Chapter 6 TGBW

FlamingoBees

Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)

The General's Buddhist Wife

Chapter 6:

"Golden finger" Strength enhancement?

Then, Madam Zhao said, "Tomorrow, let's make more."

Lou Jian Jia nodded, "Okay."

After saying these words, Old Master Chu divided the copper coins into two portions, pushing one portion toward Lou Jian Jia, saying, "This method was thought up by you. You keep this portion, and the other portion, your mother and I will hold onto for you and Wei Leng. Later, I'll have mother give you the money for buying rice, and from now on, the money for buying rice will come from the public funds."

The reason Lou Jian Jia went to the pier to sell food was largely to ensure she could eat better and improve their meals. As for earning money to solve future survival issues, she hadn't thought about it yet. Moreover, from today's situation, it seemed difficult to become wealthy by selling meals at the pier.

After all, if one could only earn a few copper coins a day, it would only amount to a couple of hundred copper coins a month, or about two taels of silver a year.

However, she knew that Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao were honest people. They had already mentioned twice about giving her the money for rice, indicating their determination.

Calculating the costs, she came up with an idea and cooked the vegetables. Meanwhile, Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao were responsible for buying rice, planting vegetables, and setting up tables, chairs, boards, chopsticks, and so on. No matter how you looked at it, she seemed to have taken advantage.

"Let's do this then. The money will be kept with father, and we'll settle accounts every five days. After deducting the money for buying rice and spices, we'll split the rest," Lou Jian Jia analyzed objectively.

Unexpectedly, Old Master Chu said, "No need for that. This method was your idea. Your mother and I are old and don't need the money. It was Wei Leng's fault for letting you down on your wedding night and causing embarrassment to your maternal family. Take it for yourself."

Upon hearing this, Lou Jian Jia pursed her lips, lowered her eyes slightly, concealing the complex emotions in her eyes.

She knew what Old Master Chu meant. He felt that Wei Leng's abandonment of the original owner on their wedding night had caused embarrassment, turning someone who was once envied and admired in the village into a laughingstock.

© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

However, Old Master Chu didn't know that marrying Wei Leng was a scheme orchestrated by the original owner and the Lou family to trap Wei Leng.

Who was right and who was wrong was difficult to determine.

Moreover, the Lou family was still scheming against the Chu family, and the original owner also had intentions of remarriage.

Madam Zhao, seeing Lou Jian Jia silent, thought she was upset and said, "Just take it. When Wei Leng returns, I'll teach him a lesson and make him treat you well."

Hearing Madam Zhao's words, Lou Jian Jia thought, with only a small amount of money left, in about three months, the male lead would return home. By then, he would have money and people under his command, and Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao's days would no longer be the same as now. The money in front of her was indeed not much.

Rejecting it again would only delay things further. So, she didn't refuse anymore and accepted it.

Seeing her accept it, Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao seemed to be relieved somewhat.

After being so busy for a few hours, everyone was tired now, so they each went to rest.

Lou Jian Jia thought a bit more. Selling just over ten servings for lunch clearly wasn't enough, and it took her half an hour to sell them all. There were at least hundreds of people coming and going at the pier at noon, but only about one-tenth of them went to eat at their place.

However, it was just the beginning. They would see how things went in the next few days.

Around midday, Lou Jian Jia went to cook.

Thinking about earning money today, Lou Jian Jia tested Madam Zhao's attitude and extravagantly made egg drop soup with an egg.

She beat the egg very loosely, added some water while beating it, and when she poured it into the pot, the entire pot was filled with egg, looking like more than just one egg.

When heating the steamed buns, Lou Jian Jia heated up two extra ones as well.

Seemingly emboldened by earning money, Madam Zhao and Old Master Chu, at Lou Jian Jia's urging, ate an extra half steamed bun.

"Now that we're going to work, we should eat more to have the energy to earn money. Besides, we still have to go up the mountain to gather firewood in the afternoon," Lou Jian Jia advised.

Listening to her daughter-in-law's advice, Madam Zhao smiled and said, "Although we didn't eat much, I feel full of energy lately."

Lou Jian Jia also ate a bit more than yesterday. This was probably the first time she had eaten so much since coming here. Although she was only about seventy or eighty percent full, it was still much better than being only half full like before.

