After finalizing the details with the mason, Ye Li had a new idea.

Since they were already undertaking such a major construction project and building a bathroom, he might as well add a storage room next to the three main rooms to create a symmetrical layout with the bathroom. Currently, the family has no storage room; the former storage room has been converted into a mill.

Moreover, with the family’s income now stable, Ye Li planned to switch from collecting rent in cash to accepting grain in kind for the fields leased by Jiang Ji. Currently, they often had to buy grain to eat; rather than spending money on it, it would certainly be better to eat what their own tenants grew.

Therefore, he planned to build an additional room to store grain and other miscellaneous items.

Once the decision was made, before Ye Li and Jiang Ji had a chance to go out and buy blue bricks and lumber, the date-picking season began the very next day at Yezaopo. For the villagers, this was the biggest event between the autumn harvest and the Lunar New Year.

Jiang Fuzheng had already contacted the merchants, who were local to the county seat and ranged in size.

The merchants would come at noon and in the evening to haul away the dates harvested each day, paying cash on the spot with no delays. Then the villagers would divide the money in the evening.

The jujube trees on the slope were all old, long-standing trees. However, since they were ordinary native jujube trees that received little daily care, they were practically wild.

Consequently, a single tree yields roughly 50 to 70 jin of fresh jujubes—a far cry from the trees in Ye Li’s previous life, which could produce 200 to 300 jin.

Even so, they still provided the villagers with a decent income.

There are a total of sixty-three jujube trees on the slope, with an annual yield fluctuating around four thousand jin. These fresh jujubes sell for between six and seven wen per jin.

At six wen per jin, the total sales amount to just over twenty-three taels.

Each household would get a little over one liang.

At seven wen per jin, the total sales would approach thirty taels, and the villagers would receive even more. Yezaopo is situated near Beiyang County and Baxian Town; with just this small amount of jujubes, there’s no worry about selling them. As long as the jujubes are picked from the trees, there will be buyers.

Therefore, every year at this time, each household sends out two people to help knock the jujubes down quickly.

In previous years, Jiang Ji wasn’t home, but this year he was. However, now that he was a Xiucai, there was no way he could be made to do such manual labor. Jiang Fuzheng didn’t let him participate; he simply sat back and waited to collect his share of the cash.

Besides, he and Ye Li had to go to the county seat to buy green bricks and lumber, so they didn’t join in the commotion. But the two little ones, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, couldn’t bear to miss such a big event, so they made a special trip over to watch.

When they returned, the two of them excitedly recounted the scene on the hillside to Ye Li, making him want to go take a look himself. In addition to the jujube trees on the hillside, every household had jujube trees planted in front of and behind their homes.

Take Ye Li’s family, for example: there were two by the front gate and one in the backyard. At a minimum, those three jujube trees would yield a hundred jin of fruit. If they were willing to sell them, that would bring in an extra six or seven hundred wen.

In the past, every household chose to sell the jujubes they grew.

A single tree could fetch three or four hundred wen—who would be willing to keep them just for themselves? But this year, most villagers have chosen to keep the dates for their own consumption.

A single tree yields a few dozen jin—which sounds like a lot—but the dates are simply too delicious to resist: thin-skinned, crisp-fleshed, juicy, and sweet. If you really let yourself eat them freely, a large family could easily polish off several dozen jin in a week.

And if they send some to relatives, they’ll disappear even faster. Take Ye Li, for example.

He’d ask Ye Liang to take some home every now and then.

He sent two back baskets to the record keeper and one to Master Han.

And they were consumed daily as an after-dinner snack. By now, more than half of those jujubes were gone.

The remainder, of course, was kept for the family’s own consumption.

The villagers worked for two days and sold all the jujubes from the hillside.

During this time, Ye Li and Jiang Ji drove a mule cart to buy green bricks, beams, and other lumber.

Since they bought in bulk and the brick shop was nearby—and the shop even delivered the goods right to their doorstep—they had everything ready in just two days. That cost them ten taels of silver in one go.

