The Family Had Split, Why Should I Care if They Go Broke? - Chapter 17

Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu’er wrapped their money in handkerchiefs and left it with Xu Zhichun before heading off to dig konjac and pick lantern fruit. They planned to bring the money home later that evening.

Since Xu Zhichun was willing to help them make money—allowing them to earn a full one hundred and fifty-one copper coins in a single day—she certainly wasn’t about to take any of their earnings.

They had no reason not to trust her.

Zeng Xiaoyan carried two empty baskets on a pole. Liang Mingliang slung a basket on his back, a hoe balanced across one shoulder, and led the ox with his free hand after unloading the cart.

Later, while they dug konjac, the ox could graze. Her father-in-law had already taken the animal out to graze once at dawn, so a second round in the afternoon would be enough to keep it fed.

Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu’er each carried a hand basket and a small back basket for collecting lantern fruit.

Since no one else wanted them, digging konjac and picking lantern fruit was easy—plenty of both covered the hillsides.

The two women decided to gather as much as possible; the seeds from lantern fruit could be kept for planting, and the more they took home, the better.

At this time of year, all the lantern fruit was from last year’s harvest. The new plants hadn’t even started flowering yet.

Many ripe fruits had already fallen to the ground. The ones still hanging would fall with the slightest touch, so they had to handle them very carefully.

Whenever Aunt Zhu’er accidentally knocked one down, she winced—it was money, after all.

Xu Zhichun felt the same, though knowing that the warehouse still had plenty of powder for making ice jelly made her less distressed.

Whether it was ice jelly powder or konjac powder, she planned to take some from the warehouse to mix in. If it could save them from hard labor, why not?

“Sister-in-law Zhichun! Aunt Zhu’er!”

The two women were still busy when Zeng Xiaoyan came skipping over, waving from a distance.

“We dug up a full load plus half a basket more! Are you almost done? I’ll help you.”

Seeing that both of her baskets and Aunt Zhu’er’s were nearly full, Xu Zhichun smiled. “We still have to work on these when we get back, so let’s leave it at this. We’ll pick more tomorrow.”

“True enough. Let’s go wash the konjac first.”

They lined the baskets with large tree leaves, carefully poured in the lantern fruit, then covered it with ragweed. The three women met up with Liang Mingliang, who was carrying two full loads of konjac. Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu’er used their baskets to share the weight from the back basket, while Zeng Xiaoyan carried the rest. Together, they went to a secluded stretch of river where no one usually came to wash the konjac.

The three women worked there while Liang Mingliang tended the ox, which needed to be brought home soon.

Aunt Zhu’er chuckled. “Third Liang really is diligent.”

Zeng Xiaoyan grinned. “Of course he is—it’s money-making work.”

Xu Zhichun laughed. “Aren’t we all the same?”

“Haha, you said it!”

They joked and worked with energy to spare.

After sending the ox home, Liang Mingliang left the cart in Xu Zhichun’s courtyard—it would be needed again first thing in the morning.

When he returned to the river, they had almost finished washing the konjac.

Once everything was ready, he helped carry the loads back. Xu Zhichun and the others each took a small share, and they walked home together.

On the way, they met some villagers, who eyed their haul curiously.

“Whoa, what’s that? Taro? Doesn’t look like it.”

“Huh? Konjac? Oh, ghost taro! Isn’t that stuff poisonous? Even pigs can’t eat it. What are you doing with so much?”

Xu Zhichun thought to herself—out here in the mountains, there wasn’t a plant with distinctive features the villagers didn’t recognize. Just hearing the name, they knew whether it was poisonous, edible, or feed for chickens, ducks, cattle, or pigs.

Which was exactly why pretending to find sweet potatoes, corn, or potatoes in the wild would never work.

Their curiosity was natural, so she explained she was trying to make her hometown snacks to sell for extra income.

It wasn’t something she could keep completely secret. And if she didn’t mention selling it, someone might casually say, “Save me a bit to try,” and refusing would feel awkward. Worse, someone might ask how it was made, and that would be tricky to answer.

If she stated outright it was for making money, anyone with a bit of social sense wouldn’t pry further.

And if the rare thick-skinned person did? Well, she wouldn’t need to be polite about it.

She had to support her little brother’s education, and it was only natural to work hard and guard her recipes.

With yesterday’s practice, today’s work went even smoother.

It wasn’t difficult to begin with, and with the cheerful help of Liang Mingliang, things moved faster.

While one batch was being peeled and diced, Liang Mingliang could start grinding the first half-basin.

He ground the konjac while Zeng Xiaoyan spooned diced pieces into the grinder. Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu’er kept peeling and cutting, setting aside some pure white konjac hearts for making konjac knots.

Peeling a konjac as big as a bowl wasn’t hard; the two women worked quickly and steadily, not minding if they cut the peel thick.

Since konjac juice could irritate the skin, Xu Zhichun had bought three feet of hemp cloth that morning, cutting it into small pieces to wrap her hands in three or four layers.

She could probably find rubber gloves in the warehouse, but those would be far too advanced for the times—they couldn’t be used openly.

When they had finished a full load and still had a basket left, Xu Zhichun smiled. “This is plenty for now. Let’s save the rest for tomorrow. Even if we cut it all, we couldn’t use this much at once. We still need to shape and cook it tonight.”

Aunt Zhu’er agreed, then added, “After dinner, I’ll come over to help. Our homes are close anyway.”

“Sounds good,” Xu Zhichun said with a smile. “Bring a pair of wooden buckets and a basin when you come.”

“All right. Do we have enough shaping molds? I’ll check my storage room for wood to make two more. If I don’t have any, my husband will be back in a couple of days—I’ll have him make some.”

“I was just about to say—we should make three more. I also want to ask Uncle Qi Tian to make a long table to hold the basins and baskets.”

“No problem. When my husband comes back, I’ll have him do it.”

“Can he also make buckets and basins?”

“He can!”

“That’s great. I need to add quite a few things to my home. If Uncle Qi Tian has time, I’ll trouble him with it.”

“It’s no trouble. Just say the word—he’ll make them quick and sturdy.”

As they talked, they began peeling lantern fruits.

After a while, Xu Zhichun moved on to adding alkali water to the konjac slurry, stirring, and shaping it.

Today’s batch was large, but they only had three molds. The sooner they shaped each batch, the better—there would be several more rounds before it was done.

By the time Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband finished grinding the konjac slurry and came inside, the first batch of konjac tofu had already been cut into cubes and was soaking in a wooden bucket. While the second batch was already being shaped.

Liang Mingliang’s eyes went wide. “This really is the konjac we just ground? How did you turn it into konjac tofu?”

Xu Zhichun grinned playfully. “That’s our little secret—can’t tell you.”