That evening, Auntie Liang quietly told Village Head Liang exactly how much their third son and his wife had earned that day. Liang, always steady and reliable, couldn't help but lose his composure: "How much?!"
Startled, Auntie Liang quickly covered his mouth with her hand, frantically squeezing her eyebrows and giving him meaningful looks: "Keep your voice down!"
Village Head Liang couldn't believe it: "This— did they hit the jackpot or just stumble upon a load of money today?"
Auntie Liang chuckled, "Old man, you think just like me!" Then she glared, indignantly defending her son and daughter-in-law: "Old man, do you really think so little of my third son and his wife?"
Village Head Liang: "No, this... you're not kidding, are you? This money was really earned by them? Nothing else involved?"
Auntie Liang got angry: "Is that any way for a father to talk? Do you think our third son and his wife are schemers? What bad things could they possibly be doing? This money was earned cleanly and honorably."
"That's not what I meant! It's just that... well, one hundred and fifty copper coins! One hundred and fifty copper coins a day! How much will that add up to in a month?"
Village Head Liang couldn't help but excitedly start counting on his fingers. Auntie Liang also grew excited, her eyes shining as she stared eagerly at him. After a long moment of silence, she couldn't wait any longer and nudged him: "How much? How much will it be in a month?"
"I'm calculating it," Liang replied. It took him a good while to figure out the total, and when he did, he drew a sharp intake of breath: "At least four taels, maybe even five taels of silver."
"What?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down!"
"Oh my goodness!" Auntie Liang patted her chest, her heart was pounding fiercely.
The old couple stared at each other, wondering if they were both dreaming.
As expected of someone who had weathered many storms, Village Head Liang made an effort to calm his wildly turbulent emotions: "Cough cough, we don't know if business is just this good today or if it'll always be this good. Let's not think too much about it, ah, don't think too much. The children are successful; no matter how much they earn, it's all good."
Madam Liang cast him a layered glance: "I get it. But you’re mistaken—I haven’t mentioned this yet. Our third son and his wife said they’ll likely make even more going forward."
Village Head Liang: "..."
Auntie Liang was beaming with joy: "I always knew that child Zhi Chun was a good one! Truly capable. Now, you don't have to worry anymore; Ming Xuan's schooling is also secured."
Village Head Liang also laughed with a sigh: “Who would say otherwise.”
The couple talked back and forth for most of the night before finally going to bed feeling excited. They both unanimously decided that the matter must be kept a secret, for as long as possible.
Also, Auntie Liang should pay more attention to Xu Zhichun's household during her spare time, just in case Eldest Uncle Liang or Second Uncle Liang's families decide to cause trouble. She needs to find a way to support Zhichun and back her up.
Regarding the fact that Xu Zhichun chose their third daughter-in-law and little sister Zhu'er as partners instead of her Eldest Uncle or Second Uncle's families, the couple both felt this demonstrated perfectly that Zhichun was a sensible person.
Are that Zhang and Bai any good? Cooperate with them? If they really found out about this money-making method, Zhichun certainly wouldn't get a single coin.
Early in the morning, Xu Zhichun got up and got busy, first changing the water for the konjac tofu, and then making the ice jelly.
While she was changing the water for the konjac tofu, Liang Mingxuan heard the movement and got up as well. He called out "Eldest Sister-in-law!" and came over to help.
There was a lot of konjac tofu today, about fifty or sixty catties of it, plus another thirty catties or so of konjac knots. Changing the water was a physically demanding chore.
Fortunately, Liang Mingliang helped carry two loads of water on a shoulder pole yesterday, so we still have some available.
That's how it was in ancient times; using fire and water was always troublesome. There was nothing to be done about the fire—chopping firewood was a necessity. But once she starts earning money, she definitely needs to dig a well right outside her door.
Otherwise, just carrying water would be enough to wear her out completely.
They couldn’t always rely on Liang Mingliang’s help.
