Chapter 46
Sang Luo knew Chen Youtian's temper and did not try to persuade him to stay. She swept the yard with a newly made broom and went to cook dinner.
All the cooking utensils were purchased, which made cooking much more convenient. We had been eating well recently, and we would be having a banquet later. Chen Youtian did not stay for dinner, so Sang Luo simply steamed some rice, made an egg soup, and mixed some fern.
When they made sour jujubes in the evening, the venue was moved to the kitchen. The courtyard door was bolted from the inside, giving them a full sense of security. In the brand new house, Shen An and Shen Ning wanted to touch even the walls a few times.
"Sister-in-law, our home is so beautiful now."
Yes, even though there was only an old thatched hut that could be lived in, a newly built kitchen and bathroom, and a wall around it, life felt completely different, and the sense of happiness was indescribable.
Sang Luo smiled: "Then you guys take good care of it. If you have nothing to do at home tomorrow, you can pick up some beautiful pebbles and bring them back. We can go back and mark a route and pave a road from the courtyard gate to the main house. This way, when it rains, your shoes won't be covered in mud."
Chen An's eyes lit up: "Is it possible? Then I will go pick up stones tomorrow and wait for you to tell me how to lay the road, and then we will lay it."
"Okay, pick the rounder ones. That way they'll have a massage effect when you step on them, but won't hurt too much."
The brother and sister nodded repeatedly.
The next day, Shen An's group of playmates all had new jobs to do. Of course, that's a story for later.
At this moment, Shen An and Shen Ning were helping Sang Luo wash the fairy leaves and sour jujubes. While they were working, the brother and sister were a little confused: "Sister-in-law, when are we going to sell the sour jujube cakes?"
Although there are many people in front of and behind the house these days, they never miss making sour jujube cakes every day, so now there are almost two small jars of sour jujube cakes in the house.
"Tomorrow, I will take a jar to the county to try it out. It should be sold within a day."
It's time to buy a stone mill, as well as a water tank and a bathtub. These three items are not cheap, and the income from the fairy tofu alone cannot support me.
There were still not enough winnowing baskets to use for drying things, and the fruits she could pick in the mountains were limited. After saving for so many days, she only saved two jars. The jars were not big, and each jar could only hold about two hundred pieces.
I'll bring a jar to try selling it tomorrow.
Chen Ning has already eaten the finished product of the sour jujube cake. Well, she has eaten quite a bit. Every day, her sister-in-law gives her and her second brother two pieces each as snacks, saying that eating in moderation is good for the body. Now that she heard that it can be sent to the county to sell, Chen Ning's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, how do we sell this sour jujube cake?"
Sang Luo was also thinking about this question.
She didn't have a scale, so it wasn't possible to weigh it by pound. Besides, she wasn't going to sell it too cheaply, and the price by pound would actually sound scary.
Think about the snacks sold at roadside stalls in the past. The stall owners set the quantity themselves and sold them by portion, so the price could easily be inflated.
Many people would think something is expensive if it costs thirty yuan per pound, but if it is packed in a small bag of more than three ounces and costs ten yuan per bag, many people would not think it is expensive at all.
So Sang Luo bought some oil paper that can be used for food packaging in the county two days ago, planning to wrap and sell it herself.
She weighed the price of a Hu pancake and compared them in her mind.
"How about three cents and five dollars?"
Although the sour jujube cakes she made were not necessarily exactly the same size, they were relatively uniform and it was OK to sell them by the piece.
As for the price, the sour jujube cake made by Sang Luo is quite authentic. Nothing else is added to it. It only contains sour jujube paste and sugar. Maltose is not cheap, and the paste from a basket of sour jujubes is not much, and even less after drying.
Sang Luo made individual sour jujube cakes into round cakes. Each cake was not small, with a diameter almost as long as her little finger.
Three cents and five pieces, this sweet and sour snack is actually not expensive. It is equivalent to the price of buying five pieces of sour jujube cake for one Hu Bing. When thinking about it this way, Sang Luo feels that it is quite value for money.
She couldn't determine the prices based on the consumption of the villagers. After all, those who would spend money on snacks were not poor.
Yes, I understand now.
