The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

The proprietress was filled with gratitude and thought she must wrap the tofu for this kind young man properly, making sure it wasn't damaged at all.

"No need to trouble yourself, boss lady." Yang Shuisheng waved his hand and pointed to the slabs of snow-white tofu on the stall. "Just let my brothers take them away, slab by slab."

"If you don't need the wooden planks underneath in a hurry, I'll have someone send them back to you later."

"No rush, no rush."

She has plenty of these at home.

The proprietress quickly said, "That wooden board isn't worth much, you can just take it. I'll be extremely grateful if you can help me dispose of the tofu."

Yang Shuisheng nodded and said to Zhao Erniu and the others who were still in a daze, "What are you all standing there for? Each of you carry a tray, be careful not to shake it apart, and cover it with that gauze so it doesn't get exposed to the sun."

Zhao Erniu and the others then seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly stepped forward.

Although they still felt it was wasteful to buy so much tofu, they admired Yang Shuisheng so much that they dared not have any objections.

They hurriedly and carefully carried the six slabs of tofu off the stall.

The proprietress quickly took out a large piece of gauze from the side and helped cover the top of the tofu to block the sunlight and dust.

"Comrade, here's your change, please count it."

The proprietress carefully counted out twenty-five yuan in change from the old tin box where the money was kept, and handed it to Yang Shuisheng with both hands: "Thank you so much for today. You are truly my benefactor. I... I don't know what to say."

Yang Shuisheng took the money without even looking at it, casually stuffing it into his pocket. Looking at the proprietress's pretty face, which was marked with obvious tear stains, he thought for a moment and then reminded her, "Proprietress, it's hot lately, and tofu doesn't keep well. You should try to make less each day from now on. It's better to have not enough to sell than to make too much and have it stuck with you."

Upon hearing this, the landlady's tears, which she had just stopped, threatened to burst forth again.

"I...I know."

She sniffed hard, her voice filled with grievance and helplessness, and said softly, "I usually only make two slabs, just enough for my daughter and me to make a living. But yesterday, someone came to my stall and said they had something going on at home and wanted to order four slabs of tofu. They even gave me a ten-yuan deposit on the spot and said they would come to pick it up this afternoon."

"I believed it and made four more trays than usual. But today I waited and waited and no one came. Later, I asked someone from the next stall to pass on a message that they didn't want it anymore and that the ten yuan deposit would be given to me for free."

She became more and more upset as she spoke, her voice trembling with tears: "Ten yuan is a lot of money, but the cost of these four extra plates of tofu I made is more than ten yuan. In this hot weather, if I can't sell them, I won't even be able to break even."

"I was so anxious and didn't know what to do when that person showed up and started desperately trying to lower the price..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shuisheng immediately frowned.

He subconsciously turned his head, wanting to find the figure of the skinny man from before, but found that the guy had already disappeared from the crowd.

That guy, without anyone noticing, had already slipped away in the chaos and disappeared without a trace.

What a coincidence!

Yesterday someone paid a deposit to order a large quantity of tofu, but today they suddenly don't want it anymore.

Immediately afterwards, a buyer appeared who was desperately trying to drive down the price, even threatening to buy everything. This tactic seemed almost premeditated.

"Boss lady, you've been set up."

He looked at the proprietress and said with certainty, "The person who ordered tofu from you yesterday and that guy who was desperately trying to bargain just now are most likely in cahoots."

"Their goal is to buy up the extra tofu you were forced to produce at a very low price, and they may even have other plans."

"How could this be..." the proprietress murmured, her face full of disbelief. "Why would they go to such lengths to cheat me out of this little bit of tofu?"

Looking at her innocent yet frightened expression, Yang Shuisheng patiently explained, "It's very simple. Normally, a piece of tofu sells for six mao (0.6 yuan). Even if we take today's cheap price of five mao, a slab would cost twenty-five yuan, which is twelve yuan and fifty cents."

"Four plates of tofu cost fifty yuan."

"But if they use this method, they can trick you into making more with a ten-dollar deposit, and then once you've finished making them, they don't want them anymore, forcing you to sell them at a low price."

"Then they send someone over again to buy it for one or two cents."

"Four plates of tofu, even at two cents a piece, would only cost twenty yuan."

