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Chapter 52

"Sure, let me get the scales."

Seeing their eagerness, Luo Ge didn\'t dilly-dally and smiled in agreement. After making arrangements with Wang Sister-In-Law, she went to fetch the scales and weigh the plums.

She also took out paper and a pen to record the accounts, mainly to avoid confusion with so many people around. Keeping accounts would be more convenient.

Their household had scales, so no need to borrow from others.

Noticing that the Gu family courtyard was also busy with activity, the aunts didn\'t cause any disruption and stood neatly in line for Luo Ge to weigh their plums.

"Auntie, yours is twenty pounds. I\'ll settle it for eighty cents. Here you go."

After weighing the first aunt\'s plums, Luo Ge double-checked the amount and directly paid her the money.

"Ah, yes! Yes! The count is correct."

The aunt happily acknowledged as she could hardly hide her delight at earning money. She never expected that Gu Jinchen\'s wife would actually keep her word.

They really made money from these mountain plums!

"Eh, Luo Ge, you can read and write?"

Seeing Luo Ge keeping accounts, the few aunts were quite surprised.

Luo Ge smiled and nodded, "I learned a little before."

Although she said it that way, the few aunts were still astonished to see her neat and elegant handwriting.

"Your handwriting is so beautiful! Not only does this young lady have skills to earn money, she can also cook delicious meals, and she\'s so pretty too!"

"Oh my, Gu Jinchen really got a good deal. I wish I had told my son to go look around in the town back then."

The aunts continued praising her while jokingly adding that remark.

"Aunt Hua, you shouldn\'t say such things. Look how tense Gu Jinchen appears."

Wang Sister-In-Law laughed out loud as she noticed Gu Jinchen\'s tense expression while he nervously watched Luo Ge.

Hearing this, Luo Ge and the others turned to look at Gu Jinchen, just in time to catch him awkwardly averting his gaze.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, that\'s true!"

"I never expected you, Gu Jinchen, to be so infatuated with your wife that a little teasing would make you so tense."

"But if I had a wife like her, I would cherish her just as much."

"It\'s rare to see him like this. This is the first time I\'ve seen him act this way."

The aunts present were all from the Gu family clan and elders to the young couple. Although Gu Jinchen\'s innate cold demeanor often intimidated them, now that they had the chance to tease him, they had to seize the opportunity.

Only after Gu Jinchen\'s handsome wheat-colored face flushed red from their teasing did the aunts stop. However, their smiles only grew wider, as Gu Jinchen\'s blushing expression was even rarer than his previous tense look.

"You all carry on, I\'ll head back now. My husband is still in the mountains picking plums. I need to hurry and help him so he doesn\'t fall behind the others."

After laughing, the aunt said she had to leave.

When they went to the back mountain earlier, they only found one tree with remaining plums. Fortunately, they went early and managed to pick some before hurriedly coming to exchange them for money.

Later, they still needed to go to the mountains across the river to search for more plums. In this small mountain village, there were mountains on all sides, and plums could be found during this season.

However, how many they could gather would depend on their speed, as the deeper mountains were too dangerous for them to venture into.

"Sure, take care auntie."

Luo Ge smiled in response and continued weighing the plums.

Some brought ten-plus pounds, others over twenty pounds. After weighing them all, more people gradually arrived.

While Gu Jinchen and the others were busy peeling the plums, she would collect and weigh them. The work was intermittent but not too tiring.

Later, even Luo Auntie, Wang Big Brother and others came by.

No one knew where they had searched, but their entire family had gathered over seventy pounds of plums - the most of anyone that day.

"No way, I need to hurry and check the village where my mother-in-law lives too."

Seeing how many plums Wang Big Brother and Luo Auntie had found, the other aunts and uncles quickly remarked that they should go look elsewhere too.

Everyone had picked plums from the mountains and directly brought them to Luo Ge and the others. On their way back, no one seemed to notice anything amiss.

However, this was still considered a large-scale village activity, so it couldn\'t be completely hidden from others.

After noticing some discussions stirring in the village, fearing it might provoke conflicts between the two clans living there, Luo Ge and the others openly informed the entire village about this matter the next morning.

The Gu family clan had learned about it a day earlier, so they had gained an advantage. Seeing this, they didn\'t say much, as they understood that Luo Ge and the others were considering the harmony of the village.

...Early the next morning, Li Shopkeeper also delivered a batch of five hundred pounds of fresh plums to Luo Ge and the others, while checking on the progress of the dried peach slices.

"I\'ve finished making the dried peaches. After a couple more days of sun-drying, they\'ll be ready. You can come pick them up then, Shopkeeper."

"Alright, how many pounds of dried plums do you think you can produce in the next couple of days?"

The dried plums were selling incredibly well. Most of what he had brought back yesterday was already sent to the eastern family, and the remaining stock sold out as soon as it was put on the shelves.

Now the customers in town were urging him terribly.

With Wang Sister-In-Law\'s help, they had already sun-dried over a thousand pounds of plums yesterday.

Today, Aunt Zhang also came to assist. Luo Ge had also informed Elder Sister Xiu Niang, who would likely come over in the afternoon to help too.

With everyone\'s help, the work progressed rapidly.

Fortunately, their courtyard was spacious enough for sun-drying the plums. If there wasn\'t enough space, Wang Sister-In-Law said they could use their courtyard too, with Uncle Wang keeping an eye on things to be safe.

As a precaution, Luo Ge didn\'t refuse her offer.

"I should be able to give you over a hundred pounds by the day after tomorrow. After that, there should be some finished every day." After thinking it over, Luo Ge replied.

Li Shopkeeper understood that making dried fruit took time, so he nodded upon hearing her response.

"More plums will likely be delivered later on. If you can\'t handle the workload, Luo Ge, you can hire a few more helpers. We\'ll cover the labor costs."

Watching Wang Sister-In-Law and her daughter-in-law busily working in the courtyard, Li Shopkeeper made the suggestion.

With supply unable to meet demand, he was naturally in a hurry, especially since the eastern family was also constantly urging him.

To be honest, the eastern family had also tried making these dried plums during this period, but none of their attempts could replicate the delicious taste.

After a few failed attempts, they gave up and could only wait for Luo Ge\'s batch.

From the current situation, Li Shopkeeper felt that Luo Ge\'s previous proposal had a high chance of success.

Now, the main task was to wait for the dried peaches and see her results. If they met the standards, he estimated that they would likely become long-term business partners in the future.

"I understand. Don\'t worry about the labor costs, Li Shopkeeper. I can afford it."

Hearing Li Shopkeeper\'s advice, Luo Ge smiled and wisely changed how she addressed him too.

News of their family collecting plums had spread like wildfire throughout the village. Combined with Li Shopkeeper\'s delivery, there would only be more and more plums arriving in the coming days.

She was considering which households might have suitable helpers to hire.

Hearing Luo Ge\'s reassuring words, Li Shopkeeper smiled and nodded.

"I still have some matters to attend to at my shop, so I won\'t linger any longer."

"Brother Gu, I\'ll take my leave now." After bidding farewell to Gu Jinchen, he departed.