A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 24 Evening Breeze
The evening breeze blows gently,

Li Yixin let his horse run free, the evening breeze was cool and free, carrying the sweet smell of success.

When we returned to Luojiawan, it was already dark.

"Wu Yi."

Suddenly, a dark shadow jumped out from under the big locust tree at the bridge head, scaring the horse and almost making Li Yi fall.

"Sanniang? Why are you still here so late?"

"I saw you weren't back so late, so I waited for you."

"These mosquitoes can carry people away, and you are still here feeding them like an idiot. Go home quickly."

Li Yi dismounted and led the horse towards Wujiyuan. Sanniang followed him. "You said you were waiting for your good news. How is it going?"

"Well, it's done. Starting tomorrow, Mati Temple wants us to provide ten kilograms of dried bean curd sheets and ten kilograms of fried tofu every day. If this deal is done, maybe we can also get some tofu, bean sprouts, salty fermented black beans, and other businesses in the future."

In the small courtyard,
Xiuzhi, Lanxiang and the other six were still waiting for Li Yi to come back.
"You haven't eaten yet?"

Li Yi was quite surprised to hear that they were all waiting for him to come back. "Didn't I tell you I'm having dinner at Nianzhuang? Let's eat quickly."

Sanniang took Li Yi to squat beside the pile of chili peppers in the yard and asked him about the details.

When Li Yi said that a pound of bean curd sheets or fermented soybeans could be exchanged for a dou of rice, Sanniang exclaimed in surprise and couldn't believe it.

When Li Yi mentioned that he would give her a kickback of 120 coins per catty, Sanniang seemed relieved. "Then we still have 240 coins per catty. It's more expensive than mutton. You said before that four pieces of tofu would cost 10 coins, but you can't even sell them for that much."

"I've already made some dried bean curd sheets over the past two days. Fried tofu doesn't keep well in this hot weather, so I'll make it tonight. Luckily, I soaked a lot of beans today, otherwise I wouldn't be able to catch up in time for tomorrow's supply."

She counted excitedly, pointing and calculating: ten kilograms of fried tofu requires five kilograms of soaked beans, and ten kilograms of dried bean curd sheets require twenty kilograms of beans. "The soy milk and bean curd business at the bridgehead is also quite good. Today, five dou of soy milk and bean curd were sold out in less than half a day..."

Li Yi smelled the pungent smell of smoke and reminded Sanniang that it was time to get back on track.

"Now that our tofu workshop has a stable market, we need to add some staff. That's what I think."

The Luo family used to make and sell tofu themselves, but now that Li Yi and Sanniang have partnered up to run a workshop, they must keep things separate. In the future, when buying soybeans, oil, even firewood and hiring people, all these must be handled separately.

After making money and deducting the costs, the profits have to be divided among the members.

"I suggest that your father stop making and selling tofu. There are too many people doing it now, and you can't make much money. If your father is willing, we can hire him to work in our workshop. And your two sisters-in-law can also be hired to work in our workshop. They can grind tofu and make soy milk, run the bridge stall, pick bean curd skins, bake bean curd sheets, fry fried tofu, etc."

Let’s agree on the wages first so there won’t be any confusion.

He and Sanniang were the owners of the workshop, and the rest were hired workers.

Workers get wages and bosses share the profits.

"We are also considering buying a donkey to grind soy milk. If we expand in the future, we will have to add stone mills, donkeys, etc."

Sanniang listened very carefully.

"You're right. We need to sort it out. Also, the ten stone of beans you bought today, the one hundred kilograms of oil you bought earlier, and the several large pots you bought—anything used in the workshop—must be accounted for properly. I'll make up for it first when I make money."

After you and I discussed it, the rules of the workshop were finally decided.

However, when it comes to the most important part, Sanniang refused to take a share.

"From now on, our workshop will make money from bean curd sheets and fried tofu. These are your secret recipes. Even the beans, oil, and pots were all paid for by you alone. You paid real money. I'm just one person who contributed, so how can I take a share? If you think I can do a good job, just give me a salary."

Li Yi shook his head: "Didn't we agree to do this business together? Why are you changing your mind now? Besides, I don't really care about this business, and I won't have much energy to manage it in the future."

"That won't work either. The secret recipe of bean curd sheets and soaked tofu is yours. You also paid for the beans, oil and pot. Now it's you who negotiated the business," Sanniang said, biting her lip.

It took a long time to reach an agreement.

In the end, Sanniang was only willing to take a share of the soy milk stall at the bridge head.
"Then the stall at the bridge is yours now."

"No, it was you who came up with the idea of setting up this stall. When I open a stall in the future, you still have to take half of the profits. As for the workshop, I'll help you with it, and you just have to pay me half of the wages."

When this big yellow-haired girl gets stubborn, she's like a donkey.

"Okay, then I'll take all the freshly made tofu skin from your family. Ask your father and family if they'd like to work in my workshop in the future. If they do, I'll tell you how much they'd pay you."

"That's all easy. Let's soak and fry the oil beans tonight. Do you want to fry a few more and see if we can sell them somewhere else tomorrow?"

"Then fry ten more pounds of tofu puffs and send them to other temples first. Let them try them for free. Maybe some temple will be interested in buying them."

"You want to try all ten kilograms?"

"Don't be reluctant. Besides, ten pounds of soybeans don't cost much. It's just five pounds of beans and a little over three pounds of oil. Not counting labor and firewood, it's only a few hundred dollars."

"You're right. We should take advantage of the good weather now and dry more bean curd sheets every day. If it rains, it will take too much firewood and effort to bake them." Sanniang is always so efficient.

"From now on, you can soak beans, grind soy milk, make bean curd sheets, and fry bean curd in my yard. It's spacious here and more convenient than the straw shed in your rice field."

