"You went to the state capital. It's not like a village. You spend money everywhere. Not only does it cost a lot to rent a house, but you also have to plan carefully for food and drink. How can you just get in but not get out?"
Zhuang Er was right in thinking that even in the county town, the rich people in the village had to make a living so as not to live in vain, but he didn't know that his niece now had the two thousand taels that Master Zuo Er bought for wine, plus the two thousand taels he used to pay for wine. With the money saved from the tofu business, not only in Erli Village, but even in Songling Town, she would probably be a rare rich woman.
"Second uncle, you are overthinking this."
Zhuang Keqing smiled and said, "Making tofu takes a lot of work and effort. You also know that I thought about a hydraulic stone mill before to save the time of grinding beans. If I go to the state capital in the future, will I be able to rent a house with a courtyard? Once you say it, even if you really rent it, even if you are doing the tofu business, grinding beans all day long will be exhausting."
"Besides, Aling is a junior student, and we have local food issued by the government. Second uncle really doesn't have to worry about our livelihood, don't you think so, Aling?"
The girl raised her head and looked at the young man beside her, her face full of pride and pride, which made Shen Ling frown in a rare way, showing a trace of tenderness in front of outsiders.
"Well, Ke'er is right."
Zhuang Er and Li were sitting on the side awkwardly, as if they saw countless pink bubbles popping up around them, making people dare not look directly at them.
"And if I just leave like this, how many people in the village and town will not be able to eat something as cheap and delicious as tofu. What a pity."
"So, for everyone's sake, you have to do this for me!"
After Zhuang Keqing finished speaking, as if he was certain that Zhuang Er would agree, he stood up without sitting down and said he wanted to leave.
"You can think about it again. After all, I can only trust you with this recipe."
After the girl finished speaking, she smiled kindly, raised her head and drank the tea in the tea cup, and then left with Shen Ling, leaving only Zhuang Er and his wife Li looking at each other.
Just leave such a unique craft to yourself?
Zhuang Er couldn't say that he knew exactly how his mother and third brother coveted this tofu recipe, but he was vaguely aware of it. It wasn't until the third brother caused that scandal at the wedding that he finally understood it.
My mother and my third brother originally blocked my eldest niece from marrying Brother Ling because of this stupid idea!
How can you really care about the girl and do it for her?
And he was stupid enough to come to their door to persuade others. Now that he thinks about it, he is so ashamed that he has no face to see anyone!
"Erlang, you said this..."
Li said half of what he said, but Zhuang Er clearly understood the unfinished meaning.
Just then the family was separated, and the eldest niece sent the prescription. If the third bedroom and the old lady knew about it, it would be a big deal!
"Qingniang, let me think about it again, think about it again."
Zhuang Er put his hand on his forehead, also confused.
The situation at home is not good now. I just told my wife it was easy and said that I could go to a workshop to find a job. But if I want to compare myself to a skilled craftsman and work with others, how can I be better than working alone?
If you can be a shopkeeper, who wants to be a clerk?
To be honest, even he couldn't resist the temptation of tofu recipes.
The man was sitting on a stool, holding his forehead and pulling his hair, feeling very distressed.
Li and Zhuang Er have been married for many years and have a deep relationship, so they naturally understand his struggles.
But there are some things, if he doesn't give a push, I'm afraid Erlang will never be able to figure it out clearly, and he won't be able to take that step.
So she gently moved a bench and sat down next to her man, and her slightly rough fingers touched his even rougher hand.
"Erlang, in my opinion, you can take this tofu recipe."
"Qingniang?"
Zhuang Er never expected that his wife, who was soft-tempered and never had any ideas of her own, would persuade him to take this hot potato at this time.
Although the thing is good, if it is not handled well, it will cause trouble.
Moreover, one of the other parties is his own mother and the other is his own brother. If they ask for this recipe from him, what will he do?
"Erlang, you haven't figured it out yet."
Mrs. Li smiled lightly, her eyebrows were gentle, and her tone was soft, but her words were not as smooth and peaceful as her expression.
"You said that to your mother the day before yesterday in front of everyone in the village."
Zhuang Er was stunned.
Indeed, the villagers could clearly see that his mother had been scolding and accusing him that day, and that he had impulsively said such decisive words.
Although I would regret it afterwards, my mother's temperament meant that she couldn't swallow this breath. She couldn't afford to lose this man, so she would never recognize him as her son again.
