Chapter 489: 489: Zhuang Lühe's Whereabouts
Sweet potatoes have only been introduced here recently, and people here have a simplistic way of eating them; sometimes they would just slice them up and sundry them into dried sweet potatoes.
The taste of the dried sweet potatoes made this way is only mediocre, falling significantly short of the dried sweet potatoes sold in later eras.
“Your family has planted ten acres of sweet potatoes this year, and it won’t all be for your own consumption. You can turn them into dried sweet potatoes to sell. The method is quite straightforward: just let the dried sweet potatoes sit for a while, wash them, steam them in the pot until they’re cooked, and then dry them out.”
“It just adds one more step: steaming them in the pot.”
“Sounds simple enough. So, should I say that this is my idea?” Tong Sanlang said.
“Yes, just say it’s your idea. The same way the brewing method for malt sugar was something you learned from some miscellaneous books. In any case, find some money-making things for your mother to do and stop her from putting all her hopes on you.”
“And your second brother, too. Let his wife and him not put all their hope on you either. Instead of them betting on you to bring wealth to the family, they should learn how to make their own money.”
A craft that doesn’t strain you and yet makes money is always a good thing.
“Agreed.” Tong Sanlang pondered and nodded in assent.
“If the dried sweet potatoes don’t work out, bring up the malt sugar enterprise to your second brother in the next few days,” Qiao Xiaomai suggested.
“Okay.”
Having settled this matter, Tong Sanlang heaved a sigh of relief, feeling a bit lighter.
He took the initiative to take the spoon, scooping up the cake to eat. He didn’t feel bitter inside anymore, and the cake he was eating now didn’t taste as suffocating as before.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” He asked.
“I’ll deliver the chili to Yang Ye’s guard in the town.” The chili was ripe; she had taken out the seeds, and the chili skin was for Yang Ye.
One could only grow a little bit each year – who knew how many years it would take before one could savor chili unabashedly.
“Oh… there’s something I need to tell you.” She opened her mouth again.
“What is it?”
“When my maternal grandmother visited the other day, she suggested that I should find my mother and bring her back. Since I’ve decided to speak up, I won’t hesitate,” Qiao Xiaomai said directly, “I didn’t tell you before because I was unsure.”
“I’ve made up my mind now. I think it would be better for my family to have an elder, and moreover, I should fulfill the duties of the original body’s filial piety.”
After all, she had taken over the body of the original owner and Zhuang Lühe was not a shrew like the Sun Family’s woman – she felt pity for Zhuang Lühe.
Now that their family was wealthy, even if Zhuang Lühe were to return and found things wrong, if she insisted that she had to toughen up out of necessity, Zhuang Lühe would have nothing to say.
In any case, she was now the head of the household.
After hearing her words, Tong Sanlang kept silent for a moment. Then he said, “Actually… Tingfeng Pavilion had already located her whereabouts a while ago, but I noticed that you didn’t seem to want her to return, so I never mentioned it to you.”
Qiao Xiaomai “!!!”
Did Tong Sanlang already know about Zhuang Lühe’s whereabouts?!
Her peach blossom eyes were suddenly wide open. “When did you start looking into this?!”
“Since I discovered a change in your personality, I ordered someone to start investigating. Once our relationship was confirmed, I received the news,” Tong Sanlang explained truthfully.
“That early?”
“At that time, I didn’t know who you were or anything about you, so I was wary. Inquiring about her whereabouts was just a matter of word of mouth, so I gave the order,” Tong Sanlang explained.
Looking back on his feelings at the time, he found it somewhat amusing.
“So where is she? Is she doing well?” Qiao Xiaomai’s heart tightened momentarily, forgetting about her curiosity regarding Tong Sanlang’s thought process back then and hastily asked.