I have been farming since I crossed over.

Time flew by and it was May. May was a very busy month for Yang Mingxi's family. Adding to the busy schedule, Yang Mingxi hadn't had time to prepare food.

Only on the second day after plowing the fields, Yang Mingxi killed ten chickens raised in the backyard, each weighing about four pounds. She separated all the chicken feet and made braised chicken feet, pickled pepper chicken feet, tiger skin chicken feet, etc. She also gave two braised chicken feet to Wan Xiaobao.

When Yang Mingxi was preparing to open the snack street, he planned to open more than half of the shops first, and then open one shop per day for the remaining shops.

Yang Mingxi drew a simple diagram of a roast duck oven and asked Lu Jintang to find someone to build it. It should be ready in the next two days.

There is also an oven, the old-fashioned kind that Uncle Wu has already made, but its capacity is a bit small.

So the nine snacks sold in the snack street are: cold skewers, fried potatoes, barbecue skewers, hand-pulled pancakes, fried chicken, roast duck, cold noodles, egg cakes, and chilled watermelon.

On the first day of May, Yang Mingxi was free, so she asked Lu Jintang to help her check if there was anything that needed to be changed in the snacks she planned to sell at the snack street.

Lu Jintang said, "Axi, the bitter melons are ripe and can be picked. I'll arrange for someone to deliver them tomorrow."

If Lu Jintang hadn't mentioned this, Yang Mingxi would have almost forgotten about taking the bitter melons out to sell.

Yang Mingxi looked at her family's current labor force and said, "They'll be taken away tomorrow. I'm afraid we won't be able to pick all the fruits. We really don't have enough manpower."

Lu Jintang smiled and said, "We still have the maids we bought. They've almost learned the rules. They're in the riverside courtyard. I'll call them over later, but you need to train them first."

Yang Mingxi nodded and said, "Look at my memory, there's no problem. I'll ask my dad to notify my uncles and aunts, and we'll have training together then."

Yang Mingxi found Yang Laowu and told him about picking bitter melons. The Yang family was short on labor, so Yang Laowu went straight to the old house and called everyone over. Yang Mingxi explained what kind of bitter melons to pick this time, and which ones to save for the snack street later. She also led everyone in a field experiment.

After making sure everyone knows how to pick the fruits, the other members of the Yang family go back to pick their own fruits first, and then transport them to Yang Mingxi's house to be weighed together later.

More than twenty people were working in the bitter melon field, and the results were obvious. Soon, a mountain of bitter melons was piled up in front of Yang Mingxi's house.

Aunt Juhua came to play with Mrs. Wu and saw that the Yang family was busy picking bitter melons. She went back and called her two daughters and Uncle Liu to help, and sped up the picking of bitter melons.

In the afternoon, people from other branches of the Yang family also came to help, and they brought the bitter melons they had picked to the door of Yang Mingxi's house.

Lu Jintang also arrived with a large group of people and a mule cart. He smiled and said to Old Man Yang, "Grandpa, this is the first time we're selling bitter melons, and we don't know how the market will be, so we're offering you 10 wen per jin. Is that okay with you?"

Old man Yang was looking at the bitter melons in front of Lao Wu's house while everyone else went to help pick them. When he heard what Lu Jintang said, he was so shocked that he was speechless.

Old Man Yang calmed himself down before saying, "Business is business. Don't take care of us just because of Miss Xi. This kind of business won't last long."

Lu Jintang held Old Man Yang's hands and said, "Grandpa, no, if the market is good, it's not an exaggeration to sell a bitter melon for one tael of silver in the capital. It's just that the market hasn't been very good recently, so we set the price like this."

"As long as you have thought it through, then let's weigh it!" said Old Man Yang.

The people Lu Jintang brought over started to weigh.

Uncle Yang had a lot of land, so although he didn't pick many bitter melons in the first batch, he still picked 3156 kilograms and sold them for 560 taels and coins.

The results of the following uncles' families were similar, all weighing around 800 jin, and all sold for more than 8 taels of silver.

Yang Mingxi's family had more bitter melons, and they finished picking them in the evening. They picked about 20 kilograms. Together with the bitter melons from other families in the Yang family, they filled nearly 400 mule carts.

Yang Mingxi looked at Lu Jintang and said, "Where did you get so many mule carts, and your bitter melons? How did you transport them out?"

Lu Jintang said, "First, send it to the seaside of Shangqiaoshan Town, and then take the waterway. If we can transport it here, it would be convenient."

Yang Mingxi nodded and said, "That should be possible! When can we try it?"

Lu Jintang laughed out loud and said, "Husband and wife really follow each other! I've already asked someone to research this matter."

After chatting for a while, they saw Wu pick two particularly large bitter melons and give them to Aunt Juhua to take back. Aunt Juhua refused, and after a while, Aunt Juhua finally took the bitter melons and took them back.

Yang Mingxi said, "I'm going to make snacks at home tomorrow. I've already thought of some fresh snacks. By the way, how's the oven I need going over there?"

Lu Jintang scratched his nose and said, "I'll go check it out later. It should be ready. I've been busy with rice and bitter melon recently and haven't had time to check it out. I'll send it to you when it's ready. Come over tomorrow and have some delicious food."

Yang Mingxi nodded and said, "Okay, I won't let you down. By the way, let's take the chickens and ducks from my uncles and aunts first, and then use yours."

Lu Jintang nodded and turned around to say, "I've handed over the delivery of bitter melons to Brother Eight, and the delivery of rice to Brother Nine. I'll be fully responsible for the snack street and restaurant from now on. Once you've decided on the snacks, take a look at the restaurant's dishes! I'll arrange for a chef to come over for you then. By the way, talk to your Third Uncle. There's a two-story building next to the restaurant, and I'd like to partner with him on a cloth shop. I'll supply the goods, and he'll be in charge of sales and operations. How's that going?"

Yang Mingxi thought for a moment and said, "I need to ask Third Uncle about this. I wonder how his preparations are going? He's said several times that the store is going to open, but for some reason, it never happened. I've been busy lately and haven't been able to take care of it."

Lu Jintang said, "You ask first, and then I'll talk to him, and you too. Ready-made clothes are mainly about style and innovation."

Yang Mingxi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go ask during these busy days."

Lu Jintang shook his head and said, "Isn't my second brother getting engaged tomorrow? Have lunch at the girl's house, and then invite everyone from the Yang family to your house to try the new dishes. Then, discuss this matter and we'll open together on the fifth day of May."

Yang Mingxi was shocked. How could everything be concentrated on one day? She was too busy to handle everything.

Yang Mingxi and Lu Jintang waved their hands and said, "I understand. They are real businessmen. They won't let go until they have completely exploited people. Poor people, go back to work."

Lu Jintang smiled and said, "Your family still owes money? This is the biggest exploitation, also known as making something for nothing!"

Yang Mingxi: "Get lost!"