Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

Ever since she decided to make meatballs, Li Yu felt that she had missed something. When Aunt Wu reminded her, the fog in front of her eyes instantly dissipated.

Yes, when making meat paste, it is more labor-saving to use a stone mortar.

Li Yu was overjoyed and thanked Aunt Wu repeatedly. When Aunt Wu left in the evening, she cut a big bowl of braised meat for her and gave her fifty coins as a thank you gift.

Aunt Wu was horrified when she saw so many copper coins. "I eat meat and get paid every day here. I really shouldn't take any more home. If others knew, they would think I was a cheapskate!"

Li Yu put the copper coins in her hand and said word by word: "You have helped me so much on weekdays, so you deserve some meat. Now you have helped me come up with a new way to make meat paste, which not only saves time but also increases the number of meatballs I can make. You can say that you have helped me a lot, so you deserve these copper coins."

Aunt Wu had no choice but to accept it.

On the way back, Aunt Wu held the money in one hand and the meat in the other. She was very excited and thought to herself that she would work hard for Li Yu in the future. Following Li Yu, her good days were still to come!

*

More than seventy meatballs were made from five pounds of meat, which means an average of fifteen meatballs per pound of meat.

Li Yu planned to sell them individually, at three cents each. These meatballs were unique to the town, so it would be inappropriate to sell them too cheaply. Besides, the cost of making meatballs was high, as they only had meat and seasoning.

Li Yu made up his mind, put the meatballs away, and then thought about where to get a mortar.

There was a stone mortar in the village, but it belonged to the village and everyone had to use it, so she couldn't move it to her own yard.

If you buy it outside... I'm afraid it's hard to buy. This thing is not used every day. Usually there is only one in the village. I've never seen anyone have a big stone mortar at home.

After thinking for a while without any clue, Li Yu decided to ask when he went to town the next day. Maybe they would find it for sale!

Li Yu was worrying about the stone mortar. In the main hall, Han Xiaomei pulled Han Zheng and said mysteriously, "Third brother, the second sister-in-law is a deity who has descended to earth!"

Han Zheng: “?”

Han Xiaomei gestured with her hands and feet, "Did you know? Second sister-in-law can create ice!"

Han Zheng turned his head and looked outside. It wasn't cold and the river wasn't frozen, so where did the ice come from?

The ice that Li Yu made in the afternoon had melted long ago, and Han Xiaomei couldn't find any evidence to prove it, so she was extremely anxious.

Li Yu brought meatballs into the room, saw Han Xiaomei's condition, and asked Han Zheng: "What's wrong with her?"

Han Zheng felt that there was nothing to hide, so he told the truth: "Xiaomei said that you can make ice, sister-in-law."

"About this matter!" Li Yu had no intention of hiding it from Han Zheng. They were a family and she trusted him unconditionally.

Putting the bowl down, Li Yu said, "That ice is not ice. It is not made by transformation. It uses some chemical principles."

Next, while eating, Li Yu explained to Han Zheng and Han Xiaomei the principle of how saltpeter melts and absorbs heat to make ice.

Han Zheng was amazed when he heard about this method of making ice for the first time. He also realized that they could make ice in this way next summer and sell it. I'm sure the rich people in the town would be willing to buy it.

Li Yu also thought of this and said, "When summer comes, we can make more ice and sell smoothies. So we must keep this secret and never let anyone know about this method."

Han Zheng and Han Xiaomei nodded heavily.

*

The next day, pork meatballs were officially put on sale.

The first person to come here was Mr. Ding, the owner of the tea shop next door. As soon as Li Yu's white porridge was ready, Mr. Ding walked in slowly. His wife had gone back to her parents' home to visit, so he had been having breakfast in Li Yu's shop for the past two days.

Seeing that there were new products, Boss Ding asked about the price and directly ordered two.

"This is the most expensive thing in Boss Li's shop. If it's so expensive, there must be a reason for it. I have to try it."

