Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Zhuangyuan Street is actually...
Zhuangyuan Street is actually no different from ordinary streets. It is even much wider than other streets. Most of the shops on both sides sell pens, ink, paper, and various scrolls of calligraphy and painting. Perhaps because the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday has just ended, there are not many scholars on Zhuangyuan Street. Only students in green robes are walking around in groups of three or two. It must be said that the scholars seem to have an indescribable temperament when wearing that green robe, which can be quickly distinguished from the pedestrians next to them.
"I asked for you, and there's a vacant seat right at the door of the study. If you're sure you want to come, you can go find the old yamen runner in charge of this street and get a sign. It was that old yamen runner I asked, and he told me there was a vacant seat here." Shen pointed to the door of the study not far away and said to Su Li and Chen.
Su Li looked over and saw that there was indeed an empty seat in the study, but it was occupied by a few umbrellas placed by the man selling oil-paper umbrellas nearby.
The location is not very good, and it is still some distance away from the main gate of the county school. But it is normal to think about it. After all, the good locations have been occupied by others a long time ago. How can it still be preserved until now? But Aunt Shen just said that the place where the rich people in the county live is ahead of the study, which also means that there is still a flow of people on weekdays and there is purchasing power.
Su Li thought it was a good idea, but Chen felt that she needed to go back and discuss it with her mother-in-law and father-in-law. She just took a look around and said goodbye to Shen and went back.
However, this matter was finally finalized with Su Li's insistence and the support of other people in the Su family. But despite this, Chen was still a little uneasy. She didn't understand why she couldn't just concentrate on the catering business at the dock. She had to go to the county town and pay such a high stall tax to rent a location. It was totally unnecessary.
However, both her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wu, and her father-in-law thought it was worth a try, so Chen didn't say anything more. However, she was still unhappy. Of course, she was more worried about what would happen if she lost money.
Su Hong had the same idea as her. She now had a rough idea of how much she could earn every day. While she was amazed at how much money she could make, she also thought that one stall was enough. There was no need to spend money to set up a stall in the county and run back and forth, which was time-consuming and laborious.
In short, the Su family is divided into two factions. The radicals think it is worth a try. What if both stalls sell well and the income increases exponentially? The conservatives think the future is uncertain. What if the food stall business is not good in the future? One stall will lose less. After all, the cost (pots, pans, manpower and material resources) is not a small expense. If more stalls are added, everything will have to be purchased.
So everyone in the Su family adopted the voting system proposed by Su Li. What was unexpected was that Old Man Su temporarily changed sides and joined the conservative faction of the Chen family. But at the same time, Aunt Lian also betrayed her mother and chose her aunt Su Li's side. The voting result was 4:3, and Su Li won.
Su Hong looked at her daughter who ran to sit in Su Li's arms, and for the first time she began to doubt who gave birth to her.
Lian Gu also looked around, feeling so guilty that she didn't dare to look at her own mother.
Soon, Su Li and Chen took the silver and went to the county to find the old yamen runner to reserve the location. The old yamen runner asked the two what they were planning to sell with his cloudy eyes, then slowly took out a red sign with the number of ten written on it from the drawer and handed it to Chen and Su Li.
"You come here to pay at the end of every month, but it's best to come a few days in advance."
"Don't try any tricks or delay paying. I have all your names and hometowns here. If you go against the county government, you will suffer the consequences. By the way, if you don't want to come, you must tell me in advance and return the sign."
After saying that, he slowly stood up and took the two of them to the small open space at the door of the study. "Put your umbrellas away. Why are you putting them here if you don't have room over there?"
The old man looked bad-tempered and glared at the middle-aged man selling umbrellas.
Seeing that it was the old yamen runner, the man quickly stood up from the bamboo stool and bowed, "Collect it immediately, immediately."
After saying that, he quickly put away several of his umbrellas with rough green bamboo patterns on them.
Then the old yamen runner gave a few more instructions about the hours when stalls were allowed to be set up in the morning and evening, and then left.
Chen and Su Li were left with lingering fears. Perhaps it was the stories about the yamen that were circulating in the countryside that made Chen afraid of talking to people from the county yamen. As a result, she was terrified all the way and didn't dare to say much, nor did she let Su Li say much.
After the people left, Chen heaved a sigh of relief and told Su Li that the management here was quite strict.
However, Su Li felt that this was a good thing. It was better to have someone in charge than no one. It was better to have the county government in charge than the gangsters who received protection fees. Of course, it was also possible that the people in the county government were even more ruthless than the gangsters. In short, this matter was settled for the time being.
In addition, the matter of repairing the Su family's house was also put on the agenda.
.
Su family, this evening's dinner,
Su Hong brought the last dish, a low-end version of crab roe tofu made with duck eggs, to the table.
These days, it was the eldest sister who cooked and Su Li who gave the instructions. The purpose was to help the eldest sister quickly become familiar with the basic cooking process. However, compared with Su Li's dishes, the dishes made by the eldest sister Su Hong were far inferior in taste and knife skills. Su Hong couldn't understand why the dishes made by the fifth sister Su Li tasted better even though they were made in the same order and with the same sauce.
But despite this, the food Su Hong cooks is much tastier than that of ordinary people, at least than that of other people in the Su family, or even other people in the village.
