Fortunate Eighties: The Bewitching Female Rival Who Tamed Her Husband with Skill-Chapter 3 - : Brined Foods

Hearing the little one's voice, Susu lavished him with praise without holding back. "Xiao Yu, you're awesome."

Mrs. Lu also smiled happily as she touched the little tyke's chubby cheeks.

With his little face turning red with pride, Xiao Yu shouted even louder.

"Hey, if even the kids say it's tasty, let me have a taste. If I don't like it, I won't buy it," said a short-haired woman passing by with a lunchbox.

Susu quickly handed over the prepared meat and vegetarian samples to the woman. "Try it, sis, and you'll know. If you don't like it, no pressure to buy."

The short-haired woman, originally just drawn over by the cute child, didn't expect it to be really delicious. She immediately asked, "It's pretty good. How do you sell it?"

"Vegetarian dishes are sixty cents, meat dishes one twenty. If you use my bowls, just add an extra twenty cents, which you'll get back when you return the bowls. Sis, would you like some of each?"

"Sure, one catty each. I'll take it home for the family to try," said the woman with ear-level short hair, a straightforward person who promptly paid.

Susu quickly packed the dishes up and handed them over with a cheerful smile. "You're my first customer today, so I've thrown in an extra half-catty of vegetarian for free. Enjoy and come back soon, okay?"

After sending the short-haired woman on her way, more and more people came by, attracted by the aroma, buying various amounts to take away.

"Grandma, I want to eat, I want to eat."

The old lady, hounded by her grandson and upon hearing the price, immediately frowned and complained, "Why so expensive? A catty of pork is only seventy cents, you're making a killing! How can you do business like this?"

Susu, unfazed and still smiling, replied, "Auntie, our prices are clear and upfront. Besides, don't you also need to use seasoning when you cook meat at home? That costs money too."

"Goodness me, how much can a bit of seasoning cost? Give me a discount, I want to buy some for my grandson to try."

"You want half a catty of each, meat and vegetables, right?"

As she spoke to more customers, Susu weighed the dishes and said, "I'm sorry, old lady, I can't do that. If you feel it's not worth it, you might want to look elsewhere."

"Grandma, I want it, I want to eat..."

"Give me half a catty of the meat dish, and make sure you weigh it properly."

The old lady, harried by her crying and fussing grandson, begrudgingly bought half a catty.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

Mrs. Lu accurately weighed it, raising the scale's arm high. "Don't worry, auntie. Our scale arm is always raised high, so you surely won't be shortchanged."

Xiao Yu stared intently at the money box, his big eyes not blinking, terrified that the money would blow away or get stolen.

Before long, the marinades sold out.

Exhausted but happy, the family of three began to pack up for home.

"Xiao Yu?"

"Hmm?"

"Ah—"

Following the youngster's cry, Xiao Yu was scooped up onto the back seat of the bicycle by Susu.

Xiao Yu, somewhat bewilderingly, called out, "Aunt?"

"We worked hard today, Xiao Yu. Let's go home."

Feeling the little guy sneak peeks at her now and then, Susu couldn't resist teasing him. Seeing his cheeks turn redder and redder with each time he was caught, Susu laughed so hard she nearly cried.

"Aiyo, look how red we've made Xiao Yu's little face."

Mrs. Lu, caught between laughter and sympathy, playfully slapped her daughter-in-law. "You little rascal, why do you tease the kids too?"

Seeing this, Xiao Yu promptly reached out to tug at grandma's hand. "Grandma, Aunt didn't bully Xiao Yu."

"Ha ha ha..."

Seeing how eager the little one was, both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hey, what are the three of you mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws doing that's so joyful?"

Father Lu appeared behind the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, smiling and joking, "I heard your laughter from a mile away."

Seeing her husband, Mrs. Lu's already excited mood became uncontrollable. She immediately told Father Lu in a suppressed, excited whisper.

Upon hearing the news, Father Lu was also overjoyed and gave a thumbs up to the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law.

"You three are really amazing, it's just..."

Mrs. Lu glared at her husband, "Saved, saved, how could we forget you, old man. We'll have braised dishes for lunch."

Watching the bickering old couple, Susu laughed, her eyes curving into crescents, and pinched the confused little guy's cheeks.

Xiao Yu: "."

After the meal, the family of four stared at the table at the 19 yuan and 50 cents.

"Slap—"

Mrs. Lu smacked her hand on the table, her eyes ablaze, "We earned so much money just in one morning? If we do more each day, won't we make a fortune?!!"

Father Lu tugged at his wife's clothes, suggesting she listen to what their daughter-in-law had to say.

Being stared at by her mother-in-law's blinking eyes, Susu struggled to hold back a laugh. "Mom, for now, we'll stick to the plan: one pot in the morning and one in the afternoon, which can earn us about thirty or forty yuan a day. We only have two people right now; we can't handle any more. Once things are stable, we can hire someone else."

Mrs. Lu was about to speak when Father Lu interrupted her, "Listen to what the young one says, no amount of money is worth neglecting your health."

Feeling a tug at her sleeve, Susu looked down in confusion to see the little one pointing at himself with a serious face, "Auntie, Xiao Yu can help too."

Susu was amused by the little guy's earnestness, pinched his cheek, and nodded, "Auntie, I misspoke, we'll have our Xiao Yu to help."

"Mom, I can't expect you to work for nothing. I'll give you 40 yuan a month to cover your hard work, and we have to pay Xiao Yu a salary too—10 yuan."

Upon hearing that her daughter-in-law wanted to pay her, Mrs. Lu became upset, "What's this about taking money for helping family? I don't want it, you stop it right there."

"Mom, if you don't take it, I won't let you help with the work. I'll hire someone else instead."

In the end, it was Father Lu who convinced Mrs. Lu to accept the money.

When it was just the old couple left, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but complain to Father Lu.

Father Lu shook his head, "Our daughter-in-law won't feel at ease if you don't take the money. Just accept it for now; think of it as saving for the young couple. If they need it later, they can take it out."

Taking Xiao Yu back to the room, as soon as Susu placed the little guy on the bed, she heard his soft and mellow voice, "Auntie, Xiao Yu doesn't want the money."

"No way, Auntie can't let people work for free."

The little one furrowed his brows, thought for a while, and then said, "Then Auntie, please keep the money for Xiao Yu. I'm too young, I might lose it."

Susu was so moved by the little one that she affectionately pinched his nose and nodded in agreement.

To make selling the braised goods easier, Father Lu specially bought a brand-new ladies' bicycle for Susu that afternoon and insisted on not accepting any money from his daughter-in-law.

Susu kept all her in-laws' kindness in her heart.

The very next morning, she bought a bunch of ingredients, and the three women started to get busy.

After the first pot of braised food was ready, they headed straight to the textile factory to sell.

There were quite a few repeat customers who had eaten the day before.

"Give me three pounds of the meat dishes and three pounds of the vegetarian today. Yesterday, some of my nephews came over for dinner; they're teenagers with big appetites and finished it all in just a few bites. Today I'll buy more," said the lady with ear-length bobbed hair, laughing heartily.

"Hey, since you're buying so much, big sister, I'll give you some extra vegetarian and meat dishes."

In no time at all, the entire pot of braised food was sold out.

As the three women were packing up to return home, they were suddenly stopped by the same old lady from yesterday, "Wait, don't go."