Although she was on good terms with Zeng Xiaoyan, Liang Mingliang couldn’t possibly keep coming alone to help her carry water. Over time, gossiping tongues would surely start wagging, and that would be unpleasant.
The Lotus Restaurant needs ten catties of cold jelly, but she has made around twenty catties.
The "stone flower seeds" (ice jelly seeds) processed yesterday naturally weren't enough. No matter, there is instant ice jelly powder in the seaport warehouse that just needs brewing/mixing.
The prepared ice jelly was divided into two portions, each stored in a clean clay pot with a lid.
Having taken care of all this, the sky was already bright. Xu Zhichun quickly started making breakfast, put Liang Mingxuan in charge of watching the stove fire, and hurried off to fetch water, as the water vat at home was empty.
Liang Mingxuan guessed the stove fire was fine, so he took two handfuls of the tenderest pigweed from yesterday, chopped it up, mixed it with two handfuls of rice bran, opened the chicken coop, let the chickens out, and fed them.
The flock of chickens swarmed over to the trough, clucking and calling, but after eating a few bites, they seemed distracted, craning their necks and looking around, as if searching for something.
Liang Mingxuan was a bit confused; why didn't they seem very interested in their food? There didn't appear to be anything wrong with them, though?
He carried the pig grass into the sty, and the two pigs grunted happily as they ate. Liang Mingxuan felt somewhat comforted, glancing at them again—perhaps because the spring grass was so tender, their coats had grown much shinier.
Xu Zhichun carried two loads of water. Her shoulders were burning with pain, her waist ached, and she was left breathless with exhaustion. This kind of work really is grueling.
She remembered she should water the vegetable garden this evening; otherwise, if the vegetables didn't grow well, what would the brother and sister-in-law duo eat? Watering the garden also requires carrying water, and even though there is a ditch not far from the garden, she would have to walk uphill with the load. The motivation to earn money just became even stronger.
For breakfast, she fried some eggs sunny-side up, soft in the center; a light poke with the chopsticks caused the semi-solidified yolk to flow out, making them especially fresh and tender. She also stir-fried a large cabbage, shredded finely, with plenty of oil and salt, which made it quite flavorful.
It's just that the labor is so heavy; not having any meat to eat really makes her crave it and feel miserable.
"Today when we sell our goods and earn money, Eldest Sister-in-law would buy some meat and bones. Tonight, we can have bone soup and meat to eat."
Xu Zhichun never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would one day suffer because she couldn't eat meat.
Just thinking about the fragrant, spicy stir-fried meat slices with garlic sprouts, and the savory, slow-simmered bone soup made her want to drool uncontrollably.
The harbor warehouse only has vacuum-packed items; the taste, after all, isn't as good as freshly fried food.
Liang Mingxuan naturally had no objections; he nodded his head: "Eldest Sister-in-law should eat more of the meat we buy. You work hard and need the nourishment."
Xu Zhichun smiled sweetly: "Eldest sister-in-law will buy more, so we can both have plenty to eat."
After finishing breakfast and seeing her brother-in-law off, she served the chickens and pigs their usual hearty meal, then washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen.
Before she was even finished, Aunt Zhu'er, Zeng Xiaoyan, and Liang Mingliang arrived one right after the other.
“Sister Zhichun, take a rest—we’ll handle it!”
The three of them quickly loaded all the items onto the ox cart. Just as Xu Zhichun finished tidying everything inside the house, she locked the door and climbed aboard the cart. Liang Mingliang drove them off towards the city.
"There's quite a lot of konjac tofu and konjac shreds today. They should all sell out, right, Sister Zhichun?"
"Mhm, it should be fine. We just need to sell for a bit longer."
"That's true! Yesterday was so easy to sell that we were sold out in less than half a day."
"Hehe, doesn't that mean we're going to earn a lot of money again today!"
"Yes, haha!"
Entering the city today, everyone was clearly more comfortable the second time around. They were chatting and laughing, even happier than yesterday.
After entering the city, they first went to the Lotus Restaurant.
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