Ji Dashan lowered his head in silence, feeling shame for seeing his son and daughter leave with almost nothing, their father’s life even worse than theirs. He felt that he had lost face.
Lady Ding noticed Ji Dashan’s demeanor and got angry, but all she could do was vent her frustration. Even if she kicked Ji Dashan out, the Ji family’s wealth was limited, and now they were truly at the end of their resources.
How would they get by in the future? They couldn’t keep selling their land, could they? The family only had a few acres of land; how long could that possibly last?
Why not ask the younger ones for help? Lady Ding had tried before, but with no success. Moreover, these youngsters were not like they used to be, all resourceful, and she dared not take any action lightly.
Thinking of this, Lady Ding vented her discontent by hitting Ji Dashan several times.
——
The atmosphere was heavy in the main rooms because Gao Zhiru had run off, but Ji Xinhe and her siblings were quite happy.
Ji Xinhe had been waiting for several days, and the hurriedly made fermented tofu was finally ready.
Ji Xinhe took out the jar and carefully opened it. Xiao Bei stood close by, wanting to get closer but not daring to.
Before pickling, they had sniffed it once and found it incredibly stinky. Moreover, the tofu had already grown moldy, making him wonder if it was really edible.
As Ji Xinhe opened the jar, a wave of indescribable odor wafted out, causing Xiao Bei to frown.
However, Ji Xinhe seemed delighted as she poked a small piece with her chopsticks, tasted it, and then her eyes lit up: "Hmm! Not bad."
Xiao Bei widened his eyes: "Really? Not bad?" He suspected that his sister was deceiving him.
"Come on, try it. This is what fermented tofu tastes like. It’s delicious." Ji Xinhe poked another small piece and brought it to Xiao Bei’s mouth.
Xiao Bei’s face wrinkled in dismay, and he looked to Mu Houchu for help. Mu Houchu, however, sat there indifferently without offering any assistance. After all, hadn’t he told Xiao Bei to taste it?
Xiao Bei clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, opening his mouth to eat it.
Looking at Xiao Bei’s resigned expression, Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but laugh: "What are you afraid of? It’s not like I’m giving you poison."
Mu Houchu raised his eyebrows: "Is there a difference?"
Ji Xinhe glared at him before smiling at Xiao Bei: "You have a good taste, is it good?"
With curved eyebrows and a smile, she looked like a madam coercing girls into prostitution.
Mu Houchu couldn’t help but smile slightly and shook his head.
Xiao Bei reluctantly tasted the stinky tofu in his mouth and suddenly discovered that it didn’t taste that bad after all.
Upon tasting it again, he found the flavor to be quite unique. While certainly unconventional, it was actually quite good—an entirely novel taste that he couldn’t describe but grew increasingly delicious.
Xiao Bei smacked his lips, saying: "Mmm, it’s not bad actually."
Ji Xinhe looked triumphant and smiled at Mu Houchu. Then, she patted Xiao Bei’s head: "If it tastes good, eat some more. See, you should trust your sister, right? We can definitely sell this and make money!"
Xiao Bei hurriedly took another bite, finding it much more palatable than before. He nodded repeatedly: "It really is delicious!"
Ji Xinhe finally laughed: "Then let’s take it to the market and sell it tomorrow!"
"But will people be willing to try it?" Xiao Bei swallowed and asked.
He only tried it because he trusted his sister, but what about others? They might not even want to touch it. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Ji Xinhe chuckled slyly: "How could they know how fermented tofu is made?"
Only Xiao Bei had seen the rotten tofu. No one else would know!
Now, after a second round of pickling and being coated with chili oil and other ingredients, the mold had long been covered up.
Xiao Bei’s face darkened: "······"
Was his sister’s black-hearted behavior really okay?
Ji Xinhe laughed, ruffling Xiao Bei’s head: "All right, the tofu is edible, and there’s nothing wrong with the mold on top. Since we’re eating it ourselves, it’s not cheating to sell it to others, right?"
"······" As long as you’re happy.
——
The next morning, Ji Xinhe woke up early as usual and prepared to sell her sour bamboo shoots.
She also brought along a jar of the ready-made fermented tofu.
Going out to sell goods, there was no need for too many people. Ji Dong had fixed the heating mattress pad in the house, but there wasn’t enough firewood, so he went to chop wood in the mountains every day.
Mu Houchu accompanied Ji Xinhe, helping her carry things and driving the bullock cart.
This time, they set off before dawn. It was the day of the tri-weekly market—always the busiest—and many villagers were heading to the fair.
As Ji Xinhe pushed the cart out, she caught sight of Hong Qin and called out: "Hong Qin, are you going to the market too?"
Hong Qin waved and smiled: "Xin He, are you going to the market again? So am I. My mom asked me to buy some oil, salt, and other household supplies."
Then, Hong Qin pulled Zheng Xiaocui aside and said, "Xiao Cui is also going to the market. She’s going to sell her embroidery. She’s quite skilled!"
Being more reserved in temperament than Hong Qin, Zheng Xiaocui blushed and said modestly: "It’s just a little hobby I do in my spare time. It doesn’t amount to much."
Ji Xinhe smiled: "Since we’re all going to the market, let’s go together. Get in the cart."
Hong Qin laughed: "That works perfectly!"
With a touch of embarrassment, Xiaocui said: "Sorry for the trouble."
"No trouble, there’s still room in the cart. Hop in," Ji Xinhe gestured for them to get on board.
Hong Qin glanced at the man driving the cart. He was wearing a bamboo hat, and it was still dark, so she couldn’t see his face clearly. She didn’t dare to look too closely, but still, she winked at Ji Xinhe: "Xin He, who is this? Is he the one your brother found for you to discuss marriage? I heard people in the village talking about it recently."
The villagers were saying that Ji Xinhe was getting married and that a man had come to her house to discuss marriage.
Ji Xinhe retorted irritably: "What nonsense is this? Do you also believe it? He’s just a distant relative of ours."
Hong Qin smiled ambiguously at Ji Xinhe, as if to say she understood her shyness and didn’t press the issue further.
Ji Xinhe wanted to grab Hong Qin’s collar and tell her that she had nothing to do with this man!
Hearing their conversation, Mu Houchu continued driving the bullock cart absentmindedly, not looking back. However, he couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips in amusement.
Suddenly, Ji Xinhe saw Lady Ding, Ji Xiulan, and Ji Xiaobao in the distance, also heading towards the market.
Hong Qin tugged at Ji Xinhe’s sleeve with a low voice: "Are you going to take them with you, too?"
Hong Qin didn’t get along with Ji Xiulan and had argued with her several times before. Ji Xiulan also looked down on girls like Hong Qin.
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