Xu Zhichun quietly explained the reason, and Zeng Xiaoyan and the others laughed, saying: Congratulations!
Xu Zhichun said: "So today’s lunch is on me—don’t be polite with me."
The three saw this, and so they no longer stood on ceremony.
"Thanks to Sister Zhichun’s good fortune, from now on we’ll often enjoy noodles with extra meat sauce."
"Yes, this kind of fortune is your blessing—we’re all happy for you, and we’ll share a bit of the glow."
"Mm!"
One spoon of meat sauce costs three coins; two spoons per person make six coins. A bowl of noodle soup costs five coins. Altogether, each person’s lunch is eleven coins.
Except for Zeng Xiaoyan, they had never eaten such luxurious noodles; with feelings both joyful and a little pained, they finished every bite.
Sure enough, noodles with two ladles of meat sauce taste even better!
Liang Mingliang wiped his mouth; he and his wife now had quite a bit of private savings. In a few days, when they had time, the two would stroll the streets—buying whatever they wanted to eat, whatever they fancied.
Back home they divided the money; today they earned even more—a full three thousand five hundred sixty coins.
The three women were still happy, though a little numb. Yet when they received the seven hundred coins, their hands still trembled slightly.
So much money!
"Let’s go, let’s go—let’s hurry to dig konjac and pick golden lantern fruit."
"Mm!"
Xu Zhichun laughed and said: "Don’t rush, let’s first discuss a plan. Konjac tofu is fine—there’s plenty of wild ones on the mountain, growing all year round, always ready to dig, no worry of shortage. But lantern fruit—last year’s ripe seeds are nearly gone by now. I reckon if another storm or two comes, they’ll be finished. New lantern fruit won’t appear until the end of May, bit by bit. Without lantern fruit, there’s no way to make ice jelly."
"Lotus Restaurant needs thirty jin a day. If we can’t earn that money then, wouldn’t it be a pity?"
Xu Zhichun had already been quietly taking many supplies from the harbor warehouse. Each day, at least a third of the ingredients for ice jelly and konjac powder came from that hidden space. For ice jelly, even more was mixed in.
But if they want to keep supplying ice jelly to Lotus Restaurant without interruption, the amount of stone‑flower seeds clearly can’t keep up. The quantity is too small—even mixing in substitutes won’t work.
It could be called another kind of 'even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.'
Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu’er looked at each other—right, this is a big problem. Just the ice jelly for Lotus Restaurant alone brings in fifteen hundred coins a day.
This money must be earned.
“Sister Zhichun, what good idea do you have? Quickly tell us—we’ll all follow your lead.”
“Yes, yes.”
Xu Zhichun smiled and said: "How about this—we announce it in the village and buy lantern fruit from everyone. We’ll pay four coins per pound, but the outer shell must be removed. We only want the seeds inside, and they must be clean—no grass bits or dirt mixed in. What do you think?"
“I think this will work. The villagers will surely be glad, and we can collect more early on.”
“Mm, right, right. Otherwise we’ll surely be overwhelmed. Just as Zhichun said—if two storms come and knock all the fruit down, that would be such a pity.”
Four coins a pound seems decent, but stone‑flower seeds are so tiny, just a small handful inside each fruit. Gathering a full pound isn’t easy. Frankly, it’s a trivial task—but at this season rice has already been transplanted, peanuts and beans are mostly planted too, so there’s nothing else to do. Why not earn whatever we can?
Besides, there are children too.
Children already love playing on the mountain—now they can earn a bit of money too, isn’t that the best of both worlds?
Xu Zhichun laughed and said: "Then it’s settled—this matter still needs Elder Li Zheng to speak up publicly."
Zeng Xiaoyan nodded with a smile: "Sister Zhichun, don’t worry—my father will surely be glad."
Xu Zhichun laughed: "This way we can take it easy, rest a bit when there’s time, or do some chores at home."
Zeng Xiaoyan felt nothing about it—after all, she didn’t have to do chores at home. Aunt Zhu’er, however, felt it deeply and quickly laughed: "That’s true enough."
Xu Zhichun continued: "Today I earned fifty taels selling recipe. I want to buy a section of the hillside behind the courtyard, and also purchase the plot where we’ve been digging konjac these past few days. The konjac plot I’ll keep for planting konjac, so it’s convenient for us to dig later. The land behind the courtyard I plan to reclaim and plant something else."
Zeng Xiaoyan didn’t really understand these matters, but whatever Sister Zhichun did always made sense. She smiled and said: "Sister Zhichun thinks far ahead—this is planning for the future."
Xu Zhichun smiled: Of course, konjac must be planted. As for the hillside behind the courtyard, potatoes and sweet potatoes will soon be arranged there.
Aunt Zhu’er hesitated, then couldn’t help advising: "Zhichun, wasteland may be cheap, but if it’s reclaimed, starting next year we’ll have to pay taxes—so…is it worth it?"
“It’s fine—the tax on dry land isn’t much. I’m thinking if we enrich the soil, it’ll yield something worthwhile. If you have ideas, you can buy some too.”
Zeng Xiaoyan: "As for my family, I don’t handle these matters—I’ll go back and talk to my parents."
Aunt Zhu’er laughed and said: "My family has saved some money now. We’re waiting in case someone sells farmland so we can add a few mu. Dry land we don’t want for now. But if it’s for planting konjac—well…"
Xu Zhichun laughed busily: "This business brings me the greater profit, so you don’t need to worry—I’ll buy the land myself."
Aunt Zhu’er’s family had just over one mu of paddy field, not enough grain to eat. They relied on Qi Tian’s fine carpentry skills, so by year’s end they had saved quite a bit of silver, and life was fairly good. But for rural folk, acquiring good farmland is an obsession etched in the bones—if money is loose at hand, who wouldn’t want to buy a few more mu?
But every village has only limited paddy fields, and places that can be reclaimed as paddies are mostly already cultivated. Paddy fields are the root of each household—unless someone is an incorrigible spendthrift, or driven to desperation with no choice but to sell, no family would easily part with their paddies.
So, buying paddy fields is not the same as buying wasteland to reclaim. Money alone won’t do—you have to wait, wait until someone is willing to sell.
Buying paddy fields in a neighboring village is even harder—you’d have to wait until everyone in that village refuses before outsiders get a chance.
Xu Zhichun said nothing more—anyway, let’s wait until the potatoes and sweet potatoes come out, then talk.
The three finished their discussion. Xu Zhichun went with Zeng Xiaoyan and Liang Mingliang to the Liang household, while Aunt Zhu’er went home to rest for a while, planning to join later to dig konjac and pick lantern fruits.
There are still enough Lantern fruit for tomorrow’s use, and under the back eaves of Xu Zhichun’s house sits a big basket of konjac, already washed clean—no fear of being too late.
It was just shortly after lunch, and Liang Lizheng was at home.
When Xu Zhichun and the others mentioned picking Lantern Fruit, Liang Lizheng grew delighted, nodding repeatedly: "Good, good! These Lantern Fruits cover the hills, and who would have thought they could fetch money one day? Four coins per pound is not bad. Are you sure you want them? Then I’ll go tell the villagers, so everyone can earn a bit of spending money."
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