Chapter 152: A Massive Pie Falling Right on the Head

With Grandmother Du making the final decision to start making money, a heavy weight lifted from her heart. The rest of her time was spent joyfully stroking the fabric on the *kang*.

"Grandma, with Elder Sister's wedding just around the corner, shouldn't we prioritize that big event first?" Du Yun asked, quickly stepping in before her grandmother's mind completely shifted to the moneymaking venture.

"That's right. There's still a lot to prepare for big sister's wedding, so we should focus on the important matters first," Du Song chimed in, looking toward the doorway where his parents were lingering, hesitant to speak. He eagerly backed up Du Yun.

"Exactly. Eldest Brother told me just yesterday that our pastries are selling very well at Zhan's Pastry Shop. Aside from this month's order, they want to extend it for another three months. We have plenty of time," Du Yun said, letting out a sigh of relief with an ally by her side. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and harmonized with her brother.

"Really?" Grandmother Du's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this. Selling ten catties of pastries a day brought in twenty-five yuan. If the order increased, wouldn't that mean even more income?

"Really!" Du Song nodded vigorously. He wasn't just bragging or making things up. When Du Yun went into town yesterday, she brought along a good batch of pastries. Aside from the ones meant for delivery, she gave a few to Du Song for his fellow workers at Zhan's Pastry Shop to taste.

Once they tasted them, the workers realized how exceptionally delicious the pastries were. Four or five out of ten ended up running to the shop to buy more—some to coax their children at home, others to please their wives, each for their own reasons.

This internal consumption of nearly half the pastries meant that Zhan Congwen himself found them sold out when he wanted one. Zhan Congwen had rushed to the dormitory late at night, grabbed Du Song—who was squeezed into a corner getting ready to sleep—and immediately finalized the increased order.

"So, how much are they adding?" Grandmother Du felt as though flowers were blooming in her heart. She forgot all about stroking her new clothing material and stared at Du Song with glowing eyes. At two yuan and fifty cents per catty, two catties came out to five yuan. Conservatively speaking, just two extra catties a day for three months would add up to nearly five hundred yuan!

"Ten more catties a day!" Du Song and Du Yun exchanged glances and declared with a firm ring in their voices, deep joy plastered across their faces.

"Ten catties! Oh, good heavens! In three months, just how much money will that be?" Grandmother Du felt as though she had been struck on the head by a giant, steaming, fragrant pie from the sky. It left her momentarily dizzy and unable to calculate the exact sum.

"Grandma, ten catties of pastries a day is twenty-five yuan. Ten days make two hundred and fifty. Over three months, which is about ninety days, that's more than two thousand yuan!" Du Yun said with a beaming smile, feeling immensely happy about the prospect.

"More than two thousand yuan? More than two thousand yuan!" A mixture of sorrow and joy washed over Grandmother Du's face. She looked at the fabric on the *kang*, then looked with tear-blurred eyes at her capable eldest grandson and second granddaughter. Overwhelmed by an emotion too great to express, she simply repeated over and over again, "More than two thousand yuan!"

Over two thousand yuan! That was the exact amount of debt the Du family was left with when the family patriarch passed away. For nearly twenty years, that sum had weighed down upon her and her sons like a towering mountain. It forced her to hold back on food, restrict her clothing, and calculate every single piece of fish or meat for holidays and festivals.

And now, her own grandchildren—by simply moving their hands and wagging their tongues—could earn this much money in just three months' time? The bitter hardship in Grandmother Du's heart vanished in an instant, replaced entirely by overwhelming pride.

"Good! Wonderful! As long as you can make money, from now on, buy whatever you want to buy, and eat whatever you want to eat!" Grandmother Du said with a smile, waving her hand like a triumphant general commanding the rivers and mountains.

"Alright! You are truly wise, Grandma!" Hearing this, Du Yun felt the tight cord of family obligation binding her loosen up considerably. With her spatial storage grid, the core intelligence in her mind, and so many brilliant ideas, she had nothing to fear when it came to making money in this place!

"With good children like you around, Grandma has nothing left to worry about. I can just sit here on the *kang* and wait to be a pampered matriarch!" Delighted beyond measure, Grandmother Du noticed Du Yun's parents standing by the doorway with smiles and quickly beckoned to them. "Come here, Eldest, Eldest's wife. You two have raised fine children!"

"Ah, Mother!" Du Yun's father and mother were honest, submissive souls. In front of Grandmother Du, they never dared to step out of line. Seeing the old lady treat them so kindly, they actually trembled with unfamiliar discomfort before finally stepping forward.

"Here. As for this clothing fabric, the two of us old folks will keep one piece, and you two can pick a piece as well to make new clothes for when the eldest girl gets married!" Grandmother Du smiled, stroking the sapphire blue silk she had claimed for herself.

"Oh, thank you, Mother!" Du Yun's father and mother accepted the gesture with pleasantly surprised expressions. Accustomed as they usually were to enduring hardship first and enjoying blessings last, being the first ones called out to receive gifts actually made them feel a bit awkward all over.

"This money was earned by the eldest grandson and Yun girl, so a piece of fabric each is no more than right," Grandmother Du said, handing a brightly colored piece to Du Yun and a vibrant green one to Du Song.

"Now, Zhi girl is the bride, and this is your younger sister's thoughtful gesture. Grandma knows—these are for you!" With that distribution, only two pieces of fabric remained on the *kang*. Grandmother Du pushed them both toward Du Zhi, following the exact division plan Du Yun had proposed during their earlier discussion with Du Zhi and Du Song.

"Hey, Mother, we're going to be busy helping with the wedding preparations too; don't forget about us!" Seeing that there were only six pieces of fabric on the *kang* in total and that they were all about to be given away, Third Aunt immediately panicked. The fabric looked glossy and exquisite beyond compare; even if she couldn't get enough for a full outfit, managing to get enough material for a garment would be nice.

"Go on, go on! Is this fine fabric meant for you to wear?" Grandmother Du cast a sideways glance at her third daughter-in-law, saying with utter disdain, "You're nowhere to be seen when there's work to be done, but you're the first to run over when it's time to eat, drink, or demand things! Why don't you talk about what you, as an aunt, are going to give Zhi girl as a dowry gift instead of only knowing how to beg for things?"

"Oh, Mother, look at what you're saying! It's not that I wasn't going to give a dowry gift, it's just that the time hasn't come yet!" Third Aunt was no fool. Seeing that Du Song and Du Yun were making money, how could she not realize they were on the verge of rising up?

"Since Mother has put it this way, I'll just give the dowry gift right now." Third Aunt's eyes darted around as she spoke hurriedly. She fumbled with the waistband of her trousers for a long time before untying a silver ring from somewhere and shoving it into Du Zhi's hand.