Tonight's dishes include green pepper and eggplant, crab roe tofu, stir-fried pork with green pepper, loofah soup, and a small dish of stir-fried pork intestines left over from lunch. The Su family is large, so each dish is very generous, and the large coarse porcelain bowls are filled to the brim, which looks particularly appetizing.
Everyone had been busy all afternoon and was almost hungry, so they didn't hesitate to add some cowpea rice and started eating.
Su Li's favorite is cowpea rice, which is especially delicious with the fragrance of cowpea and a hint of salt. She can eat several bowls without any other dishes. And because her fourth sister Su Tao cooked the rice too hot, there were some slightly burnt rice crusts, which made it even more delicious. The second favorite is crab roe tofu. The family's financial situation is limited, and they can't afford fat hairy crabs like the ones in the Lin Mansion today, but fortunately, they soaked a batch of salted duck eggs not long ago, and they are available recently. Su Li thought of using them to make crab roe tofu, which tastes good. This is the first time she tried it today, and it turned out to be well liked by everyone in the Su family.
Especially Old Man Su and Mrs. Wu, they scooped a few spoonfuls of crabs into the rice with distinct grains, and ate them with a piece of mixed cucumber. It was so delicious that after they finished eating, Old Man Su asked in surprise, "Did you buy crabs?"
How come he didn't see it?
Su Hong laughed and said, "It's not crab, it's salted duck eggs, Grandpa, can't you tell?" In fact, when Su Hong heard her fifth sister say that salted duck eggs and tofu were used to cook, she was curious about what it would taste like. Unexpectedly, the taste was like that of crab, which was strange.
Old Man Su was indeed stunned. Not only him but also Mrs. Wu was stunned. They didn't expect that this dish was made with duck egg yolks. "I can make it more often in the future."
It tastes really good, tender and goes well with rice. The tofu is not expensive and it tastes like meat.
"Okay." Su Hong took a big mouthful of rice. It just so happened that she had learned how to cook now.
In addition to the dishes mentioned above, stir-fried pork with green peppers has also been highly praised. The green peppers in autumn are not as spicy as those after being exposed to the summer sun. It rained not long ago, so the taste is not so spicy and is much milder. Paired with the marinated and tender lean meat, it is just the right amount of salty and delicious. Su Tao and Lian Gu especially love it, especially since they ate too much fatty meat some time ago. Su Tao now loves lean meat. In addition, the shredded pork is not dry at all, and it tastes smooth and tender, with a slight spicy taste, not too bland. Both of them can hardly lift their heads when eating it. Su Tao can't help but sigh that she can be so happy one day. You know, not long ago, her family couldn't even eat enough meat, let alone meat, but now they can eat meat every meal. She is really the happiest person in the world! !
Little Lian Gu shared the same sentiment as her, but she didn't have any particularly complicated thoughts. She just felt that this kind of life with enough food and clothing was too happy, and she really didn't want to go back to the past at all.
Speaking of which, not long ago, other people in the village asked Lian Gu if she missed her brother, father and grandmother. Lian Gu didn't know how to answer at the time. She hated her brother, her father, and her grandparents who didn't give her food and often beat and scolded her. But her grandfather said that some things cannot be said to others like this, such as hating someone, so she could only keep it in her heart.
“It’s delicious…”
“…”
When they were almost done eating, Old Man Su said, "I discussed it with your grandmother this afternoon. The weather has been nice these past few days, and the autumn harvest is over, so everyone has some free time. I thought we should find someone to start repairing the house the day after tomorrow."
This matter had been decided a long time ago. In the past few days, Old Man Su and Mrs. Wu even asked the Wang family next door to go to the mountain to cut down a few trees for beams to build a house. In addition, they also asked acquaintances for some wood, and the yard was full of wood.
"Okay, then, Mom and Dad, I'll tell my eldest brother tomorrow morning, and then ask my second brother to help me see how much stuff is needed." Chen didn't disagree. She was very excited when she thought about building a house soon.
"I also asked Wang's eldest nephew about the tiles. He said he knows someone who makes them. When the time comes, we can figure out how many we need and then just ask someone to go get them. It's a bit pricey, though. Two tiles for one cent. I'll go ask tomorrow to see if I can get a discount."
Old Man Su was making arrangements while talking about what else was needed. In addition to the preparation of these preliminary materials, the most important thing in building a house was to hire people. If they wanted to finish it earlier, they would naturally hire more people. However, their family was not familiar with the people in the village before, and they had never helped each other build houses. Therefore, it was impossible for them to just provide food like other people did. At least 20 cents a day would be required as wages. This price was also a relatively fair price that Old Man Su got after asking people he knew in the village.
However, if your relationship is not good, they will not work for you even if you pay them 20 cents, because building a house is not a trivial matter. It is more tiring than carrying sacks at the dock and is a very physically demanding job.
So Old Man Su and Mrs. Wu and Chen discussed it and decided that they had to ask the Huang family and the Zeng family if there were any acquaintances who could come and help.
However, what the Su family did not expect was that before they could go looking for anyone, someone in the village heard the news and came to ask about it.
"We're all neighbors. If you need help, just tell me. I'll bring my dog, Dog, to help."
"Yeah, I don't need money, just food is fine. I just happen to have nothing to do recently."
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