Chapter 17: You can see the end of this household at a glance

If one said A Chou was originally muddled, he still lacked a real sense of how well the cold jelly sold.

But after the old carpenter asked like that, anyone could tell how hot-selling that little gadget is now.

They've even brought the money to our doorstep!

A Chou's eyes slowly widened; seeing his act of feigned cluelessness, Du Shanü wanted to laugh, so she stood her ground and gave him a light kick before saying:

"A Chou, hurry up and make a few bowls of cold jelly to bring to the uncles!"

A Chou babble-babbled, not knowing whether to accept or reject those words.

The old carpenter, however, grew anxious, waving his hands repeatedly and saying:

"No need to deliver; we'll just pay and buy it ourselves."

"This year's heat lingers unusually long; seeing that winter will come in a month or two, yet there's no coolness in sight, everyone is happy to eat something fresh and tasty like this! Business is already assured, but if you send it to us and others see, they'll surely ask for some too—how can you keep doing business at home?"

Cangnan lies in the far south, rich in produce, and seldom troubled by warfare.

Therefore, as long as the locals are willing to work, they basically have enough to eat, and their temperament differs greatly from that of troublemakers from barren mountains and wicked waters.

They themselves make a living by their own craft; as long as they work diligently, they naturally have a source of income—why resort to extortion?

The old carpenter's firm attitude not only surprised the few who had fled from the north, but was also truly rare in Du Shanü's experience.

Du Shanü hesitated slightly, then said with a smile:

"All right, then let's settle the bill with the uncles."

"But you uncles may not know: although this sells well, our family of the old, weak, sick, and disabled finds travel truly inconvenient; we no longer plan to go to the city to set up stalls, so if you don't stay here to eat, you can only buy uncut cold jelly and prepare it yourselves at home."

"However, this also has the advantage of saving on seasoning costs; at ten cash per catty, one catty can make three or four bowls—what do you think?"

A bowl of prepared cold jelly costs five cash, while a catty of cold jelly costs only ten cash?

With our own scallion oil and side dishes already at hand, isn't that the same money, allowing us to eat more?

This time, the old carpenter did not refuse and gladly agreed.

After Liu Wenyuan finished paying and before he left, Du Shanü, having just earned money, said one sentence that made him turn back:

"I've just earned ninety cash; no need to set the amount."

Upon hearing that, Liu Wenyuan almost cursed—

"He had been waiting inside while the little blind person counted the ninety cash three times over!"

"How come, just after going out, he has to put the money back in???"

Yu Hen, who had come upon hearing the news, was happy instead, clutching the money box that had been with him for two days, he felt for silver coins in Liu Wenyuan's hand and counted them back one by one...

"What's there to count!"

In a corner nobody saw, Liu Wenyuan was nearly furious to death—

"These ninety coins had just been handed to him!"

"Could they possibly have disappeared?"

"Would he steal a couple of coins?!"

Unaware of the neighbors' annoyance, Du Shanü, barefoot, spent half a day making cold jelly; through her unintentional reveal, neighbors drawn by the sound of woodworking came to watch, learned that the carpenter had bought cold jelly, and indeed began to think about it themselves.

Wang Dasi, who lived just a dozen steps from Du Shanü's home, specially sought her out and asked:

"Du family's little girl, your cold jelly is so tasty—are you really not planning to go to the city to sell it anymore?"

Du Shanü repeated what she had told the old carpenter, aggrieved:

"Auntie, it's not that I don't want to go out and earn silver; it's just that you see the people in my household......."

Du Shanü pointed her finger at the dilapidated small courtyard, and then settled on the spot—

In the small courtyard, Yu Baobao's eyes were not very sharp; clutching the money box, she seemed to always want to help, but her steps were clumsy, often catching on things.

A Chou followed not far behind, occasionally ramming his head against the fallen wooden door panel while babbling.

Leitie was almost driven mad studying the blueprints, one moment gazing at the sky, the next trying to join A Chou's rhythm of striking the door.

The Ouyang father and son, one pushing the grindstone, the other crushing acorns, were so exhausted their waists could barely stand; looking back, one saw the two of them "trying to slack off".

