Chapter 43: Happy Cooperation

“Dinner’s ready, you two little rascals, come over and eat quickly,” Sun Bailian said, carrying out a large plate of soup. The smell made her eager to eat. Seeing that her two sons were still over there playing with the rabbits, she roared.

Her two mischievous sons ran over, but before they could shout that they wanted to eat, they were met with a stern look from their father, and immediately became a lot more obedient, sitting properly in their seats, staring at the food on the table, almost drooling.

The bone and radish soup had simmered slowly for almost two hours, extracting all the essence from the bones. The radish pieces were translucent, emitting a strong fragrance. A large pot of pig offal stewed with spices was even more fragrant, and there was also a large portion of river noodles, which was their staple food tonight.

As the sun set, the two families sat down around the small table.

“What is this?” Sun Bailian asked, looking at the plate of white, long strips of food,

“This is called hefen [river noodles], it’s our staple food tonight. It’s made with rice and mung bean flour, mixed with water in a certain ratio to make a slurry, and steamed in a pot,” Cao Xiangnan explained. “We can add soup to it or mix it with sauce.”

Qi Wanfeng had already heard his husband explain how to make it. He used chopsticks to put hefen into each bowl, making a bowl of soup noodles and a bowl of mixed noodles, with a small spoonful of pig offal on top. He placed them on the table and said, “This bowl is with soup, and this bowl is mixed.”

Sun Bailian looked over and immediately understood.

“A-mu, I want to eat, I want to eat.”

“A-mu, I want that bowl.”

The two boys each wanted a bowl. Qi Wanfeng moved the prepared hefen over to Sun Bailian’s two children, looked at Sun Bailian, and asked, “Do you want soup or mixed?”

“Whatever, either is fine,” Sun Bailian said, glaring at her two impolite sons. She had already swallowed several times, the smell was so fragrant.

An’an smelled the fragrance, grabbed his A-mu’s hand, and his little face was filled with “An’an wants to eat too,” so anxious that he didn’t know what to do. Qi Wanfeng made a bowl for his own child, and finally, it was his and his husband’s turn.

The large pot of bone soup gradually ran out, and there was nothing left in the pig offal except for a little broth. Fortunately, Cao Xiangnan thought that people in this era were hungry, so he made a little more. Fortunately, there was enough in the end, and everyone ate their fill, sitting there unwilling to move.

“Say it, what do you want to say?” The eyes of the man who had eaten his fill were less sharp than usual. Cao Gang asked.

Cao Xiangnan smiled, his smile full of confidence, and asked, “I wonder what you think of the taste of what you just ate?”

“Delicious, very delicious,” Sun Bailian replied first, it was so delicious, it felt like the best thing he had ever eaten in his life.

Cao Gang nodded calmly, not at all looking like the ferocious, head-down-in-the-bowl eater he had been just now. The two boys on the side were clamoring, meaning that it was very delicious, but their bellies were about to burst, and they couldn’t eat anymore.

“I invited you here today because I want to discuss something with you. I plan to open a snack stall in Fen Shui Town, selling what we just ate,” Cao Xiangnan said. Then, he laid out the materials they would need, the cost price, and the profits they could make one by one. The price of pig offal was much cheaper than pork, but it was still meat. The most important thing was that the taste he made was fragrant, and if people ate it and liked it, they would be willing to spend money to buy a serving to eat next time.

Cao Xiangnan also told Sun Bailian and Cao Gang very clearly, “You also know our family’s situation. Wanfeng and I can’t do it alone, so I want to find you to do it together. I know how to make all these things, I’ll be responsible for teaching you, and we’ll split the profits 50-50. What do you think? Are you interested in doing it together?”

According to the current price of rice, one jin [A unit of weight, approximately 500 grams] of rice can make about three jin of river noodles, of which 10% is soaked mung beans. Mung beans are so cheap here that no one wants them, but don’t underestimate that 10%, if the quantity is large, the cost will be reduced a lot, and the profits will increase by 10%. Then there are other things, and all in all, the profits will be even greater.

If the two families do it together, the money that can be earned on average should also be relatively considerable.

“Husband?” Sun Bailian looked eager, wanting to agree immediately.

If there was a way to make money by other means, he would of course be even more willing. Their family relied on her husband going into the mountains to hunt and sell for money, and they had a few acres of barren land. Although the family of four was doing okay, every time her husband went up the mountain to hunt, she was terrified. There were wild animals in the mountains, and who knew when they would encounter them? There were hunters in the village who had died in those mountains, and Sun Bailian didn’t want her husband to make a living by hunting all the time.

“You thought of the way to make money, so you’re losing out if you split it 50-50. We can’t take advantage of you. How about this, 40-60, we take 40% and you take 60%,” Cao Gang said, who had been silent and listening all along.

“No, just 50-50,” Cao Xiangnan disagreed, insisting on his original opinion. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to do anything, there’s no such thing as losing out. Moreover, if it wasn’t for you, Wanfeng and I wouldn’t be able to be here like this today.”

Whether out of gratitude or something else, in short, they could have today, and even have better days in the future, all thanks to Cao Gang and Sun Bailian. He believed in Qi Wanfeng’s judgment of people, and he also believed in his own judgment, so when he had the idea of doing a food business together, he thought of finding Cao Gang and Sun Bailian to do it together.

The two men’s eyes met, and the silent man looked away, looking at Sun Bailian on the side. Sun Bailian didn’t say anything, but his eyes were looking at his husband with hope, no matter how the split was, he hoped his husband would agree.

Cao Gang looked at Cao Xiangnan, “Mm,” he said, “Okay, let’s do it!”

Sun Bailian almost jumped up with joy, his face full of unconcealed joy.

The children didn’t understand what the adults were talking about. They sat in their seats for a while, but their little butts couldn’t sit still, and they ran off, one after another, until they had all run off.

The four adults who were still sitting around the table continued to discuss the business. Cao Xiangnan had come up with the idea, so he naturally already had ideas in his mind. Now that the two families were working together, they had to discuss how to do it best. Cao Gang was mostly a man who listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a word. Every time he put forward an opinion or idea, it was very effective.

It was getting late, the sky was dark, and the road outside was not easy to walk. Sun Bailian and the children had to go home.

“Happy cooperation,” Cao Xiangnan said, standing up and extending his hand to Cao Gang. The two men shook hands, both with smiles on their faces.

After seeing the guests off, the courtyard door was closed.

The sunset clouds in the sky faded away, leaving only the last bit of light. Gradually, the last bit of light disappeared on the horizon, and it grew dark.