They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 27, tell me, aren't you angry?

Zeng Xiaoyan, being straightforward, couldn't stand this. While checking if the seeds of a lantern fruit were clean, she looked up and sneered, "It won't affect you, old man. We bought these lantern fruits and that's none of anyone else's business. You don't need to worry about it."

The villagers looked at each other, silently grimacing. Wasn't that the truth? They only needed to sell the lantern fruits. The Xu family was happy to buy them, and everyone was happy to sell them. It was a simple cash-on-delivery transaction.

It's that simple.

As for what the Xu family does with the lantern fruit, that's their business. Why should we care? If they don't want to talk about it, they don't have to. Who wants to talk about making money?

As expected of Aunt Hua, she's always finding fault with this and that, and never says a kind word.

Aunt Hua was furious at Zeng Xiaoyan's public rebuke. With a forced smile, she exclaimed, "Zeng, you come from a wealthy family, how can you be so insensible? I was just trying to kindly remind you! Not only are you ungrateful, but you even dare to argue with an old woman like me? Don't you understand respect for elders? You think you're so great just because you have a little money? Everyone knows money!"

Zeng Xiaoyan's temper flared up, and she said angrily, "Hey, I just think I'm so great because I have a little money. Anyway, I'm more capable than those who don't have money. Tell me, isn't that infuriating!"

Granny Hua was so angry she nearly fell over: "You—"

Xu Zhichun couldn't let Zeng Xiaoyan fight alone: ​​"Everyone should just mind their own business. Who can let outsiders talk about other people's affairs? Not only do they talk, but they also claim to be doing it out of kindness. Who would want that kindness? Nobody would. Aunt Hua, don't you think that makes sense? As for these lantern fruits, if Aunt Hua wants to sell them, we'll buy them. If she doesn't want to sell them, we won't force her. It's a very simple matter."

Zeng Xiaoyan snorted, "Exactly."

Aunt Zhu nodded in agreement: "Zhichun is right."

The villagers laughed and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Yeah, it's such a simple thing."

Aunt Hua felt humiliated and was furious. She left angrily after saying a few sarcastic remarks.

"That old lady Hua is really something."

"Oh, that's always been her way."

In Xu Zhichun's view, Aunt Hua's unreasonable behavior caused by her overflowing curiosity was not without its benefits. At least it showed the villagers that the three of them were not weak-willed and easy to manipulate.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but anyway, the villagers selling lantern fruit became a bit more polite afterward. They weren't as unrestrained in their speech, and they tried to ask around less.

In conclusion, we received a total of 126 jin of stone flower seeds today.

The money for the purchase was initially advanced by Aunt Zhu'er, and she will be reimbursed after the goods are sold tomorrow.

Aunt Shu'er said happily, "That's great, no need to worry anymore."

Zeng Xiaoyan covered her mouth and laughed: "We can harvest more these two days, but once everyone has finished picking, there will probably be less in a couple of days."

After all, there are about 70 households and more than 300 people in the village. Even if only some of them go up the mountain to pick them, these lantern fruits are still wild and the quantity is limited.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they seem to be everywhere; when so many people are picking them, things change.

Aunt Zhu slapped her forehead and suddenly realized, "Oh, that makes sense. Well then, let's collect as much as we can, and God, please don't let it rain in a hurry."

Xu Zhichun and Zeng Xiaoyan smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was saying."

Because of the purchase, the production of konjac tofu and konjac knots was delayed. After all, there are many people in the village, and quite a few who lack a sense of boundaries. It would be difficult to say what would happen if someone wandered in and saw them. When there were many people coming to sell lantern fruits, we simply stopped making konjac tofu and konjac knots.

Fortunately, the konjac paste had already been ground. "It's getting late, you can all go back now. I can do the rest myself."

Zeng Xiaoyan: "Are you sure you don't need us to come and help again tonight?"

Aunt Zhu'er also said, "My home is nearby, so why don't I come over tonight?"

Aunt Zhu'er has been talking about how her husband Qi Tian will be back tonight. The couple is enjoying their reunion after a short separation, so Xu Zhichun is not about to do anything cruel like "breaking up a couple."

"No need! I can manage. There's not much work left! We'll talk about it again if we need your help later."

Seeing that they were about to say something more, Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "What's the big deal? At most, I'll be a little lazy tomorrow, and it's the same whether you guys are busy or not."

The two men laughed and then went back feeling relieved.

Liang Mingxuan has returned, and the uncle and aunt are preparing dinner.

There's still a piece of pork belly at home that I bought yesterday. It's a perfect cut of meat with a good balance of fat and lean. Xu Zhichun plans to make braised pork belly tonight.

Cut the meat into thick small cubes, blanch it in boiling water with ginger and scallions, heat oil in a wok over high heat and stir-fry, add salt and soy sauce, cover the wok and cook over high heat, add thickened brown sugar water when it's ready to serve.

If you don't have cornstarch for thickening, you can use a little flour instead. The braised pork with the starch coating will have a thick, glossy red sauce that looks even better.

There are rapeseed sprouts in the vegetable garden. Pick a handful of tender ones, stir-fry them quickly with oil and salt, and they'll be fresh, tender, and refreshing.

Tonight, I'll keep it simple and just make these two dishes.

While the pot was simmering with the lid on, four people—Uncle Liang, Zhang Shi, Uncle Liang, and Bai Shi—arrived all at once.

Xu Zhichun sighed inwardly: I knew they wouldn't stop; they're at it again.

She couldn't help but glance at the kitchen. She absolutely couldn't lift the pot lids until they left; otherwise, they'd be getting a free meal. She hoped they'd leave soon.
Liang Mingxuan immediately understood his sister-in-law's meaning. He greeted his uncle and aunt and called for help, then went to the kitchen, moved a small stool, and sat quietly watching the fire, reducing the amount of firewood in the stove by two pieces.

Let it simmer slowly.

Zhang sat down and began to berate Xu Zhichun: "Look at you, always wandering around outside, and you even dare to bring poisonous things like ghost taro into the city to sell. If this causes trouble, don't blame us for not helping you. And those lantern fruit seeds, even chickens won't eat those things, what are you going to do with them?"

Bai scoffed, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Niece-in-law, it's one thing for you to keep these things a secret from outsiders, but are you even keeping them from your own elders?"

Xu Zhichun didn't treat them as elders at all; she just wanted to keep to herself and avoid any conflict.

"There's a reason for this. The small business that Xiaoyan, Aunt Zhu'er, and I run is based on a contract. We all agreed that no one can tell anyone else, not even our family. Otherwise, we won't be able to keep the secret and make any money. Whoever leaks the secret will have to compensate the other two one hundred taels of silver each. Uncle Zheng is aware of this contract, so please don't make things difficult for me, Aunts."

Zhang sneered: "Making such a big deal out of nothing, just trying to make yourself look good!"

Uncle Liang asked, "So, after all that work, how many copper coins did you earn?"

Zhang's eyes lit up: "Yes, how much did you earn? You always seem so happy. Did you make ten or eight?"

(End of this chapter)