Next came the start of construction. First, they had to find workers.

In addition to three bricklayers, Ye Li planned to hire twenty laborers.

Each mason was paid thirty wen, and each general laborer twenty wen, bringing the total daily wage to five hundred wen.

Add to that the three Ye family elders, plus Jiang Dahu and Liang Erxiang—many hands make light work. With this many people, the main structure of the house could be completed in four or five days. He didn’t plan to build it very tall—just one story—and the small rooms on either side were modest in size. As long as there were enough people, the work would go quickly.

The remaining minor tasks, like leveling the ground, could be left for the family to handle at their own pace. But as soon as Ye Liang and Jiang Dahu heard his plan, they immediately shook their heads and rejected it.

At that rate, labor costs alone would run up to three or four taels—that’s just asking to be fleeced! Ordinary families building a house would never hire help if they could do it themselves!

If hiring was absolutely necessary, the fewer workers, the better.

Take Jiang Tong’s family building their house, for example: aside from the bricklayer, he only hired five villagers, so the labor costs weren’t that high.

Now, just his own family members alone numbered ten—Jiang Tong had already made arrangements for Jiang Dachuan, Jiang Tong, Jiang Shun, and Jiang Da to come help, so why hire so many outsiders?

It’s not like they’re rolling in cash!

After getting a good scolding from Ye Liang and Jiang Dahu, Ye Li changed his mind.

Alright, his main goal was to finish the house as quickly as possible before the big cold snap. Winter was approaching, and temperatures could plummet at any moment.

Besides, Jiang Tong’s family was busy making wind chimes. Although Jiang Tong had given advance notice, Ye Li felt bad asking them to put their small business on hold just to help him out.

However, now that Jiang Dahu had specifically brought this up and even gone to fetch Jiang Tong, he had no choice but to agree. Counting Jiang Ji, his own family had managed to gather ten people, so he’d hire ten laborers.

All told, that makes over twenty people—a sizeable group.

The laborers would be recruited from among the villagers. It was currently the off-season for farming; preserving century eggs was light work that didn’t require much manpower or time, and the mandatory labor service wasn’t due until next month, so everyone was available.

The villagers who didn’t get hired as day laborers had no choice but to go into town to find work.

Although they’d earned a little cash this year, their financial resources were meager, so they dared not sit idle—the moment they stopped working, anxiety set in! While winter hadn’t yet set in and there were many traveling merchants from out of town, they wanted to earn as much cash as possible.

With that in mind, Ye Li decided that after these few busy days, he would go see Jiang Fuzheng to discuss the fried tofu puffs workshop. The reason he was delaying for a few more days was that he wanted to observe the situation a bit longer.

Previously, the villagers had been constantly busy—either working the fields or making century eggs—and with Jiang Fuzheng keeping a close watch, no one had leaked the recipe for the century eggs.

Now that the off-season had arrived, the villagers were no longer tied to the fields. Some went into town for odd jobs, while others visited relatives and friends. With increased contact with outsiders, the risk of the secret slipping out—perhaps due to a momentary slip of the tongue—had greatly increased.

So, he decided to wait and see.

If no one reveals the secret within a week, he’ll go see Jiang Fuzheng.

He had already spent a large sum of silver—about fifteen taels—and without finding a new source of income soon, he was starting to feel anxious. Currently, his main source of income was century eggs, but as the weather turned cooler, sales of cold century egg dishes were not as strong as they had been in the summer.

But since winter hasn’t fully set in yet, the decline isn’t very noticeable.

Ye Li had originally been very optimistic about the herbal tea and beverages business, but relying solely on Bao Beiyuan, the monthly income was limited.

Speaking of century eggs.

Shi Yi, who had gone to the Prefectural City to take the exams, had come over with his father in an oxcart a couple of days ago and bought a thousand century eggs.

His family lives in another town, neither adjacent to the South-North Canal nor close to the county seat, so the purchasing power there can’t compare to that of Baxian Town. They didn’t dare to buy too many, so they started with a thousand to test the waters.

