41 Selling Recipes
Wei Wencheng opened the box and pointed at the silver inside. He smiled at Li Yu and said, “It’s all ten taels a stack. Miss Li, after you count it, let’s sign the contract.”
Li Yu roughly counted and nodded with a smile. “It’s fine to sign a contract. It’s just that I’ll be blunt first. You guys will produce a lot, so you definitely have to hire someone to make the goods. If someone leaks it, don’t blame me. Also, if someone finds out in the future, you can’t look for me. If you think what I say makes sense, we’ll sign the contract. After signing the contract, I’ll tell you the formula.”
Wei Wencheng discussed it with the man and nodded. “Okay, you’re not responsible for any of this.”
Wei Wencheng wrote down the contract and the two clauses Li Yu mentioned. After the two of them pressed their fingerprints, Li Yu smiled and said, “Mr. Wei, please record it!”
Wei Wencheng took out a booklet and Li Yu explained the cooking method for each pickled dish. Wei Wencheng felt that he seemed to understand. “You used sugar to make it fresh. What’s the use of white wine?”
Li Yu smiled. “White wine can be used for preservation and can slow down the speed of food deterioration.”
Wei Wencheng was enlightened. “Oh! I see! Miss Li is really pure-hearted.”
“You flatter me. I’m just trying to make my life better. Do you still want the pickled vegetables?”
Wei Wencheng laughed. “Of course I do. I can’t collect vegetables at the moment anyway!”
Wei Wencheng turned around and instructed Ah Sheng, “Ah Sheng, get someone to drive the mule cart here.”
Li Yu stood up and looked at Wei Wencheng as she pointed at the silver. “Mr. Wei, I’ll put the silver away first and bring the pickled vegetables out of the cellar.”
Wei nodded. “Okay. You can also wait for them to help you.”
“No need. Excuse me.” Li Yu carried a box with one hand and walked into the bedroom.
Wei Wencheng and the man were dumbfounded as they watched Li Yu walk into the central room with the silver in her arms.
The man gestured at Li Yu’s height. “Ha! I really can’t tell.” Thinking about it, he felt that it was a pity. “If she’s a man, we would have brought her along.”
Wei Wencheng smiled and said, “Young Master, most capable people like to hide in the countryside.”
“Yes! You have a point,” they said. They got up and went to the courtyard. The bean paste in the sauce jar smelled salty. Wei Wencheng pointed at the bean paste. “I’m sure it has white wine in it too.”
The man smiled and pointed at Wei Wencheng. “You’ve benefited.”
Li Yu put the silver into the space and turned to go to the room. She took out some sauce jars from the space and piled them in the two rooms.
Ah Sheng brought a few mule carts with him. When he arrived at Li Yu’s house, he carried the pickled vegetables onto the mule carts with Li Yu. When they were not paying attention, Li Yu took the opportunity to move out the pickled jars in the space.
The villagers surrounded Li Yu’s house. Someone said, “Look, these are the pickled vegetables Xiaoyu and the others made. I heard that they sell very well. They cost 20 to 30 copper coins a jar! If Zhang Defa knew that Xiaoyu was so good at earning money, I wonder how angry he would be?”
One of them smiled and said, “There’s no turning back even if they die of anger. The two families have already fallen out like this. Speaking of which, the Zhang family asked for it.”
Li Yu helped carry the pickled vegetables back to the courtyard and Wei Wencheng paid her more than 160 taels of silver. He bade farewell and left with the coachman.
Li Yu felt light after selling the pickled vegetables. She was about to go to Li Mei’s place to take a look when Madam Qian returned from the field with a hoe. When she saw Li Yu, she smiled and asked, “Xiaoyu, you’re back!”
“I’ve been back for a while. Aunt Qian, after I sell the pickled vegetables, I don’t have to send them to Shun Feng Inn. I’ll go tell my aunt.”
Madam Qian did not expect Li Yu to finish selling the pickled vegetables after she worked for a while. She smiled happily. “I should tell her to make her happy too.”
“Yes! Get Xiao An to take the cows out for a walk.”
“Aye!” Madam Qian agreed and went to ask Xiao An to herd the cows.
Li Yu returned to the house and took out 40 taels of silver. She carried the pheasant and wild duck to Li Mei’s house in East Mountain Village.