After the meal, Old Master Chu went to gather firewood on the mountain, Madam Zhao stayed at home to make shoes, and Lou Jian Jia rested in the house.

Before long, someone came in, and their voice quickly reached Lou Jian Jia's ears. It was their neighbor, Madam Wang.

Soon, Lou Jian Jia heard Madam Wang chatting about what happened in the morning.

"Wei Leng grew up under my watch, he's strong, how could he be gone? Don't believe the gossip of the villagers," Madam Wang remarked.

"Yes, I know. Both his father and I believe he's still alive," Madam Zhao's tone sounded much lighter than before.

"In the end, it's all because of your in-laws causing trouble. If they hadn't come and stirred things up, the villagers wouldn't be gossiping behind your back. Sister-in-law, let me tell you, you better keep an eye on your daughter-in-law, lest she runs away one day."

Madam Zhao didn't like hearing this. She glanced in the direction of her son's room and said, "It's all in the past, all in the past. Wei Leng's wife is a good girl."

Seeing the look in Madam Zhao's eyes, Madam Wang knew Lou Jian Jia was at home. Although she liked gossiping, she didn't want others to hear, so she didn't say more and instead asked about their business dealings that day.

"I heard you went out to sell food at noon. Where did you sell, and how did it go?"

Lou Jian Jia's heart skipped a beat, unsure of how Madam Zhao would respond.

Her method of selling food, though innovative and different, lacked any particular skill. Anyone could learn it, anyone could sell meals. If others thought it profitable and joined in, she would end up making even less money.

Madam Zhao was excited in front of her family, but she didn't boast in front of outsiders, saying, "We sold them near the dock. After deducting the costs of rice and vegetables, we only made a few coins."

Earning just a few coins for the whole family indeed wasn't much.

Lou Jian Jia felt relieved.

Madam Wang didn't have much curiosity anymore either.

The next day, Lou Jian Jia cooked an extra three catties of rice.

This time, a few more people came to eat, but their luck wasn't good. The merchants only bought two portions today. So, it took almost an hour to sell the eight catties of rice.

This was a bit less than Lou Jian Jia had expected.

Her prices were already low, and the taste was good, attracting some repeat customers. Unfortunately, most of the laborers came from families with poor financial conditions and preferred to bring two simple steamed buns and some pickled vegetables from home for lunch, which only cost a penny.

However, Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao were even happier. Seeing them counting money with such joy, listening to their aspirations for the future, Lou Jian Jia was also infected with their enthusiasm, and her heart felt a bit lighter.

On the third day, Lou Jian Jia originally planned to stick to the previous day's amount and prepared eight catties of rice. However, Madam Zhao felt they could make more.

"Even if we stay there a little longer, it won't be a big deal," Madam Zhao suggested.

Lou Jian Jia pondered for a moment and said, "If we wait too long, the food will cool down, and it won't taste good. It might not sell well."

Madam Zhao hesitated, clearly pondering.

Lou Jian Jia continued, "Mother, don't forget what happened yesterday. We had to lower the price for the last few portions to sell them."

Madam Zhao replied, "But we didn't incur losses."

Lou Jian Jia insisted, "Mother, consider how much vegetables we've picked from the field these past two days. If we keep this up, we'll run out of vegetables sooner or later. Then we'll have to buy from elsewhere. Selling each portion for one penny will surely result in losses. Besides, what if others see us unable to sell and decide to undercut us? Everyone will wait for cheaper prices. What then?"

Madam Zhao hadn't considered this aspect, but after hearing her daughter-in-law's explanation, she immediately changed her mind. She realized she would also wait a little longer to save that one penny.

Persuaded by Lou Jian Jia's reasoning, Madam Zhao didn't suggest steaming more rice today. Their luck was slightly better today, and some merchants bought several portions, so they sold out in less than an hour.

Today their luck was better.

Lou Jian Jia thought that in the future, they could continue like today, making eight jin of rice. Selling more would be difficult.

With eight jin of rice, they could earn around fifty to sixty wen, excluding labor and vegetable costs, earning roughly thirty wen. If they needed to buy vegetables later, that would leave them with about twenty wen. However, if others imitated them or if there were more food options available, their earnings would decrease even further.

