Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 133: Huge Profit

However, Gu Jinli was very satisfied with how Village Chief He disciplined the He family.

Village Chief He had been weak for so many years, and finally decided to take action against the He family. Only when he became firm and united the He family could he help her deal with the Lu Family.

If he remained weak and fearful of the Lu Family People like before, then her tofu business would have been in vain for them.

Mrs. Chen didn’t care about the He family’s condition; she felt great hearing about it and even complained that He Daqian and Fourth Son He were not beaten enough.

"Only ten paddlings, what’s the use of that? Just tickling? Why not fifty paddlings?"

"And that Widow Qiu, tsk tsk, never thought He Shanwa’s mother was such a person, no wonder He Shanwa turned out to be a rascal."

Speaking of the He family again.

"The He family members are too weak. Widow Qiu behaved like that and they still allow her to stay in the village, it’s simply tarnishing the reputation of the He family."

That’s what she said, but Mrs. Chen, being gossip-loving, couldn’t help herself and went around the village, after hearing a lot of gossip about Widow Qiu, she happily returned home.

She couldn’t keep it to herself; as soon as she got back, she grabbed Ms. Chu and Mrs. Cui, and started discussing about Widow Qiu and the Lu Family Brothers, along with other men.

When Third Grandma heard this, she hit her with a broom: "What are you talking about? Is this something decent people talk about? Go back to work, do you still want to make money?"

Mrs. Chen loved money the most, even placing it above gossip. Hearing this, she immediately rolled up her sleeves, scooped the tofu pudding into wooden boxes, covered them with coarse fabric, and moved them to the courtyard, pressing them with stones.

Gu Jinli’s courtyard was already filled with rows of wooden boxes.

The boxes were loaded with tofu, each box containing twenty kilograms, totaling a thousand kilograms from these rows of wooden boxes.

But it was still not enough.

They had to give five hundred kilograms of white tofu to Lianghe Village and about two hundred kilograms to the He family, and they still had to keep some tofu for selling at the stands, so they continued making tofu.

Yet, they didn’t feel tired, as the more tofu they made, the more money they would earn. Thinking about the money energized them.

Aunt Tian and Ms. Yan were busy grinding spices. The nutmeg and cinnamon in the spices were hard to grind. Luckily, the Qin family grandchildren had strong hands. They first crushed the tough spices with an iron hammer and then took them to other families to be ground into spice powder.

The Qin, Gu, Luo, and Tian families were extremely busy, working nonstop until dusk, only then stopping their work to have dinner.

The next day, before dawn, these families were up and busy again.

Liang Zhuzi and his group also arrived at Da Feng Village before dawn, but didn’t dare to come knocking and just waited outside the village. Only when it was bright did Liang Zhuzi, with five villagers carrying baskets, come to the Gu family.

This time, Liang Zhuzi also brought gifts—ten eggs and three large cabbages. The gifts were modest, but it was his third time giving gifts, showing his sincerity.

Third Grandpa accepted Liang Zhuzi’s gifts and said, "No need to bring any more next time."

Liang Zhuzi smiled and replied, "You can be assured, Sir. Next time we come, we won’t bring gifts. It’s just our first time picking up tofu, so we thought to bring a little gift."

After that, he introduced the five villagers who came with him.

The five were skinny and hunched, their faces lined with deep wrinkles, and their palms were full of thick calluses – typical of seasoned farmers.

These five were only one group among those in Lianghe Village looking to do tofu business.

In Lianghe Village, there were twelve households interested in the tofu business, but the tofu supply was limited, not all twelve could get tofu. Liang Zhuzi decided to rotate the sales among the households, they would sell today and the other six households would sell the next day.

Gu Jinli did not concern herself with these matters, just providing five hundred kilograms of tofu to Liang Zhuzi according to the contract.

The tofu was quickly weighed.

"A total of five hundred kilograms of tofu, ten cents per kilogram, totaling five taels of silver."

The tofu sold in the town is half a kilogram each piece, five cents per piece. The tofu at home is sold uncut by weight.

Gu Jinli pointed to the tofu and said, "We’ll count one kilogram less in the payment, start eating the tofu, and if there are no issues within fifteen minutes, then you can take the tofu away."

She reminded them, "Remember, once you leave these courtyard gates, any issues with the tofu are not our responsibility; you will have to handle it yourselves."

