Zhu Ling was very happy when she received a call from Zheng Baozhu at home.
Zheng Baozhu spoke very gently, and was not at all as arrogant and conceited as Yao Dongqin said.
Zheng Baozhu also asked her to go to the Zheng family store to see if there were any suitable goods for wholesale.
But she knew that the Zheng family's goods were very popular.
The next day, Zhu Ling went to Zheng's shop.
Chen Lifang came into the house and called Zheng Baozhu, who introduced the store's merchandise to her and instructed her on where to set up her stall to sell them.
Zhu Ling has to wait until her son goes to school before she can set up her stall every day. Zheng Baozhu reminds her that she may not be able to find a good location and will sell less.
Zhu Ling smiled and said: "It's OK as long as I can make some money. I'm not greedy. I used to make tofu at home, working from dawn to dusk. Now my life is much better, I am content."
"Can you make tofu?"
Zhu Ling nodded: "I just joined the army this year. Before that, I made tofu to support my family in my hometown."
"Since you can make tofu, why don't you sell it?"
Zhu Ling was embarrassed: "When I first came here, I did want to make some money by selling tofu. My mother-in-law has always been in poor health and there are many places in the family where we need money. But Sister Yao said that selling tofu on the streets is embarrassing for men."
Zheng Baozhu disagreed: "It's not shameful to make money by your own ability without stealing or robbing. So, you go back first, make some tofu, and send it to me to taste."
…
On the way back, Zhu Ling bought the ingredients for making tofu and started preparing for it.
Yao Dongqin had nothing to do, so she visited Zhu Ling's house and saw Zhu Ling grinding beans with a small stone mill.
"You are making tofu. I will go back to get some soybeans. You can help me make some too. Old Xia likes the tofu you make."
Zhu Ling opened her mouth but said nothing.
Because I made so little, I finished it before lunch.
Yao Dongqin poured the tofu out of one of the molds and placed it on a plate.
Zhu Ling made a lot of tofu, so Yao Dongqin asked, "Can you finish all the tofu you made?"
Zhu Ling also poured out her own portion of tofu from the mold and put it in an enamel bowl: "I'm giving it away."
Yao Dongqin said disdainfully: "How can you give tofu to someone?"
Zhu Ling smiled and said: "Tofu means richness and good meaning."
"You're delivering tofu to someone at this time, do you want to eat at their house?"
Zhu Ling looked a little embarrassed: "I have to come back to cook for the children, why would I stay at someone else's house to eat?
We send it at this time so that they can eat the freshest tofu."
Yao Dongqin stood up with the plate in her hand and was about to leave: "I just want to remind you that before you do anything, you should think about your identity as a military wife and not bring shame to the military family."
"knew."
…
The tofu was still warm when it was delivered to Zheng's house.
Zhu Ling felt a little nervous as she watched Zheng Baozhu cut off a small piece and put it into her mouth, tasting it carefully.
Zheng Baozhu cut off another small piece and put it in her mouth. After eating it, she said to Zhu Ling, "The tofu you made tastes very good. Tofu in the surrounding area is 35 cents per pound. My purchase price is 33 cents per pound. If you can accept it, make a plate of tofu tomorrow and send it to my store."
Zhu Ling agreed readily.
She needs 6 pounds of soybeans to make one plate of tofu, and makes 36 pounds of tofu. The soybeans cost 0.17 cents per pound, so the profit is very high and it is hard-earned money.
She used to sell tofu, and the scale was always very high. After selling a plate of tofu, she would make a few cents more.
If I sell it to Zheng Baozhu, I won't have to go door to door selling the products myself, which is definitely a good deal.
Zheng Baozhu doesn't even care about a few cents of profit.
Zhu Ling knew that Zheng Baozhu was helping her and kept it in mind.
…
After returning, Zhu Ling began to prepare.
When Captain Shao came home from get off work, he saw his wife soaking soybeans in a pot and thought she was making it for someone else's family.
I asked, "Is anyone having a wedding? They need so many soybeans to make tofu."
“I make the tofu myself.”
"There are only three people in our family. If we make so much, when will we be able to finish eating it?"
Zhu Ling said happily: "It's not for our family to eat, I made it and sold it."
"Aren't you worried that selling tofu door to door might make people think you're losing face?"
"Instead of selling door to door, Director Zheng asked me to deliver the tofu to her shop to sell."
Captain Shao was puzzled: "Who is Director Zheng? When did you meet him?"
Zhu Ling reached out and tapped her husband's forehead: "Isn't Captain Song's lover's surname Zheng?"
Captain Shao laughed out loud: "Look at my memory. I forgot about this matter."
…
In the morning, the men go to work, the children go to school, and the military wives start to go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables after dinner.
Everyone saw Zhu Ling pushing a bicycle with a plate of tofu on it.
Yao Dongqin came over and said, "You really have the nerve to walk around the streets selling tofu."
Liu Pei, the wife of a soldier, said: "Let's all buy some. There are so many people in the family compound. If we share it, it will be gone. You don't have to go out and sell tofu."
Zhu Ling smiled and said, "Thank you. I know you want to help me, but it's not necessary. I work with my own hands and don't think it's a disgrace to the wives of soldiers."
There were two military wives who really wanted to buy tofu. Zhu Ling apologized and said, "This plate of tofu has been reserved. I can't sell it to you. I'll keep it for you tomorrow."
Everyone just thought that Zhu Ling wanted to save face and didn't want to be sympathized with, so she didn't want to sell it but no one forced her.
…
When the military wives came back from the vegetable market, they saw Zhu Ling picking leeks at home.
"Aren't you going to sell tofu?"
Zhu Ling smiled and said, "It's sold out!"
"Did someone really order that big plate of tofu of yours?"
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