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

The man chopping wood paused his work and called out to Mrs. Zhou, "Auntie, come and buy some tofu."

Mrs. Zhou smiled and nodded.

Hearing that Mrs. Zhou had arrived, Old Man Feng, who was lying on a reclining chair, slowly opened his eyes and greeted her lazily.

Mrs. Zhou was no longer surprised by this. She pulled Tao and said, "Sister, don't worry. This girl has something to discuss with your boss. It won't be too late for you to give it to me after they finish discussing it." As she said that, she pushed Xu Yingtao forward.

Tao looked at Xu Yingtao with doubts: "Who is she?"

Mrs. Zhou introduced: "The eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family is called Xu Yingtao. You can just call her Yingtao. That's her mother-in-law Jiang."

Tao's eyes moved back and forth between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law twice, and finally she had some impression of Jiang, but her doubts became even greater.

The two families don't have much contact, so what can they discuss?

Mrs. Zhou spoke loudly without avoiding people, so Old Man Feng could hear it clearly. He sat up lazily and asked, "What do you want from me?"

Xu Yingtao first called out "Uncle Feng" sweetly, and then got straight to the point: "I plan to help the villagers make money. In the future, I will have to buy a lot of tofu, bean curd skin and dried tofu every day. Today I want to ask Uncle Feng if he is interested in cooperating with me?"

Old Man Feng's face fell when he heard this. "What's this about bean curd skin and dried bean curd? I've never heard of it. If you want to buy more tofu, you have to make an order half a month in advance. That's the rule. Your young wife is really boastful. Do you think you can make money with the villagers?"

There was undisguised contempt and mockery in his eyes.

"How can you talk like that, old thing?" Mrs. Zhou was eager to protect her child. "We Yingtao are very capable and our business in town is booming. Why can't we help the villagers make money?"

Now, Old Man Feng, Mrs. Tao, and the eldest son of the Feng family who was chopping wood nearby, all looked at Xu Yingtao.

Everyone in the village knows what kind of person Mrs. Zhou is. She always keeps her word and never speaks empty words. Since she said so, this must be true.

Xu Yingtao smiled gratefully at Mrs. Zhou, then looked at Old Man Feng, and said in a gentle but firm tone, "Uncle Feng, I am not forcing you to do anything, but I am here to discuss this with you. It's okay if you don't want to."

She changed the subject and said, "It's just that I will open another tofu workshop in the village in the future. It won't affect your business. After all, I don't sell it retail. I hope you don't blame me. If you agree to cooperate, I will get all the tofu I need from you in the future. In addition, I will also teach you how to make tofu skin and dried tofu. I only have one request, that you have to expand your workshop and hire people."

Old Man Feng was still immersed in the astonishment of her doing business in the town. When he heard her say that she wanted to open another tofu workshop, he couldn't help but sneer.

"You are bragging again. How can you know the craftsmanship that has been passed down from generation to generation?"

Although there are one or two tofu shops in various places, it is really as Old Man Feng said, this kind of family skill is generally difficult for outsiders to figure out. At least in this time and space, the method of making tofu has not yet been popularized, and this is exactly why he is confident.

Xu Yingtao curled her lips and said, "Grandpa Feng, you don't really think that making tofu is a difficult skill, do you?"

"What else?" Old man Feng raised his head and looked at people through his nose.

"I don't think it's difficult. It's nothing more than soaking soybeans, grinding soybeans, filtering soy milk, boiling soy milk, and making soy milk. By the way, your tofu is different from other places. It's made in the northern way, so the soy milk is made with brine instead of the gypsum commonly used here. The so-called brine is actually salt brine..."

"Shut up!"

Seeing Xu Yingtao reveal her secret recipe, Old Man Feng stood up anxiously and wanted to cover her mouth with his hands.

Tao on the side widened his eyes, his heart felt as if a mountain was collapsing and the earth was splitting.

She has been married to Old Man Feng for more than 30 years, but still doesn't know what's in his gourd for making starch. Every time he makes starch, he doesn't allow others to peek. He only says that this skill is passed down from sons to daughters, and that he will pass it on to his eldest son before he passes away.

Tao was no longer at the age to ask questions, and the family had agreed not to ask any more questions. They guarded the secret together tacitly and devoutly.

But now, seeing her man in such a desperate state, Tao felt as if the sky was falling!

It seems that the craftsmanship that she treated as a family heirloom could be easily boasted by any young wife in other families. Then what about all the hard work she put in serving her husband and taking care of the household and farm chores over the years?

"Feng Mazi!" Tao shouted with her hands on her hips, "You must explain to me today whether the gourd is filled with brine or not?!"

Old Man Feng felt guilty, his eyes kept darting around, but he still stiffened his neck and refused to admit it: "No!"

"It's not you! I tasted it secretly a few years ago. It's bitter and astringent. What else could it be but brine?"

She had never thought about it in this regard before, but the girl's words woke her up.

Thinking about how Old Man Feng had always used the excuse of making rice water to avoid going to the mountains to do farm work over the years, and that she had to play both the father and the mother role to support the family, Mrs. Tao was furious.

She immediately snatched the axe from her son's hand and prepared to clean up the house.

"Feng Mazi, you are such a shameless bastard. You have been cheating me and my son and daughter-in-law like animals for so many years with your broken gourd of brine. I will chop you to death today, you old bastard!"

Old man Feng was so frightened that he ran into the house, and Tao followed closely behind him.

Xu Yingtao and her group had imagined many possibilities, but they never thought they would witness such a farce. They were a little at a loss for a moment.

But they couldn't just watch someone die, so Mrs. Zhou rushed forward to stop them, and Jiang followed closely behind.

Soon, Tao's crying and cursing voice and the crying of a child were heard from the house.

Just as Xu Yingtao was about to step into the house, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Brothers and sisters?"

It’s Wu Chunhua.

Xu Yingtao had a good impression of this cousin's wife, so she stopped and turned around. Seeing Wu Chunhua holding a bowl, she smiled and said, "Cousin's wife, are you here to buy tofu?"

Wu Chunhua smiled warmly: "My uncle is here, and my mother asked me to buy some tofu. Why is Grandma Tao not here?"

Xu Yingtao suddenly realized that it was relatives who came to visit, no wonder Chen didn't cause trouble for them today.

She was not in a position to discuss other people's family affairs, so she just pointed at the man who was sitting on the firewood stool in a trance and said, "Cousin, you should go find him. Grandma Tao is not in a position to meet people right now."

The room was in chaos. Wu Chunhua understood what Xu Yingtao meant. She smiled and nodded at her. Then she walked towards the man who was still in a daze and handed him the bowl. "Uncle Feng Xing, I want to buy a piece of tofu."

It was not until she repeated it for the third time that Feng Xing finally came to his senses.

"Okay." He took the bowl and actually went into the house and brought out a piece of tofu.

Wu Chunhua took out four copper coins and gave them to him, said goodbye to Xu Yingtao, and then hurried home.

Seeing Feng Xing sitting back on the stool again, Xu Yingtao asked with a bit of curiosity and guilt, "Why don't you go and try to persuade him?"