Chapter 593: 593: Is What She Wants a Lot?

“Does anything else need to be addressed?” Tong Tiehu asked again.

“Shouldn’t the couple hire someone to help with the work in the fields? Once the family splits, Tiehu’s father and I will need to run a business to make money,” Mrs. Zhang added.

Tong Sanlang had once stated that he would handle Qiao Xiaomai’s portion of work, with absolutely no intention to hire help, which infuriated her.

The original intention of her feigned sickness was to avoid field work, and this issue needs to be resolved.

“In the future, any delicious food Xiaomai prepares must be sent over to our new house.” Recalling the stewed meat from last night and the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from this morning, Mrs. Zhang’s mouth watered considerably.

This issue also needs to be resolved.

Having grown tired of eating meat during their prosperous days, she was deprived of it for a while, and now, she swore to cherish this delicacy with all sincerity.

Tong Tiehu nodded, “Is that all?”

“Um…” Mrs. Zhang’s mind started racing. It was a rare opportunity to make demands, and she shouldn’t miss anything.

After pondering for a while, she spoke, “To start a business, we need some capital, right? A modest courtyard in town should cost a few hundred taels, and with additional miscellaneous expenses, I think the couple should give one thousand taels of silver for startup capital.”

“Anything else?” Tong Tiehu asked, his expression unchanged as soon as Mrs. Zhang finished speaking.

“Not for now, but we’ll add more as we think of them later.”

Tong Tiehu nodded, “Do you realize that although Sanlang’s kung fu skills are good, hunting also carries a certain risk? Have you noticed that he is spending increasingly more time on hunting lately?”

“It’s not that much longer, I raised him from infancy to adulthood, all the while cleaning up after him, is it too much to ask for twenty taels of filial piety money every month?” Mrs. Zhang argued.

The greater your ability, the greater the responsibility you should bear.

She could not rely on her elder sons at all, and could only count on Tong Sanlang.

Tong Sanlang has been providing filial piety money that should be shared among the three brothers, is twenty taels from three of them too much?

Compared to Qiao Xiaomai’s wealth, this amount is negligible.

“One tael of profit? What kind of business do you think can earn one tael a day?” Tong Tiehu asked again.

“With her culinary skills, a few recipes would be enough to sustain a small restaurant,” Mrs. Zhang responded.

“So, you think a thousand taels is a small sum?” Tong Tiehu asked again.

“No, it’s quite a sum, but the couple knows how to earn money. Even if the thousand taels are used up, Xiaomai can easily earn it back just by working. Besides, this thousand taels is the capital. How can you earn one tael per day doing business in the village? Sounds like a joke. We must run our business in the town,” Mrs. Zhang retorted confidently.

One thousand taels as capital.

Twenty taels of filial piety money each month; that’s two hundred and forty taels a year.

So, Qiao Xiaomai and Tong Sanlang need only contribute one thousand two hundred and forty taels in total.

And this is only for this year. As the capital of one thousand taels dwindles by next year, the couple will only need to contribute two hundred and forty taels.

Two hundred and forty taels, it could barely be considered a fraction of Qiao Xiaomai and Tong Sanlang’s wealth.

As for her, apart from the two hundred and forty taels of annual filial piety money, she has a business that could generate one tael of profit every day.

One tael a day, amounting to thirty taels a month, and three hundred sixty taels a year.

This means she could earn six hundred taels a year in the future.

Six hundred taels, though it might appear to be quite a sum, but she has two sons to support, and Qiao Xiaomai and Tong Sanlang are under no obligation to provide for them, hence, this six hundred taels is not her sole income.

The earnings from her painstaking work after a year could barely compare to what Qiao Xiaomai could make easily with a single recipe.

Is she asking for too much?