Lu Yang listened and sent Lu Lin out to buy sauces: “Brother Lin, I’m sorry to trouble you, but please buy two pounds each of the sauces priced at five cash per pound, eight cash per pound, twelve cash per pound, and fifteen cash per pound.”
Braising sauce was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and salt costs were high. Since he was stir-frying sauce with sauce, he might as well try blending different sauces from the sauce shop.
Using only the expensive ones wouldn’t work; he’d mix two types. Let’s give it a try.
Zhang Tie went out to hawk his wares, and Lu Lin went to buy the sauces. With no customers up front, Lu Yang had Lu Liu sit in the shop.
Xie Yan was absent today, so it wasn’t appropriate for the grandmother to entertain customers. Lu Yang invited Li Feng and Wang Meng to sit in the shop too, chatting with them while casually discussing his game meat plan.
They had to pay stall fees at the market. Lu Yang took a smaller cut, so the net profit was comparable either way.
Lu Yang tentatively set the fifteenth of each month as Game Day, asking them to deliver plenty of game by the fourteenth.
Li Feng asked, “Want snakes?”
“Yes,” Lu Yang replied. “I’ll take bee larvae and honeycombs too. Some people eat birds and bird eggs—I’ll take those as well.”
After he spread the word among the hunters in the village, supplies would inevitably come in.
They still went up the mountain monthly, and the small, scattered game they brought back was enough for Lu Yang to sell.
The family also raised rabbits. Rabbits bred quickly and grew fast, producing batch after batch that could be sent here too.
Lu Yang also mentioned wild mushrooms: “You probably can’t decide this yourselves. You’ll need to talk to the village elders. If you can promise not to sell the good mushrooms casually and control the supply, I’ll find someone to explore channels for selling the premium ones outside the county. The local market won’t fetch a decent price. Living in these mountains, you should know wild mushrooms have plummeted in value these past years. At these prices, a trip up the mountain barely earns a few copper coins, so fewer people go. Such a vast mountain—not relying on it for sustenance is such a waste!”
To control the entire supply, the chief must give the order.
Even if the chief gives the order, it might not work. The price has to be right.
People go into the mountains for silver. They won’t sell at a loss just because the chief says so.
Chen Guizhi had dealt in mountain goods early in life and continued selling them these years.
Li Feng never went up empty-handed and frequently dealt with all kinds of mountain goods.
If he didn’t venture deep into the mountains, he’d take a few men to gather wild produce in the forests.
“Living off the mountain” wasn’t just a saying—it was a treasure trove.
Li Feng thought for a moment and told him, “This deal can be done. If the price is right, the chief will agree.”
After the land was divided, many in the village yearned for a farming life.
Farming didn’t bring in big money, so if the mountain produce deal worked out, it would be a good thing for most people.
The chief, who was also their village head, was a fair man willing to help his villagers. He wouldn’t refuse.
Lu Yang understood.
He chatted with Lu Liu again: “Did you make all these sauces yourselves? That must be exhausting!”
Lu Liu nodded then shook her head, her face beaming: “It’s tiring, but life has hope. I’m happy to be busy.”
The worst would be toiling endlessly, enduring hardship, starving, and earning nothing.
How foolish that would be.
Lu Yang brought them steamed buns to eat—big meat buns for Li Feng and Wang Meng, small ones for his younger brother.
“Have something to tide you over until lunch.”
Having eaten them before, they didn’t hesitate this time. Only Lu Liu held his bun, hesitating for a long while before taking a bite.
Only after Lu Yang urged him twice did he finally take a bite.
“Brother, your buns are really delicious.”
He hadn’t made buns himself yet, but next time he had free time, he’d try steaming some at home too.
With Xie Yan absent, Li Feng felt restless and had little to discuss with Lu Yang. He decided to take Wang Meng out for a walk.
They needed to buy sauces today—they’d used a lot for stir-frying—and also wanted to check the iron prices at the blacksmith’s shop. They had a rough idea of the prices since they frequented the shop; everyone knew the going rates. They’d just take a chance. What if the prices had dropped?
After finishing the buns and drinking a bowl of tea, Li Feng and Wang Meng excused themselves, saying they’d come back in the afternoon.
