Crossing the Unknown Country

Grandma Su He took the house deed from Su He, and she, Su He's mother, and her aunt looked at it carefully. She couldn't recognize some words, so she asked Su He to read them. She looked at every word carefully, as if she wanted to imprint it in her mind. She looked at it for a long time. You handed it to me after you finished reading it, and I handed it to her after I finished reading it. We went around like this for several times.

Finally, Su He's grandmother read it one last time, handed the deed to Su He's aunt and said, "Hongmei! This is our family's first shop. You keep the deed well. As the eldest daughter-in-law, you will keep it in safekeeping from now on."

Then he turned around and said to Su Heniang: "Ruxue! Next time you buy a store, write Chenghan's name on it. You can take the title deed. This time I'll give it to your sister-in-law first."

Su He's aunt looked at Su He's mother, and Su He's mother smiled and said, "Sister-in-law should take it. The first shop should have belonged to eldest brother. Don't worry! We still have to make money together! There will be many opportunities in the future."

Su He waved her little fleshy hand and said, "Don't worry, grandma! We will have more and more things at home, so there's no need to worry about one set or two sets."

Su He's aunt picked up Su He, kissed her and said, "Our little girl Su He is very good at talking. Yes, our family will have many stores in the future, I will keep this set for now."

Su He's aunt found a piece of cloth to wrap the deed and put it in her pocket. After putting it in place, she jumped again and was relieved to find that it didn't fall out.

Grandma Su He told them three dates that they were looking forward to and asked them to go shopping. Uncle Su He and the others discussed it again and divided the work among themselves to buy the necessary items. Su He and his father went to the blacksmith shop to order iron griddles, spatulas, iron pots and other kitchen utensils.

Uncle Su He went with his father to the carpenter shop to look for furniture such as tables, chairs, and benches. If they were expensive, they would order less and ask Carpenter Li in the village to make some more for them.

Grandma Su He followed Su He's aunt to buy some oil, salt and other seasonings. There was some sauce and vinegar at home for use first. Su He said he would make more these days, because the family would use it frequently in the future. There was no need to buy more oil. He could go back and see the tools made by Carpenter Li, and maybe he could squeeze out some oil.

Su Heniang stayed to look after the shop. Since it was almost cleaned up, she could just look for places that were not suitable and fix them.

The family went to work separately. Su He followed his father to the blacksmith shop and told him about the flat griddle he wanted to make. The blacksmith asked what the round flat plate was for, and Su He said it was for making pancakes. Then he made an iron ring about the height of a thumb that could be placed on the griddle, so that he could make pancakes.

The blacksmith smiled and said, "I often make iron pots and woks. The griddle is also small with edges. This is the first time you have made one. I must go and try your new food when it opens to see what it tastes like."

Su He's father smiled and said, "It's in Xijuan Hutong. We are the Su Family Tofu Shop. We will definitely go over to taste it when the time comes!"

After Su He's father paid the money, he bought two large rice cookers, a frying pan, and a pair of tongs. He would buy other things if he saw any need, or bring any extra ones from home.

Su He looked at the blacksmith shop and wondered when his family would be equipped with weapons. He could also make a few machetes and swords. He still had to prepare some weapons at home. The weapons left by the Dongjie soldiers last time were not known to the village chief, who either handed them over or hid them. Anyway, they did not see them.

You still have to earn more money, weapons are very expensive, and you can't make them privately. It's even more expensive to make them, but you can make a few wooden nail guns, and it shouldn't be expensive just to make nails.

Su He drew the nail he wanted on the ground and asked the blacksmith: "Uncle, can this be hammered? How much is it?"

The blacksmith looked at it and said, "This is an iron nail. A small one is not expensive. It's twenty cents. How much do you want?"

Su He calculated in his mind that fifty nails for one tael of silver was not cheap! But he still paid and ordered a hundred. For safety reasons, this weapon is still necessary. Increase the ejection force and aim at the eyes and temples. It is still very lethal to the hands and feet. This is also a good idea that came to me on the spur of the moment when I came to the blacksmith shop this time. This is more exciting than making a deal.

Father Su doted on his daughter. She had her own money and would not spend it recklessly, so there must be a reason for her to do this. He did not object at all and watched the child go to discuss the payment with the blacksmith. When they had agreed, he took Su He to the blacksmith shop.

But he was still very curious and asked Su He: "What are you doing with all those little nails?"