Selling tofu
On the sixteenth, Qin Wenli packed everything up, wiped the bicycle clean, then took out the tofu box and tied it to the back seat.
In order to prevent the tofu from turning into frozen tofu, Yang Xiu thoughtfully covered the tofu box with an old quilt.
Bring a snakeskin bag and a kilogram scale. Qin Wenli kicked his legs and the bicycle slowly went away.
Qin Wenli thought he had arrived early. When I got to the market, I saw that both sides of the street were packed with people.
Li Wu from the same village tightened his stall and made a narrow path for himself that was just big enough to park his bicycle.
"What are you selling?" Li Wu asked.
"I can't finish the tofu made at home, so my mom asked me to come to the market to try it. What about you?" Qin Wenli asked.
"My father makes broom sticks when he has nothing to do. There are broom sticks for sweeping the kang and the floor, and also this wooden monkey. I'm going to try and see if I can sell it today." Li Wu said, pointing to the cart behind him.
Only then did Qin Wenli see the broom and wooden monkey in the truck bed.
Qin Wenli couldn't help but praise: "My cousin is a great cook!"
As the two chatted, more and more people came to the market, and it gradually became bustling.
Qin Wenli couldn't help but get anxious when he saw that no one came to ask questions.
He encouraged himself secretly and imitated the hawkers around him, shouting: "Tofu, tofu, two pounds of soybeans and one pound of tofu..."
"Oh, my voice sounds like you. It's really you." An old lady walked up to Qin Wenli and spoke to him affectionately.
Qin Wenli took a look and found that it was Yang Jianguo's mother from the same village. He greeted her warmly, "We have too much tofu at home, so I came out to try it. Auntie, are you here to the market too?"
The two chatted for a while, and Aunt Yang said, "I'm just about to weigh some tofu, can you give me two kilograms?"
"Okay!"
Qin Wenli carefully lifted the quilt, took the knife in his right hand and moved it around, then carefully cut off a piece.
On the scale, it weighs two pounds and two ounces.
Qin Wenli pushed the scale towards Aunt Yang and said, "Look, it's two catties and two ounces high. I'll count it as two catties for you."
Aunt Yang evaded the question: "You kid, you should get what you deserve. Why are you calculating less?"
Qin Wenli smiled and waved his hand: "We are from the same village. Besides, you are my first customer."
He handed the bag of tofu to Aunt Yang with both hands and asked, "Do you want to exchange it or buy it?"
"Yes, I brought some beans today."
Qin Wenli took the bag of soybeans handed to him by Aunt Yang.
"Just over two pounds. I'll buy your beans." Qin Wenli said with a smile. Turn around and pour the soybeans into the bag you have prepared.
During this transaction, some people came over and asked, "How much is the tofu?"
Qin Wenli smiled and replied, "If you buy it, it's 50 cents per pound. If you exchange it, it's two pounds of soybeans and one pound of tofu."
Someone asked: "I've never seen you sell it, how's your tofu?"
Qin Wenli simply cut a few thin slices and handed them to the people who gathered around him, saying, "Come on, everyone, have a try. Our tofu is not bitter or astringent, and it tastes smooth and chewy. Try it first before you buy it."
A few people took the tofu and tasted it, and it tasted really good.
Then someone said, "Give me two catties."
That one also said, "I want a pound of beans in exchange."
Qin Wenli cut the tofu and weighed the beans skillfully.
That’s how it works when setting up a stall. As long as there are people gathering in front of the stall, others will also want to squeeze in to see the fun.
Qin Wenli's tofu stall suddenly became more and more crowded.
After everyone left, Qin Wenli estimated that he sold 22 kilograms of soybeans and earned 4 yuan for 28 kilograms.
The uneasiness I felt in the morning when no one cared about me was immediately dissipated.
Li Wu came over and pointed at the tofu box: "Leave two pounds for me too. I'll put it here first. I'll take it later when the food is gathered."
