Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12087

Liu spoke with a swaying head, his words dripping with sarcasm!
Yang Ruoqing simply smiled at this and offered no further comment.

Every family has its own troubles; each family should mind its own business.

Liu followed Yang Ruoqing into the main room, where Shaoyao prepared to brew tea for them.

Yang Ruoqing waved her hand: "Just make a bowl for your fourth grandmother. I'm going to keep Tuanyuan company while she takes a nap, so I won't drink any."

"it is good."

Liu sat down and continued talking to Yang Ruoqing.

The conversation was all about the banquet held at Xiu Hong's house today.

"There was a lot of food, enough for almost three tables, and the men's table also had plenty of drinks."

"I did a rough calculation for them. The three banquets today, plus the sweets and pastries given as gifts to relatives and friends, cost at least one and a half taels of silver, less than two taels."

"However, they must have received more than two taels of silver in gifts today, so Xiuhong and Sixi only made a profit from this housewarming banquet!"

Yang Ruoqing smiled and said, "When it comes to gift-giving, it's unreasonable to make a profit or a loss; you have to look at the long term."

Over time, relatives will encounter various matters, big and small, in every family. The gifts and money exchanged are all things that are passed around in turn.

You give me a gift, I give you a gift; anyone who dares to only take and not give will be gossiped about and will never have any more contact with others.

"Fourth Aunt, I won't keep you company any longer. You can sit for a while and then go wander around somewhere else." Yang Ruoqing took a couple of sips of water, put down her teacup, and stood up. "I promised to keep the two children company during their afternoon nap, so please excuse me."

Liu waved her hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I'll drink this bowl of tea to help with my digestion and then go next door to talk to your mother."

……

In the village, Xiu Hong and Sixi's new house.

The relatives and friends who came to give gifts and offer congratulations all left, and even Da Xi and San happy's wives, who came to help cook, finished cleaning up the dishes and went home.

Before leaving, Xiu Hong packed up two bowls of the leftover meat dishes from the lunch feast, such as braised pork with potatoes and stir-fried pork intestines with pickled cabbage, for the two girls to take back and eat at night.

Inside the new house, with the courtyard gate closed, Xiu Hong and Sixi were counting the wedding gifts they had received that day, their faces beaming with joy.

"We spent one tael of silver and three hundred copper coins on groceries and other necessities, and our income was one tael of silver and eight hundred copper coins, plus several kilograms of noodles and brown sugar chicken soup, etc. We didn't lose out this time," Xiu Hong said with a smile.

It feels so good to be in charge.

Sixi listened with a smile, then asked Xiuhong, "Do you remember all the gifts that each family gave us today?"

Xiu Hong pointed to her temple: "I remember it all, but even the best memory can't beat a bad pen."

"Sixi, bring me the charcoal pencil I used to draw shoe patterns, and also bring the book I used to keep accounts from the last wedding. I'll strike while the iron is hot and write down all the betrothal gifts and the names of the corresponding relatives and friends. In the future, if any of their families have any events, we can refer to this book to return the favors..."

"Okay! That's what I meant too, I'll take it to you right away!"

The young couple quickly finished recording the information.

"Keep this booklet safe and put it in my dressing table."

"Ok!"

"Also, I packed two kinds of meat and vegetables for your two sisters-in-law to take back earlier. We won't invite them over for dinner tonight. We'll have dinner together when it gets dark and then go to bed in the morning." Xiu Hong stood up and began to give instructions again.

"Why are you going to bed so early? I'm so excited about moving into the new house today that I can't sleep!" Sixi asked.

Xiu Hong glanced at him and said irritably, "Now that we've moved into a new house and have a home, we should focus on making money to support the family!"

"I told you to go to bed early so we can get up early in the middle of the night to steam glutinous rice in the kitchen. We need to get there before the town school opens, just before dawn. Tomorrow, our glutinous rice ball stall will officially open for business!"

"Tomorrow, tomorrow is it really going to open? But tomorrow is an odd-numbered day! Can't we wait another day?" Sixi's breathing became rapid.

Xiu Hong shook her head, "Let's not wait any longer. There's no time like the present. Let's open as soon as possible and test the waters. It's settled then!"

The young couple immediately got to work separately.

Xiu Hong went to the kitchen to soak the glutinous rice. Tomorrow is their first day of business, and they plan to make two kinds of glutinous rice balls to test the waters.

Start small and manage it well. Once the business grows and you're more comfortable with it, then you can aim for something bigger.

