GBP Chapter 86 A family of freeloaders came as soon as they smelled the aroma!
Chapter 86 A family of freeloaders came as soon as they smelled the aroma!
Shen Gou Dan's hand, which was holding a roasted sweet potato, froze instantly.
He considered himself thick-skinned, but he didn't expect that Tang, the daughter of the Shen family, would be even more thick-skinned and speak so directly.
He's finally met his match today!
Shen Gou Dan chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, I didn't realize Tang girl was so eloquent. She's got business potential. Our roasted sweet potatoes will definitely sell better and better, and we'll make more money."
He swallowed the mouthful of sweet potato stuck in his throat with great effort. Being watched by the other family, the sweet potato in his hand suddenly didn't taste sweet anymore.
"Well, I have something to do, so I won't keep you from selling roasted sweet potatoes for now. Let's talk again when we meet at home."
After saying that, he smiled, turned around and left, walking so fast that his feet seemed to fly.
Shen Xiaotang snorted coldly and scoffed, "What's the point of talking to someone who just wants to freeload?"
Liu was gentle by nature and would not get angry even if someone took advantage of her.
She sighed and advised, "Tang'er, we're all from the same village, and our fields are close together. If we're too blunt, it'll only make things worse."
Shen Qingchuan added, "Yeah, we're bound to run into each other again. It wouldn't look good to ask him for money for the sweet potatoes we grew ourselves."
"Dad, Mom, it's not that I'm stingy and insist he pay. He's deliberately trying to freeload. Can't you see how obvious it is? If he were just passing by and saying hello, he wouldn't have kept staring at our stove and asking if it was sweet. We offered it to him for free, which is completely different from him wanting to eat but not wanting to pay. If everyone acted like him, we wouldn't be able to keep our business going. A business that's too shameless won't last long..."
She patiently gave her parents a lecture on ideology and politics, and for a moment she forgot the time.
When she realized what was happening, she let out a scream.
"Dad, hurry, hurry, take the mule, we need to go to the county to buy pig's trotters!"
Reminded by his daughter, Shen Qingchuan realized that the two of them immediately led the mule out of Qinghe Town and headed towards Pingding County!
It takes an hour and a half to get from Qinghe Town to Pingding County. However, the branch of the restaurant owned by Manager Su is in another county, Dushui County, which they have not been to yet. Manager Su said that the two counties are adjacent and the journey should be about the same.
However, just from the name Dushui County, you can tell that it must be near a ferry crossing, more prosperous than Pingding County where kidnappers are rampant, and things must be more expensive there.
For purchasing, Pingding County is the best choice; for investment and business, Dushui County is the best option!
Shen Qingchuan led the mule on the road, while Shen Xiaotang lay on the mule cart, half asleep.
There was no way around it; she had been getting up too early these past two days, and her small frame couldn't handle it.
When she woke up, the mule cart was stopped halfway down the road, and her father was feeding the mule with a bunch of grass leaves.
"Dad, how far have we walked?"
When Shen Qingchuan heard his daughter calling him, he immediately looked up. "We've gone more than halfway. The mule hasn't eaten anything all day. I was thinking of stopping to let him eat something. It won't take much time anyway."
He was quite tired after walking for most of the way, but the mule was still small, and he couldn't bear to ride on the mule cart for fear of tiring it out.
Seeing that his daughter was sleeping too soundly, he stopped the mule to rest and eat something, so that his daughter could also get some rest.
"Alright, let it eat first, and you can take a break, Dad."
After the mules had eaten their fill, they continued their journey and arrived in the county in one go. They first went to the butcher shop where they could buy pig's trotters by the large quantity.
I spent 120 coins to buy 15 pig forelegs, at 8 coins each. Although it was a little more expensive than yesterday, it was still much cheaper than the pork price.
It's two coins cheaper per stick!
They went to another butcher shop and bought eight pig trotters. After much pleading, the butcher shop owner finally agreed to a discount of sixty-five coins.
Five were used to make up the order, and the other two were to be braised for their own consumption!
After asking around at several pepper shops, they chose one that was slightly cheaper. After selecting the seasonings she needed, Shen Xiaotang spent a long time haggling with the shopkeeper, promising to buy from that shop from now on. Finally, she managed to persuade the shopkeeper to give her a discount.
Shen Xiaotang immediately selected two more items that couldn't be bought in town, preparing to upgrade the recipe!
After the discount and rounding down, it cost a total of 300 coins.
After leaving the house, she bought twenty coins' worth of garlic from a roadside stall, intending to try making two cloves of minced garlic when she got home.
Shen Qingchuan was puzzled when he saw his daughter had bought a bunch of garlic.
"Tang'er, what are you planning to do with so much garlic?"
Shen Xiaotang said mysteriously, "Dad, we can't keep making spicy pig's trotters, and we're almost out of chili peppers. I'll try making five-spice garlic trotters when I get back. Once I've made them, I'll let Manager Yao and Manager Su try them. If we only make one flavor, the customers will get tired of it."
She plans to keep some garlic to grow herself so she won't have to keep buying it next year.
We need to add more red chili peppers!
Shen Qingchuan suddenly realized and immediately nodded, "Tang'er is right. It's easy to get tired of eating only one flavor, especially for the masters and young masters of wealthy families, who are very picky about their tastes."
"Father, how do you know that the masters and young masters of wealthy families have picky tastes?"
He scratched his head and chuckled, "I used to deliver eggs and tofu to restaurants all the time, and I overheard the cooks and waiters in the kitchen talking about it."
Looking at it this way, his father has a pretty good memory; he can remember things after just hearing people talking about them.
If Dad can read, he can be a great help in purchasing and accounting when the business grows bigger.
When they move to town and no longer have to travel back and forth between home, town, and county, she will buy two books to teach her parents and Xiaoyu to read!
By the time the father and daughter returned to Qinghe Town, the sun had already set. They hurried to the roasted sweet potato stall to pick up Liu and Xiaoyu.
By now, the pedestrians on the street had dispersed, and many people on both sides of the road had packed up their stalls and left. Only a few people remained, all packing up their stalls as well.
When Liu saw her husband and eldest daughter return, her eyes lit up instantly.
"Her father, Tang'er, you're finally back! How did things go? Did you get everything sorted out?"
Shen Qingchuan nodded and immediately turned off the fire and put away the stove.
Mrs. Liu took out three roasted sweet potatoes that were still available but not yet sold, and handed one to each of her two daughters.
"Tang'er, Yu'er, these roasted sweet potatoes are not all sold out. You two have some to tide you over first, and Mom will make you dinner when we get home."
There was one left, so I handed it to my husband as soon as he finished packing and loading it into the car.
"Dad, you've been leading the mule all day, you must be tired. Have something to eat."
There was only one left, how could he bear to let his wife watch him eat it?
"Fengniang, I'm not hungry. You eat it. It won't taste good if it gets cold. Next time you can roast a few more. You and Yu'er can have them all before we come back. We have plenty of sweet potatoes at home."
Liu broke the sweet potato in half and put half into her husband's hand. As she ate the roasted sweet potato, she felt a warmth in her heart. Apart from her own little family, no one had ever cared about her or worried about her having enough to eat.
This is what a real family is like!
By the time they rushed home, it was already dark, and before they could even unload their belongings, Mr. Shen and Mrs. Sun suddenly arrived with several of their grandsons.
Shen Xiaotang felt a chill run down her spine; she knew exactly what was going on without even having to guess.
It must be that loose tongue of Shen Gou Dan that spread the word back in the village.
So, Grandpa and his stepmother's family, who were freeloaders, came running just by the smell!