loyal dog becomes cat

After half a month, Ma Ke's business gradually went smoothly. Usually, a cart of tofu can be sold out in the morning, and when Hua Jian comes back in the afternoon, he can help him make the next day's portion. Coe began to think about something else.

The last time Liu Xiaodong was inadvertently inspired to make bean sprouts. It looked good, but I don’t know if people in this era can accept this kind of food, but the market needs to be cultivated. After thinking about it, Ma Ke decided to give it a try. .

The first time I didn’t dare to make too much, I only made a bucket, because I was afraid that others would not know how to eat it, Ma Ke specially asked Madam Wu to fry a plate and bring it, and told her that if someone asked, she could let them taste it first. Buy it when it tastes good, and tell customers how to fry bean sprouts when selling it.

This time they were selling a new product, so Ma Ke boldly set a slightly higher price, thinking that it wouldn't matter if it couldn't be sold, at worst, he would stop doing the bean sprouts business and focus on tofu skin.

The next day, Grandma Wu and Huajian came back after noon. The tofu and bean sprouts were all sold out. Grandma Wu said: "The bean sprouts are still selling very fast. Someone came to ask later that they were out of stock. You can make more tomorrow." Do something."

Ma Ke didn't expect his own bean products business to be so smooth, and he was very happy. The bean sprouts are much easier to make than tofu. Just throw it into the water and change the water once a day, and the profit is not low.

Huanzhou is located in the Central Plains. Although it is not as cold as the imperial capital of Chongzhou, there are not many fruits and vegetables in winter. Moreover, there were no plastic greenhouses in ancient times, and out-of-season crops could not be grown. The main vegetables for people in winter are cabbage and radishes.

Ma Ke's bean sprouts were born out of nowhere, just to fill this gap, and the taste is crisp, and the vinegar smoothie is especially appetizing, so the sales are even more popular than tofu, and sometimes some regular customers will call in advance to make reservations.

The business is good, and Ma Ke counts the purses every night, and he is very happy. On the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, he went to the market again with Huajian and bought a batch of soybeans.When I went there, I was afraid that the Deng Youcai brothers would be in trouble, but I didn't know they were nowhere to be seen, but I ran into the shopkeeper Wang of Ximensheng Medicine Store.

Ma Ke has a beautiful face, shopkeeper Wang still remembers her, when he saw her in the market, he took the initiative to say hello to her: "Miss Ma, it's been a while since you came out to go to the market."

Ma Ke returned the gift, and shopkeeper Wang said again: "Your family's tofu and bean sprouts are really good. My family's officials are full of praise, and several wives also like it. Last time, shopkeeper Zhou of Hexiangji bought goods from you. Woolen cloth."

When Ma Ke heard about the business, he hurriedly said, "Is that so? How can the things in our small place catch the eyes of high-ranking officials?"

Shopkeeper Wang saw that he didn't believe it, so he smiled and said: "I just say that you don't believe me, and you will know when Shopkeeper Zhou places an order with you."

With this information, Ma Ke originally wanted to take the initiative to go to Hexiangji to sell, but he thought that his family has limited manpower, and now that the year is approaching, the common people have to prepare new year's goods, and the demand for tofu is relatively large, so he gave up this idea. Let Nanny Wu and Hua Jian do retail sales in the city, and the rest will be done after the Spring Festival.

It was a bad day, with dark clouds overwhelming early in the morning. Seeing that the westerly wind was blowing outside, Ma Ke planned to rest for a day, fearing that it might snow.

Nanny Wu knew that Ma Ke had worked hard to save money and wanted to buy a cow for spring plowing, and she felt sorry for him at such a young age that he not only had to manage the family, but also knew how to be considerate of his family, so she said: "It seems like the snow won't fall before noon, let's go early Go, sell as much as you can sell, and rush back when the weather changes, it’s okay.”

Huajian also said that the tofu would not be fresh if left out, and it would be better to sell it that day, so she insisted on going, but Ma Ke couldn't resist, so she agreed, helped them pack up, and sent them to the village road, before returning home with Liu Xiaodong in her arms.

