Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 360 The Turn of Fortune for "Tofu Zhang"
As the saying goes, "One autumn rain brings one chill." The rain that had lasted for several days finally stopped, but the temperature in Shixing City had dropped to around ten degrees Celsius, making people truly feel the chill of early winter.

The morning dampness had not yet dissipated, and the creaking sound of wooden wheels rolling over the cement street could already be heard.

Old Zhang pushed his wheelbarrow, on which sat a large wooden bucket filled with freshly made soft tofu, covered with a damp burlap sack, steaming with moisture.

He was wrapped in a thick fur coat and wore a beaver fur hat, humming a Lingnan folk tune, and walking briskly, as if the cold weather couldn't hide his good mood.

"Old Zhang!" Manager He from the eatery at the street corner poked his head out and called out to him, "Weigh out five pieces of tofu for me today!"

"Alright!" Old Zhang immediately stopped the wheelbarrow, skillfully lifted the burlap sack, cut off several square pieces of tofu with a cleaver, and took out a scale. "Five jin and eight liang, two jiao and three fen. ...Here, keep it safe!"

Manager He took the tofu in a wooden basin, and gently pressed it with his fingertips. The tofu trembled slightly but did not fall apart. He nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, the tofu is excellent today!"

"Hehe... Don't worry, this is the first batch, it's the most tender!" He took the three jiao coins, then took out seven fen coins from his pocket and gave them to the other person as change.

"Your craftsmanship is even better than Old Ding's in the east of the city," Shopkeeper He said with a smile as he handed the wooden basin to his wife. "Is it a family heirloom?"

"Of course!" Zhang Laowu took the burlap cloth and covered the tofu again, saying with considerable pride, "Our Zhang family has been making tofu for three generations in Sanshui County, Guangzhou Prefecture. My grandfather's generation learned to grind tofu, add brine, and make dried tofu from others. By my father's time, it had become a well-known skill in the surrounding area, and people called him Tofu Zhang."

"However, making tofu is ultimately a hard job. You have to get up before dawn to grind the soybeans, and then carry them on a shoulder pole through the streets and alleys, shouting all day long, just to earn a few coins."

"It's such a waste! After all this hard work, most of it goes to rent from the land, plus various taxes and levies from the imperial court. In the end, there's hardly any money left, not even enough for a decent meal."

There's an old saying that goes, "The three greatest hardships in life are rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu. Well, my Zhang family just happens to have one of those hardships!"

"Since it's so tough, why did you come to Xinzhou and start this business?" Manager He asked with a smile.

"Isn't that because our Xinhua government has implemented benevolent policies and won the hearts of the people, allowing us ordinary folks to live a good life?"

Zhang Laowu said with a smile, "The most important thing is that Xinhua doesn't have as many taxes as the Ming Dynasty, nor do it have so many petty officials and clerks who prey on people. As long as you pay the fixed market tax according to the government's regulations, you can sell tofu anywhere."

"Our new dynasty is far superior to the Ming Dynasty!" Manager He said, waving his hand at him before turning and walking into the shop.

“That’s right! We risked our lives to come to Xinzhou, it’s the greatest blessing of our lives!” Zhang Laowu said, pushing the cart toward the street.

Shops along the street opened one after another. The doors of the grain and oil shops were removed, and a fresh fragrance wafted out. The fire in the ironware repair shop was lit, and the flames burned brighter and brighter. The supply and marketing cooperative's clerks were hanging newly arrived Songjiang cotton cloth at the door.

Several local women from the naturalized area carried baskets and asked for prices in broken Mandarin. Zhang Laowu didn't mind and patiently gestured, making his business very successful.

Five years ago, when he first came to Shixing City, things were not like this.

At first, he was trembling with fear, afraid that he would not be able to survive in this barbaric land.

However, the government said that new immigrants would be allocated forty acres of land and given resettlement allowances (mainly agricultural loans) after three years of government settlement (they had previously spent one year in the Beiying colony).

Two years ago, he was assigned to a village on the outskirts of Shixing City, where he received a piece of land and an old wooden house left by the old immigrants.

After a year of hard work farming, he noticed that there seemed to be very few tofu-making businesses in Shixing City and the surrounding towns and villages. Immediately, his mind started to wander.

He tentatively inquired with the local officials whether it was permissible for private merchants to establish businesses and acquire property.