"Including the previous ten yuan deposit, it only cost thirty yuan in total, which is twenty yuan less than the normal price. If you calculate it at ten cents, they make even more money."

He paused, looking at the proprietress's increasingly pale face, and continued, "This is only the account on the surface."

"Thinking deeper, if they use this method to force you to comply once and get a taste of the benefits, won't they become even more ruthless in the future?"

"Even using other means to control your business?"

After listening to Yang Shuisheng's analysis, the proprietress finally understood and felt a wave of fear wash over her.

She had previously thought it was just bad luck to have encountered a rogue customer, and never imagined that there might be such a vicious scheme behind it.

They wanted to eat the tofu that cost fifty yuan with a cost of less than thirty yuan, and they even wanted to control her business. She dared not think any further.

"That's fucking despicable! How could they do something so utterly immoral that would bring about their own extinction?"

The vendors and passersby who had been listening intently suddenly realized what was happening. They all looked indignant, pointing and grumbling in the direction where the gaunt man had disappeared.

"Exactly! Bullying a lone woman like that, they're scumbags."

"Luckily, this young man saw through it and even helped her, otherwise Yuzhu would have been in real trouble today."

"That bastard ran fast, otherwise I would have given him a good beating!"

When Yang Shuisheng heard everyone calling her Yuzhu, he realized that the landlady's name contained the character "Yuzhu," which sounded quite nice.

After being shocked and frightened, Cai Yuzhu felt even more grateful to Yang Shuisheng.

"Comrade, I really owe you a lot today. You not only bought my tofu, but also helped me see through the bad guys. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

She wiped her eyes, then suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "By the way, comrade, if you take this tofu home, it won't keep for long in this hot weather. You can soak the tofu in clean, cooled boiled water or lightly salted water and put it in a cool place; it will keep for a day or two longer."

"Although it's not as tender as it is now, it's definitely edible and won't spoil."

"Don't worry, the tofu I make is of high quality, and the beans are all good beans."

Yang Shuisheng nodded, indicating that he had made a note of it.

Looking at Cai Yuzhu, he could tell that she was a kind-hearted and conscientious woman.

He casually asked, "Is the boss's family from Daliang Town?"

"No, I'm from Liangshui Village."

Cai Yuzhu shook her head and said softly, "It's not far from the town. I usually carry my tofu here to sell before dawn."

Liangshui Village?

Yang Shuisheng's heart skipped a beat.

Isn't this the village next door?

Zhao Youcai had previously said he would help him get some land to farm in Liangshui Village.

A smile appeared on his face: "What a coincidence, I'm from Peach Blossom Valley."

"We're separated by just a mountain ridge, less than an hour's walk away."

"Peach Blossom Valley?" Upon hearing this, Cai Yuzhu's eyes lit up slightly, and a genuine smile appeared on her face. "That's quite close. I've been to Peach Blossom Valley a few times."

"Comrade, if you don't mind, you can come to my house for a meal if you pass by Liangshui Village in the future."

"I'm not good at anything else, but I'm good at making tofu. Let me make you some tofu dishes to try."

She spoke sincerely, with the simple gratitude and hospitality of a country person.

"Okay, I'll definitely go if I have the chance." Yang Shuisheng smiled. "Then don't call me 'comrade' anymore, it sounds too formal. My name is Yang Shuisheng, you can just call me Shuisheng."

Cai Yuzhu blushed slightly, seemingly a little uncomfortable calling a strange man by his name so directly, but she still nodded gently and said softly, "Then don't call me Boss Cai anymore. My name is Cai Yuzhu. I look a bit older than you. If you don't mind, just call me Sister Yuzhu."

She looked a few years older than Yang Shuisheng, so calling her "sister" was appropriate.

"Sister Yuzhu," Yang Shuisheng called out naturally, causing Cai Yuzhu's face to blush slightly.

"Oh, right, Sister Yuzhu." Yang Shuisheng suddenly remembered what happened that evening and quickly said, "It just so happens that I'm hosting a dinner party at the threshing ground in our village tonight. I've bought almost all the vegetables and meat, and I have six extra plates of your tofu."

"If you're free tonight, why don't you come along?"

"It's located in Taohua'ao, and it's also close to Liangshui Village."

"Just consider it a friendly visit between neighbors, and it saves you the trouble of cooking when you get home alone."