Shi Yi failed the provincial examination this time; the next one won’t be held until the year after next. Studying for another two years will cost twelve taels just in tuition fees. Out of consideration for their shared background as classmates and fellow examinees, Ye Li gave the father and son a special discount.

On top of the initial price—two wen for the small ones and three wen for the large ones—he knocked another hundred wen off the total.

After all, there were few wealthy people in that area; if he charged the price Gong Lisheng had suggested, the cash flow would likely be painfully slow. As for the noodle shop owner Jiang Ji had mentioned, he hadn’t shown up yet.

He wanted a large quantity, but the daily consumption of century eggs in the county seat hadn’t dropped significantly despite the cooler weather. Therefore, Ye Li had to go door to door to gather the required 30,000 units.

The villagers were delighted to hear that a small-business owner from the Prefectural City had taken an interest in century eggs. One more sales channel meant one more source of income!

The new house was built on the west side of the courtyard, so it didn’t interfere with Ye Li and Jiang Ji’s daily lives.

The main structure of the old courtyard remained untouched; they still made tofu and fried tofu puffs every morning, and when the three members of the Ye family returned, they would take the tofu puffs back with them.

With the oxcart, the three members of the Ye family could make the round trip every day.

In the past, when the Ye family came to work, they always stayed at the Jiang household. If they had to make the round trip every day relying solely on their own two feet, their stamina simply wouldn’t have held up.

Ye Li also followed Ye Liang’s earlier instructions, serving pancakes with tofu every day.

With three strong laborers added to the mix, the portions for breakfast and lunch doubled—Ye Daji was only forty, still in his prime.

With the increased appetite, cooking became a laborious task. Although Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya helped out, Ye Li only had them wash vegetables and tend the fire; he handled the bulk of the work himself.

To save time, Ye Li stewed tofu every day.

First, he pan-fried the tofu in oil until both sides were golden brown, then added water, followed by potatoes, radishes, and Chinese cabbage.

Then he placed a steamer rack in the cast-iron pot to steam corn and bean-curd cake, served with a steamed egg for each person—and the meal was ready. To the three men of the Ye family, this meal was quite good.

The Ye family was used to living frugally. Although they had been in business for over half a year, their financial resources were meager. In the meantime, Ye Wen had gotten married, and they had bought an oxcart, so they were extremely thrifty when it came to food.

Compared to the past, when Ye Fulang cooked, he would simply add a bit more oil, and they could eat an egg every day. As for meat, they never bought any unless it was during the busy farming season.

Now, with Ye Li cooking, there was an endless supply of rice and flatbreads—and this was plain rice. The stewed vegetables were rich with oil, a distinct layer of grease floating on the surface of the broth. Not to mention, there was an egg at every meal.

In the past, this kind of abundance was reserved for festivals.

As a result, the three members of the Ye family were thoroughly satisfied. But this was a real “ordeal” for Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya.

Especially for the little glutton Jiang Ya—ever since the news arrived that Jiang Ji had passed the provincial exams, meat had never been in short supply at home. Now that construction on the house has begun, the quality of their meals has plummeted, and he finds it very hard to adjust.

He was even thinking of using his own cash to buy meat.

Last time in the county seat, he’d only spent a little over three hundred wen; with seven hundred wen left from his wages, he could buy so much meat! But every day after his two older brothers came over, they’d remind him that Li-ge wasn’t allowed to buy meat.

Sigh, what a headache. I want to eat meat.

Ye Li also craves meat; if we’re talking about cravings, he’s actually even more of a foodie than Jiang Ya.

When he first arrived, he had no cash and could only eat meat once a week. Later, when he had cash, even if he didn’t eat meat, he’d have something else—in any case, his meals couldn’t be so plain.

Now, having eaten stewed vegetables for three days straight, even he couldn’t take it anymore.

On the morning of the fourth day of work, he dragged Jiang Ji along, planning to go to the county seat to buy meat.

