Chapter 228: Selling Dried Tofu
Luo Zhi’er twisted her waist as she entered the room and took out the money she had prepared in advance.
After the meal, the wages for the people who came to work today were given out in full without missing a single coin.
“Everyone worked hard today. We’re both very satisfied with the work in the field.”
“San Mao’s Wife, next time there’s work at home, just say it directly. Uncle guarantees to free up the ox in advance!”
“Yeah! Don’t forget about us brothers then, we’ll come to work too!”
“Then thank you all!”
On the way back, Zhao Maogen chatted a couple of sentences with the others. He hadn’t expected Li Sanmao to keep his word.
He patted his round bulging belly, let out a wine burp—today he had eaten and drunk his fill!
Of course, he had made it clear before coming that he must get paid that same day, otherwise he wouldn’t let them use the ox.
“Yeah, I was still worried that they had just divided the family and were short on cash, but it seems I overthought it!”
Li Tiezhu said somewhat awkwardly. At first when he came, he wasn’t too happy and hadn’t spoken much to them, and just now he had been afraid they wouldn’t pay and was planning to pick a fight!
In the village, when hiring people for work, it’s common to owe wages for years. He had judged a gentleman by the heart of a petty man.
“Tiezhu, this isn’t your fault. In this world, every family in the village has its difficulties!”
“Hey! Maogen Uncle, Tiezhu Brother, what kind of person is San Mao—don’t you know?”
“But if Old Li Tou and Zhou Shi were hiring people before the family division, you’d have to think twice!”
Zhao Hu Zi chimed in!
“Exactly! Who would work for that Zhou old woman? With her character…”
“Right, right. Old Li Tou is Old Li Tou, Li Lei is Li Lei. Li Gui wouldn’t do anything for San Mao either. They’ve divided the family now.”
Having received their wages, the few men went home in high spirits. When they got home, their wives immediately asked if they had gotten the silver, and upon hearing they had received their wages, their eyes were full of joy.
Now during the farming off-season, having a chance to earn some pocket money was pretty good.
A trace of joy appeared on Li Daqiang’s sallow face as he entered the room.
“I’ve got it now! That old bastard Zhao Maogen dares to target me! Look at him nodding and bowing to Luo Zhi’er with that poor demeanor!”
As soon as Li Daqiang entered the room, Xiao Zhou Shi snatched the copper coins from his hand and counted them back and forth. “Hmph! Good thing Luo Zhi’er knows her place! But it’s still a bit short.”
She furrowed her brows. After years of marriage, she finally had her own private savings. She had still been angry at that old thing Zhao Maogen.
At the dinner table, he had put on the airs of an elder, nitpicking at her from all sides!
Daring to say she was dragging her family along and freeloading off San Mao’s family—did she have no shame?
“Today including that old thing Zhao Maogen, there were seven people. Luo Zhi’er couldn’t have gotten away with less than two hundred coins. It’s so unfair—how does she have so much silver? It must be Li Sanmao!”
Without his hunting, where would the silver for family division and hiring people come from?
Li Daqiang wanted to speak but hesitated. “Heh heh, wife, Maogen Uncle is an elder after all, and he drives the ox cart to town. We see each other often, so don’t hold a grudge against him!”
“What? Li Daqiang, what’s wrong with you now? I was the one bullied by him!”
Li Daqiang saw trouble brewing; tonight he probably wouldn’t be able to get into bed again. “Wife, I’m afraid you’ll get upset and harm your health. Look, isn’t your man capable? He earned you another twenty coins!”
“Tch! Bah! Those few copper coins of yours are only good for beggars! Zhao Maogen dares to despise me like this because you’re useless!”
The more she looked at Li Daqiang, the more useless he seemed. He was only in his mid-thirties to late thirties, yet he looked like an old man.
“It’s just that I, Zhou Hanjuan, was blind back then to follow a good-for-nothing like you. You better remember it’s you, Li Daqiang, who owes me—treat me a bit better, or else, hmph!”
“Look at other men—they have skills, earn more silver, buy farmland, build houses, or at least buy a house in town! But you, stubborn as a mule! Staring at that one acre and three fields of your own all day.”
“If I hadn’t shamelessly promoted you this morning to go work at the third house, would you have gotten any silver? And you still have the nerve to brag!”
Li Daqiang’s face turned purple. Xiao Zhou Shi’s words were like sharp knives stabbing into his heart.
