The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

Chen glanced at Xie Daniu who was chopping wood in the yard, hesitated for a long time, and finally put the copper coin away. The corners of her drooping mouth finally couldn't help but rise.

She leaned against the door frame and said with a smile, "Master, don't be angry. I am not asking for the money back for myself. My second son is almost seventeen, and I cannot not prepare a betrothal gift for him."

Xie Daniu continued chopping wood without saying a word.

Chen curled her lips and said, "If you feel unhappy, just chop two bundles of firewood and send them to the second house. I promise I won't complain at all."

Upon hearing this, Xie Daniu tilted his axe and hit the tree stump under the firewood directly with a "bang" sound.

He muttered to himself, could it be that the secret delivery of firewood to the second wife over the years has been exposed? Is this a deliberate attack on me?

But looking at Chen's serious expression, it didn't seem like he was speaking in a sarcastic way.

Xie Daniu asked tentatively: "You really don't want to say anything?"

Chen grinned and said generously, "What's the point? It's just two bundles of firewood."

She got twenty cents from Jiang for free!

Regardless of whether Jiang had counted wrong or had voluntarily paid more interest, sending two bundles of firewood would have cleared the matter.

Xie Daniu looked Chen up and down, and felt that his wife was probably possessed by an evil spirit.

"Why are you looking at me?" Chen touched her face unconsciously, then lowered her head to check if her clothes were covered in dust.

"No big deal. I'll prepare the firewood and send it over later." Xie Daniu swung the axe again.

On the other side, Mrs. Zhou also picked a basket of vegetables and two big pumpkins and forced them into the hands of Xu Yingtao and others.

"Wait, there's a piece of tofu in the kitchen, I'll bring it to you." Mrs. Zhou said in a tone that did not allow for argument, "Don't worry about the three baskets of ghost buns, I'll have them deliver them later."

Xu Yingtao agreed with a smile, and then said, "Grandma, I have harvested all the soybeans behind my house. Now the land is empty. I want to ask you for some vegetable seeds with a shameless face."

"I'll get it for you right away!" Mrs. Zhou turned around and went into the house.

Village Chief Zheng also said cheerfully: "Cherry, if you need anything else, just ask."

Xu Yingtao was really impolite and asked the old man to help her make a few steamers and winnowing baskets, especially the steamers, the sooner the better.

Village chief Zheng readily agreed and promised to deliver it before dark.

On the way back, they passed by the yard of the eldest house. Only Xie Daniu was chopping firewood in the yard. Jiang asked the children to call people.

Xie Daniu felt guilty and just nodded awkwardly at the few people.

When they were far away, Jiang suddenly lowered her head and said anxiously, "Cherry, I actually hid something from you."

Xu Yingtao's eyes were full of curiosity.

"I, I gave your uncle's family an extra twenty cents."

Cherry eyes slightly opened.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Jiang thought she was unhappy, and hurriedly explained, "Except for the Zheng family, we have given interest to everyone. Your uncle has also sent firewood to our family over the years, so I just wanted to give more. Don't be angry. This time I really didn't do it to please their family."

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "Mom, how could I be angry? On the contrary, I am so happy for you that you can make your own decisions. Money can be earned again after it is spent. As I said before, if our family works together, we will only make more and more."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other, and no one cared about Xie Bai's heartache and helplessness.

He was panting as he held the two big pumpkins, his heart bleeding.

After this trip, he lost his business and his money. If he had known this would happen, he would rather stay at home, at least out of sight, out of mind.

Xie Li glanced at him and said calmly, "Second brother, anyway, your sister-in-law and mother haven't wronged you, why do you worry so much?"

Xie Bai was shocked.

He deeply suspected that his sister was usually playing dumb.

After returning home, the family went straight into the mountains to pick some stinking broom leaves. When they came back, they saw two large bundles of firewood at the gate of the yard.

This time Xu Yingtao didn't ask any questions and carried the firewood into the yard with her and her two daughters.

Not long after, three more people came carrying backpacks and hoes. They were Mrs. Zhou and her daughter-in-law.

Jiang hurried forward to greet them and helped take down the backpack.

Xu Yingtao prepared the sugar water and led the three people into the house to discuss the quantity of jelly needed for tomorrow's market and the arrangements for setting up the stall.

Finally, the two sisters-in-law referred to Xu Yingtao's previous experience and decided to charge 80 yuan for green jelly and 32 yuan for ice jelly, and then increase or decrease the prices according to the business.

After the discussion, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law insisted on helping to turn the soil. Xu Yingtao and Jiang Shi couldn't stop them and could only let them go.

An hour later, after seeing the three people off, the family continued to cut the lychee fruits, remove the seeds, and dry them in the sun. Then Xu Yingtao pickled most of the cucumbers sent by Mrs. Zhou, and cut the eggplants into strips and dried them in the sun.

