Chapter 81
You can't tell whether a place is good or bad just by looking at it once. After all, if there are many people on one day, there may not be anyone the next day. So you can't rush into renting a house. After looking at it, I got a good idea of the main streets in the county town and put it aside for the time being.
Gu Xinxin ordered two of those snack carts.
Gu Daniu came back from Huaishu Town and also talked about the Wang family's business: "The spicy fish is selling well. The restaurants in their town buy a lot of it, mostly as a snack. But it's easy to imitate. Your uncle said that other families in Huaishu Town have started selling fish now, but they sell different flavors."
The spicy and numbing flavor may sound simple, but the recipe is actually quite difficult to create and not easy to imitate. Whether it's spicy or numbing, a slight difference in the flavor can make a big difference.
What is acceptable to the public is the most suitable. It does not mean that the spicier or more numb the better.
So other flavors are easy to imitate, like five-spice flavor. If you lack one flavor, even if it's just salty, as long as it's cheap enough, people will buy it. But spicy flavor is the hardest to imitate.
In the short term, the Wang family’s spicy fish business should not be affected too much.
Gu Xinxin now also thought of another new snack - meat floss.
Meat floss can be made with pork, fish, or chicken. In short, as long as it is lean meat, it can be used to make meat floss.
There are many ways to eat meat floss. It can be eaten with porridge, wine, steamed buns, white noodles, and white rice.
She asked Gu Daniu to buy some pork: "Just buy lean meat, a few pounds more, so we can make another rare dish later."
Gu Daniu asked Gu Chenshi to go: "Go to the town to buy it, it's close. I just came back and need to take a breath first."
Gu Chen paused and then asked, "I want to buy a handkerchief."
Gu Daniu frowned: "Can't you make your own handkerchief? Then you can make clothes and save some fabric to make a handkerchief?"
Gu Chen pursed her lips. The ones she made herself must be different from the ones she bought. The ones she bought have embroidery on them.
Gu Xinxin said, "I'll give you some copper coins. Buy a few more. I want four and two purses."
She went to get the copper coins, and Gu Qiuhe quickly shouted, "Big sister, I want some too."
Gu Xinxin refused to give it to him: "Let your mother buy it for you. Doesn't your mother have some private money? Do you think I don't know that she will embezzle some money when buying groceries every day? But I'm too lazy to care."
Gu Qiuhe didn't dare to accept it and looked at Gu Chen eagerly. Gu Chen laughed awkwardly, "How can it be considered corruption? There are so many people eating at home now, and it costs a lot of money for me to buy vegetables and rice. The money you give me is very tight, and I always have to bargain with others."
Gu Xinxin raised her eyebrows: "In that case, I will do the shopping myself from now on, and you just cook at home?"
Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly smiled apologetically, "No, no, I'm easy to talk to, and bargaining with people is quite interesting. You're a busy person, with so many things to do at home all day long. Our family is counting on you, so there's no need to waste your energy on such a small matter."
She pinched Gu Qiuhe secretly. If Gu Qiuhe hadn't asked her to do so, would Gu Xinxin have remembered this?
Gu Qiuhe felt aggrieved. She was a six or seven-year-old girl. It was normal for her to ask for a handkerchief. If she accidentally got a runny nose when she was out, she couldn't wipe it on her sleeve, right? It would be so dirty.
Besides, the young ladies from wealthy families have to cover their mouths with a handkerchief when they yawn. Their movements are so elegant that she thinks it’s okay to want to learn from them.
Seeing that Gu Xinxin didn't say anything, Gu Chen didn't dare to say anything more. She hurried to the kitchen, got a basket and walked out.
Gu Xinxin looked at her back and sneered, but didn't spend any more money.
Gu Daniu asked, "You knew she was corrupt and didn't do anything about it? Do you have such a kind heart?"
"I'm raising pigs. I want to fatten them up so I can kill them." Gu Xinxin said, "They're skinny now, and there's only a few copper coins. What's the point of taking them back? I might as well save them."
He clapped his hands and said, "Dad, you have to keep an eye on her, lest she give the money to the Chen family again. If that happens, I will lose both my wife and my army."
Gu Daniu snorted: "What does it have to do with me? It's you who wants to raise pigs, not me."
Gu Xinxin raised her eyebrows: "Isn't that money ours? If you take a look at it, I'll give it to you later. It's better than giving it away to Chen Jiaqiang for nothing."
Gu Daniu finally perked up and said solemnly, "Don't worry, I'm here to make sure she can't be sent back to the Chen family."
Gu Xinxin looked down at Gu Qiuhe and reached out to pinch her mouth. "If your mother sends the money back to the Chen family, you won't get a penny. So, you better decide for yourself what to say and what not to say."
Gu Qiuhe blinked and didn't dare to speak.
Gu Xinxin then asked Gu Daniu about the land reclamation: "What stage has it reached now?"
Speaking of land, Gu Daniu finally perked up a bit: "There are already more than ten acres. They've been cleaned up and are ready to be plowed. We have to hurry up to avoid the ground freezing in winter, which will make it difficult to plow the land."
Gu Xinxin nodded: "Then you can hire more people. Salary is not a problem. You can also provide lunch at noon. Open it as soon as possible and we can plant what we need."
