The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 126

 

| TBBOTOF | 126

Even though his initial expectations were very optimistic, hoping to sell and make money, when it came time to actually sell them, It was a huge success. 

The colorful snow skin mooncakes—Tang Xu deliberately used bamboo charcoal powder to create some black snow skin, carefully pressing them into shapes. Even if the villagers couldn't read, once they understood the colors, they gladly paid for a small box.

Are they expensive?

Yes, but they willingly paid.

Why?

Who doesn't like auspicious phrases? In the past, people used to paste auspicious phrases on their doors during the New Year, listening to them, but now, they can eat them! Especially the elderly in the village, they really love snow skin mooncakes. It's not just the auspicious phrases that make them happy; they genuinely enjoy them.

When Tang Xu used to sell cold noodles before, these elderly people would often spend money to buy them, and this time, the snow skin mooncakes were even more popular.

For the traditional mooncakes, Tang Xu prepared several fillings, not just the common ones like red bean paste, five-nut, and jujube paste, but also various fruit jam fillings—both sweet and savory, including salted egg yolk and cured meat fillings.

When these two types of savory mooncakes were made, Tang Xu had people taste them first. Wei Zhonghong and Tang Dahu didn't miss out either; they took quite a few.

The feedback was positive, especially from the men who really liked the savory mooncakes.

Tang Xu then began to make them in large quantities. He would prepare them the day before, let them sit overnight to allow the oils to settle, and then start selling them the next day. As for the salted egg yolks, they were made fresh and sold on the same day, with production being adjusted daily.

Initially, Tang Xu worried about making too much in the village and wouldn't be able to sell them all, thinking he could sell the excess in town. However, the demand exceeded his expectations. 

Not only did villagers buy them, but people from nearby villages also rushed over upon hearing the news.

Upon hearing about the popularity, Fuyun Restaurant also sent people to buy a considerable amount. Chef Liu, who had previously overseen the kitchen, was replaced by a new chef from the city who was reputed for his expertise in hot dishes.

This new chef had a somewhat arrogant temperament. Initially, he dismissed Tang Xu's cold pot skewer seasoning packets, but after several failed attempts to replicate the taste, he gave up. 

However, he couldn't deny the quality and taste of Tang Xu's snow skin mooncakes and salted egg yolks. The handmade flavors were exceptionally good, leaving him impressed.

Tang Xu hadn't anticipated his culinary skills receiving so much attention. Previously, his seasoning packets had caught the envy of restaurants in town. Now, with various types of mooncakes available, even pastry shops were showing interest.

In any case, the mansion was bustling every day. They had set up two new ovens in the backyard. Tang Xu was in charge of preparing the fillings, Liu Yao and Tang Li handled the flour and cake powder, Luo Pingping and Wei Zhonghong were responsible for wrapping them, Xu Ze managed the fire and timing, while Tang Yang and Wei Xi were busy with household chores and studies.

As a father, Tang Erhu felt he couldn't just sit idle; he pitched in for various tasks.

As the autumn harvest approached, Tang Rui returned. This time, he seemed different from before, as if he had suddenly matured a lot. 

Whether it was sincere or not, at least after coming back, he didn't just idle around but was willing to help with various tasks, even joining Tang Erhu to work in the fields for a while.

Speaking of which, because counting every copper coin sold daily was too tedious, Tang Xu entrusted the accounting to Wei Xi and Tang Yang. 

Every afternoon after they sold a batch, a large bamboo basket filled with copper coins would be sent over to the two young boys, who were responsible for counting and stringing them. It was agreed with everyone that they would settle accounts together after this profitable wave.

The lively sales continued every day. Tang Xu could hear the hustle and bustle in the courtyard as soon as he woke up. Since Luo Pingping was needed to help out in making mooncakes here, Luo Pingping hadn't returned back home but was staying in the west wing, and became neighbors with Old doctor Xu.

She was the earliest riser every day, preparing breakfast and then gradually waking up the rest of the household, starting another busy day.

And Wei Dong? He was busy taking care of his child! 

Although the chubby little one stuck to Tang Xu, Wei Dong had no choice but to carry his two-month-old son in and out, becoming the exclusive "nanny." Of course, he enjoyed it, especially when he could hold the baby in one arm and help Tang Xu with the other. 

Tang Xu would teasingly comment on his muscular arms, and Wei Dong would playfully smile back.

On August 14th, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, after selling all the mooncakes early in the morning, their ten-day mooncake sale came to a successful end. 

At noon, they prepared a large feast to reward themselves. Tang Xu raised his glass, smiling warmly as he thanked everyone.

During the meal, the adults drank some alcohol and, slightly tipsy, didn't bring up the matter of splitting the money. 

Tang Xu returned to his room to nap, planning to wake up later and divide the money after dinner. 

However...

The next day, when he opened his eyes, Tang Xu found himself lying on the kang with a sore back, stiff legs, and muscle cramps. He rarely cursed Wei Dong several times like a beast.

Wei Dong kissed his soft cheek. "You praised my arm strength. I can't help but show it off."

Tang Xu shook his legs to kick him.

Was that showing off?

He didn't want to lose face!!!

From afternoon till evening, Wei Dong not only showed off his arm strength but also his waist strength!

