Chapter 55
55
Yuan Bao stood at the back, extremely anxious, "Cousin, you have already told me that you must not chase me away just because of a few words from them."
Cheng Yeran was quite surprised. He thought Yuanbao was a humble person who didn't fight for anything, but he didn't expect that he would actually fight for it. Yes, he needed such a person.
"I'm sorry, everyone. My business has to rely on our own family members. After all, we have to deal with a lot of recipes." Cheng Yeran asked them to leave. "My husband's brother will come to help in the future. We don't need so many people for the time being."
He has said so much, and his meaning is very clear. He is afraid that outsiders will steal his recipe. Although the villagers who want to work are angry, they cannot confront him.
Many families' fields have been damaged recently. In order to have a good New Year, they can only choose to buy dried tofu from Cheng Yeran and sell it in various villages or counties.
Although the round trip journey is long, the money earned is not bad. Many people set out before dawn and take a bus or walk for several hours to the county. The goods are sold very quickly. Cheng Yeran buys for one cent and sells for three cents. He can earn dozens of cents a day, and more than a hundred cents if he is lucky.
If Cheng Yeran hadn't limited the amount every day, they could have made even more money.
Some villagers have little land at home and can't make much money from farming. They earn more from selling dried tofu. Cheng Yeran has become their God of Wealth, so naturally they have to curry favor with him. Even if they are unhappy, they can't show it.
…
After everyone left, Cheng Yeran led the donkey to Shen Yuntang's side, "How about it? The donkeys dad picked are so handsome. I don't want to let it work."
Shen Yuntang glanced at him speechlessly, raised his hand and touched the donkey, which was quite docile: "I don't want to let it work, why don't you do it for it?"
Cheng Yeran was quite amused by his criticism, "Yes, that's how you criticize people. Practice more with me at home, and you won't be afraid of others when you go out."
Shen Yuntang is still worried about the bellyband he wore last night. He shouldn’t have worn it! If he could go back in time, he would definitely not wear it, and beat up Cheng Yeran at the same time. The embroidery made a certain spot on his body red and itchy. Now Cheng Yeran was still buzzing beside him, and he became even more annoyed: "Don't bother me here, I have to make lunch."
"I'll help you pick the vegetables." Cheng Yeran glanced at the Yuanbao in the yard, "You should go home for dinner too. Come back after noon. Don't come too early. I want to take a nap."
He is busiest in the morning. He is woken up by villagers knocking on his door before dawn. He first sells a large batch of dried tofu. As the number of people gradually decreases at noon, he closes the door to eat. He opens the door again around 2 p.m. to receive people from other villages or counties who come to deliver goods.
They can sell thousands of pieces of dried tofu every day, and earn three to four thousand coins from both large and small pieces, not to mention the regular purchases from the county's dried tofu shop.
They earn at least fifteen taels of silver every month, which is an astronomical figure in the village.
While picking vegetables, Cheng Yeran discussed with Shen Yuntang to tear down all the houses and rebuild them in a more grand way, into a two- or three-story villa, and then lay wooden floors or lawns in the yard, leaving a gravel path. The backyard can still be used to grow vegetables, raise poultry and pigs.
Shen Yuntang had seen two-story buildings in the county before. "It's not a matter of money. The villagers all live in bungalows. If you build a two-story building, it will cause dissatisfaction among the villagers."
"Why would they be dissatisfied? We are building a house in our own yard, why should they be dissatisfied? We are not occupying their land, or there is a village regulation that prohibits building a second floor?" Cheng Yeran remembered that in the future he would not be able to tear down and rebuild his house at will, nor could he build a second floor or expand the area at will.
"There is no regulation that prohibits building a house, but if you build it too high, the neighbors will have opinions. They think you are suppressing them and affecting their fortunes," Shen Yuntang explained.
"Just like the wheat that day, they think our wheat grows stronger and affects their fortunes?" Cheng Yeran didn't expect the villagers to be so superstitious. "Isn't it just looking for excuses for jealousy? They can't stand other families being better than their own. If their own family doesn't have it, other families can't have it either. Otherwise, they will feel unbalanced. They just found a superstitious excuse. I don't care about them."
"Otherwise you should try it first," Shen Yuntang glanced at the wall of his home. One side was a wooden fence with gaps as wide as a finger. When he looked at the fence through the window, he happened to see a wrinkled eye in the gap.
The pupil of that eye suddenly dilated, and it quickly moved away and hid behind another wider piece of wood.
Shen Yuntang said, "Why not change the wall to a brick wall first? If you can build it higher than the Li family's next door, then you can talk about building a second floor."
