Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Stabbing the Heart
Translator: 549690339
“One penny per pound.” Qiao Xiaomai answered.
She had settled on this price after discussing it with Qiao Changshun. Yellow beans cost three pennies a pound and could grow seven or eight pounds of bean sprouts. It was simply a matter of consuming some water and manpower. In the end, she would profit.
Moreover, a price of one penny was acceptable to the villagers. There are a lot of bean sprouts in a pound, enough for several meals for households with fewer members.
“Oh, this isn’t expensive at all!” Zhu Cuiying slapped her thigh, her smile becoming friendlier, “What about your tofu business? Managing two businesses must be tiring for you alone, right?”
Qiao Xiaomai glanced at her skeptically, unnoticeably retreating a couple of steps, “I sold the recipe for my tofu to Extreme Flavor Residence and Zuixian Building. From now on, I’ll only sell bean sprouts.”
A single sentence, like glue, seemed to freeze the superficial smile on Zhu Cuiying’s face.
Or, seen another way, as sudden as a deafening thunderclap, it left the people present stunned.
A business that sold for tens of pennies a pound and twenty-three pennies a bowl was sold by this girl?
How many mountains of gold and silver would it take to trade away such a recipe?
As if she could already see the gentle glow emanating from a mountain of gold and silver, the eyes of the Sun Family’s Matron widened dramatically, her voice becoming raspy with excitement, “Then how… how much silver did you sell it for?!”
She was flustered and in her hurry, she inadvertently spat as she spoke.
Disgusted, Qiao Xiaomai moved two more steps back.
At this point, Qiao Qinghe came out carrying a basket. He handed the basket to Qiao Xiaomai. Glimpsing the unusual expressions of the people at the door out of the corner of his eye, he asked in confusion, “What happened?”
“I sold the tofu recipe.” Qiao Xiaomai explained, “They’ve been like this since they heard.”
“You sold it?” A look of astonishment crossed Qiao Qinghe’s face at her words.
Qiao Xiaomai nodded, taking the basket from his hand, “I can only make a little every day, it’s too little. Just right, someone from Zuixian Building came to buy the recipe. They wanted to make tofu elsewhere. So I sold it. From now on, I’ll only do the bean sprouts business. Grandfather, if you find the taste agreeable, I can bring more over.”
Qiao Qinghe pondered for a moment before asking, “Did you get a fair price?”
“It’s alright.” Qiao Xiaomai did not wish to say more. Even though the fact that she swapped the recipe for quite a lot of land was impossible to hide, she wanted to keep it a secret for as long as she could.
“That’s good then, you two should go home now.” Qiao Qinghe patted Qiao Dami’s little head with an affectionate voice.
Qiao Xiaomai nodded in response, leading Qiao Dami along the same path back home.
Once they disappeared from sight, the Matron of the Sun Family finally came back to her senses. She was about to explode, “Dear husband, that girl came back with a mountain of silver!”
Qiao Changshun glared at her, “What’s it to you?”
“I’m her grandmother! She should provide for me!” The Matron of the Sun Family rebutted righteously.
Junyan, her son, had just briefed her on the filial obligations outlined in the “Daqi Laws”. Even though they had divided the family, Qiao Xiaomai should still provide for her!
“Are you short of the fifty pennies she provides every month?” Qiao Qinghe asked coldly.
“She has a mountain of silver at home, yet she only gives me fifty pennies every month! When Junyan left, I didn’t even have extra silver to give him as pocket money!” Remembering the terrible state of Junyan when he left, the Matron of the Sun Family was so upset that she clutched her chest.
Qiao Xiaomai owned a mountain of silver, but only gave her fifty copper coins each month. Was this filial piety?
This was charity given to a beggar!
Qiao Xiaomai had a donkey cart, yet when Junyan left, he had to walk. It was a twenty miles journey! The dust on the road was bound to soil his shoes and clothes! Her son was as precious as a deity. How could he bear such hardship!
The more she thought about it, the more she felt wronged.. The Matron of the Sun Family wanted to chase after Qiao Xiaomai immediately, “That wretched lass, I need to confront her!”
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