Chapter 42 Kang Family Tofu
Chapter 42 Kang Family Tofu
After eating two bowls of tofu pudding, Zhu Shenzhui felt a little bloated.
Touching his slightly bulging belly, Zhu Shenzhui laughed at himself. He didn't expect that he could still be greedy. You know, Zhu Shenzhui has always been very self-disciplined over the years. This is the first time he has eaten so much as he did today.
"Dude!"
"Hey! I'm here!" The young man was cleaning up the dishes left behind by the guests not far away. When he heard Zhu Shenzhu calling him, he quickly responded.
He quickly cleared the dishes and then wiped the table with the rag on his shoulder. Then he walked a few steps over to Zhu Shenzhui.
"How much was the food just now?"
"A bowl of tofu pudding is one cent, and a pancake is two cents. You ordered two bowls, so the total is four cents." The young man said with a smile.
This answer surprised Zhu Shenzhui, because the price was not expensive at all but very cheap. Especially since the tofu pudding tasted so good and the quantity was quite large, yet it only cost one cent.
Zhu Shenzhui reached into his pocket, counted out four cents and placed them on the table. The young man thanked him politely and took the money.
"The tofu pudding you make is really good." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile.
"You don't come here often, do you?"
"Haha, what do you mean?"
"If you come here often, you won't say that." The young man said with a smile, "My tofu workshop has been open for several generations. There are many old customers from the neighborhood who come to eat tofu pudding and make soy milk at this time every day. However, the tofu pudding is not the best thing I make. After all, tofu pudding and soy milk are just made by the way when making tofu. I'm not bragging, there are other places in Pingyang Prefecture that can compare to it, but when it comes to tofu, my family is this one!"
As he said this, the young man gave Zhu Shenzhui a thumbs up. Seeing his proud look, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Really? I've lived in Pingyang for several generations. Although I haven't been here for long, I've been here before. But I've never heard of this."
"How could this be fake?" Seeing Zhu Shenzhui's disbelief, the young man could not help but argue, "Since you are from Pingyang Prefecture, you can just ask around and find out. The tofu-making skills of our Kang family are passed down from our ancestors. It has been passed down for a hundred years since the Zhengde Dynasty. There is no one in Pingyang Prefecture who has eaten our Kang family's tofu but speaks highly of it."
"Not to mention ordinary people, even dignitaries often order tofu from my house. By the way, do you see the big house across the street? Do you know whose house it is?"
"Whose family is it?"
The young man raised his eyebrows and said, "The Liu family in Pingyang Prefecture is the home of Master Liu Shancheng! My tofu is exclusively for the Liu family. Master Liu is very wealthy, and the Liu family is well-known throughout Shanxi. Even the Liu family uses my tofu exclusively. Do you think my tofu can be bad?"
"There is such a thing? I am ignorant." Zhu Shenzhui laughed and continued, "Since I happened to be here today, I really have to buy some of your tofu to try. By the way, how much is your tofu? Give me some."
"Old customer, you have to wait a while if you want to buy tofu. It's the morning market now, and tofu can't be sold until an hour later. It's not a rule, but the tofu made by my Kang family is different from that of other families, so it takes some time to be ready. In addition, the Liu family needs to send 30 kilograms of tofu today, which was ordered yesterday, so we can't sell you the first batch of tofu, you can only wait for the second batch."
"How about you go somewhere else and I'll leave it here for you and come back to get it later? Or you can tell me where your home is and I'll deliver it to your door. What do you think?"
The young man apologized to Zhu Shenzhui and offered to deliver the goods to his door. It must be said that this young man is quite good at doing business. You know, even if Zhu Shenzhui buys tofu, he only buys two or three pounds at most, which is not worth much money. For such a small business, the young man offered to deliver the goods to his door, which is a great service.
However, Zhu Shenzhui did not accept the young man's kindness. He did not want the young man to know his identity. Almost everyone in Pingyang Prefecture would know where he lived. Once he told the address, people would probably guess his origins.
Besides, did Zhu Shenzhui really want to try his tofu? Of course that was not the case. The reason why he suddenly asked to buy Kang's tofu was not because he wanted to eat tofu, but because the young man's words just caught Zhu Shenzhui's attention, so he just found an excuse.
Zhu Shenzhui smiled and said that he had nothing to do anyway, and if it was convenient, he could take a rest in his shop and wait for his tofu. He didn't know if it would be a bother to him.
Hearing this, the young man was happy and said that there was no trouble in it. Anyone who comes is a guest. Why should we push customers away when doing business?
It was of course no problem for Zhu Shenzhui to sit down and rest in the store, but he would have to wait for some time because he would be busy and would not be able to entertain Zhu Shenzhui.
Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and said it was okay, he could do whatever he wanted and he could just take a rest. In this way, the young man continued to work. After a long while, as the sun gradually rose, the morning market was about to end, and there were not many customers coming to eat tofu pudding.
At this time, the young man finished cleaning up a few tables and turned around to see Zhu Shenzhui still sitting quietly near the door, looking casually at the street outside. He thought for a moment and went inside, and soon brought out a pot of tea.
"Old customer, please have some tea."
"Oh, how embarrassing! I'm stopping here and drinking your tea for free."
"It's okay, it's just a pot of tea, not worth much money. But my tea is not that good, please don't despise it."
"Haha, I can't even say thank you enough, how could I possibly despise you." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hands repeatedly and had a better impression of this young man. Although it was just a small tofu workshop, this young man had a good business mind. There was nothing wrong with his service attitude, which was even better than Haidilao.
After thanking him and drinking a sip of tea, Zhu Shenzhui asked the young man's name and identity. After the young man gave his name and identity, he found out that the young man was actually the eldest son of the owner of Kang's tofu workshop.
The young man's name was Kang Youfu. He was a little older than Zhu Shenzui, married, and had a son and a daughter.
The son is three years old and the daughter is one and a half years old. The Kang family does not have many people. Kang Youfu has two brothers, he is the eldest, and he has a younger brother, Kang Youlu.
This tofu workshop was handed down from the ancestors of the Kang family. It has been passed down to Kang Youfu's father Kang Tai for three generations. As Kang Youfu said before, the Kang family was not originally from Pingyang Prefecture. They fled to Pingyang from other places due to famine during the Zhengde period and then settled here.
After the Kang family settled in Pingyang, they had no land to cultivate because they were outsiders, and they had to find a way to make a living. At that time, Kang Youfu's great-grandfather, who is now the grandfather of Kang Tai, the owner of Kang's shop, started a small business of grinding and making tofu to support his family.
The Kang family had a good skill in making tofu, and Kang Youfu's great-grandfather was a kind person, so the tofu was not only good, but also sold at a reasonable price. In this way, they gradually settled down in Pingyang, and slowly developed from a makeshift tofu shop to the current tofu workshop, which has been passed down for three generations.
If Kang Youfu is included, it is the fourth generation.
Over the years, relying on the reputation accumulated by several generations, Kang's tofu shop has become quite famous in Pingyang. However, Zhu Shenzhui doesn't know much about Kang's tofu shop because he seldom comes here and his circle of life doesn't have much connection with this place.
But in Pingyang Prefecture, the Kang family does have many regular customers for their tofu. Kang Youfu was not bragging just now. Not only do many dignitaries often send their servants to buy their tofu, but even the Liu family across the street has been using their tofu for a long time.
(End of this chapter)