Cheng Yeran also saw that eye and deliberately raised her voice and shouted, "This Aunt Li is really disrespectful to her elders. She climbs over other people's walls every day to peek in. Why, she didn't have love with her husband when she was young, so she is curious about how other people's families love each other?"
"Go away, what nonsense are you talking about?" Shen Yuntang heated up the pot and looked at the vegetables in his hand, "Where are the vegetables? You've been picking them slower and slower lately."
"Hey, you were too busy talking. I'll finish it right away." Cheng Yeran quickly washed and cut the vegetables for Shen Yuntang.
In the afternoon, Shen Yuntang's fourth brother Shen Yunye came over. The four brothers looked similar, except for the difference between older and younger ones.
They always keep their heads down and don't like to talk. No matter what happens, they just stand back and don't say a word.
Their parents often complained that they were timid and not as good as the two older brothers. The four older brothers didn't get angry when they heard this, but just kept silent. The villagers also said they were cowards.
When the fourth brother arrived at the Cheng family’s door, he saw that it was closed and did not dare to knock on it. He just stood there in a daze.
Yuanbao happened to come behind him. He saw his fourth brother standing at the door and looked at him curiously. Because he always kept his head down, most people had never seen his fourth brother's face clearly.
But Yuanbao is not tall, only about 1.6 meters tall, and he can see his fourth brother clearly by looking up.
"You are very handsome, but why do you always keep your head down, as if you are afraid that people will see your face?" Yuan Bao asked, tilting his head.
йāиＦ
he.
Shen Yunye was startled by him and leaned back to take a breath. After he stood firm, he secretly turned his gaze to Yuanbao. Yuanbao smiled like a little sun, emitting a dazzling light that made Shen Yunye unable to open his eyes, but he couldn't look away either.
Shen Yunye opened his mouth for a long time but still said nothing.
"You are my sister-in-law's fourth brother, right? What's the matter with you?" Yuan Bao saw that he didn't say anything, so he didn't force him. They were all from the same village, so he knew the situation of the four brothers of the Shen family. "Are you afraid to knock on the door? I'll help you."
After Yuan Bao finished speaking, he felt that what he said was not respectful to him. Men hate being called cowardly the most. If it were any other man in the village, they would have grabbed his collar and punched him. However, Shen Yunye was not angry. Instead, he was relieved and looked at him with great gratitude.
Yuanbao thought he was quite interesting, so he went up to the door and knocked, "Cousin, are you guys done with your lunch break?"
Cheng Yeran opened the door and said, "You came quite early. Next time, come a cup of tea later than this."
As Cheng Yeran was talking, he saw his fourth brother behind Yuanbao, and his attitude immediately changed, "Fourth brother, you are here, come quickly, come quickly, I just boiled water to make tea, try the new tea I bought and see if it tastes good."
"Fourth brother is here to help. He will be uncomfortable if you treat him like this. He hates other people being enthusiastic towards him the most. If you continue like this, he will not come tomorrow." Shen Yuntang secretly pulled Cheng Yeran's sleeve and whispered to him.
Cheng Yeran whispered in his ear, "Fourth brother, is this socially anxious? I understand, I understand. I will never say a word to him again and won't let him bother me."
Cheng Yeran asked Yuanbao and the fourth brother to enter the yard. "I will arrange the tasks for the afternoon. Yuanbao will sell the goods in the front yard and collect the money. Shen Yuntang and I will light the fire and fry the beans. The fourth brother will chop wood and grind the beans. Anyone who has any questions can ask them now and I will make adjustments."
"Cousin, is this something I can listen to? Did you tell me the recipe of dried tofu?" Yuanbao reminded Cheng Yeran.
"It's not the recipe for dried tofu. I want to make soy powder. It's simpler and there's no recipe. It's just for convenience." The materials for making soap that Cheng Yeran bought have not arrived yet. During this period of time, he plans to make soy powder first. Next month, the wheat will be harvested and the granary will be full of soybeans. There will be no extra space.
"What is the use of grinding soybean powder?" Yuanbao asked a few more questions when he heard that it was not a secret.
"Being able to eat and drink, what's the use of that? I observed you this morning and found that you have good sales ability. You should sell the products for me well. If you sell more, I will give you a commission." Cheng Yeran said.
"What is sales? What is promotion? Cousin, weren't you away this morning? Why were you observing me?" Yuanbao was young, curious and talkative, and he could ask several questions with just one sentence from Cheng Yeran.
