After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 124 Busy with Small Business

The next morning, Huang Xinghua rushed to Shen Yi's house to return the money before he left.

Shen Yi refused to accept it, saying, "Since it's Xiaotai's money that the children are owed, it belongs to the children. There's no reason to take it back."

“That’s not right. Yesterday, the two children ate and took things from Su Tai’s place. That’s more than enough to cover their wages!” Huang Xinghua insisted.

Hearing their argument, Su Tai came out and advised, "Auntie, there's no need to refuse. Wages are wages, and food is food. It's their first time visiting, so what's wrong with me treating them to a meal? We're all from the same village, why do you have to be so particular with me?"

Besides, I might need their help again in the future, so I'm afraid to ask them for help now.

After much persuasion from the couple, Huang Xinghua finally accepted the money, but she worked even harder.

Su Tai didn't say anything, and went back to the courtyard to help Shen Yi pack his things for the trip. "Now Manager Li can take care of our daily needs all by himself. Tomorrow is the market day, so we'll probably need to prepare even more. I think we should get up and start working before dawn."

Shen Yi shook his head helplessly, "You can never earn enough money."

Seeing that Su Tai was unhappy, he changed his tone and immediately said, "However, we really can't turn down money. How about this, we can have Aunt Xinghua's children come over to help tomorrow. It would be even better if we could have another stove, which would save time."

This reminded Su Tai.

After seeing Shen Yi off, she immediately went to the Fire Time and Space to order a large, high-temperature resistant vat from the brick kiln owner. It cost 1,000 yuan, with a charcoal basin underneath and flatbreads on the inner wall. It could bake eight to ten flatbreads at a time.

The brick kiln has no shortage of raw materials and can deliver them in the evening.

After ordering the oven, she immediately went to Mu Shi Kong and spent two thousand yuan to buy ingredients for the guokui (a type of flatbread).

Before Shen Yi returned, she first cleaned the spices and soaked the dried plum vegetables in them, doing preliminary processing.

When Shen Yi returned, he found a large earthenware stove in the kitchen. Su Tai had already done a lot of work, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "You should rest well. Leave the rest to me. I've already talked to Aunt Xinghua. Da Gou and his sister will come to help at Yin Shi."

Su Tai prepared the soap for washing her hands before returning to her room.

Just as the hour of Yin arrived, Shen Dagou and Shen Xiang came over in the dark. This was the first time the brother and sister had ever walked at night, so they were inevitably uneasy. Fortunately, Huang Xinghua lit a wooden stick for them, which helped them see the road a little better.

Having finally arrived at Shen Yi's house, Shen Dagou was about to knock on the door when Shen Xiang, with her sharp eyes, stopped him, "Big brother, look, isn't the door open?"

Shen Dagou tried to push it, and he actually managed to push it away.

The brother and sister hurried inside, and as soon as they reached the yard, three dogs surrounded them, glaring menacingly.

The brother and sister were so frightened that they immediately huddled together.

"Dafu, Erfu, Sanfu, get out of here!" Shen Yi shouted.

The three dogs immediately and quickly retreated.

The brother and sister both breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Yi stepped forward to close the door and said, "I guessed you'd be coming at this time, so I opened the door beforehand to avoid disturbing my wife's rest by pulling the wood. Come on! I'll take you inside to get to work now."

As soon as the brother and sister entered the kitchen, they felt much warmer. Smelling the delicious aroma inside, they resisted the urge to look too closely or show any signs of craving.

Shen Yi led them to the bathroom to wash their hands with soap before bringing them to the table.

"The butcher just delivered the pork 25 minutes ago. I've already processed it, prepared the filling, and the dough has risen enough. All you need to do is help me wrap the filling and watch the oven while I bake it."

The brother and sister listened carefully and understood after watching Shen Yi demonstrate a few times. Shen Yi watched coldly, corrected them a few times, and when he saw that they were almost done, he was relieved to bake the guokui.

He was in charge of baking, Shen Dagou was in charge of receiving the baked flatbreads and handing over a new plate of dough, and Shen Xiang only needed to concentrate on rolling out the dough.

The three worked together perfectly, and before they knew it, the morning light streamed into the courtyard, and the sky began to lighten.

The freshly baked guokui filled four large wicker baskets, four times the usual amount.

When Su Tai got up and saw the results, she couldn't help but be amazed. She quickly lit a fire and cooked breakfast for everyone.

This time, instead of taking shortcuts, she used the leftover filling and dough to make steamed buns, pan-fried buns, and boiled a large pot of goat milk, inviting everyone to come and eat.

The brother and sister were still a little awkward.

Su Tai smiled and said, "If we have a lot of work to do in the future, we'll ask you for help again. It'll make things easier for us."

Shen Yi nodded with a smile, "I need to get off the ship quickly, so I'll bring food for the journey. It'll make it more lively if you have a meal with my wife."

After Shen Yi left, the three of them slowly ate breakfast. Su Tai generously took out sixteen coins and gave them to them, saying, "Your mother works for our family. She works in the fields for about four or five hours a day and is paid thirty coins a day. From now on, I will ask you to help with the work and I will pay you eight coins per hour."

"I only have one request: please don't tell the villagers about our family's situation. I just want to live a low-key life, is that alright?"

The two nodded like chicks pecking at rice, "Don't worry, Sister Su Tai, we'll keep our mouths shut."

Shen Dagou scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Besides, we don't have any playmates in the village, so we have nowhere to talk to them?"

Su Tai was somewhat surprised.

Shen Xiang explained in a low voice, "Our family is poor. Although we don't have much land, my parents always have to worry about the daily food supply. When they're not home, we have to work and don't have time to play."

Su Tai sighed silently and didn't say anything more. People in this era already lived a hard life, and Shen Dagou's family was a microcosm of every poor person.

The brother and sister ate breakfast at Su Tai's place, took their wages and two fried buns home, and immediately handed the wages to Granny Chen and explained the situation.

Grandma Chen was so excited that tears streamed down her face. "Great! Great! Shen Yi and his wife are truly our family's lucky stars. Grandma will save up the money for you so you can use it as a dowry when you get married."

The brother and sister smiled contentedly, carefully broke open the two fried buns they had brought back, and each took a small bite.

Shen Yi also carried the potstickers across the river. Many of the people on the boat today were unfamiliar faces, so the boat sold quite a lot. When he arrived at the market, he hadn't walked more than a few steps when people came to stop him because they smelled the potstickers.

People have a herd mentality; seeing so many people gathered around, they want to join in the fun and buy something to try, to see if it's really that delicious.

He risked his life to protect the last basket; otherwise, it wouldn't have made it to the Lucky Inn.

Seeing Shen Yi's disheveled appearance and hearing his story of the many hardships he had endured on his journey, Manager Li quickly invited him to sit down for tea and a short rest. He also suggested, "Your guokui (a type of flatbread) is selling like hotcakes. Recently, more and more people have been buying it, and quite a few have come here instead of you."

Why don't you just make more and send me a big basket every day, and two baskets on market days? If I can't sell them all at the inn, I can sell them at the entrance. It's much better than this kind of trouble you're doing!"

Shen Yi gave a wry smile but did not express his opinion directly.

Manager Li didn't insist. After paying, he went to attend to other matters.

After resting, Shen Yi left satisfied, carrying the heavy money bag.

I earned about 800 coins today, and it didn't take much effort. I can buy some snacks for my wife and some meat.