Tang Xu: "......"

So he was digging his own grave!

He didn't want to speak anymore.

He turned over and lay flat on the kang.

"Aren't you getting up?" Wei Dong asked.

"I can't get up," Tang Xu replied hoarsely. Feeling a kick on his thigh, he turned his head and saw his son kicking on the kang.

Tang Xu covered his face.

Yesterday when they were making a ruckus, it was Luo Pingping who took care of the kid all night without sending him back. He wondered if that little rascal cried.

Thank goodness for Aunt Luo, otherwise there would be no one looking after the child.

Thinking about it made Tang Xu more angry. He struggled to get up, holding his chubby son in his arms, glaring at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong sighed. It's not easy for him either! 

During his pregnancy, he was afraid of hurting the child, so he had to endure it.

He looked forward to it day and night, when the child finally came out, it was even more distressing.

Tang Xu had to recover physically and take care of the child. Not to mention intimacy; they slept together less often.

As for Wei Dong's body, it didn't matter when he was abstaining, but after marriage, he couldn't endure it for so long!

These things, really can't be too stressed, too exhausting.

"Has Big Aunt come over?" He looked up at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong went to feed the child milk, holding a ceramic bottle in his hand, shaking it to cool it down. Hearing this, he nodded. "She came early in the morning. She heard you were still asleep, so she went back."

Tang Xu: "..." Embarrassing.

"Go call her over. Let's settle the money."

"Okay." Wei Dong nodded. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and the evening is basically a family reunion day. Luo Pingping had been talking about going back early.

Tang Xu patted the chubby child in his arms and looked down at him.

His chubby son blinked his big, shiny black eyes, with long and curly eyelashes.

"Who do you look like, you chubby boy who's not even a hundred days old?" He lowered his head and gently rubbed the smooth cheek with his chin. "Dad needs to get up and wash, play by yourself for a while."

Turning aside, he set the child down and tossed two cloth toys to him. Tang Xu got off the kang and put on his shoes.

It's probably around midday now (around 10 o'clock), breakfast is late, lunch is early.

Tang Xu wasn't hungry either, so he sat in the hall and looked at the account book.

The records in front were still a bit messy. After Tang Xu looked at them once, he taught the two children how to use the form to record, and Wei Xi was mainly responsible, and he wrote it very well.

The expenses and income were clearly written, who does what, and how much is roughly written down.

Tang Xu nodded while flipping through it. He roughly knew how much he earned, but after looking at it intuitively, his heart was still not calm.

They counted ten days full and earned three hundred taels, or net profit, which was quite a lot.

With many people working busily, Tang Xu felt that this job could continue.

He took out one hundred and fifty taels, leaving the rest to be distributed among the others.

From old to young, everyone gets money.

In addition to Tang Xu and the other four people busy in the kitchen, each person received twenty taels (Wei Zhonghong, Luo Pingping, Tang Li, Liu Yao).

The other six people each received ten taels (Tang Erhu, Tang Rui, Tang Yang, Wei Xi, old doctor Xu, Xu Ze).

With ten taels left, Tang Xu turned his head and handed it to Wei Dong.

Wei Dong didn't understand, why give him money?

Tang Xu smiled and said, "Taking care of the baby is hard work."

Wei Dong smiled, put the money in his purse, and hung it around his waist.

"Time will you change all those copper coins into silver coins, leaving no silver," Tang Xu instructed as he divided the money this time, taking out the silver he had stored. There were too many copper coins, and he couldn't just give them away in bulk; that would be cumbersome.

Wei Dong nodded in agreement.

Wei Zhonghong and Luo Pingping didn't expect to receive twenty taels of silver each. While they saw the business thriving, they felt uneasy about taking so much without doing much work. 

However, they both understood that Tang Xu wouldn't bargain with them; what he gave was what he gave, and complaining might only make him angry.

The two glanced at each other, wrapped the silver in handkerchiefs, and tucked them away with bright smiles.

"Big brother, this is for you," Tang Li returned the silver to Tang Xu.

Tang Erhu also handed back the silver, saying, "This isn't enough for repaying the loan for building the house, but at least it's a partial repayment."

Tang Xu's mouth twitched. "Dad, you..."

"What, I borrowed it, how can I not pay it back? Besides, I'm not repaying the twenty taels you gave to Ah Yang and Ah Rui; I still haven't fully repaid you back," Tang Erhu retorted sternly.

Tang Xu closed his mouth and reached out to gather the thirty taels of silver to himself, looking at his father with an expression that suggested, “Fine, I’ll keep it.”

After distributing the silver, it was time to get back to work and cooking.

Tang Erhu and the others went back to rest, saying that they would come back to celebrate the festival later.

Lunch was a simple affair,  and just after they finished eating, Tang Rui went to find Tang Erhu and handed him ten taels of silver.

Tang Erhu didn't say much more. He called Tang Li over to exchange the silver into smaller pieces and gave eight taels to Tang Rui.

Tang Rui pursed his lips and remained silent for a while.

"Remember, when you work hard, you'll appreciate what you achieve even more," Tang Erhu patted his eldest son's shoulder, speaking with deep meaning.

Tang Rui nodded quietly. He understood, he knew.

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