The marinated pig intestines have attracted a lot of attention, with more and more neighbors from nearby villages coming to buy them. Some also pick up shrimp paste buns or five-spice tea eggs. Even braised pork and marinated pig trotters are seeing a resurgence in popularity.

Business at the stall is steadily on the rise, becoming busier and more stable.

Recently, they’ve stocked up on shrimp paste, adding more to the shrimp paste buns, and increasing the quantity of five-spice tea eggs. The braised pork and marinated trotters have returned to their previous amounts: twenty pounds of meat and two pairs of trotters.

Setting up shop at home has also been profitable, and on market days, they haven’t needed to go into town anymore. After a few months, their reputation has spread, and everyone in the surrounding villages knows that the Chen family sells food. Whether they go to the market or not doesn’t matter much anymore.

Every morning, Chen Yuanqiu drives the ox cart to the town to buy pig intestines. If he finds a good deal on shrimp, he buys some as well.

The shrimp paste bun business is thriving, and their own fishing nets can barely keep up.

After buying a few times, everyone knows that he buys shrimp without looking around, so when he shows up with fresh shrimp, they sell it to him at a discount just to get him home early.

As September rolls in, the air has a slight chill in the mornings and evenings, and at night, they use lighter blankets.

Dad Chen helps his grandson, Cao ger, with his needs then places him in his bed: “We need to get some warmer autumn clothes for Cao ger, we need to buy everything for him.”

“Shall we go to town this afternoon?” Chen Yuping glances at the stall. “We should sell everything before lunch, then go after eating and return before dark.”

“I think that sounds good.”

Dad Chen, who has only recently learned to drive the ox cart, manages to do it steadily.

Chen Yuping holds Cao ger, who is a well-behaved baby and easy to care for. He only cries when he’s hungry or needs a change, drawing the adults’ attention for just a moment before stopping, as if he understands everything, which makes the family dote on him even more.

“Our business may not seem big, selling things for a few coins here and there, but we’ve saved quite a bit in just a few months.” Dad Chen realizes while counting the money that their savings have increased significantly in just half a year, almost matching what they saved in an entire previous year. “And we even bought an ox in between.”

“Is that enough for you, Dad?”

Looking at his son’s smiling face, Dad Chen cheerfully replies, “I’m satisfied, I really am.” If his third and fourth sons could find partners, life would be even better.

“I was thinking about building a sanhe courtyard. I think the village head’s yard looks nice, and it would definitely be comfortable to live in.”

“You really are dreaming big, a sanhe courtyard would cost a lot.”

Chen Yuping raises his eyebrows. “Dad, just with our good business at the stall, if not next year, then definitely the year after.”

“That’s a reasonable point.” Father Chen roughly estimates, “If you want to build it, let’s do it. There’s a nice plot of land next to our house and it’s spacious enough. If you really want it, let’s talk to the village head and ask him to hold it for us.”

“I have my eye on the vacant land next to our old house. It’s close to home, and I like it.”

After discussing the house, they dream about the future and then start chatting about mundane family matters.

Chen Yuping asks, “Dad, do you know how much cloth father and younger brother need for clothes, right? Once we’re in town, let’s buy cloth, shoes, and socks for everyone. We’ve got to spend money after earning it, it’s pointless to earn without spending.”

“You were just talking about building a sanhe courtyard, and now you’re ready to spend extravagantly? With this kind of thinking, even if our stall does well, building a sanhe courtyard will be hard.”

“It won’t be hard, Dad. Believe me. We can probably start construction next year, and we can finish it in one go during the winter downtime.”

Dad Chen laughs at him. “Keep dreaming, Cao ger is watching.”

“Cao ger, do you think Dad is right?” Chen Yuping asks, bending down to tease the baby.

Hearing him, Cao ger smiles back with his eyes crescent-shaped like a thin moon.

“See, Dad, even Cao ger believes in me. Look how happy he is.”

“Foolish son.”

In the end, Dad Chen couldn’t resist his son’s enthusiasm and bought new clothes for the whole family, but each person only got one outfit, except for Cao ger, who got a lot of things.

Today’s tasks weren’t heavy. After buying clothes and shoes, it was still early. The father and son leisurely wandered through the town, something they rarely did since they usually rushed in and out.

After a round of exploration, they found the town to be much more bustling than an average small town.

As evening approached, they drove the ox cart back home.

Thinking about building the sanhe courtyard next year during winter, Chen Yuping became more focused on earning money. Business at the stall is good, with shrimp paste buns, braised pork, marinated pig trotters, five-spice tea eggs, and marinated pig intestines—five different types of food, which is quite a lot.

September weather is just right, not too hot or cold.

Chen Yuping used to love eating red fermented tofu and has watched many videos to learn how to make it. He feels experienced now, and with his newfound skills, he can imagine that the red fermented tofu will also sell very well.

There’s tofu for sale in the village, so he plans to buy some blocks and let them sit in a ventilated area for a few days.

Father Chen casually asks, “Are you thinking of making new food? Planning to sell it at the stall?”

“Yeah, if I can make it, I plan to sell it.”

“In that case, we can make our own tofu. It’s not hard, I learned it when I was young.”

“Father, you know how to make tofu?”

“I can’t count how many times I’ve eaten it, I got tired of it. It doesn’t make much money, so I stopped doing it.”

Dad Chen praises him: “Your father is quite skilled at making tofu. We won’t need to buy equipment, just use what we have at home. We can wash and dry everything tomorrow and start making tofu.”

“Third brother is going to start making new food again? Life is looking promising!” The happiest is Chen Yuanqiu, who thinks that in the world of food lovers, having delicious food is happiness.

Father Chen looks at his youngest son: “You’ll need to grind the beans later.”

“Not a problem at all!”

Chen Yuping likes two flavors of fermented tofu: one is delicate and fragrant, with a lighter taste. The other is spicy and savory which is tender and smooth.

With one block of tofu, he can make two flavors.

Fermented tofu takes time to ferment, creating a unique and alluring flavor that those who love it can’t forget, while those who don’t like it think it’s quite smelly.

Chen Yuanqiu eagerly watches his brother seal the fermented tofu in jars tightly, feeling a bit disappointed: “When can we eat it?”

“We have to wait, it won’t be ready for at least a month.”

“Oh.” After a while, Chen Yuanqiu comes back to ask, “Third brother, what will it taste like?”

“I don’t know yet, we’ll have to wait until it’s ready to find out.”

Chen Yuanqiu smacks his lips: “It must be delicious, your food is always good, and this time will definitely be special. I just can’t imagine it.” He licks his lips, feeling like a month is such a long time to wait.

Chen Yuchun also feels the days are long. An ger has caught a cold, and it’s been almost three days without improvement, and Dazhuang has started to cough a little too.

Zhang Zhiwei once again mentions, “Chun Ger, let’s send Dazhuang to stay with the Chen family for a few days. If this goes on, Dazhuang will get sick too, what then?”

“Why don’t you suggest sending Dazhuang back to the old house?” Chen Yuchun, feeling anxious, snaps back. “When I said I wanted to build the new house next to the Chen family, they both stopped me, saying it’s good to look out for each other. Hmph!”

“If you’re willing, I’ll send Dazhuang back to the old house to stay with his grandparents.”

Chen Yuchun falls silent, pondering for a long time without speaking.