Chapter 39
While working on finding materials and building a trellis for the melon vines, Gu Jinchen also chopped down a few bamboo poles to make winnowing trays.
Originally, there were only two trays for sun-drying fruits. Now, with more fruits to be dried, those would not be enough.
With time on his hands, he casually made a few new winnowing trays.
But this time, with the increased quantity of fruits, it took almost two days to sun-dry them all.
"Husband, are you free now? Let me take your measurements."
The fabric she had bought previously was set aside, and now she planned to use this free time to make his clothes.
July had already passed for several days, and the intense summer heat had subsided. Soon, it would start to cool down, so she might as well make his autumn clothes directly.
"I'm free!"
Hearing this from outside, Gu Jinchen immediately stopped what he was doing and ran inside, obediently spreading his arms for her to measure.
"I noticed that your clothes often get torn at the armpits and shoulders. This time, I'll make the sleeves and sleeve joints wider. Does that work?"
He probably moved his arms a lot while hiking in the mountains, practicing martial arts, and hunting, which caused these areas to easily tear.
Every piece of clothing had patches in those two spots.
"Yes," Gu Jinchen nodded repeatedly.
"Umm...what I'm saying is, this is the first time I'm trying to cut clothes by myself. If I don't do it well, don't blame me."
Previously, she had always asked Wang Sister-In-Law for help with cutting, but it wasn't convenient to keep bothering her. She had to learn herself.
So this time, she decided to do it herself and set his expectations first.
"No problem, I'm not picky about these things. As long as I have something to wear, it's fine."
Hearing Luo Ge's words, the joy on his face was evident. He didn't expect that this would be her first time! He was the first to receive something made by his wife's own hands.
Hearing him say that, Luo Ge felt reassured.
"Okay, I've got your measurements. You can go about your work now. I should be done in a couple of days."
"Mm."
The trellis for the melon vines in the vegetable garden was completed, and the dried lychee fruits were also done. But Luo Ge mentioned that in the future, fruits from her space might also need to be dried, so many more winnowing trays would likely be needed.
Therefore, Gu Jinchen took the opportunity to make some more.
The slanting sun shone into the small courtyard. Luo Ge sat by the door, sewing clothes, while Gu Jinchen wove winnowing trays in the yard.
The two little ones played in the corner, entertaining themselves with the chicks they had caught the previous day from Auntie Luo's place. Everything painted a picture of peaceful tranquility.
Looking at his petite wife, then at the two carefree little ones, Gu Jinchen felt an overwhelming warmth in his heart.
This was his small family, filled with coziness...
"Oh, by the way, you mentioned going to check on the rice seedlings today. How was it?" While fiddling with her needle and thread, Luo Ge suddenly remembered this matter.
They still had two or three rice paddies that hadn't been planted yet. Without elders to guide them, the two of them lacked experience, and the rice seedlings were sown a bit late.
Now, other families had already planted their rice seedlings, but theirs were still not planted. If it weren't for watering them from her space, they would have had to delay even further.
"I've looked at them, and they're ready to be planted now. I've already plowed the paddies. Tomorrow, I'll borrow Brother Wang's harrow and rake, and then we can plant after leveling the fields."
"Mm, okay."
She had seen those few paddies, and they weren't too large. At most, it would take two days to plant them all. Many other families had also just finished planting within the past couple of days, so they wouldn't be too late.
"Knock, knock!"
Just as they finished speaking, someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Who is it?" Luo Ge asked in puzzlement. The two little ones also turned their heads towards the gate.
Their home was located at the end of the village, and it was rare for anyone to come by. If it were Wang Sister-In-Law or Auntie Luo visiting, they would call out from a distance.
Generally, they wouldn't knock on the door like this, so Luo Ge found it strange.
"I'll go take a look." Gu Jinchen also set down what he was doing and walked towards the courtyard gate.
The two little ones obediently ran behind Luo Ge and hid, a bit fearful that it might be other villagers who often said unkind things about them.
"Creak."
With the creaking sound of the gate opening, Gu Jinchen saw who the visitor was and couldn't help but look surprised.
"Young Master Gu, sorry for disturbing you." Seeing that it was Gu Jinchen who opened the door, Li Shopkeeper finally felt relieved.
Last time, they had only told him that the person was from the Gu Family Village with the surname Gu, but they didn't mention the full name. In this Gu Family Village, almost half the villagers had the surname Gu. He had searched through half the village before finally finding them.
"Li Shopkeeper?"
Hearing the commotion, Luo Ge also came out and looked just as surprised as Gu Jinchen upon seeing Li Shopkeeper.
"Ah, Lady Gu." Seeing Luo Ge, Li Shopkeeper smiled brightly.
"I searched through half the village before finally finding you."
Hearing this, Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen exchanged a glance. "Li Shopkeeper, you've worked hard. Please come in and have some tea."
"Yes, yes." Li Shopkeeper nodded, along with a shop assistant.
Seeing the sun-dried fruits in the courtyard, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't know if Li Shopkeeper has some important business with us today?" After Li Shopkeeper and his assistant had some tea, Gu Jinchen finally asked.
Luo Ge sat beside him, listening, with the two little ones behind her.
Hearing this, Li Shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, "Young Master Gu, Lady Gu, we're acquainted, so Mr. Li won't beat around the bush."
"I came today to ask about these dried lychee fruits, and I also want to discuss something with the two of you."
To be honest, he was truly surprised.
Initially, when he accepted the dried fruits from the young lady, it was simply because her craftsmanship was good, and he wanted to try selling them.
