Page 169

Lin Yuan picked up the eggs and put them into her own basket, then counted out the silver for Lan Hua.

Hearing what she said, Lin Yuan focused on the previous statement and sighed helplessly, "There’s no helping it.

Who told me I owe someone silver! They said as long as I don’t settle the debt, he will keep eating at my place every day. "

She didn’t mention sleeping, because she knew that with the current state of her home, if Xia Zheng wanted to stay overnight, he would either have to sleep in the kitchen or squeeze in with the rabbits. Of course, if he didn’t want to, he could also sleep with Little Donkey.

Lan Hua thought she was referring to the one hundred taels of Tofu Money mentioned the day they broke off relations and wanted to propose helping repay it together, but feeling willing in spirit yet unable in strength, she found that saying such honorable things only made people more anxious.

So, she didn’t say it. Pointing to the pickled vegetables, she said, "These vegetables are pickled by my mother herself, and they are delicious.

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, so I brought some over for you to try. "

Lin Yuan nodded her thanks, tasted the pickled vegetables in the jar, and felt that they tasted much better than others she had tried, even though they used the same ingredients.

It seemed that Aunt Wang had her own unique approach to making pickled vegetables.

People here made pickled vegetables using just salt and soy sauce to preserve unsold cabbages and radishes, preventing them from spoiling over time.

She suddenly remembered some pickled vegetables she had eaten before. The ingredients were just salt and chili, which could be used to make salty or sweet pickles, like sweet garlic, which she particularly loved. If she could make these pickles and sell them, she could definitely get a good price.

At Lanhua’s house, only Lin Fugui was earning silver by hauling carts, and Mother and Daughter Lanhua would occasionally help out with work to earn money.

Lin Yuan had long been contemplating ways to help Aunt Wang and Lin Fugui make money.

And here was a perfect opportunity to make a fortune, wasn’t it?

Moreover, Aunt Wang had her own land, which made the raw materials for the pickles readily available, thus keeping the costs low. Plus, making the pickles did not require many people; Aunt Wang could do it all by herself.

She thoroughly shared her idea with Lan Hua, whose eyes lit up.

Aunt Wang was getting older, and Lan Hua did not want her mother to keep struggling for money with physical labor.

If they could make a unique pickled vegetable that no one else could produce, could their family also open a small shop and do business just like Lin Yuan in the future?

The fact that Lin Yuan wanted to open a pastry shop was known only to her own family and Lan Hua, her good sister.

Lan Hua was envious of Lin Yuan and admired her greatly.

In her eyes, Lin Yuan was already a savvy small businessperson.

Now that she had shown her a clear path, Lan Hua was naturally overjoyed.

After sending off Lan Hua, Lin Yuan, while grinding soy milk with Little Donkey, laid down the law to Xia Zheng, who stood by looking on with curiosity: "I’ve made it very clear with your Fuman Building, I’m selling only the finished tofu, not the recipe.

Stop scheming around my place. I still need this tofu to make my fortune.

If you learn my recipe and hinder my way of making money, then you can forget about getting any secret recipes for dishes from me in the future.

I’ll have you know, I have hundreds of secret recipes in my head, not to mention many more things you haven’t seen or even heard of.

If I want, I can make them all. If you really want to be my enemy, I will put your Fuman Building out of business! "

Xia Zheng, who had held some disdain, suddenly felt threatened by her fierce glare.

Honestly, he had indeed harbored the intention to earnestly learn her ways.

That tofu was a novel item, and he had previously sent it urgently to the Capital City for that person to taste, which had resulted in high praise and a substantial reward in gold and silver.

It was just a pity that she had agreed to supply tofu for only half a year before going solo.

The thought that Fuman Building would no longer have exclusive access to this proprietary recipe made Xia Zheng uncomfortable.

So, he was indeed thinking of secretly learning it and then quickly starting mass production.

But as soon as he heard Lin Yuan’s words, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Although she didn’t sound threatening when she spoke, and even intentionally let him watch her grinding the soy milk, he just didn’t have the courage to learn and steal the recipe.

Because he believed the things she said, even about bringing down Fuman Building!

Oh, how his heart itched! He had already learned half of it, yet he couldn’t put it into practice himself, and he was still agonizing over whether or not he should learn the remaining half of the procedure.

Xia Zheng looked sullenly at the smug Lin Yuan, realizing once again that he had been outsmarted by her.

She had calculated that he wouldn’t dare to make tofu on his own and had intentionally offered to teach him.

Indeed, a woman’s heart is the most poisonous!

While Xia Zheng was still wrestling with the decision to follow Lin Yuan into the kitchen to learn the second half of the tofu-making process, Lin Yuan had already moved the finished product out to dry.

The man instantly stomped his foot, pointing at the steaming boards of tofu and stammered, "This, this fast?

You sly girl, if you can make tofu so quickly, why only let it out twice in three days!

Ah, do you know, by doing this, you are losing out on a lot of silver!

Oh, my silver, oh, my heart, it hurts so much! "

Glancing sideways at the nobleman acting like a drama queen, Lin Yuan pursed her lips, "You clearly know this makes more money, yet you question me, hmph!"

It had to be said, the hunger marketing strategy was indeed very profitable. Even someone from the Capital city had sent people to ask him for tofu three times and had even agreed to help persuade his father to let him rightfully open a restaurant.

But what could Xia Zheng do? With Lin Yuan being uncooperative, he didn’t dare to promise to supply tofu on a large scale. He could only deliver a small plate each time, infuriating the person who then threatened to come and capture him to face his father’s punishment in the Capital city!

As evening approached, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived at Lin Yuan’s house, the tearful Lin Siyu.

Lin Yuan didn’t believe for a second that this young lady had come for her; as soon as she entered the door, she fixed her eyes on Xia Zheng. Considering Xia Zheng’s carriage parked outside, Lin Siyu’s appearance was hardly surprising.

After the previous incident, Xia Zheng’s disgust for her had reached the point of nausea. He rolled his eyes, treating her as if she were air, and would rather play with the stick in his hands and chase after a donkey than give her any attention.

Lin Siyu bit her lip, ignoring the sisters Lin Yuan and Lin Wei. She walked closer to Xia Zheng, but upon seeing his look of disdain, she stopped in her tracks. With a self-mocking laugh, she turned and ran away, fiercely wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes as she did so.

The sisters Lin Yuan and Lin Wei looked at each other, puzzled. What’s with her, running here suddenly and then running away just as quickly? Could she be sick? However, they didn’t ponder over this for long. Just as it was getting dark, Lanhua brought them the answer.