth, he felt something was wrong. However, although he had doubts in his heart, Wei Hanzhou still said calmly: "Well, the teacher is on vacation, and my son can come back in three days."

Li seemed to have heard, but also seemed not to have heard what her son said, and replied hastily: "Oh, is that so? I'm busy right now, you go back to the house first, and let your wife cook for you later."

After saying that, Li went out.

Watching his mother's back quickly disappearing at the door, Wei Hanzhou frowned.

Is his mother too unenthusiastic towards him?

Could it be that something big happened at home that he didn't know about?

Could it be that Dad...

That's not right. My mother's face seemed brighter than when he left. From her back, she seemed to have gained some weight.

Just as he was in a daze, a gentle voice sounded: "Oh, husband, it's you. How come you came back so soon?"

She remembered that Wei Hanzhou had written a letter before, saying that he was busy with studies recently and had no time to come back. How come he came back not long after receiving the letter?

Wei Hanzhou was rejected by two women in succession. His face was not very good and his tone was a little stiff: "Your husband has been away from home for more than two months. Come home to visit."

"Oh, it's been so long. I thought you just left not long ago."

Wei Hanzhou: ...

The author has something to say: Wei Hanzhou: I am so angry! I am so angry that I can’t speak.

Liu Tangxi: Then don’t say anything╮(╯▽╰)╭,,