“Your father was an honest man and a diligent worker. He worked as a hired hand at the Gao family for two years, which is why he ended up borrowing money from them.”
Speaking of her deceased husband, Mrs. Song felt a pang of sadness, but she quickly composed herself and continued, “When your father passed away, the Gao family even sent a steward to offer condolences. At the time, they didn’t mention the debt. But just a few days after the funeral, Nanny Liu came with her son to demand repayment.”
Su Zhen frowned. “Has it always been Nanny Liu who came to collect the debt? Did the Gao family’s steward or any other officials ever come?”
Mrs. Song shook her head. “No.”
She hesitated for a long moment before finally saying, “Actually, we only borrowed three taels of silver for your father’s treatment. It was Nanny Liu who said that since the loan had been outstanding for over half a year, the interest had to be raised, and it kept increasing until it reached five taels.”
What?!
Su Zhen’s eyes widened in shock. Neither the original owner nor she, after transmigrating, had ever imagined that the debt was originally only three taels!
Could it be that Nanny Liu was afraid Su Zhen would expose her private interest collection to the Gao family’s masters, which is why she didn’t allow Su Zhen to approach the Gao family?
Or perhaps there was something even more unsavory hidden beneath the surface?
Su Zhen’s mind raced with thoughts, while Mrs. Song continued chattering about how generous and benevolent Squire Gao and his wife were.
Of course, these words merely passed through Su Zhen’s ears without leaving any impression.
As they tidied up the yard, Mother Zhao from next door rushed in anxiously, pulling Mrs. Song and A-Qiao aside to examine them carefully. “Are you all right? Did the Gao family bully you? We were all out in the fields watering the crops. A-Lian heard the commotion here, but she’s still in confinement and couldn’t come out. She was so worried!”
Mrs. Song patted the back of Mother Zhao’s hand with a smile. “It’s nothing, thankfully A-Zhen and A-Yu came back just in time. A-Lian is a brave one—I heard her shouting loudly. If it weren’t for her, the villagers wouldn’t have arrived so quickly.”
Although the villagers had only gathered at the gate to watch the commotion, their sheer numbers made Nanny Liu and her two sons think twice, preventing them from actually causing any harm.
Su Zhen scrubbed the small pot clean and placed it on the little stove. “Auntie, have you heard anything about what I asked you to look into?”
Mrs. Song was puzzled and looked at the two of them curiously.
Mother Zhao immediately perked up, counting on her fingers. “I’ve already inquired. Including our village and the three nearby villages, there are six women in confinement and thirteen children under a year old. Oh, and there are also four who are due to give birth in the next month or two.”
Now Mrs. Song was even more confused. “Why are you asking about this?”
Especially Su Zhen—what business did a young girl like her have inquiring about childbirth and confinement? Could it be that she was thinking of getting married?
Mrs. Song had already begun pondering whether there were any outstanding young men in the nearby villages when, to her surprise, Su Zhen said with a smile, “Mother, I want to find a way for you and Auntie Zhao to earn some money. Are you willing?”
“Do it! Why wouldn’t we? These days, as long as we can earn money, I’m willing to do any kind of hard or tiring work!”
Mother Zhao was full of fighting spirit, tugging at Mrs. Song’s arm to urge her to join in.
Thinking of the family’s debts and the menacing way Nanny Liu and her sons had demanded repayment, the usually timid Mrs. Song steeled herself and agreed.
“Actually, it’s not that difficult. Tomorrow I’ll buy a pig’s trotter, stew it with peanuts to make a pot of peanut and pig’s trotter soup. This soup is especially good for promoting lactation, so it’s sure to sell well.”
Besides, the three nearby villages weren’t too far away. The two of them could carry their loads and make a round trip, returning before lunch if they were quick.
“Five copper coins per bowl—sell as much as we can. Whatever’s left can be used to nourish Sister A-Lian.”
At the market, Su Zhen had already inquired: pig’s trotters were considered off-cuts and were much cheaper than pork. A single trotter cost at most twenty copper coins. If business went well, they could earn at least thirty copper coins a day. In the countryside, that was a fortune!
Five copper coins for a bowl of lactation-promoting soup wasn’t exactly cheap, but it wasn’t overly expensive either. Besides, it wasn’t something one would drink every day. Buying a bowl every few days was still affordable for most families.
Mother Zhao and Mrs. Song were both enthusiastic, and even A-Qiao clapped her little hands happily, laughing: “Great! First, we’ll sell the soup nearby. Once it sells well nearby, we’ll sell it further nearby, then even further nearby, then…”
Su Zhen pulled the clever little girl into her arms and gently tapped her nose: “You little smarty-pants, you’re truly cut out for business. Yes, we’ll start selling nearby first. Once we build a reputation, we won’t even need to go out ourselves—customers will come looking for us.”
The peanut and pig’s trotter soup was just the beginning. Later, they could sell nourishing soups, health-preserving soups, longevity soups, and so on. As long as they weren’t afraid of putting in the effort, why worry about not making money?
No sooner said than done. The next day, after selling the nutritious porridge, Su Zhen indeed brought home a pig’s trotter.
After lunch, she used fire to burn off the hair on the trotter, then washed it several times with clean water. The peanuts had been soaked in advance, and their red skins were peeled off to avoid a slight bitter taste.
Before dawn, Su Zhen was already up boiling water. Breakfast was a fragrant flour paste. She plucked two scallions, each just two hand-spans long, from the vegetable garden to stir-fry in the pot, then tossed in a handful of white flour and stirred it into a paste.
Just before finishing, Su Zhen added four poached eggs to the mix. Now that the family wasn’t short of money for eggs, nourishing everyone’s health was the top priority.
After ladling the flour paste into a small basin and scrubbing the large pot clean, Su Zhen blanched the pig’s trotter, rinsed it, and continued stewing it over low heat until the broth turned milky white. Then, she added the peanuts to cook.
However, Su Zhen specifically reminded Mrs. Song not to add salt to the soup yet, as some people believed nursing mothers shouldn’t consume salt.
Although Su Zhen didn’t agree with avoiding salt entirely, she respected others’ choices. Whether to add salt or not could be decided by the customers after they bought the soup.
As Su Zhen and her sister carried the nutritious porridge to town, Mrs. Song and Mother Zhao ladled the prepared peanut and pig’s trotter soup into jars, ready to carry their loads and go out to sell the soup.
A-Qiao tucked the few copper coins her sister had given her into her little pocket and skipped along to catch up with her mother’s steps, joining in the effort to earn money and do business.
The porridge stall’s business had stabilized. Every day, before noon, the three jars of nutritious porridge were nearly empty, and some customers who arrived late couldn’t even get a bowl.
Just as she was busy working alongside her brother, Su Zhen suddenly heard a familiar voice above her: “Little girl, which of your porridges tastes the best? Give me two bowls.”
Su Zhen immediately looked up and met a familiar, astonished old face.
Well, well, it really goes to show—enemies are bound to meet! This customer turned out to be Nanny Liu!
Nanny Liu was both embarrassed and flustered, her eyes darting around nervously as she turned to leave in a hurry. “No, never mind, I don’t want the porridge anymore!”
Su Zhen looked past her and indeed spotted a carriage with the Gao family emblem parked not far away.
Ha, talk about searching far and wide only to find what you need right under your nose!