Liang Fugui saw that the person in front of him was dressed in a silk robe, wore cotton boots with a thousand soles, and had his hair tied up with a jade hairpin. Judging from his attire, he was a wealthy person.
He hurriedly began to introduce his product, "Sir, my family's brown sugar is guaranteed to be pure, and the price is very reasonable, only seventy copper coins per pound. It's an absolute bargain. This is two hundred pounds in total. If you need anything in the future, we can cooperate long-term..."
Hou Da Kui didn't reply, but instead bent down, picked up a small pinch of brown sugar, and tasted it carefully.
After a moment, Hou Da Kui shook his head. "The brown sugar is not bad overall, but it's a bit bitter. It was overcooked and isn't worth seventy coins."
Liang Fugui nodded and chuckled, "This gentleman is clearly an expert. You're right, my pot of sugar was indeed overcooked. Try these, they'll definitely taste authentic."
As he spoke, he hurriedly took out some brown sugar from another bag and handed it to Hou Da Kui.
"Okay, I'll try it." Hou Da Kui put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and then nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad at all."
Having received approval, Liang Fugui seized the opportunity to explain, "This batch of brown sugar was cooked too quickly because my new employee wasn't very familiar with it and didn't get the timing right, so it tastes a bit bitter. If you're interested in buying it, I can give you a discount."
Hou Da Kui smiled faintly, "I really am out of brown sugar in my shop. I can keep yours, but I came here to buy white sugar. The other shop I went to had more than enough, and I couldn't buy any. I wonder if you have any white sugar for sale?"
"To be honest, my family doesn't have any," Liang Fugui said truthfully.
"What a pity." Hou Da Kui shook his head with some regret. "Since you can make brown sugar, why don't you make white sugar? That stuff is in high demand now. I can take as much as you have."
Liang Fugui knew all this, and he also wanted to make white sugar, but he didn't know how, so he could only stare helplessly.
"Please don't rush. My sugar shop has only been established for a short time. Once it's stable, I'll definitely start making white sugar. I hope you'll support me then."
"Alright, if you can make white sugar, I'll be the first to support you." After Hou Da Kui finished speaking, he waved his hand to the attendant behind him, "Give me the money, I want all this brown sugar."
Upon hearing this, Liang Fugui's heart nearly leaped out of his chest with excitement. "Thank you so much, sir. May I ask where you are? If I manage to make the sugar, where can I find you?"
"I am Hou Da Kui, the manager of Hou Ji Grain Shop in Anyang County. If you can make white sugar, you can come to Anyang to find me." As Hou Da Kui spoke, he handed a gleaming silver ingot to Liang Fugui.
Upon seeing such a large ingot of silver in front of him, Liang Fugui's eyes widened considerably. He hurriedly took it, saying, "I'll remember this. Thank you, Lord Marquis, for patronizing my business."
Then they loaded the brown sugar onto the truck.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for your good news." Hou Da Kui finished speaking, boarded the carriage, and drove away.
Liang Fugui clutched the silver in his hand tightly, so happy he wanted to shout out loud.
He suppressed his overwhelming joy and hurried home, eager to tell his wife the good news.
******
At this moment, Ruhua was dragging a sack of beets with all her might. The job that Liang had assigned her was not tiring; she was just responsible for washing and cutting the beets into small pieces.
As usual, she untied the ropes binding the sack, and a pungent smell immediately hit her face, making her gag.
Seeing this, Liang, who was gathering firewood not far away, laughed and teased, "Oh, sister, you're not pregnant, are you? Congratulations! The scholar will be overjoyed when he gets back!"
Ru Hua waved her hand but didn't reply.
With a concerned look, Mrs. Liang said, "Oh dear, why such a strong reaction? You should rest for a while."
"No, no need, I'm not pregnant." Ru Hua suppressed her nausea and took a few steps back, pointing to the sack. "Sister-in-law, take a look, those beetroots look like they've all gone bad."
"Oh no, this can't be!" Liang was startled. She quickly put down the firewood in her arms, walked over, opened the bag, and saw a scene that made her want to vomit.
The beetroots, which should have been plump and red, had become soft, sticky, and emitted a disgusting smell.
Some beets had completely rotted into a puddle of mud, with countless white maggots wriggling inside.
Even the beets that weren't completely rotten were covered with dense black spots on their surface.
Despite the stench, Liang gently touched the beet skin, which peeled off easily, revealing that the rot started from the heart of the beet.
Liang was stunned, oblivious to the stench emanating from the sack, and ran frantically towards the pile of beets.
I opened each bag to check, and with each bag I opened, a chill ran down my spine.
Her eyes were lifeless, and she muttered, "It's over, it's all over..."
Confused, everyone crowded around to take a look. When they saw that the beets had rotted into a pulp, they were all puzzled.
A young woman hurriedly emptied the entire bag of beets, noticing that some were still intact. She quickly said to Mrs. Liang,
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, there's more good stuff inside."
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions.
"That's right. Fortunately, we found it in time. Let's quickly put it away, pick out the usable parts, and put them in a cool place."
"Yes, yes, let's get started picking them out."
This scene was witnessed by Liang Fugui, who was walking to the gate. Seeing that everyone was not working but instead carrying sacks, he was furious. They were actually taking the wages he was paid and shirking their work. It was outrageous.
He strode forward, his face grim, and shouted angrily, "What are you all doing gathered around the beet pile? Get to work!"
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