In order to save charcoal, the family only built a small stove in Mrs. Ma's house after winter. Ma Ke was thin and afraid of the cold, so he kept warm in her room, holding the book "Chronicle of State Affairs" and slowly flipping through it. Look, the kitten Liu Xiaodong also came over and dozed off next to the stove.

Just after the time passed, someone knocked on the door suddenly, and a strange female voice called out, "Is anyone home?"

Ma Ke went out to open the door, only to see a plainly dressed middle-aged woman standing outside the door. Although she was about forty years old, she could still see some beauty in her brows.

"You are Miss Ma, right?" the woman said with a smile, "I'm sorry."

The Ma family is an outsider, and they have no relatives in Dengzhuang. After Master Ma left, the people who used to fawn on him also hid far away. Usually, almost no one came to the door. Seeing her unfamiliar, Ma Ke hesitated: "Are you ?”

The woman smiled shyly, and said, "My family lives in the north of the village, people call me Deng Liuniang, that... I also sell tofu."

It turned out to be the mother of Tofu Xishi, Ma Ke thought to himself, this woman is also very powerful, she is obviously a competitor with him, and she came to the door, she has courage, but I don't know if she is here to make trouble, or to ask for the secret recipe .

"Please come in." Ma Ke, who has always been open-minded, opened the door to invite her in, and did not take the initiative to ask her why she came. Shan greeted: "It's cold, please come in and have a cup of hot tea."

Seeing his politeness, Deng Liuniang calmed down her guarded face a little, and said, "Thank you."

After drinking tea, we chatted with Mrs. Ma for a long time. Deng Liuniang never talked about business. Mrs. Ma was a knowledgeable person who did business with Mr. Ma when she was young. Naturally, she would not take the initiative to ask. Liu Xiaodong tickled it, but didn't talk to it.

After sitting like this for half an hour, Deng Liuniang finally couldn't help but said, "Mrs. Ma, Miss Ma, I'm here today to ask for something."

It seems that they are not here to seek trouble, even if they are, they are probably planning to be courteous before fighting.Ma Ke and Mrs. Ma looked at each other, and they both understood, Mrs. Ma said: "Liu Niang, you are welcome. If you have anything to say, just say it. If we can help, we will definitely help."

Deng Liuniang coughed dryly, and said: "I think you all know that I am from another village. I married to Dengzhuang when I was 16 years old. I gave birth to four girls one after another. I have never had a son. I lost my husband the year before last. I took four girls with me alone. It's not easy to live with a daughter, and I rely on the tofu stalls in the city to support my family."

Speaking of losing her husband, Mrs. Ma thought of the difficult life of the widow, and couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Thinking about how she still had a son to rely on, Deng Liuniang, a woman with four daughters, might have a harder time than herself.As soon as his heart softened, he nodded again and again.

When Deng Liuniang was sad, she took out her handkerchief and nodded her eyes, and said, "I'm not afraid of your jokes, I'm begging you to come here today. Ever since Xiaoma Tofu opened a stall in the city, my family's business has been worsening day by day. I beg Miss Ma to give me some pointers and give me a way out for orphans and widows."

The sorrow she said even rose to the level of life and death. Mrs. Ma couldn't help feeling sympathetic when she heard it. She looked at Ma Ke, then at Deng Liuniang, and sighed: "You are serious, why don't you give me advice, ah?" Ke..."

"Mother." Ma Ke interrupted Mrs. Ma, and waved his hand quietly at her. After all, he has lived for more than 20 years, and he is relatively calm in judging people's hearts and human nature. Besides, the whole family now refers to this business to support their families. Naturally, he won't tell others easily about getting rich, so he keeps silent.

In ancient times, the most important thing was to obey the husband when married, and obey the son when the husband died. What's more, in the past few months, Ma Ke has faintly revealed the self-confidence and authority of the patriarch. Say no more.

Ma Ke got up and poured hot water for Deng Liuniang, and said, "Liu Niang, it's not that I'm hard-hearted and won't help you, it's just that each family has its own difficulties. My father has been out of business for almost a year and hasn't come back yet. The family's land and money They were all kidnapped by creditors. My mother is old and in poor health. The family is old and young, and there is no labor. I am afraid it is worse than yours. I really can’t believe the secret recipe of making tofu. tell."

