Chapter 73 : Cooperation

The proprietress grabbed Sang Luo, her feet barely stopped before her eyes darted to the two baskets Sang Luo was carrying.

“Miss, did you wait for me? Are you here today to sell crystal fruit?” Sang Luo’s eyebrows twitched, smiling, “Yes, just arrived in the county, planning to go to the other two pastry shops to inquire. Did the shopkeeper look for me?”

Planning to inquire at the other two pastry shops!

The proprietress only heard this sentence, immediately grabbing Sang Luo’s sleeve with vigilance.

Once she caught her breath, she smiled and said, “Don’t rush, come to my shop first, and let’s talk slowly.”

Ah, Sang Luo felt she didn’t need to promote her products everywhere today; she already had buyers.

She smiled in agreement, followed the proprietress back, and realized she had passed Yongfeng Zhai’s door when she was lost in thought earlier. No wonder the proprietress came chasing after her.

Inside Yongfeng Zhai, the proprietress led Sang Luo to the backyard, and even prepared tea and snacks.

Her demeanor made Sang Luo feel that selling crystal fruit or helping someone buy crystal fruit wasn’t so simple.

Sure enough, when the proprietress spoke, it was about this: “Miss, is it true you don’t sell the recipe for the crystal fruit? The price is negotiable.”

Upon hearing this, Sang Luo was tempted, but since she transmigrated to ancient times with nothing but two children, she preferred a steady income.

Selling a recipe, once or twice might yield quick money, but what about afterward? Most valuable recipes were kept close; passing them down through generations was a skill that enabled survival. If not desperate, who would easily sell them?

Sighing inwardly, the proprietress showed only a slight hint of regret, saying, “I bought some of your crystal fruit a few days ago, packaged them, and delivered them to the master’s house. The young masters and mistresses loved them, even the old lady kept two jars. So, our master’s family has been thinking about it and wants to buy the recipe, make it carefully, and sell it in the shop.”

Sang Luo smiled and waited for her to continue.

Seeing her so composed, the proprietress could only propose another solution: “If you’re really unwilling to sell the recipe, let’s talk about cooperation.”

Sang Luo asked with a smile, “What kind of cooperation?”

The proprietress explained the terms, mainly using their molds to make crystal fruit according to their standards, providing a stable supply, and only supplying them.

Sang Luo could agree to the first and last points, but not the middle one.

Because sour jujubes grow naturally and are not artificially cultivated, how could they be stable? Moreover, according to the local climate, there would be sour jujubes for at most another month and a half, and then they would be gone.

Of course, she couldn’t say this directly, or the recipe would be easy to crack.

So Sang Luo just shook her head, “Using your molds to make, only supplying you, those two points are feasible, but providing a stable supply is not. In addition to making this crystal fruit, our family has several other means of making a living and is too busy to handle. If we ask others to make it, the recipe may be leaked. So, we only make and sell some when we have spare time.”

The proprietress: “…”

“Alright.”

At this point, the proprietress had no choice. After all, the pastry chefs in the shop had been pondering the half jar of crystal fruit given by the master’s family for many days and hadn’t come up with any conclusions.

She turned her gaze to the baskets Sang Luo placed aside. “How many crystal fruits did you bring today?”

“836 pieces.”

This time, Sang Luo reported an extremely precise number.

Not for any other reason, but because when she was bottling them, she ended up with thirty-nine extra pieces. Sang Luo had originally planned to leave nine pieces as snacks for the two siblings, but they insisted on leaving only three pieces due to their family’s debts. The rest were stuffed into jars. So Sang Luo remembered this number particularly clearly.

It could be said that she and either Shen Ning or Shen An had combed through dozens of nearby hills these past few days. Of course, they were only picking from the ground. Sour jujube trees were too tall, and the branches too brittle. No one dared to climb up and pick them. Moreover, sour jujubes didn’t spoil easily when they fell to the ground; they could still be picked for several days after falling. So most of them were picked after ripening and falling naturally.

This amount of over eight hundred cents sounded like a lot, but it was extremely hard-earned. They spent their days in the mountains, running back and forth several times a day. Once they finished picking nearby, they had to go further away. Most of their time was spent on the mountain roads.

And in the evenings, they made jujube cakes at home. When they had a big harvest during the day, they would work later into the night, which was quite exhausting.

“Now even Shen An and Shen Ning are extremely skilled at peeling and kneading jujube paste.”

