Reborn 99 Days Later, Becoming a Landlady and Getting into Tsinghua and Peking Universities

After making the decision, Liang Ruotao and Liang Yili split into two groups.

The former, carrying a bucket and a strainer, went to catch crayfish in a nearby ditch, accompanied by Hua Yuansheng.

The latter then rode his bicycle at breakneck speed to the county's wholesale market.

We already have scallions, ginger, and garlic at home, so we don't need to buy them.

Liang Yili mainly selects various spices, such as angelica root, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, red Sichuan peppercorns, and green Sichuan peppercorns.

Knowing that locals prefer a stronger spicy flavor, Liang Yili specially bought more Sichuan peppercorns.

When I went to pay the bill, it turned out to be 3 yuan!

The shopkeeper immediately saw through Liang Yili's attempt to bargain and simply grabbed a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns and put them in a bag.

"It's really not going to be cheap, but I'll give you some Sichuan peppercorns!"

Liang Yili pursed her lips and said... well, okay.

After browsing around the wholesale market, Liang Yili spent a whopping 1.2 yuan on a bottle of beer, a price that left her speechless.

After shopping, Liang Yili didn't rush home. Instead, she rode her bicycle slowly along the main road of the county town.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." Since she was going to sell crayfish in the county town that night, she needed to observe the market in advance.

At the very least, I need to know where the best place to buy it is!

After looking around, I only found a few shops.

Most of them are grocery stores and breakfast shops. The former sells daily necessities, while the latter mainly sells steamed buns, mantou, fried dough sticks, rice noodles, and the like.

It was already close to noon, and the breakfast shop owners were preparing to close up shop.

In addition to these, there is also a delicatessen.

The types of cooked food available were nothing like what we have in later generations. There were no duck necks, duck feet, or duck wings; all that was sold were things like pig's head meat.

It was summer, and there were lots of flies and mosquitoes. Every now and then, a fly would land on the pig's head meat, and the hygiene was so bad that people shook their heads.

Liang Yili didn't know if others had an appetite, but she really didn't.

After wandering around the county town, Liang Yili finally decided on a spot to set up her stall that night: a three-way intersection.

The three-way intersection is located in front of the staff residential buildings not far from the largest factory in the county. Across from the residential buildings are the county hospital and the factory's affiliated school.

Despite its name, "Three-way intersection," it has gradually developed into a small square as more and more residents have settled nearby.

In the evenings, workers, students, and others would take a walk and relax in this area.

In the era when job security was paramount, there weren't many people doing business.

In such a prime spot for street vendors, there was only one old man popping popcorn.

Oh no, there's an old lady selling roasted sweet potatoes and roasted corn across the street.

In the short time Liang Yili observed, she saw no fewer than five children jumping around, taking money to buy popcorn.

Some workers who have just finished get off work and are too lazy to cook will simply buy a roasted sweet potato for lunch.

Liang Yili's eyes grew brighter and brighter; she seemed to see little money beckoning to her.

Feeling much relieved, Liang Yili wasted no more time and turned around on her bicycle to head home.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Liang Ruotao holding a winnowing basket and covering a wooden basin, trying to stop the lively crayfish that kept trying to crawl out of the basin.

Upon seeing Liang Yili return, Liang Ruotao's eyes lit up immediately: "Did you buy it?"

Liang Yili nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Sister, we're sure to make money this time!"

Liang Ruotao was secretly delighted and scratched her head: "Okay! Tell me, how do you... cook crayfish?"

"Sis, use a toothbrush... or a pig bristle brush will do, to clean it thoroughly, especially the mouth and belly, they're really dirty, you need to scrub them a lot!"

"Be careful when catching crayfish, don't let them pinch your hand!"

"Grab the crayfish by the tail, remove its vein, and cut off the head..."

The two sisters worked together to clean all the crayfish in the basin and were just about to start a fire when Hua Yuansheng, who had gone out to do farm work, returned.

Seemingly sensing the deep worry in her grandfather's eyes, and taking advantage of her sister's presence, Liang Yili spoke up:

"I just went to the county town to check out the market. There's a lot of foot traffic at the three-way intersection in front of the factory, the residents are relatively wealthy, and there's less competition, so our crayfish will definitely sell well!"

Liang Ruotao had never run a business before, but she knew that if you had money in your pocket and your food was delicious, you would never have trouble selling it.

"So, how do you plan to sell it?"

Liang Yili thought for a moment and said, "I've inquired, and the price of pork recently is around 5 yuan. Although we don't sell pork here, it's still meat. We can't sell it for 1 yuan, but 1 yuan is no problem!"

"One yuan per pound?" Hua Yuansheng exclaimed in surprise.

Liang Yili nodded: "Although the crayfish are free, the spices and beer are expensive!"

Hua Yuansheng's brows furrowed slightly: "Isn't it too expensive?"

This crimson plant, which no one wants, is being sold for one yuan per kilogram. How can that not be considered an exorbitant price?

Liang Yili shook her head: "It's not expensive. Three and a half catties of lobster is enough for the whole family."

However, today is the first day, and few people have tried spicy crayfish before, so it's unlikely to sell well.

Just to be on the safe side, let's not prepare too much, just about 20 jin (10 catties) for now.

"20 jin?" Hua Yuansheng exclaimed in surprise.

Liang Ruotao trusts her sister unconditionally, but as this is her first time doing business, she can't help but feel a little apprehensive when she thinks about how much 20 jin of crayfish would be.

"How about... we make a small batch to test the waters?"

Upon seeing this, Liang Yili thought for a moment and said, "Then let's make it 19 jin."

Liang Ruotao's eyes widened. What's the difference between 20 and 19?

Liang Yili laughed: "In a few days, the crayfish will be gone, right?"

We're making quick money, not a sustainable income. Why not make as much as possible before everyone else realizes what's happening?

After some thought, Huayuansheng realized that the crayfish harvest could only last for about half a month at most.

He squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine! Then I'll make 20 jin!"

Liang Ruotao bit her lip lightly. To earn money, to go to high school, and to avoid being separated from her younger sister, she would do everything she could!

20 jin (10 catties) of crayfish sounds like a lot, but it's actually quite a lot to make.

The small stove wasn't enough, so Liang Yili specially cleaned out the large stove that was only used during holidays.

With the help of her older sister and grandfather, she started making spicy crayfish, her face covered in sweat.

Hua Yuansheng tended the fire, while Liang Yili cooked lobsters.

Seeing that she couldn't get involved, Liang Ruotao turned around and went to the back of the toilet to move some firewood.

"Hua Yuansheng's useless eldest daughter is back?"

Along with the neighbor's voice, there was also the sound of cracking and popping sunflower seeds.

Neighbor B scoffed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world: "What eldest daughter? I heard she drowned. The two girls he brought back are unwanted too."

"Everyone says it's good to have a son. I didn't believe it before, but now I understand. What's the use of Uncle Sheng's two daughters? He's so old and still has to take care of his granddaughters."

"That's right! I heard those two girls are still clamoring to go to school! Where does the money come from? It's all from sucking Uncle Sheng's blood..."

"Study? Didn't they say the family was so poor they couldn't even afford to eat, and they had to catch and eat red pheasants? You still want to study?"

Who knows!

No, I need to go home and have my wife talk to Uncle Sheng.

"Two little girls, just send them away and get married easily..."

If Hua Yuansheng really can't think straight, he should send those two girls to school.

If I run out of money later, and I ask my fellow villagers for help, will they lend me money or not?