The whole village is starving, but I have a full warehouse of meat in the mall

Chapter 48: Peppermint Water Sold Out

"Aunt bought some delicious snacks for Brother Sishan..." Si Ya licked her lips and said, "Aunt also bought a lot of cloth, so Brother Sishan will have new clothes to wear soon..."

I bought meat, ducks, snacks and cloth, and made at least a hundred coins.

A few months ago, her husband went to the town to carry heavy bags and only earned forty copper coins a day!
An idea came to Li's mind, and she said slowly: "Daughter-in-law Dahe is pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to cook, and the boys are not very careful. Sister-in-law should be too busy to cook by herself. I will go to help Sister-in-law tomorrow..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, Old Lady Ye knew what she was planning and scolded her angrily, "Why are you so short-sighted? If you have time to think about the copper coins in other people's hands, you might as well do your own work well... I think you are really free, go pull out the weeds in the field tomorrow..."

Li's face turned green.

The land of the old Ye family was not separated, and the land of the three families was mixed together. There were 24 acres of rice fields alone. If she weeded all of them, wouldn't that be the end of her life?

At daybreak, Li was woken up by the old lady to pull weeds.

She walked out of the house and stood on the ridge of the field to see Ye Da's ox cart arriving at the village entrance. Then Jiang Wan took the five children from the family out and got on the ox cart.

Li stood on the edge of the field, made up her mind, and walked towards the end of the village.

Xiaohui was the only one in the yard.

Today, all five children in the family followed Jiang Wan to Ankang Town to sell mint water, while Gu Xiaohui sat in the main room cutting cloth.

After she cut a piece of cloth, she twisted her body uncomfortably and her face blushed.

Late last night, her mother-in-law suddenly called her out, and stuffed two palm-sized trousers and a fur coat into her hands, telling her to wear them next to her body, saying that they would prevent her from getting sick and would also make her feel comfortable.

She didn't know what disease she had, but she knew she had to listen to her mother-in-law, so she put it on.

It is indeed more comfortable after putting it on, but I am not used to it. I can't help twisting and turning and constantly adjusting my sitting position.

"Cack!"

"Cack!"

The chickens in the yard suddenly screamed.

Gu Xiaohui quickly put down the work in her hands, stood up and walked out, and saw Li pushing the gate of the courtyard.

She went out and opened the gate: "Why is Second Aunt here?"

Li walked in, looked around, first silently counted how many ducklings there were, then went straight to the main room, and saw a piece of black linen on the table.

She smiled wryly: "Is Dahe's wife sewing clothes?"

Gu Xiaohui said generously: "The clothes Dahe is wearing are all left over from when my father-in-law was alive. He hasn't had a new one in a few years. My mother-in-law is so considerate and asked me to make a new one for Dahe."

"This is the Fritillaria that Daya and Siya sent yesterday." Li saw a basket of Fritillaria in the corner of the main hall and casually walked over to take one out. "You said this is strange. Fritillaria looks inconspicuous. How can it be used to make delicious and beautiful mint water? Dahe's wife, can you teach Second Aunt?"

Gu Xiaohui's vigilance immediately rose to her throat, but she remained calm and looked weak: "Second Aunt, I don't know anything about this matter. My mother-in-law didn't let me get involved."

Li continued, "Should we boil the Fritillaria in water or dry it and soak it in water? You should know this, right?"

Gu Xiaohui continued to shake her head and refused to say a word.

Li had no choice but to use her trump card: "If you can tell me the recipe for the mint water, I will give you half of the money I make. After you get the money, it will be your own private money and will have nothing to do with your mother-in-law."

Gu Xiaohui still didn't speak.

"How can you be so stupid!" Li lost her temper and cursed, "You are such a dull person that you can't do anything with just one blow. That's why you have always been controlled by your mother-in-law. The whole village knows that your mother-in-law abuses you every day, but you are so stupid that you still wash clothes, light fires and work like a maid even when you are pregnant... Your mother-in-law can make money now, and she will be the Queen Mother in heaven in the future. Just wait to be tortured..."

Gu Xiaohui lowered her head and looked around, then walked over, picked up the broom, and started sweeping towards Li's feet: "Second Aunt, please move aside. I want to sweep the floor. Please move aside..."

She took the broom and swept Li out.

Then he closed the gate tightly.

Li was so angry that she was fuming.

"You Jin's wife, what are you doing here?" Aunt Zhao from next door came back from the field, "There are two young men from Huaihua Village coming to the village entrance. They seem to be from your mother's family. The patrol team saw that they were strong and didn't dare to let them in. You should go and take a look."

The patrol team of Hehua Village gradually formed rules. If a person from another village came alone, he would be allowed to pass after being questioned. If there were two or more people who were looking for someone, they had to wait outside the village and someone would notify them.

Li walked to the entrance of the village and saw her two nephews from her mother's side.

