In the next few days, Zhuang Keqing sold tofu at home, served chickens, and occasionally went for a walk in the fields to look at his own fry.
During this period, I also took Tofu and ran to the village chief to ask if it would be feasible to rent land to build a mill.
"Grandpa, the village chief, my stone grinder is almost ready. I made an agreement with the mason last time."
Zhuang Keqing circled around the village leader Li Shu, making the little old man feel dizzy.
"Stop, please stop and talk again."
"Hey, this is what I discussed with you last time. Didn't you say you should consider it?" Licking his face and squatting down, Zhuang Keqing acted like an innocent girl, trying to gain some favor.
In fact, Li Shu had already agreed with the girl's idea in his heart, and had privately discussed it with several elders in the village. They all felt that as long as this hydraulic stone mill worked so well, even if the village paid for it, it would be fine.
It's not a big deal.
But the village chief knew in his heart that this girl had been disliked by a wave of people recently because of some method of raising fish in rice fields. It would be better to take this opportunity to give her a beating, at least not to be so rash in doing things.
The village has to take the lead on the stone mill, but the villagers' opinions must be taken into account. If everyone doesn't agree, there's no chance.
"Girl." Li Shu closed his eyes and stroked his beard. "What kind of method do you use to raise fish in rice fields? But someone has sued me, saying that you have no duty as a farmer and are wasting the fields in vain. You need to be compensated."
This is your punishment."
I originally thought that the village chief was going to talk about the stone mill, but in the blink of an eye the old man brought up an unrelated topic.
But even so, Zhuang Keqing was not afraid.
The method of raising fish in rice fields is a good method that China, a large agricultural country, has experienced for many years to increase production and income. How come you think it is just a waste of fields?
No, I have to explain this.
So she stood up and spoke to the village chief, listing the advantages of raising fish in rice fields one by one. Finally, she emphasized that she just wanted to experiment in her own field first. If it was really feasible, then everyone
What's wrong with raising fish together to make money?
She thinks about everyone!
I knew this girl had an idea. The village chief opened his eyes and nodded. At this time, he had long forgotten his intention to beat Zhuang Keqing.
"When will your stone grinder be ready? I remember you said last time that you had to find a carpenter to order the waterwheel."
"It will be fine in a few days. I would like to get it back as soon as possible." Zhuang Keqing smiled again and leaned forward: "Why don't you get it back and use it as soon as possible? I can return your stone mill as soon as possible."
The village chief knew that what she said was just a pretense, and he just wanted to urge him to settle the matter.
"Then let's make an agreement first and wait for the stone mill to be delivered and your waterwheel to be ready. I, along with a few other elders, will try it out at the creek in the back mountain to see if this thing is
It’s really as useful as you said.”
"Of course, if it doesn't work, I won't pretend it!" Zhuang Keqing assured.
With great difficulty, she gained trust from the village chief, and in the next few days she could go to the carpenter's place to order a small waterwheel. She also had to order a cart, preferably one that could pull animals.
The money has been earned faster than expected recently. I think if I save it for a while, I might not be able to buy a mule or a donkey by the end of the year. Once I have a mule, will the tofu business in the town be able to open every day?
After leaving the village chief's house, Zhuang Keqing tried hard to remind herself not to grin too much, lest the villagers would look at her and gossip again.
A few days later, it was the day she had agreed with Mason Lu to pick up the goods.
But the stone mill was big and heavy, so she had no choice but to go to Mrs. Liu's house and ask Mr. Zhang and his son to help.
"How old is your stone mill?" Zhang Gouzi and Zhuang Keqing were familiar with each other, and he was very direct when asking. "Is the tofu made from beans ground by the stone mill?"
When Zhang Da heard that his son had asked him about the secret of his business right from the start, he immediately slapped his son on the head: "You talk a lot, so push the cart carefully!"
Zhuang Keqing thought it was nothing. Her method of grinding beans with a stone mill could be figured out by just paying a little attention. And how to bake the tofu is the most crucial secret.
She had been using rice vinegar before, but now that she thought about it, she felt that the tofu made with vinegar was slightly sour and not beautiful. She might as well check out the drug store to see if they sell gypsum the next time she goes to town. She remembered
Gypsum is a traditional Chinese medicine and can be divided into raw and cooked forms, but tofu uses gypsum of paris.
There is also the special flavor of brine tofu, but the brine is a by-product of boiling salt, and now the salt is government-run, so it is probably difficult to find.
She was thinking about ways to improve the tofu, but she didn't feel tired during the journey. When Zhang Da parked the cart in front of the mason's house, Zhuang Keqing came back to her senses.
She stretched her head towards the yard of the mason's house and saw the mason Nalu chipping away at the stone, so she called out.
"Uncle Lu, I'm here to get the mill!"
Stonemason Lu stopped what he was doing, patted his apron with both hands, and scattered some stone powder. Then he walked up to the door, opened the door, and ushered the group in.
Pointing to the medium-sized stone mill in the corner, Mason Lu turned back and continued to sit down and chisel the stone. "There is still a hundred coins left. You can take it away after paying the price."
Obviously, doing business should be done in a friendly manner to make money, but his harsh words seemed to drive people away.
Zhuang Keqing didn't pay attention. She took a few steps closer to take a closer look at the stone mill.
The size is suitable, the materials are solid, and the corners are polished smooth and rounded. Even the parts she asked to add before have been pre-installed.
The work was done meticulously, and she nodded inwardly, feeling very satisfied.
Zhang Gouzi was young and energetic. Seeing that the mason had such a bad attitude, he felt a little unhappy and wanted to speak out, but Zhuang Keqing stopped him.
She pulled the dog, shook her head at him, counted out a hundred coins from her purse, and placed it on the stone table next to Mason Lu.
"You put it away. By the way." Zhuang Keqing turned back to the cart, took out the tofu and dried tofu that had been prepared long ago, and placed them next to the copper plate. "These are just a simple idea, you can do it on your own
It’s fast and good, it really helped me a lot.”
After saying that, she asked Zhang Da and Gouzi to carry the stone mill.
When they walked out of the yard, Mason Lu didn't even raise his head. It wasn't until the squeaking sound of the cart was far away that he glanced at the copper coins and tofu on the table.
He had tasted this tofu last time, and it was indeed good. My wife also liked it very much. He didn't expect that this girl could bring more after picking up the goods. She was indeed thoughtful.
But I didn't have to ask her just now which village she lives in. If I want to talk about this in the future, where will I have to look for it?
For the first time, Mason Lu was troubled by his clumsy tongue.