The proprietress smiled. “I’ll take them all. Do you remember, from now on, we’re the only ones selling these crystal fruits at Yongfeng Zhai.”

Sang Luo was more than willing. She immediately let the proprietress invite someone to count the items.

The proprietress was also straightforward. While someone was counting, she handed over eight strings and thirty-six cents to Sang Luo and gave her time to count the money.

This time, Sang Luo didn’t hesitate. Because she had a use for every cent she earned today, she specifically asked the proprietress to borrow a few ropes that could be used to string money.

Each string cost eighty-eight cents, and she strung nine of them in total. After stringing these nine, she would be left with only forty-four cents, enough for one small string.

Before leaving, the proprietress asked Sang Luo to wait for a moment and brought out a small box of items from inside.

Sang Luo realized upon seeing them that they were all molds for making pastries. If the jujube cakes were placed in these molds to dry, not only would they be neat and square, but they would also have the words “Yongfeng Zhai” on them.

“For the future batches, would you mind using these molds to make them? Do you think it will work?” The imprint of the bamboo sieve on the pastries would inevitably make them look less appealing.

Sang Luo examined the size of the molds and nodded. “It’s possible. I’ll use these molds for the future batches.”

She carefully examined the molds on the model, a rectangular one with two rows of molds side by side, which could produce twenty pieces. The proprietress brought out ten molds, which meant Sang Luo could dry two hundred jujube cakes at once. Sang Luo frowned. “If there are more of these molds available, please give me as many as possible. This item can be preserved if stored properly. Since we don’t make them often, we usually make more at once.”

The most critical factor was that the jujube season was limited. Sang Luo had to plan carefully and store some for the future so that she could continue to supply them after the season was over. This way, it wouldn’t be so easy for people to associate these crystal fruits with the wild sour jujubes in the mountains.

The proprietress frowned. Naturally, as shopkeepers, they hoped for the freshest items. However, thinking about the six hundred pieces sent to the master’s family, which disappeared shortly after arriving home, even though it was related to the family’s aunt and children, she realized that most of the big customers who patronized their Yongfeng Zhai were like that.

Suddenly, she felt foolish. Why bother restricting the number of molds?

Looking back, this young lady really cared about her tofu and the business with Dongfu Building. It had been many days since she made them. What was the point of saving two hundred pieces?

Wasn’t this just restricting herself?

The proprietress smiled and agreed, “Sure, wait a moment, I’ll bring some more.”

Finally, ten more boards were brought out, totaling four hundred pieces of pastries.

With the main business settled, the proprietress invited Sang Luo to sit down for tea and pastries, smiling as she said to Sang Luo, “My surname is Yan. You can call me Shopkeeper Yan in the future. What should I call you? Where do you live?”

She was inquiring about Sang Luo’s situation.

Since they had cooperated, it was inevitable to ask about these things. Sang Luo had nothing to hide and replied, “My surname is Sang, single name Luo. You can call me Mrs. Sang, or Aluo. I live in Shili Village, Qingpu Township.”

Shopkeeper Yan noted down the information and asked, “When will Mrs. Sang be able to deliver the first batch of goods?”

Sang Luo thought for a moment and replied, “The first batch will probably be delivered in about four days.”

The timing actually depended on the weather. On a sunny day, it could take two days to dry a batch. But if it rained, they would have to dry them indoors, which would take longer.

With the approximate delivery date set, Sang Luo packed up her few jars and the pastry molds given by Shopkeeper Yan and bid farewell to her.

Shopkeeper Yan was enthusiastic and escorted her to the door of the shop.

After leaving Yongfeng Zhai, Sang Luo didn’t go anywhere else but headed straight to the grain shop where Chen Youtian and the others were waiting in line.

It was still early, and there was a long line outside the grain shop. Chen Youtian and the others were in the middle of the line. Sang Luo approached them, took out money strings from her purse, and handed them out one by one. Zhou Cunzheng didn’t need any help; he could buy enough for his quota by himself. Sang Luo handed over three money strings to Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang, and Lu Dalang, respectively, and gave each of them a grain bag. “Thank you all for your hard work. Could each of you buy three dou of grain for me? Each string of money is exactly eighty-eight cents.”

Helping Sang Luo buy grain was something they had agreed upon earlier. Chen Youtian and the others could only buy one to one and a half dou of grain each time they lined up to buy grain. With leftover quotas, Sang Luo couldn’t make it in time to line up, so she asked them to help buy grain today.

The few of them nodded, took the money, and put it in their pockets. Sang Luo then waited on the side.

