Apart from farming, another thing that kept Ye Zhinan on tenterhooks was making money.
It takes time for the marinated - food business to grow from small to large, but its rapid growth still took her by surprise.
At first, after reaching a cooperation agreement with Sister Qiao and Zhao Aisi's family, she didn't get too involved and left everything to Lu Yanlai.
After the two families joined forces, Zhao Aisi got the recipe and did his best. Soon, their reputation spread from the East Street to the West Street.
When the two families had separate stalls on two streets, the customers from the North and South Streets were unhappy and demanded that the snack stalls be opened there quickly.
Lu Yanlai and Sister Qiao discussed and decided to open a branch on the North - South Street. But they still came to Ye Zhinan to discuss the specific details.
"Opening a branch is a good idea. We can produce the food centrally and sell it separately. You can follow this principle for procurement and sales," Ye Zhinan said as she drafted a set of regulations and handed them to the two. Then she left the rest to them.
After seeing Sister Qiao off, Lu Yanlai sneaked back.
"You trust us so much?"
Ye Zhinan understood what Lu Yanlai meant. It was okay to trust her, but she was a bit worried about the other one.
Ye Zhinan raised her eyebrows.
"Once you've employed someone, don't suspect them; if you suspect them, don't employ them. We have control over the ducks. Are you still afraid they'll run away?"
Hearing this, Lu Yanlai said no more, but she became more cautious when handling things.
This time, when Lu Yanlai came to her with the ledger in a grand manner, Ye Zhinan knew it was not just about checking the accounts.
In the dead of night, she was lying on the table, staring blankly at the ledger in front of her. Under the candlelight, the strings of numbers were barely visible, looking like tadpoles in a pond.
When tadpoles grow up, they turn into frogs. By then, they'll jump around and who knows where they'll end up!
Just as Ye Zhinan was thinking, she suddenly smelled a scent in the air.
"Roasted sweet potatoes!"
She followed the smell and ran outside. There, she saw a faint fire glowing under the outer wall of her house.
"Why are you here?" Ye Zhinan asked in surprise, looking at the person squatting in the corner. It was Qin Yihuai, holding a roasted sweet potato.
"It smells good. I wonder how it tastes," he said.
Without a word, she took it and started eating.
It was soft, glutinous, and just the right amount of sweet!
"The sweet potatoes are great. The person who planted them must be very experienced," Qin Yihuai said casually, almost choking Ye Zhinan.
"I also think you're good at farming."
"You stole my sweet potatoes. Pay up!" As she said this, she stretched out her hand, which was fair with a hint of red but had some small cracks.
Qin Yihuai bent down and looked closely at her hand. His voice was deep and powerful.
"It's not as smooth as before!"
Noticing his actions, Ye Zhinan blushed and quickly withdrew her hand.
"Pay you later."
Saying this, she took a couple of bites of the sweet potato awkwardly. Then she suddenly thought of something.
"You came just to roast sweet potatoes?"
Impossible. Although there were many delicious things in the Ye family, Qin Yihuai never came just for food.
"I've found out who damaged your field!"
Ye Zhinan was stunned. Her open mouth paused for a moment.
"How do you know? It must be Ye Yingfeng, that big - mouth!"
"You made such a big fuss. It's hard not to know," Qin Yihuai said as he put out the fire for roasting sweet potatoes. Suddenly, the light disappeared.
Ye Zhinan unconsciously pressed her back against the wall, pretending to be calm.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"Aren't you full yet? Eating too many sweet potatoes is not good!"
What a straight - laced man Qin Yihuai was!
Ye Zhinan groped in the dark and was about to go back when she remembered something.
"Forget about who damaged my field for now. I want to know about the situation of the four streets in the town. Consider it the reward for dredging the drainage channels."
Saying this, she left without looking back, leaving Qin Yihuai alone in the night.
He watched her leaving back, a glint of unclear meaning flashing in his eyes.
True to his word, Qin Yihuai soon gave Ye Zhinan the information about the four streets in the town.
She was sitting on the ox - cart on the way to the town, reading it all the time.
Sister Hong didn't dare to disturb her seeing how seriously she was reading.
Suddenly, Ye Zhinan let out a long sigh, stretched, and hugged Sister Hong's arm.
"Dear Sister Hong, let's go to the South Street to listen to the storytelling!"
Sister Hong was startled. "Listen to the storytelling? Aren't you going shopping?"
Every time they went to the town, they would buy a lot of things. If they went to listen to the storytelling, they probably wouldn't have time to buy anything.
"Shopping won't take long. I've never been to the North - South Street. I've only been hanging around the bustling East - West Streets and I'm bored. Dear Sister Hong, I heard that the best storytelling teahouse is on the South Street. We rarely come out. Just listen for a while, okay?"
Ye Zhinan coaxed and coquetted, using all her skills. Sister Hong had no choice but to give in.
As soon as they arrived at the South Street, Ye Zhinan felt it was different from what she had imagined.
The South Street was bustling, but in a different way from other places.
There were mostly old people on the street. As Lu Yanlai had said, most of the people living here were elderly and alone.
Even the shop assistants looked older than those on other streets.
"The South Street is full of old people. I didn't expect you to choose this place to listen to the storytelling," Sister Hong said. She didn't come here often and knew most of the things from hearsay.
"That's the one," Ye Zhinan said as she pulled Sister Hong into a teahouse.
Inside, an old gentleman with graying temples was telling a story about a reckless man who acted bravely for justice but was wrongly accused by the government.
Sister Hong was listening with great interest.
Ye Zhinan looked around and saw the stall across the street.
It was exactly Sister Qiao and Zhao Aisi's marinated - food stall. After watching for a while, she found that there were very few customers.
This was not Zhao Aisi's usual standard!
Ye Zhinan was puzzled. Even though there were mostly old people on the South Street, there shouldn't be so few customers.
She made an excuse and slipped out, hiding in a closer place to observe the situation across the street.
She saw Sister Qiao trying her best to sell, but Zhao Aisi was sitting on one side silently, neither taking care of the pot nor the customers.
Ye Zhinan walked over to a sugar - cake stall nearby.
"I'll take ten portions of sugar cakes!"
"You have a good appetite, young man. Are you buying them for your sweetheart?" The old man selling sugar cakes was especially enthusiastic when he saw a big customer.
Ye Zhinan remembered that she was dressed like a rough man. She immediately straightened her back and lowered her voice.
"Good eyesight, sir. My wife has strange cravings. Nothing tastes good to her, so I want to buy her a variety of things to try."
"You're such a good man. The pig's trotters in that shop over there are also good. I'm sure your wife will like them," the old man said.
Ye Zhinan looked in the direction the old man was pointing. The pig's - trotter shop was at the end of the street. She asked in a low voice, looking puzzled.
"What about the marinated - food stall across the street? From what you're saying, it's not delicious?"
The old man quickly waved his hand. "Hey! I didn't say that!"
Ye Zhinan casually pointed to the cold rice cakes beside. "I'll take ten portions of these too."
The old man beamed with joy. He quickly packed the cold rice cakes and leaned in to whisper.
"Sir, I'm only saying this for your sake. When you buy food for your wife with strange cravings, you'd better be more careful. It's not a big deal if the food doesn't taste good, but if it makes her sick, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"