I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 161 - 158: Second Brother Expands the Business (Bonus - – Monthly Ticket Request)

Chapter 161: Chapter 158: Second Brother Expands the Business (Bonus Chapter – Monthly Ticket Request)

"Sis, are you listening to me?"

Jiang Mingyue ruffled Xiao Ran’s hair, responding, "Yes, yes, yes, braised pork. What else do you want to eat? I’ll make it all for you today."

"Really? Then I also want caramelized sweet potatoes and small dried fish."

"Cough cough... Caramelized sweet potatoes are fine, but how about we change the small dried fish? Think about it, they’re still tiny fish fry. When they grow up, I can make squirrelfish for you, which you can enjoy many times, right?"

Xiao Ran tilted his head, pondering, "Sounds about right! I won’t eat the small dried fish; I’ll wait for them to grow up."

Jiang Mingyue could grab chickens and rabbits at will since her second brother fetched game from the mountains every three days, enough to cover for her, but fish were a different story. Occasionally catching a big fish was fine, but doing it regularly would arouse suspicion.

Jiang Mingyue checked the time, "It’s still early, go and study with Ms. Xiao Hui. I have things to do, and I’ll call you when it’s time to cook." She was too sleepy and needed to go back to her room to nap.

This nap lasted until Mrs. Jiang and the others were about to finish work. Jiang Mingyue jumped up quickly to put the rice on to steam.

Xiao Ran came over to help with the fire, pulling three plums out of his pocket for Jiang Mingyue.

"Where did these come from?"

"Brother Jiao Can gave them to me. You should try them; they’re tangy and sweet, just the way you like them."

Ha! He’s imitating me perfectly.

Jiang Mingyue wiped them with her clothes and ate them right away. How to describe the taste? It wasn’t purely sour; it was astringent, with a bit of bitterness, and just a touch of sweetness. The flavor was difficult to describe, but Xiao Ran ate enthusiastically. Perhaps he had endured too much hardship before, rarely having anything good, or maybe the village lacked real fruit. Jiang Mingyue thought about the backyard; maybe she should plant a few fruit trees there. She was considering which tree from her space to transplant; they didn’t bear fruit in there, but who knew, maybe changing the environment would help, and it wouldn’t be a loss.

"Xiao Ran, what kind of fruit do you like?"

Xiao Ran seriously considered the question, recalling a picture book his sister bought him, which had all sorts of fruits. After thinking for a while, the large, round apples attracted him the most.

"Is an apple okay?"

Oh dear! That’s a tall order!

"Pick something else." Apple trees were currently fruitful in her space, and she couldn’t bear to part with them. She really wanted to ask Xiao Ran: Is apple sauce good?

"But I just want to eat apples."

Well, that’s because you haven’t seen much!

"Xiao Ran, there are many kinds of fruits, like curved, golden bananas, sweet and juicy peaches and plums, thirst-quenching pears. If you get too hot, we can even make rock sugar pear soup for you to drink. There are so many, think about it more."

But Xiao Ran seemed to be fixated.

"But I just want to eat apples."

Jiang Mingyue took a silent breath and still wanted to try persuading him: "What if we plant several kinds of fruit saplings?"

Xiao Ran reconsidered, "Then I only want one apple tree, the rest can be anything."

Jiang Mingyue thought to herself: you’re not easy-going at all!

Fruit tree matters were discussed for a while, and the two chatted about the village kids.

For instance, Xiao Meng could now recite the Three Character Classic but couldn’t write it. Between the lines, there was some bragging. Also, Gouwa was unmatched at catching fish; he said he’d catch loaches for his sister today...

The conversation gradually turned into Jiang Mingyue testing Xiao Ran. As she expected, this kid was a genius, with photographic memory and superlative calculation skills. As long as she taught him mental arithmetic, he could instantly outperform anyone.

Jiang Mingyue thought of that book, which didn’t dwell much on rural Old Jiang Family, except for the second house, yet covered the fates of the other three in detail. For example, Xiao Ran, who liked a rich girl in the book. On the surface, the girl liked him back, but it was all a show because Xiao Ran came at the right time when she had a fight with her boyfriend and wanted to use Xiao Ran to spite him.

Anyway, in a love triangle, someone always gets hurt, though the hurt differs in severity. Xiao Ran’s hurt turned him into a darker version of himself, leading him to form an organization to target the couple. Later, the boy came for revenge and blew up the entire organization, killing Xiao Ran, ending his life at twenty-four.

Yet, the Xiao Ran in front of her was clever and sensible, nothing like the book described him as obsessive.

She didn’t know if this was just another lousy plot point in the book or if the author truly knew Xiao Ran, but whatever it was, Jiang Mingyue wouldn’t let that happen. She would watch him grow up, ensuring he had a bright future. Such a smart child should contribute to the nation, and it would be a pity otherwise.

No, they needed to start planning for school. When her big brother and second brother came back in the evening, she intended to have a family discussion.

Today’s dinner was late. As the family returned, Jiang Mingyue was still making caramelized sweet potatoes.

Mrs. Jiang came in after washing her hands, asking if she needed help.

Jiang Mingyue waved her hand: "Almost done, Mom. You’ve been working all morning, go rest."

Seeing no help was needed, Mrs. Jiang wouldn’t actually rest. People from the countryside seemed never to tire, always finding something to occupy themselves with, like weaving bamboo baskets.

The second brother also ran over: "Yueyue, someone wants to order green bricks. What should we do? I asked Master Xing. He’s fired porcelain kilns before and seen people use kilns to produce both red and green bricks, but he doesn’t know the specifics. I didn’t give a definite answer to the client, just said we’d consider it and respond if we could."

"We can fire them, but it’s an extra process. You usually produce a kiln in seven days. Changing to green bricks might take nine days, increasing time and labor costs, but green bricks have always been priced higher than red ones.

Yan Jinzhi anticipated this situation and already set the prices for you. Green bricks are one cent more than red, making them three cents a piece. Green tiles are four cents, with assured perfect curvature and flawlessness."

Jiang Jianjun was surprised: "We can make green tiles too?"

"Yes, the firing process for them is the same as for green bricks. Xiangshui is all about green tiles; we can do it too. If anyone orders tiles, just take the orders. Then we can mix the kilns, as tiles aren’t compacted; they sit atop the bricks. A kiln can hold fifty thousand bricks and seventy thousand tiles. Jin Zhi calculated this ratio back then. But if you want to make tiles, you’ll need Master Wu and others to make tile molds, tiles, polishing sheets, copper wire bows, and rotating platforms. I can sketch it for you. Actually, let’s let Yan Jinzhi come over; he might have new ideas."

Jiang Jianjun was excited, fists eager to move.

"Sis, can I accept the client’s order?"

Jiang Mingyue looked at him strangely, "How many orders do you have pending for delivery now?"

"I, I’m not quite sure, seems like over a hundred."

"Second Brother, have Shu Wenquan compile a report for you. You need to prioritize the current orders. We can produce up to four hundred thousand bricks a month. At this speed, can you deliver all orders before the New Year? Our people care about having things settled before the new year. Don’t think the New Year is far off; compare it with your productivity..."