Chapter 58: Can Your Elder Brother Read?

Konjac tofu quickly became the new favorite at dinner. The idea of not overeating was tossed aside by the two children, who accidentally ate themselves into a state of fullness.

Shen Ning: "Big sister, are we going to sell this konjac tofu?"

Sang Luo nodded: "Yes, we'll sell it. But we won't just sell konjac tofu; we'll sell vegetarian tripe."

Why sell vegetables when snacks are more profitable? Why sell raw when cooked food can bring in more money?

Simply selling konjac tofu won't fetch much. Hence, Sang Luo decided to refine the final product, selling the ready-to-eat vegetarian tripe. This approach not only elevates the price but also changes its image and name, making it an enigma for anyone trying to guess its ingredients.

Shen An’s eyes lit up: "Selling this directly is great. Can we earn more this way?"

"Of course," Sang Luo replied, glancing at the small jars used for storing sauces and vinegar in her house. "We should buy some small jars to sell it by the jar. We’ll sell tofu and fairy tofu to a few families who help us, but we’ll keep the vegetarian tripe and crystal cake for ourselves to sell. Let's go to the county and find a store to discuss a collaboration."

High-priced items naturally fit best in places that sell high-priced goods.

The eyes of the two siblings sparkled, thinking of locks, long pants, and the like, all of which now seemed within reach.

Indeed, the next morning, Qin Fangniang, Gan Shi, and Feng Liuniang came together with the money for their orders.

Since Sang Luo and the others agreed on taking supplies from her, Elder Chen and his wife had made it clear: from now on, they would pay for the goods and not sell on behalf of Sang Luo as before.

This was a significant change: buying goods meant the risk of unsold items fell on them, unlike before when unsold goods would still belong to Sang Luo.

Previously, it was Sang Luo looking after them. Now that she was dealing with the other two families on a cash-and-carry basis, the Chens felt it only right to voluntarily adopt the same system.

Seeing Qin Fangniang also coming with money for an order, Sang Luo smiled but said nothing.

Qin Fangniang sells cooked goods in the east market. Before, Sang Luo sold in the west market. Now, she also sells by carrying goods through streets and alleys. Although this might lose some customers to a certain extent, considering they haven't been to the county during the busy farming period, Sang Luo isn't worried about business being affected, as people haven't been able to buy fairy tofu or tofu for many days.

Qin Fangniang hasn't sold tofu before but has observed Sang Luo doing it. She roughly knows how to do it. Previously, she only sold fairy tofu, but now she’s added tofu, which creates some competition between the two products. After weighing it up, she decided to order forty pieces of each type.

The total cost of one hundred and twenty coins had been counted at home, with one hundred coins on one string and twenty on another. She handed both strings to Sang Luo.

Sang Luo accepted the money with a smile and then turned to ask Gan Shi and Feng Liuniang, not about their orders, but where they were setting up their stalls.

Gan Shi replied with a smile, "Our families have agreed to take turns selling in the west market and carrying goods in the streets. We'll switch every five days, so we can rest after a few days of carrying the load."

This was as Sang Luo expected. She replied with a smile, "That’s good. No one will be too tired."

This arrangement would prevent any disputes or hard feelings from arising.

"How much are you two ordering?"

Gan Shi said with a laugh, "Since it's our first time selling, we're unsure, so we decided to order ten less than Fangniang."

That meant thirty pieces each of fairy tofu and tofu, sixty in total for each family, costing ninety coins per person.

Both Gan Shi and Feng Liuniang took out a string of coins. "Here's ninety coins," they said, passing them to Sang Luo.

After accepting the money, Sang Luo said, "With the increased quantity of products, I'm short of containers at the moment. You might need to leave a water bucket here, so I can pack the goods at night. That way, you can pick them up first thing in the morning."

Both of them nodded in agreement.

Sang Luo then said to Qin Fangniang, "I might need to trouble Uncle You Tian to help make another set of tofu carriers after he finishes today’s work, otherwise, it will be difficult to meet the demand tomorrow."

Currently, because each family on the other side had chosen a wooden barrel to carry the divine tofu, one pair of tofu carriers could be used by two people. Now, with three stalls, naturally, there weren't enough carriers.

Qin Fangniang smiled, "Alright, today we’re just wrapping up some final tasks. I’ll replace him soon so he can attend to your matters more promptly."

Grateful, Sang Luo thanked her. Qin Fangniang waved it off, noticing that Gan Shi and Feng Liuniang seemed ready to leave. She quickly said to Sang Luo, "My mother asked me to inquire whether you’re planning to sell that thing you made yesterday in the county?"

Hearing this, Sang Luo understood the old lady's intention behind sending Qin Fangniang with this inquiry and smiled, "Yes, I'll sell it, but it’s labor-intensive and costly to make, so it’ll be priced higher. I plan to check with the big stores in the county town to see if they'll stock it."

Qin Fangniang felt a bit disappointed; it was really delicious, and she was sure it would sell well. But as Sang Luo said, if it was to be priced higher, it would indeed need to be sold in stores.

"Okay, then I'll let my mother know," replied Qin Fangniang.

Before the three women left, Sang Luo cheerfully suggested, "Next time you come to pick up the goods, part-payment in grains or soybeans is also fine, as per the market price. We need these items at home too. Once I receive the money, I’ll have to go to the market or the county town to buy them."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the three women lit up.