Boss Hu also came and listened to Boss Ding's words. He agreed with them and ordered three as well.

Li Yu personally picked the food for the two of them and put it in bowls, then sent it to their respective tables.

The meatballs had just come out of the pot and were a little hot, so the two did not eat them immediately. At this moment, someone started to make trouble.

"Selling a meatball for three cents is really a rip-off."

It was Mr. Zheng, the boss of the dim sum shop next door. Ever since Li Yu refused to cook the soup for him, he has been acting weird.

Li Yu had not paid any attention to him, not because she didn't dare, but because she was too lazy to pay attention to him. For a loser like Boss Zheng, beating him was the least of his worries. What made him most uncomfortable was to let him watch her business flourish.

Regarding Boss Zheng's nonsense today, Li Yu said, "Whether three cents for a meatball is worth it or not, only those who eat it know. Boss Zheng said it's not worth it without eating it. It seems that he can't afford it, so he uses "not worth it" to cover it up."

Boss Zheng: "...Who said I can't afford it? Mr. Li, who are you looking down on?"

Li Yu raised her eyelids and smiled, "Since Boss Zheng said so, why not spend three cents to buy one? I'm not bragging, but my meatballs are the best in town."

Boss Zheng: "I don't eat it. Who wants to spend three cents to buy a meatball?"

The more he spoke, the more he felt that he was right. He tried to find someone to stand on the same side as him, so he turned around and shouted to Boss Ding and Boss Hu: "Do you think the meatballs are delicious?"

Boss Hu had just finished eating half a meatball. He nodded and said incoherently, "Boss Li's cooking skills are as good as ever. These meatballs are chewy and delicious!"

Boss Zheng: “…”

"How is it?" Li Yu tilted his head and smiled happily, "Boss Zheng, do you want to buy one to try?"

Boss Zheng said stubbornly, "The one with the surname Ding hasn't said anything yet!"

Boss Ding wanted to see Boss Zheng make fun of him, so he picked up the meatball and put it in his mouth. At the same time, he thought to himself that even if the meatball tasted ordinary, he would still say it was delicious. In short, he couldn't let Mr. Zheng get comfortable. Since Mr. Zheng took over the snack shop, a series of operations had caused a lot of trouble, and his tea business had also suffered. He had never vented his anger.

Boss Ding was prepared to lie, but when the meat entered his mouth, he knew he could tell the truth.

"The meatballs are very well made," said Boss Ding. "They are chewy, and the meat and broth complement each other very well. They are the best meatballs I have eaten recently."

Boss Zheng: “…”

Li Yu tilted his head, "Boss Zheng, Boss Ding also thinks it's delicious, so do you want to buy it?"

Boss Zheng's face turned completely black, "No."

After saying that, he returned to his shop in two steps at a time, faster than ever before.

Li Yu looked at his back, and the smile on her lips deepened.

*

Although pork meatballs are expensive, they are still within the affordable range of ordinary people, so they sell very well.

Anyone who wanted to buy braised meat bought meatballs instead. Some people who wanted to buy vegetarian skewers also bought meatballs instead. After all, it was a new thing and it didn’t matter if they tried it once, as they didn’t eat it every day.

Excluding the ones that Li Yu and the other two ate last night, there were sixty-five meatballs left. In less than half an hour, all the meatballs were sold out.

Han Xiaomei looked at the empty clay pot and smiled so hard that her teeth were showing.

*

After work, Li Yu wandered around the town, trying to find someone selling a mortar.

At the same time, outside her yard, two men, one old and one young, were hiding behind a big tree in the corner and talking in low voices.

"Have you brought a pen and paper?" the older man asked.

"I have it." The young man replied, "Don't worry, boss. I never make mistakes."

"Then hurry in now." The older one said, "Write down all the seasonings in their kitchen. Especially those that seem to be commonly used, make sure to mark them clearly, understand?"

"understood."