80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 65 - 63: The One-Jiao Business

"Little Lin, your food sells really well. It’d be great if you could make more," Zhou Xiaohong said with a grin, setting down two new carrying baskets covered with a layer of white cloth. "I’m returning your vegetable basket. You can use these two to switch with."

Lin Lan was happy to hear it, but also a little worried. "I really can’t make much on my own. The main issue is that I can’t buy any large white beans or fava beans. The ones I’m using now were all gathered with help from my parents’ family. Once this batch of ingredients is gone, it’s a real question whether I’ll be able to get any more."

This worried Zhou Xiaohong as well. After a moment’s thought, she said, "The fava bean harvest is in about a month. I’ll go back to my parents’ place and ask around for you." She remembered that her family had fava beans planted on their private plot, and the other families in the production team probably did too.

Lin Lan nodded. "Okay. Thank you for the trouble."

"What trouble is it! They can make more money selling to you—they’ll be thrilled!" Zhou Xiaohong said, picking up her back-frame carrier. "I have to hurry back and bake my sponge cakes. I’ll see you at the Eucalyptus Forest later."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "I know you’re busy, so I won’t keep you."

"Don’t see me out!" Zhou Xiaohong hurried away in a gust of energy.

After seeing Zhou Xiaohong off, Lin Lan saw Little Douzi and Dandan walking toward her, with the old woman following behind them.

"Mom’s home!" Seeing Lin Lan, Little Douzi grabbed Dandan’s hand, and the two of them started to run.

The old woman called out from behind, "Slow down! Don’t fall into the seedling paddy."

Lin Lan walked to the edge of the stone bridge, smiling at the two children, one tall and one short. "Dandan, did you not go to kindergarten today?"

Dandan ran up to Lin Lan, looking up at her with wide, dark eyes. "Auntie, I have a cold. My dad asked for a day off for me and sent me to my great-grandma’s house."

Little Douzi came over and tugged on Lin Lan’s hand. "Mama, Dandan took some yucky medicine."

"Auntie, I didn’t even cry when I took the yucky medicine," Dandan said, looking up at Lin Lan for praise.

Lin Lan ruffled his hair. "Good boy. Auntie will make some treats for you both."

Dandan nodded happily. "Great-Grandma brought me some before. It was so yummy!"

The old woman walked over and handed Lin Lan a few newspapers. "Ding Bang found these for me last time. I brought a few extra for you to paper your windows."

Lin Lan took them happily. "Grand-aunt, you’re a lifesaver."

The old woman’s face crinkled into a smile, though she replied with feigned complaint, "Oh, stop with the sweet talk."

Lin Lan linked her arm through the old woman’s. "But it’s true! You are a lifesaver!"

The three of them crossed the tractor path together. Dahuang came running out of the courtyard, wagging his tail to greet them.

"WOW!" Dandan exclaimed in delight when he saw Dahuang. "Little Douzi, your puppy is so cute!"

Little Douzi proudly patted Dahuang’s head. "My first and second uncles gave him to me."

Dandan looked at him with envy. "Your uncles are so nice. I don’t have any uncles."

Little Douzi said generously, "I have four uncles. I’ll give you half."

Sitting on the steps under the eaves, the old woman listened to the children’s innocent chatter and began to laugh.

Lin Lan told the old woman about her idea to have Yang Liying make and sell tofu. The old woman approved of Lin Lan helping Yang Liying find a way to support herself.

Once Yang Liying started her small business, her family would have an income and their lives would be a bit easier. And since Lin Lan was on good terms with her husband’s sisters, the people in the production team wouldn’t dare bully Yang Liying and her child.

The old woman finished shelling the fava beans. Seeing that Lin Lan was busy mashing red bean paste, she fetched a bucket of water, set it down in front of the millstone, and took a scrub brush to the corner of the house by the woodshed to start cleaning it.

By the time Zhao Dehai arrived at Lin Lan’s house with a basket on his back and Yang Liying carrying a bucket, Lin Lan had already started mashing the bean paste.

