Su Lele placed the scraps of the fruit leather onto a plate and told everyone to try some.
No one minded that they were just scraps.
As soon as Grandfather heard, he hurried over and grabbed a piece in each hand to eat.
Her younger sister, though small, was just as quick. Her elder brother also quickly took two pieces—one for himself and one for his wife. Their father did the same—clearly a devoted husband.
Grandfather ate happily. “Delicious! Sweet and sour, and chewy. Great for when you’re craving a snack—very nice!”
“Second Sister, I really like this fruit leather too. The candied hawthorn is soft, but this one is chewy. The texture is richer, and it helps cut through greasiness.”
As expected, pregnant women love sweet-and-sour flavors.
“Second Sister, it’s so good!” the younger sister chimed in.
Su Lele then cut some more pieces for the servants to try. Even though they were just scraps, no one dared to eat them in big bites—they savored them slowly. In past years, they hadn’t even had enough to eat. Though they could now eat their fill in the Su household, snacks were still rare. Being able to taste two kinds of snacks today—both made from red fruits—completely changed their understanding.
For the elderly like Grandfather, Uncle Chen, Madam Guan, and Madam Lin, who had weaker teeth, this fruit leather was more suitable than harder snacks.
Working together, everyone quickly wrapped the fruit leather in oil paper—there were a total of 66 large packages.
Su Lele raised her voice and said, “Does everyone want to earn money through your own efforts?”
Her fourth younger sister eagerly responded, “I do!”
Her elder brother asked, “Second Sister, we don’t have a shop. How would we sell it?”
Su Lele smiled cleverly. “Here’s my plan: although we don’t have a shop yet, Grandfather, Brother, Sister-in-law, and our parents all know quite a few nobles and officials, right? Good things aren’t afraid of being shared.”
Wang Huilan didn’t quite understand. “If we share it, won’t we lose money?”
Her elder brother analyzed, “Second Sister, you mean to expand the business through our connections, right? First, give it to them for free without mentioning money. Once they’ve tasted it and want more but can’t buy it, the business will come to us naturally.”
“Exactly,” Su Lele said. “Like Jiang Taigong fishing—those willing will take the bait.”
Grandfather asked, “Granddaughter, how do you plan to price it?”
“I’ve thought it through. The red fruits themselves aren’t worth much, but sugar, purchasing, and labor all add to the cost. I plan to sell each half-jin package of fruit leather for 100 wen. Candied hawthorn doesn’t store well, so we won’t sell it. But for customers who buy more fruit leather, we can give some candied hawthorn as a bonus for them to try.”
After discussion, the family all agreed.
“Alright, everyone take one package home to eat. The rest will be placed in the side hall. Tomorrow, decide who you want to give them to and come take them.”
Since Su Lele had been considered foolish before, she hadn’t made many friends, so she had to rely on her family’s connections.
She then addressed the nine servants. “We’ll make another batch of fruit leather tomorrow. Each of you can take two large packages as snacks. There will be more kinds of snacks in the future. Work well in the Su household, and you won’t lack treats. If you do well, your monthly pay will also increase.”
The maid Qiuyu responded loudly, “Miss, I will definitely work hard!”
The other servants echoed her enthusiastically, especially Uncle Chen’s family. The masters had never beaten or scolded them. They shared good food, and the mistress often rewarded them with cloth. They had even promised to send his grandson to school in the future.
Everyone silently resolved to work even harder.
“Uncle Chen, I’ll go with you to the countryside estate tomorrow morning.”
“Alright.”
Su Lele planned to inspect the estate. The countryside in ancient times must be rich in resources. She would explore first and see if she could develop more new snacks.
Liu Family Village, outskirts of the capital
A carriage slowly entered the village and headed toward the estate. The women chatting under the banyan tree at the village entrance weren’t surprised—they knew the estate belonged to an official family from the capital, and half the villagers rented land from them.
Su Lele wore a dark cotton outfit, her hair styled in a simple bun with loose strands framing her face, giving her a relaxed and carefree appearance. She sat comfortably in the carriage, listening to Qiuyu gossip about happenings in the capital.
The moment she stepped down from the carriage, she felt how fresh the countryside air was. The golden sunlight spread across the hills in the distance, and farmers were already working in the fields. She looked at the estate—it covered about five mu of land. In ancient times, it wasn’t considered large, but by modern standards, it would be like a big villa.
The estate was usually overseen by Uncle Chen and his son, especially during busy farming seasons. Her parents and grandfather rarely came—it was quite simple and mainly used for storing grain.
After strolling around the estate with Qiuyu, Su Lele returned to the main hall and saw Uncle Chen chatting with a man in his thirties wearing black coarse cloth.
His clothes were patched in several places. Beside him stood a thin, dirty but obedient-looking boy—probably his son.
“Miss, this is Liu Shitou. He rents two mu of land here. The red fruits last time came from him. This time, he brought some ‘tu yu’ (earth tubers) grown at home.”
Hearing “tu yu,” Su Lele immediately looked toward the basket.
Wait… aren’t those potatoes? So they’re called “tu yu” in ancient times. She had thought potatoes hadn’t appeared yet.
“Uncle Liu, how much of this do you still have?”
“Replying to Miss, there are still over 800 jin,” Liu Shitou said with a worried expression.
Only his family and Liu Shan’s family in the village had planted them, each on two mu of land. They had bought the seeds at a high price from traders from the northern deserts, believing their claims. The yield was indeed high, and they were filling—but they didn’t taste good.
They boiled them daily as staple food, but they were bland and tasteless. When they tried to sell them, no one recognized them, and those who tasted them didn’t like them either. They didn’t even have enough money to pay grain taxes now. In previous years, planting other crops at least allowed them to scrape by.
“I’ll take all of it—10 wen per jin.”
Potato chips, here I come.
Su Lele planned to fry potato chips to sell.
Tonight, she would first enjoy some stir-fried shredded potatoes with sour and spicy flavor, potato chicken stew, and dry pot potatoes.
Liu Shitou was shocked but honest. “W-what? Miss, you’re buying all of it at 10 wen per jin? But isn’t that too much? And it doesn’t taste very good—you can just buy some to try.”
This family was poor, but honest.
“It’s fine, I have my plans. Are there others in the village growing this? However much there is, I’ll buy it all.”