Chapter 9

“If you think the previous money-making idea had high costs, I have another one with lower expenses. It only requires potatoes, lard, and some spices…” Gu Xinxin said excitedly: “As for lard, you only need to buy it once and it can be used many times. The spices are somewhat expensive though we need Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel leaves, salt, chili peppers, and white sugar…”

There was no chicken bouillon available, and there was truly no solution for that. She didn’t know the recipe for chicken bouillon, and even if she did, it probably couldn’t be made now anyway. Her stepmother would never give her a chicken to waste.

“We can use these potatoes to make a snack,” Gu Xinxin explained. “It tastes really good, and people will definitely like it.”

Second Aunt hesitated for a moment: “Why don’t you make some for us to try first?”

These ingredients were already available at home, so there was no need to buy additional ones. Making a small portion would be fine even if it didn’t taste good or couldn’t make money, it could at least give the children something different to eat and satisfy their sweet tooth.

Gu Xinxin nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare the seasonings. Second, Aunt followed her instructions, washing and cutting the potatoes to prepare for making jagged potatoes and fries. There were two flavors the jagged potatoes were savory, while the fries were sweet.

However, there was no ketchup available for the fries now. Without ketchup, they lacked their soul, and the taste probably wouldn’t be very good. There was another option sweet plum fries, which were also sweet and required sweet plum powder, but that wasn’t feasible under current conditions either.

So, what seemed simple couldn’t be made, while what appeared more complicated turned out to be easier to prepare.

The two of them worked busily in the kitchen for quite a while. The jagged potatoes were most delicious right after being cooked soft and glutinous yet slightly crispy, with full flavor.

Second, Aunt couldn’t resist and immediately ate half a bowl.

Meeting Gu Xinxin’s gaze, she quickly explained: “The flavor is just too irresistible. Once I start eating, I can’t help myself.”

Gu Xinxin smiled: “Second Aunt, do you think people would like to eat this?”

Second Aunt nodded vigorously, anything delicious would have people who liked it. She said to Gu Xinxin: “Help me calculate how much this bowl you just made cost, and how much we should sell such a portion to avoid losing money.”

This was precisely why farming families rarely went into business, even just calculating costs and selling prices could be quite confusing.

Sometimes after all the effort and hard work, investing both materials and labor, they would end up losing money when calculating the final income.

How many literate people were there in farming families? Even if there were, why would unrelated people be willing to help with calculations?

Gu Xinxin became serious at this point, first scanning the ingredients and asking about the prices: “How much does this cost per tael? How much is left in this container?”

Sichuan peppercorns and star anise were expensive, costing nearly half a tael of silver per tael of spice. What Second Aunt had at home was bought during the previous New Year celebration. She had been saving it until now, reluctant to use it.

“One serving should be sold for twelve copper coins using this bowl size,” Gu Xinxin said, having experience with such matters and quickly setting the price. “We can pair it with a drink – sour plum soup. The cost of sour plum soup is low, with one portion of ingredients able to make a large pot. We can sell it for three copper coins per bowl.”

Gu Xinxin smiled and asked: “Second Aunt, please think carefully about whether you want to do this business. If you’re willing, I’ll explain the seasoning recipe to you in detail later.”

There was no need to teach them how to make the remaining fried potatoes these experienced cooks were more skilled than her.

By late morning, Gu Xinxin returned home carrying a small bowl of jagged potatoes.

Gu Chenshi was out, and neither Gu Wenshu nor Gu Qiuhe was home either.

She placed the bowl in her room and locked the door before heading to the kitchen to prepare lunch. To her dismay, she found the cupboard locked again. Gu Xinxin twitched her lips in frustration and simply went back to her room to lie down.

She had nearly dozed off again when footsteps sounded outside.

Getting up to check, she saw it was Gu Daniu returning with Gu Xiangrong.

She quickly called out to the father and son, “Stepmother locked the cupboard, so I couldn’t make lunch. Luckily, Second Aunt gave me a small bowl of something delicious. Come and try it.”

Gu Daniu was initially furious, anyone would be after working hard all morning, returning tired and hungry, only to find no food ready. But as soon as the potatoes were brought out, their bold aroma filled the air. Frowning, he picked up a piece with his fingers, then urged Gu Xiangrong to fetch bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen. Between bites, he asked, “This must have used a lot of ingredients. Why would your Second Aunt give you a whole bowl?”

“It was my idea. She made this based on my suggestion,” Gu Xinxin replied with a light laugh. “She gave me a bowl to thank me.”

Then she called toward the main room, “Almost forgot Grandma, are you home? Time to eat.”

Old Mrs. Gu had been waiting and hurried out as soon as she heard. Taking the bowl and chopsticks handed to her by Gu Xiangrong, she took a bite and nodded. “The flavor is quite good, but it’s a bit wasteful. Probably fried in lard, right?”

Gu Xinxin ignored her.

The small bowl wasn’t enough to fill the four of them, but Gu Xinxin was no longer hungry.

Just as she was about to return to her room, Gu Chenshi came back with Gu Qiuhe and Gu Wenshu, a slight smile on her face. “Xinxin, did you make lunch? I just took Qiuhe to gather some locust leaves. We can rinse them and make locust leaf noodles?”

Gu Wenshu caught the scent first and rushed over, only to find nothing left. He immediately flared up, “You ate something tasty behind my back!”

He tugged at Gu Chenshi’s clothes, whining, “Mom, Big Sister used the family’s ingredients again to make something good! Beat her for it!”

Gu Xinxin grabbed a fire poker from the kitchen and swatted him. “No respect for your elders! Is this how you treat your sister? If you dare treat me like this today, will you try to beat Grandma and Dad tomorrow?”

Caught off guard, Gu Wenshu burst into loud sobs. Gu Chenshi, heart aching, grabbed Gu Xinxin’s arm. “How dare you hit him? Who gave you permission?”

Gu Xinxin dodged behind Gu Daniu. “Dad, you tell me, doesn’t he deserve a beating? ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child’ weren’t those your words? Xiangrong used to get beaten for taking an extra bite of food. Now he says, ‘beat my sister to death,’ and no one cares?”

Gu Daniu, hungry and irritable, snapped, “Enough! Gu Chenshi, unlock the cupboard and make lunch. From now on, since Xinxin is cooking, don’t lock that cupboard again, or she might just break it like last time. And Wenshu, show some respect to your elder sister.”

After a pause, he asked, “Did you just teach your Second Aunt how to make these potatoes?”

Gu Xinxin raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “Yes, Second Aunt has been good to me. When I used to go hungry before, she secretly gave me food. She treats me much better than our own family does. And I’m someone who always repays kindness.”

Unexpectedly, Gu Daniu was quite perceptive had he realized the value of jagged potatoes?

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