Seeing that the man's expression was a little relaxed, Mrs. Li sighed slightly.
"Erlang, you have to think clearly. Not only do you have a mother, you also have me and Bao'er."
When Zhuang Er heard this, he immediately felt ashamed.
He was just thinking about whether he should find his mother to apologize someday, but his wife reminded him.
But it is true when you think about it. Over the years, as the main laborer in the family, he has worked hard to take care of the fields. During the off-farm period, he either found work or went to the mountains to cut firewood and collect branches and save them to sell in the winter, just to save more money.
.
But now, Bao'er is fifteen years old, but his mother has never mentioned that she cares about his wife. Instead, she always goes to the third brother's house, delivering a basket of eggs today and a piece of meat tomorrow.
I don’t know how much the subsidy was.
As for his third brother, Zhuang Er shook his head when he thought about it.
He didn't care enough about the work in the fields, so the more than ten acres of paddy fields given to him would probably be ruined. I just hoped that my father would still have some strength to take care of them.
"Erlang, my niece has good intentions, you should understand."
Although Mrs. Li is the second daughter-in-law of the village, she is as calm as an outsider at this time.
She understands that if her husband fails to seize this opportunity, the life of the family will definitely be worse than the previous day. If something unexpected happens then, if she wants to ask her mother and third wife for help, she will only get a sister-in-law.
The original ending was normal.
She didn't want herself to become like that.
It is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself.
Shoji was already very shaken.
"But this tofu business is no small matter. Do you know what your niece has achieved now?"
"Is Erlang worried that he can't do well?"
Li Shi smiled, stood up, and patted Zhuang Er on the shoulder.
"The eldest niece can support herself, but you still have me and Bao'er."
After Mrs. Li finished speaking, she did not stay in the main room anymore. Instead, she left the man alone and let him think about it carefully.
If not, should this be done?
Zhuang Er was almost convinced, but there was still some unexplainable hesitation in his heart.
At this moment, a shout came from far outside the door, and then the courtyard door suddenly opened, and a boy with wheat-colored skin jumped in from the outside.
"father!"
The young man came in and wandered around him like a puppy.
"Bao'er, why are you so happy today?"
"Dad! You don't know that the shopkeeper of Wufuji has just arrived and said he wants to set up a school in our village!"
"What?!"
Zhuang Er stood up immediately, which shocked Zhuang Baonian.
"Running a school?"
"Then there's still a day off. I just came out of the village chief's house and now I'm going to Sister Ke'er's house."
The young man has brown eyes and a dazzling smile with white teeth shining in his mouth.
"Then, the village chief, no, the shopkeeper of Five Fortunes, what else did you say?"
Zhuang Er's questions were more urgent than others, and he stopped the person in his tracks all of a sudden.
The young man scratched his head and couldn't answer anything, but he still narrowed his eyes and begged his father: "Dad, I also want to go to school, do you think so?"
Zhuang Er couldn't help but laugh, "You are already fifteen years old, the age for marriage, why are you still studying? It's already past the time."
Who would have thought that Zhuang Baonian immediately screamed, "What? I don't want to say goodbye, I want to study!"
Zhuang Er only thought that his son was just acting on a whim, but he didn't expect him to be very stubborn this time.
I don’t know what stimulated me. In the past, I only knew how to fish in the river and catch birds in the trees. I decided to go to school. They also said that this school accepted everyone no matter how old they were. It only cost 500 yuan a year to complete the course. , it’s almost like free.
Zhuang Er was stunned for a while after hearing this.
If there is a school in the village, that would be a good thing, but is it really like what my son said, that anyone can go?
Five hundred articles a year is really not something that cannot be spent.
Just now, Zhuang Er was still worrying about the tofu recipe, but now he is starting to consider whether to let Bao'er go to school.
Reading is good. Once you read, recognize the words, and understand the principles, it will be different. You will never be as mediocre as yourself in your life and worry about earning a bucket of rice.
"Bao'er, you said the shopkeeper of Wufuji went to his eldest niece's house?"
"Well! I saw it with my own eyes. The carriage of the shopkeeper is so impressive. If I hadn't come back in a hurry to talk to you about it, I would have followed him and taken a look."
Zhuang Baonian vowed and his chest clapped loudly.
"That's good, let's go, you come with me, we'll go there and see how it goes."
After that, Zhuang Er stood up and left. He also had some questions to ask his eldest niece!