Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

When she returned home, Song Sanniang saw that an earthen oven had been completed and Song Lao Da was doing some finishing work.

The oven is a bit like an earthen stove, except that the place where the pot is placed is built up, leaving an entrance for the baking tray to go in.

Song Sanniang spared no effort in praising Song Lao Da, which made him laugh out loud, and Song Lao Er helped to finish.

Song Sanniang went into the room to do some calculations. Thanks to Miss He, she had her own set of four treasures of the study.

By the time I settle the money for the mooncake box, I will have spent most of the twenty taels Miss He gave me. I will also need to buy saltpeter, flour, salted eggs, and other materials. I estimate that the twenty taels will be all gone.

She felt a little nervous. If the products didn't sell well, she would suffer a huge loss. With the recent earnings from her family plus the twenty taels, they could have built a nice house. Before she could think further, Song Zuling came to find her.

Si Niang and Wu Niang knew that the two of them were going to catch snails and crabs together, so they grabbed hold of Song San Niang and refused to let go, wanting to go with them.

So the three of them changed into old clothes, put on straw sandals, and set off with Song Zuling.

On the way, they met up with other people, all of whom were grandchildren of the Song clan leader.

The others today are Song Zuen, his sixth cousin Song Zuren, his second cousin Song Zumei, and his cousin Tan Dandan.

Song Zuren is the oldest, 17 years old, followed by Song Zumei, 15 years old, and Song Zuen, one year younger, 14 years old.

Song Zuling and Sanniang are the same age. Sanniang is twelve years old this year.

Si Niang is seven years old, Wu Niang is five years old, and Tan Dandan is the same age as Si Niang.

Because Song's family has more than 20 people in total.

When Song Sanniang went to study with Song Zuen, in order not to disturb them, the Song clan leader directly let them use his study room.

Therefore, Song Sanniang was not very familiar with the other children in the Song family.

She had no choice but to ask Song Zuling for help, how to address her. Song Zuling laughed, "Just call me Sixth Brother, Second Sister, and my cousin, you can also call her Cousin."

She asked Si Niang and Wu Niang to call some people, and a group of people came to the stream laughing and joking.

This stream is not the one near the fields. It is the stream at the foot of the mountain that Song Sanniang and her daughter climbed over to reach the town.

The stream is two meters wide and the water is up to the calf.

There are lush green plants on the shore, some of whose branches extend into the water.

The water is crystal clear, and under the water are various river pebbles and small stones, some of which are covered with moss.

When we got to the stream, everyone cheered, took off their shoes, rolled up their trouser legs and stepped into the stream to play in the water.

Si Niang, Wu Niang, and Dan Dan were so happy that they splashed water on each other. Soon, their clothes were all wet.

Song Sanniang asked the three children to play in the middle, and the older children to play on the outside, so that they could see anything at any time.

Maybe everyone was busy with the autumn harvest some time ago, and no one picked the snails in the stream.

The ones that a few people picked up were all very large. They didn’t have to walk far and picked up a lot of them on the spot.

"Sister, I caught a crab. Here it is for you."

Si Niang held the crab in both hands and ran to Song San Niang happily.

Song Sanniang threw the crabs into the backpack and told her to be careful not to get her hands caught by the crabs.

Wu Niang came running over the water, holding a few snails in her hands.

"Sister, snails." Song Sanniang took them and put them in the basket.

Dandan even shyly handed the snails in her hand to Song Sanniang.

When Song Zuling saw this, he shouted, "Dandan, you traitor, you are on our side, but you actually ran to Sanniang's place."

Before Dandan could say anything, Si Niang started to yell, "Sister Ling, Dandan is our friend, not yours."

Song Zuling couldn't help but laugh, "You little brat, how long have we known each other and you've already become friends?"

Si Niang replied without even looking up as she turned over rocks to look for crabs, "We all played together, so we are friends."

Dandan was very happy to hear this, and ran to Si Niang and said, "We are good friends. Can I still play with you tomorrow?"

Dandan has only one brother, Tan Yongxin, who has to go to school, so she usually plays alone.

Recently, the village head has been busy collecting grain taxes, so the autumn harvest at home has been handed over to his son and daughter-in-law.

Song Baozhu had no choice but to send Dandan back to her parents' home.

The fourth lady nodded like a little adult, and the fifth lady followed the two of them, "I want to play too."

