Chapter 17 Rent
"Eat it while it's hot."
"Yes." Zhuang Qingsui took it and handed a piece to Zhuang Qingning: "Sister, eat first."
Zhuang Qingning smiled, took it and swallowed it.
It has a strong bean aroma, a soft texture, yet is not lacking in toughness, and the taste is mellow and long-lasting.
Overall, it's delicious.
"It's OK, edible." Zhuang Qingning smacked his lips and said, "Eat it quickly, and try the tofu we made."
“Yeah!” Zhuang Qingsui nodded heavily and took the tofu to eat.
"tasty!"
Zhuang Qingsui exclaimed in surprise, then wolfed down two more pieces before chewing them slowly: "It's delicious! This is probably the best tofu I've ever eaten."
It tastes better than the soursop tofu made by Aunt Wen.
"If we take this tofu out to sell, it will definitely sell very well." Zhuang Qingsui's nose turned red with excitement.
If tofu sells well, they won't have to worry about their livelihood in the future and can live a good life! "What are you two talking about that sells well?"
Holding an oil lamp, Mrs. Wen entered the kitchen.
"Aunt Wen, you got up early." Zhuang Qingning said with a smile, "We just made some tofu and were thinking of letting you taste it after you wake up."
"How can you sleep with all the noise all night long?"
Mrs. Wen snorted coldly, looked up at the neatly-packed block of tofu next to Zhuang Qingning, and leaned forward to take a sniff.
After studying it for a long while, he frowned and straightened his back: "You are not stupid to know how to use rice vinegar to make tofu pudding."
Zhuang Qingning swiftly cut off a piece of tofu, cut it into small pieces and placed them on a plate, then passed it to Mrs. Wen: "Aunt Wen, please try it."
Wen frowned and picked up a piece of tofu from the bowl and ate it.
The more he chewed, the more his brows furrowed.
And he took a long time to swallow the tofu in his mouth.
"Aunt Wen, how does it taste?"
Zhuang Qingning's whisper interrupted Zhuang Qingsui's wild thoughts and also startled Wen who was thinking.
Wen seemed to have just come to her senses, swallowed the tofu in her mouth, and asked, "When you ordered the tofu, what else did you put in it besides rice vinegar?"
Sure enough, Wen still tasted the deliciousness of the tofu.
Zhuang Qingning smiled and replied, "This is the capital for us two sisters to make a living in the future, so we must never tell anyone about it. Aunt Wen used to run a tofu shop, and she never passed this sour bean curd to anyone else."
"Aren't you afraid that if you don't tell me, I won't rent this tofu shop to you?" Wen raised her eyes slightly, with a hint of coldness in her eyes.
"But if Aunt Wen doesn't rent it to me, you will never know what's in it, and you might even have trouble eating it in the future." Zhuang Qingning smiled slightly and looked up at Aunt Wen.
When their eyes met, there was a sense of tension.
And neither side seems to have any intention of backing down.
The tense atmosphere lasted for a while, and Wen suddenly let out a long sigh and put her hands behind her back.
"You insist on renting this tofu shop, what else can an old woman like me say?"
"This man is old, and he is only left to be bullied. He doesn't even have room to speak. From now on, we have to talk to the head of the village to find out what's wrong with these people in our village and whether they still have any rules..."
Wen snorted coldly, looked gloomy, and walked out with her hands behind her back.
No matter what the attitude is, I didn’t say I wouldn’t rent it.
Since he didn't say he wouldn't rent it, I'll just take it as his consent.
Zhuang Qingning loosened his tightly clenched fists and took a few quick steps to catch up with Wen: "So what do you think about the rent?"
"Rent?" Mrs. Wen stopped and glanced at Zhuang Qingning: "I see you are short of money? Mrs. Wen is indeed not short of money, at least not short of the rent for this tofu shop.
Although Wen's children did not live with her, they never failed to fulfill their filial duties. They gave her a lot of money, clothes and food during the holidays. Living alone, Wen naturally did not spend much. People in the village all said that although Aunt Wen's family looked poor, they were actually very wealthy.
"I have a bowl of salty tofu pudding every morning, and a plate of homemade tofu in the evening. I have to fry tofu cubes and make tofu balls on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. If I can do this, I can rent this tofu shop. If I can't do it..."
“Yes.”
Before Mrs. Wen could finish, Zhuang Qingning readily agreed: "Don't worry, Aunt Wen, we can do it."
As long as I can rent this tofu shop, none of these will be a problem.
"If you can do it, then do it."
"From now on, this tofu shop belongs to you. Don't be tempted by the things outside. Buy what you need and fix what you need. Take what you need. As for the remaining beans in the tofu shop, they will go bad if you keep them there. You can use them for now and turn them into tofu and give them to me later."
"There is only one..."
Mrs. Wen still squinted at Zhuang Qingning and said, "In the future, when you are out there, don't ever say that I taught you how to make tofu."
"I really can't make tofu that tastes so bad. It will ruin the reputation of my tofu shop."
"Don't worry, Aunt Wen. I remember this. Don't worry." Zhuang Qingning agreed with a smile, and handed over the tofu bowl that Aunt Wen had just picked up. "I don't know what you like today, so I didn't prepare tofu pudding this morning. This hot tofu will be your portion for now. Mix it with chopped green onions and eat it as a side dish. It's not bad."
"If I'm not good enough to eat, then you just want to get rid of me."
Mrs. Wen's expression did not soften at all, but she still reached out to take it: "Looking at the situation, there is no tofu pudding to eat today, so I will just have a couple of bites of this."
After saying that, he held the bowl and the oil lamp and walked out of the tofu shop.
Seeing Wen leave, Zhuang Qingsui let out a long breath, which he had been holding, and then gasped for breath. He reached out and wiped the sweat on his forehead that was caused by nervousness.
"I thought Aunt Wen didn't plan to rent it to us anymore."
"How could that be?" Zhuang Qingning laughed. "When it's daybreak, we'll carry the tofu and go to town to sell it. Now that it's still dark, you should eat the tofu to fill your stomach and take a nap here. I'll call you when the time comes."
"good."
Zhuang Qingsui yawned loudly and rubbed his sore eyes.
After a whole night of tiring work, Zhuang Qingsui felt very tired even though he had a good sleep the whole afternoon. He sat on a small stool, leaning against a large pillar next to him, and fell asleep.
The fire in the big stove had not yet completely gone out. There was hot tofu in the room, and hot soy sauce in the water tank waiting to ferment. The whole tofu shop was warm, so it didn't feel cold to sleep like that.
Zhuang Qingning poured out the soybeans from the sack next to him and carefully picked out the inferior beans.
Once the tofu pot is started, you can’t stop.
(End of this chapter)
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