It was only then that Yang Liying realized the old woman had been helping Lin Lan with her little business at the Eucalyptus Forest all this time. She looked at the old woman gratefully. "Grand-aunt, I thank you on behalf of my husband!"

The old woman looked at her and spoke earnestly, "There’s no need to thank me! Just remember this: a united family cannot be bullied. The only right way is for you sisters-in-law to get along, support each other, and build a better life together."

"I will remember that," Yang Liying said solemnly.

Zhao Dehai nodded along from the side. ’This old woman is nothing like my own mother,’ he thought. ’She’s capable, reasonable, and doesn’t just make irrational trouble.’

Seeing that the stone mill was clean, the couple brought over a bucket of water and started grinding the beans.

By the time they finished grinding the beans, Lin Lan’s kidney bean rolls were ready.

She came out of the kitchen with a plate of kidney bean rolls and said to the old woman, Yang Liying, and her husband, "Come and have a couple of these rolls before you get back to work."

The bean rolls were meant to be sold for money, so how could Yang Liying and Zhao Dehai bear to eat any? They both shook their heads. "We won’t have any. Give them to the children."

"It’s not like they’re made of gold. What’s the harm in eating a few?" Lin Lan insisted, so they each finally took one.

After the beans were ground, Lin Lan fried fava beans in the outer wok while Yang Liying used the inner one to boil the bean slurry. Once it was filtered into soy milk, she ladled some out, mixed it with white sugar, and everyone had a bowl.

Lin Lan had a bowl as well. ’There’s nothing quite like this natural, unadulterated flavor,’ she thought. The soy fragrance was rich, and the aftertaste was mellow and smooth.

The old woman drank a small bowl. She found soy milk hard to digest and that it always made her burp.

The two children loved the fragrant and sweet soy milk, gulping down a whole bowl in one go.

Yang Liying ladled the bean curds into the tofu mold and put on the lid. Worried that the tofu would be too soft if it wasn’t pressed long enough, she had Zhao Dehai find a few bricks to weigh it down.

"Lin Lan, what do you think? Can we sell a bowl like this for one jiao?" she asked, handing a white enamel bowl to Lin Lan. She then took some large, sturdy leaves out of her basket. "I also washed some of these leaves to place the tofu on."

Lin Lan took the bowl and smiled. "A full bowl like this is worth more than one jiao. And using leaves to hold the tofu is a good idea, too." ’It might not be as convenient as a plastic bag,’ she thought, ’but things back then were certainly more environmentally friendly.’

Yang Liying smiled. "A little extra is fine. When customers feel like they’re getting a good deal, they’re more likely to come back."

The old woman nodded in agreement. "That’s right. The worst thing you can do in the food business is cut corners on quality or quantity. It’s better to give a little extra than to be stingy. Generous portions bring back customers, and that’s how a business lasts."

Lin Lan smiled and linked her arm through the old woman’s. "Grand-aunt, you’re teaching us the secrets to good business!" ’It’s true,’ she thought, recalling her past life. ’Back when I was running my snack business, it was because my food was delicious and the portions were generous that I was able to gradually expand and eventually open up multiple branches.’

Yang Liying nodded. "I remember my father used to say the same thing."

By the time Yang Liying finished making the tofu, it was getting late. Under the anxious gaze of Zhao Dehai, the two women—Lin Lan and Yang Liying—hoisted up their back-frame carrier and basket and headed for the Eucalyptus Forest.

Yang Liying quickly discovered that Lin Lan walked very fast. Even for someone like her, who did manual labor year-round, she had to walk at her quickest pace just to keep up.

When they reached the Eucalyptus Forest, the people selling vegetables along the field ridges were already there. Some had baskets full of eggs, others with seasonal vegetables.

Yang Liying even saw a couple of acquaintances. Their eyes met, and after a moment of surprise, they exchanged knowing smiles by way of a greeting.

Lin Lan led Yang Liying into the Eucalyptus Forest and had her set up her stall next to hers. They had just finished setting up when Lin Lan’s regular customers began arriving to buy her kidney bean rolls.