Li Yi prefers to be a hands-off boss and is unwilling to take care of the details once things are arranged.

Sanniang has strong execution ability. Although she is only an unmarried sixteen-year-old girl, she is efficient and upright in her work.

After the conversation, she lit a torch and returned to the south bank.

"Brother, why didn't you send Third Sister off?" Lanxiang criticized him. "Third Sister has been so good to you, just marry her."

"Children don't understand adult matters. Go to bed quickly and stop feeding mosquitoes here." Xiuzhi brought water and asked Li Yi to wash his face and feet.

"Have you taken the medicine Mr. Dong prescribed for you today?"

"I took some insect repellent after returning, washed my hair and took a bath, changed my clothes as instructed, and boiled all the clothes I took off in boiling water."

"is that useful?"

Xiuzhi felt a little embarrassed. The anti-parasitic medicine was indeed very effective. All five children, one big and one small, had worms in their feces. It was both scary and disgusting.

"As long as it works, I'm glad you did. Continue taking the medicine as Mr. Dong instructed. From now on, we'll make a rule at home: boil water and let it cool before drinking. Don't drink raw water, and eat less raw food. Wash your hands and take a bath frequently, especially before meals and after defecation. This is a family rule."

Xiuzhi agreed with a blushing face.

"You should rest early too,"

"Ah Lang, do you want me to go to Daodi Sanniang's house to help make tofu tonight?"

"Forget about tonight. Tomorrow you should get up early and help set up the stall at the bridgehead."

Li Yi returned to the upper bedroom.
There was no entertainment at night, and there was not even any lighting. The oil for oil lamps was very expensive, and as for candles, only the rich and powerful could afford them.

Ordinary people have dinner at four or five in the afternoon, work from sunrise to sunset, and go to bed as soon as it gets dark.

Li Yi crawled into the mosquito net and lay on the couch, feeling that he still needed to work hard to improve his material conditions. He still had to buy an oil lamp tomorrow. Even if the oil for lighting a night cost five or ten cents, it was not something he could save.

In addition to the oil lamp, the door and stove also need to be put on the agenda.

Without a door, I always feel uneasy when sleeping.

"Meow, attract wealth,"

Li Yi called out to the window a few times, and a light figure jumped in from the window hole that had not yet been installed.

Little Lihua came to Li Yi's couch and rubbed against his legs.

"I almost forgot to reward you," Li Yi took out two dried shrimps and gave them to the little tabby cat. The little tabby cat chewed them with big mouthfuls. Li Yi reached out and stroked its shiny fur. "After you finish eating, go back and guard the food. I just bought ten stone of soybeans today. We can't let rats steal it."

"Meow." Zhaocai replied.
After finishing the dried shrimps, Lihua went back to guard the food dutifully.

It was still too early and Li Yi couldn't fall asleep. He lay there feeling bored and missed his cell phone and the Internet very much. He tried to avoid thinking about his wife and children whom he would never see again.

The frogs on the south bank of the river were croaking so loudly that it could lift a person up.

Li Yi lay there bored, carefully distinguishing the differences between the various frog sounds, and gradually he was hypnotized.

I don't know when the frog sounds stopped.
Li Yi was awakened by bursts of crisp bird calls. There are many tall ancient trees in Wujiyuan, and the lush treetops have become a paradise for birds.

I opened my eyes and found that it was already dawn.

Li Yi got up, but there was no one in the yard or the kitchen.

When he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, he found that a soy milk stall had been set up under the tree at the bridge head. Luo Sanniang, Lanxiang, Xiuzhi, Sanniang's father Luo Er, and her two sisters-in-law were all busy working downstairs.

Many passengers who were rushing to travel in the early morning were eating soy milk and soy brain, which was a lively scene.

Li Yi simply went down the slope.

"Give me a bowl of soy milk,"

"Sir, wait a moment," Sanniang lowered her head to scoop up some soybeans. When she looked up, she saw that it was Li Yi. "Are you up so early?"

"You've been busy for a long time."

After drinking a bowl of hot soy milk, I started sweating slightly and felt completely awake. Then I had another bowl of tofu pudding and felt full.

"We have millet porridge today, would you like some?"

Li Yi patted his stomach and said, "I don't want to drink anymore."

It can be seen that Sanniang has a good business sense. Since she didn't sell enough yesterday, she not only prepared extra soy milk and soy bean curd in advance, but also had a lot of soaked beans. If it was not enough, she could grind the milk and cook it at any time.

Even millet porridge was added today to cater to different customers.

Several large buckets of well water and boiled water were prepared, and a lot of straw and rice chaff were also prepared for the guests' mules.

"I've prepared twenty pounds of fried tofu and dried bean curd sheets from Mati Temple for you. They're all over there." Sanniang pointed to the side. "Another ten pounds of fried tofu and dried bean curd sheets are also ready. I even made some extra and put them here for sale to customers. A group of merchants actually bought two pounds of dried bean curd sheets."

"My father and sister-in-law are also willing to come to the workshop to work. The wages are up to you to decide."

"Your horse, Shitou, and his brother have fed you well in the morning."

She arranged everything in an orderly manner.

Old man Luo Er also decided to quit the tofu-making business. It was too hard and he didn't make much money, so he simply listened to his daughter and came to work in Li Yi's workshop.

"Then I'll go to Mati Temple to deliver the goods first, and then I'll go to Wangqu to see the village chief Wang and get a public certificate first, so that it will be convenient for me to go to Chang'an." Li Yi called Xiuzhi who was helping, "You will cook for everyone later, so that we won't go hungry. Also, if I come back late at night, you don't have to wait for me, you can eat first when the time comes."

Sanniang helped him straighten his clothes and said, "Didn't you buy a sword yesterday? Remember to take it with you when you go out."

(End of this chapter)