Many people had praised her cooking these past few days, so she had confidence in her dishes. It might be better to sell in the county's docks or other crowded places in the future. Perhaps they could sell more and at higher prices.

Fortunately, the docks were nearby, so they could start by selling there.

Lou Jian Jia had already planned out the road ahead, but she didn't expect that on the fourth day when they went to the docks, there would be many more people coming to eat compared to the previous days. However, within half an hour, all the food was sold out, completely different from the day before.

"The food here is really delicious."

"Yeah, after eating, I feel full of energy. I can carry more goods this afternoon."

"That's right. A few days ago, after eating here, I could carry an extra bag. But these past few days, with the buns I brought from home, I didn't have as much energy."

"Brother, I've been saying this all along. We need to eat well to have energy to work. With energy, we can earn more money."

"I used to think it was expensive. I could just make do with a couple of buns. But yesterday, I treated myself to a portion, and in the afternoon, I ended up making two more trips. I actually earned back the money I spent."

"That's true. Let's eat quickly so we can work efficiently afterward."

Lou Jian Jia listened to these comments, feeling slightly surprised.

On the fifth day, it was the same story.

On the sixth day, persuaded by Madam Zhao, Lou Jian Jia steamed ten jin of rice, and it sold out quickly as usual.

Those who usually hesitated to spend money on food came repeatedly for several days to eat.

Lou Jian Jia had been hearing phrases like "delicious" and "energetic" these past few days. She had initially only paid attention to everyone praising the taste of her food, without noticing the mention of feeling energetic. In her view, eating well naturally gave one energy. Even though she cooked vegetarian dishes, they were rich in oil and flavor.

But after hearing it repeatedly, she gradually sensed that something was amiss.

It seemed that this kind of talk wasn't just from the customers; even Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao had mentioned it several times recently.

She looked down at her slender fingers, and a sudden realization hit her.

On the way back, Lou Jian Jia was somewhat absent-minded.

When she finished counting the money at home, staring at the pile of coins in front of her, Lou Jian Jia finally came back to her senses.

"Today we earned quite a bit. The past few days, more and more people have been coming. I told you so, Wei Leng's wife cooks delicious food, and everyone will surely love it. That's why more and more people are coming," Madam Zhao said with a satisfied expression.

Old Master Chu's complexion also seemed rosier than before. Although he didn't say much, he nodded in agreement.

Lou Jian Jia glanced at the two of them and asked a question she had been pondering for a while, "Mom, Dad, how do you feel about your health recently?"

Madam Zhao smiled and said, "I feel great, and so does your father. He even mentioned yesterday that he feels much lighter and more agile than before."

Lou Jian Jia didn't get the information she wanted and casually asked again, "Dad goes to chop firewood in the mountains every day. Isn't it too tiring? Today, I'll go instead."

Old Master Chu smiled and said, "No need, these days I feel more energetic than before. I was actually thinking about going to the pier to unload cargo."

This time, Madam Zhao didn't oppose as much as before. She said, "You should still take it easy for a while. Let's see a doctor in a few days. Once the doctor says it's okay, then you can go."

"Alright."

Lou Jian Jia realized that Madam Zhao was very concerned about Old Master Chu's health. She had been strongly opposed to him doing laborious work before, but now her attitude had softened considerably. Madam Zhao should have a good understanding of Old Master Chu's health. Since her stance had softened, it indicated that Old Master Chu's health had indeed improved somewhat.

However, according to what was mentioned in the book, Old Master Chu shouldn't be able to exert such great strength at this time. Where did this sudden increase in strength come from?

"I also feel like I have a bit more strength than before, perhaps because of eating well," Lou Jian Jia vaguely remarked.

Madam Zhao nodded and said, "Exactly! I feel the same way. It just shows that we need to eat more. Eating well gives us the energy to work harder."

After exchanging a few more words, Lou Jian Jia went back to her room.

Once in her room, Lou Jian Jia stared at her hands.

Could it be that not only had she become stronger herself, but the food she made also gained the attribute of strength?

The mere thought of this made her usually calm heart beat faster.

This was truly miraculous.

However, this matter couldn't be confirmed yet. She needed to observe for a few more days.

If she was just imagining things, it would be fine. But if it was true... well, then she could definitely make use of it.

•••

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Chapter 6 TGBW

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