"I observed this from your sister-in-law's comments on you and from the money I made today." Cheng Yeran waved his hand, "Leave your words to the customers and don't bother me around me."
Yuanbao was very tactful. As a guest happened to come, he hurried to greet him.
Fourth brother didn't say anything extra and just did whatever he was told to do. He went to chop wood without saying a word.
Cheng Yeran took a bag of soybeans out of the granary and took it into the kitchen to wash.
No one was idle this afternoon. A lot of bean powder was ground and the fragrance filled the yard.
Not only did customers who came to buy dried tofu smell it and curiously asked what it was, but many neighbors also came over to ask what it was.
Cheng Yeran took out some freshly ground soybean powder and said, "We just made the soybean powder today and haven't started selling it yet. You can try it first."
"How do you eat this? Eat it dry?" A neighbor raised his hand, pinched a small handful and put it in his mouth. It had the aroma of beans and a little sweetness, and it was delicious.
"Put sugar in it and add boiling water to make soy milk." Cheng Yeran took a bowl and put some soy powder in it. After pouring hot water, the fragrant soy milk was ready.
Normally, to drink soy milk, you have to soak the beans and grind the beans, which is very laborious. This thing is very convenient.
They asked Cheng Yeran about the price. It was sold by kilogram, which was not expensive, even cheaper than dried tofu. It also contained sugar, which the villagers could accept. Many villagers immediately bought a lot.
The two large basins of water ground today were sold quickly.
Cheng Yeran felt too tired. After dinner, he lay on the bed and complained: "I will stop selling this bean powder for a while. It's too tiring."
Shen Yuntang was counting money happily when he heard him say this, "If you find it tiring, we can do it in the future. You are going to study, so you can go to the village Lin Xiucai to become his disciple tomorrow and let him teach you."
"Your soy flour business will not last long. The method is too simple and there is no secret recipe. People will be able to tell how it is made after buying it once, and they will not come to our house to buy it in the future." Cheng Yeran analyzed that people in the future world will have a fast pace of life and be busy with work, so they will pay for these convenience foods. Moreover, people in the future will develop the habit of consumption from an early age. However, people in ancient times, especially those in the village, were more frugal and would rather make it themselves than buy it.
"What you said makes sense. Then why bother doing this?" Shen Yuntang felt that he was not the kind of person who would work himself to death for such a small amount of money.
"Grind more, it won't spoil easily, let's keep it for ourselves, and you can save some energy in the morning." Cheng Yeran propped up his chin and looked at him, "I have an idea, now we are doing the dried tofu business, and making tofu is too energy-consuming, why not let this business go to your family. I heard that the family hasn't been doing well in the past two years, and the brothers haven't found wives yet. If we have another business, maybe we can improve our lives."
"You want to give the secret recipe of tofu to my brothers?" Shen Yuntang looked at him in surprise.
"Your parents and brother are also my parents and brother, we are all family. What's wrong with giving them a secret recipe? Besides, this secret recipe was bought by me, so I don't feel bad about giving it to them." Cheng Yeran was afraid that he would not want it, so he deliberately said that the secret recipe was not important.
“But usually after getting married, boys have nothing to do with the family. Usually, even if a married man brings a bundle of vegetables home, people will talk about him, let alone giving him a secret recipe. Not to mention how badly the villagers will talk about it, my parents won’t want it either.” Shen Yuntang appreciated his kindness, but didn’t want to make things more complicated.
"I heard from the villagers before that I didn't give you a dowry when I married you. I also heard that originally you were going to marry Xia Xiaowu, and the Xia family would give you a generous dowry, and your eldest brother would use the money to find a wife. But your cousin married Xia Xiaowu, and the dowry went to Shen Yunfeng, and your family didn't want it. Now I'm giving this secret recipe to your family as compensation for the dowry." Cheng Yeran pulled out a box from under the bed, "This is all the brine I bought for making tofu. I'll send it to my parents tomorrow along with the soybeans."
"But, you have no obligation to give a dowry. You are not my husband." Shen Yuntang reminded him, and also reminded herself.
Cheng Yeran covered his chest, "What a beautiful mouth, what a cold sentence, are you still thinking about your husband? The person you were talking about last time was him? You want to invite that mother-in-law over again to help you summon his soul? You couldn't summon her last time, and I guess there's no hope this time."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I advise you to read more books and stop thinking about who I like." Shen Yuntang took out two coins and some copper coins from the money box. "Tomorrow, take the tuition and buy some gifts, and go see Mr. Lin. Be serious when you talk to him. Mr. Lin doesn't like people who are careless."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
