Please remember the domain name of this site:

Chapter 203 Sweet potatoes can also make all the money in the world

(Girls' Literature)

The breath of spring is getting stronger and stronger. The green is already in patches. The light green on the willow trees on both sides of the river in Hebian Village has begun to turn darker, from small buds to small leaves. The ice in the river has melted long ago, and the river is flowing slowly, appearing full of vitality. Some small wild vegetables are also growing on the riverside, as well as some small wild flowers, purple and white. There are only a few of them, but they make people happy to see.

Today is the second day after Liu Si Niang's wedding. It was almost noon before Su Zhi, Shen Zian and the three children went to Li Shi's house.

Liu Si Niang came to open the door. During these days at Su Zhi's house, Su Zhi did not give her Lingquan Xianlian specially. She just let her eat and sleep normally, and let her wash her face with rice water every day. Finally, Liu Si Niang's sallow and dry face regained some color. Although she still looks thin and not too white, she looks much better than before. Seeing Su Zhi and Shen Zian, she smiled slightly. That kind of shy and happy smile made her face look more vivid.

Su Zhi looked at Liu Si Niang's smile and thought that she seemed very happy now.

"Su Zhi, Brother Zi'an, come in quickly."

Liu Si Niang called out and reached out to pull the three children. During the days she lived in the Shen family, she had a very good relationship with the three children and she wished she could give birth to a child like them someday.

Li Shi was chopping wood in the yard. When he saw them coming in, he looked up and smiled, saying, "Please sit down for a while. I'll be done with my work soon. We'll have dinner soon."

This was what Li Shi had agreed to. On the second day after the wedding, he invited Shen Zian and his wife to his house for lunch. He thanked them for taking care of Liu Si Niang these days and for helping them get married. Shen Zian and Su Zhi were naturally not polite and came with their children.

Shen Zian was talking to Li Shi, while the three kids were playing around in the yard. Liu Si Niang pulled Su Zhi into the house.

Li Shi's house was built not long ago, but because he just wanted a place to live and didn't have much money, it wasn't built very well and was very low. After Su Zhi went in, she saw that the house was very clean and tidy, which was really different from before. She thought it was better to have a woman at home. Liu Si Niang was capable and Li Shi was caring. The two of them would live together and things would get better and better.

Su Zhi asked about Liu Si Niang's life after she got married, but she was not the kind of person who liked to tease people. She asked some caring questions and Liu Si Niang answered generously. Su Zhi saw that she had adapted well, so she nodded. Marrying Li Shi was Liu Si Niang's own choice, but she helped. She wanted them to be happy, not to find out that they were not suitable after getting married. Su Zhi thought that she was really not suitable to be a matchmaker.

"Aunt Liu, Aunt Liu, Uncle Shitou said that you are going to build a big house. Is that true? I will come to help you when the time comes. Mom's drawings are beautiful. I can draw, too. I will draw a beautiful big house for Aunt Liu."

Yueyue ran in and said to Liu Si Niang.

Liu Si Niang picked up Yueyue with a smile and said, "Okay, Yueyue, draw a big house for Aunt Liu."

Su Zhi asked Xiao Ri and Xing Er to sit on the edge of the kang and asked Liu Si Niang, "Speaking of the house. We also need to build a garden at home, and we will need to find someone to do it. Why don't we help you build the house first, and then we can do our own work. I can also help you. Building a house is also very tiring."

"Brother Shitou said he doesn't want to worry about meals, so he'll do what you did last year, paying wages that include meal expenses. Then we can go find people in the village to eat, or have the meals delivered here. It's quite convenient."

"That's good too. It saves me the trouble of cooking. Besides, I don't know who eats more and who doesn't, so I don't end up overcooking or having leftovers."

Two women were talking inside the room, while outside Shen Zian and Li Shi were also talking about the house. Li Shi said that they would start working after the Baiyu Festival. Shen Zian asked if there was enough money, and if not, she could get some from him.

"That's enough. I already had a few taels of silver. Later, I sold the tiger with you and started business with you. Now I have enough money to build a big house. I'll build it according to the drawing my sister-in-law drew for me last time. I won't tear down these houses. I'll use it as a place to raise cattle and pigs like you do."

Li Shi said that he was not so enthusiastic about building a big house before, because he did not care so much about getting married. As a person, it was enough to have a place to live. But now that he has married a wife, who is someone he cares about very much, he wants her to live a good life. Especially the life that Liu Si Niang had lived before, he wants her to be able to walk around the village with her head held high. So having money and a big house is the first priority.

Shen Zian said, "Brother Shitou, just make up your mind. Then let Brother Li Qing and Brother Shugen build a house and make furniture for you. Their craftsmanship has improved a lot now."

