Chapter 4 Shameless
Arrived at Liu Huixiang’s house.
It was still early, the tofu stall had not yet opened, and the door was tightly closed. Only the sound of a millstone could be heard from inside.
Boom boom boom.
Su Xian knocked on the door gently.
The sound of the millstone stopped, and Zhang Cuihua's voice came out: "Who is it? Come back later to buy tofu."
"Sister Zhang, it's me, Su Xian. I want to discuss something with Mrs. Liu. Please open the door first." Su Xian shouted.
There was a muted discussion in the room.
I couldn't hear clearly, it seemed that Zhang Cuihua disagreed, but Liu Huixiang insisted.
After a while, Zhang Cuihua opened the door a crack, poked her head out and looked around. Seeing that there was no one around, she opened the door completely and said, "Come in."
Su Xian scratched his head, always feeling that her behavior was weird...
After entering the room, Zhang Cuihua slammed the door behind her and bolted it.
Su Xian looked around the room, which was about 13 or 14 square meters in size. There was a stone mill in the middle and several wooden barrels neatly placed next to it, some filled with water and some with soaked beans.
In the groove of the millstone, there is snow-white juice, dripping into the wooden barrel below.
The room was not big to begin with, and after being filled with a stone mill, wooden barrels , and some necessary items, it seemed a bit crowded.
Liu Huixiang stood beside the stone mill. She had a graceful figure, beautiful face, and skin as white and tender as the tender tofu she made with her own hands, smooth and fine.
In his hand he held a wooden spoon for adding ingredients.
In this way, she is worthy of the name "Tofu Xishi".
"Excuse me, Madam Liu." Su Xian bowed.
"Mr. Su, you're too polite." Liu Huixiang put down the wooden spoon and bowed in return.
"I don't come to you for no reason. I have something to discuss with my wife."
"Mr. Su, have you had breakfast?"
Liu Huixiang wiped the water off her hands, walked to the small wooden table against the wall, and waved, "Sir, you are a guest. Why don't we have breakfast together?"
Without waiting for Su Xian's agreement, she turned to Zhang Cuihua and ordered, "Bring a set of bowls and chopsticks."
“I feel embarrassed…” Su Xian was about to decline politely, but the aroma of porridge entered his nostrils and his stomach started to growl.
He leaned over and glanced at the large pot of porridge on the table, and immediately changed his tone: "Mrs. Liu has invited me so kindly, so I would be disrespectful to refuse."
After saying that, he walked towards the small wooden table with a shameless face.
He is a realistic person. His body is his own, so he has to eat first.
The small wooden table was against the wall, with only three seats. He sat down at the seat next to the wall, Liu Huixiang sat opposite him, and the remaining seat facing the wall was reserved for Zhang Cuihua.
It is June and the weather is hot. Although the sun has just risen, after eating a bowl of meat porridge, Su Xian is already sweating profusely and keeps waving his sleeves to wipe the sweat.
"Mr. Su, are you full? How about having another bowl?" Liu Huixiang only ate half a bowl of porridge and put down her chopsticks long ago.
"I'm full. Thank you for the hospitality, madam. This porridge is delicious!"
Liu Huixiang smiled and said, "Mr. Su just said that he had something to discuss with me. What is it?"
Zhang Cuihua cleaned up the remaining half pot of porridge and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash.
"Last night, I saw Sister Zhang carrying a whole bucket of tofu. She said it was rotten and wanted to throw it away," said Su Xian.
"That's right. Sour tofu can't be sold and can only be thrown away." Liu Huixiang sat opposite him, with bright eyes, white teeth, skin whiter than snow, and an unusually gentle beauty.
Su Xian is a man who has seen the world, but facing the tofu beauty up close still made him a little distracted.
"It's such a big bucket, it's a shame to throw it away. Tofu making is not easy!"
"Yes, making tofu is hard work." Zhang Cuihua returned and sat in the same seat.
Zhang Cuihua didn't actually wash the dishes. She put them in the kitchen and then hurried out.
The purpose was to prevent Su Xian from touching her young lady.