Shen An and Shen Ning were stunned. Three cents and five pieces, and they, the brother and sister, could eat four pieces a day. Doesn't that mean they spent nearly three cents a day on snacks?
"Sister-in-law, I won't eat the date cake tomorrow. Or just give me one piece and my second brother and I will share it."
Shen An also nodded: "I don't need to eat it, just give one piece to An Ning."
What snacks do boys eat?
Sang Luo: “…”
It’s not good for children in the family to be too good at managing their lives.
"Eat it. This is our selling price, not the price we paid for it. You made it yourself, so why wouldn't you want to eat it? This sour jujube is actually a Chinese medicinal ingredient. The jujube cake made from it has the effects of stimulating appetite, strengthening the spleen, nourishing the heart and calming the nerves, so it's good for you to eat some every day."
Shen An and Shen Ning had only heard that eating this was good for the body, but they didn't know exactly how it was good. Only now did they know.
Shen An: "I think my body is actually fine, and I don't need to take any supplements."
Shen Ning also nodded: “I’m okay too.”
Sang Luo looked at the yellow hair of the two men and said, "What's good about that? Look at your own hair. Only when it becomes black and shiny can you say that you are in good health."
This is because she has been paying attention to the diet of the three children every day since she came here. It is hard to tell whether their hair has improved or not, but the complexions of the two children are much better than when she first came here.
Not only Shen An and Shen Ning, but also herself.
When she first arrived, she didn't even need to look in the mirror to know that she would never look good, because not only did she feel her cheeks were sunken, but other people looked at her as if she were a refugee.
Some changes are completed unconsciously. Now that she thinks about it, she no longer encounters people looking at her like a refugee. This shows that the improved diet these days has been effective.
In fact, it was not difficult for her to guess her own changes from the changes in Shen An and Shen Ning.
Chen An looked at his sister's dry, yellow and soft hair and stopped talking. Then he looked at his sister-in-law. Well, maybe her foundation was better than theirs, and she was still slightly better than Aning.
"Then let's eat it. Sister-in-law, can you take me with you when you go to pick sour dates? Pick more and we can make more."
Sang Luo glanced at the trouser legs that hung a long way from his ankles and said, "Wait a while. The water tank and bathtub have been bought. When I make some money, I'll make new clothes for the three of us. Then I'll take you into the mountains."
As soon as Shen An heard it, he knew the reason, he was afraid of touching a snake.
Whenever adults go into the mountains, they have to tie their trouser legs tightly.
Shen An nodded: "Okay."
Thinking of the oil paper my sister-in-law bought before, I said, "Sister-in-law, one piece of oil paper only costs five yuan. Isn't that a bit wasteful?"
This thing also costs money to buy, unlike lotus leaves.
Sang Luo hummed and said, "So if I buy six coins, I'll give one for free."
Three cents gives you five dollars, six cents gives you eleven dollars. Most people would choose to buy the six-cent one just to get the extra dollar. Well, perfect!
The price was set.
…
The next morning, Sang Luo replaced one of the pottery basins in the baskets where she used to put them with an earthenware jar.
When loading the truck, Qin Fangniang took a look and asked curiously, "Did you change the container to hold the tofu today?"
Sang Luo thought about it and didn't hide it from her: "No, this is the new food I made."
He opened the lid of the pottery jar, took out two pieces from it and gave one to Chen Youtian and one to Qin Fangniang: "Uncle and aunt, have a try."
Chen Youtian waved his hand: "I don't eat these things, you can keep them and sell them."
Qin Fangniang took it. Although it was dark, she could tell it was a round cake. She pinched it with her hands. Hmm, it was still slightly soft. She brought it to her mouth and took a small bite. The taste...
Qin Fangniang's eyes widened: "Is this a snack?"
Or sugar???
Sang Luo smiled and said, "It's called crystal preserved meat. It's something I just made. I plan to take it to the county and try to sell it."
"This is expensive, right? Just give it to me, okay?"
She was in a dilemma as to whether to eat or not eat the remaining food in her hand.
Everyone knows that sweet snacks are not cheap, and people in the countryside hardly buy them. If a family can afford a piece of snack, they can show off in the village for a long time.
