"Who is looking for our family?" The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Thinking this, Lian Manman hurriedly walked to the front door and looked outside. She saw a carriage stopped at the door with two people standing beside it, Shopkeeper Wu from Yue Lai Tavern accompanied by a young attendant.

"Shopkeeper Wu? What brings you to the village? Are you looking for us?" Lian Manman asked eagerly.

"Indeed, it’s Third Miss Lian, I’m relieved I didn’t go to the wrong place," Shopkeeper Wu replied with a smile.

"Shopkeeper Wu, please come inside to talk," Lian Manman quickly invited Shopkeeper Wu into the house while sending Xiao Qi to notify Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang.

There was no need to inform them, as Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang had also heard Shopkeeper Wu’s voice and came out to greet him.

"Shopkeeper Wu, if there was something you needed, you could have just sent an attendant with a message. Look at you coming all this way," Lian Shouxin said courteously as he led Shopkeeper Wu inside the house.

Lady Zhang’s face was already beaming with joy as she busied herself with hospitality.

"Does Shopkeeper Wu smoke?" Lady Zhang first brought out a dry tobacco basket and placed it beside Shopkeeper Wu.

Although Shopkeeper Wu usually enjoyed a smoke from his dry tobacco pipe, he waved his hand dismissively this time.

"Then how about some water?" Lian Manman brought over a bowl of sugar water boiled with hawthorn and white sugar. For country folk like them, it was customary to offer dry tobacco to male visitors. Rural families didn’t have the habit of drinking tea themselves, nor were they accustomed to using tea to receive guests. For Lian Manman to serve sugar water was already quite a grand gesture.

Sitting on the edge of the kang bed, Shopkeeper Wu looked around and saw that, although the house was old and simply furnished, everything was neatly arranged and clean. This was in line with his impression of the Lian Family—hardworking, neat, and clean—he nodded to himself in approval. Even though the Lian Family wasn’t wealthy, the cleanliness of their home and the way the adults and children interacted with others could definitely be considered first-class.

"Shopkeeper Wu, you’ve come all this way. Is there something you needed?" After exchanging pleasantries, Lian Shouxin inquired.

Standing by the side, Lian Manman also glanced at Shopkeeper Wu. She was certain that if Shopkeeper Wu had come to their home, it must be for something important.

"It’s true that one doesn’t visit the Temple of the Three Treasures without a reason," laughed Shopkeeper Wu, "... The sauerkraut you sent the other day, I tried it, and it was really good." In fact, not only had he tried it himself, but he had also served dishes made with the sauerkraut to a couple of regular patrons. As a result, other customers who saw the dishes also wanted to eat the sauerkraut.

"If Shopkeeper Wu likes it, it’s fortunate that we’ve pickled some more," Lian Manman replied with a smile.

"I came for this very matter," Shopkeeper Wu chuckled, "Normally, we wouldn’t start eating sauerkraut for another two months. But now, since you’ve already pickled the sauerkraut, I’m planning to start serving it in my tavern ahead of time. I’ll need quite a lot, can you supply it?"

Shopkeeper Wu wanted to buy their sauerkraut, and the family was indeed delighted.

"Rest assured, Shopkeeper Wu, however much you need, we will have it," Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang promised without hesitation, "Shopkeeper Wu, could you give us an amount?"

"In my tavern, roughly thirty catties of sauerkraut per day should suffice," Shopkeeper Wu pondered and replied.

Thirty catties a day, with two more months until the sauerkraut was in full supply, by calculating sixty days, it would amount to one thousand eight hundred catties, which meant one thousand eight hundred Wen Money.

"It’s manageable," Lian Shouxin assured.

Lian Manman watched Shopkeeper Wu’s cheerful demeanor and felt a stir in her heart.

"Shopkeeper Wu, you’re a busy man. For just thirty catties of sauerkraut per day, you could have just sent someone to let us know. Did you personally come to our home because there’s an even bigger matter?" Lian Manman stared unblinkingly at Shopkeeper Wu as she asked.

Shopkeeper Wu burst into hearty laughter.

"You’re a clever girl indeed," he said.

With that, it was clear Lian Manman had guessed correctly. But what could be the bigger issue?

"I won’t hide it from you, I just happened to be going to the county yesterday to meet our boss..."

Lian Manman’s eyes suddenly lit up; she had already guessed what Shopkeeper Wu was going to say next. Sure enough, Shopkeeper Wu went on to explain how he had taken some of the Lian Family’s sauerkraut to the county city and presented it to Woo Zhonglian. He also discussed his plans to serve sauerkraut dishes in the tavern ahead of schedule.

At this point, Shopkeeper Wu paused.

Lian Manman thought to herself that Woo Zhonglian was an even shrewder businessman and surely realized immediately that this early-pickled sauerkraut represented a business opportunity.

"Shopkeeper Wu, I must thank you for recommending our sauerkraut to Big Boss Woo," Lian Manman bowed to Shopkeeper Wu in gratitude.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang also quickly grasped the situation and stood up to thank Shopkeeper Wu.

"This trivial matter is not worth any thanks," Shopkeeper Wu replied with a smile, "Our boss is wise, insightful, broad-minded, and far-sighted."

As he said this, Shopkeeper Wu made a point to stand up and bow in the direction of the county city.