Deng Liuniang had expected that Ma Ke would not reveal the secret formula easily, so she planned to be courteous first, and then ask Deng Qigong to come forward to put pressure on her if it didn't work out. She would tell herself if she was soft-hearted, she didn't expect Ma Ke to be so steady and not loose at all, and she couldn't help showing embarrassment and embarrassment.

Ma Ke once heard Huajian say that although this Deng Liuniang was a widow, because her deceased husband was the distant cousin of Deng Qigong, the patriarch of Dengzhuang, and her in-laws were prosperous, she also had a little influence in the village. Besides, since she dared to come today , must have already prepared for the next move, so it is not good to completely brush her face and cause trouble, thought for a while and said: "However, if you are willing to make bean sprouts, I can teach you."

Deng Liuniang's eyes immediately lit up when she heard the words. She thought that bean sprouts were much more difficult to make than tofu, and Ma Ke was the only one in the family, so she definitely wouldn't teach herself, so she never thought about it at all. She didn't expect Ma Ke to mention it himself When he came out, he was overjoyed and said, "Miss, didn't you fool me?"

Ma Ke said with a smile: "My family has limited manpower, and bean sprouts are very popular. I taught you that everyone can eat more bean sprouts. Isn't it a good thing?"

Deng Liuniang said happily: "Young lady is really kind-hearted."

Ma Ke took Deng Liuniang to the kitchen, showed her all the buckets and pans with bean sprouts, and said, "It's actually very simple to grow bean sprouts, just soak them in water. As long as the temperature is enough, they can be shipped in three or four days." .”

Deng Liuniang was amazed. She made tofu by herself for four or five years, and soaked the beans every day. Occasionally, a small sprout grew from the soaked bean. At first, she thought it was bad, so she poured it out. Eat it, and it's quite delicious.

Ma Ke told her in detail how to control the temperature, how often to change the water, pay attention to the light and so on, he said everything in detail, and finally said: "What else do you not understand?"

Deng Liuniang thought for a while, and said, "I wrote it all down."

Ma Ke nodded and said: "Don't make too much for the first time, try it first, pay attention to changing the amount of water, if it is soaked, it can't be used, and it will kill people if you eat it."

Deng Liuniang nodded again and again, thanked her a thousand times, and then left. Ma Ke sent her to the gate, and before leaving, he asked: "If there is anything you don't understand, just come to me and ask."

After Deng Liuniang left, Mrs. Ma asked Ma Ke: "Aren't bean sprouts more profitable than tofu? Why did you tell her this instead?"

Ma Ke explained: "Bean sprouts are easy to make, there is no secret recipe, and the demand is so high now that our family can't make it. Why don't we let her make it together. Tofu is different... the weather is cold now, and when spring comes, I also want to try to make something that no one else has seen before, which will make more money than bean sprouts."

Madam Ma was relieved, and Ma Ke said again: "Besides, she is a local after all, so it's not good to offend her. We were originally excluded in Dengzhuang, and it's better to settle our enemies than to end them."

Mrs. Ma smiled and nodded, patted his head and said: "A Ke is really thoughtful, she is much better than me. If your father can see it, it would be great..." As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

Ma Ke knew that she was worried about Master Ma's life and death, and didn't want her to think too much, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Father will always come back—Mama Wu and the others should come back too, mother, it's time to cook. "

As soon as the words fell, the door opened, and Huajian shouted crisply: "Madam, we are back."

Ma Ke and Mrs. Ma greeted him outside, and saw thin snowflakes had already drifted outside at some point, but it seemed that it had only fallen not long ago, and the ground had not yet accumulated.

"The weather is not good today, but I didn't expect to meet a big customer and come back earlier than usual." Huajian smiled and ran to the eaves, and said to Ma Ke: "Brother, Hexiangji wrapped up all our goods today Well, the accountant also said that they want to order from us in the future, so that the head of the house can meet with their shopkeeper Zhou when they have time—it turns out that the shopkeeper Wang at the raw medicine stall was not coaxing us last time."