Liu Sanzhuang smiled and readily agreed. During this period, he had been delivering braised eggs to the private school, so he had learned a little about how things worked there. The school was divided into four classes—A, B, C, and D—and once a student reached Class A, they could attempt the imperial examination for the xiucai degree.
“An’er, you must study diligently so that one day your father can experience what it feels like to be the father of a scholar,” Liu Sanzhuang said with a silly but happy grin as he looked at his son.
Since Liu An often went to the bookstore to read, he had become quite familiar with the shop assistant who sold books there. That day, after spending two taels of silver to buy a handwritten copy of the Analects, he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
“No wonder people say it’s hard for poor families to raise successful children. Just one book costs this much money. For ordinary farming households, this amount would be enough to cover most of their expenses for half a year.”
Whenever Liu Sanzhuang needed to buy paper or books, he too was always shocked by the high prices. Secretly he thought that if he worked harder and made more tofu to sell each day, he might earn more money. Then, when his son needed to buy books, he wouldn’t feel so pained about spending the silver.
Old Master Liu looked at his grandson holding the new book and felt extremely pleased.
“An’er, have you bought the book? You must be hungry—let’s head home.”
“I’m not hungry, Grandpa,” Liu An replied. “Father said Uncle and Second Uncle went to buy soybeans. The bags must be heavy for them to carry. Let’s go pick them up.”
“Alright! Our An’er really is the most thoughtful and filial,” Old Master Liu said proudly. “Third son, drive the ox cart and pick up your brothers.”
Without hesitation, Liu Sanzhuang immediately drove the ox cart to the grain shop. Just as they arrived, Liu Dazhuang and Liu Erzhuang were coming out of the store, each carrying a heavy sack of soybeans on their shoulders.
“Uncle Dazhuang! Uncle Erzhuang! We’re over here!” Liu An shouted and waved as soon as he saw them.
Liu Sanzhuang quickly walked over. “Big Brother, Second Brother, put the beans on the cart. Carrying them like that is too heavy.”
He helped them load the sacks onto the ox cart. When Liu Dazhuang and Liu Erzhuang saw the new cart, the brothers exchanged smiles. Having an ox cart would save them a lot of effort.
“An’er, how was school today?” Liu Dazhuang asked after sitting down on the cart. “Did the teacher praise you?”
“Yes, the teacher praised me,” Liu An replied honestly. “He said I can move up to Class C tomorrow. But he also said my handwriting still needs improvement, so I have to practice more.”
“An’er is truly impressive,” Liu Dazhuang said proudly. “You’ve only been studying for three months and you’re already advancing a class.”
He completely ignored the comment about Liu An’s handwriting. In his eyes, Liu An was smart and hardworking, practicing his writing every day without fail—rain or shine. Surely the boy would have a bright future.
Although Liu Erzhuang didn’t say much, he shared the same confidence in Liu An. Old Master Liu happily took a puff from his tobacco pipe, feeling immensely proud. Meanwhile, Liu Sanzhuang drove the ox cart to meet up with Xiao Chen and the two sisters-in-law.
“Hey, Xiao Cuihua, Xiao Sun—look! Isn’t that Sanzhuang and the others coming back?” Xiao Chen exclaimed as she spotted the approaching ox cart. “Our family really bought an ox cart! And the ox looks strong too!”
“It really is Sanzhuang driving the cart—and Father and the others are on it as well,” Xiao Cuihua said with a smile as the cart came closer.
“Xiao Cuihua, Xiao Chen, let’s load everything onto the mule cart,” Xiao Sun said excitedly, though she still reminded them practically. “It’s getting late, and we should head home soon to prepare tomorrow’s tofu.”
“You’re right, Xiao Sun,” Xiao Chen replied.
The three women quickly packed up the pots, buckets, bowls, and chopsticks onto the mule cart. Fortunately, all the tofu had already been sold. Even so, once everything was loaded, the mule cart could only carry two more people.
“Mother! Aunt Sun! Aunt Cuihua! We came to pick you up!” Liu An called out happily from a distance.
“You little rascal—slow down! Be careful not to fall!” Xiao Chen shouted when she saw Liu An about to jump off the ox cart.
