Chapter 38:

Since the old man spoke, although Zhang Li occasionally thought about it, he never thought of selling his granddaughter again. Later, Luo came to the door a few more times, but they all ended up without a problem, which made Luo look down on the Zhang family, but she was entrusted by others and did not do this well, so she secretly returned the one or two pieces of silver to Shu Min in private, Shu Min did not refuse, but also gave some luck. Luo Shi praised Shumin as a person, and said that if there was business in the future, remember to look for her, she lived in the town, and when she inquired about the west of the city, everyone knew about it. Shumin smiled and nodded, saying that he would definitely look for her if he had the chance.

The plan didn't work, so Shumin had to think of another idea.

During this time, the tofu in Zuifeng Building was famous. Many restaurants are asking who is serving this tofu. Upstairs is the old rival of the drunken wind building, and the two restaurants are originally evenly divided, and no one can overpower anyone. However, both families have very good backgrounds, so they are all right. But recently, Zuifeng Lou has launched a series of tofu-based dishes, which suddenly stole the limelight upstairs, and many old customers have been pulled away by Zuifeng Lou, and the upstairs business is bleak. The shopkeeper upstairs and upstairs, the shopkeeper's hair was much whiter.

"Shopkeeper Liu, I inquired about it, the tofu in Zuifeng Building was bought from Baili Village, which is more than ten miles away." In order to inquire about the news, Liu Shuntian squatted outside the kitchen of the Zuifeng Building before dawn, and squatted for a long time before finally finding out the news.

"Really?" Liu Zhang was sighing at the account book at the time, and when he heard the news, he was so excited that he didn't even hold the brush steady, and there was immediately a large piece of ink on the account book. But he didn't care at all, and hurriedly ordered the horses to be prepared, and took Liu Shun and the two of them to Baili Village in a hurry.

The Liu family was originally a prominent family in the capital, and the clan was divided into two branches, one for business and the other for business. After nearly 100 years of family operation, the Liu family is no longer a simple businessman. Liu's shopkeeper's name is Liu Zikai, and he is a descendant of the Liu family's business family, because he is not prominent in the Liu family, so he was sent to a small town to operate upstairs.

Despite this, his carriage is still different from that of ordinary shopkeepers, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is luxurious.

The people in the village were simple, and when they saw that his carriage was so luxurious, they all gathered around to see the strangeness, who knew that they had come to inquire about the origin of tofu.

The people in the village had no scheming, so they told Shumin's house out of their mouths, Liu Zikai was in a happy mood, and after thanking the villagers, he let Liu Shun drive the carriage to Shumin's courtyard.

The people in the village were in an uproar, thinking that Hui'er Niang would make a lot of money this time. They didn't know that Shu Min had been cooperating with Drunken Wind Building for a long time.

This is an old courtyard, leaning against the foot of the peak ridge, quiet and serene. Liu Zikai felt that the sound of the carriage was too loud, which would interfere with this quiet picture, so he got out of the carriage and walked, Liu Shun did not understand his thoughts, but he was his slave, and when he saw the master get out of the carriage, he immediately followed and ordered the carriage to wait far away.

"Tuk-tuk." He knocked lightly at the courtyard door.

"The door is unlocked!" Shu Min thought that the villagers had come to buy tofu, and replied casually. At this time, she and Zhengxing's daughter-in-law were twisting the coarse cloth vigorously, and under their hard squeezing, the soy milk flowed into the pot through the coarse cloth. Zhengxing sat next to the stone mill and grinded the tofu wholeheartedly, while Feng'an helped scoop the beans with a spoon.

Liu Zikai stepped into the courtyard gate and saw this kind of labor but very natural scene.

"Who are you?" Seeing that the person who came was not a villager, Shumin handed the end of the coarse cloth to Zhengxing's daughter-in-law and greeted him himself.

"The shopkeeper who went downstairs and upstairs, my surname was Liu. This is my little guy. Liu Zikai made a slight gesture and was polite. Although the other party is a village girl, after all, she came to ask for someone, and the etiquette is considerate.

"The shopkeeper is good, I don't know what advice you have for coming to the Humble House?" Seeing him talking about Wen Zou Zou, Shu Min unconsciously also Wen Zou Zou got up.

"I'm here for tofu, I don't know if Mrs. can talk about it." He didn't know what to call her, but he thought it was a married woman, so he called her Madame.

It was the first time that Shumin had heard someone use the title "Madame" to address her, and when she saw him Swenwen, his eyes were eager but measured, and he also put his posture very low when he spoke, and seemed to pay attention to etiquette. Unlike other shopkeepers, they hold their own identity and look at others. I looked at him a little differently. You must know that the shopkeeper of Zuifeng Mansion has always dealt with her, but he still has a sense of superiority over her.

"Then please let you two into the hall." Anyway, there are people in the courtyard, so you won't be said anything if you come into the house and talk.

The furnishings of the hall are very simple, there is only one table, and below the table is a table of eight immortals, and four benches are placed around the table of eight immortals. The table and bench of the Eight Immortals have been repaired, and although the person who repaired it is very careful, it can still be seen if you look closely at it.

