“Open the market.”
The good news from Cheng Yun immersed everyone in an irresistible excitement, but there were still important things to do at the moment.
Because the quantity of sour plum soup had decreased, they had more time to learn how to make new Sauerkraut jars. The method of pickling Sauerkraut was simple, but the crucial part was the proportions. After days of research, Cheng Yun finally managed to achieve the taste he had in mind.
He taught Cheng Bao’er and Wang Liang step by step, and they both learned diligently. When they returned home, they could also teach Mother Cheng and Aunt Wang.
In the past few days, the group went to town to earn money. Both families observed their activities closely. At first, Mother Cheng and Aunt Wang were skeptical, not because they didn’t trust Cheng Yun’s abilities, but as lifelong villagers, the idea of earning nearly one hundred yuan in a day seemed unimaginable.
However, when they counted the money brought home the next day, and the following days… for several consecutive days, they earned an amount of money that they had never dared to imagine in their whole lives. In less than ten days, they had accumulated almost a tael of silver, which would have taken them several years in the past!
Now both families became more enthusiastic, hoping to continue doing business with Cheng Yun in town. Mother Cheng no longer doubted the astronomical prices Cheng Yun mentioned for the dishes. Their son was truly talented!
In order to sell more sour plum soup, whether it was Cheng Bao’er or Wang Liang, they continued to work after returning home. Both of the mothers who were idle at home also helped. In these days, they indirectly contributed their efforts.
Among them, the biggest change was Mother Cheng.
In the past, due to her illness, she stayed at home and her daily activities were limited to the small area in front of the house. After Father Cheng and the two brothers went out to work, she had nothing to do at home. She only worried about when her two sons would get married and whether her illness was burdening the family. Every day, she sighed with anxiety and worried excessively.
But since Cheng Bao’er became busy, she would help at home by selecting materials and cleaning the tools. Looking at those things, she felt like she was looking at a pile of gold nuggets, and her life was filled with hope.
Cheng Bao’er informed Cheng Yun about these changes, which further strengthened Cheng Yun’s determination to bring Mother Cheng along to make Sauerkraut jars.
That evening, after finishing their work, Cheng Bao’er returned home and recounted what Cheng Yun had said to Mother and Father Cheng.
Upon hearing this, both of them had a moment of stunned expression.
“Y-You, say it again?” Mother Cheng seemed to have a hard time believing her own ears.
Cheng Bao’er found it amusing, thinking about his own reaction at the time, which probably wasn’t much different from his mother’s. “I said, Big Brother and Boss Liu have reached an agreement. From now on, we will provide all the ingredients for the Sauerkraut jars. There might even be the possibility of opening branch stores in the future and selling our products in the capital city. We have to do our best!”
With a clatter, Cheng Chuan’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled. After recovering, his eyes lit up.
Just the previous night, Bao’er was complaining about how the sour plum soup wasn’t selling as well lately, and they were worried about it. They wanted Bao’er to ask Cheng Yun for advice, but were afraid of putting pressure on their child. They didn’t expect that just one day later, a big turnaround would come.
“Is… is everything alright?” Cheng Chuan had never seen such a grand arrangement before. He was a simple farmer, and even though his two sons talked about doing business, he considered it to be minor. But the continuous shocks he had experienced in the past few days made him feel overwhelmed.
His throat felt dry, and he cleared it before saying, “If we have a long-term business relationship with Yueqiong Tower, won’t it be a big problem if something goes wrong?”
Although Cheng Chuan had never been to Yueqiong Tower, he had been to Tengyun Town many times. He didn’t dare to imagine eating at a place like Yueqiong Tower, and he wouldn’t even dare to step inside, afraid of dirtying the place with his shoes. But now, both of his sons were going to do business with others. According to Bao’er’s words, it was the other party who begged Cheng Yun to do it. Why did it feel so unreal?
Cheng Bao’er appeared like a little quail in front of his older brother, but after going out and seeing the world, he became much more confident when talking about these things. He waved his hand, giving an air of mysteriousness, and said, “You don’t know, Boss Liu from Yueqiong Tower respects Big Brother a lot…”
Cheng Bao’er described what he had seen and heard in Yueqiong Tower these past few days. He was in absolute awe of Cheng Yun, and his admiration could be felt in his words.
Listening to him, Mother and Father Cheng couldn’t help but recall the scene of Cheng Yun and Boss Liu negotiating. The Cheng Yun described by Bao’er didn’t resemble the eldest brother they had known before.
However, they didn’t look elsewhere. They simply felt that it was because their son had married a foolish person that he worked so hard to improve their lives. They couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pity and self-blame. If their family’s circumstances were a bit better, their son wouldn’t have to work so hard.
Mother and Father Cheng exchanged a glance, seeing the same emotions in each other’s eyes. They couldn’t help but sigh, but at the same time, they felt a deeper sense of pride than before.
That evening, Cheng Bao’er began teaching Mother Cheng how to make Sauerkraut. In the past, Father Cheng had no interest in the things they were doing, so while the mother and son worked in the kitchen, he would take care of the vegetables they grew in the courtyard. But today, he was also itching to join them. After dinner, he followed them to see how they did it.
Cheng Bao’er was particularly meticulous in his work and would repeatedly consolidate afterwards. Every step he took was like copying Cheng Yun’s actions, doing it with utmost precision. He remembered exactly when and how much to add each ingredient. After demonstrating once, he made Mother Cheng do it as well, pointing out any differences.
As Father Cheng continued watching, he started to feel that he could do it too. It didn’t seem as difficult as Bao’er had described. He took the initiative and proposed to give it a try. However, both Mother Cheng and Bao’er looked at him with doubt, not believing that he could do it well.