“Hehe, don’t worry, Mother. I’ll wait until the cart stops before getting down,” Liu An replied with a grin. “Mother, you and my aunts should ride the ox cart home. It’s more stable.”
At that moment, Xiao Chen, Xiao Cuihua, and Xiao Sun were all staring at the ox.
“This ox is really well raised—so strong,” Xiao Chen remarked.
Xiao Sun and Xiao Cuihua also examined the sturdy yellow ox with admiration. Seeing their interest, Liu An jumped down from the cart and pulled the three women over so they could climb onto it.
Old Master Liu laughed and said, “Dazhuang, you and I will ride the mule cart. Let Sanzhuang and Erzhuang drive the ox cart, and the rest of you can sit on it.”
Xiao Chen and the others were delighted by the arrangement. They carefully climbed onto the ox cart while Liu Sanzhuang and Liu Erzhuang sat in front to drive it. Liu Dazhuang drove the mule cart, and the whole family began their journey home together.
On the road, Liu Dazhuang spoke hesitantly.
“Father… we just bought the mule cart not long ago, and now we’ve suddenly bought an ox cart as well. Won’t the villagers become jealous?”
Old Master Liu had thought about this before. Looking at his grandson, he sighed softly.
“An’er’s education requires money, and our tofu business will only keep growing. If people become jealous, there’s not much we can do about it.”
The joyful mood surrounding the new ox cart faded slightly as everyone fell silent after hearing his words.
Liu An, who had been listening, suddenly smiled and said, “Grandpa, don’t worry. We can make more tofu and give some to a few families to sell in other places. That way, they can earn some money too.”
Old Master Liu’s eyes lit up with interest.
“How would we divide it? And what price should we sell it to them for?”
“We sell tofu to the restaurants at three yuan for one hundred pieces. For people in the village, we can sell it at two yuan per piece—but they must take at least one hundred pieces at a time. They also need to sign an agreement stating that the selling price cannot be lower than three yuan per piece, and they can only sell it in other towns.”
“As for which families you want to give the chance to first, Grandpa, that’s up to you. But with our family’s current capacity, we can only make about a thousand pieces of tofu a day at most—and the whole family would already be working very hard.”
After listening to Liu An, Old Master Liu thought for a long time before saying, “An’er, I’ve remembered everything you said. When we get back, I’ll first go speak with the village head and see if his family wants to join us. I’ll also ask your elder grand-uncles. As for the other villagers, we’ll talk about it later.”
Liu An wasn’t surprised by this arrangement. After all, when making money, one naturally takes care of relatives first. And maintaining a good relationship with Village Head Liu Tong’s family would make life in Liu Family Village much smoother in the future.
“Grandpa, I think we could open a tofu workshop. Let Uncle, Second Uncle, and Father focus on making tofu, and pass the spicy mixed snack business to Aunt and my mother’s family. Over the years, my grandmother and uncles on my mother’s side have also worked very hard.”
Liu An felt that if the family tried to run both businesses at once, they would be too busy. It would be better to concentrate all their efforts on tofu production.
Old Master Liu agreed immediately when he heard his grandson’s suggestion. Compared with the spicy snack business, tofu was a much rarer and more valuable product. It was impossible to give up the tofu business. Passing the spicy snack trade to their in-laws seemed like a good solution. If the in-laws’ families lived better lives, the daughters-in-law would also work more wholeheartedly to help the Liu family prosper.
“You all heard An’er. We’ll do as he says. Starting today, we’ll focus on making tofu. While it’s still not dark, each of you should go back to your parents’ homes and teach them how to make the spicy mix along with the recipe. They can make it themselves, but it’s best not to pass the recipe around further. That way your families can also live a little better.”
Xiao Cuihua, Sun Shi, and Xiao Chen had never imagined they would be allowed to bring such a business opportunity back to their own families. They were both shocked and overjoyed. Looking at Old Master Liu and Liu An, they were filled with gratitude and quickly promised that they would remind their families not to spread the recipe.
When the ox cart entered the village, it immediately attracted a crowd of curious villagers. Many people began whispering among themselves, guessing that Liu Dahai’s family must have made a fortune.
Smiling broadly, Liu Dahai said to the crowd, “Our family has made a new kind of food—tofu. Anyone who wants to try it can come to my house tomorrow to buy it. It costs three yuan per piece. You can also trade soybeans for it—one jin of beans for one piece of tofu.”
