Chapter 28 The Excitement and Thrill of the Li Family's Profits

Li Su pointed to himself, "Us?"

"That's right! Even though you're scholars, you can't cut in line!"

"Exactly, exactly. Everyone's queuing up, and the boss and his wife made it clear—no one is allowed to cut in!"

The people in line all looked at the four of them, criticizing.

Li Zhengqiang, sharp-eyed, spotted Li Su and hurried over. "Fourth, come eat. After you finish, you can go back to your books." He had already set aside Li Su's portion, keeping it warm.

"This is my younger brother. He's here to eat, not to cut in line. Everyone misunderstood," Li Zhengqiang explained to the other customers.

"Oh, I see. Sorry..." The previously indignant customers now felt a bit embarrassed.

Lin Ze and the other two: "!!!" So this delicious stall belongs to Su's family! No wonder Su told them to follow.

Li Su wore a gentle smile. "It's fine. Everyone queues up in an orderly manner. If you think someone is cutting, it's good to speak up." He clearly approved of their actions.

Those people scratched their heads awkwardly. Was that a compliment? The young scholar's words were pleasant, making them feel happy inside.

No wonder the sign at the stall had such beautiful writing—turns out there's a scholarly younger brother in the family. With his graceful, polite demeanor, he certainly seems to have studied well.

Li Zhengqiang, seeing that Li Su had brought friends, whispered to him, "I'll cook a bit more for you all." He'd already prepared quite a lot for Li Su ahead of time, but it surely wasn't enough for four hungry young men.

"No need, Second Brother. You should serve the customers first. I'll let them taste a bit, and if they want more, they can buy it themselves. These three aren't lacking for money," Li Su said as he sat down and began to serve himself.

Li Zhengqiang paused, then smiled and shook his head as he looked at Li Su's calm demeanor. Very well, he'd listen to Fourth.

"Su, we'll go buy bowls of noodles ourselves, and you can give us some soup to mix in," Qin Ming said, his mouth watering at the aroma.

Qin Ming fetched the noodles, and Li Su ladled soup into their bowls, dividing up the skewers his brother had prepared for him.

Li Zhengqiang set up a small table behind the stall, which had been custom-made by Li Su—it could be folded up, and now it was just right for the four of them to eat together.

After a few bites, Qin Ming couldn't help but exclaim, "This is just too delicious—slurp!" He actually couldn't handle spicy food well, but he just couldn't resist.

Qin Ming thought about having his father buy more tomorrow. "Su, tell your brother and sister-in-law to prepare extra tomorrow. I'll have my dad come buy some." With one glance, Qin Ming saw that some people in the queue wouldn't even get a chance to purchase.

When Su mentioned his family had set up a stall here, the three had considered that if business was poor, they could have their families come support Su's family.

But now, it was clear that poor business was impossible—the stall was thriving.

Thanks to Su, they were able to eat today. Otherwise, even if their families wanted some, they'd have to queue honestly and might not get any.

"Alright." It was the first day at the stall, so they hadn't prepared much, but tomorrow they could make more.

Li Su noticed that his second brother and sister-in-law were quite adept, clearly talented in this area, which reassured him.

The four finished their meal and said goodbye to Li Zhengqiang before leaving.

...

Li Zhengqiang sold out all the food just during the lunch rush—not a single skewer remained.

Customers who hadn't managed to buy any couldn't help but say, "Tomorrow, you must prepare more. I waited so long and didn't get any."

Li Zhengqiang replied with a smile, "We'll definitely have more tomorrow. It's our first day, and we didn't expect business to be so good. I apologize."

His sincerity won the customers over. After all, it was his first day at the stall, and it wouldn't have made sense to prepare too much from the start.

The aroma lingered, watching others eat made their mouths water, yet they themselves didn't get any.

Other stall owners were stunned—how could such expensive food attract so many buyers? Was it really that tasty?

Those customers would haggle endlessly at their stalls, but at Li Zhengqiang's, they handed over their money quickly, afraid they'd miss out by hesitating even a moment.

At first, some tried to haggle, but Li Zhengqiang and Dong Fangfang refused to budge. As the queue grew, anyone who delayed at the front was hurried along by those behind, urged to hurry up or leave if they didn't want to buy.

So, haggling stopped. Choose quickly and pay—didn't they see the long line?

When the stall closed, Li Zhengqiang and Dong Fangfang were all smiles, barely able to contain their joy. They'd prepared a thousand skewers in total—seven hundred vegetable, three hundred meat. Preparing that much on the first day was already quite bold, but they had confidence in the flavor and figured any unsold food could be taken home and eaten themselves.

Whatever happened, they couldn't lose.

Selling out proved they'd earned at least a thousand coins today—an entire tael of silver! During the slack farming season, carrying heavy loads all day would only earn them twenty coins.

Li Zhengqiang and Dong Fangfang exchanged heated glances.

Unbelievable—if not for Fourth, they'd never have dreamed of earning a tael in a single day.

And customers wanted them to prepare more for tomorrow, meaning they could earn even more.

They placed the jar of money at the bottom of the cart's box.

Li Zhengqiang said to Dong Fangfang, "Wife, go buy some meat. We'll take it home for dinner."

Dong Fangfang nodded vigorously. Such days were things she'd never dared imagine before.

They returned home in the afternoon, while the rest of the Li family was still in the fields.

Li Zhengqiang and Dong Fangfang didn't count the money; they wanted to wait until everyone was home and count it together.

"Wife, cook the meat later and let everyone enjoy it." Life for the Li family had improved, with meat on the table every few days.

"Alright."

"You rest at home; I'll go help Father and Mother in the fields." After a short rest, Li Zhengqiang prepared to head out.

Dong Fangfang was pregnant, not far along, but Li Zhengqiang still felt for her.

She smiled at him. "Go ahead."

Li Zhengqiang shouldered his hoe and went to the fields. Li Daping saw him return and his expression changed. "Second, why are you back? Is something wrong?"

The Li family in the fields all looked over, worried.

Li Zhengqiang laughed heartily, his joy written all over his face. "No, no—everything went smoothly! We sold out! There were still plenty of customers in line who didn't get to buy, and they asked us to prepare more tomorrow."

"Really?"

Li Zhengqiang nodded emphatically. "Really!"

Excitement shone on the Li family's faces. It had worked! Now the family had a skill to earn money.

"Fangfang and I bought meat, so tonight we'll stew some."

"Good, let's finish this patch and head home," Feng Cuicui decided they'd return early today.

...

When Li Su returned home for dinner, the family had saved food for him.

After the meal, the Li family said they'd count the money. Li Su could already estimate the total, but since the family enjoyed counting it, he joined them.

Li Zhengqiang brought out the jar, and with a rattle, poured the coins onto the table.

The Li family: "!!!" So much money!

They stared at the pile, eyes gleaming with golden light.