However, it seems the original owner’s mind wasn’t quite sharp, so they had to make up for it with the diligence of a slow and steady effort.
In mid-October, the corn was basically all harvested. This ti when she returned ho, she felt there was work to do because the family was busy making tofu, so the fieldwork progressed slowly.
Besides plucking corn and cutting corn stalks, she also helped Grandpa tie the corn stalks. So of these stalks were taken away by the village, and the rest were taken ho by each household as fuel.
Now, there’s a mill in the backyard. Whenever there’s an event in the village, no matter if it’s a red or white event, they would call their family to order tofu.
Even those who lived far away would give a heads-up during tofu sales after tasting how good it was. Initially, they didn’t ask for a deposit, but later, under Ye Huan’s reminder, they realized the benefit of requiring a deposit. From then on, Ye Family’s tofu shop had its own rules.
As they say, the larger the quantity, the better the deal. After the discounted price for the first three days, it returned to two yuan per jin. If soone pre-ordered more than ten jin, it would be calculated as five yuan for three jin.
The family beca more and more proficient, and their control over the brine improved. Every ti she returned ho, she would carry a few jin of beans.
Every day, she would plant so beans, more or less, accumulating about four or five jin in a week.
The beans collected by the tofu shop couldn’t keep up with their usage, so they would go from house to house buying beans at market price.
After all this back-and-forth, the family could earn approximately two to three thousand yuan a month.
If divided into four parts, that would be six to seven hundred yuan.
This ensured that grandparents had security, and each of the three brothers also had inco. Even though they hadn’t split the family, so money could be evenly distributed with the grandparents’ consent, such as from the tofu shop or the yearly grain distribution. Whenever there was surplus, they would share it, which was tantamount to splitting the family.
In November, the temperature in Henan suddenly dropped. Grandparents earned money and wanted to buy everyone a set of clothes, so they went with Auntie, Mom, and Auntie to pick cloth and cotton. They brought back the cloth, but the cotton wasn’t bought because it was in high demand and sold out as soon as it arrived.
At this ti, when Ye Huan brought ho thirty jin of cotton, it surprised everyone. She naturally couldn’t say she had stored a hundred jin in her space, so she said a professor helped her buy it from his acquaintance. Although thirty jin of cotton wasn’t much, it was enough to make a set for the children.
"Mom, cover with old clothes. That way, others won’t notice and think we’ve earned a lot. Save this new cotton cloth."
"Huanhuan is thoughtful," Daddy remarked as he saw the point, and imdiately inford grandparents, who then stored away the cotton cloth.
"Although the cotton fabric bought is of the lowest quality, soone still noticed. You kids can have a new set, but wear it for the New Year." In other words, they planned to use old clothes for making a set of cotton clothes, then make a new set from new fabric?
Knowing the adults’ plan, next weekend, she carried fifty jin of cotton back ho, which made the whole family restless.
"Where did you get the money to buy so much cotton? Cotton is so expensive!"
"Grandparents, Uncle and Auntie, Uncle and Auntie, Mom and Dad, rest assured, I started saving in the sumr. The professor gives five silver coins each month, and I’ve spent almost a year’s savings on this,"
"But isn’t that still not enough? Cotton is already hard to buy at twelve yuan per jin now,"
A silver coin was equivalent to ten yuan in governnt currency. When she bought it, it was exactly one silver coin per jin, aning ten yuan per jin.
Now, even at twelve yuan, it’s hard to buy, which is quite normal, considering she started saving money since early in the year and began stockpiling in the sumr.
She brought back eighty jin altogether, needing at least eighty silver coins. With five silver coins a month, it only totals sixty in a year, which is quite a gap, isn’t it?
"I also helped neighbors with laundry and cooking, making five to seven silver coins a month. Sotis, working more could earn ten coins. That’s how this money was saved, so don’t worry, it’s all above board. I started stockpiling in the sumr, not wanting to bring back too much at once to attract gossip from neighbors. That’s why I ca back under the cover of darkness this ti, so no one saw."
Ye Huan’s silly smile moved the whole family, and even though Uncle, Auntie insisted on giving money, she refused.
"I can’t take your money. We’re family, right, Grandpa? Save your money, and send my younger siblings to school in the future. That’s more important. Now I’m learning from a professor and growing more convinced of the value of education. There will be plenty of expenses in the future, and I’m not worried about not having anything to spend on."
Under her insistence, Grandpa allowed them to accept the cotton. They also used Ye Huan’s thod of layering new cotton with old clothes. With so many family mbers, if the fifty jin of cotton were made thinner, they could make two sets for everyone.
The old cotton was gathered together, enough to make a quilt.
Even if the new cotton was thin, it was warr than the old, and this was Ye Huan’s most direct feeling when she wore the new cotton clothes her mom made for her.
After winter set in, the days got shorter. Tofu was not made in excess, even though it kept well in the cold. They didn’t want to end up with leftovers, so the production potential from sixty jin might drop to forty or fifty jin.
As for Ye Huan’s side of selling fruits and vegetables, she was careful not to be too conspicuous, limiting sales to what was available in winter, like lotus root, potatoes, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes.
Although the inco wasn’t as high as during the sumr, it was enough to cover personal daily expenses.
There were no significant expenses left to worry about this year, like cotton and cloth, decreasing the financial pressure.
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