Out of the thirty-six people at the construction site, thirty had bought the ice jelly.
The remaining six must have come from truly impoverished families, enduring their hardship and refraining from buying.
Cheng Luanluan glanced into the bucket; there were at least seventy or eighty bowls of ice jelly left. They definitely wouldn't sell any more here, so they had to change locations.
1
She was thinking about where to go next to sell.
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu excitedly sat by her side, counting the money.
Zhao Dashan said in a daze, "That's a total of sixty-four *wen*! Mother, can we really earn so much in one day?"
Zhao Sanniu also couldn't believe it. "Carrying big sacks all day only earns twenty *wen*. Selling ice jelly can earn sixty-four *wen*! Our family is about to get rich!"
Cheng Luanluan: "..."
Could these two rascals please rein in their naive, inexperienced expressions?
She said angrily, "The ice jelly with brown sugar cost forty *wen*. These ceramic bowls and spoons cost thirty *wen*. We haven't even recouped our capital yet, so what are you two so happy about?"
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu's dark faces immediately fell.
The two of them counted on their fingers, trying to figure out how much more they needed to earn to break even, but no matter how they calculated, they couldn't figure it out.
Cheng Luanluan finished packing their things. "First, let's eat something, then we'll go to the next place."
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu carried two loads of goods and set off with her.
Although the morning market had closed, there were still many food stalls on the street. Cheng Luanluan sat down at a noodle stall.
Zhao Sanniu immediately stopped her. "Mother, eating steamed buns is fine for me..."
A white steamed bun cost two *wen*, but a bowl of noodles here cost ten *wen*. They would have to sell five bowls of ice jelly just to earn that back.
Zhao Dashan shook his head vigorously. "Mother, we can just go home to eat. Hui Niang must have cooked a lot of delicious food..."
"If I tell you to eat, then eat!" Cheng Luanluan looked at her two foolish sons with a hint of melancholy. "If you don't eat your fill, how will you have the strength to work? We still have to sell ice jelly later. We'll go home after we've sold it all."
Hearing this, Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu had no choice but to sit down.
The proprietress quickly brought out three bowls of noodles. As soon as the aroma wafted over, Zhao Sanniu's saliva immediately dripped onto the table. Taking advantage of no one looking, he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve.
Cheng Luanluan picked up her chopsticks. "Eat quickly!"
Cheng Luanluan dared not look directly at this scene. She turned her head and asked the noodle stall proprietress, "Sister-in-law, do you know if our Ping'an Town has a school?"
"The largest school in our Ping'an Town is De Kang Academy. It was opened by an old scholar, but the old scholar is advanced in age and no longer remembers some things clearly." The proprietress lowered her voice. "Currently, many people send their children to study in the neighboring Hekou Town. Hekou Town was established by a *juren* master. Studying there is the only way to have a future."
Cheng Luanluan vaguely remembered that Cheng Zhao, the most promising child of the Cheng family, seemed to study in Hekou Town, at something called Nanfu Academy.
She had a plan in mind and asked again, "How long does it take to get from here to Hekou Town?"
"Not far, half an hour's walk."
Cheng Luanluan thanked the proprietress and paid thirty *wen*. Then she took her two sons to Hekou Town.
It was already noon. Since there were no ox-carts at the town gate, the three of them could only walk. It wasn't until late afternoon that they finally saw the city walls of Hekou Town.
With just a glance, Cheng Luanluan felt that Hekou Town was slightly more economically developed than Ping'an Town. People bustled about, and not far away, along the edge, flowed a large river. A few boats bobbed sparsely on its surface, and the dock over there was almost even more lively.