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Chapter 149: Sweet and Sour Candied Haws

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. After this day, the Chinese New Year is over, and people who are happy have to return from the celebration to reality and think about how to have a good new year.

Su Zhi planned to make some money during this festival by selling all the remaining hawthorns at home. She had already sold some by making hawthorn cakes and roasted chestnuts, and had sold all the chestnuts to the wine shop. Now there were several baskets of hawthorns left, and Su Zhi planned to make them all into candied haws, and then sell them at the lantern fair. She would definitely be able to fetch a good price.

Su Zhi calculated that if there were five or six hawthorns in a string, then several thousand strings of candied haws could be made. And if she and Shen Zian were the only ones to sell these candied haws, not to mention whether they could be sold out, even if they could be sold out, they would be exhausted to death. So she decided to get someone to help sell them.

If you want to make money, of course you should look for acquaintances.

The people Su Zhi invited were all those who had been close to them in recent days. This time, she did not invite Liu Si Niang and Wang Huazhi. Not to mention whether these two people could go to the lantern festival in the town on the Lantern Festival, even if they could go, this time they would be selling candied haws, which is a physical job. There are many people there, so it would be more appropriate for a man to go.

Wang Huazhi was a widow, and it was inconvenient for her to take care of a baby. Liu Si Niang was not well-received in that family. She had her share of work, and no one would think of her when going out for the Lantern Festival. Even if they did, they would let her stay at home to look after the house. Besides, Su Zhi saw that Zhao Daliang had returned, and she felt that he was not a pure person and had too many tricks. She did not want to let him know about the money she made from the business, and she did not want him to ask to participate in it.

Therefore, in addition to Li Shi, they also called Li Qing, Shen Shugen, Shen Zifu, and Shen Zigui, thinking that when the candied haws were ready, they could be divided into groups to sell them, which would definitely sell them much faster. After selling them, they could go out and play, without any delay.

On the Lantern Festival, Shen Zian went to call all these people over early in the morning.

Su Zhi told these people about selling candied haws and asked them who would like to join the business.

"Dear brothers and sisters-in-law, we are all responsible for this. We will work together and I will pay everyone. When it is done, everyone can take a certain amount of Tanghulu to sell at the Lantern Festival. Every time you sell a string of Tanghulu, you can withdraw part of the money. The more you sell, the more money you get. How much money can you make depends on how much you sell. This is called dividends. What do you think? Do you want to do this business?"

Su Zhi finished her words standing in front of the hall, looking at the people sitting on both sides. She knew they would definitely agree. This was a no-cost deal. As long as they worked hard, they would make money. Anyone who didn't make money was a fool.

Sister Li's eyes widened and she said, "Sister, look at what you said. Of course we all want to do it. You are giving us money. If we don't take this good thing that falls from the sky, we will be so hungry that even God will have no mercy on us!"

The rest of the people also nodded, thinking that this was a really good thing. Some even thought that this was taking advantage of Shen Zian and his wife, and that the dividends they gave were too much, and that they should just give wages.

Su Zhi said, "Brothers and sisters-in-law, please don't be polite. We have become familiar with each other these days, and it would be a stretch to be polite. Besides, it is not certain whether this Tanghulu will make money or not. Maybe the dividends you get will not be as much as the wages I pay you during the day. Then you will feel that you are taking advantage of us."

Sister Shugen said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, the things you make will definitely sell. Even if you stew cabbage, it tastes better than ours. Your hands will be praised even if you cook for the emperor. I don't know what this Tanghulu is, but just by hearing it, I feel that it must be delicious."

Mrs. Li also said, "That's right. We all say that the red sour fruit tastes bad, but you, my fourth sister-in-law, can make such delicious pastries. If you can make that, you can definitely make other delicious ones."

Li Shi said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, you have been telling us about this Tanghulu for a long time, let us see what it is, and let us taste it before selling it to others, otherwise it will be unfair."

Wang asked in surprise, "Brother Shitou, you have seen the world, but you have never heard of this Tanghulu?"

Because Li Shi was sold as a servant, he had been to many places, even to the capital. To many people in Hebian Village who had never traveled far, he was considered to have seen the world.

Li Shi waved his hands and said, "I have never even heard of it. This is nothing special. My sister-in-law is very clever and has made so many strange foods that I have never seen before. Now that she has made the same thing, I don't think it's anything special. I just want to see it and try it once."