On the left side of the hall is a pile of beans, and in the right corner of the wall is a pile of sweet potatoes and greens, which are common to farmers. It's very simple, but it's not messy. This is probably the case for most peasant families. It's just that there is a thick pot on the top of the case, and the pot is planted with wisps of orchids, which adds a different charm to this simple farmhouse.

Liu Zikai sat down on a bench very casually, and Liu stood behind him by the way, like a piece of wood.

"I'm simple here, I don't have tea, let's drink a bowl of soy milk for the two of you." Shumin holds two bowls of soy milk

"Okay, Liu Shun, you can also sit down and drink." Liu Zikai had never drunk soy milk, but the name seemed to be related to tofu, so he asked Liu Shun to sit down and taste it.

"It's really sweet. Not bad. Liu Zikai did not hesitate to praise. Liu Shun also thought it was delicious, and drank it one by one.

"This thing is also made of beans, right? Legend has it that tofu is made from beans, but I haven't seen a trace of the taste of beans when I have tasted it, but it is similar to this soy milk. Liu Zikai said with a smile.

"Shopkeeper Liu is right, tofu and soy milk are indeed not far apart. However, if the two of you want to buy tofu from me, I'm afraid you will be disappointed, I signed an agreement with Zuifeng Lou that I can't sell tofu to his family. ”

Shumin knew that they wanted to buy tofu, so he said straight to the point.

"Can this lady think about it, I'm willing to pay double, no, twice the price." When Liu Zikai heard that tofu could not be sold upstairs with him, he immediately became a little anxious.

"It's not about money." Shu Min said with some embarrassment: "Because the agreement has been drawn, I can only sell it to Zuifeng Building." Besides, it takes some effort to make this tofu, and it is barely able to keep up with the order of Zuifeng Lou at present. ”

"That's it" Liu Zikai looked embarrassed, and even his Chen Zan's soy milk lost its taste. "Madame, would you like to sell the recipe for tofu? I'm willing to buy this recipe for 500 taels. He estimated that he was crazy and was willing to pay 500 taels to buy a recipe for tofu. Liu Shun wanted to remind his shopkeeper, but he couldn't say anything.

"Thank you for the kindness of the shopkeeper Liu, I don't plan to sell this recipe for tofu." The shopkeeper in Zuifeng Building was willing to pay two hundred and fifty taels to buy tofu, but Shumin didn't sell it. Although she was very worried after that, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was right. In addition, I also made a lot of money on tofu, but gradually I don't pay much attention to money.

"Why? But in terms of price? Liu Zikai was puzzled, five hundred taels was an astronomical amount for a country woman, but this woman refused without blinking an eye.

"Of course, it's not a matter of money, I see the sincerity of Shopkeeper Liu, but I have another use for this tofu. Not afraid of the shopkeeper's jokes, I once boasted that this tofu recipe belongs to thousands of people in the world, and my purpose is not to make it a delicacy, but to become an ordinary dish on the people's table. Shumin said with a smile.

"If that's the case, why did you sign a special supply agreement with Drunken Wind Building! Isn't this a self-defeating mouthpiece? Liu Shun said sarcastically: "Do you know how much a plate of tofu costs in Zuifeng Building now?" ”

Liu Zikai frowned slightly, wanting to reprimand Liu Shun, Shumin waved his hand at him slightly, motioning for him to let him continue.

"You keep saying that tofu is made for the people of the world, but you still only care about making tofu and selling tofu yourself, how many people eat tofu! If you really donate tofu and everyone makes tofu, how will you make money in the future? How to survive on tofu. You are simply contradicting yourself. ”

"You're right, everyone sells tofu, and tofu is naturally worthless. However, there will always be more people who eat tofu than there are people who make tofu, after all, making tofu is a matter of energy. I won't discuss this with you. As for why you said I hadn't given away the tofu yet. In fact, I have only been making this tofu for more than two months. As you can see, my family is simple, and I don't want to miss it when I finally have a way to survive. As the saying goes: if you are poor, you will be good to yourself, and if you are good, you will help the world. I couldn't even do it alone before, so how can I help the world at the same time? Shu Min thought for a while, and then said, "If I just want to make money, why don't I sell this recipe for five hundred taels, and why risk being a sinner to find myself unhappy!" ”

Liu Shun wanted to refute when he heard this, but he couldn't find a reason to refute, so he had to stand behind Liu Zikai indignantly and be silent.

Liu Zikai smiled and shook his head. said, "What Madame said is reasonable, and Madame's feelings are also admired." It's just this tofu recipe, when will you give it? I don't know if Liu will get a copy by then? ”

Since this lady is reluctant to sell the child, if she can get this prescription first, she may be able to catch up later.

"If I offer a prescription, I will be the first to give you upstairs!" Shumin smiled open-mindedly.

"Then Liu Mou will thank Mrs. first" Liu Zikai got up and waved at Shu Min, who hurriedly dodged away, and didn't even dare to say it. She thought to herself that after the prescription was made public, everyone would know, so what did it matter who to give it to first and then to whom. She could think that even if the recipe was made public, it could not be promoted overnight, and it would take a process.