"Get out of the way, don't block my way!"

"Go away! Get out of here!"

Many people impatiently waved her away.

However, some people felt sorry for Su Li, a woman struggling to sell her goods in the crowded dock, and couldn't bear to see her like that, so they took the tofu pudding and tried it.

"Young lady, your tofu pudding looks delicious, let me try some—"

"Okay!" Su Li enthusiastically handed over the bowl and spoon, her eyes full of anticipation.

The moment the tender white tofu touched his lips, its rich flavor instantly spread across his taste buds. It was sweet, mellow, and without a trace of beany or burnt taste, which was far beyond his expectations.

"Great, delicious! Girl, give us two more bowls, we also have a savory version! I want to try it too!"

Those who had initially looked disdainful couldn't help but mock him upon seeing this:

"You only said nice things because the girl is young and pretty, right? Right now, you'd probably eat a bowl of poison with a smile even if they fed you a bowl of arsenic!"

"Yeah, isn't this just plain tofu? What's so special about it?"

The man, however, was neither angry nor annoyed. Instead, he handed over the bowl he was holding and said, "You should try some too. We wouldn't dare to say such things that would tarnish a young lady's reputation."

The crowd took the bowl with some skepticism and took a bite. Instantly, gasps of amazement rose and fell.

"This sweet tofu pudding is sweet but not cloying, the tofu is soft and tender, and wow, it even smells like osmanthus!"

"The savory tofu pudding is absolutely amazing; the savory sauce and the tofu pudding blend together perfectly!"

"Then let's each have one! Miss, we misspoke earlier, please don't take it to heart..."

Su Li replied with a smile, "Whether it tastes good or not, we can only make a judgment after you all have tasted it. That's only natural, and it's also the way of business. Please wait a moment, I'll bring it to you all right away!"

He Shi and Tao Hua, who had been standing by the stall with worried expressions, immediately lost their gloom when they saw Su Li running over happily.

"Little sister (Li'er), how is it?" The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Su Li was panting, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. "Our tofu pudding is so delicious, how could we not have customers? Sister-in-law, Peach Blossom, the customers are all waiting, let's not just stand there!"

With the three of them working together, the stall quickly became a bustling hub of activity.

Su Li stood in front of the stall to greet customers, while He Shi ladled out bowls of steaming hot tofu pudding from the pot, leaving the seasoning to Tao Hua.

When paired with sorghum cakes and mixed flour steamed buns, all the tofu rice was sold out in no time.

Those customers who arrived late and missed out were filled with regret and eagerly asked Su Li, "Miss, when will you come again tomorrow?"

Su Li wiped the sweat from her forehead and said with a smile, "We'll arrive at dawn tomorrow, at the usual place!"

Back home, Su Li, her sister-in-law, and Tao Hua happily counted the money they had earned that day, only to find that it far exceeded their expectations.

A serving of tofu pudding costs five coins, while a flatbread or steamed bun costs one coin each.

Generally speaking, a grown man who does manual labor can eat his fill for less than ten coins.

The beans they collect from the village cost no more than ten coins per pound, enough to make at least five pounds of tofu pudding. Even after factoring in salt, sugar, spices, and oil, they still make at least half the profit.

After deducting costs, today's net profit is 500 cash, which means 15 taels of silver a month later, and a full 180 taels a year!

Thinking about this amount, the three of them were filled with excitement and eagerness. You see, after a year of hard work, after paying taxes and deducting their own food rations, they would only have seven or eight taels of silver left.

What if we expand the scale further?

That number will probably have to increase several times over...

Everything seemed to be developing in a positive direction.

At first, the other vendors at the dock were only slightly surprised to see that Su Li and her two companions were doing such a good job, and did not say much.

However, as the days went by, the three men's stalls were always crowded with people, and over time, their own business was inevitably affected.

Resentment and jealousy gradually spread.

As for the Su family, seeing Su Li and Madam He pushing their cart home with beaming faces every day, and smelling the aroma of tofu pudding wafting from the backyard from time to time, both Uncle Su and Uncle Su felt a little uneasy.

Damn it, all this silver should have gone into our own pockets, how could we let the fourth son's family benefit from it...

That day, as Su Li and Madam He stepped into the house, Madam Zhou stopped them and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Hey, you're always so busy, I wonder if you're up to something shady outside. This tofu pudding smells really good, it's almost ruining the atmosphere at home!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. He's eyes immediately welled up with tears of anger.

They work until late at night every day, and get up before dawn to grind soybeans. Then they push a cart weighing more than 100 pounds for more than half an hour along a mountain road to reach the dock.

How did it become a shameful affair in my aunt's mouth?

Su Li stepped forward, shielding her sister-in-law behind her, and looked at Zhou Shi with a half-smile:

“Aunt, we earn money through our own skills and hard work. What you’re saying is a bit too much.”

Zhou couldn't help but chuckle, glancing sideways at Su Li:

“A young lady should stay at home. What kind of behavior is it to go out and show your face all day? Besides, our Su family has not split up. The money you earn should be handed over to the family!”

Hearing the commotion in the yard, Old Mrs. Su glared and came out of the house, saying irritably:

"What's all the fuss about? In this house, even before the family has separated, you have to listen to me! Your aunt is right, now that you've made money, you should hand it all over to me. That's the proper way!"

Mrs. He bit her lower lip so hard that it almost bled.

A strong sense of powerlessness welled up inside her, and she almost lost her balance.

The two menacing figures before him were like an insurmountable mountain; no matter how hard he struggled, he could not budge them an inch.

Despair filled He's eyes, and she couldn't help but look at Su Li beside her: "Little sister, we..."

Su Li took a deep breath, raised her hand and grasped her sister-in-law's cold hand, a hint of mockery creeping onto her lips:

“Grandma, my dad is still recovering from his injury. We didn’t earn this money easily, and we were hoping to save as much as possible for his treatment. Since you insist that we hand over the money to you, then it’s not impossible…”

“But at least we should treat everyone equally in our family, right? My eldest uncle has never brought any money home from town all these years. As for my second uncle, needless to say, he does very little work, but every time I see him and my second aunt, they look the best in the family. Grandma, you must not be secretly giving them special treatment again.”

Su Li's words silenced the family members present, and the courtyard fell into a deep silence.

Grandma Su's face turned bright red, and she was about to scold him when Grandpa Su slowly walked out from the inner room.

He coughed lightly and said:

"Stop arguing, what kind of behavior is this? It's not easy for Li'er and the other kids to go out and make a living. Does the family really expect them to earn money to support the family?"

When everyone heard Old Master Su speak, although they still had their dissatisfaction, they all fell silent.

However, Su Zhen, who was behind the window, secretly kept this matter in mind.

Back in her room that evening, Su Zhen held her parents' hands, her eyes flickering slightly:

"Father, Mother, we can't let this go today. I think the fourth branch of the family is getting more and more arrogant."

"We need to find out about their situation at the docks first before making any decisions. We need to let them know that they're not the ones who call the shots in this house..."

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