The three children's childish words made the people who were touching the snails feel more relaxed and happy.

Sanniang suddenly asked, "Did anyone in the village fry snails and sell them during the Mid-Autumn Festival in previous years?"

Song Zuen and the others looked at each other, no one had ever thought of such a thing.

Song Zuling answered first, "No, I just pick some up and fry them at home."

Song Sanniang secretly sighed that it was a pity, but not everyone was like her, obsessed with money and only thinking about making money.

She said to everyone mysteriously, "Wait for me to confirm something."

After saying this, she walked along the stream, and then turned back and walked to the other side of the stream.

When she came back, she had an excited smile on her face.

"Do you want to make money? I've come up with a way for you to make money. Sell fried snails with basil.

I won’t participate, I have other ways to make money.”

Song Zuling shouted in surprise, "Can you still make money by selling snails?"

“Whether it makes money or not, you will know it after selling it.

I just checked, there are enough snails in this stream for you to sell for two or three days.

If it sells well, you can buy it from others and make a little money.

I haven't seen any fried snails for sale in town yet.

You have a big family, so go pick up crabs and sell fried crabs. You can’t sell them for a high price, just for fun.”

When Song Sanniang said this, the eyes of the others all lit up.

The oldest, Song Zuren, said, "Third sister, thank you for giving us the advice.

We will go back tonight and ask the adults. If they agree, I will treat you to steamed buns when we make money."

Song Sanniang smiled and said, "I like to eat snails. Please treat me to some snails."

Song Zuling answered first, "Eat, eat, eat. There's plenty of food for you."

Everyone was laughing and talking, and returned with a full load.

When Song Sanniang and the others returned home, Song Ersao urged them to change their clothes.

Seeing the snails and crabs brought back, Song Ersao raised the snails and let them spit out the mud and dirt.

Then she cleaned the crabs and rinsed them.

Stir-fry the crabs with hot oil and ginger slices, pour a little wine on them, and then add boiling water.

She also asked Sanniang to go to the next door and exchange eggs for a loofah. She then processed the loofah, cut it into pieces and threw it into the soup.

When the time is up, open the lid, add salt, put in some chopped green onions, and you can serve.

Today, the eldest brother Song was having dinner at home. He happened to buy fish, steamed sea bass, and crab and loofah soup. The second brother Song also bought shredded chicken and a garlic pumpkin sprout.

The two brothers ate and talked.

Song Lao Er asked Song Lao Da what his plan was.

Boss Song is considering opening a blacksmith shop of his own.

Song Lao Er told him what he heard today.

Ever since the Gao Family Iron Shop started asking for wages, no one went there to make iron tools anymore.

Moreover, his eldest senior brother also left Gao's iron shop and rented a storefront, intending to start his own business.

Tieniu was also taken home by his parents.

Now only Du Jiawen and Gao the blacksmith and his son are left in the iron shop.

But there is no business and I don’t know how long I can last.

Because the Gao family had inherited the blacksmithing skills from their ancestors, over the generations, they bought the front and backyard of the Gao family iron shop.

The lack of business may not have much impact in the short term, but it will lead to a complete loss in the long run.

Boss Song was only surprised that his eldest brother had started his own business, and he also gave up the idea of ​​opening a blacksmith shop.

Because there are already three iron shops in the town, if the eldest brother opens another one now, he will not be able to open another one.

He had no choice but to say that he needed to think about it further. Song Lao Er also had no way to help him for the time being, so the two brothers had to change the subject.

Si Niang and Wu Niang didn't eat enough for dinner because they ate the mooncakes brought back by Song Sanniang, so they were scolded by Song Ersao. Even Song Sanniang did not escape.

When Boss Song returned, he also asked that the oven be turned on the next day to dry out the wet parts.

Song Sanniang agreed seriously, and then handed the matter over to Song Ersao.

Song Ersao kept muttering that she needed to collect more firewood. In the future, if she wanted to bake mooncakes, she would need a lot of firewood. Song Laoer took the responsibility of collecting firewood.

The family's lively conversations could be heard one after another.

Here, at the home of Patriarch Song, Song Zuren and his companions went back and talked to Patriarch Song about selling snails.

Chief Song nodded while smoking his pipe, "This is a good idea. Sanniang is a very clever girl."