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

Chapter 35 Performing at the Village Entrance
Pan Dayan said indignantly, "I told everyone about buying konjac, but she insisted that I was lying. How could there be such a good thing in the world?"

Granny Zhao was very clever; she went specifically to the big soapberry tree at the village entrance to talk to her.

That tree was practically the village's intelligence hub; a lot of gossip originated from there.

It's been hot lately and there's not much work to do in the fields, so people often go to the big tree to cool off whenever they have free time.

Zhao even deliberately chose a time when Pan Dayan wasn't under the tree to say that if Pan Dayan had been there, she would have argued with her ten or eight times already.

Li Ruru felt a surge of anger whenever she thought of Zhao Shi, that old hag.

She tolerated the IOU yesterday, but she couldn't tolerate this today.

She needs to deliver 50 bowls of konjac tofu to Chu Xiu tomorrow; she needs to make more so that she can have some left over to sell.

Selling one barrel is selling, selling two barrels is selling, and it's not easy to make a trip like this, so of course she wants to earn more money.

"Come on, let's go to the village entrance now. Aunt Pan, how about you play a part with me?"

She then whispered her plan.

Pan Dayan immediately became interested upon hearing this, her eyes shining with excitement. "Sister, you go first, I'll be there soon."

After saying that, she picked up her basket again and ran out in a flash.

Li Ruru tore off a page of paper and wrote a few words on it.

It's afternoon now, and the only cool place in the village is under the trees at the village entrance.

With my back against a big tree, I felt a cool breeze all around me.

At this time, many people were enjoying the shade under the trees.

Li Ruru smiled and went over to greet everyone, then stuck the paper in her hand on the tree.

It's more like inserting than pasting.

The soapberry tree is covered with long, black thorns, and the paper that is punctured will naturally stick to it.

After the paper was pasted up, someone quickly came over to inquire.

"Ms. Li, what did you write on this?"

Several illiterate old women came over to ask questions.

Li Ruru glanced at them. Very well, they were all gossipy women from the village.

He laughed and said, "Oh, it's nothing. I just asked Aunt Pan to help me harvest konjac. It's 10 coins per konjac."

"What? What did you say?"

"Ten coins for a single konjac jelly?"

"real or fake?"

The crowd was both alarmed and surprised, and they asked a barrage of questions.

Li Ruru said, "Of course it's true. If someone gives me a konjac right now, I'll pay them immediately."

As she spoke, she took out the money pouch from her waist and weighed it in her hand.

Everyone stared in disbelief, estimating that there were at least several hundred coins in the money bag.

Just then, Pan Dayan ran over cheering.

She wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and said breathlessly, "Oh, sister, I've finally found you! You said yesterday you were buying konjac for 10 coins a piece, and I just went up the mountain and dug up three!"

She paused, then her already booming voice grew even louder.

"Are you really going to accept it? Granny Zhao said you were a liar yesterday, and now I don't know who to believe."

Li Ruru smiled and took the basket from her back, pretending to inspect it before speaking.

“Aunt Pan, these three konjacs of yours weigh at least 5 jin each, which meets my purchase criteria.”

As she spoke, she took out her money bag, slowly counted out 30 coins, and handed them to Pan Dayan.

The onlookers exclaimed.

"Wow, they actually pay?!"

"Aunt Pan earned 30 coins in one go, more than a strong man earns in a day." "There are plenty of konjac on the mountain. If we go dig them up, we can earn just as much, right?"

Li Ruru smiled and answered everyone's questions one by one, "As long as each one weighs no less than 5 catties, it's 10 coins each. I'll adjust the price accordingly for smaller or larger ones."

A few coins will be deducted for small amounts, while larger amounts will naturally be charged more.

After all, the larger the konjac plant, the more konjac tofu can be made.

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and everyone was eager to go up the mountain to dig for konjac.

Feng Yuzhu suddenly walked over, fanning herself with a fan. She said softly, "My mother said there's no such thing as a free lunch. Everyone should be careful not to be fooled by those with ulterior motives."

Those who had already gone home to retrieve their money were stunned. "Ms. Feng, don't talk nonsense. Ms. Li just gave the money to Aunt Pan. How could it be fake?"

Feng Yuzhu said with a forced smile, "Maybe the two of them were just putting on an act."

Li Ruru was taken aback. This Feng Yuzhu was really amazing; she actually figured it out.

Although it was just acting, she actually paid for the konjac.

Feng Yuzhu's innocent and genuinely caring demeanor actually fooled some people.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Li, why don't you dig the konjac yourself instead of wasting 10 coins?"

That's 10 coins! That's enough to buy half a pound of pork.

If you could dig up a few more a day, wouldn't you be rich?

Would such a good thing really fall into the laps of farmers like them?
Farmers are self-aware; they don't dream of getting rich, they just work diligently.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

For example, Chen Sanbao doesn't like to work; he only likes ways to make money quickly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone up the mountain to dig for ginseng.

An old man stroked his beard and said, "All good things in this world come with conditions. We ordinary people have no way to go to heaven or earth, so let's not think about those things that don't exist."

For example, the imperial examination could change one's fate, change one's social class, and make one a superior person.

The tuition fees for schooling were exorbitantly expensive, making it unaffordable for ordinary farming families, not to mention that girls were not even allowed to take the exams.

Li Ruru was so angry she almost laughed. Earning 10 coins from a single konjac taro wouldn't make her rich, would it?!

Is it possible?! She was somewhat skeptical!
"As you all know, I have three children to raise and I also sell konjac tofu. I don't have that much time to go up the mountain. That's why I thought of selling konjac to everyone."

Li Ruru patiently explained that she wasn't being taken advantage of; she just didn't have the time.

More importantly, she didn't want to exhaust herself; she was willing to solve the problem with money.

She paused for a moment, then added, "If you're willing to trust the Feng and Zhao families, then don't send me konjac. I'll pay whoever's willing to dig it up."

Feng Yuzhu knew that the more konjac Li Ruru collected, the more money she could earn selling konjac tofu.

She naturally didn't want Li Ruru to have a good life, and rolled her eyes as she said, "You can dig if you want, but don't dig and then they don't pay you. Otherwise, you'll have wasted your time."

Feng Yuzhu's constant claims of acting in everyone's best interests made Li Ruru seem like an evil capitalist.

Pan Dayan sneered, "You just can't stand to see my younger sister doing well, can you? Others may not know your little schemes, but do you think I don't know them?"

Before Feng Yuzhu could say anything more, Li Ruru blinked her big eyes and asked, "Mrs. Feng, I heard that your two nephews also dug up two konjac plants yesterday. What do you think they're doing digging up konjac?"

Feng Yuzhu's lips twitched. Jintong and Jingang dug up konjac to make konjac tofu, but unfortunately they failed and even got into a lawsuit, causing the family to lose 20 taels of silver for nothing.

Just as she was about to explain, Li Ruru suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

The voice took eighteen turns, "You guys didn't secretly dig it up yourselves and then sell it to me to make a fortune, did you?"

Otherwise, I don't understand why you'd want to stop everyone from making money.

"Oh, I see." Li Ruru looked like she suddenly realized something. "You just can't stand seeing others do well. Aunt Pan is absolutely right. Your whole family can't stand seeing others do well."

It's utterly hateful and despicable to not only fail to work hard yourself but also to hinder others from doing so.

While everyone was arguing, Chen Jingang and Chen Jintong suddenly ran over and threw two konjac taro seeds in front of Li Ruru.

That's what they dug up yesterday.

Chen Jingang spread his hands, "Third Aunt... oh no, Aunt Li, give me the money."

(End of this chapter)