The weather is still hot now, so fresh vegetables don't last long.

It was not until the evening that Xu Yingtao washed her hands and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

A large bowl of braised tofu, a large bowl of stir-fried loofah, and a pot of thick pumpkin and millet porridge, the whole family enjoys a comfortable and refreshing meal.

After dinner, Xu Yingtao acted as a teacher for the first time and began to teach the whole family to memorize the multiplication table.

It doesn’t matter whether you can learn it or not, just memorize it first.

The next day, before the rooster crowed, Xu Yingtao heard the noise of pots and pans coming from the kitchen, and knew that Jiang had already gotten up.

She stretched herself and lit the oil lamp in the dark.

After washing up, Xu Yingtao first poured some water on the wet cloth on the malt, and then made two kinds of jelly.

While waiting for the jelly to solidify, she estimated that she took five pounds of flour, added a large amount of water, salt and a little wood ash water to make a thick batter, and set it aside to rise.

Xu Yingtao taught Jiang the tricks of each step.

"The ratio is basically one pound of noodles plus one pound of water, and five pounds of noodles plus five pounds of water."

"It doesn't take too long to rise. A quarter of an hour is enough."

"Wood ash water is alkaline. Adding it to the batter can increase its strength, but don't add too much. In the future, mother should follow my ratio."

Jiang also studied hard, trying hard to memorize every step.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Yingtao added another ladle of water to the basin and stirred it continuously. The thick batter was diluted into a non-grainy batter. At this point, the production of Xu's secret cold skin was two-thirds complete.

The reason why it is called a secret recipe of cold noodles is that it is very different from the common cold noodles in later generations. It not only saves the tedious process of washing gluten, but also makes the finished product more resilient. More importantly, the output is much greater than that of ordinary cold noodles.

You know, every extra bowl you sell means you earn more money.

Put the steamer on the plate, brush a layer of cooking oil evenly on the bottom of the plate, then scoop on half a centimeter thick batter, put it into the steamer and steam for about four or five minutes, take it out and let it cool, remove it from the plate and cut it into thin strips, pour chili oil, vinegar juice, and mashed garlic on it and mix well. Take a bite and it will be soft, smooth, spicy and refreshing, and you will never forget it!

Although it seemed inappropriate to eat such hot food so early in the morning, the four members of the family could not resist the temptation and ate with relish, unable to stop.

When they learned that Xu Yingtao was planning to price the dish at ten cents a bowl, the mother and her two daughters were all choked.

The feeling of chili oil choking the throat is not pleasant, Xu Yingtao sympathetically handed the three people bowls of water.

After he stopped coughing, Xie Bai was the first to speak: "Sister-in-law, we spent 40 coins for breakfast?!"

"Are you surprised?" Xu Yingtao looked at him puzzledly, "We ate two kilograms of meat in one meal yesterday, and that cost fifty cents."

"But that's meat." Xie Bai muttered softly.

The mother and daughter also agreed with this.

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "Be honest, which one is better, the cold noodles or the meat?"

Of course it's meat.

Xie Bai thought so, but when his eyes fell on the bright red, tempting, sour and spicy cold noodles in the bowl again, he felt a little hesitant.

Although the meat is delicious, it depends on who cooks it.

If we use his mother's craftsmanship standards, it's not even one-tenth of the quality of cold noodles.

Jiang and Xie Li obviously thought of this as well, and for a moment they didn't know how to answer.

Xu Yingtao smiled with a little pride.

The essence of delicious food lies in seasoning, and she is good at this. She is also very confident that she can conquer the taste buds of most diners with her skills.

Besides, the target customers of Liangpi are the wealthy townspeople, and they can certainly afford ten cents a bowl.

As soon as the sky was getting light, the two sisters-in-law of the Zheng family came with Zheng Wen to get the jelly.

Seeing that they hadn't prepared any dishes or chopsticks, Xu Yingtao asked a few more questions.

Zhao smiled and said, "Your uncle Wu is also going. He is waiting for us at the entrance of the village. We have also taken a lot of the wood ash you asked us to take."

The group chatted and laughed as they walked out of the village. As they were about to start their journey towards the town, they saw Zheng Wu waiting by the roadside.

When Xu Yingtao saw the belongings he was carrying, she couldn't help but exclaimed, "So many!"

In addition to bowls, chopsticks, water ladles and wood ash, there are also four benches and two bamboo rafts less than one meter wide and about one and a half meters long.

There were a lot of tinkling sounds, which looked quite spectacular.

Zheng Wu smiled and said, "Your grandpa and grandma asked me to prepare these. They said that a bamboo raft of stools would become a table to set out food for our two families. It would be nice and clean."

That’s really thoughtful!

Xu Yingtao thanked her with a smile.

The Zheng family is made up of young and strong laborers with very fast running speed. Xu Yingtao was glad that she didn't prepare much cold noodles at home, otherwise she really couldn't keep up with their pace.

