He Zifeng's business has been booming these past few days. Not only are their braised dishes selling well, but Qiu Yu's stewed pig's trotters with soybeans have also attracted repeat customers. Many people get up early specifically to have a taste of it.
Pig trotters are cheap, but no one else would put so much effort into preparing them. They only sell ten trotters a day, and the soybeans are free. Everyone who has tried them has loved them.
This little stall can save seven taels of silver a day, twenty-one taels in three days, and with the previous eight taels of silver, it has a total of twenty-nine taels of silver.
I inquired and found out that a small two-story shop with a backyard in the county costs two hundred taels of silver. If I bought it, the rent alone would be one tael of silver a month, and I could even leave it to my children in the future.
I had just closed up shop today when I saw the waiter who always buys their savory pancakes bring over a man in his forties.
"Brother He, this is our shopkeeper's." The waiter came to buy every day and had become familiar with them.
He Zifeng said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The shopkeeper was quite pleased with his composed demeanor and said, "I've tried your savory pancakes, they're very good. The braised pig's trotters are also delicious. Do you know how to make braised pork ribs?" He replied, "To be honest, my family loves meat. We especially enjoy hand-pulled mutton, but braised dishes aren't quite satisfying enough. I once heard a foreigner say that there's a kind of braised pork rib in the north that's very satisfying to eat."
Qiu Yu said, "I can make it." Her father used to love braised pork ribs, and pork ribs were cheap.
The shopkeeper's mention of it made Qiuyu's mouth water.
The innkeeper said, "I'd like to order thirty catties from you. If we can sell them, we'll put them in the shop. If we can't sell them all, I'll take them home to eat." Most of the innkeepers were businessmen who traveled all over the country. Recently, the fact that the waiter bought savory pancakes for him had become a hot topic among the customers, and some even introduced him to new customers.
Having tasted success, the innkeeper wanted to create another signature dish to further boost the inn's popularity. He had a cook who had worked there for many years, and firing him wouldn't be appropriate. He remembered He Zifeng's braised dishes, saying even He Zifeng couldn't keep up with demand. Making less would be pointless. Recalling the braised pork ribs that the merchants from Hu had mentioned before, he came to inquire about them.
The shopkeeper said, "How much is it per pound? I'm just reselling it now to make a little extra profit. If it's reasonable, I'll buy it year-round."
After calculating, Qiu Yu figured that the large bones cost about three coins per pound. Adding the cost of ingredients and firewood, she said, "Fifty coins per pound will do." The things they sell at small stalls don't fetch a good price, but the same things can be sold for about double the price in a shop.
The shopkeeper said, "Alright." To show his sincerity for their first cooperation, he had given one and a half taels of silver in advance. He paid the full amount upfront.
Only after the shopkeeper left were the two of them finally able to pack up. Qiu Yu said, "Let's order a big iron pot." Clearly, one pot wasn't enough before.
He Zifeng hurriedly went to the blacksmith to order an iron pot that big. It would require sixty catties of pig iron to make, and the labor cost plus the cost of the pig iron would amount to two taels of silver. It would take at least half a month to make.
He Zifeng gave him a deposit of one tael of silver before leaving, as was customary.
Qiu Yu bought fifty catties of large bones and various pig offal. They went to the oil shop and brought back two buckets of oil. The weight they brought back was about the same as when they came.
Qiu Yu felt sorry for He Zifeng and said, "Why don't we rent a carriage too?" They had to come to the county every day. The journey was too long, and they had too much stuff. He Zifeng never let him get tired, but Qiu Yu couldn't bear to see it. She had heard He Zifeng mention before that he could rent horses. Gouzi's father had rented one.
Having horses would at least halve the travel time, allowing me to sleep a little longer in the morning.
He Zifeng thought it was a good idea and decided to store the things in the car in the backyard he rented for the time being.
The two originally intended to go to Ya Xing, but when they asked for directions, the other person misheard it as Ma Xing.
I took them to Niuma City.
The horse market had many tall, fine horses, and also sold cattle. In the countryside, cattle could plow fields and do other work, so any family that could raise cattle was definitely a wealthy one.
There are also some individual investors who sell their own cattle or horses.
There are more sellers than buyers!
As soon as He Zifeng and his group arrived, they were enthusiastically stopped by a man from a horse stable: "Brother, we have all kinds of horses here, come and have a look."
The two men looked around and indeed some of the horses were quite handsome. Others didn't even have saddles or reins, and looked rather unruly.
The seller explained that wealthy businessmen specifically like these wild horses and tame them themselves.
He Zifeng inquired about the prices, which ranged from forty taels to one thousand taels.
He Zifeng paid one tael for the pot, but the innkeeper gave him one and a half taels in full, leaving them with twenty-nine taels and five taels. He asked if the horses could be rented. The seller realized He Zifeng had come to the wrong place, but the whole day had passed and they hadn't opened for business yet. They said they couldn't rent them out, but showed him a donkey for ten taels, and a mule; a good mule, with stamina comparable to a horse, would cost about thirty taels.
In this county town, the horses from horse trading companies are the best. The horses owned by individuals look thin and weak, and don't seem like they're capable of working.