When the villagers heard that a single piece of tofu cost three yuan, many gasped, thinking it was far too expensive. But when they heard that one jin of soybeans could be exchanged for a piece, their interest quickly returned. Although soybeans were food, eating too many could cause bloating and they weren’t always enjoyable. Trading one jin to try this mysterious “tofu” mentioned by Liu Dahai didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Alright everyone, you can disperse now,” Liu Dahai said with a smile. “We still have to hurry home to cook and make tofu. Otherwise tomorrow you won’t be able to eat fresh tofu.”
That night, the Liu family was busier than ever. The women all returned to their respective parents’ homes to teach them the secret recipe for the spicy mix. The men soaked soybeans and ground them. Old Madam Liu stayed behind with several girls to prepare dinner. Liu An returned to his room to read and practice writing.
Meanwhile, Liu Dahai gathered his three older brothers together to discuss the tofu business.
Looking at them, he said, “Brother Dajiang, Brother Dahe, Brother Dahu—our family plans to focus only on the tofu business from now on and stop selling the spicy mix for the time being. I’m just letting you know. Would you like to take tofu from my house and sell it in other towns?”
“Dahai, is your tofu really selling that well?” Liu Dahu said skeptically. “Or are you asking us to sell it because you can’t sell it yourself?”
Remembering the previous incident with the spicy mix, resentment stirred in his heart.
Hearing this, Liu Dahai was stunned. “Brother Dahu, how could you say that? How could I possibly try to trick my own brothers?”
“Well, who knows?” Liu Dahu sneered sarcastically. “Ever since you got a grandson, you don’t even treat us brothers the same anymore.”
“Dahu, what kind of talk is that?” Liu Dajiang frowned and scolded him. “Brother Dahai is just being kind. If you don’t want to sell it, no one is forcing you. Why say things like that?”
“That’s right,” Liu Dahe added with dissatisfaction. “Brother Dahai’s family finally has a grandson, and An’er is such a sensible child. We should be happy for them. How can you speak like this as his older brother?”
But Liu Dahu remained irritated. “What? You two see that Brother Dahai’s family bought a mule cart and an ox cart, and now you want to curry favor with him? He secretly made a fortune doing business, and only now that he needs help does he think of us brothers.”
“Enough!” the eldest brother snapped angrily. “When Brother Dahai’s family struggled before, they never troubled any of us. Even when An’er was sick, he paid for everything himself. Now that they’ve made a little money from business, you, his own brother, are the one getting jealous. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you?”
“Hmph,” Liu Dahu snorted. “If he really wants us to make money, why didn’t he give us the spicy mix recipe back then?”
Liu Dahai immediately understood—his third brother was resentful because he hadn’t been told the recipe.
Before the other brothers could speak, Liu Dahai looked at Liu Dahu and said calmly, “Since Brother Dahu has so many grievances against me, I should explain. The spicy mix recipe was created by my daughters-in-law. As their father-in-law, I have no right to reveal it. The same goes for the tofu recipe—it can’t be shared either.”
“Did you hear that?” Liu Dahu said loudly to the others. “They’re buying mules and oxen, making money hand over fist—but they won’t share the recipe. They only want us to help sell it. Isn’t that just playing us for fools?”
“This is Brother Dahai’s family’s recipe. Why should they have to share it?” Liu Dahe retorted angrily. “We already have our own families and grandchildren. We don’t need Brother Dahai to support us.”
Liu Dahai continued calmly, “Brother Dahu, there’s no need to twist my words and cause conflict between me and our other brothers. I came today just to discuss this matter. If your families still want to sell tofu, you can come to my house every day and take one hundred pieces. I’ll give them to you for two yuan each, and you must sell them for no less than three yuan each. Also, you can only sell them in other towns—not in Liuyun Town.”
Liu Dajiang and Liu Dahe had heard of Heyun Restaurant in town, a large establishment. When they realized that their brother Dahai had managed to cooperate with such a place, they concluded that this tofu must indeed be a good product. Both of them secretly decided to give it a try.
“What? Three yuan for one piece of tofu?” Liu Dahu burst out laughing. “That’s ridiculously expensive! Who would buy something like that? Brother Dahai, are you out of your mind?”