This was serious, and Liang Zhuzi and his group did not take it lightly. They cut small pieces from each block of tofu to taste, then waited.

Fifteen minutes later, all six were fine and only then did they laugh.

"Gu Family’s young lady, this tofu is fine," Liang Zhuzi smiled and then asked her, "Do you have any spices as well?"

Gu Dashan brought a basket of spices and said, "Here, a total of 500 packets, please count them."

After hearing this, Liang Zhuzi and his companions began counting the spice packets, and it took them a full quarter of an hour to finish.

Gu Jinli watched this and thought to herself that in the future she should sell them by weight to avoid counting and save on yellow paper for packaging.

"500 packets of spices, five cents each, making a total of two taels and five hundred cents," Gu Dashan continued, "The tofu and spices you took today totals seven taels and five hundred cents. The tofu for tasting is free, saving you ten cents."

He added, "Our family does not allow credit, only cash payments."

This was agreed in the contract, and Liang Zhuzi and his companions did not argue, though they felt a pinch paying over seven taels of silver all at once.

Liang Zhuzi took out the money pooled from several families and handed it to Gu Dashan, "Brother Gu, here is seven taels and four hundred ninety cents, please count it."

Gu Dashan took the silver coins, weighed them in his hand to make sure the broken silver was authentic, then continued counting the copper coins. A moment later, he smiled and said, "Brother Liang, the count is exactly right, no mistake."

Liang Zhuzi and his companions were pleased. After settling the payment and the goods, Gu Jinli brought out a piece of paper and said to them, "This is the registration form for buying tofu from us, confirming there are no issues with the tofu. Just press your handprint here."

After speaking, she handed them the ink pad.

Liang Zhuzi and his companions hesitated briefly, not knowing exactly what the registration form was, but still pressed their handprints on the paper.

"Elder Gu, Brother Gu, Gu Family’s young lady, we’ll be taking our leave now," Liang Zhuzi and his companions said after everything was settled, and then they left with the tofu.

They had just left when Village Chief He arrived with He Dacang, He Wazi, He Laotian, and He Wanli.

"Brother Gu, we are here. Is the tofu ready?" Village Chief He’s voice was loud and spirited.

Third Grandpa pointed to a row of tofu in the yard and said, "Everything is ready, you can start weighing the tofu now."

He Dacang, carrying his family’s large scale, along with He Wanli and He Wazi, began to weigh the tofu.

"Three hundred jin, exactly right!" As soon as He Dacang announced the number, Village Chief He was shocked.

He had thought the Gu Family might make it difficult for them because of past issues, and at most give them one or two hundred jin of tofu. But unexpectedly, the Gu Family was very generous and gave them three hundred jin.

Third Grandpa said with a smile, "Currently, it’s busy and we’re not making much tofu, only able to give you three hundred jin. If we produce more in the future, we will increase the amount for you."

Village Chief He was thrilled and embarrassed to hear this, "Brother Gu, I, I thank you on behalf of the He family!"

Third Grandpa waved his hand, "No need to thank, we’re all from the same village."

Village Chief He, hearing this, nodded vigorously, "Right, we’re all from the same village, let’s not talk too much about formalities. From now on, our families should treat each other like brothers."

Third Grandpa nodded with a smile, chatting with Village Chief He about various family matters.

Soon after, He Dacang finished counting the three hundred packets of spices, called He Wanli, and they both tried the tofu.

After waiting a quarter of an hour with no issues, they also pressed their handprints on that registration form.

Though the Gu Family’s process was complicated, it was written in the contract. They had no choice but to comply; otherwise, the Gu Family would not sell them tofu.

Village Chief He handed a money bag to Third Grandpa, "Brother Gu, here is four taels and four hundred ninety cents, please count it."

Third Grandpa said, "Give it to Dashan, he will take care of this matter from now on."

Xiao Yu said Dashan was too honest and needed more experience to manage the household well.

Hearing this, Village Chief He handed the money bag to Gu Dashan.

Gu Dashan took it, counted it for a moment, and then said, "Village chief, the count is correct."

Village Chief He smiled, "That’s good, we’ll be going back now, still have to sell the tofu."

Village Chief He and his companions left. He Dacang left the large scale behind for the Gu Family’s use before departing.

After they had gone, Gu Dashan, holding the money bag just twenty cents shy of twelve taels, excitedly said, "In just a blink, we’ve earned so much."

The gross profit was nearly twelve taels, which was a considerable gain.