Beans need to be selected at this time. When they return from selling tofu, they will soak the beans. The timing is just right to grind for tofu at night and sell it the next morning.
With this experience, they can start grinding tofu in the early morning next time, reducing the long waiting time after grinding.
The rooster crowed twice, and the sky to the east gradually whitened.
Early in the morning, the households began to stir, and quiet sounds of activity could be heard.
Zhuang Qingning's bean selection was almost done. She dusted off her hands, beckoned Xiaowu over, and checked her diligence level.
Over the course of yesterday and last night, she had earned 24 diligence points in total.
Indeed, doing these things yielded more diligence points than purely physical labor.
Thinking like this, if her tofu business continues to thrive and expand, and she opens a few more stores, would her diligence points increase exponentially?
Would she then be able to exchange anything she wanted?
Hehehe.....
She could see herself at the pinnacle of life just around the corner!
Sigh, was she about to live the extravagant lifestyle she once despised?
That thought made her a bit uneasy....
[Cough cough, Host, it's broad daylight!]
[The System feels obligated to remind you that the current exchange goods require fewer diligence points because most of them are necessities, and their prices are set according to your current diligence level. As your diligence points increase, the goods you need will become higher quality and more expensive.]
[Moreover, many recipes and rare items in the future can only be obtained by completing tasks. Simply relying on diligence points will not suffice, so please let go of this misconception....]
[Most importantly, you still owe 666 diligence points!]
Alright, alright, you're the system, you're always right.
Her beautiful fantasy just birthed was instantly doused by the system, pulling her back to reality.
Indeed, it was a system that cannot stand compliments.
Zhuang Qingning sighed deeply in her heart. She stopped arguing with it, instead focusing on gathering the bamboo baskets, the cloche for covering tofu, and the balance scale which are essential for selling things.
She lined the bamboo basket with two layers of cloche, placed the rectangular tofu pieces inside, used a simple stick as a separator, lined another layer of cloche, and placed another layer of tofu, and so on.
She packed four layers of tofu in her own bamboo basket and two layers in Zhuang Qingsui's basket.
As this was their first time making tofu, Zhuang Qingning made less than half the usual quantity. After deducting what they consumed themselves, the rest could be evenly distributed between the two baskets.
After everything was packed, Zhuang Qingning woke up Zhuang Qingsui.
The two of them washed their faces, cleaned up and ate the tofu that was kept warm on the big stove, along with the cornmeal pancakes that were kept on the stove. They then shouldered their bamboo baskets and headed towards town.
The town was called Sunguang Town, the largest town nearby. There were small markets on ordinary days and large markets on the 5th and 10th days of each month. Today happened to be the 25th, a day for the big market.
On market days, people from various villages and manors would bring their agricultural goods or handicrafts to the town for bartering or selling, ranging from home-raised poultry, eggs, handmade straw sandals, bamboo baskets, benches, etc.
Therefore, lots of people were heading towards the town, including those from Zhuang Qingning's Enji Village, and many seemed to be heading to the market.
Among those heading to the market, many were taking bullock carts. Zhuang Qingning looked around and found one that wasn't too crowded, flagging it down.
"Heading to town? One coin per person. You two have so many items... Never mind, there aren't many passengers today, I won't charge you extra. Let's say two coins in total," said the bullock cart driver, a middle-aged man in his thirties, adjusting his straw hat.
Zhuang Qingsui pursed her lips.
She knew they didn't have any money on hand.
"Sister, why don't we walk instead? The basket isn't heavy, I can manage it," Zhuang Qingsui tugged at Zhuang Qingning's sleeve and whispered.
"The tofu we're each carrying is almost thirty pounds; it doesn't feel heavy at first, but by the time we get to town, our shoulders will be sore and bruised," Zhuang Qingning said. "Moreover, by the time we walk there, it will be late. The tofu will have been in the basket for so long that it will lose some of its freshness and appeal. Riding the cart will get us there faster and save energy. If the tofu sells for a good price, we can easily cover the cart fare."
As for the two coins needed for the cart...
Zhuang Qingning grinned and said, "Sir, my sister and I are heading into town to sell tofu. We haven't sold anything yet and don't have any money. But we'll definitely not ride your cart for free. How about I give you a piece of tofu to cover the fare?"
As she spoke, Zhuang Qingning reached into the basket, took out the largest piece of tofu and weighed it. "Almost three pounds of tofu, selling for one coin per pound, that's three coins, enough to cover the two-coin fare. It's profitable for you no matter how you look at it. When you return after the market, you can fry the tofu as a meal. That'd be worth it, right?"
The cart driver considered it for a moment, looking at the white tofu which seemed to have a tempting smell, then at the pedestrians coming and going on the street who seemed uninterested in taking the cart, he agreed and took the tofu: "Fine, you two get on."
"Alright." Zhuang Qingning settled both bamboo baskets comfortably, and helped Zhuang Qingsui onto the cart.
The man flicked the whip, the ox mooed, lifted its foot and began the trip to town, with the cart moving slowly along.
The cart was loaded with heavy sacks which apparently contained the grain they were going to sell, forming a fairly flat layer. With Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui addition, the cart became a little crowded.
Because the weather was pleasant and neither too hot nor too cold, most people heading to town didn't want to spend an extra coin to ride the cart, so along the way, there weren't many other passengers.
The cart made its way to the bustling central street of the town, where the market stalls were usually set up.
It was still early, with the sun not yet fully risen, but the central street was already crowded with people. Stalls of all kinds had almost fully occupied both sides of the street, leaving little available space.
"If you girls want to sell tofu, you should get off here. There won't be any good spots further up," said the cart driver.
Zhuang Qingning looked around, seeing many stalls selling eggs and vegetables, she figured this must indeed be a good spot and nodded, "Thank you, sir."