But he didn't expect such a great response. Among the regular customers at his shop, whenever there were new products, they would always want to try them. But he never imagined that after trying these dried fruits, one after another, they would all want to buy two or three pounds to take home.
It wasn't for gifting purposes but for entertaining guests or other such reasons. In less than two days, his shop was completely sold out.
As usual, he had sent some to the main family, but unexpectedly, yesterday, the main family also sent a letter saying that those dried fruits had caught the eye of some noble in the capital, and they wanted him to send more over.
But the dried fruits in his shop had already been snatched up by customers, so where could he get more to send?
That's why he had no choice but to hurry over and ask Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen for more.
Hearing this, the young couple looked at each other, then turned their gazes back to Li Shopkeeper.
"Please go ahead, Shopkeeper."
"Lady Gu's craftsmanship is truly exquisite. To be honest, the dried fruits you left at the shop the other day were snatched up by customers in less than two days.
Now, there are still customers constantly urging me to restock. I saw that you've dried some in your courtyard, so I don't know if I could take some with me today?"
Luo Ge fell silent for a moment before nodding, "You can take some, but not much. Those being dried outside haven't been fully processed yet."
"Then about how long until the remaining ones are ready? I'll have someone come to pick them up at that time. Here's a deposit." Hearing this, Li Shopkeeper quickly asked and placed a silver ingot weighing ten taels on the table.
"I estimate two or three days, maybe. Is the Shopkeeper in a hurry?" Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen only glanced at the silver indifferently before calmly asking.
"Yes, I am in a bit of a hurry." Seeing their indifference towards the silver, Li Shopkeeper felt a bit uneasy about what he wanted to say next.
"If Lady Gu has such exquisite craftsmanship, do you have any plans for the future?" Seeing his hesitation, Luo Ge spoke.
Hearing Li Shopkeeper's question, Luo Ge smiled and stroked Older Baby's little head.
"I'm just an ordinary farmer's wife. Serving my husband and raising my children are my main responsibilities.
For now, I'm just taking advantage of this season to make some wild fruit preserves to earn a bit of pocket money. How could I have any major plans?"
"The reputation of our Fuxin Shop must be something Young Mistress Luo Ge has heard of. Young Mistress Luo Ge's culinary skills are truly admirable.
To be honest, our proprietor has the intention of inviting Young Mistress Luo Ge to work as a master chef in our shop, specifically overseeing preserved fruits and candied fruits. The monthly salary would be 20 taels of silver. I wonder what Young Mistress Luo Ge thinks of this?"
Seeing Li Shopkeeper's indirect probing of her thoughts, Luo Ge pondered for a moment and then spoke frankly.
20 taels of silver per month was indeed a very high price. If it were not for him emphasizing to the proprietor that aside from making dried lychees, Luo Ge also had other culinary skills, this price would not have been offered.
Regarding having other skills, Luo Ge had previously mentioned it to Li Shopkeeper when they were selling dried lychees. At that time, she did so to pave the way for the fruits from her space in the future.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ge was not too surprised. From his earlier build-up, she had already guessed this matter roughly.
Under Li Shopkeeper's expectant gaze, she gently shook her head.
"This young wife knows that this must be Shopkeeper's kind overestimation of me. To refuse like this is to turn down your good intentions, but this young wife truly does not wish to do so."
"However, if Shopkeeper trusts my skills, this young wife would still be very willing to continue our cooperation in the future. For example, your shop can provide the fruits, and I can process them into dried fruits, candied fruits, and the like.
In that case, I can also sign a contract with you."
Learn from our predecessors and sell recipes? Only profit once?
No, no, no, that would be too much of a loss. It's better for her to start a kind of processing plant and earn the price difference.
If they're willing to share the profits, selling the recipes is also fine!
Of course, all of this would depend on their willingness.
To become their master chef is pretty much the same as selling her recipes, so she naturally doesn't want that.
Although the method of making these dried lychees seems simple, the time management and other details are crucial.
If any single step is done incorrectly, it would be impossible to achieve these results, which is why it can be considered a real skill.
It must be said that upon hearing Luo Ge's words, Li Shopkeeper's heart wavered. When she refused to become a master chef at Fuxin Shop, his mood dropped.
But when he heard her subsequent words, he felt delighted again.
Since she was willing to help with the production, and he had witnessed the customers' positive reactions, he naturally trusted Luo Ge's skills and thought it was quite feasible.
However, he could not make this decision himself and would need to report back to the proprietor first.
With this in mind, he spoke plainly to Luo Ge.
"No problem. I'll go and discuss it further, and Young Mistress can await my good news."
She knew this was a significant matter, and it would not be resolved so quickly.
Moreover, she had only provided the dried lychees so far. They would still need to evaluate her other skills to see if they met their standards before making a decision, right?
"Very well, then Mr. Li will take his leave first."
"Alright."
Luo Ge gave Li Shopkeeper around ten pounds of the earliest batch of dried fruits, and Li Shopkeeper paid her two taels and seven maces of silver separately.
She said to count it as part of the deposit and not accept payment, but Li Shopkeeper insisted, leaving her no choice.
After seeing him off, Gu Jinchen pinched Luo Ge's nose playfully.
"Wife, how did you become so capable?" After Li Shopkeeper's visit, he knew their dried fruit business would be stable in the future.
"Is that so? But isn't it all because of you helping me, Husband?" Luo Ge tilted her head and smiled.
Hearing this, Gu Jinchen also smiled, and the two young ones looked at each other with a clueless expression.
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