Over here.
After finishing dinner, Luo Ge soaked the red beans needed for making mooncakes tomorrow.
Today, she made the lotus seed paste mooncakes first, as the beans for the red bean paste need to soak overnight; those will be made tomorrow.
"Wife, do you think this is acceptable?"
Gu Jinchen brought over a wooden block with holes, carved with a few small flower patterns, which he had just made into a small mold.
"It's fine, looks very nice."
She had asked him to make a cake stamp when they planned to make mooncakes, and now it was just completed.
Gu Jinchen's craftsmanship was indeed impressive; the little flower patterns looked quite lively.
Upon hearing Luo Ge's words, Gu Jinchen smiled, got up and sat next to her, helping her peel the lotus seeds.
The lotus seeds were bought by someone else; after peeling, the lotus seeds were steamed and cooked in a pot until they were soft enough to crush with a pinch.
Then, a small trough was used to grind the lotus seeds finer.
Gu Jinchen took care of this task while she made the mooncake dough.
Making mooncake dough wasn't difficult either. First, mix honey, cooking oil, alkaline water, and edible salt together. When completely mixed, add flour and knead into a dough.
By the time she prepared the dough, Gu Jinchen had already ground the lotus seeds.
The finely ground lotus seeds were put in a pot with sugar and cooked until thickened, adjusting the sweetness according to taste.
During cooking, they had to keep stirring to avoid burning.
When the moisture reduced, cooking oil was added in two portions and stirred together, which made it slightly thinner.
When cooked until the moisture reduced again, the lotus seed paste was ready.
Then, it was simple to wrap the mooncakes; flatten the dough, wrap it with lotus seed paste, and make sure there were no leaks.
Next, use the newly made mold to press down, and a mooncake was made.
The little ones also participated in this process, enjoying the fun of making mooncakes together as a family.
They didn't make many, just a few dozen, and they were done in no time.
From the beginning to now, it only took about an hour or so; they were quite fast.
"Auntie, are these mooncakes ready to eat? Can we eat them now?"
The two little ones looked eagerly at the mooncakes they made, full of curiosity.
"It seems very delicious and looks beautiful."
The younger one looked a bit greedy because the mooncakes really looked like they would be delicious.
Listening to the words of the two little ones, Luo Ge chuckled and patted their little heads.
"Not yet, they need to be baked first. Let's go back and rest. We can eat them when Big Treasure and Second Treasure wake up tomorrow."
"Let's go, back to rest." Upon hearing this, Gu Jinchen reached out and took the two little ones back to their room.
As for Luo Ge, she returned to the courtyard, lit some charcoal, and baked the finished mooncakes in the earth oven in the yard.
Many delicious foods require baking. When they build their house, they'll also need to have two earth ovens in the house.
With a time difference, she put the mooncakes in to bake, and in no time, they were ready.
"How is it? Does it taste okay?"
Not wanting to eat too much after dinner, she and Gu Jinchen shared one to taste.
Gu Jinchen looked at his dear wife, her face full of anticipation, and nodded with a smile.
"It's delicious."
Hearing his approval, Luo Ge was satisfied.
"That's good then. The Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion, wouldn't be complete without mooncakes."
As he listened intently to her speak, Gu Jinchen didn't miss the sparkle in her eyes.
Gently ruffling her hair with some tenderness, he chuckled, "Let me try making them tomorrow. Once I've got the hang of it, I'll make them for you every Mid-Autumn Festival from now on."
In a sense, this was the first truly fulfilling Mid-Autumn Festival for her with her family.
He knew she cared deeply about it, valued it.
Hearing his words, Luo Ge raised her eyebrows and smiled directly.
"Sure! You said it!"
"Yeah, I did."
...The next day.
If it weren't for the carriage parked outside early in the morning, Luo Ge would have almost forgotten that today was the day she had agreed with Li Shopkeeper to pick up the dried peach and plum.
"This is the dried peach, one hundred catties of fresh fruit, making twenty-five catties dried. Brother Li can give it a try."
Peaches have more moisture content than plums, so the dried fruit would be heavier.
"This is one hundred and twenty catties of dried plums. Tomorrow should be about the same."
With stable production every day now, today's batch was done drying, and the ones made a few days ago were also ready, creating a cycle of production. They should be able to ship out every day from now on.
Li Shopkeeper nodded, tasting the dried peach and finding it just as good as the plums, his eyes lighting up instantly.
Nodding repeatedly, he said, "Your craftsmanship is truly excellent. In the future, we'll provide you with fresh peaches, at the same price as plums, how does that sound?"
He knew peaches had a higher yield than plums, but they could still be sold at a price comparable to plums. The higher yield was just a win-win situation for them.
Knowing they would likely cooperate for a long time to come, he naturally wouldn't take advantage of Luo Ge and her family.
Seeing Li Shopkeeper speak like this, they had already thought it over, so they didn't mind.
Twenty-five catties of dried peach, 270 wen per catty, totaling thirty-nine taels.
One hundred and twenty catties of dried plum, 270 wen per catty, totaling thirty-nine taels.
Altogether, it amounted to thirty-nine taels.
And Li Shopkeeper didn't even ask for payment for the two thousand five hundred catties of fruit he brought.
"Brother Li, we should settle the accounts properly. This seems inappropriate."
Four wen per catty for two thousand five hundred catties of fresh fruit, which would yield about two hundred and fifty catties of dried fruit. She could probably sell sixty-seven taels, minus the ten taels, she would net fifty-seven taels, which wasn't a loss.
"In the future, we'll be working together. There's nothing inappropriate about it. And this is an instruction from the boss, from now on, even if we deliver the goods, it'll be at this price. Don't refuse, sister, thank Brother Li."
Hearing Li Shopkeeper's words, Luo Ge and the others were taken aback for a moment, then they smiled.
"In that case, we won't be overly polite. Thank you, Brother Li."
This is tantamount to their showing goodwill, as merchants live for profit.
Since it's a decision well-considered by the other party, naturally they don't need to refuse.
Seeing Luo Ge and the others so readily accepting, Li Shopkeeper nodded with a smile.
"These are some mooncakes I made in my spare time, a token of celebration for today. Li Big Brother, remember to try them when you go back." Luo Ge packed several pieces of mooncakes in oil paper for Li Shopkeeper to take with him, smiling.
Smelling the fragrance of the cakes, Li Shopkeeper, with shining eyes, naturally didn't refuse.
After bidding farewell to Luo Ge and the others, he left with his people.
... After Li Shopkeeper left, Luo Ge and the others opened the courtyard gate and continued to gather fruits.
It's probably evident to everyone when Li Shopkeeper comes to pick up goods.
They are also curious about how much money they can make by selling these dried fruits.
But no matter how they ask, Luo Ge and the others just vaguely respond with "not much."
For those who wanted to ask more, they said, "Auntie, are you still selling these plums? If not, we'll close up first. It's really exhausting to be busy like this every day."
"..." Hearing Luo Ge's ambiguous words and the icy gaze of Gu Jinchen behind her, Auntie smiled awkwardly and didn't dare to say anything.
"Wang Family, how much money have you made at Gu's house these days? Tell me, I'm curious too."
Seeing Auntie like this, Ma Feng Auntie asked with a face full of smiles.
"! What does it matter to you how much money my family makes?" Upon hearing this, Auntie immediately retorted without thinking.
"Oh, so you know!" Hearing Ma Feng Auntie's words, Luo Ge and Wang Sister-In-Law couldn't help but laugh.
Auntie: "... Let it go for now."
