Li Hehua had come here secretly so many times and had never been seen by the Zhang family. He didn't expect to be seen by chance today. He could only say that he was unlucky.
In fact, Zhang Tieshan didn't expect to see Li Hehua at this time. After all, she had come in the afternoon several times before, and he didn't expect her to come at this time today.
However, seeing that Li Hehua looked very uneasy, the awkwardness in his heart disappeared. After a pause, he said, "Come and see Shulin." It was a statement rather than a question.
Li Hehua had originally thought that Zhang Tieshan would treat her coldly or even throw her out. After all, he really hated the original owner. But she didn't expect him to be so calm and take the initiative to talk to her. She was a little overwhelmed and subconsciously nodded along with his words, "Well, let's take a look at the book forest." After that, she didn't know what to say anymore. The scene was a bit awkward.
Zhang Tieshan stopped talking, put the farm tools in the corner and went to fetch water to wash his hands.
Li Hehua blinked and thought that he should slip away quickly. Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Linshi might come back later and then they would suspect that he had bad intentions.
Li Hehua patted the little one's back and coaxed him softly, "Baby, I'm leaving now. Please let go of my hand, okay?"
But the little baby in my arms held on even tighter, silently refusing.
Li Hehua felt sad and kissed the little guy on the forehead gently, "Baby, I can't stay here with you, but I promise you, I will come to see you soon, okay?"
The little guy rubbed against her arms, as if he was attached to her or acting coquettishly.
Zhang Tieshan came in again after washing his hands. Seeing the two people, he pursed his lips, walked over and gently patted the little girl on the head, "How can a man be like a little girl? Let go."
The little guy stopped rubbing and nestled in Li Hehua's arms without moving.
Li Hehua quickly touched the little guy's head and comforted him, "Our baby is still young, of course you can do this, you will become a man when you grow up. But baby, you can't let me go, because I have to go back and make delicious food for you, otherwise I won't be able to bring delicious food for you next time."
Zhang Tieshan was listening at a loss of focus, and his eyes shifted from the little guy to the woman in front of him.
This woman seemed to have lost a lot of weight, but her face didn't look much different. If he didn't know that the Li family only had one daughter, he would have suspected that Li Hehua had a twin sister with a completely different personality. Otherwise, how could this woman change so completely? How could the original Li Hehua speak so gently?
He could see that her love for Shulin at this moment was from the bottom of her heart. If she could deceive his eyes, it only meant that this woman was very good at acting. However, he knew that Li Hehua didn't have the ability to act at all; what she didn't have even more was cooking skills.
He still remembered the only time this woman cooked after she married into his family. The food didn't taste very good at all. But now, the food this woman cooked was very delicious, and many of the things she cooked were things that ordinary people had never heard of. Her cooking skills were definitely not ordinary. Can a person change so much through self-study?
There is something wrong with this woman.
Li Hehua didn't know that she had been suspected again and again by the person opposite her. She just focused on coaxing the little guy and finally coaxed him into letting go.
"So good!" Li Hehua kissed the little guy in appreciation, picked up the basket on the table, nodded to Zhang Tieshan meaningfully, and turned to leave.
If the Zhang family was at home, she really didn't want to stay here any longer, so she decided to leave quickly.
Just as Li Hehua was about to step out of the door, a deep voice came from behind him, "Next time you come to see him, just come in directly."
Zhang Tieshan said that.
Li Hehua was surprised and paused. She turned around and saw Zhang Tieshan holding the little guy and looking at her. It was obvious that what he had just said was directed at her.
If this happened in modern times, the other party would have every right to see the child after a divorce, but in ancient times, children were basically not given to the mother. If you wanted to see the child, you had to look at the man's opinion. If the man didn't want you to see the child, then it was useless to say anything. So Li Hehua was very surprised. His family should be extremely reluctant to see the child. She didn't understand why he suddenly said that, but this was a good thing for her. She wouldn't have to sneak around like a thief to see the little guy in the future, so she nodded. "Okay."
......................................
As she was going to live in the town tomorrow, Li Hehua packed her things after making the pastries, but she had basically nothing, so she finished it in no time. After finishing, she began to think about her life after moving to the town.
It would be much more convenient for her to do business in the town. She could reach the market right outside her home and no longer had to walk back and forth for several hours like she did now. This way she would have more time, so she could fully realize her previous plan - to set up a snack stall.
She had wanted to set up a snack stand to sell snacks before, but she didn't have the money to prepare the things needed for the snack stand, so she went to work as a waiter to save money. Now that she has money and it is convenient for her to live in town, she can definitely take action.
In addition to pots, pans, and utensils, the things needed to set up a snack stall are tables, chairs, and benches. Pots, pans, and utensils can be bought in town for about two hundred coins. The rest is the cost of making tables and chairs. After deducting the money used for renting the house, she now has more than two taels of silver left. She doesn't know if this money is enough.
