It's hard for my elder sister. I rely on the mountains to farm and pay off my debts.

Chapter 20 It’s Not Easy

Mrs. Wu soon returned with a large bucket of goat milk and asked doubtfully, "Do you think this is enough? Your grandmother Zhao said we can always squeeze more if it's not enough."

"That's enough, that's enough. Two bowls is enough for one time. Give the rest to the little ones."

Mrs. Wu was a little reluctant to part with it. After all, she had bought it for three cents. "Can't I save it for next time?"

Song Zhi shook her head. "Milk, the most important thing for making food is freshness. Now is not the time to waste this. When we make money from selling cakes, we can buy a dairy sheep."

Mrs. Wu was amused by her granddaughter, and she couldn't help but imagine the joy of buying livestock for her family.

After successfully persuading grandma, Song Zhi started making pastries.

This time, Mrs. Wu participated in the whole process and helped her granddaughter.

When Yang came back, she saw several children circling around the stove.

The air was filled with the aroma of steaming food. Yang put down her backpack and walked into the kitchen curiously. "Mom, what are you doing? I smell something strange."

When Mrs. Wu saw her daughter-in-law coming back, she couldn't hide the smile on her face. She pointed at the cut Jinyu cake on the small table and said with a smile, "This is made by Zhi girl. Try it."

Yang took a look at the golden and delicate pastries. She had only seen this kind of pastries in the pastry shops in the city.

She couldn't help swallowing, carefully picked up a piece, took a small bite, and it was soft and sweet, the most exquisite food she had ever tasted.

"how?"

Yang was savoring the sweet pastries. When she heard her mother-in-law's question, she subconsciously nodded to express her approval.

Seeing her daughter-in-law's astonished expression, Mrs. Wu couldn't help but smile and said, "This is something Ah Zhi made. We're going to take it to the city for consignment tomorrow. If it turns out well, then our family will truly have hope."

Yang was so surprised that she forgot to eat the cake. She asked excitedly, "Really... can it really be sold?"

Wu continued stirring, saying, "We have to give it a try. If it works, we can pay off all the debts we owed!"

Yang's hands were shaking with joy as she held the cake. She hurriedly said, "Mom, don't strain your waist anymore. Leave this to me. I'll stir-fry it."

"Okay, you've been busy on the mountain all day. Just watch from the sidelines. If Ah Zhi can sell the cakes, you'll be busy in the future."

After hearing this, Yang nodded repeatedly and grinned, "Mother, please keep busy. You can always tell me if there's any work to do in the future."

As long as she can make money, she is not afraid of hard work at all!

.....

At this time, Song Zhi was at the home of Song Dahe, the only carpenter in the village, and asked him if he could help make a mold.

Song Zhi used a branch to draw three bamboo leaf shapes on the ground and said, "Uncle Dahe, could you help me make a round mold according to my drawing? Do you think you can make it by tomorrow morning at the latest?"

Song Dahe was pondering the pattern drawn by Song Zhi. He nodded and said, "It's not a difficult task. The pattern is not complicated. It will only take an hour or two."

Song Zhi's smile widened upon hearing this. She took out fifteen coins from her pocket and placed them on the small table in the courtyard. "Thank you, Uncle Dahe. The reward will be based on the current market price, fifteen coins a day. Is that okay with you?"

When Song Dahe saw Song Zhi put down the copper coins, he hurriedly limped forward and wanted to return the copper coins.

"You kid, we're just making a little toy, how can I charge you for it? Take it back now!"

"Uncle Dahe, my family relies on your cooking skills to support the whole family. How can I let you work for nothing?"

Song Daheyuan was also recruited into the military camp. He had carpentry skills and did not have to go to the front line. He only needed to be responsible for the production of bows and arrows in the armament department in the rear.

However, last year the Turks suddenly invaded, and Song Dahe was unable to escape in the rear. His leg bones were trampled by a galloping horse and he became disabled. Fortunately, he saved his life.

However, Song Dahe was seriously injured at the time, and when he was sent back, his family sold two acres of land to pay for his treatment.

Now the family only relies on this income to supplement the household expenses. How can Song Zhi get it for free?

"You don't need that much money. I only take five cents, and you can take the remaining ten cents back. If you don't take it, I won't do this job!" After saying that, he stuffed the ten cents back.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Song Zhi accepted the money and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Dahe. I'll come back to ask for your help if I need it again."

Song Dahe nodded and said, "Just come on, I will help you with anything I can do."

After the two exchanged greetings, Song Zhi said goodbye and left Song Dahe's house.

He came out of the house and asked in surprise, "Was it Zhi'er who was speaking just now? She used to be so nervous, but now she speaks like a completely different person."

She had listened to the entire conversation between Song Zhi and her husband in the yard just now. She spoke with reason and logic, and knew when to act appropriately. She was completely different from the girl who used to look at people coldly.

Song Dahe glanced at his wife and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I think Zhi girl is pretty good. She's even better than our Daya."

He curled her lips and said unconvincedly, "How is she better than our eldest daughter? You haven't heard about it outside these years. Zhi girl has been making trouble at home every few days, tormenting Yangmei, that is, Yangmei. If it were me, I would have beaten her into submission long ago. She is just a little girl who looks at people with squinting eyes all day long! How can she be well-educated?"

Song Dahe glared and said, "Today I think Zhi girl is a sensible person. Stop talking about other people's right and wrong here." After that, he limped towards the tool shed.

After being scolded by her husband, He felt very bored. She snorted, turned around and went back to her room to continue spinning hemp thread.

When Song Zhi returned home, Mrs. Wu was still stir-frying the mung bean paste. This process was very long and energy-consuming.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law did not find it hard. They could even say that the frying process was easier than any farm work they had ever done.

Song Zhi explained the matter of custom molds to her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

"I think the cakes in this cake shop are all very beautiful. If we want to sell the Jinyu Cake successfully tomorrow, we must first make sure it looks good."

After hearing this, both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law felt that it made a lot of sense.

Mrs. Wu thought of something and said with some worry, "Then can this mold be made tomorrow?"

"Grandma, don't worry. Uncle Dahe said it will be ready in an hour or two. He will definitely deliver it to us tomorrow morning. It won't delay our sales of the Jinyu Cake."

It was earlier than Song Zhi expected. Just after dinner, Tiedan from Uncle Dahe's house came jumping over and brought the newly made mold.

Song Zhi cleaned the mold several times, then divided the fried mung bean paste into small pieces. Finally, she pressed it with the mold. A square piece with three lifelike bamboo leaves on it looked more pleasing to the eye than the square pieces she had cut herself.

The remaining two pounds of mung beans were used to make eighty pieces of gold and jade cakes.