Chapter 9: Need to Increase Income  

Qin Jin didn’t think much of it, assuming that Li Mei had simply picked extra sweet potato leaves.  

This was quite common. His sister-in-law, Song Laidi, worried that Ye Miao might be too shy to pick vegetables from the old courtyard’s garden, so she had proactively brought over vegetables twice in the past few days.  

Ye Miao let out a sigh of relief and quickly moved the dining table to the courtyard.  

When Qin Jin finished washing his hands, he saw a thick millet porridge on the table, with a few peanuts floating on top. Next to it, a bamboo basket held dark green sweet potato leaf cornbread, with a small bowl of garlic sauce drizzled with sesame oil in the center.  

There was also a large bowl of stir-fried winter melon with chili.  

Still plain, completely vegetarian.  

He sat down at the table and invited Zhao Feng and Ye Miao to start eating. Taking a cornbread, he scooped some garlic sauce into the center and took a bite. The garlic sauce was fragrant and spicy, the cornbread was firm and chewy. Though simple, the flavors were excellent.  

“Tastes good.” He looked at Ye Miao and sincerely praised him.  

Ye Miao was drinking porridge, and upon hearing this, he lifted his bowl higher, covering most of his face.  

Qin Jin always complimented the food during meals. When it was just the two of them before, it was fine no matter how much he praised.  

But now, with his dad-in-law present, he had already complimented it three times today, making Ye Miao a little embarrassed.  

Zhao Feng, sitting beside them, said nothing and focused on eating his cornbread, but there was a smile in his eyes.  

Ye Miao always spoke well of Qin Jin in front of him. Before today, he wasn’t sure whether it was true or not, but after spending the entire day working alongside him, he was completely at ease.  

After dinner, Zhao Feng returned to the neighboring courtyard, while Ye Miao squatted by the basket, feeding the baby chicks with leftover millet porridge.  

Fifty baby chicks were kept in three large baskets. Old Qin was skilled at weaving these baskets, and when Wang Xiuqin learned they had bought chicks, she sent a few over.  

Now, each time Ye Miao sprinkled a spoonful of millet, the chicks chirped loudly and scrambled toward it.  

After feeding them, he carried the three large baskets into the house.  

The chicks were still very small—he could hold one in a single hand. If they were kept in the backyard coop, a weasel might snatch them away, so for now, they had to be raised indoors.  

Qin Jin returned with water and saw Ye Miao squatting in front of the baskets, counting the chicks one by one.  

“You already counted them while feeding, didn’t you?” he asked.  

Ye Miao felt a little embarrassed at being caught. Ever since Qin Jin brought the chicks home, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off them all afternoon and had already counted them several times.  

“Counting them gives me peace of mind,” he said.  

Qin Jin chuckled and made up his mind—once these chicks grew bigger, he would buy even more.  

The next day, Ye Miao and Zhao Feng made sixteen pounds of pea cake. Qin Jin took fourteen pounds to sell, leaving two pounds for Ye Miao to sell in the village.  

Selling fourteen pounds of pea cake was no small task. The previous day, selling ten pounds had already been challenging—on unlucky days, it took from early morning until noon.  

Now, with four extra pounds, he worried they might not sell out. To boost sales, he started offering free samples again.  

With the sampling, sales moved quickly, and by noon, everything was gone.  

After packing up, he went into town to buy peas. The grain shop and sugar shop were both on the main street. Once his errands were done, instead of leaving town, he took a detour to the western vegetable market.  

The market in town closed early, and by the time he arrived, only a few stalls remained.  

He went straight to a pork stall, but it wasn’t run by the butcher from the neighboring Lu family village. There were only a few pounds of lean meat left, along with two large pig bones that had been stripped clean. After hesitating for a moment, he turned and left.  

The debt wasn’t paid off yet, so he couldn’t afford to indulge.  

As for the meatless bones, buying them wouldn’t do much good—they wouldn’t provide much nourishment.  

Back home, there were still two pounds of pea cake left, but even by evening, half a pound remained unsold. Qin Jin decided to serve it as an extra treat for the family.  

That day, they had made sixteen pounds of pea cake. After accounting for what they ate and gave as samples, they had sold enough to earn 100 copper coins.  