"Eat it, it's homemade." Sang Luo took out a piece of oil paper and wrapped a few pieces. "Take this back and let grandpa and grandma and Xiaoya Erlang have some later. This thing can stimulate the appetite, strengthen the spleen, nourish the heart and calm the nerves. It's good for the body."
She didn't give it to Chen Youtian, knowing that he wouldn't take it, so she stuffed it directly into Qin Fangniang's hands and said, "Take it back to Uncle Youtian."
Qin Fangniang pinched the oil paper bag, which must have at least five or six pieces. She smacked her lips and said, "How much money will this cost you?"
Although Sang Luo didn't say the price, she knew it wouldn't be cheap.
"Why are you talking about this? I didn't pack much, I just wanted to try it. Uncle Arita is still helping me make furniture. If you say that, I should pay him a salary."
Qin Fangniang was speechless immediately.
The two of them had been going in and out of the county together every day these days, and their friendship was no longer what it was at the beginning. Qin Fangniang heard that this thing was good for the body, so she didn't refuse it and thanked him: "Then I will accept it. Thanks to you, I will let the elderly and children at home taste the good food that only people in the city eat."
As he said this, he stuffed the oil-paper bag into the hands of Chen Youtian.
Chen Youtian took the oil-paper bag, which was quite heavy. He was not one to be polite, so after a moment of silence, he put the bag in his arms and concentrated on pulling the cart.
Speaking of Chen Youtian, whether it was carrying a load or pulling a cart, he never missed a day these days. He always gave them a ride and would not return until dawn. He would then take over the cart and leave.
…
The East and West Markets were still bustling. Sangluo had added a new food today. The name of the food, crystal jerky, sounded like a snack. Plus, it had a good reputation as a seller of divine tofu, so quite a few people were asking about it.
Sang Luo didn't use the free tasting as a gimmick this time, because this thing is made of sugar, the material is really expensive, and snacks with sugar are really precious. If something like this is offered for free tasting, everyone in the West Market will come forward when they hear about it, but not everyone will buy it because it is expensive.
Therefore, if someone really came up to ask for the price and was hesitant about the price, Sang Luo would then take out a bamboo knife, cut a little and hand it to the other party to taste. Customers who were screened in this way could usually be sold, and the two businesses were quite lively.
She was a quick talker and could make people drool when she introduced food. She always sold things faster than Qin Fangniang, and the same was true today when she added the sour jujube cake.
Many people bought a jar of sour jujube cake for five yuan to try it out. Most of those who bought the fairy tofu originally had families who also loved it, so they didn't feel bad about spending three cents to try something new. Many people who tried it spent six cents to buy eleven yuan. A jar of sour jujube cake cost about two hundred yuan. After deducting the money for the Chen family and a few yuan for the samplers, the final sales amounted to more than one hundred yuan.
With the income from the Fairy Tofu and the previous surplus, Sang Luo's purse was stuffed full, and even her sleeve pockets were filled.
Come to think of it, she had been selling these little things for so long, but she hadn't received any silver, only copper coins.
Maybe the unit price is too low.
After packing up the stall, Sang Luo first bought three ducklings in the West Market, then went to the cloth shop and bought four pieces of filter cloth for thirty-six cents. She calculated the sizes and asked the shopkeeper to help her cut them. Then she went to the East Market to meet Qin Fangniang and buy a stone mill.
Standing outside the stoneware shop, Qin Fangniang was shocked when she found out that the household item Sang Luo was going to buy today was actually a stone mill. She grabbed Sang Luo and said, "Why are you buying this? You don't need it at home."
This thing is used to grind wheat. Although people here also grow wheat, they grow less and millet is what they usually eat.
The south is different from the north. Most people are not good at making pasta. Moreover, several villages may not even have a stone mill, so the remaining wheat can only be used to make wheat rice, which is really not as delicious as their rice.
Therefore, most of the wheat that each household in the village harvested each year was paid when taxes were levied, and any excess was taken away by grain merchants who went to the countryside, and few families would keep any.
Sang Luo patted Qin Fangniang's hand and said, "It's useful. You'll know in a few days."
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