Wang thought so too. She glanced at Su Zhi and thought it was a good thing that she didn't quarrel with Shen Zian and his wife because of her sister's matter. Otherwise, Su Zhi was so smart and had so many ways to make money. Their eldest wife wouldn't be able to get involved. Even if they did, she was too embarrassed to show up in front of them because she cared too much about her reputation. She was happy to make more money, but she felt distressed when she thought about having to hand it over to the government.

When others heard that it was another food that even Li Shi had never heard of, they became even happier, thinking that the more exotic the food was, the easier it would sell. Like Li Shi, they also wanted to see what the candied haws looked like.

Su Zhi was very happy to see that everyone was willing to sell Tanghulu with them. These people were the ones who had been very caring towards them in recent days. She also hoped to make their lives a little better, and she planned to promote the reputation of Tanghulu during this Lantern Festival.

"My four sisters-in-law, come with me to pick up the sour fruits, and let the men do their work."

Su Zhi led the four women into the west room. There was also a kang in that room. Shen Zian had heated it up in the morning. Then he put charcoal in the room and it became very warm.

The baskets of red sour fruits were placed in this room. Su Zhi had soaked and washed them with spiritual spring water yesterday. Now they were all bright red, as if they had just been picked from the tree. The women were amazed when they saw them and praised Su Zhi for her ability to hide fruits.

Su Zhi thought that if it wasn't for the effect of the spiritual spring, it wouldn't be so juicy. However, this hawthorn is easy to get, so it's not surprising that its quality is better.

Su Zhi first took some sour fruits and showed them to the others, teaching them how to remove the seeds.

The four women were all deft hands and learned how to do it immediately. They all started to remove the seeds from the sour fruits while chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was very lively.

Shen Zian took Li Shi and several other men to make bamboo sticks. Hu Zi and Xiao Suo also played along, but they both liked playing with Xiao Hei and the others more. They were kicking a bamboo ball in the garden, playing steal with Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, while Bai Lang and Da Hei watched from the side.

By noon, several men had already peeled a lot of bamboo sticks and handed them over to the west room. At this time, the seeds of the red and sour fruits had also been removed.

Except for Li Shi, the other four couples went home to eat. Li Shi stayed to eat with Shen Zian and his wife. Just after they finished their meal and took a short rest, those people came back. They all wanted to make the candied haws quickly so that they could taste it.

"That Sun wanted to come, but we stopped her. Sister-in-law, please ask the Holy Beast to watch over them. If she and my third brother come, it will definitely not be good."

Wang said that she did not want Sun to interfere in the transaction, as one more person would mean more money, especially since it was Sun, whom she hated.

Su Zhi and Shen Zian looked at each other, and Shen Zian went out and spoke to the white wolf, telling it to guard the place if anyone came. In short, they must not let anyone they didn't welcome see the Tanghulu.

Sure enough, this afternoon, Shen Ziping and Sun came over, but the Holy Beast was frightened and was sent away by Shen Zian before he even entered the door. The two were very unwilling to leave, they also wanted to make money, but Shen Zian and his wife would not let them participate, and they hated Shen Zian and his wife very much.

Shen Zian and Su Zhi were naturally not afraid of offending them, and the two of them continued to do what they were supposed to do. They taught several people how to make candied haws. When the bright red candied haws wrapped in sparkling syrup appeared in front of everyone, several people thought that this thing was so cute that they wanted to eat it just by looking at it, but they were reluctant to do so as they thought it looked good even when they held it in their hands.

Su Zhi said, "This is Tanghulu. We can make it into large and small bunches. The large bunches can hold six pieces, and the small bunches can hold three. The large bunches are sold for five cents, and the small bunches are sold for two cents. The small bunches are made from the small sour red fruits left over after the large bunches are made."

Several people looked at the big and small strings of candied haws, and felt that the big strings were festive and the small strings were also festive. Several adults held the big strings, while Xiaosuo and Huzi held the small strings. Even if they didn't eat them, just holding them gave them a different feeling.

“Delicious! Sour and sweet!”

Hu Zi bit off a red sour fruit and felt a sour-sweet taste in his mouth. It tasted better than the best snacks and candies he had ever eaten. He immediately smiled.

Xiaosuo also took a light bite and nodded with a smile.

Several adults also started to eat it and found it delicious. They immediately gained confidence in making money from the candied haws trade. After finishing the candied haws in their hands, they started to work enthusiastically.

There is strength in numbers. After everything was done, several people loaded all the candied haws and placed them on Shen Zian's ox cart. Then they prepared to go to the town. (