If word got out, the whole village would be envious.  

Earning 100 copper coins a day meant three taels of silver in a month.  

That was enough to eat meat every day!  

Probably only the butcher from the Lu family village had that kind of income.  

His cousin, Qin Shuli, worked as an accountant in the county and only earned two taels and three coins a month. Even so, his aunt, Zhu Erhong, flaunted it endlessly and constantly looked down on their family.  

But Qin Jin wasn’t satisfied.  

At this rate, even if they saved every penny, it would take two months to repay their debt. And if it rained, they wouldn’t be able to set up a stall at all.  

Did that mean they’d be stuck eating wild vegetable cornbread every day?  

He had never suffered like this before. In his past life, his family wasn’t extravagantly wealthy, but they never had to worry about food.  

Now, he couldn’t even bring himself to buy two pork bones. It was too miserable.  

And he had planned to nourish his little husband too. He held him every night, yet after days of this, Ye Miao hadn’t gained even a bit of weight.  

He needed to find another source of income.  

Since they had to wake up before dawn to make pea cakes, he and Ye Miao always ate dinner early. Usually, it was still light outside when they finished eating.  

That evening, after dinner, he told Ye Miao, “Go ask our mother to lend us some cotton cloth, at least seven or eight feet.”  

“What for?” Ye Miao asked curiously.  

“I’m planning to make a new kind of food. It’s a secret for now—you’ll see tomorrow.” Seeing Ye Miao’s puzzled expression, he didn’t explain further. Instead, he went inside and took out twenty copper coins from their money box. “I’m going to Zhang Tofu’s house.”  

Ye Miao blinked and nodded. “Alright.” Seeing Qin Jin leave, he quickly cleaned up the kitchen and then went next door to borrow the cloth from Wang Xiuqin.  

Qin Jin had been a bachelor before, and he usually ate at the old courtyard. Cloth had always been provided by Wang Xiuqin, so he didn’t have any of his own.  

Zhang Tofu’s real name was Zhang Qi, and he lived in the eastern part of the village. The Zhang family was well-off, with all their houses built from blue bricks and tiles—very eye-catching.  

During the off-season, the Zhangs would set up a tofu stall outside the city gate. During the busy farming season, they only sold tofu in the village. The Zhang family had been making tofu for decades, and people from the surrounding villages all came to buy from them.  

Moreover, Zhang Qi’s brother-in-law was a traveling peddler who took a slab of tofu with him every day to sell elsewhere. So the Zhangs never worried about sales—by evening, they were usually sold out.  

Qin Jin wasn’t there to buy tofu. He wanted to ask Zhang Qi to set aside some tofu curds for him the next day.  

He planned to make *qianzhang* (tofu sheets).  

Like pea cake, tofu sheets could be carried in a basket and sold outside the city gate. It was convenient, simple, and the ingredients were easy to obtain.  

Right now, he couldn’t even afford to set up a proper food cart.  

Besides, people near the city gate had low spending power. Fancy foods wouldn’t sell well.

After arriving at the Zhang family’s house and explaining his purpose, Zhang Qi was a bit surprised.  

“Twenty copper coins’ worth of tofu curd?”  

That would have to be carried in a bucket.  

Upon learning that Qin Jin wanted to use tofu curd to make a new type of food, Zhang Qi felt a mix of joy and worry. He was happy because this meant he could sell more tofu curd in the future.  

But he was also worried—because tofu curd was just one step away from becoming tofu. Could it be that Qin Jin knew how to make tofu himself?  

He kept these thoughts to himself, not wanting to ask directly. Instead, he accepted Qin Jin’s copper coins and told him to come pick it up at the hour of Yin (around 3–5 AM).  

Making tofu was hard work, requiring an early start before dawn.  

After returning home, Qin Jin found that Ye Miao had already borrowed the cotton cloth. He washed up and went to bed.  

Tonight, Ye Miao had originally planned to take the initiative and strengthen his relationship with Qin Jin. Even though frequent intimacy could lead to pregnancy, it couldn’t be that the wedding night was the only time they would be together, right?  

Did this mean that Qin Jin wouldn’t touch him again until the debt was paid off?  