Qin Wenli agreed readily.
Seeing that the flow of people was decreasing, Qin Wenli still had eight or nine kilograms of goods left to sell.
However, he was no longer nervous as he was in the morning. He was very satisfied that he could sell more than 40 kilograms of goods on his first stall. After all, he was a stranger in the market and most people bought things by recognizing him.
After that, two more people came and each asked for one pound. After subtracting Li Wu's two catties, Qin Wenli weighed the weight and found 4 catties and 6 ounces were left.
It looked like it was around four in the afternoon, so Qin Wenli quickly closed his stall and went home!
The old lady made a pot of noodles, and Hu Yufeng asked them to wait until Qin Wenli came back before cooking the noodles. The family members had different thoughts, but they were all looking forward to Qin Wenli.
Hearing the sound of bicycles clanging down the hill, Qin Yu ran out of the door first, and then ran in shouting "Dad, Dad is back".
Qin Wenli pushed his bicycle into the yard and saw everyone looking at him.
Hu Yufeng was so nervous that she asked, "How are the sales?"
Qin Wenli parked his bike, took out the soybeans, and replied with a smile: "Not bad, there are more than four pounds left."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.
Yang Xiu hurriedly started cooking noodles.
Hu Yufeng and Qin Wenli weighed the soybeans again. Qin Wenli took out the money from the sale and was about to pay, but Hu Yufeng waved her hand to stop him, saying, "Eat first, and then we'll settle the bill."
After standing in the cold market for a whole day, even though Qin Wenli was young and hot-tempered, he felt cold all over.
After hearing Hu Yufeng say that they would settle it after dinner, he hurried into the house and got on the kang. His feet were almost numb from the cold, so he decided to warm them up first.
When the Qin family eats in winter, they always spread an oilcloth on the kang and place the plates on the oilcloth.
On weekdays, Old Man Qin and Hu Yufeng would occasionally sit on the kang to eat. When the meal was served today, Qin Wenli wanted to get off the kang, but Hu Yufeng refused to let him:
"You are cold today, so eat on the kang."
Qin Wenli was flattered and felt so uncomfortable during the meal.
After the meal, Qin Wenli took out a wad of dimes and handed it to Hu Yufeng: "Mom, please count it. This is the money for 16 kilograms of tofu, a total of eight yuan."
Under the kerosene lamp, Hu Yufeng lovingly spread out the worn-out coins and counted them carefully twice.
After seeing her count the money, Qin Wenli got off the kang and took the bag of soybeans.
"This is in exchange for 32 kilograms of tofu, a total of 64 kilograms of beans."
Qin Wenli took the remaining tofu and said, "We have 25 catties of beans and made a total of 53 catties of tofu. This is the remaining 4 catties and 6 ounces."
Yang Xiu came over after washing the pot and said happily, "25 kilograms of beans in exchange for 64 kilograms of beans and 8 yuan. This business is worth doing."
Upon hearing this, Qin Wenli also looked at Hu Yufeng, waiting for the next instructions from the top leader in the family.
Hu Yufeng nodded and said, "Indeed, then let's continue doing it and go every market day."
Qin Wenli had a different idea. He thought: "Can we go to two towns?"
Seeing Hu Yufeng looking over, he said, "Our home is at the junction of Shangguan Town and Shancha Township, about five kilometers from Shangguan Town and eight kilometers from Shancha Township. Our market is on the third, sixth, and ninth day, while Shancha's is on the second, fifth, and eighth day."
Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he continued, "We only sell in Shangguan, and the same people keep buying. If we go there every episode, we may not be able to sell out. If we switch to two locations, the audiences will be different, and we can sell faster."
Hu Yufeng also thought this was true, so she decided:
"Then we'll do as you say. We'll go to each village every five days. We'll make 100 kilograms each time. It's winter now, so we don't have to worry about the tofu going bad. Let's try it this way first."
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