It wasn’t specifically to entertain the Ye family; this was simply the standard of his household’s meals. He wasn’t going to deprive himself just because the Ye family was watching, was he?

Besides, the house was now taller than he was—it was only right to have a nice meal to celebrate.

After he’d made his case so convincingly, the three members of the Ye family dared not nag him any further. They’d never been able to control Ye Li before, and they’d always done their best to make sure he didn’t go without.

Now that Ye Li wanted to eat meat, so be it.

They couldn’t expect Ye Li, who was already married, to live frugally just because their own family did. This was the Jiang household, and Ye Li was the one in charge.

So Jiang Ji went to Jiang Dahu’s house to bring the mule cart over, preparing to head to the county seat with Ye Li. He naturally supported her.

Besides, he’d been busy building the house these past few days. Although he was at home, he worked right after meals during the day, so he hadn’t had a chance to spend time alone with Ye Li. He could only get close to her at night.

He figured that since they were going into town today, he could spend a little more time with Ye Li.

His plan was perfect, but as soon as he stepped out the door, he saw Aunt Lu leading the owner of that noodle shop from the Prefectural City toward his house. The noodle shop owner’s surname was Yue; he and his older brother-in-law had brought three employees and driven over in five ox-drawn carts.

His brother-in-law was the manager of a carriage company in the Prefectural City. He’d gone to Baxian Town to deliver goods and had seen Ye Liang selling century eggs, so he’d paid cash for some. Since Ye Liang didn’t have much stock at the time, Mr. Yue had set up a limited-time sale to ensure a steady, long-term supply.

Previously, he had only known that century eggs sold well, but he hadn’t known how much Gong Lisheng was earning.

Besides, winter was just around the corner. Once winter set in, who would still want to eat cold, raw salads?

Won’t sales of these century eggs drop significantly?

That’s why he hadn’t previously considered making a special trip to Beiyang County to buy century eggs. What a hassle that would be!

Just the round-trip travel alone would take six days!

Besides, Beiyang County itself couldn’t keep up with demand.

But who would have thought that Jiang Ji would happen to stop by his restaurant for some noodles? This came as a huge surprise to Boss Yue. Just by serving a single dish of cold century egg salad, a tiny cold noodle shop was making ten taels a month?

Unbelievable!

And you can even use century eggs in congee? Does it taste just as good as the cold dish?

Jiang Ji’s words left him both thrilled and skeptical.

He asked Jiang Ji to wait a moment while he headed straight to the kitchen to experiment with making century egg congee.

Though he wasn’t skilled at making congee, once the century eggs were cooked, the flavor was indeed different from the cold dish—but just as delicious. So he struck a verbal agreement with Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji drew him a detailed map; if he ever came to Beiyang County, he’d have no trouble finding Yezaopo. After Jiang Ji and Shi Yi left, his feverish mind and restless heart refused to settle down.

But his family didn’t agree.

Investing a hundred taels of silver all at once was simply too risky.

Although his family had been running a noodle shop for many years, every penny they earned was hard-earned! If it all went down the drain, they wouldn’t even have anyone to turn to for comfort! Mr. Yue had no choice but to seek out his brother-in-law to ask about the situation in Beiyang County and find out if what Jiang Ji had said was true.

His brother-in-law had only stayed in Baxian Town for one night. He’d heard from Ye Liang that century eggs were selling well, and since business at Ye Liang’s stall was indeed booming, his brother-in-law bought a batch of century eggs to take back home.

But if you asked him to provide more evidence of the century eggs’ popularity, he had none.

None.

Now, Mr. Yue’s family was even more opposed to the idea.

But Mr. Yue was truly tempted by the rosy picture Jiang Ji had painted, and the century eggs really were unbeatable in taste, so he overruled the objections and, together with his brother-in-law, hired a cart from the rental agency to come here.

In fact, they had arrived in Beiyang County the day before yesterday.