"Aunt, grandma asked us to come and borrow some food." The eldest nephew of the Li family got straight to the point. "All the food in the fields of Huaihua Village has dried up. Grandma said that our whole family will have to rely on you this year."

Li's scalp tingled. There were nearly twenty people in the Li family, and they all depended on her. Who could she rely on?

She said unhappily, "The crops in Lotus Village haven't dried up, but they're still growing in the fields. Where can I borrow food from you? Wait until the rice in the fields is harvested!"

When the time comes, lending ten kilograms out will be considered an act of kindness and loyalty to my parents' home.

The sun gradually rose.

Jiang Wan and the five children finally arrived in Ankang Town.

She once again told Ye Da: "Uncle, we will meet at the city gate at the end of the day. Don't leave alone."

Without a bullock cart, she had to walk home, which was a terrible thing. If she had to walk back and forth like this every day, she would rather not do business.

Ye Da naturally agreed. He could earn twelve cents for each round trip of the six mother and children.

Last night, Jiang Wan and Gu Xiaohui used two kilograms of mint to make four buckets of mint water, which can be used to make more than three hundred bowls.

Huaifu Academy alone could not handle such a large volume, so she decided to take her sons to the dock to try it out first.

The wharf in Ankang Town is not very big, but it is bustling with people. When a ship stops, many strong men go up to move the goods. Some carry the goods away, while others return to the wharf to wait for work after moving the goods. The crowd is constantly moving.

Jiang Wan found some discarded boards on the dock, built a makeshift low table, and started shouting.

There were no buildings or trees by the river, and the sun was shining brightly. The strong men were willing to work with their shirts off. Suddenly, they heard someone selling mint water and offering free samples, so they immediately gathered around.

"Free tasting limited to ten, first come first served!"

Ten bowls of mint water were placed in a line on the table. The light yellow mint water was crystal clear in the sunlight.

A man who had long been unable to bear the heat picked up the bowl and drank it down, and was immediately shocked.

"What the hell is this? It tastes like ice, but it's sweeter than ice!"

The man wiped his mouth and said, "Give me a bowl!"

Jiang Wan smiled and said, "This is mint water, three cents a bowl."

When he heard that it would cost three cents, the man hesitated, but then he remembered that in some post stations a bowl of tea cost two cents, and this thing should have brown sugar in it and it was ice-cold, so it tasted really good, so three cents was not too expensive.

The man took out three sweaty copper coins from his waist bag and threw them on the table: "Hurry up and serve me a bowl. It's so hot in this damn weather."

Jiang Wan took the copper coins without any disgust and shouted, "Sanshu, bring a bowl of mint water!" Ye Sanshu cleaned the tasting bowl quickly, then scooped out a bowl of cool mint water and handed it to the man.

The man didn't even use a spoon, he just took the bowl and drank it, saying happily: "This thing is better than eating ice cubes to cool down. If it's cheaper, I really want to have another bowl."

The man looked as if he was still unsatisfied, which attracted the attention of other men, and soon the stall was surrounded by people.

Jiang Wan collected the money, told Ye Sanshu to serve the mint water, and then said to the eldest and second brother, "Just do it the same way as before. Do you two remember it?"

Ye Dahe nodded: "Mom, I know everything."

Ye Erhai picked up a bucket of mint water and said impatiently, "Mom, we'll go first."

The two brothers rushed to the dock on the other side, fearing that they would be late and delay their business.

Ye Sishan obediently helped add brown sugar to the mint water, while Ye Xiaofang added hawthorn jam beside him. The two of them cooperated quite smoothly.

Now the drought has lasted for a long time, the river channel has sunk, and the number of ships coming to Ankang Town has gradually decreased. As soon as a ship stops, all the men rush over like flying.

There was only a thin layer of mint water left in the bucket, but in just half an hour, more than a hundred bowls were sold, earning more than three hundred coins.

"Put away the things, let's go find the big river and the two seas."

Jiang Wan dismantled the temporary table and planned to take it to the entrance of Huaifu Academy later and set it up to continue using it.

Ye Sanshu asked in confusion: "There were a lot of people who wanted to buy mint water just now. They should come over after they finish moving the goods. Why are they leaving so early?"

Jiang Wan said as he collected the things: "This is called hunger marketing. When a thing is always in supply, they don't think it's a big deal, but when it may be out of stock at any time, the next time we come, these people will rush over as quickly as possible, and we can finish the work in the shortest time."

Ye Sanshu nodded blankly. Although he didn't understand, he didn't question it.

The mother and her two children walked to the East Pier, which was a little smaller than the previous one, but also had a lot of people.

As soon as a boat left, a group of men surrounded the stall, and Ye Dahe and Ye Erhai were so busy that they had no time to rest.

Ye Sanshu said quickly: "I'll go help my elder and second brothers!"

Jiang Wan stopped him and said, "Let's see how they do business first."