When they first moved in, Liu Huixiang had a bad reputation, but there were still thieves and flower thieves who visited them at night. Zhang Cuihua picked up two kitchen knives and scared them out of their wits.
For so many years, Liu Huixiang never left the house and had no contact with any man except Su Xian.
In Zhang Cuihua's opinion, Su Xian is just a pretty boy, mainly because they look too much like him.
Zhang Cuihua could sense that her young lady treated Su Xian differently from others. After all, although pretty boys were annoying, they were quite popular among girls. This was also a kind of handsomeness, and being handsome was an asset.
Moreover, Su Xian was not a pretty boy, he just looked like one, especially his sword-like eyebrows, which made the hearts of young girls beat fast...
Although, Zhang Cuihua admired his sensibleness and fearlessness of being suppressed.
But she has always been on guard against Su Xian. As the saying goes, you can't judge a person by his appearance. Who knows if Su Xian will cheat them of their money and take their young lady's body?
We have to be on guard!
However, she did not show any abnormality on the surface and even opened up, telling Su Xian the whole story of "Mingyue Tower returning the tofu they sent."
Finally, he shook his head and said, "My lady and I have decided that we will make less tofu in the future, just enough to sell, so that we can reduce waste."
"Make less tofu?" Su Xian was stunned.
"Yes, I know exactly how much tofu the tofu stall can sell every day. We have calculated it accurately and can ensure that not a single piece of tofu is left over!" said Zhang Cuihua.
"Is this... so powerful?" Su Xian laughed dryly.
The reason why he came up with the "stinky tofu" plan was because there was too much tofu left at the tofu stall.
The leftover tofu will be thrown away anyway, so it is better to make it into stinky tofu, which is equivalent to "developing a new product using waste materials" and the cost is very low.
As for stinky tofu, people who like it flock to it, while people who don’t like it avoid it. But as long as you capture those who like it, you can make stinky tofu a hot item!
By then, the money will roll in and Su Xian can use it to improve his life.
But now, people have to accurately calculate the amount of tofu they make every day, and not leave any piece behind...
Su Xian was silent.
"I wonder what Mr. Su wants to discuss with me?" Liu Huixiang asked.
Su Xian looked up and was not going to give up. As the saying goes, "Whoever has a need should take the initiative." Now his desire to improve his life was even stronger.
"Madam Liu, Sister Zhang, I am ashamed to say this." Su Xian pulled himself together, ready to show the shameless spirit of later generations' salesmen, "I saw such a big bucket of tofu being thrown away last night, and I felt really sorry."
"Before falling asleep, I suddenly remembered a rare ancient book I had read before. What was it called..." Su Xian pretended to frown and ponder, then suddenly said, "Qimin Yaoshu!"
"The book records many delicacies, all of which are related to tofu. Among them is 'stinky tofu', which is said to be very special."
"I thought, since the extra tofu is going to be thrown away anyway, why not use it to make stinky tofu? This would avoid waste and create a new dish that is unique in the world, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
After Su Xian finished speaking, he looked at Liu Huixiang opposite him.
Liu Huixiang frowned slightly, as if she was in deep thought, and then hesitated and said, "Qiming Yaoshu? I have read a lot of books since I was young, but why don't I have any impression of this book?"
"Oh, that is a unique copy handed down from ancient times, a bamboo slip. When I was looking through it, most of it had been burned. It should be completely destroyed now."
"I see." Liu Huixiang nodded slowly.
She knew that Su Xian was also a descendant of a prominent family, and that books nowadays were almost all monopolized by the prominent families. Except for a few Confucian classics, the collections of each family were different .
Su Xian said that he had read a book called "Qimin Yaoshu" and that the book was destroyed. This is very possible.
Liu Huixiang was once a young lady from a scholarly family and had read countless books. Su Xian had long known that she was not easy to fool. He thought about it for a long time last night before coming up with this "unsolved case".
Seeing her nod slowly, Su Xian couldn't help but feel relieved.
At this time, Zhang Cuihua said again: "But Miss, didn't we decide not to leave any tofu? Where would we have extra tofu to make stinky tofu?"
Liu Huixiang suddenly realized and turned to look at Su Xian.
Su Xian's mouth twitched, feeling a little embarrassed.
