watched Zhao Tiedan wash his nose by the well. Zhu Hongsan said to him: "Big cousin, do you know why? ”

Zhao Tiedan shook his head and said, "I don't know, I look like a fairy." ”

"Yes, this is the immortal law, I was taught the immortal method by the immortals, and now I teach it to you, you must not tell outsiders that you know no."

Zhao Tiedan asked, "What will happen after you say it?" ”

"If you say it, the whole family will die, your father, your brother, and your mother will all die, and you will die too, you know no."

The most important thing to Zhao Tiedan was his father and younger brother, and he nodded hurriedly and said, "Don't worry, Sanwazi, I won't say it." ”

Zhu Hongsan continued to flicker Zhao Tiedan: "You swear a poisonous oath, saying that if you tell others that your whole family will die." ”

Zhao Tiedan hesitated and said, "Can't my father say it?" ”

"Of course, do you want your father to die?"

"Of course not, I swear. I, Zhao Tiedan, want to tell outsiders that I will be immortal, and the whole family will die, my father, my brother, my mother, my aunt, and my cousin will all die. ”

Zhu Hongsan rolled his eyes: "Your mother, what are you taking me for." After seeing him come and swear a poisonous oath, he said, "Okay, the things are gathered together, you go out to play, come to dinner in the evening, uncle, then I will tell him." ”

After waiting for Zhao Tiedan to go out, Zhu Hongsan came to his shop from the back door and saw the old lady sitting behind the counter looking at the sky. The old lady saw Zhu Hongsan come in and said, "My son didn't go out to play today."

"Yes, mother, are you free, I'll tell you something when I come back."

"What's the matter, can't you say it here?"

Zhu Hongsan took the old lady's hand and said, "Go home and talk about it, this is my secret." ”

Mrs. Shen said with a smile: "Shopkeeper, go home quickly, my son kisses you now, and there will be no such thing when he grows up, and my son is now almost not talking to my mother-in-law every day." ”

Zhao Chunhua said with a smile: "My three children can't, then good sister-in-law, you help me look at the stall, I'll go home and see what the secret is." ”

Zhu Hongsan pulled the old lady back from the backyard to the front yard. The old lady saw that there was a stove and a jar in the front yard and said, "My mother, what kind of demon are you doing at home." ”

Zhu Hongsan didn't talk to the old lady, and opened the paper bag containing the candy to show the old lady: "Mother, what do you think this is?" ”

The old lady took it and looked at it and said, "What? Is it salt? It's so fine salt. ”

"Mother, you can taste it."

Zhao Chunhua took a little bit with her hand and put it on the tip of her tongue, and exclaimed: "It's snow candy, it's so sweet, son, you got it, this big bag has three catties." ”

Zhu Hongsan said proudly: "This is what my son did"

"You did it yourself? How? It can't be that I got it out again. ”

Zhu Hongsan said angrily: "Mother, you watch, I'm doing it for you." Mother, go to the shop and get me ten catties of brown sugar. ”

The old lady brought the brown sugar for a while, and Zhu Hongsan did it again according to the steps just now. This time, due to the experience, the sugar yield is relatively high, and there are five catties of sugar.

The old lady Zhao Chunhua looked at the seven or eight catties of sugar in the paper bag and was speechless. Zhu Hongsan was afraid that the old lady would be scared silly, so he patted the old lady on the back and asked, "Mother, what's wrong with you." ”

It took Zhao Chunhua a long time to react, hugged Zhu Hongsan and said, "Son, let's get rich." ”

After Zhao Chunhua's excitement passed, he began to ask Zhu Hongsan where he had learned, and Zhu Hongsan had already thought of the answer, saying that he was taught to him by a horse-faced grandfather in a dream, and carefully described the appearance of the horse-faced grandfather. Zhao Chunhua thought about it, isn't this Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance? Every year when I worship my ancestors, I see the portrait of the emperor. Zhao Chunhua hurriedly pulled Zhu Hongsan to kneel, kowtowed three times in the direction of the imperial mausoleum of Lao Zhu in Nanjing, and said, "Thank you for the emperor's divine skills." ”

Zhu Hongsan pursed his lips secretly, thinking: "Old Zhu will still do this?" It's not my son, I studied well back then, and I still remember the production process of local sugar. ”

In fact, Zhu Hongsan's handmade white sugar is not very perfect, due to the inevitable pollution in the production process, the finished white sugar is not pure white, with a little milky white. But this is also much stronger than the snow sugar of the Ming Dynasty, which was purely made of gauze to filter out impurities little by little, and then boiled it, and this sugar is pale yellow.

Zhu Hongsan asked the old lady: "What should I do with this sugar?" ”

"Of course it's sold, there are enough people in the county town to afford it, so it's best to sell it in your second uncle's store in Fucheng."

Zhu Hongsan's second uncle is called Zhao Mingliang, who opened a tea shop in Wuchang Mansion.

Zhu Hongsan said: "Mother, it's best not to say that your son did it. ”

The old lady asked puzzledly, "Why?" ”

"Old lady, think about it, there are still so many dignitaries and nobles in Wuchang Mansion, as well as the king of Chu and the king of the county, they want to know that their son can make snow candy, can they have a son?"

