They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 14 Zhao's Mockery
Zhao retorted angrily, her words laced with veiled barbs: "So, my third sister-in-law bought chickens but didn't eat them at home instead went to someone else's house to eat them. What does that mean? Does it mean you look down on us and are afraid we'll get a good deal?"

Zeng Xiaoyan was furious: "I can spend my money however I want! If you're not happy about it, go buy a chicken and go kill it somewhere else. I won't say a word to you!"

Zhao sneered, "You know perfectly well I can't afford it, yet you deliberately say things like that to me. What's the point? Everyone knows you're rich. What do we have to compare with you?"

"As long as you know!"

"you--"

"Alright, that's enough, shut up." Aunt Liang was having a real headache. One of her daughters-in-law was petty and the other wouldn't give in. "If you keep arguing, then we'll separate the family and each go our own way. No one will bother anyone else."

Zhao turned and walked away angrily, her face dark with resentment.

Of course, she didn't want to separate the family; if she did, she wouldn't get anything good.

Zeng Xiaoyan pursed her lips, thinking to herself that Sister-in-law Zhichun was right. This method of making money really couldn't be told to anyone else; otherwise, once that door was opened, the secret might be lost. Just think, if someone like Zhao Shi knew, wouldn't she fight for it? Wouldn't she tell her family? Humph!
Even with a little water and cabbage added, the large bowl of chicken soup for dinner was still delicious. It contained chicken, konjac knots, and a bowl of konjac tofu stir-fried with chicken. Both children and adults loved it.

Aunt Liang laughed and said, "Zhichun's cooking skills are really good. The chicken soup is so well stewed, and the gray tofu and gray bean shreds are also really good."

The second wife's two children, Liang Xiaoshuang and Liang Xiaodong, are eleven and seven years old respectively. They are both at the age where they love to eat, and they both said that the food was delicious.

Zeng Xiaoyan took the opportunity to laugh and tell Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu'er about starting a small business together selling gray tofu and gray bean shreds.

Konjac is poisonous, and if they said they were selling konjac tofu, it would probably scare many people away, and it would be quite troublesome to explain. After some discussion, the three of them changed the name.

The whole family was stunned.

Before anyone could say anything, Zhao started to mock: "Doing business? Is business that easy? You're all thinking too simply! I bet that Xu woman is just desperate for money and trying to scheme around. Third sister-in-law, I'm not saying this to be mean, but you should be more careful. You and Aunt Zhu'er are both well-off with some money. Humph, who knows what that Xu woman is up to!"

Zeng Xiaoyan would never allow anyone to slander her confidante. She lowered her face and said calmly, "Second sister-in-law, you're joking. I'm a grown woman, not stupid or deaf. I know perfectly well who is truly good to me and who is not. I trust Sister Zhichun, and I'm happy to do so. Besides, our father is the village head, so Sister Zhichun wouldn't lie to me for that reason alone."

"you--"

Aunt Liang quickly said, "Then go and give it a try. Since it's your own decision, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself, whether it succeeds or not. You can't blame anyone else. Your second sister-in-law's words may be rough, but they make a good point. Alright, let's eat and stop talking."

In front of their father-in-law, Liang, the two sisters-in-law didn't dare to be too presumptuous. Since their mother-in-law had spoken, they dared not disobey, and each ate their own meal without mentioning it.

At Xu Zhichun's house, when Liang Mingxuan came home from school, Xu Zhichun enthusiastically pointed to konjac tofu and konjac knots and told him about them in detail.

Liang Mingxuan was shocked. The child, who had become more mature and sensible since his elder brother's death, also showed a childlike surprise when he saw the two foods made from konjac, his eyes widening in astonishment.

"This...this is really made of konjac?"

It was rare for Xu Zhichun to see the child show such a childlike side, and she found it amusing. She couldn't help but gently pinch his cheek and giggle, "Of course! Isn't your sister-in-law amazing?"

The child blushed slightly, turned away from Xu Zhichun's hand, and nodded: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law is so amazing."

Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "Go take a shower and we'll eat later. After we eat, my sister-in-law will boil the gray tofu and let it float. Our family's ability to make money will depend on it!"

"Ah."

For dinner, we had braised chicken in a clay pot with konjac knots; stewed chicken with konjac and heated up; and stir-fried garlic lettuce with two cloves of garlic, served with snow-white rice.

After dinner, Liang Mingxuan, as usual, reviewed his books under the lamplight for a while, while Xu Zhichun tended the large fire to cook konjac tofu, which had been shaped and cut into equal-sized cubes. Because the family's iron pot wasn't very big, they had to cook it in batches. Xu Zhichun thought that once he earned some money, he should buy a large iron pot to make things easier and less troublesome.

Halfway through cooking, Liang Mingxuan came to help.

Remembering the brown sugar Zeng Xiaoyan had brought, Xu Zhichun brewed a bowl of brown sugar water and brought it over: "Drink it quickly."

Liang Mingxuan didn't move, and looked at her, saying, "This is something Sister Zeng gave to you to help you recover. You should drink it, I don't need it."

Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "Then let's all drink it, we all need to replenish ourselves."

Seeing that she had quickly made another bowl, Liang Mingxuan had no choice but to pick up the bowl and say, "Sister-in-law can drink it next time, I really don't need to."

"You have to drink it too. If you stay healthy, you'll get sick less often, which is also a way to save money, you know?"

"."

In the end, he couldn't go against his sister-in-law's reasoning; she had a whole set of arguments.

"I listen to my sister-in-law."

"That's how you behave."

She put the brown sugar that Zeng Xiaoyan sent into a rough earthenware jar. The amount sent was about half a pound, and she took out more than two pounds from her spatial storage and added it in. It would last her a long time.

The cooked konjac tofu was soaked in two large buckets and a basin. The water was changed once before going to bed at night, and then changed again the next morning before it was ready to sell.

The next morning, Xu Zhichun had the child write three copies of the contract. After the uncle and aunt had breakfast and the child went to school, Xu Zhichun took the contract to call Zhu'er's aunt, and the two of them went to Liang Lizheng's house together.

Because Zeng Xiaoyan had mentioned it last night, Liang Lizheng knew what it was about when they came to his door. After reading the contract, he nodded and said, "This contract is well written. It covers all aspects and the handwriting is beautiful. Mingxuan is indeed a promising child."

Liang Lizheng's words made Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er feel more at ease. The three of them happily and solemnly pressed their handprints to sign the document, and each carefully put away a copy.

Zeng Xiaoyan: Shall we go now?

Xu Zhichun: "Mm!"

Aunt Pearl touched her hair, a little nervously: "Ah, this, this, are we really going to make money?"

Zeng Xiaoyan laughed: "That's right!"

Zhao had been eavesdropping the whole time. Upon hearing this, she curled her lip and snorted, clearly disapproving.

Xu Zhichun said, "Village head, we need to borrow your oxcart. We won't use it for free; it'll only cost ten coins per trip. Is that alright?"

Liang Lizheng said, "You haven't even made any money yet, but you're already spending it. What are you renting? Just ask Lao San to drive the carriage for you. It'll be more convenient with him being the only man around."

Liang Mingliang chuckled and said, "Xiao Yan told me last night that she wanted me to come and help out."

Xu Zhichun was thinking the same thing. “Village head, we’ll probably need this often in the future, and we can’t just use it for free. We definitely have to pay you. Brother Liang San can’t help us for nothing either. How about fifteen cash a day? Village head, if we keep using it for free, this job probably won’t last long.”

(End of this chapter)