Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 208 Is this the same person?

Li Ruru climbed down the cave and spotted a familiar figure.

"Auntie Pang, what brings you here?"

Aunt Pang, dusty and tired from her journey, said before she could even find her footing, "Aru, it's been so long! Have you forgotten me?"

Li Ruru smiled and said, "How could that be? What does Auntie Pang want with me?"

Baihua Village is so far away, people who traveled all that way definitely didn't come here just to chat and gossip.

The plump aunt handed the basket to Li Ruru: "These are the eggs I collected, here you go..."

She wanted to suggest taking some tonics, but seeing Li Ruru's rosy complexion and cheerful smile, she knew she didn't need any.

"If you need to repair your house, I'll have my husband come over and help."

As she spoke, she pointed to a kind-looking man standing far away, leading a donkey cart.

Li Ruru waved her hand: "No need, it's not easy for you to come all this way. Aunt Pang, we're all family, just tell me what you need to say."

It's not about all these roundabout ways.

Aunt Pang didn't think there was anything wrong with giving away eggs; when asking for help, one should act like one is asking for help.

She began by saying, "I heard that your village has built a malt sugar workshop."

With just one sentence, Li Ruru knew what she was going to do.

She asked, "Do you want some maltose to sell in the county town?"

Aunt Pang was just hesitating about how to start the conversation when Li Ruru actually knew what she was thinking.

She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I know it's not very ethical to do this, but I think it's the same whether you sell it to restaurants or grocery stores or I sell it on the street, right?"

Logically speaking, this workshop is a business of Chenjia Village, and she shouldn't be getting involved.

But she hadn't set up her stall or made any money in a long time, so when she learned that such an opportunity was right in front of her, how could she not be tempted?

Aunt Pang lowered her head, not daring to look at Li Ruru or Hai Shi.

She was prepared to be rejected, but to her surprise, Li Ruru said, "Okay, let's go, I'll take you there."

Aunt Pang was taken aback for a moment, then stomped her foot happily, "Little sister, you're such a kind person."

As Li Ruru walked, she said to Hai Shi, "Retail is also a good idea. We can put up a notice in a while saying that individuals who want to buy maltose can also do so, and the price will be the same."

Hai nodded and said with a smile, "That's great, then I'll buy some and send some to my family back home."

Whether it's retail or gift-giving, as long as the product can be sold, that's fine.

The three arrived at the workshop, and after listening to Li Ruru's explanation, the village head also thought that this method was good.

A notice was immediately written and posted.

After a busy day, the workers finally produced the first batch of maltose and sesame candy.

Maltose was stored in a large urn, while sesame candy was placed in a huge cattail basket.

The beer made by Chaochao, Peipei, and Bailu has only just started fermenting and will take another seven days to ferment.

The first group of shopkeepers who came to pick up goods also arrived.

A group of people surrounded Lü Da and Fang Xingzhi. After registering the goods, they arranged for someone to pick them up.

We entered from the east end of the village and then took a long detour before finally leaving.

Several shopkeepers huddled together, complaining, "What a lousy village! The bridge is gone, and they don't even bother to fix it. They've wasted so much of our time."

Someone stared at Fang Xingzhi and whispered to the person next to them, "Isn't that the one who threw people out that day?"

Looking at Fang Xingzhi, the man's aloof and noble demeanor was completely gone, replaced by a smiling face.

Is this the same person?
Before he could react, someone pointed to Li Ruru, who was surrounded by women.

"Hey, look! Doesn't that woman look familiar?"

Those around her looked at Li Ruru and realized she looked familiar; wasn't she the arrogant and glamorous woman from yesterday?

I have a million questions in my mind, but I dare not say a word.

He said, "Speak less, or someone will throw you out."

Throwing it away is a minor matter; the main thing is not to let this business fall apart.

He had already tasted the maltose, and it was even better than ordinary white or brown sugar. The price was reasonable, and it was a novelty; he was confident he would make a good profit this time.

Compared to the shopkeepers' impressive mule caravan, Aunt Pang's donkey looked weak and pitiful.

She only brought a small wooden bucket, which she left in the car.

Before leaving, she asked Li Ruru, "Ruru, how much do you think I should sell this maltose for?"

If she sells it too cheaply, she won't make any money; if she sells it too expensively, she's afraid no one will buy it.

Li Ruru said, "This maltose can not only be sold alone, but also in sweet soup, sweet buns, and pies. It can also be added to them."

Li Ruru's words instantly opened up Aunt Pang's mind.

She slapped her forehead and said, "Oh dear, how come I didn't think of that?"

Li Ruru is really clever; she expanded her business scope in no time.

Li Ruru handed her a small basket and said, "This contains some maltose. Take it home and eat it. If any customers like it, they can order it here tomorrow."

The plump aunt nodded hurriedly and reached into her sleeve to pull out a shrunken wallet.

"Um..." she wanted to say, "Can I pay tomorrow?"

Li Ruru pushed him away, saying, "This is sesame candy, it's a gift from me, it's free."

What she gave Aunt Pang was homemade, a mix of various flavors, and the color wasn't very appealing.

Although she owns the majority stake in the workshop, public and private matters must be kept separate.

In the evening, groups of shopkeepers and individual shoppers left.

Lu Da gathered several core members of the workshop together and solemnly announced some good news.

"We've sold out of maltose for today. Judging from the current situation, we haven't done enough."

Tomorrow I'll go to the county town and order a few more large wooden figures.

"A total of 627 taels were sold today."

Everyone gasped and covered their mouths in shock. Pan Dayan pinched her thigh and exclaimed, "Oh my, is this a dream?"

Lu Da continued, "After deducting the costs of purchasing wheat, acquiring tools, and building the workshop, there is currently a balance in the accounts..."

Fang Xingzhi flipped through the account book and said, "There is still... um... negative 413 taels left."

"What? What does -413 mean?" Pan Dayan exclaimed.

"We haven't recouped our initial investment yet," Li Ruru explained. "But that's okay, take it slow. No business is profitable from the start."

Besides, we'll start to break even starting tomorrow.

Hearing her say that, Pan Dayan and Hai Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Lu looked at everyone and said, "I have a suggestion, but I don't know if I should say it."

Lu Da encouraged him, "You're also a shareholder, so let's talk things out behind closed doors."

"Today I heard the shopkeepers complaining about taking a long detour."

The bridge in Chenjia Village hasn't been built yet, so we have to take a long detour.

Chu Xiu added, "Many people also say that the roads in our village are difficult to travel on, and the cart wheels are covered in mud, making them extremely filthy."

Chenjia Village has many main roads and small paths, but every one of them is a dirt road.

It just rained heavily; it's no wonder it's difficult to walk.

Lu Da looked at Li Ruru, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

When the canal was being built, Li Ruru promised everyone that she would contribute funds to build the bridge.

But now they've set up this workshop, and the workshop alone cost them over 200 taels of silver.

She probably doesn't have any spare money left, so it seems the only option for this bridge project is to raise funds from the villagers or report it to the county government.

Many people would be unwilling to contribute to the former, since it's already difficult enough to have enough to eat these days, and everyone has extra money.

In the latter case, it's uncertain when a memorial will be submitted and the county magistrate will see it and approve the funds.

Lu Da sighed sadly.

(End of this chapter)