When Li Yu arrived at Li Mei’s house, she saw Laidi sitting at the door with her head lowered. She waved the wild duck and pheasant in front of her eyes. “Little Laidi, there’s delicious food!”
Laidi looked up and saw Li Yu. She got up happily. “Cousin, you’re here!”
Li Yu looked at Laidi. “What’s wrong with Little Laidi? You look so sad.”
Laidi turned her head and pointed into the shed. She said with disgust, “My grandmother is here. She’s scolding my mother at my house.”
When Li Yu heard this, she rushed in a few steps and heard an old woman pointing at Li Mei’s nose and scolding, “You’re a jinx. You’re occupying the latrine but don’t shit. What’s the use of repairing the house so well? Third Brother gave his son to you, but you’re still unwilling…”
Li Yu saw Liu Changmin squatting there with his head in his hands. Li Mei looked up at the old woman stubbornly.
Li Yu’s heart ached and she called out, “Aunt.” When Li Mei saw Li Yu, she cried. Li Yu went over to hug her and turned to look at Liu Changmin. She said coldly, “Uncle, have you found someone to write the loan receipt? Even biological brothers have to settle accounts! Your family has been eating and living at my house for more than a month. The food and money for the repair of the house are a total of 40 taels. You have to pay it back in five to ten years. Together with the principal and the interest, you have to pay 50 taels. We agreed on this!”
Liu Changmin quickly stood up. “Xiaoyu, I’m sorry. Uncle forgot about it. I’ll get someone to help write it.”
“What are you writing? Are you stupid?!” Old Madam Liu grabbed Liu Changmin and refused to let him go. Li Yu went over and grabbed her wrist. Old Madam Liu felt the pain and hurriedly let go of Liu Changming.
Li Yu pulled her back. “Old woman, are you trying to go back on your word? Back then, everyone knew that my uncle’s family left with nothing. I lent my aunt silver to repair the house and you got your grandson to live here.” Li Yu looked at her and spread out her hands. She sneered. “Sure! Give me the silver and I’ll leave immediately.”
Old Mrs. Liu pursed her lips. “I don’t owe you any silver. You can ask whoever borrowed it to pay.”
Li Yu picked up a wooden stick and waved it in front of Old Madam Liu’s eyes. With a gentle twist, the wooden stick broke into two. Li Yu played with two wooden sticks and smiled faintly. “Didn’t you say that you wanted your grandson to live here and raise my aunt and the others? Aren’t you still fine? When your grandson moves in, I’ll get your grandson to pay me back.”
Old Madam Liu was dumbfounded. She argued, “Who cares about coming to this house to help pay debts?” Old Madam Liu pushed Li Yu away and walked out.
Only then did Li Mei look at Li Yu and say, “Yu’er, why are you here?”
Li Yu swallowed the words she wanted to say. “I sold all the pickled vegetables to Mr. Wei and wanted to come to your place to take a look.” Li Yu pointed at the half-repaired house. “Why are you repairing so slowly?”
Li Mei’s face was filled with anger as tears flowed down her face. “The old woman comes here every other day to stir up trouble and insist on giving us the youngest son of the third family. Can a seven or eight-year-old child support the family? Besides, that child is so spoilt. I’m not willing.”
“From now on, take out the IOUs and get the freeloaders to pay.”
Li Mei smiled through her tears. “You have a way.”
Liu Changmin went to the chief’s house and asked him to help write the loan receipt. He took it home and handed it to Li Yu. “Xiaoyu, it’s safer to have a loan receipt to prevent them from thinking about it.”
Li Mei rolled her eyes at Liu Changmin and took the loan receipt. “It’s all your fault. I listened to your mother in the past. Look, why didn’t she bully Second Brother’s family?”
Liu Changmin looked at Li Mei and smiled ingratiatingly. “Ah Mei, Xiaoyu brought wild ducks and pheasants over. Zhaodi is packing them up! Hurry up and help.”
Li Yu also smiled and said to Li Mei, “Aunt, don’t blame Uncle. Hurry up and repair the house. Otherwise, what will you do when the rainy season comes?”
Li Mei and Li Yu came out of the shed. Li Yu said to Li Mei, “Aunt, I’m going back. Come to the house when you have time.”
Li Mei nodded and did not ask Li Yu to stay. She watched her walk away.