"Our boss has decided that the taverns and restaurants under his name will also start introducing sauerkraut dishes ahead of time," Shopkeeper Wu continued after sitting down.

All the taverns and restaurants under Woo Zhonglian’s name, how many Yue Lai Taverns is that? Lian Manman’s eyes almost turned into shining copper coins and yuanbaos.

From Shopkeeper Wu to Woo Zhonglian, from the Yue Lai Tavern to Woo Zhonglian’s other taverns, this was originally Lian Manman’s intention when she decided to deliver the pickled vegetables to Shopkeeper Wu. To think that it actually came true now, Lian Manman couldn’t help but beam with joy.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were also pleased, but at the same time, they felt a bit unsure. Supplying just the Yue Lai Tavern and selling some at the market in Qingyang Town, that was manageable. But to supply all the taverns under Woo Zhonglian, it seemed a bit too much for them.

"So, what do you think? This is a big deal, can you take it on?" Shopkeeper Wu looked at Lian Shouxin and asked.

Lian Shouxin didn’t immediately respond.

"We can." Lian Manman answered without hesitation.

All eyes then turned to Lian Manman.

"Shopkeeper Wu, rest assured, it’s not just all the taverns under Big Boss Woo’s name, even if it’s double or triple that number, we can take on this business." Lian Manman spoke with confidence, "Please Shopkeeper Wu lay out your plans carefully, so we can make arrangements on our side."

"Manman?" Lady Zhang looked at Lian Manman with a questioning gaze.

Lian Manman nodded at Lady Zhang, reassuring her that she had a plan in mind, it just wasn’t convenient to discuss it in front of Shopkeeper Wu.

After exchanging a look, Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang both trusted Lian Manman, their child. Although she was young, she had a plan in mind, especially when it came to doing business and making money. Given past experiences, the couple had confidence in her.

"Child’s father, we can take on this business," Lady Zhang said to Lian Shouxin, her tone very firm.

"Shopkeeper Wu, we will take on this business." With his wife and daughter’s approval bolstering his confidence, Lian Shouxin gave a solemn nod to Shopkeeper Wu.

"Good." Shopkeeper Wu smiled, satisfied, and motioned for the apprentice to bring over one string of coins. "This is the deposit."

Considering that they would need some start-up capital to pickle such a large quantity of vegetables, Lian Manman, seeing that Shopkeeper Wu had been so thoughtful, happily accepted the deposit.

"How much pickled cabbage do you have ready?" asked Shopkeeper Wu.

"About a hundred pounds," Lian Shouxin answered. At the time of pickling, he had thought it was a bit too much, and he was worried that they wouldn’t be able to sell it all at the market. If they had known this would happen, they should have pickled even more.

"That’s not much..." Shopkeeper Wu stroked his beard and said, "I’ll take some back today to manage for now."

The Lian family naturally had no objections.

"Okay then."

Afterward, they discussed with Shopkeeper Wu how they would deliver goods in the future.

"The shops of the boss are spread far and wide, you don’t need to deliver to each one individually," Shopkeeper Wu said. "Here’s the plan: You’ll deliver once every three days, each time about fifteen hundred pounds, delivered to the Yue Lai Tavern in town. The money for each delivery will be settled on the spot, how about it?" As for distributing goods to the other taverns and restaurants under Woo Zhonglian, Shopkeeper Wu and his team would handle that themselves. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The Lian family had no objections to this arrangement. Having settled the deal, they helped Shopkeeper Wu load the pickled cabbage onto the cart first, agreeing to settle the silver when they delivered more goods three days later.

After seeing off Shopkeeper Wu, the family returned to the room and sat down, their excitement palpable. Lian Shouxin, being the man of the house, was also the most pragmatic.

"We’ve agreed to the deal now, but in three days’ time, we need to deliver fifteen hundred pounds of pickled cabbage. Even if everyone in our family grew a few more arms, we still wouldn’t be able to manage," Lian Shouxin said.

"And there’s the cabbage," Lady Zhang added with a slight frown, "We have a lot planted in the backyard garden. Grandfather agreed, allowing us to take freely. It’s fine for us to sell a bit of pickled cabbage, but as time goes on, there will be talk from grandmother’s side, as well as from his elder and second uncles. Now that we need to pickle so much, even if no one says anything, we won’t have enough cabbage."

"You see, you’re unsure as well. Why did you agree so readily just now?" Lian Shouxin asked Lady Zhang.

"I may be unsure, but ways are devised by people," Lady Zhang said. "I thought that if we didn’t promptly agree to such a big deal, what if it fell through? I want to earn this money."

As she spoke, Lady Zhang looked at her children.

"Huahua has finally been married off, and that debt of several hundred silver coins, we won’t have to worry about it anymore. His elder uncle is bound to become an official, and their days will only get better... Zhizhi is also getting older, and in another couple of years she will be married off, then it will be Wu Lang’s turn to take a wife... We’ll manage somehow, but we can’t let our daughters and son down. We have many places to use money, and even if it breaks our hands, I must earn this money."

"You’re right," Lian Shouxin said. "We must earn the money that’s practically in our hands."

But how?

"Dad, mom, I’ve been pondering over this matter for a few days," Lian Manman quickly said. "The cabbage issue isn’t a problem, if we don’t have enough ourselves, we can buy some."

"Buy?"

"Yes, we’ll buy the cabbage from the village."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)