coobybook Chapter 53 The Wang Family of the Capital
Chapter 53 The Wang Family of the Capital
Song Jiaojiao originally wanted to get three-tenths of an acre, but after thinking about it, she decided to get two. Two acres were close to half an acre, which couldn't compare to the large eagles of later generations that often had more than ten acres, but in an era where such things were limited, it was a good choice to get some to try.
The village chief also hoped that Song Jiaojiao would succeed. Although the investment in a greenhouse was considerable, the cost could be recouped in half a winter just by producing vegetables. Once Song Jiaojiao succeeded, other villagers could follow suit; if one family couldn't afford it, several families could cooperate.
After the rain stopped, Song Jiaojiao didn't leave the drying room untouched. The temporary stove that the aunties had previously set up in the yard was also dismantled, and they used the stove outside the drying room to cook. With a fire burning outside, it was warm and cozy inside.
Song Jiaojiao prepared many pots inside to cultivate seedlings. She was just waiting for the greenhouse to be built so she could transplant them there.
The days got shorter and shorter, and it rained occasionally. Even on days without rain, it was always gloomy. Eventually, the drying room was put to use.
Song Jiaojiao also taught Xu Fang how to make sweet potato noodles, and asked her to teach Aunt Lin how to do it.
Song Jiaojiao sold sweet potato noodles to Sifanglou for 200 wen per jin. Of course, she also provided them with the recipe. However, Song Jiaojiao sold the recipe for hot and sour noodles to Sifanglou for 30 liang.
The popularity of hot and sour noodles made Sifanglou a fortune. Sifanglou was ordering more and more rice noodles and sweet potato noodles, but unfortunately, Song Jiaojiao couldn't provide them. The place was too small, and there was no way to make money.
......
The General's Office in the capital received such a report.
The servant boy, beaming with excitement, held up a letter and shouted loudly.
"Young Master, Young Master, this is wonderful news!"
Before they even saw him, they heard his voice, and all the maids and servants in the courtyard looked toward Wang Yu, who was rushing toward them.
"Wang Yu, how many times have I told you, don't be so careless! What kind of person are you...?"
Before Wang Ziyi could finish speaking, Wang Yu shoved the letter into his hand and said, "Young Master, read the letter first, then we'll talk."
Wang Ziyi slowly opened the letter, muttering to himself, "I told you not to be in such a hurry, haste makes waste..."
Suddenly, Wang Ziyi stood up abruptly, holding a letter in his hand, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What? Wang Yu, take a look! Am I seeing things?"
Wang Yu looked at the letter in Wang Ziyi's hand and said, "No, young master, it says that Sifanglou in Yunshui Town, Tongan County, Nanling Prefecture, actually earned 10,000 taels of silver in one month. This is higher than the income of Sifanglou in Nanling Prefecture."
Wang Ziyi paced back and forth excitedly, repeatedly saying, "How is this possible? How could that restaurant, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, come back to life? Look at what they say next!"
Wang Ziyi handed the envelope to Wang Yu so he could read it. It wasn't that he didn't want to read it, but he was too excited to concentrate.
"Young Master, it says that the shopkeeper of Yunshui Town bought recipes from a peasant girl. One is a recipe for braised dishes, which brought his nearly bankrupt restaurant back to life. Later, this peasant girl also created sweet potato noodles and sweet potato vermicelli, and even sold a recipe for hot and sour noodles, making the restaurant's business boom." Wang Yu said, looking at the contents of the letter.
"Young Master, isn't the braised meat recipe the same one we received a while ago? The Sifanglou restaurant in the capital is completely full, and the private rooms are booked until after the New Year."
Wang Ziyi thought about how the shop had been doing well ever since the recipe for braised meat came about, and wondered what kind of peasant girl could come up with such a good recipe.
"I've made up my mind," Wang Ziyi said, clapping his hands. "I'm going to Yunshui Town next year."
......
Song Jiaojiao knew nothing about these things, only that today was the Laba Festival and every household was cooking Laba porridge. Song Jiaojiao thought that the New Year was coming soon, so she paid the workers their wages so that they would have more money to buy New Year's goods.
The greenhouse was set up by the end of winter, and Song Jiaojiao had filled it with plenty of fertilizer. They were just waiting until after the Laba Festival to transplant the vegetables. This year, they could only manage to transplant them before the Lunar New Year.
Song Jiaojiao has already harvested some of the vegetables she put in the drying room, especially the green peppers, which have produced quite a few fruits. Song Jiaojiao thinks that the reason they can bear fruit so quickly is mainly because the soil in the space is top-quality, even if it doesn't grow that fast outside.
The water pool on the barren mountain has been almost dug. The spring on the mountain had already been connected by Song Jiaojiao, Wang Hefan, and Xu Dayong using bamboo to make water pipes. They just need to wait for the water pool to be dug before they can release water.
After the village chief repaired the roof, Song Jiaojiao took Wang Hefan up the mountain every day to dig up a lot of fruit tree saplings. Song Jiaojiao planted all these fruit trees inside the roof, waiting to plant them the following spring.
Today is Laba Festival, and Song Jiaojiao gave all the villagers a day off, making it unusually quiet. Song Jiaojiao had just finished lunch when she heard noises coming from outside the courtyard.
"Jiaojiao, come out here, good news!" Aunt Li's excited voice came from outside.
"What good news, Auntie?" Song Jiaojiao quickly came out and asked.
"Didn't you ask me a while ago if I had any piglets for sale? I finally found out! There are some in Sunjiapo, where your sister-in-law's family lives. They've just turned one month old. They were worried that there wouldn't be many people buying piglets in winter, so they heard that we were asking about piglets. That's why I came to find you as soon as I got the news."
“Alright, I’ll have Xu Da harness the horse and carriage, and we’ll go buy some now. Look, my backyard is piled high with sweet potato scraps. If we can’t buy any more, I’m going to use them as fertilizer.”
Song Jiaojiao had been eagerly anticipating the good news, and she immediately ordered Xu Da to prepare the carriage and set off.
Aunt Li was also a very energetic person. She and Song Jiaojiao hit it off and headed to Sunjiapo.
Upon arriving at Sunjiapo, the group first sought help from Aunt Li's wife's family to find their way, as they were unfamiliar with the area and didn't know how long it would take them to arrive in the dark.
Fortunately, Song Jiaojiao brought a lot of recently grown vegetables with her when she set off, in case she needed to trouble others, so she wouldn't arrive empty-handed.
Arriving at the door of the house with piglets, Grandma Sun knocked on the door and called out, "Sun Mu's family, are you home?"
A woman in her thirties opened the door. "Oh, it's Aunt Sun. What can I do for you?"
Sun Mu's family looked at Song Jiaojiao and the others standing outside and asked.
"When I heard you had piglets to sell, my in-laws brought a buyer to take a look," Aunt Sun explained simply.
Upon hearing this, Sun Mu's family immediately understood. They happily took Song Jiaojiao and the others to the pigpen to see the piglets, and even sent their son to call his grandfather back.
Song Jiaojiao looked around the yard. Washed clothes were hanging in the yard, and firewood was piled up under the eaves. The yard was clean and tidy, so it must be a clean and hardworking family.
"Our sow gave birth to eight piglets, one died, leaving seven. Only one sow is left, the rest are boars, and we haven't hired anyone to bleach them yet."