They spent two days investigating the sales of century eggs in Beiyang County, confirming that Jiang Ji’s words contained no falsehoods or exaggerations, so today they came over by oxcart.

Investing a hundred taels all at once was no small matter—they had to be cautious! Of course, the details behind this decision didn’t need to be shared with Jiang Ji.

Mr. Yue was all smiles; he even bought two bags of dim sum and a pork hind leg, his words full of praise for Ye Li and Jiang Ji. His compliments were sincere.

For Ye Li, a country fulang, to have expanded the century egg business to such a scale—how remarkable!

Don’t let the fact that Ye Li still lived in the countryside fool you—come next year, his family’s wealth would surpass that of his in-laws. Starting from scratch!

How could he not admire that?

Not to mention, Ye Li’s husband had already become a Xiucai at such a young age—his future was bright!

Now that he’d been lucky enough to secure a connection with Ye Li and Jiang Ji ahead of the pack, he was counting on this couple for next year’s century egg business. Since Boss Yue was deliberately flattering him, Ye Li certainly wasn’t going to act high and mighty.

Besides, they’d even bought dim sum and meat, saving him and Jiang Ji the trip to the county seat.

He immediately instructed Jiang Mai to bring out the small stove to boil water, so he could brew tea to entertain Boss Yue and his party. He also sent Jiang Ji to notify the families they’d previously arranged with, asking them to bring the century eggs over.

Mr. Yue was new to the area, unfamiliar with the surroundings, and carrying a large sum of money; he couldn’t go door-to-door buying them as Gong Lisheng did. It was better to have the villagers bring the century eggs over.

Of course, the absolute most important thing was that he had to teach Mr. Yue how to make century egg and lean pork congee. If he wanted the century eggs to sell well even in winter, this dish was his only hope.

Since Aunt Lu was there as well, he asked her to come over and learn too—Mr. Yue was a stranger, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to be alone with Mr. Yue in the kitchen. Aunt Lu agreed with a smile.

She’d been curious about the century egg and lean pork congee for ages!

Actually, the congee is very simple to make; the entire process involves no stir-frying, just simmering.

As a result, even though oil is added, it isn’t greasy at all; in fact, the more you drink, the more you’ll want. Since there were so many people, he made half a pot so that Boss Yue and his group could all have a taste.

By the time Jiang Ji returned from his walk around the village, the congee was nearly ready. Once it was done, some villagers had already brought the century eggs back.

Mr. Yue had no time to greet the villagers; his full attention was on the century egg and lean pork congee.

Ye Li served him a bowl. After thanking him, he immediately sat down at the small dining table, ready to savor it.

In fact, he had experimented with century eggs several times during that period, but since Jiang Ji had only mentioned “century egg congee” and not “lean pork,” the savory congee he’d made previously had been rather mediocre.

If it weren’t for the century eggs inside, it would have been truly unremarkable—one might even say undrinkable.

But this bowl of congee before him—pink slices of pork paired with a beautifully preserved century egg, dotted with green vegetable leaves—was so visually appealing that it made his mouth water just looking at it.

As for the taste, he picked up his spoon and couldn’t wait to take a bite.

The porridge was a bit hot, but more than the heat, he was captivated by its savory, rich flavor!

This exquisite flavor made him forget the heat entirely; his mind was filled with a single thought: he had made the right decision to come here! With this bowl of congee alone, he wouldn’t have to worry about not selling his century eggs!

And just think—how many customers could this bowl of congee bring to his noodle shop?

Although his noodle shop was a long-established establishment, its flavors weren’t irreplaceable, so business had remained mediocre for years.

It wasn’t until the century eggs were introduced that mealtimes became bustling, with crowds of customers and waiting lists. But this time!

He couldn’t help but recall what he’d seen at the local noodle shop yesterday.

Hehe, once he got back to the noodle shop, he’d follow the local noodle shop’s example and sell porridge as a standalone item. Add that to the noodle shop’s revenue.

Wow, he dared not even imagine it—the scene was simply too good to be true. Just thinking about it made him chuckle out loud!