Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 115

Aunt Yi was dumbfounded; this was quite a commotion, not at all what she had imagined.

But which of the two, Zhu Zi and Lao Yi, is lying?

Inside the tavern, He Yuzhu opened the package only after Aunt Yi left.

"Wow, so much stuff!"

"Let me see," Xu Huizhen said, leaning closer.

"That's really generous, this pile must cost tens of dollars."

"Pretty much, those two pounds of tea alone are worth quite a bit."

Besides two kilograms of fine tea, there were also canned fruit, cured meat, pastries, milk powder, biscuits, and other good things.

"Take all the food away."

"No need, I'll just take two things. You can keep them for your master as a gift for the next festival."

"We can buy it later. We can't afford to go hungry, can we?"

"But we need to save some for rainwater. I'll only take two pounds of pastries."

Two days later, Yi Zhonghai was able to get out of bed and move around, but some of his limbs were frostbitten and he couldn't go to work for a short time.

Yi Zhonghai still can't get over it, and he still brings up Sha Zhu from time to time to scold him.

Aunt Yi tried to persuade him to take care of his health several times, but Yi Zhonghai couldn't swallow his anger.

He Yuzhu has been experiencing both pain and joy lately.

It wasn't until winter that I realized that although there are various ways to store fruit and greenhouses to supply fresh vegetables, the supply on the market is still too limited.

It is still 51. Although most people have gone to the south, there are still many old people who still have a lot of money in their hands.

They are the main consumers of these goods.

Fruits and vegetables were never sold at market stalls; they were all delivered to their residences.

Even the extras were used by various large restaurants.

He Yuzhu took advantage of the time to pay the bill to come to Taifeng Restaurant and knocked on Manager Hu's door.

"Master He, is something the matter?"

"Well, Mr. Hu, I have a friend in the countryside near Sijiqing who asked me to ask if you would like some fresh cucumbers or tomatoes?"

"Of course I want it."

Upon hearing this, Manager Hu agreed and asked, "How much can you get? Make sure it's fresh."

"Absolutely fresh."

As He Yuzhu spoke, he took out two cucumbers and three tomatoes from his bag and placed them on his desk.

"This is indeed of excellent quality," Manager Hu exclaimed.

"That's right."

He Yuzhu felt a little proud. These were all the freshest and most vibrant items he had bought and placed in his space during the summer.

At that time, fresh fruits such as melons, pears, and peaches were in abundance and the prices were relatively cheap, around one cent.

"Okay, give me 50 jin today, is that much possible?"

"No problem, we can reach about this number every day."

"Okay, then I won't lose out on the price either, I'll give you one yuan per jin."

"okay."

The price of one yuan per kilogram is a general price, since the main production area is Sijiqing, and they have unified their standards to maintain a relatively high price.

The main problem is the lack of resources, as the technology for heating houses is still relatively backward and primitive.

High costs and low yields result in high prices for off-season vegetables.

Having agreed to accompany the braised meat every day, He Yuzhu left Taifenglou.

Unfortunately, there were only a little over 1000 kilograms of cucumbers, tomatoes, and some green vegetables in the space, which would be enough to sell out to Taifenglou alone.

He Yuzhu made up his mind that he would buy more next summer, store up tens of thousands of kilograms, and then deliver the goods to these restaurants, so that he could make a fortune.

Although Sijiqing is famous, it is not the only place that can produce off-season vegetables.

This isn't a prohibited item. As long as you can produce it yourself, no one will delve into its specific place of origin.

After all, this is a trade secret; who knows which rural area it was produced in?

When he returned, He Yuzhu carried a cloth bag into the house and greeted Xu Huizhen, Xiangcao, his master's wife and senior sister, Yushui, and others.

"What are you doing, all mysterious?"

"Just tell me if you want something delicious."

"What good food could there be?"

He Yuzhu opened the package and took out two bunches of grapes, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green vegetables.

Several people exclaimed in surprise.

How did you manage to get these things?

"She looks so fresh and beautiful."

"Never mind where I got these things, you can eat them whenever you want in the future."

Even if others can eat, we can't let our own people suffer. In winter, we only eat winter-stored cabbage, carrots, and spicy radishes; you can hardly find any other green vegetables.

If he took too much at once, others might have some suspicions, but since He Yuzhu is only taking out a small amount now, at most they'll just say he's a spendthrift.

Vanilla took the fruit over to wash it, and when she came back, the group shared it.

As the weather gets colder, He Yuzhu's life is getting better and better.

The tavern was packed every day, with people eating braised meat, drinking wine, and chatting with neighbors about the war on the front lines, as well as some hearsay.

He Yuzhu has a lot of free time right now, so he stays indoors to keep warm and doesn't want to go out at all.

Winters are really cold at this time of year, with temperatures dropping to minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius. In the evening, I put a basin of water outside, and by the next morning it was completely frozen solid.

He Yuzhu made a lot of wooden basins, filled them with water before going to bed and left them outside, only putting them into his space the next morning.

This is how you make ice cubes.

When watching Qing Dynasty dramas, you often see wealthy families placing ice in their houses during the summer to cool them down.

This ice is river ice collected in winter, stored in cellars, and then transported out for use in summer.

The traditional ice cellar industry continued until the 1970s and 80s, when electric fans and refrigerators gradually entered households, and the industry disappeared.

In the depths of winter, whether it's Houhai, Qianhai, or the ice cellar outside Dongzhimen, everyone is busy purifying water and harvesting ice.

In the summer, Taifenglou also buys ice from the ice cellar at the west entrance of Baimi Xiejie to cool down their private rooms.

He Yuzhu went to see it a couple of days ago, and after returning, he figured out his own method for collecting ice.

Others don't have this advantage; in your own space, it's warm in winter and cool in summer, and whatever you put in will remain the same when you take it out.

Therefore, there is no need to go through the trouble of collecting ice from the river; you can make ice at home using a wooden basin.

However, this was all done in secret, and Xu Huizhen was unaware of it.

The peaceful days were soon shattered. As soon as Yi Zhonghai recovered and was able to go out, he came to visit immediately.

Xu Huizhen led the person into the house, and after they left, Yi Zhonghai said angrily:

"You bastard surnamed He, you're not even human! You actually pushed me into the river!"

"Don't try to smear me, you surnamed Yi. It was clearly you who slipped and fell."

"Do you think I don't know if my foot slipped? That's because you poked me with your elbow."

"Hehe, stop talking nonsense. It was clearly your own carelessness that caused you to lose your footing."

He Yuzhu was surprised that Yi Zhonghai would come to him.

However, He Yuzhu was not afraid, since it was a chaotic time and no one else saw it.

"How...how can you be so unreasonable?"

"Oh ho, you're trying to reason with me again?"

"When have I ever been unreasonable?" Yi Zhonghai questioned.

He Yuzhu said, "Then tell me about how you instigated Xu Damao to take a knife and kill me."

Previously, He Yuzhu had never complained to Yi Zhonghai that he had to do things secretly, and that confronting him directly was useless.

So this was the first time the two of them had discussed that matter.

Yi Zhonghai was only thinking about how He Yuzhu had pushed him into the pond, which had wasted half a month of his time and caused him so much suffering.

They just wanted to extort money from He Yuzhu.

He had long forgotten about how he had instigated Xu Damao.

When He Yuzhu brought up the matter again, Yi Zhonghai felt his face burning with embarrassment. How could he have forgotten about this?