Feeling underestimated, Father Cheng naturally became even more determined to give it a try. He took the dried vegetable leaves and salt from Mother Cheng’s hands and confidently said, “So we start by rubbing the salt, right? What’s so difficult about that…” However, as soon as he started, he exerted too much force and ended up crushing the vegetable leaves into two halves.
Father Cheng: “…” He looked at the two halves of vegetable leaves in his hands and awkwardly smiled. “Mistake, just a mistake. I was too excited.”
Cheng Bao’er: “…”
Mother Cheng: “…”
However, Father Cheng was more accustomed to working in the fields and didn’t often engage in such delicate tasks. The second time, he intentionally lightened his touch, but still managed to ruin it a little.
Cheng’s mother couldn’t bear to watch. These were good things that could be sold. How could he ruin them like that? She gave him a little push and told him to step aside quickly while she continued learning with Bao’er.
Father Cheng was a bit unconvinced and continued to follow behind, eagerly watching. Occasionally, he would say, “This is simple,” or “I can do it too,” but he was met with eye rolls from the two in front.
The family gathered harmoniously in the small kitchen, exchanging banter and occasionally laughing. It was a stark contrast to the lifeless atmosphere of the past. Now, every corner was filled with vitality.
The cooperation with Boss Liu quickly made progress. After reducing the amount for the third time, the sour plum soup was no longer sold separately. From then on, it became a new item on the menu at Yueqiong Tower.
During the first few days, many people still wanted to buy the sour plum soup. There were even customers who came because of its reputation but discovered that it was no longer available. Disappointment was evident on many faces.
Now, there were several small vendors selling sour plum soup in Tengyun Town, and other small restaurants had similar products. However, everyone said that the taste was different from Yueqiong Tower’s. After trying a few times, they ultimately returned to Yueqiong Tower.
They thought they would never taste Yueqiong Tower’s sour plum soup again and would settle for something else. But when they heard that they could still have it by dining in the restaurant, even in the scorching weather, they were still willing to queue up and eat there just to have a taste of the sour plum soup.
At that moment, Yueqiong Tower was packed with people inside and outside, experiencing another peak in customers. The entire Tengyun Town, and even the entire Nanming City, regarded Yueqiong Tower as the benchmark, always paying attention to their new products, eager to be the first to follow suit.
In order to solidify their collaboration with Cheng Yun, Liu Wen took the initiative to spend five taels of silver to buy the recipe for sour plum soup. From now on, the Cheng brothers no longer needed to provide sour plum soup to Yueqiong Building. They could focus on making Sauerkraut jars.
Cheng Bao’er’s initial thought was that once sour plum soup was no longer available, there would be a period of time before Sauerkraut jars hit the market, during which their income would be cut off. However, he didn’t expect such a good opportunity waiting for them, and he was excited about it.
Cheng Yun didn’t forget about sharing. He gave Cheng Bao’er and Wang Liang one tael of silver each, and the remaining three taels of silver would serve as the capital for purchasing supplies for the Sauerkraut jars.
There were not many vegetables left at home, so they would have to purchase a large quantity. Prices in town were inflated, so in order to sustain the business in the long run, they couldn’t rely on sourcing from the town. Cheng Yun thought of obtaining supplies from their own village.
For now, they would only sell two types of Sauerkraut: sour and crispy radishes and sour cabbages. Once they expanded their customer base, they would gradually introduce more varieties of Sauerkraut. Apart from ingredients such as white vinegar, salt, and sugar, the most commonly used ones were mustard greens, white radishes, and chili peppers.
These three ingredients were common crops in the countryside, and almost every household had some. Some people even specialized in growing them for sale. They were cheap and abundant, and it was more convenient to source them directly from the village than to buy them at a higher price elsewhere and haul them home.
After finalizing this plan, Cheng Yun intended to discuss it with the village chief and have him convey their intentions to the villagers.
Recently, they had been frequently running errands in town, and many people were already aware of their collaboration with Yueqiong Building. In particular, the group of village women near the village entrance had spread the news, and many people were keeping an eye on their family, curious about what they were up to.
In order to minimize unnecessary trouble and foster mutual benefit, Cheng Yun didn’t mind allowing everyone to earn money together. It was better to be united and cautious, considering that some people might still talk behind their backs.
Cheng Yun took some ready-made Sauerkraut and pickled radish and put them in two small clay pots. He went to Dr. Liu’s house first and presented him with one pot. Dr. Liu happily accepted it, and Cheng Yun also noticed two small bottles of sour plum soup in his house, presumably brought by Li Fan on behalf of Liu Wen. The previous location that used to be filled with various types of liquor had now been replaced by sour plum soup, which was a positive change.
After that, Cheng Yun went to the village chief’s house, and it was still the village chief’s wife who opened the door.
However, this time, the village chief’s wife didn’t have the unwelcoming expression from last time. As soon as she saw Cheng Yun, her face immediately lit up with a smile. While welcoming him inside, she couldn’t help but look at the clay pots in Cheng Yun’s hands.
Cheng Yun found it amusing, and when he finally met the village chief, he presented the Sauerkraut to him.
The village chief’s wife smiled as she received it and couldn’t wait to open the pot. As soon as she lifted the cloth cover, a pungent sour smell rushed out, causing her eyes to tear up. Waving her hand in front of her nose, she exclaimed, “Wha-what is this smell!”
Her anticipation was instantly washed away, and she looked at Cheng Yun with a hint of doubt. Was he deliberately playing a trick on her?
Cheng Yun didn’t expect her to be so quick. Unable to stop her, he could only give an embarrassed yet polite smile after being glared at by the village chief’s wife.
Author’s note:
#You take care of being beautiful, I’ll take care of making money and supporting the family#
Yang Hongjin (with a pouting face): What about me, wife?
Cheng Yun (patting his head): You’ll make your appearance after I make enough money.