The glutinous rice used for soaking is white round glutinous rice; purple glutinous rice is not sold in this area, only white glutinous rice.

The white ones come in round and elongated shapes. Since they are for making rice balls, the round ones are softer and more chewy.

Xiu Hong soaked five catties of glutinous rice, soaking it thoroughly for five or six hours. When it was time to cook, she added a little more water than usual, and conservatively estimated that she could cook twelve catties of glutinous rice.

This batch of glutinous rice at home wasn't bought with any money. Before, when Yang Yongjin and Cao Bamei were finalizing their plan to sell glutinous rice balls together, Yang Yongjin brought over 100 jin of glutinous rice.

Yang Yong bought 100 jin of glutinous rice in town. This kind of glutinous rice, which is ground in the Washi Rice Shop, usually sells for seven or eight wen per jin.

Yang Yongjin privately confided to Xiu Hong that if the glutinous rice ball business did well, when it was time to transplant rice seedlings, he would arrange for about ten acres of the hundred acres of paddy fields belonging to Yang Huazhong's family in the third branch to be used specifically for growing glutinous rice, so as to continuously supply Xiu Hong and her family with raw materials.

If you go to the rice shop in Washi, it costs seven or eight coins per pound, which is a bit expensive. But the price is higher here, so on average it might only cost about four coins per pound of glutinous rice, which can save costs to the greatest extent.

Xiu Hong was weighing and soaking the glutinous rice, while Sixi was in the yard harnessing a wooden cart and washing the wooden buckets that would be used to hold the glutinous rice the next day, as well as the insulating cotton cloth and bucket lids.

When he finished all this and came to the kitchen, Xiu Hong was still busy, mainly preparing some small earthenware pots with lids and the like.

Chili powder, chili oil, and other seasonings were also prepared. In addition, a small jar about the size of a fist was specially washed to hold white sugar.

"Wow, so many fancy designs! They look great!" Sixi said with a smile.

Xiu Hong said without looking up, "I've already thought it through. We're all beginners at the beginning, so there's no rush. We'll take it slow."

"Initially, we planned to make both savory and sweet rice balls."

"Sweet rice balls are easy to make; just put some white sugar in them, and students love them. However, just putting in some sugar is too monotonous. Fill them with some crispy biscuits or half a fried dough stick, sprinkle some white and black sesame seeds, and they'll look and taste even better."

"Hong, hearing you say that makes my mouth water."

"Don't interrupt me, let me finish!"

"Okay, okay, go ahead." "For the savory version, I've prepared pickled vegetable shreds, potato shreds, a small amount of fried eggs, chili powder, and other things, for the students to enjoy with their food."

"There are so many varieties! The students are in for a treat!" Sixi praised sincerely, thinking to himself that his wife really had a knack for business.

This idea was suggested by Xu Yuanming's uncle and others that day, but his wife figured out many variations on it all by herself.

"Wife, how are we going to calculate the price? Do you have a plan?" Sixi asked again.

He had never asked about this matter before because he had been busy with other things and hadn't gotten to that point.

Xiu Hong thought for a moment and said, "I have five catties of glutinous rice here. I estimate that it can cook twelve catties of glutinous rice into cooked rice, or maybe fourteen or fifteen catties."

“Let’s calculate based on twelve catties. I will definitely make three rice balls from one catty of glutinous rice. We’ll fry the fried dough sticks or crispy cakes at home… Fried dough sticks with sugar, four coins each.”

"The savory version with all the side dishes is also four coins each."

"Fried eggs are extra, 2 coins each."

"Based on this calculation, one pound of glutinous rice can make three rice balls, which can be sold for 12 coins at the lowest price."

"Twelve catties of glutinous rice costs 144 wen, while the cost of twelve catties of glutinous rice is 40 wen. Including the cost of sugar, wheat flour for frying dough sticks, pickled vegetables, shredded potatoes, etc., the total cost is about 80 wen."

"So if we can sell all the rice balls for the day after setting up our stall, we can make a net profit of 64 coins. That's with the cost factored in. If we cook more glutinous rice, we'll make even more!"

"That's great!" Sixi exclaimed excitedly.

The two were so excited that they got together again to calculate the costs and losses. They came to the most straightforward conclusion: if they made rice balls according to this price and ingredients, they could earn 2 coins for every rice ball they sold!

