Chapter 230: Insidious
A few days later, all the vegetable seeds were sown in the field, and the shop in town also began renovation in full swing.
She selected all top-quality vegetable seeds and vegetable seedlings, sowing them in the modern way by digging a square frame in the field and then piling soil and fertilizer.
The fertilizer was chicken manure. Since Zhou Shi refused to give her any, she bought some from other villagers and buried it in the field.
Fortunately, it rained lightly one or two days before sowing, making the field very moist. After planting the vegetable seeds, she also planted sweet potatoes. This time, she didn’t hire other villagers, only Li Daqiang.
While Li Sanmao and the others were working in the field, she ground beans at home and smoked dried tofu. In just five or six days, she smoked about thirty pounds of dried tofu.
Zhou Shi stared at the plump figure not far away, hating her so much her teeth itched. She had been busy all morning smoking that damned dried tofu. This thorn in her side finally took a long breath and secretly cursed this little wench for being too lazy.
Hiring people to farm, sending Li Sanmao and Li Daqiang, but she didn’t go to the field herself. Buying chicken shit from others but not hers, deliberately going against her! She didn’t know what she did that day in town. Did she hide silver from selling dried tofu?
Were those dark dried tofu really sold for just a few hundred wen as she said?
No, she had to go inquire! A few hundred wen was still silver!
Spending a mere few hundred wen to hire Oldest Brother to work, and Daqiang worked but didn’t hand over the accounts to her!
She wanted to roar a couple times, but saw her feeding Bill again. Her heart twitched, and she threw the manure ladle at the hen. The hen was so frightened it clucked loudly!
“This old hag, going crazy early in the morning!” Old Li Tou was also startled by the hoe, his face ashen.
Chen Shi silently watched Luo Zhi’er drying that so-called dried tofu in the yard, a flash of uncertainty and shock in her eyes. After thinking for a moment, the slender figure walked over…
Luo Zhi’er had just hung the bean dregs to dry and was squatting on the ground carefully inspecting a few moldy pieces of dried tofu!
It had rained the previous two days without proper precautions, and about ten pieces of dried tofu had actually started to mold. Depressed that these couldn’t be sold! The others had to be taken out to dry!
Still lacking experience, next time she must pay attention to the weather. As she sighed, a weak woman’s voice sounded from behind, “Third sister-in-law, how much do you sell this dried tofu for per pound? How’s it selling in town?”
Luo Zhi’er turned her head and saw it was Chen Shi. She said flatly, “Not profitable yet!”
“No way, not profitable? Then why sell it?”
Chen Shi was annoyed by her evasiveness but helpless! With a hint of sarcasm, she thought this was just deliberately guarding against her, an excuse to deceive her?
“Hehe, third sister-in-law, no need to guard against second sister-in-law. With my skinny frame, even if I wanted to, I’d be too weak, unlike you with your strength, a mule cart, and a man to help. Rest assured, I won’t steal your dried tofu business.”
That remained to be seen, Luo Zhi’er thought. “I didn’t mean that. I’m telling the truth. The raw material for this dried tofu is beans. Go ask around, what’s the price of the new beans now? I bought top-quality beans, grinding them and making dried tofu—not only is the yield low, but the time and material costs aren’t low either!”
“Grinding beans once makes my arms a size bigger, and my body aches for days. Look, now it’s moldy again. Naturally, it’s a loss!”
She deliberately spoke loudly.
Zhou Shi not far away pricked up her ears to listen, frowning.
Chen Shi felt secretly pleased inside. Serves her right. Let’s see if Li Sanmao would still like this strong fat woman then? For her sake, she said,
“If that’s the case, why bother making it? Third sister-in-law, don’t get mad at my blunt words. Sister-in-law hasn’t done business, but from what I’ve seen growing up, with my years of experience in town, your business is bound to lose money. Better not to bother.”
“How can that be? There’s a saying, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ I’m determined to stick with it.” Luo Zhi’er said in a bold voice.
“You!” Obstinate, preaching to a cow.
She wanted to say she’d help think of ideas, sure that this dried tofu could make money!
“Hehe, third sister-in-law, since you don’t believe sister-in-law and insist, then forget it. Actually, I have something I sincerely want to ask of you!”
“Oh?”
Luo Zhi’er instinctively felt something was off. This woman had always been arrogant toward her—why would she humble herself to beg her?
“It’s like this: could you teach sister-in-law how to make that egg tart of yours?”
Luo Zhi’er immediately became alert, her gaze sharp. Chen Shi panicked inside, her face unnaturally pained as she said:
“It’s like this. Look, Jiabao and Jiayong are hungry all day. I don’t know where they heard you sent egg tarts to the village chief and his two ancestors. They came back clamoring to eat them. As their mother, I have no skills. Anyway, with no field to tend, I came to beg you. Could you teach me to make some tasty things for them to try?”
“Hehe, rest assured, I won’t make them for them. Just write down the steps and ingredients for sister-in-law, and I’ll make them myself!”
“Really? Why haven’t I heard them crying? Second sister-in-law, are Jiayong and Jiabao really greedy for food?”
Luo Zhi’er’s deep eyes seemed to see through the truth at a glance, making her scalp tingle. She couldn’t understand why this Luo Zhi’er, who was like a pig, would occasionally show such a gaze now, chilling her to the bone.
Hmph! This Chen Shi, what a schemer. Where did she hear about this egg tart?
Teaching her would reveal the recipe! Wouldn’t that smash her own signboard?
“Of course, so will you teach me or not?”
“Hehe, second sister-in-law, it’s not that I won’t teach you. I’ve already sold the egg tart recipe! By contract, I can’t reveal it to others!”
“What? You sold it? Sold it to whom?”
“On a whim, after making egg tarts that day and giving them to the village chief to try, when delivering termite mushroom oil, I took them to Yumian Tower in town for Shopkeeper Zhu to try. Who knew the owner of Yumian Tower liked them and bought it!”
“What?”
A fierce glint flashed in Chen Shi’s eyes. “How much silver did you sell it for? Why haven’t I heard you hand over accounts to the family?”
“I sold it for two hundred wen. The family bought sheep and a mule, and went to the prison cell to see you all—did that cost nothing? It was spent long ago!”
“You’re fooling ghosts! How come I haven’t heard Yumian Tower is selling egg tarts?” Chen Shi said unwillingly.
“I wouldn’t know. Why don’t you go ask Master Ye? Maybe they’re opening some shop?” Luo Zhi’er said flatly.
Over here Chen Shi hadn’t recovered when Zhou Shi suddenly jumped up with a yell, “You, Luo Zhi’er, really bold as brass! You sold the recipe—why didn’t you tell your mother-in-law!”
“Mother, I respect you as an elder. Don’t push your luck. You’ve targeted my third house repeatedly, and that silver was all spent on the family and you all!”
“Third sister-in-law, to be blunt, you got cheated. If your egg tart is that good, it could sell for dozens of taels no problem!”
She even said it was too little. With her years in town, if this egg tart met a good operator, it would be priceless!
“Sigh, second sister-in-law, what nonsense. How could Master Ye cheat me?”
