Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 260 The Calm Lake (1)

Xu Chaoyan assumed she had seen someone she knew, so she casually said, "Who cares? We only met her once anyway. Sister, come over here quickly and let's make a bowl of tofu pudding. Let's try it out."

As Yue Niang walked, she muttered to herself, "It really doesn't have much to do with her, but I noticed a strange feeling in that girl's eyes. We don't seem to have any grudges against her, and we don't know anyone here."

Xu Chaoyan: "Don't think too much, come and eat."

Zhang Rongrong arrived late and presented her congratulatory gift with an apologetic expression: "I'm so sorry, I had something to do at home today and missed your grand opening. This is my congratulatory gift, please accept it as an apology."

As Xu Chaoyan invited her in, she took her arm and said, "We just made a pot of hot tofu pudding. Why don't you try it? You can just come here. Why bring a gift? It's still early. We'll have a meal together and then I'll make you a pot of meat-filled tofu pudding when we have some free time."

Zhang Rongrong didn't stand on ceremony: "I could smell the bean aroma of the tofu pudding from afar, and the aroma of the bone broth you made wafted over far and wide, making my stomach rumble."

As Xu Chaoyan gestured for her to sit down, she casually asked, "Well, Rongrong, what happened that got you in the way today? I saw you rush over here looking at your forehead, and you're sweating quite a bit. Sister-in-law, quickly get a handkerchief to wipe your sweat."

Zhang Rongrong sighed and said helplessly, "Every family has its own problems. My mother-in-law is causing trouble again. Oh well, I'm too lazy to argue with her, so I might as well come here to find some peace and quiet."

As she set out the bowls and chopsticks, Yue Niang sighed, "Even an upright official can't settle family disputes. Every family has its own troubles. You're still young, so please be more tolerant. If it really doesn't work, just avoid her. If you argue with her again, people will say you're unfilial. How can you bear that kind of accusation?"

Zhang Rongrong: "Of course! In the eyes of the neighbors, I'm the kind of person who eats people alive. Behind my back, my mother-in-law calls me a tigress, saying that with a fierce tiger guarding the house, no one dares to set foot in our house. It's even caused my brother-in-law to be unable to find a wife. How can you blame me for this? I'm completely innocent. My brother-in-law isn't that old; what's wrong with waiting a few more years?"

Xu Chaoyan also strongly agreed: "With Shen Siheng's unruly and undisciplined nature, who can control him? Even if he marries a wife, he'll still be the same way, causing trouble for other girls. It's better for him to study peacefully for a couple of years, temper his temper, and then talk about marriage."

Zhang Rongrong took a small bite of the tofu pudding: "It's really delicious, incredibly smooth and tender. With this spicy sauce, I dare say your business will be booming. The tofu sold in the market all has a smoky, burnt smell, but your tofu pudding is so white and lovely."

After she showered her with compliments, Yue Niang felt a little embarrassed and covered her mouth with a light laugh: "Thank you for not minding. When you go back later, pack some to take home for your family to try."

Zhang Rongrong stared at the bowl of tofu pudding with a protective expression: "I don't want to take it back for them to try. I can eat my fill outside if there's anything good to eat. With my mother-in-law's attitude, if I take it back, she'll accuse me of trying to poison her. I'm late today because she's been coughing non-stop. I told her I'd take her to the doctor, but she refused. She was leaning against the bed coughing and coughing. I saw her like that. She was trying to play the victim and get her son to take her. My father-in-law and husband are too busy. They've been hosting banquets these past few days. They didn't have time to tell me before they left that they should either take her to the doctor or call a doctor back."

Xu Chaoyan: "What you said makes sense. So how was it resolved in the end?"

