The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

The eldest son had specifically made a trip to the town, presumably to see if he could buy some tofu, all because the Third Young Master enjoyed tofu balls soup.

This eldest son really did adore the Third Young Master, even though this Third Young Master…

But in the end, they were born of the same mother, a blood tie that couldn’t be severed. Being the eldest brother of the Third Young Master, it was only natural for him to show extra affection to his younger brother.

Jing Zhao was lost in her thoughts, but her pace didn’t slow. She continued to the tofu shop.

After all, she had heard from the steward, Ning Feng, that this tofu shop was doing good business. Given the situation today, she feared the business would only get better. If she was too late, she might not be able to buy much.

But despite Jing Zhao’s hurry, there was only a little piece of tofu left in the shop when she arrived.

Jing Zhao sighed.

They had tasted tofu ball soup before and knew it was delicious. They were hoping that maybe if the kitchen made this soup for lunch, they could get a bowl or two. But seeing that only a small piece of tofu, enough to make two or three bowls of soup, was left, it was clear they wouldn’t get any this afternoon.

It seemed she would have to tell Ning Feng so that they could buy it earlier next time.

Feeling regret at not being able to drink the tofu soup and seeing that the tofu from this shop was so good, she decided to buy all sorts of things like dried tofu, tofu sheets, and bean sprouts.

Seeing that she bought so many things, Zhuang Qingning even gave her a woven bamboo basket.

An anxious Jing Zhao, who had no way to carry her purchases, was overjoyed. After paying, she took her things and went to find Chu Jinnian.

Thanks to the happenings of the day, business at the tofu shop was even better than usual.

Zhuang Qingning had told Zhuang Mingliang to decrease by one-third the amount of goods sent to their shop in town these past two days. But today, business was so good that almost all the products were sold out way before lunchtime, leaving only a handful of bean sprouts behind.

“Originally, I planned to make some fried tofu slices and cold tofu silk for lunch, but now we only have these mung bean sprouts left.”

Mrs. Cao gathered the leftover mung bean sprouts: “We can blanch these sprouts and roll out some noodles to make oil-splashed chili noodles. You and Qingsui seem to love spicy foods, and we still have some leafy greens. We can mix them all together, and it should taste good.”

“Sure, aunt. Do as you see fit.” Zhuang Qingning nodded.

Mrs. Cao took the bean sprouts to the backyard to cook, and Zhuang Qingning and Zhang Qiuying boarded up the shop together.

A half-opened door meant that all the goods in the shop were sold out, but the shopkeeper was still present, so if there was anything, people could come in.

This commonly understood rule saved much explaining and was a routine Zhuang Qingning quite enjoyed.

After setting up the shop entrance, they brewed a pot of tea. The three of them sat in the shop, drinking tea, eating sunflower seeds, and chatting.

“If I had known today’s event would boost our business, I would have made more tofu. Now we have nothing to sell.”

Zhang Qiuying saw that there were still quite a few people who looked in but left, obviously disappointed. She shook her head and sighed.

“Actually, I knew that after today’s events, our business would improve. But I still told the tofu workshop to produce fewer goods,” Zhuang Qingning replied with a slight smile.

“Why?” Qingsui couldn’t help but ask.

“To whet everyone’s appetite.”

Zhuang Qingning replied with a smile: “Business has been sluggish for a while. Many people no longer came out of worry. Today’s events will likely alleviate their concerns and make them willing to buy our products.”

“But if we were to keep up the supply at this time, it will make it seem like our products are always available, and people will take us for granted. We need to take advantage of the times when many people want to buy but we can’t supply enough. This inability to meet the demand will make it seem more precious, and people will naturally value it more in the future.”

“Big Sister Ning’s words make sense.” Zhang Qiuying nodded like a pecking chicken, looking at Zhuang Qingning with a smile.

“Is there something on my face? A flower, perhaps?”

Zhuang Qingning teased, noticing Zhang Qiuying’s stare.

“No.” Zhang Qiuying shook her head. “I just want to know how Big Sister Ning’s mind works. How can you think of everything so clearly?”

“I know this.” Qingsui chimed in. “Eat more chili every day. My sister loves chili. I think it must be because she eats a lot of chili, sweats a lot, and that makes her more transparent.”

“Okay, starting tomorrow, I will eat chili every day and see if I can become a little smarter…”

The girls were giggling in the shop, while Mrs. Cao was rolling out noodles in the backyard with a joyful expression.

Ever since the family tragedy, Zhang Qiuying had not been laughing as much. Mrs. Cao was worried. After all, her eldest daughter was usually sensible, and she didn’t want her to always be this downcast. It was too stifling.

Thankfully, Zhuang Qingning was there and had managed to lift Zhang Qiuying’s spirits quite a bit.

Zhuang Qingning was truly their family’s benefactor.

With a smiling face, Mrs. Cao rolled out the noodle dough smoothly into thin, resilient sheets. She dusted them with cornmeal, then folded and cut them into thin noodle strips.

Topped with plenty of ingredients, the chewy oil-splashed chili noodles were highly praised by everyone.

Even the extra noodles Mrs. Cao had prepared were boiled, divided among their bowls, and eaten clean.

In the afternoon, when Zhuang Sifu delivered goods, Zhuang Qingning and Qingsui tidied up the shop and returned home with the bullock cart.

Zhuang Qingning let Qingsui rest in the house while she took the opportunity to check out the day’s gains over a cup of tea outside.

Having met the goal of restoring the reputation of the tofu shop set by a certain patron, she had also received the corresponding rewards.

Since she didn’t have a chance to check them out in town, she could now take a look.

Exciting Wind Fragments*/;, these were nothing special, not worth using.

Basic Tofu Skin Recipe*i, this was great. The shop could now add a new product.

And this tofu skin, whether dry or moist, would make an excellent ingredient right away. After baking, the dry version could be stored for longer and was easier to sell. The long strips of baked tofu skin were also a common variety of tofu skin.

With this recipe, they could essentially add three new products to their shop.

Not bad at all. This recipe was really good.

Zhuang Qingning was full of praise, then she suddenly noticed another item in the reward batch.

It was round like a pebble, looking dull and gray..