41 Selling Recipes
Wei Wencheng opened the box and pointed at the silver inside. He smiled at Li Yu and said, “It’s all ten taels a stack. Miss Li, after you count it, let’s sign the contract.”
Li Yu roughly counted and nodded with a smile. “It’s fine to sign a contract. It’s just that I’ll be blunt first. You guys will produce a lot, so you definitely have to hire someone to make the goods. If someone leaks it, don’t blame me. Also, if someone finds out in the future, you can’t look for me. If you think what I say makes sense, we’ll sign the contract. After signing the contract, I’ll tell you the formula.”
Wei Wencheng discussed it with the man and nodded. “Okay, you’re not responsible for any of this.”
Wei Wencheng wrote down the contract and the two clauses Li Yu mentioned. After the two of them pressed their fingerprints, Li Yu smiled and said, “Mr. Wei, please record it!”
Wei Wencheng took out a booklet and Li Yu explained the cooking method for each pickled dish. Wei Wencheng felt that he seemed to understand. “You used sugar to make it fresh. What’s the use of white wine?”
Li Yu smiled. “White wine can be used for preservation and can slow down the speed of food deterioration.”
Wei Wencheng was enlightened. “Oh! I see! Miss Li is really pure-hearted.”
“You flatter me. I’m just trying to make my life better. Do you still want the pickled vegetables?”
Wei Wencheng laughed. “Of course I do. I can’t collect vegetables at the moment anyway!”
Wei Wencheng turned around and instructed Ah Sheng, “Ah Sheng, get someone to drive the mule cart here.”
Li Yu stood up and looked at Wei Wencheng as she pointed at the silver. “Mr. Wei, I’ll put the silver away first and bring the pickled vegetables out of the cellar.”
Wei nodded. “Okay. You can also wait for them to help you.”
“No need. Excuse me.” Li Yu carried a box with one hand and walked into the bedroom.
Wei Wencheng and the man were dumbfounded as they watched Li Yu walk into the central room with the silver in her arms.
The man gestured at Li Yu’s height. “Ha! I really can’t tell.” Thinking about it, he felt that it was a pity. “If she’s a man, we would have brought her along.”
Wei Wencheng smiled and said, “Young Master, most capable people like to hide in the countryside.”
“Yes! You have a point,” they said. They got up and went to the courtyard. The bean paste in the sauce jar smelled salty. Wei Wencheng pointed at the bean paste. “I’m sure it has white wine in it too.”
The man smiled and pointed at Wei Wencheng. “You’ve benefited.”
Li Yu put the silver into the space and turned to go to the room. She took out some sauce jars from the space and piled them in the two rooms.
Ah Sheng brought a few mule carts with him. When he arrived at Li Yu’s house, he carried the pickled vegetables onto the mule carts with Li Yu. When they were not paying attention, Li Yu took the opportunity to move out the pickled jars in the space.
The villagers surrounded Li Yu’s house. Someone said, “Look, these are the pickled vegetables Xiaoyu and the others made. I heard that they sell very well. They cost 20 to 30 copper coins a jar! If Zhang Defa knew that Xiaoyu was so good at earning money, I wonder how angry he would be?”
One of them smiled and said, “There’s no turning back even if they die of anger. The two families have already fallen out like this. Speaking of which, the Zhang family asked for it.”
Li Yu helped carry the pickled vegetables back to the courtyard and Wei Wencheng paid her more than 160 taels of silver. He bade farewell and left with the coachman.
Li Yu felt light after selling the pickled vegetables. She was about to go to Li Mei’s place to take a look when Madam Qian returned from the field with a hoe. When she saw Li Yu, she smiled and asked, “Xiaoyu, you’re back!”
“I’ve been back for a while. Aunt Qian, after I sell the pickled vegetables, I don’t have to send them to Shun Feng Inn. I’ll go tell my aunt.”
Madam Qian did not expect Li Yu to finish selling the pickled vegetables after she worked for a while. She smiled happily. “I should tell her to make her happy too.”
“Yes! Get Xiao An to take the cows out for a walk.”
“Aye!” Madam Qian agreed and went to ask Xiao An to herd the cows.
Li Yu returned to the house and took out 40 taels of silver. She carried the pheasant and wild duck to Li Mei’s house in East Mountain Village.
