At this moment, at Village Chief Heâs house, He Dacang and others were also counting money.
They were selling tofu in the countryside of Qingfu Town. The price they sold at was not as high as Liang Zhuzi and his group. A block of tofu weighing half a jin was sold for only seven copper coins, and three hundred jin of tofu netted a profit of one tael and two hundred copper coins.
The seasoning spice packets were also sold for seven copper coins each, netting six hundred copper coins in profit. Together, both commodities earned one tael and eight hundred copper coins.
These silver coins were to be evenly divided among four families, each family receiving four hundred and fifty copper coins, which was considerably less than what Liang Zhuzi and his group earned.
But being able to earn this much in one day, He Dacang and the others were still very excited.
"To earn a net profit of four hundred and fifty copper coins in one day, this equals a monthâs wages from our odd jobs," said He Wazi, his eyes red.
His father had died early, and he, along with his younger brother and sister, lived with their widowed mother, having to work odd jobs from a young age to support the family.
However, despite many years of doing odd jobs, he had never earned this much money in a day.
Seeing that the tofu business was genuinely profitable, Village Chief He was also thrilled.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he said to them, "This business was secured from the Gu Family. There are many who wanted this business. Gu Familyâs tofu doesnât lack buyers; why would they let us handle it? Itâs because they see our sincere attitude and trust that we wonât engage in any mischief."
"So donât be too greedy. Just honestly keep up with this business and donât think about getting the tofu recipe. You also know about the Lu Familyâs situation. Even the Lu Family and County Magistrate Zou couldnât get it, so you certainly canât."
"Put away any unnecessary thoughts, and be cautious. If anyone asks about this tofu business, whether an outsider or from the He family, donât say a word."
Village Chief He said, "If you let slip a single word, youâll be cutting off your own livelihood!"
He Wanli and the others quickly responded, "Uncle Village Chief, rest assured, we understand the importance and wonât talk carelessly or covet things we shouldnât."
Village Chief He heard this and nodded in satisfaction.
However...
"Thereâs a Gu Family selling tofu in Qingfu Town, and people in town only recognize the tofu stand of the Gu Family. If we want to sell at a good price, we need to move to a neighboring town."
"Daxing Town is no longer an option. Itâs taken by Liang Zhuzi and his group." Today, he heard that Liang Zhuzi and his group, carrying their loads, crossed the mountains to Daxing Town.
Upon hearing this, he was deeply frustrated. Liang Zhuzi is cleverâknowing that Gu Family is selling tofu in Qingfu Town and might not sell well there, he went to Daxing Town.
He Dacang asked, "Dad, which town should we go to then?"
"Go to Hukou Town and Xianggui Town." Village Chief He said, "Hukou Town is in front of our Qingfu Town, closer to the county seat, and richer than us. Selling tofu there, we can definitely fetch a good price."
"Although Xianggui Town on our right isnât as prosperous as ours, we need to secure it first. Once the He family gets more tofu in the future, more He family people will go to sell tofu. We canât all crowd into Hukou Town; we need to spread out."
Village Chief He was not foolish, so he devised this strategy, wanting to secure the nearby towns for He family people early on to facilitate future business.
He Wanli and the others didnât disagree: "Uncle Village Chief is right, weâll follow your lead."
He Dacang asked Village Chief He, "Dad, which among our four families will go to Hukou Town and who will go to Xianggui Town?"
Village Chief He had yet to speak when He Wanli said, "My family will go to Xianggui Town."
The tofu business was facilitated by Village Chief He himself, which is why he chose Xianggui Town, leaving the more prosperous Hukou Town to He Dacang.
He Wazi said, "I will go with Uncle Wanli to Xianggui Town."
Village Chief He saw that they were neither fighting nor rushing for the chance, and he was quite relieved: "Alright, thatâs settled."
He then said, "You all go back tonight to prepare a generous gift. Tomorrow, while picking up the tofu at the Gu Familyâs, also deliver the gift."
Although they didnât bring any gift today, he heard that Liang Zhuzi and others had brought gifts three times. People always fear being outdone; he certainly did not want to be outdone by Liang Zhuzi and his group.
Moreover, since the Gu Family had given the He family this business opportunity, it was only proper to bring them a gift.
"Alright, we understand," replied He Wanli and the others. After splitting the money evenly among the four families, each went back to their home.
The next day, when Village Chief He and the others went to pick up the tofu again, each of the four families brought a generous gift.
The village people all knew that Village Chief He and several families were in the tofu business, and they kept an eye on them. Seeing them carrying generous gifts to the Gu Family with smiles all over their faces, and the gifts even included live chickens, it was obvious that they had earned money from yesterdayâs tofu sales, making everyone green with envy.
But they had been chastised by Village Chief He before, and even though they were envious, they dared not do anything to the Gu Family, only waiting. Waiting for the Gu Family to produce more tofu, waiting for Village Chief He to receive more tofu, and then distribute it to them to sell.
The He Family People were suppressed by a scolding from Village Chief He, shelving their thoughts of causing trouble, but Elder Mo of the Mo Family was furious, stomping around in his dilapidated mud house and cursing loudly, "The heartless Gu Family, having such a good business and not even considering calling us, the Mo Family. We came here together fleeing famine. Is our bond not even comparable to that of the He and Liang families? They gave the tofu business to the He and Liang families instead of us?"
"Such conscienceless people, considering how we took care of them on the road, treating them as if they were our own brothers, and yet when it comes to making a fortune, they forget all about us!"
Elder Mo nearly passed out from his furious ranting, and the Mo Family People also felt uncomfortable and extremely jealous.
Everyone came here fleeing famine; why should their family still be eating coarse meals while families like the Qin, Gu, and Luotian are making large money?
Mo Kui, listening to Elder Moâs furious ranting, advised, "Uncle, this is the Gu Familyâs business, why should it concern us?"
And about taking care of each other on the road, wasnât it the Qin, Gu, and Luotian families who were taking care of their Mo Family?
Forget the matters on the road, even during the New Year, if it werenât for the Qin, Gu, and Luotian familiesâ help, their Mo Family would have suffered a huge loss, let alone compensating for other matters, and their daughter would have had to be sent to He Dacai as his wife.
Elder Mo, hearing Mo Kuiâs words, pointed at him and scolded, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying the old man is wrong in scolding? Are we not together fleeing the famine? Is our bond not comparable to that of the He and Liang families? When those families have a business and need people, shouldnât they think of our Mo Family first?"
Mo Kui was heavily scolded by Elder Mo before he could even respond, and Elder Mo then called upon his three sons, "Letâs go, we shall go to the Gu Family to demand tofu. Our family must also engage in this business."
Elder Moâs sons were also envious of the Gu Familyâs business. Though they felt Elder Mo was being overbearing, they thought, âWhy not try? How can we know if it will work unless we try?â
The three brothers followed Elder Mo as they rushed towards the Gu Family.
Worried about possible trouble, Mo Kui hurriedly followed them.
Before long, Elder Mo arrived at the Gu Familyâs place with his sons, and as soon as he reached, he shouted loudly, "Brother Gu, your Elder Brother Mo has come to see you."