Zhang Rongrong: "As soon as my father-in-law and the others left, my mother-in-law stopped coughing instantly. I suggested calling a doctor, but she said it was a waste of money. I said I didn't need her to pay, I could pay for it myself, right? But then she said the medicine was very bitter, and that drinking too much of it would make her feel listless. She said she just needed to lie in bed and recover. She asked me to massage her shoulders and legs, and to make her braised pork and buy her a roast chicken for lunch, saying she hadn't tasted roast chicken in a long time. How can someone with a cold eat such greasy food? Besides, eating chicken will only trap the cold inside. How could I let her do this? She insisted that I was mistreating my mother-in-law and embezzling money. I was so angry that I slammed the door and left, too lazy to deal with such a scoundrel."

Around noon, Asagao was so busy she barely had time to breathe. Two or three people shared a small pot, which contained pork ribs, meatballs, and some dried mushrooms to enhance the aroma. Seasonal vegetables were added as needed, and corn was added when it was ripe for an even more delicious flavor. Tofu pudding was unlimited, and the price was reasonable and affordable, making it perfect for these students. The soup was made fresh from bones bought early in the morning.

After several days of exhaustion, Xu Chaoyan's back ached and she had no appetite for food after closing up shop each day. In addition, the weather had gradually warmed up in the past few days, and she had put away her cotton-padded coats.

Meng Jiu and others would come over to lend a hand as soon as school was over. Thanks to the word of these students, Xu Niangniang's meat tofu pudding was packed with customers after dusk, mainly because the price was reasonable. A small pot for two people only cost sixty-nine coins, and everyone was happy to pay.

Although tired, Meng Jiuhe was happy. He was fiddling with the abacus to calculate today's accounts. Xu Chaoyan kept simple accounts, drawing one line for each table of guests and writing down the size of the table.

Meng Jiuhe shook his head as he looked at the records. He meticulously recorded every single account, making the income and expenses crystal clear.

"My wife, you should practice your handwriting more often when you have time. I was trying to guess it for a long time just now."

Xu Chaoyan chuckled twice as she explained, "As long as I can understand it myself, that's fine."

Meng Jiu took the abacus from her hand, shook it gently, and then put it down: "Since you don't know how to use the abacus, just record it the way you want. I'm not blaming you for anything, I just want you to record your income and expenses in detail so that you can have a clear idea of ​​how much you make and how much you lose at the end of the month."

Meng Jiu, being a mere scholar, was quite comfortable with these accounts; it was Xu Chaoyan's handwriting that truly gave him a headache. Sometimes, when she was in a good mood, she would write simplified characters, forcing him to guess.

Zhang Xuyang also happened to come over from home. Seeing that it was getting late, he went out to check on things, as they had indeed used a lot of firewood these past few days.

He asked Meng Jiu to stay behind while he went back to the courtyard to chop a pile of firewood. He also helped his father soak the soybeans. His parents were getting old and their eyesight wasn't very good, so they would make some tofu every now and then and sell it in the market.

Their family's tofu-making skills have been passed down for three generations. Their business is quite good in the county town, although the elderly couple are getting on in years and their energy is waning, so they don't make as much each day. The Zhang family's life is much better than before.

When they're really too busy on weekdays, the two of them will help each other wash dishes and clean. It's said that a gentleman keeps away from the kitchen, but neither of them takes that to heart. They often go to the kitchen to add firewood and wash a few dishes, enjoying themselves immensely.

"Brother Meng, I saw a few people acting suspiciously when I came over. Could they be up to no good? After all, the shop is mostly run by women. We should be more careful in the future."

Meng Jiuhe glanced at the door but didn't see anyone. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't tell them about this yet, so as not to disturb them. After school, we'll take turns guarding this place and packing up the shop together. Maybe you're seeing things. In this busy street, maybe they just glanced at our shop because they saw it was doing well."

Zhang Xuyang nodded: "This is the county gate after all, so there shouldn't be any ruffians coming to cause trouble. We can take turns with them from now on, but we still have to be careful. Who knows, if someone is jealous of our shop's good business, they might send someone to cause trouble."

The tofu pudding is shown in the picture.