Gu Yi's boiled peanuts and "drunken peanuts" initially sold very well at Boss Wang's place.
Now they usually sell around 10 pounds of boiled peanuts a day, and 20 pounds of drunken peanuts every five days.
Gu Yi isn't as busy as she was at the beginning, and Ye Qian has learned to make them too, so Gu Yi just assists on the side.
Therefore, apart from the money spent on buying peanuts from her parents' home, she gives the rest to Ye's mother. She is considering handing this task over to Ye Qian and Ye's mother while she looks for other opportunities.
So lately, Gu Yi has temporarily focused on her grand project of losing weight and slimming down.
Apart from soaking her feet and doing yoga every day, she also takes a half-hour walk along the dirt road in front of the house every morning. She wonders if it's her imagination, but she feels a bit lighter, and her clothes seem looser.
There's no scale around, so she doesn't know her exact weight.
She plans to visit the grain station in town someday to weigh herself, as they have large scales for weighing grains there.
One day, she saw a lot of soybeans and mung beans at home, so she thought of sprouting some bean sprouts to add to the family's meals.
If conditions permit, she could also sell some in the county, earning a bit more money.
Gu Yi feels that earning money has now genuinely become fun for her, and she enjoys it every day.
To make bean sprouts at home, she needed some wooden boxes. After searching everywhere inside and outside the house, she couldn't find any suitable ones.
She picked a day to return to the Gu Family home and asked her dad to help make a few wooden boxes.
Once completed, Gu's father had her second brother from the Gu Family deliver them to her.
One day, while Gu Yi was soaking soybeans in warm water at home, she heard someone knocking at the courtyard door.
"Excuse me, is this Ye Hao's home, Captain Ye's place?"
Gu Yi turned around to see a person in military uniform, guessing that he might be Ye Hao's comrade.
"Yes, this is Ye Hao's home. May I ask what's up?"
Ye Fu and Ye's mother came out after hearing the voices.
"I serve in the same unit with him. My home is in a neighboring town. I'm here visiting my family, and Captain Ye asked me to bring something back for him."
He said this while handing over the items.
"Thank you, thank you. Sorry to trouble you to make the trip. Please come in and rest for a while."
Ye Fu took the items and invited the person in.
"No, no, Uncle, Aunt, once I've delivered the items, my task is complete. I have things to do at home, so I'll head back first."
"Alright, kid, come and visit us some other time. Thanks!"
Ye Fu didn't insist, knowing how rare it is for soldiers like Ye Hao to get home and how they would want to spend more time with their families.
Ye Fu brought the items back into the living room, "Yiyi, come here, Hao Hao brought you something."
Gu Yi guessed it was definitely some five-spice powder. But when she walked in, Ye's mother handed her a red silk scarf, leaving her a bit puzzled. This wasn't quite like something Ye Hao would do; in her past life, he hardly ever gave her gifts.
Ye Fu and Ye's mother, looking at the liberation shoes, felt both happy and a bit concerned about the cost as Ye Qian came upon hearing the voices.
"Did brother bring me anything?"
"How could your brother forget you? Here you go."
Ye's mother handed the red silk scarf to Ye Qian.
"Wow, last time I told brother I wanted a red silk scarf, I didn't expect he'd remember. I have to write a letter to praise him properly."
Ye Qian said, while trying on the red silk scarf.
"Let your sister-in-law write it, why are you getting involved with all the fuss?" Ye's mother quickly interjected Ye Qian's words.
"Alright, that's fine too. Sister-in-law, could you help me praise my brother? The gift he picked this time suits me perfectly."
Ye Qian knows Ye's mother's good intentions. She quite likes Gu Yi now and hopes for her brother to deepen his relationship with Gu Yi.
"Yiyi, could you write a letter to Hao Hao? Tell him that we've received the items, everything's fine at home, and that he should take care of himself in the military, okay!"
This was the task given to Gu Yi.
"Okay, mom." Gu Yi didn't refuse, as Ye Hao had brought back quite a bit of five-spice powder this time, enough to last a while.
She just noticed there was also fennel and cumin, so she had to thank him properly, even though it was Ye Qian who wanted the red silk scarf, it was nice of him to remember to bring her one too.
Ye Qian wore the silk scarf to the village, saying she wanted to show it to the girls there, but she was really just going to show off.
Gu Yi tidied up the items and moved the soaking beans from the yard into the kitchen, to prevent them from getting ruined by the afternoon sun outside. After sorting things out, she went back to her room to write a letter to Ye Hao.
Ye Hao: Hello, the items you sent have been received by the family. Dad and mom really like the shoes you bought, though they're a bit concerned about the money spent.
Ye Qian says she wants to praise you well, she remembered the scarf she wanted, and the whole family is very happy.
Mom asked me to tell you that everything is fine at home, no need to worry, and to take care of yourself in the military.
Lastly, thank you for buying back the fennel and cumin. Gu Yi.
After writing, Gu Yi found some time to mail the letter.
On the third day, the beans had sprouted small shoots, Gu Yi picked out the bad ones and lined a wooden box with a towel, poured the sprouted beans in, covered them with a wet towel, put a wooden board on top, and finally weighed it down with a stone.
Gu Yi placed the wooden box in the shed behind the kitchen, watering them twice a day.
Recently, the weather was warm, and on the afternoon of the fourth day, Gu Yi removed the wooden board. The bean sprouts looked crisp and lively, looking particularly delightful.
Only without adding things like chemical fertilizers as people do in later times, they weren't particularly bulky, but they were unquestionably pure and pollution-free.
In the evening, Gu Yi cooked and fried a plate of bean sprouts, made a bowl of sour pickled vegetables, fried two eggs, and pan-fried a dish of sweet potato cakes, serving it all with porridge. The four of them ate heartily.
"Gu Yi, these bean sprouts are really tasty, how did you make them?"
Ye Qian felt more and more that Gu Yi was like a mystery, always coming up with new things she hadn't heard or seen before, and everything she made was greatly liked by everyone.
"I heard someone say before that making them like this tastes good, so I just tried it blindly, didn't expect the taste to be okay. Dad, mom, I plan to sprout some more in a few days to sell in the county, this could even be considered a new product, it should sell well."
Gu Yi took advantage of everyone being present to share her plans.
"Alright, if you want to do it, just do it. If you need us to do some work, just say so."
Ye Fu was truly a great father-in-law, without the conservative views of some older people in the village, who thought women shouldn't show themselves in public. He had always supported Gu Yi, so she was particularly grateful.
"Yes, I will. Thank you, dad."
However, Ye's mother remained silent.
"His dad, don't you think Yi Yi is getting more and more capable, what if one day she doesn't care for Ye Hao anymore? Although originally her parents agreed to the marriage because of Ye Hao being in the military, knowing their daughter is so capable, wouldn't they regret it, especially since Hao Hao is away from home for so long, could Yiyi's heart wander off?"
Ye's mother felt proud of her capable daughter-in-law but also worried she might be too capable.
"You're overthinking things. I see Yiyi is a good kid at heart, capable and kind-hearted, upright, nothing like what you're worrying about will happen. Our in-laws are also decent people, and even if they ever do regret it, they'd keep it to themselves, wouldn't bring it to light. What we need to do now is support Yiyi and be better to her. In the future, if she remembers our kindness, she'll surely be good with Hao Hao. So, don't overthink things."
After Ye Fu finished speaking, he turned towards the inside and went to sleep. Ye's mother thought about it and agreed that he made sense. Her worries gradually eased.