Knowing he had come to the wrong place, He Zifeng could have gone to Yahang to rent, but he changed his mind after arriving here.
The horse was rented, after all, it wasn't your own. Since it's here, it must be fate.
He Zifeng noticed a tall, grey and white horse in the corner. The other horses were grouped together in several pens, but this one was an exception; it had its own pen. However, it was of purebred lineage and had excellent bone structure. It was clearly the offspring of a fine horse.
"How much is this horse?" He Zifeng asked.
Upon seeing the horse, the horse dealer's face showed a mixture of love and hate. He said, "If you want it, thirty taels will do." Before He Zifeng could ask, the dealer continued, "I won't lie to you, I bought this horse from a young man for thirty taels of silver. I don't know how much good feed it ate in between, but that's not included. This little horse, just over a year old, is too fierce; several horse appraisers have been kicked and injured." The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he paid a considerable amount for the customer's medicine.
He had originally hoped to make a fortune from this horse, but instead, he lost everything. When people in the county heard about it, no one wanted the horse. Even those from other counties who wanted it couldn't take it away. A perfectly good horse had become a hot potato.
Upon hearing this, He Zifeng said, "I'll give it a try." He then approached the horse and gently stroked its head. The horse didn't spit at him, but instead gently nudged his hand with its head.
The people at the horse shop were astonished by this scene: "I've heard people say that horses are born to recognize their masters, but I didn't believe it. Now it seems to be true." They then regretted that they hadn't offered enough money, as the horse would kick anyone who came near it, but unexpectedly, it got along well with He Zifeng.
He Zifeng led the horse out for a few laps, and the horse obediently followed him. He Zifeng even rode it for a couple of laps; the horse ran very steadily.
He Zifeng also took a liking to this horse.
He tried to negotiate the price with the horse dealer, who was already regretting having offered too little. He wouldn't budge an inch. Finally, He Zifeng pulled out all his money—twenty-nine and a half taels—and the dealer only agreed when he saw He Zifeng truly couldn't afford anything more. He was afraid of missing out on this customer, not knowing when he'd be able to buy it again.
He Zifeng asked for two more bags of horse feed, inquired about the horse's care, and then led the horse away. He felt that this was the most majestic horse in the entire horse company, named it Qinghua, and then harnessed it to a cart.
He Zifeng could drive a carriage, and the horses were very fast, much faster than they could walk.
On the way, Qiu Yu said, "Ranran would be so happy to see that there are blue and white porcelains in the house." I don't know who this child took after, but she just loves these kinds of animals.
“Next time we’ll pick him up in our blue-and-white horse,” He Zifeng said. Having a horse makes everything much easier. As soon as they arrived in the village, many people saw He Zifeng’s tall horse and exclaimed, “Hey, where did this come from?”
Everyone knew that He Zifeng and his group ran a small stall, but no one knew how much they could earn. Keeping one's wealth hidden is an ancient wisdom. He Zifeng simply said it was rented!
Even though it was rented, it still drew a lot of envy.
He Zifeng took the horse home, tied it up in the yard, and gave it some water and hay.
He Zifeng asked the village carpenters to convert his handcart into a horse-drawn carriage, making it more convenient for hauling goods and people. He Zifeng needed it urgently, and it would take five carpenters working together to complete the task in one day, costing one tael of silver. He Zifeng paid on credit, promising to pay them the next day, and the carpenters began work.
As soon as He Zifeng got home, he heard his sisters-in-law talking excitedly: "You don't know yet, do you? Wan Hai is back!"
Sister Liu said, "They said the county government found him innocent, but it's really his fault. They said Liangzi extorted money from him and threatened him with his son's future. He lost his mind for a moment."
After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life, so even if Liangzi's mother was dissatisfied, she had no choice but to let it go. Fortunately, Wan Hai didn't stubbornly deny it like before; he admitted that he had accidentally injured Liangzi and even knelt down to apologize, which gave Liangzi's mother some comfort.
Mrs. Xu added from the side, "He also knelt down and kowtowed three times to Liangzi's mother."
He Zifeng didn't say much, but Qiu Yu, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Can Liangzi's mother forgive him?"
"The county government hasn't even made a ruling, so what can anyone say? The He family paid eighteen taels of silver in compensation, and Wan Hai's mother also died this time because she went to the county. It's a life for a life," said Sister-in-law Xia Hua.
When Wan Hai returned, he heard that Xiao Wan had also lost her life because of this incident, and everyone was very saddened.
It is said that Wan Hai changed his mind this time. Not only did he go to his father-in-law's house to bring his wife back, but he also knelt down in front of He Donglai in front of the whole village, saying that even though his mother was gone, he recognized He Donglai as his father and would be filial to him for the rest of his life.
This is quite an important promise, showing that he has truly turned over a new leaf.
He Zifeng said, "I don't care what he does, as long as he doesn't cause any trouble in the future!"
When Wan Hai returned, everyone in the village was discussing his words and actions. In any case, he had really learned his lesson this time and was now keeping a very low profile.
The author has something to say: The exchange rate in the text is: one thousand copper coins equals one tael of silver!
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