Chapter 523: 523. Boiled Tea Egg_1 Chapter 523: 523. Boiled Tea Egg_1 In fact, Sister Wang’s family also raised plump breed chickens, but since they either foraged for bugs in the fields every day or ate vegetable leaves and roots, their eggs could barely be considered free-range.

Their price was slightly cheaper than genuine free-range eggs, and they sold quite well.

Of course, when villagers do business, there’s always a bit of reluctance, going back and forth with offers and refusals, before Wu Lan finally managed to pay.

Sister Wang felt a bit embarrassed, “So, I’ll take the money then?”

“Go ahead, take it.”

Wu Lan, now accustomed to doing business, was much more straightforward than before. As she was leaving, she couldn’t help but hear Sister Wang inquire:
“Wu Lan, how much did you pay for each peach tree at the start? With the boss leasing the orchard, can you at least cover your costs this year?”

“I don’t have many trees left on that eastern hilltop. I was thinking of planting some fruit trees if it comes to it… but I’m afraid I won’t manage, and the fruit might not sell.”

How much per tree?

Wu Lan remembered it too well; even now, she felt she must’ve been out of her mind back then:
“80 yuan per tree! We bought the ones that could bear fruit in the same year, either three or five-year-old saplings–I can’t remember which, but they weren’t cheap! Including land clearing and planting–the planting, you were there too, right?”

Sister Wang nodded: “Yeah, I was there. Back in early spring, the branches were bare, but last week they were laden with fruit… and two bosses leased the orchard, so there was no need to go to market, which got me interested.”

It was because two bosses leased the orchard, saying none of the extra fruit was to be left behind, they didn’t feel it was polite to ask for a taste either…

Otherwise, they would have known what variety was selling so well!

Meanwhile, Wu Lan, apart from not mentioning the price of peaches, clearly helped analyze everything else.

“You will need to hire help, if you plant them yourself, the saplings won’t last very long… Delayed planting can definitely affect the fruiting.”

Anyway, she hadn’t scrimped on the investment!

“Then there’s maintenance, fertilization, setting up protective nets and whatnot, a lot of money went into that. The leasing price is okay though…”

She didn’t feel comfortable saying it was 50 yuan per half-kilogram, so she vaguely mentioned, “The price is a bit higher than the market rate. This year’s harvest was good, we covered the costs and even made some profit.”

“What kind of saplings are you looking into? Later, I’ll get Tantan to give you that boss’s number, you can ask around?”

Sister Wang pondered for a moment: “No rush… You’ve poured quite a bit into this… How much does it cost to get an excavator up the mountain per day? Four or five hundred at least, right?”

“Definitely!”

Wu Lan thought of the expense and felt the pinch: “To deal with that big mountain, felling trees is labor-intensive not to mention. The existing roots, if you dig them by hand, several people might work all day and still might not get them out… You need excavators.”

“They have these rotation heads that can crush directly, expensive but much faster.”

Hearing this, Sister Wang couldn’t help but get cold feet.

Not to mention the question of breaking even after planting, just the initial cost of making the barren hill arable was substantial!

How much money had they saved in their lifetime? They still needed to keep some aside for their son to buy a house in the city–as without a house in the city these days, you can’t even get a daughter-in-law.

At that moment, she couldn’t help but look enviously at Wu Lan:
“It’s your family’s Tantan that made something of himself, attending a good university and working in the provincial capital… and you say you haven’t earned much, but if you hadn’t, how could you afford to hire excavators, clear the land, and lease the mountain?”

At those words, Wu Lan didn’t quite know what to say.

She knew that this was what the villagers speculated about her family.

After all, no one would think that their initial income had started from wild vegetables sold at 20 yuan per half-kilogram…

After some thought, all she could say was, “It’s hard work for the child, he really hasn’t earned much…”

Sister Wang laughed heartily, “I know you haven’t made much! I’m not asking for a loan, no need to panic, right?”

The whole village now knows that Lao Song’s family owes the village one or two million before even starting to work on the barren hill!

Wu Lan: …

She hesitated to speak and then carried the basket back home.

…

By the time she got home, the water in the pot was already boiling.

Qiaoqiao took over the eggs and then quickly scrubbed them with a small brush. With his experience of scrubbing duck eggs, his movements today were both fast and meticulous.

Then he started another pot of cold water and put the eggs in it.

This time, the eggs didn’t need to be cooked too well done; soon, Seventh Uncle lifted out the slightly reddish and pinkish white eggs. He rinsed them first with cold water in a pool on the side and then soaked them.

Meanwhile, salt was sprinkled into the boiling water:
“Qiaoqiao, remember, salting isn’t just for flavor, it also prevents uncooked egg liquid from leaking out later.”

Then he added Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and tea leaves–
“This tea hasn’t been roasted; I’m not sure if it will be fragrant enough later. But if it’s okay like this, roasting it would only make it taste better.”

“Let’s just try it today.”

As Seventh Uncle spoke, he pondered, “Actually, these old leaves are perfect for use; you can’t use the tender shoots for tea eggs. They’re too mild, and the flavor won’t get into the eggs. You need these sturdy, stronger-tasting leaves.”

Once the water in the pot had been boiling for a while, he poured in some soy sauce: “Okay, take a ladle and crack those eggshells, do it evenly–the shells need to be broken so that the flavor can seep in.”

“Alright!”

Cooking is all about finesse, and Qiaoqiao, after trying a couple of times, had gotten the hang of the right amount of force.

Now with the ladle in hand, he tapped away, and the kitchen filled with a crisp cracking sound.

By the time Qiaoqiao moved the stew pot from the stove to the side burner, it was time to add the eggs.

“Done! Let it stew. If you’re eager to eat, you’ll be able to taste them at lunch; otherwise, wait for dinner, they should be better flavored by evening.”

Qiaoqiao thought for a moment: “Can we put some of our own eggs in there?”

Seventh Uncle laughed: “You’re eating it, so why not? Just separate them with a net, and when they’re about done, you can take them out and tap them a bit.”

At that moment, Qiaoqiao’s face lit up with joy!

Then, his gaze swept around the kitchen–
“Where do we roast the duck?”

Seventh Uncle: …

That’s right, there wasn’t a separate stand for smoking and roasting in the kitchen yet! And they needed racks, a few of them!

With this family of big eaters, how could they prepare enough?

Seventh Uncle raised his voice: “Sancheng, if you’re free this afternoon, why not build another stand in the kitchen! And section off another area while you’re at it.”

When it comes to serious matters like eating, everyone in the family took it seriously. Song Sancheng immediately agreed: “Sure! I’ll go get some cement bricks this afternoon.”

The ones left over from the house construction were still piled up at the back!

Song Sancheng even couldn’t help thinking: “Shouldn’t our family dig another cellar? Otherwise, where will we store the sweet potatoes and turnips we gather in autumn and winter?”

The pile of sand behind the house was getting smaller and smaller. It wouldn’t be enough to bury even a few turnips in winter!