The Lucky Farmgirl has a Pocket Dimension - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Preparation

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Zhao Zhitong, who had defeated the entire village, stood on a tree branch and hugged it happily. Her smug expression did not last for a minute.

Sun Mei’s voice came from afar. “Zhao Zhitong! You’re climbing trees again!”

“Ah!” Zhao Zhitong shouted and quickly climbed down from the tree. “My mother called me. I have to go first. We’ll compete another day.”

With that, she ran away with her short legs.

Sun Mei brought Zhao Zhitong home and closed the door behind her. She scolded her angrily, “You’re really impressive, aren’t you?”

As soon as she came out of the village chief’s house, she heard the villagers discussing her daughter, saying that she was competing with others in the village.

When she rushed over, she saw a group of little kids gathered under the tree. Zhao Zhitong was standing on the tree like a monkey king. She looked so awe-inspiring that she wanted to cover her face.

“How can a girl like you not act like a girl at all? If your reputation spreads, who will dare to marry you when you grow up?”

Zhao Zhitong didn’t think there was anything wrong at all. She pouted and said coquettishly, “There are many people to marry.”

Every time she played house with her friends, they would fight for her to be their bride.

Sun Mei was speechless.

At this moment, Zhao Dong had also returned from Zhao Tufu’s house. When he pushed open the door, he saw his wife and precious daughter confronting each other. He asked, “What happened?”

Sun Mei was furious. She placed Zhao Zhitong in Zhao Dong’s arms and said angrily, “I can’t control your daughter. You can control her yourself.”

Then, he recounted how Zhao Zhitong had slaughtered everyone at the village entrance.

“Yo!” Zhao Dong looked proud when he heard that. “Daughter, you’re so awesome! You’re like your father back then.”

Sun Mei was speechless.

Zhao Zhitong’s face was filled with admiration. “Wow, Daddy, were you very good at climbing trees when you were young?”

Zhao Dong instantly started to show off. “Of course. The entire school was no match for me. Back then…”

Sun Mei was speechless. “Zhao Dong!”

I asked you to educate your child, but you’re bragging.

Seeing his wife’s expression, Zhao Dong instantly restrained himself and hurriedly changed the topic, pretending to be serious. “Ahem, but although you’re awesome, you still have to listen to your mother. You can’t climb trees in the future. Otherwise, I’ll spank your little butt.”

Zhao Zhitong hugged Zhao Dong’s neck and said coquettishly, “Okay, Tongtong will listen to Mother.”

After Sun Mei entered the kitchen, Zhao Dong put Zhao Zhitong down and pinched her little face. “Baby, you’re awesome. Go play by yourself. Father and Mother still have to send tofu to your uncles.”

With that, Sun Mei came out of the kitchen with the tofu.

…

In addition to sending it a few good neighbors, Sun Mei also carried a few bowls of beancurd to the well in the village.

Many villagers would often gather there to chat. She would let everyone taste the food as a free advertisement.

When she returned, it was almost dark.

Zhao Dong had already started cooking in the kitchen. Although his skills were not good, he could cook porridge and heat up steamed buns.

When Sun Mei returned, the porridge was already cooked. She stir-fried two dishes. One was stir-fried tofu dregs, and the other was garlic cabbage.

After a day, the vegetables in the vegetable garden were edible. The spinach was picked from the vegetable garden.

Here, they called it water spinach. It was a very common vegetable. Basically, every family’s vegetable garden would grow it.

Originally, Sun Mei’s culinary skills were good. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the spinach that night felt even more refreshing and delicious than before.

The refreshing spinach, coupled with the fragrance of the garlic, was simply superb. The family was very satisfied.

Zhao Dong praised her generously, “Wife, your culinary skills are getting better and better.”

Zhao Zhitong rubbed her round tummy and praised her mother’s cooking.

As they were going to start selling tofu the day after tomorrow, the two of them started preparing the tofu after dinner tonight.

Zhao Dong first moved out a large vat from the storeroom. This vat was originally used to store food.

After washing it, it could be used to soak beans. The vat was quite big and about a meter tall. It could soak two hundred catties of beans at once.

There was no standard on the first day of selling tofu. Zhao Dong’s intention was to soak 50 catties of beans to test the waters.

By the time everything was done, it was already very late. Zhao Dong and Sun Mei hurriedly washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, before dawn, the two of them woke up early. Zhao Dong took advantage of the early morning to fill the two large vats in the courtyard with water.

Then, together with Sun Mei, they packed the soaked beans in a sack and carried them onto the cart.

In order to facilitate transportation, they would have to carry it in sacks first. When they reached the mill, they would just have to add water. In any case, the mill was right next to the river.

Sun Mei placed a few large wooden buckets on the cart. After securing them, Zhao Dong pushed them out the door.

He walked all the way to the front of the village. After crossing the bridge and walking along the river for a while, he reached the mill.

The mill was built very close to the river. It drew water into its path and could spin day and night with the help of the water flow.

Next to the mill, there was also a watershed built. It was creaking as it spun and shedding the shells of rice.

The water mill and the watershed were both built by the gentry of Xiaoyi Village. They were the only ones in the surrounding villages.

The Wei family was the ancestral home of Squire Wei. His ancestors had raised a few scholars. Now, one of them had become a county magistrate outside. In this area, the Wei family was considered a big family.

The current head of the Wei family, Old Master Wei, did not study much, but he had high hopes for the younger generation. Sun Mei’s private school was built by the Wei family for the children to study.

The person in charge of the water mill was a middle-aged man. When he saw Zhao Dong pulling the cart over, he greeted him warmly.

Seeing that he was actually going to grind the beans, he was a little surprised, but he did not say anything.

Zhao Dong asked about the price for production. He learned that he was charged based on time. Two copper coins per hour. 50 catties of beans could be grinded in one morning.

Zhao Dong calculated that it was quite worth it and paid the deposit.

“What’s your name?” The middle-aged man took out an account book and asked.

“Zhao Dong.”

“Okay.” The middle-aged man held a brush and wrote a line of words. Zhao Dong saw from the corner of his eye that they were all traditional words, some of which he did not recognize.

However, he could roughly guess that he had recorded his name, what kind of food he was grinding, and how much deposit he had paid.

In the end, the middle-aged man asked Zhao Dong to give him a handprint and let him go back. Before Zhao Dong left, he even instructed him to come back in the middle. Otherwise, there might not be enough wooden barrels.

Zhao Dong nodded in agreement. There was no need for him to guard here. It was very convenient to make a trip in the middle. He thanked him and pulled the cart back.