The Story of a Young Man Who Traveled Through Time and Space to Farm

Chapter 21

Zhang Wuliang's tofu business was booming for ten days.

The daily demand in the town was already very large, and since Boss Fang's family launched a new tofu dish, two more food stores ordered tofu skin and tofu puffs from Zhang Wuliang's family several times.

In order to make tofu, Zhang Wuliang and his friends worked hard until late at night every day. In this winter fattening season, they not only did not gain weight but lost weight.

Especially Zhang Zhenwen, he had to go to the town to sell tofu during the day, and at night he was required to grind tofu and learn arithmetic on the grounds that he could not waste lamp oil. He felt that he was so haggard.

It was obvious that he had to light a lamp every night to make tofu, so why was the lamp oil money still charged to him? Damn!

On the afternoon of the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, when Zhang Zhenwen and Zhang Ergou sold the last batch of tofu and packed up to go home, their twelve days of running around before the New Year were finally coming to an end.

Zhang Wuliang and Zhang Zhenzong's work had already ended the night before. When Zhang Zhenwen and Zhang Ergou returned to Zhang Wuliang's house with their tools, a group of Zhang family men, from Uncle Zhang to Zhang Qican, were all in the warm room chewing fried soybeans and chatting. The women were in the kitchen, preparing a big meal to comfort the men who had worked hard during this period.

Zhang Zhenwen put his things in the corner, took off his shoes and got on the kang. Zhang Ergou followed closely behind. The people on the kang squeezed to make room for them. The two of them filled a cup of water from someone's cup on the table and joined the team of cracking soybeans.

The days after the winter solstice were obviously longer. A group of people had a lively meal. There was still light in the sky. After sending Uncle Zhang and others away, Aunt Zhao took Chen Xiaonian to clean up the mess. Zhang Ergou and Zhang Zhenyong were in the corner of the warm room, watching their three brothers calculate the profits during this period.

Zhang Wuliang took out an account book, which was the paper he bought for Zhang Zhenyong to practice calligraphy. Zhang Wuliang took some, wrapped it with cloth, and bound it with thread. The account book recorded the accounts of buying and selling tofu during this period.

Zhang Wuliang spread the account book on the kang table so that both of them could see it, and then pointed to the numbers on it and said: "This is the account of the ninth day. It cost 380 coins to collect beans. The next day, I earned 1,436 coins from selling tofu. It cost 130 coins to collect tofu. This is the account of the eleventh... the thirteenth... the twenty-first..."

Zhang Wuliang pointed out the daily income and expenditure to them one by one: "All before today are here. Do you have any questions?"

Zhang Zhenzong shook his head. They counted the copper coins they got every day together. He was in charge of the money for collecting soybeans. They were very clear about these accounts and there was nothing wrong with them.

Zhang Zhenwen took out his money bag and poured out the copper coins he got today. After the three of them counted, Zhang Wuliang registered the numbers in the book and got up and left the warm room.

After a while, they brought back a two-foot square wooden box and placed it on the table. Inside it were a dozen strings of copper coins neatly strung together with hemp ropes, and a purse filled with small copper coins. All the copper coins they had earned in the past ten days were in this box.

Counting hundreds and thousands of copper coins every day, Zhang Zhenzong thought he had long been numb.

But he was still a little shocked when he saw so many copper coins at once.