CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: SELLING TOFU IN THE COUNTY TOWN

After changing the water once, Sun Mei managed to wash him clean. She then gave him a fresh set of clothes. He was finally presentable and no longer looked like a little beggar.

Afterward, she let him dry his hair by himself in the courtyard while she went to give Zhao Yu a bath.

Zhao Cheng sat quietly in the courtyard, wiping his hair. His eyes were red and swollen, with tears welling up.

Zhao Zhitong saw her eldest cousin, Zhao Cheng, sitting silently in the courtyard. He looked like he wanted to cry but was holding it back. She ran over to him and cooed in a childish voice, "Big brother, is the wound on your head hurting? Let me blow on it for you, and it won’t hurt anymore."

As the little girl blew gently, Zhao Cheng felt a warmth surge through him. This made his eyes even redder, and he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer.

Zhao Zhitong was startled. "Oh, big brother, what’s wrong? Did I blow too hard?"

Zhao Cheng hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, I... I got some sand in my eye."

With that, he gave Zhao Zhitong a grin. "It doesn’t hurt anymore. After my little sister blew on it, it doesn’t hurt at all."

Zhao Zhitong laughed happily and then ran off to watch Zhao Yu’s bath.

Sun Mei said irritably, "What are you looking at? You’re next."

After Sun Mei finished bathing the three children, she sent them to bed. By then, Eldest Aunt and Aunt were already filtering soy milk, and Zhao Dong was tending the fire.

She quickly joined in. The four of them worked until midnight, finally finishing four hundred pounds of tofu and tofu. They were all exhausted.

Coincidentally, the Zhu Clan’s house was empty, as their daughter-in-law had run off with another man. Sun Mei took her two sisters-in-law to stay there for the night.

Before dawn the next day, Sun Youli and Sun Youcai arrived. Zhao Dong was also up early. The three of them worked together to load the tofu onto a cart. They then took some water and dry rations and quietly left the village.

The county town was not very far from Zhao Village. It usually took the better part of an hour to walk there.

However, the road was just a narrow path trodden by footsteps, full of pits and bumps. They had to be extremely cautious to prevent the tofu and tofu on the cart from spilling, making their journey particularly arduous.

Since Zhao Dong had trouble with his leg, Sun Youcai took turns with him pushing the cart. By daybreak, they had only covered half the distance.

Zhao Dong’s drowsiness had passed, so he began to chat sporadically with Sun Youli.

His predecessor had never been to the county town, so Zhao Dong was unfamiliar with it and began to ask about its affairs.

Both Sun Youcai and Sun Youli had been to the county town to sell herbs, so they knew the place well and began to tell Zhao Dong about it.

The county town’s market was different from the village markets. It had specialized sections with designated stalls.

However, setting up a stall in the market required a fee, which was higher than at the village markets. But the people in the county town were wealthier, so goods could also be sold at higher prices there.

Oh, I see. Zhao Dong nodded in understanding. "In that case," he said, "we should also increase the price of our tofu and tofu by one coin."

As they chatted and made their way toward the county town, the journey that usually took the better part of an hour ended up taking them nearly an hour and a half, due to their caution with the tofu and tofu on the cart.

By then, the sky was bright, and a long queue had already formed at the city gate.

Zhao Dong looked at the towering city gate, upon which were three large characters: ’Anyang County.’ He couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. Seeing ancient city gates on television was indeed different from witnessing them in real life.

Soon, it was their turn. At the gate, the guards glanced at their two carts and three men, then charged them seven coins.

Two coins for each cart and one coin for each person. Carrying a back basket would cost extra, but fortunately, they didn’t have any, so the total was seven coins.

Sun Youli walked in front. Feeling somewhat intimidated by the guards, he put on a subservient smile, nodding and bowing as he handed over the money. Only then were they allowed to enter the city.

Once inside the city, they headed straight for the West Market. After finding a stall and setting up, they began to call out their wares.

Because their tofu and tofu were novel and they offered free samples, they sold as well as they had anticipated.

By noon, they had nearly sold out. Sun Youcai, who had always harbored ambitions of doing business, seized the opportunity when things quieted down to explore the marketplace on his own.

He returned a short while later and excitedly pulled Zhao Dong aside. "Brother-in-law, I’ve had an idea! Our tofu and tofu sell so well in the county town, we can definitely make more money. But the county town is too far for us to come every day. I was thinking, why don’t we cooperate with the shops here?"

Zhao Dong looked at Sun Youcai with approval. "Haha, that’s exactly what I was thinking! Have you found any suitable shops to partner with?" He had already considered this idea back home.

Seeing Zhao Dong agree with his idea, Sun Youcai beamed. He eagerly volunteered to find a ’business partner,’ saying, "I’ll go look for one!"

With that, he ran off, taking a piece of tofu and a bowl of tofu with him.

Sun Youcai returned shortly, his face alight with pride. "Second Brother, Brother-in-law, I’ve made a deal! We’ll cooperate with the oil shop in the West Market. They noticed our tofu and tofu selling well this morning. As soon as I mentioned the idea, they agreed. The only condition is that we sell exclusively to them."

Sun Youcai paused for a moment, then continued, "The deal is, if we deliver, the wholesale price is three coins. If they pick it up from our place, it’s two and a half coins. Brother-in-law, what do you think?"

Zhao Dong patted Sun Youcai’s shoulder. "Third Brother, that’s excellent."

With the praise, Sun Youcai’s smile blossomed.

By this time, almost all of their four hundred pounds of tofu and tofu had been sold. The three of them squatted by the roadside, ate their dry rations, and had some tofu before packing up.

After packing up their things, they went to the East Market, where there were bookstores that sold the Four Treasures of the Study.

Although Scholar Meng had given Zhao Zhitong a brush and ink, Zhao Dong knew they still needed to buy paper for her.

I also need to buy a brush and ink for myself, Zhao Dong thought. Our business needs proper bookkeeping.

Once they entered the bookstore, the three of them were shocked.

The Four Treasures of the Study were truly expensive; a single sheet of paper cost one hundred coins!

Sun Youli was so shocked he stammered, "Heavens, th-this is too expensive!"

The shopkeeper, seeing they were farmers, smiled and asked, "Are you buying the Four Treasures of the Study for a child in your family?"

Zhao Dong immediately nodded. "Yes, our child is starting school."

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Haha, just starting school, are they? In that case, you don’t want to look at this. This is Chengxin Hall Paper, a top-grade paper, very precious."

Saying this, he turned, pulled out a different stack of paper from behind him, and showed it to Zhao Dong. "Try this kind. This is ordinary printing paper, very cheap. For large sheets, one hundred sixty of them cost only thirty coins."

This price is much more reasonable. Zhao Dong nodded and readily bought sixty coins’ worth. He then asked the shopkeeper if they had any cheaper brushes and ink.