Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 134: Daxing Town

Their tofu-making skills had improved greatly from before, and now a pound of soybeans could produce four pounds of tofu.

This morning, they sold 800 pounds of tofu, made from only 200 pounds of soybeans, with an investment of 600 copper coins.

That is to say, just from tofu alone, they made a clear profit of over seven taels.

Then there were the spices. The most expensive ingredient was thirty cents per pound, and the cheapest was fifteen cents. On average, the cost for a pound of spices was a hundred copper coins.

A pound of spices could make a hundred packets, selling at five copper coins each, making five hundred copper coins per pound, netting a profit of four hundred copper coins.

Today, their 800 packets of spices earned them three taels and two hundred copper coins.

The total profit from both items was more than ten taels.

Even Third Grandpa, who had lived a lifetime and experienced many things, couldn’t help but get excited.

Third Grandma, seeing their excited expressions, laughed and said, "Look at the two of you, acting as though you’re without prospects. As we make more tofu in the future, we’ll earn more money. There will be even more exciting times ahead. Stop standing around foolishly, come and have breakfast."

Breakfast was steamed sweet potatoes, bean dregs cake, and soy milk—not bad compared to the days of fleeing famine, it was quite the feast. The family ate with great joy, and after eating, they each went back to their chores.

Meanwhile, Liang Zhuzi and He Dacang had already cut the tofu into half-pound pieces and were carrying them to sell in towns around ten miles and eight villages away.

Liang Zhuzi was clever. Knowing that He Dacang and the others were also selling plain tofu, he led the villagers over the mountains to the nearby Daxing Town to sell their tofu.

At first, no one dared to buy. Liang Zhuzi and the others followed Gu Family’s example, rented an iron pot for ten copper coins, and made a pot of Fried Five-Spice Tofu right on the spot, offering it to passersby for free.

Everyone who tried it couldn’t stop praising it, and seeing that there were no problems after eating this fresh delicacy, their courage grew. They asked Liang Zhuzi and the others, "How much is this tofu being sold for?"

Liang Zhuzi replied, "This tofu is quite big, each piece weighing half a pound, for ten copper coins each."

"Ten copper coins!" When they heard the price, everyone was shocked, all shaking their heads, "That’s too expensive, too expensive. Although the tofu is tasty, who would spend ten copper coins for a single meal’s ingredient?"

Liang Zhuzi said, "Everyone, my uncles, brothers, aunts, and sisters, this tofu is a fresh and new food item. It’s selling hot in our town and the county, and we’ve carried it over mountains and ridges to get it here. Ten copper coins for a piece of tofu really isn’t expensive."

Liang Zhuzi spoke of their hardships, and then, shifting his tone, he proposed, "How about this, we understand everyone’s hardships too. Let’s knock off two copper coins, eight copper coins per piece, how about that?"

"This is the lowest price. If it’s any lower, we’d be running at a loss."

The townspeople of Daxing Town, hearing that the price dropped, suddenly felt much better.

A plump middle-aged woman carrying a vegetable basket said, "Alright, give me one for my home too. Let’s try this new thing."

"Ah, coming right up." Liang Zhuzi quickly took a piece of tofu weighing half a pound, carefully wrapped it in a cabbage leaf, and placed it in her basket.

They were poor and reluctant to buy yellow paper for wrapping. Having some cabbage leaves at home, they used those to wrap the tofu.

Lian Zhuzi then pointed at the spices and said, "Sister, this tofu is better with some spices. Take a packet, won’t you?"

The middle-aged woman was clearly older than Liang Zhuzi, but being called ’sister’ made her very happy. She asked, "How much is a packet?"

"Seasoning spices are precious commodities. Adding a bit to dishes can make them taste as good as Hai Xian Sauce. It was originally ten copper coins per packet, but seeing that the lady looks prosperous, a person of good fortune, I’ll give you a discount of two copper coins. How about eight copper coins per packet? What do you think?" ƒreewebɳovel.com

The woman initially thought it was expensive, but Liang Zhuzi had a way with words. Considering she had already bought plain tofu, getting a packet of seasoning spices didn’t seem like a big deal, so she took one.

Liang Zhuzi knew how to treat people right. He took out a half-pound block of tofu, cut it into ten small pieces, and gave the woman two pieces: "Sister, take these, they’re for you. Remember to come back and buy from us again."

The woman left with a wide smile on her face, having gotten two small pieces of tofu for free: "Okay, next time I’ll come to buy again and also spread the word to the neighbors, letting everyone support your business."

The woman left, blissfully happy.

Liang Zhuzi and the others were still frying tofu in their iron pan. The aroma wafted down half the street, and people couldn’t resist it any longer. They began taking out their money to buy tofu and seasoning spices.

Four hours later, they sold out of their plain tofu, but they still had nearly a hundred packets of seasoning spices left. Some people who couldn’t bear to part with their money only bought plain tofu and skipped the spices.

Nevertheless, Liang Zhuzi and his companions were still very happy because they had made a good sum today. Moreover, the seasoning spices wouldn’t spoil and could be kept for a long time, so they could just sell them gradually.

Fortunately, as they were about to pack up and go home, Manager Lin from Yongxing Building in Daxing Town called out to them, asked their names and where they lived, and even inspected Liang Zhuzi’s household registration. In the end, with a grand gesture, he bought all of their seasoning spices.

Liang Zhuzi was smart and cautious. Knowing that they weren’t locals from Daxing Town, and that the locals might not trust them selling tofu there, he had brought his family’s household registration, which proved to be useful now.

It wasn’t just a glance at the household registration for Manager Lin from Yongxing Building; he had someone observe their business for a day. Seeing their thriving business and that no one who ate their tofu had any issues, and even sending an employee to buy tofu and seasoning spices to make Fried Five-Spice Tofu, only after trying it himself did he let his guard down towards them.

What delighted Manager Lin even more was that the seasoning spices, when added to other dishes, could significantly enhance the flavor. After some consideration, he hurried over to purchase their spices.

Manager Lin was also impressed with their tofu and told Liang Zhuzi and his team: "Deliver fifty pounds of tofu to Yongxing Building tomorrow. If it sells well, we’ll continue this on a daily basis."

Liang Zhuzi and his companions were thrilled, nodding eagerly: "Sure, sure, sure, Manager Lin, rest assured, we will definitely deliver the tofu to you tomorrow."

By now the evening was drawing near. The journey from Daxing Town to Lianghe Village took three hours, so Liang Zhuzi and the others didn’t dare linger. After returning the iron pan, they picked up their baskets and hurried towards Lianghe Village.

By the time they returned to Lianghe Village, it was nearly midnight, yet their families and the other six families involved in making tofu had not rested, waiting for their return.

Liang Zhuzi didn’t waste words. After letting everyone into the house and lighting the lamp, he began to count the money and settle the accounts.

After calculating, they found that they had made a net profit of four taels and five hundred cents, excluding their initial costs.

"We actually earned so much!"

To make four taels and five hundred cents in one day shocked all twelve families.

"To think making tofu can be so profitable."

"Four taels and five hundred cents, divided among six families, means each family can get seven hundred and fifty cents."

Seven hundred and fifty cents—a day’s earnings matched what they would make working hard for two months.

Having lived in fear of poverty, they were so moved by this account that they cried. If they could maintain this business for the long term, they would never have to live in poverty again in their lifetimes.