Ye Erhai was responsible for receiving customers and collecting money, while Ye Dahe was responsible for serving mint water and clearing the tableware, and the two of them worked together quite well.

A strong man led a group of brothers and came over: "Give me twelve bowls of mint water!"

Ye Erhai was stuck. Previously, each person ordered at most five bowls, and three bowls was fifteen cents. He knew it by heart. Now, twelve bowls of mint water, how should it be calculated? The guests were waiting to pay, and Ye Dahe was waiting for the mint water. Several pairs of eyes were staring at him. He was so anxious that he opened his mouth and said, "Thirty cents in total, big brother, give me twelve bowls of mint water!"

"okay!"

Ye Dahe has already started working.

A man at the back laughed out loud: "Young man, how did you calculate that? Twelve bowls of mint water is thirty-six coins. How come you underestimated six coins?"

The man who ordered twelve bowls of mint water snorted, "He said thirty, so thirty cents, I'll put it here!"

He threw down thirty copper coins.

Ye Erhai's face was full of regret. He actually made a mistake in calculation and lost six cents. How could he be so stupid!
He stared blankly at the copper coins on the table. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should take the six coins back. It didn't matter if he took it back or not. At worst, he wouldn't sell it...

Just as he was struggling between his conscience and his desires, a clear voice rang in his ears.

Jiang Wan came over, smiling warmly, "My kid has never been to school and can't do arithmetic. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you all. He made a mistake in his calculations, so he should be responsible for it. No matter what, I can't ask you to pay any more money. Dahe, what are you still doing? Hurry up and serve twelve bowls of mint water."

Ye Dahe immediately got busy, and Ye Erhai went to help with a shameful look on his face.

"This lady is an open-minded person."

"With this kind of temperament, are you still worried about not being able to do business?"

"..."

Various compliments from the audience attracted a group of people to buy mint water, and a bucket of mint water was quickly sold out.

Ye Erhai was worried: "Mom, I shortchanged you by six cents. You can punish me by not eating."

"You are my own son, how can I let you go hungry?" Jiang Wan laughed, "Let Dahe or Sanshu settle the bill, and I think you can save 40 cents. You have done a good job, don't blame yourself, think about what to eat later, meat buns or noodles?"

Ye Erhai felt so guilty that he didn't even care about eating. He asked, "Mom, you really don't blame me?"

Jiang Wan comforted him, "No, don't think about it. Pack up and go to Huaifu Academy. After we sell, we'll go eat. We made a lot of money today. Eat whatever you want!"

The atmosphere finally became lively.

Ye Dahe carried the last bucket of mint water, Ye Erhai carried a wooden board, Ye Sanshu carried a bucket and tableware, Ye Sishan held a bag of snacks, and Ye Xiaofang carried a silk flower...

Originally Jiang Wan was planning to buy a pack of snacks for Xiaofang, but she refused to accept it. She even said that the silk flowers her mother bought for her cost twenty cents and were much more expensive than the snacks, and she didn't want to spend so much money.

Jiang Wan bought a few more pieces for Sishan and shared them with the two little ones.

The mother and her six children soon arrived at Huaifu Academy.

It was the time when students finished their morning studies and went out for some fresh air.

"Mint is a treasure. It can help you get rid of the heat."

This doggerel became widely circulated in Huaifu Academy. Within just one day, mint water became a food that all students knew.

As soon as Jiang Wan opened his stall, students came over in groups of three or five.

There were twenty sets of tableware in total, and with six people working together, a bucket of mint water was sold out in just a quarter of an hour.

An empty bucket was filled with all the coins earned today. The five children of the Ye family had never seen so many coins before, and their eyes widened.

Jiang Wan coughed and said, "Let's pack up first, and then find a place where no one is. Let's count how much money we made."

The five kids nodded their heads in unison, quickly washed the dishes and put them into the bucket, packed up the wooden boards and put them on the side of the road, and the group of six quickly walked towards the nearest alley.

Ye Xiaofang just turned around and stopped in her tracks. She looked back and saw that the person who just walked out of Huaifu Academy looked like her cousin.
In the past, when their mother scolded them, she often said that their brothers were not as capable as their cousin Huai. Whenever there was any delicious food at home, their mother would send it to the Jiang family, which was actually for their cousin Huai.

In order to pay for my cousin Jiang Huai's studies, my mother sent all the money in the family to the Jiang family.

We have earned so many coins today. If my mother sees my cousin, she will definitely put all the coins into my cousin Huai's arms immediately.

This is the money that my brother and mother have worked hard to earn, we won’t let it go to him for free!

Ye Xiaofang glanced at Jiang Wan, and seeing that her mother did not see her cousin, she quickly left the academy gate.

Jiang Huai, who had just walked out of the academy, frowned as he looked at the six people who were getting farther and farther away in the distance. Why did they look like his aunt and several cousins?

Why did my aunt bring them to Ankang Town?
(End of this chapter)