Because it was a market day, when the two families arrived in the town, many vendors had already set up stalls on the street.

The old couple from the bun shop waved at Xu Yingtao from afar.

"Come quickly young lady, the place is reserved for your family."

Previously, several groups of people wanted to occupy the stall, but the old couple found excuses to decline. The reason was simple: after eating so many bowls of jelly at the young lady's house, it was only right for them to leave a seat for them.

Xu Yingtao was very grateful. She helped her two sisters-in-law set up the stall. As usual, she asked for two buckets of water from the bun shop and gave one bucket to the Zheng family. She also mixed a bowl of cucumber shreds and cold noodles that she had cut in advance and brought it to the bun shop.

When she was mixing the cold noodles, the people from the Zheng family stared at her with their eyes wide open, all of them were amazed.

It looks like noodles, but it is much more translucent and flexible than noodles. When poured with vinegar, red oil, mashed garlic and other condiments, it becomes colorful and appetizing, and it tastes very good at first glance.

The old couple said it was embarrassing, but they happily took it and told them they could just go to the backyard to get water. They also took the initiative to help move four benches out. Xu Yingtao thanked them and then left the bun shop.

"Mom, you take care of the stall first. I'll go to Gejiazhuang with Uncle Wen and will be back soon."

In the future, if you change someone to deliver the goods, you should at least go and inform the people in Gejiazhuang in person. Since you are in the service industry, you should be polite.

After the two walked away, Zhao couldn't help but come forward and asked, "Sister-in-law, what kind of food are you selling?"

Jiang smiled and said, "Cherry said it's called Liangpi."

"Liangpi? But it's made of white flour?"

Seeing that his wife started to speak without restraint again, Zheng Wu quickly pulled her aside.

"Don't touch me!" Zhao glared at her man unhappily.

Zheng Wu was speechless and gave her a look, letting her figure it out herself.

Fortunately, Zhao reacted quickly and smiled apologetically at Jiang: "Sister-in-law, just treat it as my fart."

At the same time, I was glad that my mother-in-law didn’t come today, otherwise I would have to have a big meal.

Jiang couldn't help but laugh and said, "I didn't prepare much this morning. Yingtao said that I'll make some for you guys to taste when I get home at noon."

As she was talking, a woman came up to Jiang and said, "Sister-in-law, give me a piece of green jelly and a piece of ice jelly to take away."

Jiang recognized this as the familiar face who had come to buy jelly the day before, and explained with a smile: "Now the jelly is prepared by my two sisters. I'll ask them to get it for you." As she spoke, she signaled to her two sisters-in-law with her eyes.

Xiao Zhou and Zhao didn't expect the business to come so quickly, and they were both a little stunned. It was Xie Bai who tugged at their sleeves and brought them back to their senses.

The two sisters-in-law immediately smiled and followed Professor Xu Yingtao's steps. They washed their hands first, then one took the green jelly and the other took the ice jelly. They then carefully wrapped them in banana leaves and put them in the woman's basket.

As soon as the woman left, Zhao held up the seven copper coins and showed them to others like a treasure: "Sister-in-law, this is the first money we have earned!"

Strictly speaking, the first money they earned should be from picking ghost buns, but that was done with the participation of the whole family and was just a transaction with people from the same village, so it cannot be considered that they made money independently.

But this jelly is different. It is their first business to outsiders and it is of great significance.

Xiao Zhou smiled gently: "Then you should keep it well as a souvenir."

Zhao's eyes lit up, and she solemnly put the three cents into her purse, leaving the remaining four cents for Xiao Zhou.

Next, more people came to buy jelly, and the three members of the Zheng family went from being nervous and flustered at the beginning to gradually getting the hang of it and becoming more and more skilled in handling it.

When Xu Yingtao hurried back, she found that there were several people queuing in front of her stall.

When Zhao saw her, she waved and smiled, "You're finally back. Your mother can't handle it alone, and I can't spare a hand. Fortunately, Xiao Bai Ali is needed and can help collect money and wash dishes."

Xu Yingtao raised her eyebrows. She was thinking about how to increase the sales of cold noodles. After all, ten cents a bowl was not cheap.

But she never expected that after she left for a while, not only did guests come to visit her, but even Jiang was able to take on the responsibility.

really not bad!

It was worth her hands-on teaching.

Jiang noticed her approving look and said shyly, "The owner and doctor of the clinic came over earlier and ate two bowls of our cold noodles. They said they were delicious. These guests also said they wanted to try it."

It turned out that someone was helping to advertise and promote the product.

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "It's still thanks to Manager Luo and Doctor Wen that they have good vision."

Xie Bai wanted to give up his seat to wash the dishes, but Xi Yingtao stopped him and said, "You are very good at collecting money. Go on. Ah Li and I will wash the dishes."