Li Hehua found Cao Simei and asked, "Sister, is there a good carpenter in the village? I want to make some tables and chairs."
Cao Simei thought she wanted to make tables and chairs for the courtyard in the town, so she answered without asking any more questions: "We have some in the village. Carpenter Qian in our village has been a carpenter all his life and has excellent craftsmanship. Many people from other villages come to him to make things. Sometimes people in the town also come to him to save money."
That's great! Li Hehua hurriedly said, "Sister, can you take me to Carpenter Qian's house? I want to ask him in person to see if he has enough money. If he does, I'll ask him to give me a call."
Cao Simei took off her dirty apron and put it aside. "Okay, I'll take you there now."
Fourth Sister Cao took Li Hehua directly to Carpenter Qian's house. The former carpenter was sawing wood in the yard. When he saw Fourth Sister Cao coming, he quickly stood up and greeted her, "Why is Aunt Cao here? Are you going to make something?"
Fourth Sister Cao took Li Hehua's hand and introduced her to Carpenter Qian, "Old Qian, this is my sister. She wants you to buy some tables and chairs for her, so I brought her here to ask."
Carpenter Qian said "Oh", took off the towel from his neck and patted the sawdust off his body, and asked as he patted, "I wonder what kind of sawdust you want to make?"
Li Hehua replied: "I want to make ordinary dining tables and chairs, like the ones used by noodle stalls in town to serve noodles to customers. I want to make four tables and sixteen chairs. I wonder how much you would charge for them?"
As soon as Li Hehua mentioned the price of the tables and chairs at the noodle stall, the carpenter understood. He calculated in his mind and then named the price, "I'll charge you 40 coins for this table and 20 coins for each chair. Do you think it's okay?"
Li Hehua didn't know whether the price was a good deal or not, but the person recommended by Sister Cao should not be a rip-off. Sure enough, Sister Cao nodded slightly after hearing what she said, indicating that the price was very reasonable. So Li Hehua smiled and nodded, "Okay, then please make it for me. But I need it urgently, I wonder when you can make it?"
Carpenter Qian has been doing carpentry work all his life, so he has a pretty good estimate of time. He immediately said, "If you're in a hurry, I can make what you want first. Four tables and sixteen chairs will be ready for you in about three days."
Three days later, Li Hehua was completely satisfied, so he said, "Okay, thank you for your help." Then, Li Hehua remembered something and said, "Uncle Qian, I need a cart to push things here. Can you make it for me?"
How can a snack stall be complete without a cart? Li Hehua almost forgot about this. It would be even better if Carpenter Qian could do it together. If not, she would have to go to the town to find someone who could do it.
When Carpenter Qian heard that Li Hehua wanted to hit a cart, he was stunned for a moment. After looking at her twice, he didn't say anything else, but just nodded and said, "Sure, I've hit many carts before."
Li Hehua became happy and said, "That's great. Could you please get me another cart?"
Carpenter Qian did not rush to agree, but said: "But this cart requires a lot of wood, wheels and bearings, it is more troublesome to make, and the price is not cheap, one will cost three hundred coins, are you sure you want to do it?"
Li Hehua did a quick mental calculation in his mind: after taking out the pots, pans, and utensils, there would be about 1,800 coins left in his pocket. After taking out the money for four tables and sixteen chairs, there should be about 1,300 coins left. After making a cart, there would be one or two taels of silver left, enough to buy food and some daily necessities.
After making up his mind, Li Hehua said to Carpenter Qian, "I'm sure you'll do it. Please make it for me."
Carpenter Qian agreed, "Okay, but the cart will take a long time. You can come to get the tables, chairs and benches in three days, and then come back to get the cart in two days."
Li Hehua had no objection. He thought to himself that he would hire a truck driver to take the tables and chairs to the town in three days. He could also ask Sister Cao to push the cart to the town when she went to sell cakes, so that she wouldn't have to come back to get them.
On the way back, Cao Simei finally asked the question in her heart: "Sister, why do you need so many tables, chairs and carts?"
Li Hehua did not hide it, "Sister, I am planning to set up a snack stand to sell some food."
Cao Simei exclaimed, "Ah?" "Big sister, are you going to set up a stall? Are you going to sell noodles or tea?" Most of the stalls in the town sell noodles or tea.
Li Hehua shook his head. "Neither. I sell fast food. To put it simply, it's food that can be eaten quickly and fill the stomach. It's similar to selling noodles, but not only noodles, but also fried rice, fried noodles, rice with toppings, vermicelli dumplings, etc. I make whatever the customers want to eat."
Cao Simei had never heard of the term "fast food", but she understood what Li Hehua meant. That is, the things she sold included noodles, rice, dumplings, and vermicelli, many varieties, and customers had many choices.
Fourth Sister Cao was immediately very impressed, "Big sister, I have never seen a stall like this in town. Your cooking skills are so good, and you sell so many kinds of food. You can have whatever people want to eat. I'm sure many people will go to your stall to eat. You won't have to worry about business."
