Chapter 60

“Little brother, the jar of oyster sauce I sold to the shopkeeper today was made yesterday. I’ve only made a little bit today, and it will take another two hours to finish. Do you want to wait?”

“Two hours?! That long…” Yu Ming hesitated. After two hours, it would almost be dark, and at that time, no boats would be leaving, and no ox carts would be traveling to the city. If he couldn’t return to the city, his family would be terribly worried.

He needed to go back first and come back tomorrow morning to pick it up.

“Doctor Yin, would it be possible to sell me the oyster sauce you’ve made so far so I can take it back and report to the shopkeeper? I’ll come back tomorrow morning to get the rest.”

“Of course, I’ll just borrow a scale.”

They couldn’t keep selling it jar by jar; they needed to set a price.

Yin Huaixi borrowed a scale from the village and weighed the jar with the oyster sauce. It weighed two and a half kilogram. Then she weighed an empty jar, which was just over two jin, meaning the oyster sauce inside weighed half a kilogram.

“I sold over a kilogram to you for three hundred and fifty wen this morning. I assume the shopkeeper already discussed this with you?” Yin Huaixi said.

Yu Ming nodded, quietly waiting for her to continue.

“That works out to two hundred wen per kilogram. Since this is only half a kilogram, you can take it for one hundred wen. Just remember to return the jar tomorrow morning.”

The price was astonishing. Yu Ming was sure no other seasoning in the kitchen was that expensive. However, since his cousin was so eager for him to buy it, the oyster sauce must be a good source of profit.

One hundred wen it is, he thought, since his cousin set the price.

He quickly took out a string of copper coins, and Jiang Wan counted it out quickly.

“Little brother, you’re short one wen!” she said.

“Huh?”

“One wen short? That can’t be!”

This was the exact amount he had received from the account room, and he’d counted it himself.

“Count again. I haven’t untied the string yet.”

Jiang Wan handed the coins to Yu Ming, and after counting them carefully twice, he realized she was right — he was indeed short one wen.

He couldn’t remember where the coin had gone, so he just added the missing wen himself.

After taking the money, Yin Huaixi gave him the jar to take with him.

For the whole day, they sold one hundred and fifty wen’s worth of spicy snail meat and four hundred and fifty wen’s worth of oyster sauce. They made over five hundred wen in a single day!

The house had been repaired, and there were no outsiders in the yard now. Jiang Wan hurriedly closed the gate, and the family gathered together to count the dense stack of copper coins.

“Four hundred and forty-one, four hundred and forty-two… There are four hundred and forty-two copper coins!”

Hearing the number counted out by the two girls, Yin Huaixi did a quick mental calculation. After deducting the cost of the boat rides, the expenses for entering the city, and some medicine and tools she had bought, this was about the amount they had earned.

She handed the portion of the snail meat payment to her sister-in-law and then thought for a moment before taking out thirty wen to give to her.

“Sister, what are you doing? The remaining money was earned from the oyster sauce I made, and we can’t split that.”

“The oyster sauce was made by Wanwan, but we all worked together to pry open the oysters. Look at your hands, they’re swollen. It’ll be worse tomorrow. You’ll all need to use the ointment I made.”

Yin Huaixi divided the thirty wen into three portions, giving some to her brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

“Take it. Consider it a good omen. Big brother is going to become a teacher soon, and Ning’s embroidery can bring in money too. Sister, you’ve managed everything at home so well, our family is getting better and better.”

Of course, Song Wenhui liked hearing such words. She smiled and looked at her daughter. Yin Ning obediently gave all the copper coins to her mother to keep.

“Mother, you take five wen, and the rest you keep for yourself. If we need money later, you’ll have some on hand.”

She then looked at her husband.

Yin Huai Shan awkwardly handed her ten wen, waiting for her to say something in return. Instead, he saw her place the money in her pouch and tuck it into her sleeve.

??? Why didn’t she keep five wen for herself?

This puzzled look made the whole family laugh. Song Wenhui said irritably, “You can’t leave the house now. What are you going to do with money in your pocket? What if you lose it?”

Her reasoning was very sound, and Yin Huai Shan couldn’t argue with it. He could only sulk and return to cracking shells from the oysters.

Because the oyster sauce was proving profitable, the family’s focus was entirely on it.

By evening, the last of the oyster meat had been cooked, producing half a jar of oyster sauce and a pile of cooked oyster meat.

Yesterday, there had been leftovers, and Jiang Wan had wanted to cook something delicious. However, the oysters weren’t fatty enough, so the taste didn’t come out well.

In the end, she gave the leftover oyster meat to the neighbors to feed to the ducks.

Now that the yard wall was repaired, they could go buy some ducks to keep. This would not only solve the problem of the leftover oyster meat but also provide some eggs for the family.

When Jiang Wan suggested it, the family all nodded in agreement.

Song Wenhui remembered something.

“Earlier, when I was asking the neighbors about village news, they said if we want to raise chickens or ducks, we could go ask Grandma Xiao Qian. She raises them, and her chickens and ducks are healthier and easier to take care of.”

“Grandma Xiao Qian? Where does she live in the village?”

The two sisters had been frequenting the village recently, but they had never heard of this person.

“She’s easy to find. She’s the grandmother of Xiao Yuanzi. Just ask anyone, and you’ll find out.”

Jiang Wan nodded.

Jiang Wan took note of the directions and, not long after, was carrying half a basket of oyster meat out the door with her cousin.

They first delivered some oyster meat to the neighbors who lived nearby and with whom they had a closer relationship, before heading to Grandma Xiao Qian’s house.

As they approached the courtyard, they could hear an elderly voice inside scolding her grandson.

“Once, twice, three times! Every time you dodge, afraid your aunt won’t notice you’re not interested, huh? You’re such a rascal! You’re so grown up, but why can’t you just pay attention!”

“Grandmother, I’m afraid if I marry someone with a bad temperament, they’ll bully you and Xiao Yuanzi…”

“Don’t give me that! Don’t try to use me and Xiao Yuanzi as an excuse!”

The voices of the grandmother and grandson grew louder until suddenly the door creaked open.

The air was thick with a sense of awkwardness.

Grandma Lian quickly put on a smile and asked what they were there for, while Jiang Wan answered, her eyes not leaving the cage in Grandma Lian’s hands.

The cage wasn’t as refined as the ones she had seen in modern times, but the principle was the same—it was a cage used for catching fish and crabs…

Where was Grandma Lian putting that cage?