"Mom, do you know how much I made today?" Xu Nian'an took out his money pouch—well, it was really just a little cloth bag sewn from scraps by Ji Ying for them to keep things in.
"How much?" Ji Ying asked casually, as she was just finishing up work on a patch of vegetable garden and starting to prepare dinner.
As for Xu Nian'an and Xu Nian'an selling Mung Bean Jelly, Ji Ying thought that earning even one yuan would already be pretty good.
"Take a guess." Xu Nian'an played coy.
Xu Nianhua smiled brightly at her second brother; unlike their oldest brother who was straightforward and honest, the second one was the mischievous type.
"Two yuan?"
Ji Ying went with a number she thought was impossible.
You know, back at the brick factory, Xu Nianji worked hard all day and only earned one yuan.
"More than that." Xu Nian'an's smile was radiant.
Ji Ying raised her eyebrows and added fifty cents.
"Still more."
"Nian'an, you only had one bucket of Mung Bean Jelly today—could you have made five yuan?" Ji Ying's heart skipped a beat; five yuan in one day—what even is that?
Thirty days in a month, that would be a hundred and fifty yuan!
This was practically an impossible number.
"Mom, better count it yourself."
Seeing Ji Ying guessing and not getting it, Xu Nian'an simply put the money in her hands—coins of fifty cents, ten cents, twenty cents, and a one yuan note—a small stack, all placed into Ji Ying's hands.
"All this, this is what you made today?" Ji Ying felt dizzy.
She, she, she wasn't seeing things, right?
This money looked like it was more than just five yuan.
Ji Ying counted it three times before she dared to believe it—it was really seven yuan and fifty cents!
"We even gave Grandma Cai a few bowls, plus the first Madam who bought, we gave out several bowls." Xu Nianhua counted on her fingers; if they hadn't gifted those three bowls, they would have made eight yuan today.
Subtracting the cost of the brown sugar, they still earned at least seven yuan.
"How much did you sell a bowl for?" Ji Ying felt her heart beating even faster in her chest.
No wonder the two kids came straight home and headed up the mountain to gather Fruit Jelly.
"Twenty cents."
As soon as Xu Nianhua finished, Ji Ying's eyebrows nearly flew off—"That expensive? And you really sold out?"
"Mom, twenty cents really isn't that expensive. It's a lot of work to make them!"
"Besides, we always give people a generous helping—a bowl with extra!"
Xu Nianhua felt she'd been very fair!
In the future, Mung Bean Jelly goes for three or four yuan a bowl everywhere.
Now we're only charging twenty cents; she didn't even price it at thirty!
If Xu Nian'an knew what Xu Nianhua was thinking, he'd be shocked speechless; he already felt guilty charging twenty cents—always making sure Xu Nianhua loaded up every bowl, filling it to the brim, otherwise he'd feel bad!
At night, when Xu Qinghe learned they'd made seven yuan fifty, his face was full of surprise, and he laughed: "My water bucket from yesterday wasn't made for nothing, then."
He didn't lose out for staying up half the night to make those two buckets.
"Dad, Mom, looks like the money for us siblings' school fees will be saved up in no time." Xu Nian'an didn't feel like he'd have to quit school anymore.
With summer vacation here, they could sell Mung Bean Jelly and make more money—he still wanted to study, because only by learning more could he earn more down the line.
"Good, you two keep up the good work." Xu Qinghe encouraged them, without saying anything else; he could see clearly that Mung Bean Jelly was something every family could make. Today was the first day—maybe others were just curious and wanted something new. Wait a while, more people will start making it, and earning extra money won't be so easy.