Gu Daniu agreed. Since he was free at home, he simply went to watch the land reclamation with his hands behind his back.
It took Gu Chen two hours to go back and forth. After buying the pork, she gave it to Gu Xinxin, and then called Gu Qiuhe into the house. No one knew what the mother and daughter were talking about behind each other's back.
Gu Xinxin didn't care either. She only went to process her pork. To make meat floss, the pork needed to be processed first, rinsed with water, and then cooked thoroughly with various spices.
Although it is only lean meat, it is still meat after all. Once the flavor of the spices spreads, the aroma of the pork will also come out.
The whole yard is filled with fragrance.
Old Mrs. Gu leaned against the window and asked, "Want to eat stewed meat today?"
Gu Xinxin called Gu Qiuhe to light the fire: "You light the fire first and cook for half an hour."
It has to be cooked thoroughly so that it will be easier to tear apart. If it is not cooked thoroughly, the meat will be difficult to tear apart.
Then he returned to Mrs. Gu: "No, today we are having scrambled eggs with green peppers. This pork is useful, not for eating."
Old Mrs. Gu trembled: "Is it okay to eat a little?"
Gu Xinxin shook her head: "No, the portion size is limited. I need to see how much I can get out of one pound of meat before I can decide on the price. We can't delay making money. If you want to eat it, just buy it later."
After a pause, he couldn't help himself: "The food at home has been pretty good recently, and we haven't treated you badly. It's no big deal if you skip this meal."
The mumbling that was on the tip of Mrs. Gu's tongue could no longer be uttered. The reputation of being a talkative person was indeed not a good one.
Gu Xinxin instructed Gu Qiuhe: "Don't eat it yourself, and make sure no one else eats it."
The little yellow dog circled around Gu Xinxin's legs. It also wanted to eat meat.
Although the little yellow dog is young, he is smart and knows who is the boss in the family.
Gu Xinxin took some steamed buns to feed it, but the little yellow dog whined and didn't want to eat. Gu Xinxin put the steamed buns in the dog bowl and soaked them in some broth later.
Old Mrs. Gu grumbled, "Dogs eat better than humans."
Dogs are useful, and of course they can eat better.
But after these words went around in circles in his mouth, Gu Xinxin finally swallowed them.
Second Auntie came to talk to Gu Xinxin: "Wolftooth potatoes are not selling well. There are several shops in town that make similar ones, and they also have fried potatoes and the like. Now we can make about three to five hundred copper coins a day."
Three to five hundred is actually not a small amount, and you can earn a few taels of silver in a month.
Gu Xinxin said, "You can discuss with Auntie later and sell your products together, one on the east side and one on the west side. I'll also give you some spicy noodles and fish balls, and we can get a snack cart to push."
The second aunt nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. You're a smart person with ideas. You can't be wrong."
After a pause, the second aunt said, "Can the workshop handle the workload? Some time ago, I came to help your mother cook, and she said the workshop was too busy to handle the workload."
"If you're busy, come over. If you're not, I'll ask the village chief for help." Gu Xinxin said. The second aunt nodded and said, "That's fine. If you're not busy, just give me a call. I'll come when I'm free."
He lowered his voice again: "You'd better drive those two people from the Chen family away. They're restless. They haven't been working properly in the village these past few days. They've been hanging around everywhere. I've seen them several times. They're always eating fried dough twists."
Gu Xinxin smiled and said, "I see. Thank you, Second Aunt, for telling me."
Second Auntie waved her hand: "You are the God of Wealth of our Gu family. I have to protect you. But your marriage..."
As soon as she started talking about this, Gu Xinxin felt a headache. Why did everyone have to talk about their own marriage? If you don't get married at this age, it would be like a crime.
She pursed her lips before saying, "I have an idea. I want to wait a little longer until Xiangrong passes the examination and becomes a Tongsheng."
The second aunt nodded: "Okay, I'm just reminding you, just keep it in mind."
Second Aunt was also busy, so she went back quickly after saying something.
Gu Chen went to the kitchen to cook, and gave Gu Xinxin the handkerchief and purse she had just bought. The handkerchief was embroidered with flowers, while the purse was plain, with only a few leaves embroidered on it.
Gu Xinxin reached out and touched it. It was embroidered very well, purely handmade. If it were brought back to her time, it would cost at least a few hundred yuan per piece.
She wanted to learn embroidery, but it was just a thought. She definitely didn't have the time right now, nor did she have the money to hire a embroidery teacher. She thought about it later. When she made some money, she wouldn't have to worry about everything like she did now.
Putting the handkerchief down, Gu Xinxin went back to tinkering with her crossbow. She squatted in a horse stance inside the house and shot at the window. Her strength had increased, and she could hold the crossbow steady for two quarters of an hour. She would go back up the mountain with Gu Daniu and try again. If she could catch prey, it would mean she had learned a lot.
When the time comes, can you find Gu Daniu to practice with?
Beat up Gu Daniu openly?
This idea is really tempting. The more Gu Xinxin thinks about it, the better it seems. However, she needs to practice for a while, otherwise it won't be her beating Gu Daniu, but Gu Daniu beating her.
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