Ouyang Yan, so angry he could no longer maintain his usual innocent, gentle expression, turned and shouted a furious tirade at them!

Ouyang An, though small, seeing his father angry, clung to his dad's leg, letting tears and snot flow as he tried to calm him...

The only person in the courtyard who seemed like a proper person ought to be Liu Wenyuan.

Yet he stood there for a long time holding the drawing Du Shanü had given him, from time to time letting out a cold laugh that scared the nearby people into giving him a wide berth.

Du Shanü: "......"

This time she didn't need to play the tragic card for Aunt Zhao; she herself felt quite pitiful.

In this house of seven or eight people, you can't find a single normal one.

The future of this household is visible at a glance—hey!

Du Shanü turned her head with a dark face, just meeting the aunt's expression full of "words fail to convey".

Aunt Zhao gave Du Shanü a look that said, "Good girl, don't say more, I understand you," and then spoke:

"...... Auntie understands, but I just want to say: we definitely need to buy it; you make cold jelly at home, and later I'll take it to the city to sell—would that be all right?"

"You know Auntie's situation: last year she sold several mu of family land, built a new house for her son to settle down and marry; seeing that her daughter-in-law is pregnant and the autumn harvest is in, this old woman also wants to earn a bit more to supplement the young couple's household......"

A bowl of acorn cold jelly costs five cash, it's novel, tasty, and relieves summer heat.

Even in a village where not much is spent, many people buy it; once sent to the city, its sales will surely be better.

Having heard that the carpenter buys cold jelly at ten cash per catty, making three or four bowls, and that they themselves grow scallions and cilantro, wouldn't that bowl net a profit of two cash?

Two cash may seem nothing to wealthy families, but to these ordinary households it's exactly the tiny stream that accumulates into much!

Aunt Zhao's heart was greatly moved, yet she didn't realize her words happened to match Du Shanü's own wishes.

Du Shanü smiled, about to agree, when a glance aside revealed Wang Sanshu from another household rushing over in haste.

This Wang Sanshu is famous for his loud voice; even before approaching, his hoarse shout boomed like thunder:

Du family girl! Oh dear, I heard people say that your family are all old, weak, sick, and disabled, so you can't go out easily, and you're planning to sell the unprocessed cooling ointment cheaply to others for resale?

Leave it to Uncle! Uncle has watched you grow up since you were little, and now there's a money-making opportunity—you can't possibly not bring Uncle along, can you?

Zhao Dameen usually is considered kind in the village, but now that it's about whether they can make money, she naturally becomes a bit anxious and shouted:

What are you yelling so loudly for, you blockhead?! I came first, we already agreed!

Wang Third Uncle came hurrying over; upon hearing this, he immediately objected:

Zhao's sister-in-law, what are you saying!

I just clearly saw you two only said a few words, and I'm not late coming either! You need money, and my wife hasn't been healthy these past few years—doesn't she need money too?

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Du Shanü cleverly stepped forward, stood between them, narrowed her eyes in a smile, blocked their line of sight, and said with a smile:

Auntie, Uncle, look at what you're saying—you're all relatives and neighbors; can't I sell to one person and not the other?

Both of you, I plan to sell to both; besides, our county town is big, and there's more than one county nearby—let alone the two of you setting up stalls won't clash, and even if more come later, they might not steal each other's business—what's there to argue about?

That's actually correct.

Seeing that the two who were about to argue came to their senses, they lowered their flags and silenced their drums.

Du Shanü, seeing that the two were no longer arguing, then smiled and said:

Buying goods from me doesn't involve much fuss; there's just one thing—I hope everyone who purchases will agree to......

What is it?

What is it?

The two spoke in unison, while Du Shanü said each word deliberately:

I will give appropriate discounts to those who purchase more; the purchase price for a hundred catties and for ten catties will not be the same.

But I hope that in the future each bowl of cooling ointment will be priced at five wen cash, and must not be lowered because of competing for business....... This is, price protection.

?? Du Shanü: a science-and-engineering girl with forward-thinking ideas.

? In short, she's extremely reliable! (*^▽^*)