That wouldn’t do.  

So, he had been scheming—when snuggled in Qin Jin’s arms tonight, he would wiggle a few times. If Qin Jin still didn’t react, he would take the initiative to undo Qin Jin’s clothes.  

But plans couldn’t keep up with changes. As soon as Qin Jin mentioned making a new type of food, his mind immediately shifted to that.  

What kind of new food could be made with tofu curd?  

Pondering this question, he quickly fell asleep in Qin Jin’s embrace.  

At dawn, he got up on time and helped his dad make pea cake. When the hour of Yin arrived, he went into the house to wake Qin Jin.  

Qin Jin got out of bed, skipping his morning wash, grabbed a wooden bucket, and headed to the Zhang family’s house to collect the tofu curd.  

In Dongyang County, many families grew soybeans, making them cheaper than peas—three copper coins per pound. One pound of soybeans could make three pounds of firm tofu or six pounds of tofu curd.  

One pound of tofu pudding cost one copper coin, so Qin Jin’s twenty copper coins could buy twenty pounds of it.  

After carrying the tofu curd home, he found a large basket usually used for storing steamed buns and cornbread and began making *qianzhang* (tofu sheets).  

The process was simple. First, he stirred the tofu curd until it returned to a thick, slurry-like state. Then, he lined the basket with the borrowed cotton cloth and ladled a thin layer of tofu curd over it.  

Each layer had to be spread thinly. After one layer was done, he placed another piece of cotton cloth on top, then continued spooning more tofu curd onto it.  

Layer by layer, he repeated the process until, finally, he placed a ceramic basin filled with water on top to press out excess moisture.  

Half an hour later, the tofu sheet was ready.  

The finished tofu sheets were thin and imprinted with the fabric’s texture. Ye Miao immediately cut them into thin strips, seasoned them with sesame oil, chili, minced garlic, and other spices, and made a cold dish.  

Once it was ready, Qin Jin asked Ye Miao and Zhao Feng to taste it first.  

The taste was excellent—it didn’t even resemble tofu. It had a slight chewiness and a delicate texture.  

“Brother Jin, you try it too!” Ye Miao swallowed a bite and eagerly urged Qin Jin, his eyes filled with admiration. “Did you learn this from somewhere?”  

“Yes.” Qin Jin nodded naturally, accepting his little husband’s adoration without hesitation.  

Ye Miao’s eyes sparkled. He felt proud—his husband was amazing.  

Qin Jin picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. Since it was handmade, the tofu sheets weren’t as tightly pressed as machine-made ones, so they were slightly thicker. But the texture was still excellent.  

He was satisfied and said to Ye Miao, “Make some more and send it to the old courtyard.”  

Out of the twenty pounds of tofu curd, less than four and a half pounds of tofu sheets were produced in the end.  

Half was kept for themselves, and the other half would be taken to the market for sale.  

After breakfast, Qin Jin carried a basket on his back, grabbed a stool, and set out to sell.  

His tofu sheets were small—six pieces made up a pound. He priced them at one copper coin per sheet, making it six copper coins per pound.  

This was significantly more expensive than tofu, which sold for two copper coins per pound.  

But his tofu sheet was a unique product, and his costs were higher. After all, he had bought the tofu curd from the Zhang family instead of making it himself.  

Even at this price, the total revenue from four and a half pounds would be twenty-seven copper coins. After deducting the twenty copper coin cost, his profit would be seven copper coins.  

Not much.  

And in reality, the final weight of the tofu sheet was slightly less than four and a half pounds, meaning his actual profit was even lower.  

But the process wasn’t troublesome—it was something he could do easily.  

For now, he would continue selling like this. If it didn’t sell well, he could lower the price or try approaching restaurants and taverns in town.  

However, he would only consider that as a last resort.  

Whether it was pea cake or tofu sheet, neither required advanced skills. A professional could figure out how to make them with just a little effort.  

He worried that those professionals might steal his business.  

So, for now, he would stick to setting up his stall outside the city.  

With these thoughts running through his mind, he soon arrived at the city gate.  

He had come early today, but instead of moving closer to the gate, he set up his stall in his usual spot.