Li Hehua smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take your good words, big sister. I hope the business will be good."
Fourth Sister Cao nodded affirmatively, "Don't worry, with your skills, business will definitely be good. But sister, if you set up a stall, will we still sell our cakes?"
Li Hehua replied: "Of course we sell cakes, but I don't have time. I will ask you and the kids to sell cakes when the time comes. You can sell cakes next to my stall and attract customers to each other. People who eat cakes can buy our cakes, and people who buy cakes can eat. You can also come to the stall to rest when you are tired."
Fourth Sister Cao's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands, "Sister, this is a good idea. Selling rice and cakes at the same time is great."
Li Hehua planned to set up the stall at the entrance of the alley where the rented courtyard was located, which happened to be the main street, and it was very busy with people coming and going. When she was looking for a house, she had considered setting up a stall for business, so the houses she looked for were all very close to the main street, and remote courtyards were not considered. The geographical location of the courtyard she found now is the best. Although it is in the alley, the main street is right at the entrance of the alley, with sufficient traffic, and it is very close to home, so it will be very convenient to set up and close the stall every day, without having to drag tables, chairs and benches all the way home.
Not only does the entrance of this alley face the main street, it also has a good geographical advantage, that is, not far away is the road leading to the only wharf in town. Everyone who comes down from the wharf has to walk along this road, and they can see her stall at the end.
There are cargo ships coming in and out of the dock every day. Many merchants from other places will stay in the town for a while to have a meal. There are also many men working at the dock. Some of them have no place to eat at noon, so they can go to her stall to eat. In this way, she will not have to worry about having customers.
Therefore, the geographical advantage of the small courtyard she chose now is really great, so she is willing to rent it even if it is more expensive than ordinary courtyards, just for the convenience of doing business. She is very confident that her business will not be bad, not only will it not be bad, it is estimated that it will be very popular, and she may not be able to handle it alone.
But even if business was bad, she couldn't handle it alone, because running a snack stand like this not only required someone to cook, but also a waiter to serve, collect and clean the tables. It required at least two people, but she was alone. She could have asked Cao Simei for help, but she also had to help sell cakes, so she had to choose a new person.
However, it is better for the waiter to be a man. After all, this is tiring work and one cannot do it without strength. Moreover, the guests are very diverse, with all kinds of people. It would be inconvenient if it were a woman.
Thinking of this, Li Hehua turned his gaze to Cao Simei, wondering whether Sister Cao would agree to Dahe coming to help her.
Cao Simei, who was sitting down to rest and drink water, saw Li Hehua staring at her and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, sister? Why are you always looking at me?"
Li Hehua thought about it and decided to ask first, so he said what he was thinking, "Sister, if I set up a stall, I can only cook food by myself, and I need a waiter to help. After thinking about it, Dahe is the most suitable, but this job is not easy, so I wonder if you are willing to let Dahe help me."
As soon as Li Hehua finished speaking, Dahe, the protagonist of the topic, came back from outside carrying a hoe. Hearing them talking about his name, he couldn't help but ask, "Mom, Aunt Hehua, are you talking about me? What are you talking about?"
Fourth Sister Cao said to Dahe, "Just now your Aunt Hehua told me that she wants to set up a snack stand in town to sell food. She can't handle it alone, so she wants you to help as a waiter. She is asking me if I am willing to let you go."
Da He quickly put down his hoe and came over, "What are you thinking about, Mom? I will definitely go and help Aunt He Hua."
Li Hehua guessed that he didn't know how hard it was to be a waiter, so he quickly told him, "Dahe, being a waiter is not easy. You have to serve dishes to customers, clean up the dishes and tables after they finish eating, and collect money at the same time. You have to work from morning to night. This job is not easy."
Dahe sat down and looked at Li Hehua seriously and said, "Aunt Hehua, I know. I've seen the waiters in the town's restaurants working. I know what to do and I know it's not easy, but I'm willing to do it. It's better than doing farm work at home. My father does the farm work at home, and I usually just help out in the back. I might as well help you. This way I can earn more money and our life will be better. Don't worry, I'm not afraid of being tired, I will definitely work hard for you."
Li Hehua patted Dahe's shoulder in appreciation and said, "What a good kid, but you still have to ask your father and mother about this matter."
Fourth sister Cao was also pleased with Dahe's understanding and said, "Sister, his father and I agree to let him go. He will get married in two years. He really can't stay at home with his father to do farm work. Otherwise, he won't be able to support the children. Let him follow you to help. You just order him around. If he can't even do this little work, how can he support the family in the future?"
Seeing what Cao Simei said, Li Hehua no longer hesitated and made the decision: "Then let's make it a deal. When my stall opens, I'll let Dahe go to help me, and then you and Daya and Xiaosan'er will sell cakes for me."
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