When Li Yu arrived at Li Mei’s house, she saw Laidi sitting at the door with her head lowered. She waved the wild duck and pheasant in front of her eyes. “Little Laidi, there’s delicious food!”
Laidi looked up and saw Li Yu. She got up happily. “Cousin, you’re here!”
Li Yu looked at Laidi. “What’s wrong with Little Laidi? You look so sad.”
Laidi turned her head and pointed into the shed. She said with disgust, “My grandmother is here. She’s scolding my mother at my house.”
When Li Yu heard this, she rushed in a few steps and heard an old woman pointing at Li Mei’s nose and scolding, “You’re a jinx. You’re occupying the latrine but don’t shit. What’s the use of repairing the house so well? Third Brother gave his son to you, but you’re still unwilling…”
Li Yu saw Liu Changmin squatting there with his head in his hands. Li Mei looked up at the old woman stubbornly.
Li Yu’s heart ached and she called out, “Aunt.” When Li Mei saw Li Yu, she cried. Li Yu went over to hug her and turned to look at Liu Changmin. She said coldly, “Uncle, have you found someone to write the loan receipt? Even biological brothers have to settle accounts! Your family has been eating and living at my house for more than a month. The food and money for the repair of the house are a total of 40 taels. You have to pay it back in five to ten years. Together with the principal and the interest, you have to pay 50 taels. We agreed on this!”
Liu Changmin quickly stood up. “Xiaoyu, I’m sorry. Uncle forgot about it. I’ll get someone to help write it.”
“What are you writing? Are you stupid?!” Old Madam Liu grabbed Liu Changmin and refused to let him go. Li Yu went over and grabbed her wrist. Old Madam Liu felt the pain and hurriedly let go of Liu Changming.
Li Yu pulled her back. “Old woman, are you trying to go back on your word? Back then, everyone knew that my uncle’s family left with nothing. I lent my aunt silver to repair the house and you got your grandson to live here.” Li Yu looked at her and spread out her hands. She sneered. “Sure! Give me the silver and I’ll leave immediately.”
Old Mrs. Liu pursed her lips. “I don’t owe you any silver. You can ask whoever borrowed it to pay.”
Li Yu picked up a wooden stick and waved it in front of Old Madam Liu’s eyes. With a gentle twist, the wooden stick broke into two. Li Yu played with two wooden sticks and smiled faintly. “Didn’t you say that you wanted your grandson to live here and raise my aunt and the others? Aren’t you still fine? When your grandson moves in, I’ll get your grandson to pay me back.”
Old Madam Liu was dumbfounded. She argued, “Who cares about coming to this house to help pay debts?” Old Madam Liu pushed Li Yu away and walked out.
Only then did Li Mei look at Li Yu and say, “Yu’er, why are you here?”
Li Yu swallowed the words she wanted to say. “I sold all the pickled vegetables to Mr. Wei and wanted to come to your place to take a look.” Li Yu pointed at the half-repaired house. “Why are you repairing so slowly?”
Li Mei’s face was filled with anger as tears flowed down her face. “The old woman comes here every other day to stir up trouble and insist on giving us the youngest son of the third family. Can a seven or eight-year-old child support the family? Besides, that child is so spoilt. I’m not willing.”
“From now on, take out the IOUs and get the freeloaders to pay.”
Li Mei smiled through her tears. “You have a way.”
Liu Changmin went to the chief’s house and asked him to help write the loan receipt. He took it home and handed it to Li Yu. “Xiaoyu, it’s safer to have a loan receipt to prevent them from thinking about it.”
Li Mei rolled her eyes at Liu Changmin and took the loan receipt. “It’s all your fault. I listened to your mother in the past. Look, why didn’t she bully Second Brother’s family?”
Liu Changmin looked at Li Mei and smiled ingratiatingly. “Ah Mei, Xiaoyu brought wild ducks and pheasants over. Zhaodi is packing them up! Hurry up and help.”
Li Yu also smiled and said to Li Mei, “Aunt, don’t blame Uncle. Hurry up and repair the house. Otherwise, what will you do when the rainy season comes?”
Li Mei and Li Yu came out of the shed. Li Yu said to Li Mei, “Aunt, I’m going back. Come to the house when you have time.”
Li Mei nodded and did not ask Li Yu to stay. She watched her walk away.