Lu Yang invited them to stay for lunch, but they declined.
Lu Yang could only suggest, “Hold off on buying the sauce. Let’s try stir-frying with different sauces later to see which one pairs best.”
Li Feng agreed and left the shop with Wang Meng, heading first to the blacksmith’s.
Wang Meng asked him, “Going to see your father-in-law? You married well, son. With two shops in the family and you running your own, things are really looking up for you.”
Li Feng wasn’t going to visit his father-in-law.
Old Man Chen had only just moved. The shop was bound to be a mess with chores piling up and shortages everywhere. Dropping by wouldn’t end well.
Now that they lived far apart and visits were inconvenient, why would he voluntarily show up?
When Wang Meng pressed him for an answer,
Li Feng retorted, “Just leave us there to grind the mill, and you’ll see how ‘honest’ you get.”
Wang Meng: “…”
He wasn’t Old Man Chen’s brother-in-law—why would he be the one to grind?
But he kept quiet.
Shortly after they left, Lu Lin returned with soybean paste. His basket held several small jars, each labeled with a number indicating its price tier.
It was already lunchtime, so they cooked first and would stir-fry the bean paste after eating.
Lu Liu handled lunch preparations. Seeing Lu Yang’s pale complexion, he wouldn’t let him help.
“I’ll cook for you!”
He was quite skilled in the kitchen.
Zhao Peilan had just bought some fish, also meant to nourish Lu Yang. Lu Liu eyed the fish like they were treasures, selecting a large one to stew into soup for Lu Yang.
Buying groceries in the county town was convenient. Lu Yang always craved tofu dishes. Since starting his medicine, his appetite had been poor, so the family often bought tofu. Once it was finished, Zhao Peilan would buy another block every other day.
Coincidentally, the nearest tofu shop was run by Old Man Chen. She bought tofu from him every few days, and it happened to be just the kind Lu Yang liked.
Any leftovers were no problem—Lu Yang knew how to make fermented tofu. There wasn’t enough time yet, but soon enough, once the fermented tofu was ready, she could have her younger brother bring some home.
Lu Liu was quick at cleaning and filleting fish. With the fish soup simmering in the pot, he turned to cutting the tofu.
The aroma of tofu wafted through the air. He looked at Lu Yang and said, “Brother, this tofu smells so familiar.”
Lu Yang laughed heartily: “Of course it’s familiar! This is the tofu your old man Chen made!”
Lu Liu: !!
Hearing Lu Yang say it was bought, he felt a pang of regret: “Why pay money for his tofu? We could just go get some.”
Lu Yang gave him a thumbs-up.
Truly, every problem has its solution.
He could now scheme against Old Man Chen, but most of the time he still avoided him, giving him three points of ground whenever they met.
Owing him a debt of nurturing, he couldn’t help but be cautious.
His younger brother was different. Having no such debt and holding no fond impression of Old Man Chen, when the old man asked them to pay, he demanded the tofu.
Lu Yang asked, “Do you like it? His shop’s pretty close. If you go early in the morning, he’ll definitely have a bunch of fresh tofu. Afternoon might be tougher. By the time you leave town, he’ll probably be closing up and won’t have much left. He’d just eat it himself or make fermented tofu with it. You’re passing by—go grab a few blocks to take home. It’s not easy making the trip, so don’t leave empty-handed.”
Lu Liu smiled and agreed.
He also told Lu Yang, “Once I get the tofu, I’ll try stir-frying it with sauce too.”
Lu Yang shook his head. “Tofu doesn’t hold its texture long. Better stick with stir-frying the sauce with mushrooms.”
Lu Liu felt a bit disappointed—otherwise, they could have saved even more on costs.
Speaking of tofu, he also wanted to try deep-fried tofu.
“What does golden-fried tofu puff taste like? Shall we cut a small piece to try?”
Lu Yang let him sample it.
Little did he know Lu Liu was a stingy little devil. Even with his brother, he wasn’t generous. He cut a small slice of tofu, then sliced two long strips. He left one strip untouched, but cut the other into three pieces, yielding four cubes.
The fish soup was finished, and oil was heated to stir-fry the vegetables.
He rendered some lard from fatty pork to coat the bottom of the wok, then added the tofu strips and cubes to fry.
