Chapter 58

Monster taro tofu became the new favorite for dinner. With so many delicious dishes, the two kids completely forgot about not eating too much for dinner and ended up overeating.

Shen Ning: “Sister-in-law, should we also sell this monster taro tofu?”

Sang Luo nodded, “Yes, but we won’t sell the monster taro tofu directly. Instead, we’ll sell the mock tripe.”

When it comes to selling food, there’s a big difference between selling snacks and selling cooked food. Selling raw vegetables won’t make as much money as selling cooked food.

Just selling monster taro tofu won’t fetch a good price, so Sang Luo decided to process the finished product further and sell the mock tripe directly. By raising the price and changing the appearance and name, no one would ever guess what it was made of.

Shen An’s eyes lit up, “Selling this directly is a good idea. Can’t we make more money?”

“Of course,” Sang Luo said, turning her head to look at the small jars of soy sauce and vinegar in the house. “Let’s buy some small jars and sell them by the jar. We’ll sell the tofu and fairy tofu to the families who helped us, and we’ll sell the mock tripe and crystal pork ourselves. Let’s go directly to the county and talk to a shop about cooperation.”

Expensive things naturally need to be sold in a place that sells expensive goods.

The eyes of the two siblings lit up. Locks and trousers, they felt like they could have them soon.

And indeed, they got them soon enough. Early the next day, Qin Fangniang, Mrs. Gan, and Mrs. Chen came together with the money for their orders.

Since the day Sang Luo made the agreement with several families to take goods from her, Old Man Chen and Mrs. Chen had instructed them to pay for the goods when taking them. It was no longer like before, when they helped Sang Luo sell the goods.

This was quite different. Paying for the goods when taking them meant that if they couldn’t sell them, they would bear the loss themselves. Before, if they couldn’t sell them, it was Sang Luo’s problem.

Before, Sang Luo took care of them. Now, what Sang Luo said to the other two families was to pay for the goods when taking them. Although she didn’t mention them specifically, the people in the Chen family had to understand it themselves and take the initiative to switch to this plan.

Sang Luo smiled when she saw Qin Fangniang also bringing money to place an order but didn’t say anything.

Qin Fangniang sold cooked food in the East Market. Sang Luo used to sell in the West Market, and now she just added up goods in the streets and alleys. Although she would lose some customers to a certain extent, she thought that they hadn’t gone to the county in these days of busy farming, and the people in the county hadn’t been able to buy fairy tofu and tofu for many days, so she wasn’t worried about her business being affected.

Qin Fangniang had never sold tofu before, but she had a rough idea from seeing Sang Luo sell it before. Thinking that she used to only sell fairy tofu and now she adds tofu, there was a bit of competition between them. After weighing the pros and cons, they each ordered forty pieces.

One hundred and twenty cents, which had been counted in advance at home. One string for one hundred cents and one string for twenty cents. They gave the two strings of money to Sang Luo.

Sang Luo smiled and accepted it, then looked at Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen. Instead of asking for their orders first, she asked where they set up their stalls.

Mrs. Gan smiled and said, “We’ve discussed it. We’ll take turns setting up stalls in the West Market and picking goods in the streets and alleys. We’ll switch every five days, so that we can rest for a few days after carrying goods for a few days.”

This was exactly what Sang Luo had estimated. She smiled, “That’s good. It won’t be too tiring this way.”

There won’t be any conflicts either, no grudges will arise.

“Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen, how much do you want to order?”

Mrs. Gan smiled, “It’s our first time selling, so we’re not sure. Let’s start with ten fewer each than Fangniang’s.”

So that’s thirty cents for fairy tofu and thirty cents for tofu, sixty cents for one family, and ninety cents for one person.

Obviously, the three families had discussed it before coming. Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen each took out a string of money and said, “This is ninety cents. Alie’s wife, you count it.”

Sang Luo took the money and said to Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen, “I’m making a lot of things, but I don’t have enough containers at the moment. I’m afraid I’ll need you to leave a bucket here for me these days. I’ll pack the goods for you directly when they’re ready at night, so you can take them away early the next morning.”

Both nodded.

Sang Luo then said to Qin Fangniang, “Uncle Tian might need to come over after finishing his work today to help me make another set of tofu carrying poles, or else it will be hard to supply them tomorrow.”

The existing pair, because the other side of each family’s stall was wooden barrels of fairy tofu, so one pair of tofu carrying poles could be used by two people. With three stalls now, naturally, it wouldn’t be enough.

Qin Fangniang smiled, “Alright, today is just some finishing work. I’ll go tell him in a bit to come help you with your work.”

Sang Luo thanked her, and Qin Fangniang waved her hand, seeing Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Chen seeming to want to leave. She hurriedly said to Sang Luo, “My mother asked me to ask, about the thing you made yesterday, are you planning to sell it in the county?”

Sang Luo knew what the old lady meant by having Qin Fangniang ask this question and smiled, “Yes, but that thing is labor-intensive and material-consuming, it’s quite difficult to make, so the price will be relatively high. I plan to go back and ask the big shop in the county if they’re willing to take it and sell it in their shop.”

Qin Fangniang felt a bit regretful. That thing was really delicious. If they could sell it, it would definitely sell well. But Sang Luo was right. If they sold it at a higher price, it would indeed be better to put it in the shop.

“Okay, I’ll go back and tell my mother.”

As the three were about to leave, Sang Luo smiled and said, “If you come to pick up goods next time, it’s also possible to give some grain and soybeans or the like. Just compare the prices on the market. My family also needs these things now, so after I take the money, I’ll turn around and go to the market or the county to buy them.”