“I’ve inquired about the students at the school in town. There are over a hundred students and teachers combined,” Xiu Hong continued. “We’ll go to the school gate early in the morning and wait until the students go to their morning classes, then we’ll go to sell near Washi.”

“At first, we won’t make too many. We’ll make forty or fifty rice balls a day to sell. If more people buy them later, we can increase the quantity!” Xiu Hong added.

“Okay, you decide. But, do we have to pay money to sell it in Washi?” Sixi asked, as he was a complete novice when it came to this.

Xiu Hong smiled and said, "For temporary roadside stalls like ours, we only need to pay one coin each time. Uncle Kang and Aunt Jin Chuan have both taught me how to do it, so don't worry!"

"Okay, I'm relieved. Hong, you're the one who's got the connections and knows a lot!"

"Sixi, don't say that. We're husband and wife, husband and wife are one," Xiuhong held Sixi's hand. "From now on, let's work hard from dawn till dusk. Don't be afraid of hardship. Let's work hard for two years and make money. Then we can open a shop in town or county and won't have to work so hard!"

"Don't worry, Hong. If you, a woman, aren't afraid of hardship, how could I, a man, back down? We are husband and wife, one!"

The young couple embraced tightly, filled with hope for the future.

That night, Xiu Hong and Sixi barely slept a wink.

I'm so excited!

Not just because this is the first time they've moved into their own new house, a new little home that truly belongs to them.

Because they were going to open for trial operation the next day, the two were so excited that they couldn't sleep. They talked in bed until the middle of the night, and then they urged each other to go to sleep, otherwise they wouldn't have the energy to do business during the day.

However, the silence of the night cannot last long. Someone will always suddenly think of something and break the silence of the night once again.

It wasn't until after midnight that the two of them could no longer stay awake and finally fell asleep.

In a daze, I heard the sound of the night watchman's gong outside.

Bang Bang Bang!
They knocked three times; it was already past midnight.

They opened their eyes almost simultaneously and called out to each other at the same time, and both of them laughed.

“Since we can’t sleep, let’s get up and get busy!” Xiu Hong said.

"Alright, let's get started!"

The couple entered the kitchen in the dark, lit a candle, and then began to work methodically.

Steam glutinous rice in a large pot. While the rice is steaming, Si Xi stuffs firewood into the fire, Xiu Hong stir-fries pickled vegetable shreds and potato shreds, and then frys 10 poached eggs.

About half an hour later, everything was ready. The young couple put the glutinous rice into an insulated wooden bucket, covered it tightly with a clean cotton cloth, and then put a heavy wooden lid on the outside.

Then Sixi moved all these things to the wooden cart in the yard, secured them with ropes, Xiuhong locked the door, and sat on the cart, mainly to hold the wooden bucket.

When the couple went out, they carried a windproof lantern in their hands, and Sixi also tucked a wood-chopping knife into his back waistband, just in case they encountered trouble on the road.

Generally speaking, in this area, unless someone is blind to the danger, even the biggest villains and scoundrels in the surrounding villages wouldn't dare to mess with Old Yang's family.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility of some idiots and fools from the surrounding villages, as well as some rabid people seeking online fame, or wild animals secretly coming down from the mountains in search of food...

Therefore, carrying a machete is essential.

On their way to the village entrance, the young couple moved as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb their sleeping neighbors.

However, it was inevitable that the village's guard dogs would be disturbed.

Immediately, the barking of dogs could be heard from near and far.

"These dogs are so annoying, always lurking around under our noses, and they bark so much," Xiu Hong said, frowning.

Si Xi laughed, "Dogs are just for barking, let's not stoop to their level."

After crossing the dam, the two finally left the barking dogs far behind.

As Xiu Hong passed by the gate of the small two-room courtyard, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure emerging from the gate, which was slightly ajar.

"My father?"

Xiu Hong recognized the familiar figure at a glance while sitting in the oxcart.

"It really is my father-in-law!" Sixi recognized him too, and the two slowed their pace.

At that moment, Yang Yongjin closed the courtyard gate and turned around to see his daughter and son-in-law pushing a cart along the main road.

Yang Yongjin nodded in satisfaction. Not bad, not bad. The young man is energetic. He said he would get up early to go to town to do business, and he really did it. It's the end of January, and the spring chill is still in the air. Not to mention the newlywed couples who have been married for a short time, they can't get out of bed. Even a middle-aged man like him doesn't want to get up so early to work!
And these two children actually kept their word and did exactly what they said, which made Yang Yongjin very gratified!