Early in the morning, Zhou Cunzheng noticed that Sang Luo’s money purse was bulging, so he didn’t know that she had earned the money today by selling goods in the county. He thought it was money she had saved up over these days. However, most of the pastry molds that Sang Luo had placed in the basket were already stored in jars, and there were six or seven jars that couldn’t fit in and were left outside. Zhou Cunzheng stared at them in puzzlement for several glances.

…

After buying grains in the late morning, everyone still needed to buy some salt. Salt cost twenty-four cents per liter. Zhou Cunzheng directly asked for five liters, which made Sang Luo look at him several times. My goodness, this could last for more than a year, right?

Sang Luo remembered that Zhou Cunzheng had quite a large family, but if they used it sparingly, it could indeed last for over a year.

Sang Luo also wanted to stock up more. Salt could be stored for a long time, with no issues for two or three years. But when she pinched her money purse, she decided to ask the shopkeeper for only one liter.

She could only afford one liter. After buying it, she only had twenty cents left.

The Chen family, the Shi family, and the Lu family were similar to Sang Luo. They all gritted their teeth to buy one liter.

With everything purchased, everyone wanted to rush back to Fengdi. They didn’t wait for Qin Fang and the others, and they carried their bags back first.

As for Chen Youtian and the others, they didn’t need to carry them. It was enough to carry them by hand. Sang Luo had more rice, buying nine dou, but after dividing it into three bags, it was still manageable. Chen Youtian and the others helped carry them directly.

The five of them returned to the village, with Sang Luo carrying a load of baskets, and the others carrying grains and bags. They were quite eye-catching.

“You’re really buying expensive grains. What’s the point? It’s just because taxes need to be paid this year. Otherwise, I’d consider selling some to the grain merchant.”

“Tsk, going to the county to set up a stall to make money.”

“Chen Youtian, what is your wife selling in the county? Must be making quite a bit of money, right?”

Chen Youtian: “Wild vegetables, mushrooms, whatever vegetables we grow in our backyard, we sell them. If you guys work hard, you can also pick some and sell them in the county.”

The man sneered. Although he addressed Chen Youtian, his eyes were on the load of baskets carried by Sang Luo, especially those several jars with covers.

The pastry molds were not visible at the moment, as Sang Luo had placed the bag of salt on top, covering them.

Sang Luo noticed the reactions of these people and showed a worried expression. She forced a smile and replied, “Uncle Youtian and the others helped me carry the grains. We have to pay four kilograms and four kilograms of rent and taxes this year, and we’re still far from enough.”

Chen Youtian and the others had helped Sang Luo carry the grains that day, so they naturally knew that she had already stored the grains for paying rent and taxes. Not only were they stored, but there was also enough grain to last until next autumn. The nine kilograms of grain today was just her being cautious, and she still needed to store some more.

On the way back to the village, they didn’t take the mountain road but deliberately passed through the village to show off in front of the villagers. Otherwise, when it came time to pay taxes, where would four kilograms of grain come from?

Shi Erlang was the most quick-witted. Seeing Sang Luo’s reaction, he immediately said, “Don’t worry, if you don’t have enough by September 14th, our families will help you out.”

Chen Youtian and Lu Dalang were both stunned at first, but then they reacted and nodded together, “Yes, yes, each family will contribute a bit. Once you earn money, you can repay us with grain.”

With these four people acting together, Zhou Cunzheng, who didn’t understand the situation, took it seriously. Although making tofu could make money, didn’t it require capital? Adding another three families to make a profit, the profit might not be that great. Besides, building a house and hiring people to take care of things required money. It was possible that Sang Luo couldn’t afford to buy grain.

Thinking that Shen Lie was gone and the Sang family still had to pay his two kilograms of taxes, and the situations of the Chen, Shi, and Lu families were similar, Zhou Cunzheng felt heavy-hearted. When the Shen family divided its property, he couldn’t intervene, and Shen San wouldn’t give him face. Now, when it came time to pay taxes, if the Sang family couldn’t pay, he could lend a hand.

With this in mind, Zhou Cunzheng said, “If it falls short, my family will also contribute a portion. You can repay the grain later.”

Sang Luo was originally just acting, but when she heard this, she was stunned for a moment, then her eyes softened. “Thank you, Uncle Zhou.”

Although she didn’t actually need this help, when Zhou Cunzheng said this, whether it was a sincere offer to help or an investment in her as a person, she appreciated the sentiment.