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the three lit up.

“How much do you need?” Mrs. Gan asked.

Sang Luo nodded, “We need to stock up on some grains, let’s do it proportionally. Half the money and half the grain will do, cloth is also fine, but we don’t need too much of that. We’ll estimate we’ll need enough for a few sets of clothes and two quilts. If we have enough of anything, I’ll let you know, and you can just pay me later.”

These days are not like modern times. The control of prices is quite good, and the supplies are abundant, shopping is convenient, and if the family runs out of rice, they can go buy it anytime.

This is ancient times, whether it’s from the memories of the original body or Sang Luo’s own knowledge, this is a place full of countless unknown risks. Natural disasters, wars, bandits, you never know which one will strike, whether it will hit you, or hit close to you.

When it really comes to that point, having money may not necessarily mean being able to buy grain. Even if you manage to buy it, the price will surely be extraordinarily high. So stocking up on grains is a necessary thing, and it is also the basic knowledge of most people in this time and space.

Hearing Sang Luo’s intention to stock up, Mrs. Gan nodded, “Alright, we all have these things in our homes.”

She paused, wanting to say something. She hesitated for a moment, but what came out was, “Then we’ll head back now, and we’ll bring the bucket over later.”

After walking a distance away from the Shen family’s small courtyard, Mrs. Gan said to Qin Fangniang and Feng Liuniang, “Mrs. Tian, Mrs. Liu, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

Qin Fangniang glanced at her, “Are you talking about grain prices?”

Mrs. Gan was dumbfounded, then smiled, “Sister-in-law, you’ve thought of this too. I didn’t discuss it with you just now, and I didn’t want to say it directly.”

Qin Fangniang smiled along, “I also felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about it without asking you first.”

Only Feng Liuniang, who used to only weave cloth and didn’t pay much attention to household affairs, was a bit confused, “What grain price are you talking about?”

Mrs. Gan smiled and looked at her, “Don’t you know? After the autumn harvest every year, grain merchants come to the countryside to collect grain. After paying the land rent and autumn taxes, the family keeps a year’s worth of grain, and the rest is sold to the grain merchants for some money.”

“I’m aware of that.”

Feng Liuniang nodded, but still looked puzzled, not understanding what Mrs. Gan and Qin Fangniang were talking about.

Qin Fangniang laughed, “Obviously, you only knew how to weave cloth before. The price the grain merchants pay when they come to collect grain is lower than the market price. Sister-in-law and I mean that we definitely can’t calculate based on the market price, it would be cheaper to sell to the grain merchants than to Alie’s wife.”

Feng Liuniang suddenly understood, “I see. Although I’m not in charge of the household, my mother’s intentions are the same as yours.”

Mrs. Gan continued, “I guess the grain merchants will come to move around these days. Before that, why don’t we use soybeans or cloth to make an initial exchange, and then after confirming the price at which the grain merchants will collect grain this year, we can use grain to make the final exchange. How about it?”

Qin Fangniang and Feng Liuniang both nodded, “That sounds good.”

Qin Fangniang reminded them, “When you bring the bucket over, if there are any spare pottery pots at home, it’s best to bring one over as well. With so many things being made, if there are too few containers, it will be too troublesome. My family currently has two wooden buckets and one pottery pot left at Alie’s wife’s house for temporary use.”

She had been selling fairy tofu for a long time, and Sang Luo would often give her some side ingredients for tasting or as a gesture of goodwill. From the shape of the side ingredients, Qin Fangniang could guess that the things were solidified in pottery pots.

She didn’t know if solidifying would take time, but Sang Luo could often tell that she wasn’t getting enough sleep at night. With fewer containers, she would inevitably have to make them several times, which took too much time and drained her energy. Therefore, she reminded the two women to bring another pottery pot.

Mrs. Gan and Feng Liuniang didn’t hesitate and both nodded in agreement.

When Feng Liuniang returned home and mentioned this matter, Mrs. Lu nodded, “That’s the way to go. We’ll know the price when the grain merchants come. Use cloth for now. We’ve woven a lot of cloth at home. I think Alie’s wife could use some too. Pick out the better quality ones.”

Feng Liuniang nodded, then found a wooden bucket and took a pottery pot, carrying them to the mountains.

…

At the Shen family’s residence.

Shen An and Shen Ning were counting money.

Sang Luo hadn’t touched the several strings of money, leaving the counting to the siblings.

What surprised Sang Luo was that although the siblings counted a bit hesitantly, they managed to count to one hundred without making any mistakes.

Counting beyond one hundred left them bewildered, though. They didn’t know how to do it.

Sang Luo was amazed, “Have you learned how to count?”

Both siblings nodded.

Shen An said, “Our older brother taught us before. He started teaching us slowly when we were four years old, using sticks to help us count.”

Shen Ning added, “He even made us count the wild fruits we picked and then divide them ourselves.”

Quite methodical.

“Did your older brother go to school?”

This time both siblings shook their heads, “No.”

“Did he learn to read from someone?”

Shen Ning shook her head, “No.”

But Shen An said, “He knows how to write his name and do arithmetic. He learned from Village Chief Uncle.”

Some distant memories seemed to have been unlocked, and Shen An continued, “Our older brother used to catch fish in the stream and hunt wild chickens and rabbits in the mountains. He could go to the market or the county to exchange them for some money. But if he couldn’t count, he might get cheated, so he specifically learned from Village Chief Uncle.”

Sang Luo raised an eyebrow. Hadn’t he suffered losses before?

She felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

Looking at the two children, she suddenly asked, “Do you both want to learn how to read?”