Qingmu nodded. "Exactly. When people get jealous, they’re capable of anything. So, what about the cabbage and preserved meats? We’re not telling him about those yet?"

Juhua nodded. "The cabbage is fine. But for the preserved meats, even if we succeed in making them, we won’t have enough to sell to the public. It’s better to let the Chen Family try selling them at the restaurant first to see if people like them. If they do, we can make more next year once we have more pigs and it’s gained a bit of a reputation. If no one likes it, we’ll have to come up with another plan. Let’s keep this under wraps for now."

The next day, Li Changyu and Zhang Huai came to Juhua’s house together. School was out for the day because Mr. Zhou had been invited by Li Gengtian to discuss some matters regarding Li Changfeng’s participation in the provincial examination.

Seeing Juhua and Qingmu drying acorns from a distance, Li Changyu grinned and called out, "Little Sister Juhua, busy at work?"

Hearing Li Changyu’s warm and familiar tone, Zhang Huai fumed. ’When did you get so close to Juhua?’

Qingmu brought out two small stools, placed them under the eaves, and motioned for the two of them to sit.

Juhua didn’t say a word, waiting for Li Changyu to state the purpose of his visit.

Li Changyu didn’t beat around the bush, spilling his plan to open a shop like beans from a chute. He finished by saying to Juhua in earnest, "My family doesn’t have much capital for me to experiment with, and my brother needs a good deal of money for his studies—he’s taking the provincial examination next year to become a scholar. I was thinking of starting a small business selling this acorn tofu and buying the acorn flour from the village."

Juhua had, in fact, already thought this through. ’A snack food business in a place like Qinghui County would certainly be easier than at Xiatang Market. But I’m not going to give Li Changyu any ideas. He has to learn by trial and error to carve out his own path.’

So she smiled and said, "That’s a good idea. Our village’s acorn flour will have a market now."

Li Changyu laughed. "Well, for that to happen, I’ll need you to teach me how to make the tofu, won’t I, Little Sister Juhua? Juhua, if you do me this favor... I can’t just buy the recipe with silver like Chen Yu, but I can give you a share of the profits..."

Juhua waved a hand dismissively. "You haven’t earned a single coin yet, so there’s no point in talk like that. Every time I whip up a new tofu dish, I tell Liu Xiaomei and the others. The whole village knows how to make it. Even if you didn’t ask, your mother would find out eventually. Just make sure you aren’t too greedy and offer a fair price for our village’s acorn flour. That’s what matters. Don’t be a dishonest merchant."

Li Changyu immediately cried out, "Hey now, Little Sister Juhua! Am I that kind of person?"

Juhua laughed. "You aren’t now, but who knows about the future? Once you’ve been in business for a while, you start to value money more and more. Isn’t there a saying that ’merchants value profit above all else’?"

Li Changyu was at a loss for words. He wanted to make a promise, but he felt it would ring hollow.

He laughed sheepishly for a moment, gave Juhua a helpless look, and then turned to Qingmu and Zhang Huai. "She really has me there. What am I supposed to do?"

Seeing the look on his face, Qingmu and Zhang Huai laughed with undisguised schadenfreude.

Zhang Huai felt a knot in his stomach every time he heard Li Changyu call her "Little Sister Juhua," but he couldn’t say anything and just had to endure it. Thankfully, Juhua didn’t seem to pay Changyu any special mind, which made him feel a little better.

Seeing Juhua’s concern about the future, he thought for a moment, then turned to Li Changyu with a serious expression. "Changyu, you’ve been studying away from home for many years, so you’ve seen more of the world than Qingmu and I have. I just want to say one thing: if you were doing any other kind of business, it would be none of our concern. Whether you get rich or go bankrupt, that would be your affair. But since you plan to sell something our village produces, you have to keep the villagers in your heart. If you only look out for yourself, your business will have a hard time succeeding."

Qingmu nodded in agreement. "Don’t underestimate us country folk. We’re the type to remember old kindnesses. If you betray their trust, things could get difficult."

Li Changyu’s expression turned serious as well, the smile vanishing from his face. He said to the three of them, "We’re not at that stage yet, and you probably wouldn’t believe any promises I made right now anyway. Besides, the village needs acorns to feed the pigs, so you can’t sell me that many—that’s the first point. The second is that for the first year or two, I’m just going to be testing if this product can even sell. I need to learn the ropes myself—after all, I’ve never been in business before. Once things are running smoothly, we can talk about other arrangements. For now, the most important thing is for me to establish a foothold in Qinghui County and not lose money."

He then proceeded to explain his plans to them in detail.

According to him, he planned to set up shop in places where laborers like porters and cart drivers—the common peddlers and workers—tended to gather. The acorn tofu would be just one of his offerings; he planned to sell other things as well.

Juhua saw that his plan was quite methodical, and her expectations of him rose a little. ’At least he’s chosen the right customer base,’ she thought, ’and hasn’t come up with some wildly impractical approach.’