Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 87 - 0 Big Sale

Third Grandpa took the plaque and upon learning that it would cost a hundred copper coins today, he immediately counted out a hundred copper coins and handed them to Cangzhu: "Please trouble Brother Cangzhu to take this money to Doctor Du, and make sure he accepts it."

Cangzhu knew that Doctor Du was poor and did not refuse. He took the hundred copper coins and said, "Rest assured, Elder, I will make sure Doctor Du accepts the money."

He then called out to Father Luo and the others, "Uncles, come with me to Xuanhu Fang to move the tables and benches."

On the tenth day, Third Grandpa went to town with Gu Dashan and the Luo Family father and son to buy things. Incidentally, they picked up three tables and fifteen benches and temporarily placed them in Xuanhu Fang.

"Alright, we will go get them." Father Luo, along with Ms. Chu, the couples Gu Damu and Gu Dagui, went to Xuanhu Fang to move the tables and benches.

Qin San Lang and Gu Jin’an also followed; they went to fetch water. For a food stall, going without water wouldn’t do.

Meanwhile, Gu Jinli and the others moved two large clay stoves out and set them up.

Both clay stoves were round, about a foot in diameter, made after several days of research by her and Gu Dashan, ruining six or seven failed attempts in the process.

They had tried burning them for a day and a night, and these two clay stoves did not collapse.

Having set up the clay stoves, they untied a load of firewood to start a fire. When Qin San Lang and Gu Jin’an returned with the water, they took out iron pots, boiled two pots of water, poured them into ceramic jugs, and then cleaned two iron plates and set them aside for later use.

After Father Luo and the others returned, everyone helped to arrange the tables and benches. They busied themselves until the afternoon before they finally finished.

After resting for a while, Ms. Chu and Aunt Tian started frying tofu and bean dregs cakes.

The tofu had been cut in advance into one-inch pieces. They took out the tofu and a bowl of wheat flour, dipped the tofu in the flour, and then placed it on an iron plate greased with meat fat to fry.

After frying for a while, the tofu developed a crispy crust, turning golden brown on both sides. Then they sprinkled the spices prepared by Gu Jinli onto the golden tofu, and the delicious aroma wafted far away.

"Yo, what is this? Why does it smell so good?" There were already many people from rural areas who had come into town to see the lantern festival. Attracted by the scent, they crowded around and, seeing Ms. Chu and Aunt Tian frying crispy golden goodies on the iron plates, they curiously asked, "What are you selling here? We’ve never seen this before."

Third Grandpa replied cheerfully, "This is a kind of food from the Northwest, which you don’t find in He’an Prefecture."

With that, he brought over a bowl of the fried tofu and offered it to the people: "Everyone, have a taste. These are samples, free of charge. If you find it tasty, then buy a portion to take home."

The common folk were wary of trying unfamiliar foods, so after discussing it, they decided to claim the tofu as a Northwestern delicacy, making it more acceptable to the people of Qingfu Town.

"Can we really try it for free?" Hearing that they could sample the food and that it was a Northwestern delicacy, the people eagerly picked up pieces of fried tofu to taste. With a bite, a crispy crunch sound was heard, the savory oil and soy aroma, mixed with an indescribable fragrance, burst forth in their mouths, delighting their taste buds.

"Yo, this is really tasty, how is it made? How much per piece?"

Mrs. Chen hurriedly said, "Not expensive, not expensive at all. This Fried Five-Spice Tofu only costs five cents a portion, and the golden bean pancakes are only three cents each." Bean dregs cake didn’t sound appealing, so they renamed it golden bean pancake.

"Five cents a portion is a bit pricey, meat buns only cost four cents each." Upon hearing the price was five cents a portion, some people started to haggle.

Mrs. Chen replied, "Those meat buns at four cents will only get you one, but our Fried Five-Spice Tofu has six in a portion. These six blessings entering your home means good fortune for the whole family— it’s a real bargain."