"How much would you need?" Mrs. Gan asked.

Sang Luo nodded: "I need to stockpile some grain. Let's do it proportionally; half in cash and half in grain is fine. We can also accept fabric, but we don’t need too much of that. Enough to make a few clothes and a couple of quilts should suffice. I'll let you know when we have enough, and you can pay in cash after that."

Unlike modern times, where price control is pretty good and materials are abundant and easy to shop for, you can buy rice anytime at home.

This is the ancient times. Whether it's memories of the original body or Sang Luo's own perception, this is a place full of countless unknown risks—natural disasters, wars, banditry. You never know which one might strike, whether on your head or near you.

In times like those, having money doesn't guarantee access to grain. If you can find it, the price would surely skyrocket. Hence, stockpiling grain is a necessity, a basic understanding for most people in this era.

Hearing Sang Luo's plan to stockpile, Mrs. Gan nodded: "Okay, we all have these supplies at home."

Gan Shi paused as if she wanted to say something else, but finally said, "We'll head back for now and bring the buckets to you soon."

Once they had left the Shen family's small courtyard and were a distance away, Gan Shi addressed Qin Fang Niang and Feng Liu Niang: "Sister Qin, Sister Liu, I have something to discuss with you."

Qin Fang Niang glanced at her and guessed, "Are you talking about the price of grain?"

Gan Shi was taken aback, then laughed: "Sister Qin, you thought of that too, huh? I didn't settle this with you earlier, so it felt awkward to bring it up alone."

Qin Fang Niang joined in the laughter: "I also felt it wasn’t right to mention it without consulting you first."

Feng Liu Niang, who was primarily involved in weaving and not much in household affairs, seemed puzzled: "What about the price of grain?"

Gan Shi smiled at her: "Don’t you know? Every year after the autumn harvest, grain merchants come to the countryside to buy surplus grain. After paying the land tax and autumn tax, what's left after keeping enough for the year's consumption is sold to them for some cash."

"I am aware of that," nodded Feng Liu Niang.

However, she still looked confused, not understanding the implicit message in Gan Shi and Qin Fang Niang’s conversation.

Qin Fang Niang explained with a smile: "Clearly, you've only been focused on weaving before. The price offered by the grain merchants is usually lower than the market rate. Sister Gan and I agree that we obviously can't calculate the price for Sang Luo at the market rate. It's actually cheaper than selling to the merchants."

Finally understanding, Feng Liu Niang said, "Ah, I see. Although I don’t manage household affairs, I’m sure my mother will agree with you both."

Mrs. Gan proposed, "I reckon the grain merchants will be visiting in a couple of days. Before then, let's use soybeans or fabric to offset the cost. Once we determine this year's grain purchase price, we can use grain for payment. How does that sound?"

Qin Fangniang and Feng Liuniang both nodded in agreement: "Let's do it that way."

Qin Fangniang further advised them: “When you deliver the barrels, bring a ceramic pot if you have a spare one at home. With a lot of items to make, having enough containers is crucial. Currently, my family has left two wooden barrels and a ceramic pot at Sang Luo's house for use."

Having sold fairy tofu for a long time, Qin Fangniang could guess from the shape of the side dishes Sang Luo provided that the items were set in ceramic pots.

She wasn't sure how long setting took, but she had noticed Sang Luo often lacking sleep. With too few containers, the process would take longer, wasting more time and effort. Hence, she suggested they bring an additional ceramic pot.

Gan Shi and Feng Liuniang readily agreed without hesitation.

When Feng Liuniang relayed this at home, Old Lady Lu agreed, "That’s a good idea. We’ll know the prices once the grain merchants arrive. Use cloth for now; our family has plenty of woven cloth. Pick some of the better quality for Sang Luo."

Feng Liuniang nodded, then found a wooden barrel and a ceramic pot to deliver to the mountain.

……

At the Shen household.

Shen An and Shen Ning were counting money.

Sang Luo had left the money for the siblings to count.

To Sang Luo's surprise, the siblings managed to count accurately up to a hundred despite some hesitations, but they were clueless beyond that number.

Numbers above one hundred were a mystery to them, and they had no idea how to count them.

Sang Luo was curious: “Have you learned counting before?”

Both siblings nodded in affirmation.

Shen An explained: “Our elder brother used to teach us. He started when we were four years old, slowly teaching us by using broken sticks for counting.”

Shen Ning added: “He also made us count wild fruits we picked, and then taught us how to divide them among ourselves.”

Quite a methodical approach.

“Did your elder brother attend school?”

The siblings simultaneously shook their heads: “No, he didn’t.”

“Then did he learn to recognize words from someone?”

Shen Ning replied with a shake of her head: “No.”

However, Shen An interjected: “But he knew how to write his name, right? And he learned arithmetic from the village head.”

A flood of distant memories seemed to be unlocked as Shen An spoke: “Our brother used to catch fish in the creek and trap wild chickens and rabbits in the mountains. He would exchange them for money at the market or in town. But since he didn't know how to count, he could be easily cheated, so he specifically learned from the village head.”

Sang Luo raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by their meticulousness.

She couldn't help but feel a bit amused.

Observing the children, she suddenly asked, "Would you two like to learn how to read and write?"