After Xie Baotian finished speaking, he also looked worried and remained silent.
Lu Shi embraced Xie Yushu
"My dear daughter, what am I going to do with her now!"
Seeing everyone looking so gloomy and miserable, Xie Yushu couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere any longer and broke the silence first.
"Alright, all of you, stop worrying. Mother, don't cry either. Even though I got a divorce, I'm not going to starve. Didn't I save Lord Han in the prefectural city a while ago? He gave me some money back then."
This time, I treated another patient and earned several dozen taels of silver. I have already bought a piece of mountain land in Tai'an Prefecture and have had someone build a house there. I will go there later and ask Lord Han to register me as a female household member.
I have a skill, and I can make a good living on my own. Besides, it's not far from Tianqi and Tianming, so they won't let anyone bully me. I'm more comfortable there than I am at the Xiao family's house!
Xie Tianqi and Xie Tianming also hurriedly made guarantees.
"Mom, Auntie, don't worry, we're here over there, we won't let my sister be bullied!"
Once my sister goes there, let those gossipy women in the family say whatever they want, you don't need to care. Oh, by the way, my sister also gave us thirty taels of silver. We're going to partner with Brother Liu and his brothers to open a food stall at the Tai'anfu Wharf.
Moreover, my sister bought a lot of hawthorns and white sugar for Dad, and she wanted to teach Dad and my second uncle how to make candied hawthorns. They calculated the cost: one pound of sugar can make 30 candied hawthorns, and they can earn 30 copper coins!
If my father, my eldest brother, and my second uncle could sell dozens of skewers a day, each of them could earn about one or two taels of silver a month. This was even in a bad year when they only sold to rich people. In the future, when the harvest is better, it is very possible that they can sell a hundred or so skewers a day. I have seen people selling candied hawthorns at the market and temple fairs in the past, selling hundreds of skewers a day, and they would be sold out before dark.
"If we're united, our family's life will only get better and better. Then those gossipy people will be envious!"
Xie Tianqi and Xie Tianming quickly finished explaining their money-making plan, which immediately diverted the attention of the Lu family.
"real?"
Madam Lu didn't even know what to ask first, so Xie Yushu went straight to the point.
"It's all true, but you have to keep my mountain area a secret from me. There's no need to spread it around. The place is still in a state of disrepair right now, with only temporary accommodations for the workers. Once it's fully repaired and has more rooms next year or the year after, you can go and stay there for a while to change your environment."
As for Tianqi's shop, the dock has a large flow of people, so opening a food shop there is a sure thing and you won't lose money, so there's no need to worry.
Making candied hawthorn berries is a low-cost business, simple and easy to learn, and children like to eat them. They are not expensive, so there is no worry about selling them. Earning a few taels of silver a year is not a problem.
I'll teach you tomorrow morning. It's getting cold now, so once it's dipped, you can try selling it!
After Xie Yushu finished speaking, the whole family looked on with anticipation. Xie Baotian even couldn't wait to go outside and find some brambles. He and Xie Baoshu tied two candied hawthorn sticks together overnight!
After discussing the candied hawthorns, Xie Yushu inquired about Xie Tianlin's marriage. Madam Lu praised the girl highly and said that since all of them had returned, she would have her brother invite the girl over the next day or two so that everyone could have a meal together and get to know her.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yushu said
"How about the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow is the town market day, my dad and the others are selling candied hawthorns. I'll take you to the market and we can buy some things!"
Madam Lu was afraid of spending money and didn't want to go, so she told Xie Yushu to keep the money for herself. Xie Yushu said that she knew what she was doing and that she should just come along. She said that since they were all going to be mothers-in-law, they should at least dress up a bit. Only then did Madam Lu and the others fall silent.
The family talked until late into the night before finally going to sleep.
Since Xie Baotian fired the tiles, he not only rebuilt the original five main rooms, but also built three rooms each in the east and west wings. All of them were tiled houses made of lime and stone, and the courtyard was spacious. Now, the Xie family's house is considered one of the best in the village.
Although there were many rooms, the side rooms were usually unoccupied. Although the kang (heated brick bed) was heated, it was still a bit cold and quiet. So, Madam Lü kept Xie Yushu and Xiao Haitang in her own room and sent Xie Tianqi and the other boys to the side rooms.
After a good night's sleep, Xie Yushu got up early the next morning to teach Xie Baotian and the others how to dip candied hawthorns.
Madam Lu and Madam Wang had been up for a while, and they had already made over sixty skewers of candied hawthorns. Seeing Xie Yushu come out, they asked if this was enough. Xie Yushu glanced at them and said…
"That's about it. This is our first time selling, so let's test the waters first."
Xie Baotian, Xie Baoshu, and Xie Tianlin were very enthusiastic, looking around Xie Yushu with great interest, like good students.
Xie Yushu quickly washed the pot and added water. Her second aunt, Wang, helped to start the fire, and Lu arranged the candied hawthorns one by one and brought them over to Xie Yushu. Actually, so many people were not needed, but everyone was curious, so Xie Yushu let them do their work.
Once the water boiled, Xie Yushu counted the candied hawthorns. There were sixty-six skewers. If she dipped them properly, two catties of sugar would be enough. But since it was her first time dipping them, she didn't know the exact amount, so she grabbed an extra handful and put them into the pot to stir. When the sugar started to bubble, Xie Yushu told Wang to turn off the heat and quickly started dipping them.
Pick up the skewered hawthorns, quickly roll them in the pot to coat them with sugar, then place them on a smooth cutting board. Once cooled, they become a string of crystal-clear candied hawthorns.
Although Xie Yushu's candied hawthorn technique was initially just for fun, something she learned from a video on Kuaishou (a Chinese short video platform), it turned out quite well. After dipping two jin (approximately 1 kg) of sugar, there was still some left. To avoid wasting it, Xie Yushu simply threw a few hawthorns into the pot and rolled them, producing more than a dozen candied hawthorn balls, which she then left for her family to try.
While the group was sticking candied hawthorns into the candied hawthorns, Madam Lu and Madam Wang cooked another pot of thick porridge. After everyone ate, Xie Yushu, along with Madam Lü, Madam Lu, Madam Wang, Xiao Haitang, Xie Baoshu, and Xie Baotian, headed straight for the market.
Xie Tianlin then took six strings of candied hawthorns to the girl's house to curry favor, and also told her to come to his house for dinner the next day.
Xiejia Village in the town is only twenty li away, and Xie Yushu and her group arrived in less than half an hour by driving their little donkeys.
Now, after a two or three-month transition period, the market has regained some vitality. There aren't too many people, but some are hunting pheasants and rabbits to exchange for grain and cloth, and others are exchanging potatoes for salt. However, none of the various snacks and candies are being sold.
Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu's candied hawthorns attracted everyone's attention as soon as they appeared. However, most of the people wandering around the market were poor. Even if they saw them, they couldn't afford them. Only a few people sold their mountain products and painfully spent three copper coins to buy a skewer to take home for their children.
Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu were getting anxious, so Xie Yushu advised them to shout louder, calling out to the shops along the street. She even set an example for them herself, clearing her throat and shouting.
"Candied hawthorns for sale! Sweet and sour, delicious, good for the spleen and stomach, suitable for all ages!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
