Chapter 10.1

At around 8 pm, Jiang Rou placed the pig intestines into the pot and added a handful of dry firewood to the stove.

Before leaving the kitchen, she double-checked the doors and windows, making sure they were tightly shut, before feeling at ease enough to step outside.

When she arrived at the main room, she heard a knock on the door from outside the courtyard. It surprised her a bit, thinking that so many people were looking for her today.

As we walked to the door, the knocking ceased, and she overheard a conversation between a man and a woman: “It’s already dark, she must be asleep by now. You’re the only one in such a hurry; it could wait until tomorrow morning.”

“Why do you care? I just can’t wait, that’s all. Alright, alright, stop nagging. I’ll go back and sleep.”

The voice was not loud, but because it was quiet at night, Jiang Rou quickly recognized that it was Aunt Wang speaking.

She called out, “Auntie?”

The person outside happily responded, “Xiao Rou, it’s me. Did I disturb you?”

Jiang Rou opened the door with peace of mind and saw two figures standing at the door, one tall and one short. He smiled and said, “No, I didn’t hear anything, I was just busy marinating the meat in the kitchen.”

She invited the two inside and asked with concern, “Did Uncle and Auntie just come back? Are you hungry? There’s some red bean soup at home; let me get it for you.”

Due to pregnancy, Jiang Rou was quite careful, so she didn’t eat cold mung beans and instead cooked some red beans to eat.

Red beans were in season and readily available at the local market, making them quite inexpensive.

The Li family had an old-fashioned red clay stove and small clay pots. Jiang Rou would add red beans and water, let it simmer overnight, and add a spoonful of sugar the next morning. The taste was delightful, soft, sandy, and sweet.

Plus, when cooking, she could use the charcoal from the stove hole directly. Jiang Rou started preparing dinner early, beginning the simmering process at five in the afternoon, and by now, everything was well-cooked.

Aunt Wang followed Jiang Rou into the yard, holding a flashlight to illuminate the way for him to walk ahead. She smiled a bit embarrassed and said, “No need to trouble yourself, I’m just too impatient. I wanted to come over and tell you that all the pig intestines for today are sold out.”

Speaking of which, he was a bit excited and quickly caught up with Jiang Rou. “You have no idea, there were so many customers in the afternoon and evening. Many were just off work, especially the female workers. They didn’t want to cook when they got home, so they saw our meat stall selling ready-to-eat food and bought some directly.”

“Really?”

Jiang Rou was a bit surprised to hear that she was already prepared for the first day of business, thinking that someone would buy it. When she heard that it was all sold out, she felt a little happy in her heart.

Jiang Rou led her guests to the main room and asked them to sit down. Aunt Wang immediately took money out of her pocket. Her man sat across from her without speaking, with a helpless expression on his face.

Jiang Rou saw the money, and her smile deepened. “You count first, I’ll go pour some red bean soup,” she said.

“Oh, no need, we’re not hungry.” Aunt Wang politely waved her hand and asked her not to bother.

Jiang Rou didn’t listen and went into the kitchen. She washed two bowls and then lifted the earthen pot simmering on the stove with a cloth. She scooped a bowl for each person, adding a spoonful of sugar to each.

Then she took it to the main room and said, “You guys drink first, I’ll go get a pen and paper to write it down.”

She went to the room again to bring a pencil and a broken notebook. The first few pages of the notebook were used by her to draw children’s clothes, and there were only three pages left that could be used. She thought of going out tomorrow to buy a new one to use as an account book.

Aunt Wang’s words just now were polite. When she saw a bowl of rosy and fragrant red bean soup in front of her, she had no mood to count the money. The couple, blowing on the hot soup, ate eagerly.

Seeing Jiang Rou come back, Aunt Wang smiled contentedly and said, “It’s really delicious, and you even added sugar.”

There were plenty of red beans inside, and each bite was sweet to the heart.

Jiang Rou smiled. “You go ahead and eat; I’ll count it.”

She pulled out a long stool from under the table, sat down, and began counting the money, separating bills and coins. She counted twice, taking almost fifteen minutes to finish. The result was the same. She noted the earnings in the book: 63 yuan and 4 cents.

Pig intestines were given by Uncle Wang by killing pigs in the village, and the stall also came from the Wang family. However, Jiang Rou provided the recipe, seasoning, and firewood, which made it difficult to calculate the cost and was something she had not figured out at first.

Finally, after both sides finished their discussion, it was decided to split it in half, following the previous agreement of fifty-fifty. Each person got 31 yuan and 7 cents without considering the cost.

Aunt Wang felt they hadn’t spent any money and had earned some just by helping to sell. Jiang Rou, on the other hand, thought her costs weren’t too high, especially since she could make money at home, which was very convenient.

So, both sides were happy with the arrangement.

Jiang Rou recorded the details in the ledger, then showed them to Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang.

Aunt Wang waved her hand and said, “No need, no need; I don’t know how to write. Just keep it in the ledger.”

After finishing speaking, she said happily, “Today is the first day, and I’m sure we can earn more tomorrow. There are many wealthy people in the county now, and someone bought three pounds today.”

Jiang Rou carefully collected over 30 yuan and laughed at the words, “That’s great. When the baby is born, I’ll buy her some milk powder.”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang’s heart softened. She thought Jiang Rou was too naive, and it was fortunate that she met herself. If it were someone else, they would likely take advantage of her. Such a good money-making skill, with no one around, could easily be exploited.

The sky was getting late, and the couple exchanged a few words before hastily leaving. They had to get up early the next day.

Seeing the guests off, Jiang Rou returned to the house with the money and account book.