Chapter 99: Chapter 099 Can’t Agree
Translator: 549690339
“As you know, though I have sons and daughters, they are not particularly capable, and we scrap by day by day. Despite my age, I can only sell pea cakes in the town to make up for our living expenses.”
“But the pea cake business is not great, I can’t sell out every time. In the end, I have to eat it myself or divide it amongst others. As a result, not only am I not making money, but I might even be losing money. I should consider other options.”
“I was thinking that your tofu would definitely sell well, so I came to speak with you to see if you could give me a few pounds of tofu daily, which I could sell door to door. It would also bring in some silver and supplement the family’s income.”
After stating his case, Ge Hetong looked pleadingly at Zhuang Qingning.
Zhuang Qingning moistened her lips.
After a moment of thought, she replied, “Uncle Ge, I’m afraid I can’t agree to this.”
“Besides selling tofu in town, I’ve handed over the task of selling tofu in the village to my uncle and aunt. If there’s another person selling it, it might mess things up.”
“It won’t be chaotic, how could it be?”
Initially, Ge Hetong felt somewhat disappointed when Zhuang Qingning refused, but he still said, “You tell me which villages your uncle and aunt sell tofu in, and I won’t go there. There arc many villages around, and I can just go to other places, so we won’t interfere with each other.”
“That’s not how it works, if we segment the market, would it be okay if someone couldn’t sell out in one place and could not call for sales in another place?”
Zhuang Qingning smiled and said, “Uncle Ge, I’m really sorry, I truly cannot agree to your proposal.”
In the future, the range of tofu products will increase, from fresh tofu to dried tofu, and then to others. Zhuang Qingning has plans to expand her tofu business and enrich the product line, hence she needed some control over the sales.
Zhuang Qingning intends to let Zhuang Yonghe’s family be responsible for the retail sales in various villages. Besides her own sales, any other sales related issues should be settled with Zhuang Yonghe. This way, they wouldn’t have to divide the sales among many people, which could cause more problems.
Having a big stall is always difficult to manage.
Furthermore, Zhuang Qingning agreed to Zhuang Yonghe and Mrs. He’s proposal so readily because she knew them very well. She was aware of their temperaments and knew they wouldn’t scam her.
As for Ge Hetong, they had only sold things together for one or two days. He was not a familiar person and had been absent for a long time. Now, all of a sudden, he came up trying to make money off her.
No one could agree to this request.
As for his struggling life… there are so many people living hard lives, she didn’t have the ability or the benefactor’s heart to help them all.
Seeing Zhuang Qingning’s firm attitude, Ge Hetong said no more, and just heaved a sigh of resignation, “Alright then.”
He then turned his face and continued to sell his pea cakes.
And Zhuang Qingning was occupied with selling tofu. When it got less busy, and there were fewer people buying tofu, she noticed that Ge Hetong, who had been selling pea cakes nearby, had left without her realizing it.
This Uncle Ge is pretty interesting.
Zhuang Qingning shook her head, but only after she sold all the leftover tofu, did she and Zhuang Qingsui go to the pastry shop to buy some things, intending to visit Mrs. Liu, who had been sick for several days.
Shortbread, jujube cake, these are the things that the elderly love to eat. After Zhuang Qingning thought about it, she also bought some sesame candy.
She had heard Mrs. Liu mention before that she had several grandchildren whose ages were comparable to Zhuang Qingsui. Bringing some snacks for the kids would prevent Mrs. Liu from worrying about her grandchildren and giving her own food to them.
After shopping, the two sisters headed towards Zhangjiazhuang.
Once they arrived at Zhangjiazhuang, they inquired about and found the location of Mrs. Liu’s home.
It was almost located in the center of the village, living with her eldest son. The compound with a low courtyard wall and a jujube tree inside was it.
When they arrived at the place, they indeed saw a robust jujube tree in the courtyard half as high as a person. There were chickens foraging in the courtyard, and two little girls, around six or seven years old, were picking chives in the yard.
“Is this Aunt Liu’s house?” asked Zhuang Qingning across the courtyard wall, “The Aunt Liu who often sells fried chop rice cake in town?”
“My grandmother’s surname is Liu, you must be referring to her.” The taller little girl stood up and took a long look at Zhuang Qingning.
“But my grandmother is sick and is lying in the house. My parents have gone out to work and haven’t come back yet. If you have something to do, you’ll have to wait until my parents come back.”
“I often sell tofu with your grandmother in town, but she hasn’t been to town for a few days due to her illness. So I came to check on her to see how she is doing.”
Zhuang Qingning smiled and said,”If you don’t trust me, go and ask your grandmother.”
At that, her smile deepened.
Impressive, this little girl is quite vigilant, not letting a stranger into the yard.
After thinking for a while, the little girl nodded, “Alright, you wait a moment, I’ll go and tell my grandmother.”
After saying this, the little girl ran into the house. After a while, she came out again, “My grandmother said you can come in, come in quickly. Let me make you some tea.”
“Thank you.” Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, carrying their bags, went into the courtyard and the east room following the little girl.
The house was built of blue brick and adobe, not very high. Zhuang Qingning had to stoop slightly when she entered.
Mrs. Liu was lying on the bed by the innermost wall. Seeing Zhuang Qingning coming in, she smiled, “Miss Ning, Miss Sui, how did you two come here?”
“I heard Qiuying say it was you who came, and I didn’t believe it initially, but it turns out it’s really the two of you.”
“Come, sit down. My house is a bit messy so I can’t entertain you properly…”
As Mrs. Liu was speaking, she tried to get up from the bed but coughed after exerting herself too much.
“Auntie, don’t worry.” Zhuang Qingning, along with Zhuang Qingsui, hurriedly reached out to support her. “We are not strangers, why be so polite? We can take care of ourselves.”
Zhuang Qingning said this as she and Zhuang Qingsui found a small stool to sit on.
Zhang Qiuying brought the tea over, “Please have the tea.”
“Thank you.” Zhuang Qingning took the tea and passed over the sesame candy she was holding, “Take this sesame candy, share it with your sister later.”
Zhang Qiuying didn’t take it immediately, instead glancing at the sesame candy, then at Mrs. Liu.
“It was given by your sister, take it.” Mrs. Liu smiled kindly.
“Thank you, Sister.” With her grandmother’s permission, Zhang Qiuying finally accepted it, giving Zhuang Qingning a small smile.
A round little face, showing a cute little tiger tooth when she smiles on the left and a light dimple on the right, very adorable..
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