His heart ached indescribably. After a busy day earning money, why was he still getting scolded?
Why had his wife become even fiercer toward him after the family division!
Xiao Zhou Shi grumbled from her mouth, forgetting that even the most honest man has his pride. Scolding him like this, which man wouldn’t have a thorn in his heart?
Li Daqiang watched his wife turn her back to him as she opened the wardrobe door to find a place to put the silver!
She looked around and felt none were suitable. Turning back, she saw Li Daqiang standing trembling behind her and quickly shooed him out.
Li Gui tossed and turned in bed, his mind involuntarily recalling the looks from those villagers that afternoon.
The more he thought about it, the more those looks seemed like contempt and disdain. The more he thought, the more irritated he got. “Hmph! What’s so great about them? Just a bunch of peasants, and they dare to look down on me?”
He regretted that incident being discovered. Otherwise, he would still be studying grandly at the town school.
Enjoying the feeling of being fawned over, becoming an official later and earning respect!
All night he dreamed beautiful dreams of wearing an official hat, rising in rank, getting rich, marrying a wife, and taking beautiful concubines.
When he woke up in the morning, it was all for nothing—not to mention how frustrated he was.
Over in the second son’s family’s room, Chen Shi didn’t know what had gotten into her. Astonishingly, for the first time, she beat the kids. Jiabao and Jiayong were both crying loudly…”Mom, Jiayong was wrong!”
“Mom, Jiabao is scared.”
After Zhao Maogen and the others left, Li Sanmao heard the commotion from the second son’s family and sighed. Luo Zhi’er was in the kitchen washing up, dumping the clean leftover soup and dishes to the piglet!
Miaomiao was crouched by the stove cavity under the kerosene lamp light, writing on one side while watching over her mother!
After greeting Luo Zhi’er, Li Sanmao went to help the second son’s family build the stove.
He moved over his remaining bricks and stones. When he came back in the afternoon, he brought some dry grass, mixed it with mud, and started stacking…
Li Daqiang, who was spacing out outside, heard the noise and rolled up his sleeves to help. The two lit a kerosene lamp and worked until midnight, finally mounting an unused discarded iron pot from Li Sanmao’s home to finish…
The next day, Luo Zhi’er loaded the smoked dried tofu onto the mule cart. Before leaving, she locked all the doors, fed the sheep and piglet well, and the family of three went to town.
Of course, on the way, she thought it over and decided to go straight to Yumian Tower. After all, they had a business partner—why go to the marketplace and suffer trying to sell?
As usual, she went to the kitchen and made dried tofu stir-fried with cured meat, five-spice dried tofu, garlic sprouts dried tofu for Shopkeeper Zhu…
She felt a bit regretful—if there were hot pot base here, adding smoked dried tofu to the hot pot broth would be extremely delicious.
Shopkeeper Zhu saw the several plates of various flavored dried tofu on the table and swallowed his saliva.
He saw one plate of small square-cut dried tofu sprinkled with sesame seeds, which should have been fried and then seasoned. He picked up a piece and tasted it.
His eyes lit up.
“Shopkeeper Zhu, how is it? This little woman didn’t deceive you, right?”
“Heh heh, Luo Niangzi, how could I not believe the delicious food you made yourself?”
After eating it, he picked up another piece of garlic sprouts dried tofu and cured meat dried tofu, nodding slightly. “These are all very good with rice!”
The previous stock of termite mushroom oil had long sold out. Now the restaurant’s main item was scallion oil, plus the recipes Luo Zhi’er had sold them earlier.
For eels and bullfrogs, they could buy them at the marketplace. Now that they had made these dishes famous, plenty of people were catching that wild game to supplement their income.
Of course, what Li Sanmao delivered was accepted first thing, so even if he didn’t deliver, it wouldn’t affect anything.
This freed up their time to focus on their own affairs!
Plus some marketing tactics had beaten the rival Hongyun Tower into steady retreat. In Taoyuan Town, they stood out uniquely!
What was tricky for Ye Beiyao now was taking full operating rights and ownership of the entire Yumian Tower—this was his mother’s asset.
“Luo Niangzi, you’re not selling those baked breads anymore?”
He hadn’t eaten them for several days; he was greedy for them.
“Heh heh! Not making them recently. In a while.”
“Oh, like that!”
