Lin Yuhe, who had traveled through time to this family, discovered that the Lin household lived in poverty. However, there was something that put her mind at ease: the family members loved and cared for each other, and none of the relatives were difficult people. She secretly resolved to make this family prosper.
Seeing that Uncle Lin was interested in doing business, the first step was to try out a small food venture to test the waters.
"Uncle, you bought a pound of sugar today. I’ll make two types—half for what you’re currently selling, and the other half I’ll need to refine further from what you bought."
Lin Yuhe felt that the sugar Uncle Lin had bought needed to be refined into white sugar first. Transforming brown sugar into white sugar was a simple task for her.
"Yuhe, you decide. Whatever you make, I’ll sell," Uncle Lin’s words made Lin Yuhe feel quite comfortable.
Since Uncle Lin gave her the freedom to experiment, she didn’t hold back.
"Mother, help me tend to the fire," she said. The key to boiling sugar was to avoid overcooking it, as too much heat would make the sugar taste bitter. Mother Lin was someone who frequently worked in the kitchen, and only she and Grandma Lin could control the heat for boiling sugar.
After cleaning the pot and lighting the fire, they began boiling the sugar. No one in the family had ever done this before, so only Lin Yuhe knew how to proceed.
"Mother, the fire is a bit too strong—reduce it," said Lin Yuhe, holding the pot spatula and stirring the sugar in the pot.
The petite Lin Yuhe struggled a little as she leaned over the stove, standing on a small stool. Grandma Lin watched her wobbling and feared she might accidentally fall into the pot.
Not daring to speak too loudly for fear of startling her, Grandma Lin said, "Yuhe, steady your feet and be careful."
Without even glancing at Grandma Lin, Lin Yuhe replied, "I know, Grandma." She was too focused on watching the color change of the sugar syrup to pay attention to anything else.
Once the boiled sugar was placed on the cutting board, Lin Yuhe urged, "Mother, Grandma, hurry and cut it into pieces while it’s still warm. Once it cools, it’ll be too hard to cut."
Lin Yuhe had already specified the size of the pieces. Since her hands were small and she couldn’t handle the kitchen knife steadily, Grandma Lin used the kitchen knife borrowed from Third Uncle’s Wife to cut the sugar.
Grandma Lin and her daughter-in-law Haitang were both accustomed to kitchen work, so they were quick and efficient. Cutting the sugar wasn’t difficult—it just required speed and uniformity.
"Uncle, hurry up and make sure the cut pieces don’t stick together," she said, as the two of them worked together.
Looking at the small half-basket of candy in the basket, the pieces were slightly larger than the ones Uncle Lin had brought from town. The sugar he had bought was somewhat dark in color.
The candy they made at home had a better color—clearer and brighter—and was overall much better.
Now, all that was left was the taste. Lin Yuhe picked up a piece and offered it to Grandma Lin. "Grandma, taste our homemade candy. Is it good?"
She then handed a piece to Mother Lin. "Mother, you try it too. See if it’s sweet."
Lin Yuhe glanced at Uncle Lin, who quickly said, "No need to feed me. I’ll try it myself and taste your handiwork."
Uncle Lin muttered quietly, "Who taught her to stuff things into people’s mouths?"
"It’s delicious, really sweet! Our candy is much better than the ones we bought," said Uncle Lin, who had tasted the candy he had purchased. The sugar he bought had a slightly bitter aftertaste.
The homemade candy, on the other hand, tasted sweet and fragrant, with no residue left at the end.
"Hmm, not bad," Lin Yuhe said. "The sugar Uncle bought had some impurities and wasn’t pure. Plus, it’s hard to control the temperature with our wood-fired stove. Given that, this result is acceptable."
Lin Yuhe gave her finished product a score of seventy—just passing.
Uncle Lin looked at the remaining small portion of sugar and moved his stool closer to Lin Yuhe, wearing a flattering smile.
"Little Yuhe, what kind of candy do you plan to make with the leftover sugar powder?" Uncle Lin noticed a bowl of roasted sesame seeds and peanuts nearby but had no idea how they would be used or what purpose they served.
When they returned from working in the fields and selling firewood, they saw the dining table covered with slices of sesame candy. Picking up a piece, they found it translucent and fragrant with the aroma of sugar and sesame.
There was also candy made of peanuts coated in sugar, with the sugar infused with the flavor of peanuts. Everyone was filled with novelty and disbelief, though the latter two varieties were slightly less in quantity.
The younger ones each got a small piece to taste, while the larger pieces were shared among several people, each taking a small bite.
"Sister, this candy is really delicious—not only sweet but also fragrant," the two younger brothers said, reluctant to eat it all at once, taking only small bites at a time.
Grandma Lin came over. "After finishing this, don’t eat any more. We still need to save it to sell for money."
"Uncle, what price do you think we should set so we don’t lose money?" Lin Yuhe mainly wanted to see how Uncle Lin would calculate the costs and profits.
Doing business isn’t just about shouting and selling—it also involves calculating profits. Their entire Lin family was still waiting for rice to cook!
Watching Uncle Lin scribble and calculate on the table with water for a long time, he finally looked up and said, "Yuhe, for this ordinary kind, we can sell it for one copper coin per piece. We won’t lose money. Look at that small half-basket of candy—we can easily make about thirty copper coins."
Hearing Uncle Lin’s words, Lin Yuhe felt a bit frustrated. "Uncle, look at my hands—they’re red from stirring the sugar syrup."
Seeing his niece’s fair, delicate little hand stretched out before him, there was indeed a faint, almost imperceptible redness. "Hmm, next time Yuhe can just tell me, and Uncle will do the work."
Lin Yuhe nearly fainted. Shouldn’t he have shown some concern and said something comforting? With Uncle’s emotional intelligence, finding an aunt for him in the future would be quite difficult.
They were supposed to be discussing candy pricing, but she had gone off-topic.
"Uncle, thank you very much! What I meant was that when making candy, we need to include labor costs. Also, we used pots and firewood at home, right? Mother and Grandma were delayed from other chores while making the candy, right? And you’ll have to go out to sell it, right? All of these should be counted as costs."
Lin Yuhe rambled on and on, while everyone in the family stared at each other wide-eyed. Did labor really need to be counted as money? They hadn’t spent much time on it—they had just made it in their spare time.
And what was this about wasting pots? Weren’t pots meant to be used? Using them once wouldn’t break them. This girl really knew how to talk—she could turn anything into copper coins.
"I think the most ordinary candy should be sold by weight. Calculated separately, it would be three copper coins per piece. I—" Before Lin Yuhe could finish, Father Lin, who was sitting around the table, suddenly fell to the ground with a thud.
"Child’s father, what happened? Did you fall? You were sitting just fine—how did you end up on the ground?"
Mother Lin quickly got up to help her husband.
"Father, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Lin Yuhe also hurried over to help.
"Yuhe, don’t worry about your father. He’s tough-skinned and won’t get hurt from a fall. Hurry up and explain why you set that price," Grandpa Lin didn’t even glance at his son on the ground.
"Look at how useless you are—you’re not even as composed as the children. Get up on your own. Do you expect me, your father, to help you up?"
Lin Yuhe finally realized who Uncle Lin’s talkative yet emotionally unintelligent nature was inherited from—of course, it was Grandpa.
"Daughter, your father's fine, didn't get hurt, no need for you to help," Father Lin grinned, revealing a set of big white teeth.
He made no mention of being startled by his daughter's remark about three coins—thinking of how he toiled all day outside for a measly ten coins from his employer, with poor food and rest, while this small piece of candy his daughter had cost three coins.