Xiao Yu said, now that it’s the New Year, it’s good to say auspicious words, so people are more willing to spend money. Speaking sweet nothings is right up her alley, just buttering them up—so she did just that, lavishly praising them as long as they were willing to pay.

She added, "If you buy two portions, we even give you an extra two pieces of tofu. This is what they call double the blessings—how great is that! Hurry up and buy, just ten copper coins can bring you so much good fortune."

Mrs. Chen spouted words left and right, persuading those who initially thought it was too expensive, and soon enough, everyone was taking out money to purchase Fried Five-Spice Tofu. Most bought two portions, and some wealthier families snapped up six at once, leaving Mrs. Chen thrilled to no end.

But she couldn’t collect the money; Third Grandpa was handling that task.

After bustling around for half an hour, they managed to sell over one hundred and fifty portions of Fried Five-Spice Tofu and about thirty bean dregs cakes. Third Grandpa, clutching a box full of silver coins, had hands that shook from the rapid influx of cash.

Third Grandpa, always thorough, took advantage of the modest crowd and let Ms. Chu and Aunt Tian prepare ten portions of Fried Five-Spice Tofu and twenty bean dregs cakes, and sent Father Luo to deliver them to Xuanhu Fang for Doctor Du and Doctor Wu to sample.

In recent days, Doctor Du and Doctor Wu had been of considerable help; without these two, their stall wouldn’t have been so well set up.

Mrs. Chen saw so much going out and felt it was a pity—after all, it amounted to one hundred and ten copper coins. But she knew Xuanhu Fang had given them a lot of assistance, so she didn’t dare to complain.

By now, the sky was gradually darkening, and more and more people were pouring into the town, heading toward the main street.

On the main street, lights shone brightly, and the owners of the lantern stalls already hung their lanterns on thick ropes reaching up to three meters away from their tofu stall.

Anyone who went to look at the lanterns could see their stall and catch a whiff of their Fried Five-Spice Tofu’s delightful scent.

Third Grandpa gave Gu Jin’an twenty copper coins to buy two lanterns to hang over their stall for illumination and to attract passersby.

Gu Jinli and Luo Huiniang really wanted to go see the lanterns but were stopped by Third Grandpa, "You can’t go. There are lots of kidnappers at the lantern festival. If you’re not careful, you could be snatched away."

Back in their hometown, many children would go missing during the county’s annual lantern festival.

Luo Huiniang still remembered the incident when Sister Liu’s gang kidnapped people; hearing this, she instantly dropped the idea of going to see the lanterns. Anyway, standing here, they could still see the lanterns on the main street, just couldn’t touch them.

Gu Jin’an quickly brought back two lanterns and hung them on the wooden post beside their stall.

"Boss, give me two more portions of Fried Five-Spice Tofu, and six golden bean pancakes to take away!" a customer said after finishing their meal, still longing for more and requesting a takeout.

"Alright!" Mrs. Chen responded and urged Gu Dagui, who was packing with yellow paper, "Hurry up, why are you taking so long to pack?"

Gu Dagui was too busy to pay attention to her. After wrapping up the two portions of Fried Five-Spice Tofu and six bean dregs cakes with precut yellow paper, he handed them to Mrs. Chen.

Mrs. Chen handed them to the customer: "Two portions of Fried Five-Spice Tofu, six golden bean pancakes for you to take away."

Customers at the adjacent table, lured by the aroma, ordered two more portions for themselves.

As the night grew darker and the streets more crowded, their stall got busier. There were no longer any tables available for customers to sit at, so they had to stand and eat or simply take their orders to go.

As they couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming number of customers, Ms. Chu and Aunt Tian were stretched too thin. Father Luo went to borrow two clay stoves from Xuanhu Fang, using the two iron pots they had brought, and had Gu Jinli and Ms. Yan start making Fried Five-Spice Tofu.