"I talked to them and they all agreed. By the way, the Zhao family also wanted to build a house and they also approached the Shugen brothers, but Shugen didn't agree."

Li Shi said that he knew that Shen Shugen rejected Zhao Daliang not only because he promised to build a house for him, but also because he looked down on Zhao Daliang.

Shen Zian naturally knew that Zhao Daliang was rich now, and that it was related to Zhang Qingniang. People in the village spread the word that Zhang Qingniang had money, which made Zhao Daliang abandon his first wife. But since they were so rich, why didn't they move to the town or the county seat, but built a house in this riverside village? Zhao Daliang has been doing business outside for the past few years. It would be easier for him to do business in a prosperous place, right?

Li Shi put down his axe, stood up, carried the firewood into the house, and said, "Who knows? I wonder too. If they leave, I won't be annoyed when I see them. But if they don't leave, then they won't leave. We are not afraid of them. Letting them watch us live a good life will make us feel relieved."

"Brother Shitou is right. Let them watch us live a good life."

Shen Zian said that ever since he got married, his life has been getting better and better. Now even Brother Shitou has married and is going to build a big house, which is really reassuring.

At noon, Su Zhi occupied the Li family's kitchen. She cooked and only let Liu Si Niang help her. It was not because she thought her cooking was delicious, but she just wanted Liu Si Niang to rest more. This wedding night was too tiring. She felt that Liu Si Niang seemed to be weak. When she stared at Liu Si Niang like that, Liu Si Niang was embarrassed and refused to rest, so she could only let her help her.

The dishes from yesterday's banquet were all taken home by the guests who were very kind to the banquet. Even if Su Zhi and her friends didn't mind eating the leftovers, they didn't have any left. They could only make new ones. Fortunately, there were still some ingredients.

Finally, we made a small pot of stewed potatoes with meat, a small pot of braised pig feet with soybeans, a plate of stir-fried cabbage, and a plate of bean sprouts. There were still some steamed buns from yesterday, so we heated them up and the four adults and three children ate them noisily.

"What a pity, there is no vermicelli. If there were vermicelli, the cabbage would be delicious. Pork, cabbage and vermicelli are very delicious."

"Fan noodles? What is that?"

Li Shi asked, did he know that this sister-in-law could cook a lot of delicious food? He was not a greedy person, but every time he ate something, he wanted to eat it again. She said that this vermicelli was delicious, and he became interested.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Su Zhi thought that it was okay to talk about it. She was planning to make a fortune from this anyway. By then, she and Shen Zian alone would not be able to handle it. Li Shi and Liu Si Niang were both capable and practical people, more reliable than the brothers of the Shen family. Of course, she had to ask them to help. Now she would let them know so that they could have a good expectation for the future.

"When I was in a nunnery, I met a master. I learned a lot from him. This vermicelli is something he taught me. It is made from sweet potatoes or potatoes."

Su Zhi has now started calling sweet potatoes and potatoes by their real names. She feels that the names are more friendly, and even if she says that it is the master who calls them that, no one will say anything.

"Vermicelli is a bit hard and slightly transparent, like noodles. You can leave it dry and put it aside for a long time. When you want to eat it, put it in water and it will become soft. It is delicious when cooked. In winter, stewing it with cabbage will make the cabbage taste better."

"Mom, mom, I want to eat vermicelli!"

Yueyue felt her saliva was about to flow out after hearing this. She wanted to eat the food called vermicelli so much, even though there was a big piece of meat in her bowl.

Shen Zian and others had the same idea. They had never seen such a thing called vermicelli before. Just hearing that it could be stored for a long time without going bad, they thought it was a great thing.

"Can we make it with sweet potatoes and potatoes? These two things are both grains and not too expensive. If we make vermicelli with them, we can make a lot of money."

After all, Li Shi had spent a few years outside, and when he heard Su Zhi talking about vermicelli, he thought of making it and selling it.

Su Zhi nodded and said, "It can be stored for a long time, and it is easy to carry and sell to many places. As long as we have enough people, we can sell it all over the country. The most important thing is that if you don't tell us what it is made of, no one can guess, let alone how it is made. It will be difficult for others to imitate it."

"So, we are the only place in the world that can make this... vermicelli?"

Liu Si Niang's eyes widened and she said, "How much money can you make from that?"

Su Zhi smiled and said, "Of course it's all the money in the world. However, as the saying goes, a big tree attracts the wind. If this thing makes money, it will definitely attract others, so we have to find a backer when the time comes."

Shen Zian held Su Zhi's hand and said, "Don't worry, there will be a way."

"There is a way. I'm telling you this now. Let's think about who we should find as our partner. We must find someone who can keep this way of making money. Don't be too anxious. We still have time. After all, we are still a long way from the season when sweet potatoes and potatoes are ripe." RQ