The old lady nodded: "Yes, those bastards who eat people and don't spit out bones, you can't let them know, son, what do you think, son." ”

Zhu Hongsan continued: "Now the ones who can make sugar are my son and Zhao Tiedan, I told him in the morning, anyway, he is not proud of his aunt, mother, you might as well take your cousin to our house in the name of the poor child, my cousin and I are still companions, make sugar together, this method can't be passed on." Uncle can still get a favor from his mother. ”

The old lady scolded with a smile: "You are a ghost elf, but this kid is really pitiful, and his head is not very good." Okay, I'll go tell your uncle in a while, and it won't be difficult for your uncle. What about the sales of this sugar? ”

"This is simple, put it at the second uncle's place to sell, but don't tell him that we made it ourselves, just say that mother, you have entered a batch of white sugar and want to make some money, but no one in the county can afford to buy it, so ask the second uncle to sell it on your behalf, snow sugar is ten taels of silver and one tael, let's sell fifteen taels, and give my uncle two taels of red draw."

The old lady nodded and said, "Yes, your two uncles and I were the most opposed to your father's affairs back then, so let them drink some soup this time." These seven or eight catties of snow sugar are a bit less, can you make more. ”

"How much does my mother think is appropriate."

"Let's get a hundred pounds first."

Zhu Hongsan was shocked by the old lady's generosity, and asked: "Let's buy thirteen taels of silver and one tael, this hundred catties is 13,000 taels of silver, is there so much silver in Wuchang Mansion?" ”

The old lady smiled and said: "You underestimate your group of princes' relatives, King Chu, King Min, King Xing, they are not worth millions, maybe they can't get 10,000 taels of silver for a while, that's a small matter." ”

When Zhu Hongsan heard this, he remembered that later generations said that after the death of King Fu of HN, he searched for millions of taels of silver in the palace, and Li Zicheng invaded BJ and got 70 million taels of silver from the homes of various ministers and nobles.

After the old lady finished speaking, she went to her uncle to tell her about Zhao Tiedan. I lay drowsy in my bed, I'm only five years old now, and I'm really tired from the intense labor of the day.

When I woke up, I was about to turn on the lamp. Zhu Hongsan rubbed his eyes and saw Zhao Goudan lying on his bedside asleep, and saw the kitchen light on through the window, probably the old lady was cooking. Zhu Hongsan got up lightly and tried not to disturb Zhao Goudan. When I left the house and closed the door, I smelled the aroma before I got to the kitchen. When the old lady saw me enter the house, she smiled and asked me, "Hungry, it'll be fine in a while, the braised pork that my mother made for you tonight." ”

Zhu Hongsan said happily: "Great, I'm going to starve to death." Mother, you're going to find your uncle. ”

"Go, I'll call him out in the yamen."

"What did my uncle say?"

"What else can he say, I told him that the dog will live in our house in the future, and sooner or later he will starve to death in their house. Hey, your uncle is also quite pitiful, your aunt is too powerful, and she is in charge of the family's money. Your two uncles are good at everything, but they are too wretched. ”

Zhu Hongsan nodded and said, "What did the eldest uncle say?" ”

"Your uncle said I'm sorry for this kid, let me bother more, and in a few years he will figure it out. He can have a fart. ”

"That's fine, I still have a companion."

"Bao'er is still the most sensible, don't learn from your two wretched uncles in the future."

Zhu Hongsan patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, even if you marry your daughter-in-law in the future, you will have to let her wash her mother's feet." ”

Zhao Chunhua said happily: "It's still my family treasure that feels the most distressed about the old lady." ”

Zhu Hongsan then asked: "Mother, then tomorrow my cousin and I will start making sugar, will we make a hundred catties first?" ”

"Yes, how long will it take for my son to do well, and what else do I need?"

"The main thing is the raw materials, how to say that brown sugar also costs 200 catties, lime 100 catties, charcoal 100 catties, a larger tank, and a large iron pot. On the first day, I can get fifteen or twenty pounds, and it will take half a month to finish it all. ”

Zhao Chunhua said: "Okay, I'll go to the raw materials tomorrow." Son, let's have a good life in the future. When the meal is ready, go and tell your cousin to get up and eat. ”

Zhu Hongsan returned to his house and woke up Zhao Goudan to come to the kitchen. Zhao Goudan saw that there was braised pork, but he didn't dare to move the chopsticks first. Zhao Chunhua sighed, this kid made his stepmother stupid.

Zhao Chunhua served rice to the two children and said, "Dog, eat it, just like your own home." Zhao Goudan agreed, shook off the whirlwind, and after the chopsticks were upside down, the molars were opened, Zhu Hongsan hadn't eaten the first bowl of rice, he had already eaten the second bowl. Zhao Chunhua said: "Eat slowly, yes, I bought five catties of meat today." you, let me tell you something. ”

Zhao Goudan stopped his chopsticks and looked at Zhao Chunhua and said, "Auntie, you can say it."

"Dog, I'm going to look for your father in the afternoon, and you'll stay at your aunt's house in the future. My aunt will definitely keep you fed and clothed. ”

"Okay, I'll listen to my aunt."

Zhao Chunhua rubbed her eyes and said: "Poor child, rest assured that your aunt is here, your stepmother will not dare to bully you, and when you grow up, your aunt will tell you a daughter-in-law." ”

Zhao Goudan nodded and said, "Okay, my aunt will be my mother in the future." ”

Zhao Chunhua smiled: "Silly boy, I am your aunt, why did I become a mother again." ”

Zhao Chunhua said to Zhu Hongsan: "Three babies, your cousin is honest, and you are not allowed to bully your cousin in the future." ”

"Don't worry, mother, he will be my brother in the future."

After eating, Zhao Chunhua took a new quilt for Zhao Goudan and said, "Goudan, you and your brother will squeeze it tonight, and tomorrow my aunt will find a carpenter to make a new bed." ”

Zhao Goudan said, "Okay, aunt." ”

The little brothers played for a while and then slept separately.