After receiving a positive response, he immediately went to find a stonemason to make him a stone mill, preparing to return to his old trade and make and sell tofu during the off-season.

The water in Qingsha Creek is sweet, which makes the soybeans grown there plump and the soy milk made from them exceptionally fragrant.

When he made his first batch of tofu, the neighbors took a bite and all praised it, saying, "It's much more tender than the tofu from Daming..."

At first, business was slow, and there weren't many buyers because most of the villagers were immigrants like him, and they didn't have much money. Later, he started carrying his wares to the city to sell, and that's when things started to improve.

In recent years, the number of city dwellers has gradually increased, and dockworkers, sailors, merchants, and government officials have all become his customers. The tofu he grinded has become a hot commodity.

Unlike the endless exorbitant taxes levied on the Ming Dynasty, the government of Xinhua only required a fixed commercial tax, and the rest was entirely their own.

He gradually added household items, replaced the millstone with a larger one, and even hired several naturalized local boys to help grind the grain during busy periods. His life gradually improved.

"Zhang Laowu! Your tofu is selling so well, I'm going to open a shop and compete with you for business!" Li Heiwa joked as he carried a load of vegetables at the market entrance.

"Let's just grab them!" Zhang Laowu laughed heartily. "There are more and more people in this city, especially more people with money in their pockets. Are we worried about not being able to sell them all?"

Indeed, Shixing City today is no longer the small town with only a thousand or so people it was a few years ago.

Merchant ships docked at the port every day, and the docks were piled high with spices from Southeast Asia, cotton cloth from the Ming Dynasty, sugar cane, wool, livestock, cocoa from Mexico, and precious furs from the north.

Shops lined both sides of the street, wine flags fluttered, and hawkers' cries rose and fell.

By midday, the large bucket of tofu had been sold out, and Zhang Laowu pushed his wheelbarrow lightly toward the edge of town.

"Old Zhang, I heard you're looking to buy a shop?" As they passed through the inner city gate, the patrolling police chief Song Chunsheng walked over with a smile, casually taking a small, slightly broken piece of tofu from Zhang Laowu's hand and putting it directly into his mouth.

Old Zhang wiped his sweat and laughed, "I do have that plan. There's a small fish shop at the street corner that's closing down, and I want to sell it. The price is reasonable."

Song Chunsheng clicked his tongue: "Tsk tsk, you tofu seller, you've really made a name for yourself."

Zhang Laowu shook his head, but his tone couldn't hide his pride: "Hehe, back in the Ming Dynasty, we worked ourselves to the bone and couldn't even get a full meal. Unlike here, as long as you're willing to work hard, life will always get better."

Just then, a commotion arose in the distance, and a group of Portuguese sailors walked over laughing and joking.

Upon seeing the wheelbarrow at the city gate, they pointed to the remaining bits of tofu in the wooden bucket and began asking questions in a hushed tone.

Although Zhang Laowu couldn't understand, his businessman's quick wit kicked in, and he immediately used his knife to pick up a piece and handed it over.

A Portuguese man took a bite, and the tofu melted in his mouth without much chewing, filling it with the aroma of soybeans.

That fresh aroma, carrying the rustic scent of the beans themselves, spreads across the tip of the tongue in an instant.

The Portuguese man's eyes lit up, he gave a thumbs up, and took out a few silver coins from his purse.

"Hey, if this barbarian can eat this, he must have eaten tofu in the Ming Dynasty!" Song Chunsheng laughed heartily. "Fifth Brother, you're going to be rich! Even barbarians love to eat your tofu!"

Zhang Laowu was all smiles, clasped his hands together, and repeatedly bowed to the Portuguese to express his gratitude.

Then, he took a wooden basin from the car, filled it with the remaining crumbled tofu, and served it to the Portuguese.

Zhang Laowu weighed the coins in his purse, thinking to himself that if he really rented a shop at the street corner, he would need to hire a helper and buy a donkey to pull the millstone, so that he wouldn't have to get up early and work late every day to push the millstone.

By the way, we should add a stove to the shop and sell some soy milk, tofu pudding, and dried tofu. Business would probably be even better.

"At least there's hope for the future!" he murmured, gazing at the bustling crowd on the street.

Oh dear, if this business grows too big, how will we manage the crops in the fields?
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(End of this chapter)