The next day, Xia Qingqing rode her bicycle to the county. She came to the county mainly to find Xiao Hui.

If her family really wants to start a chili sauce business, it would be more reliable to cooperate with Xiao Hui. After all, Xia's parents still have to work in the fields, and making chili sauce is also very busy, so they definitely don't have time to come to the county to sell chili sauce every day.

Then it would be necessary to find someone to help sell the chili sauce.

To avoid getting too much sun, Xia Qingqing left early in the morning. When she arrived, Xiao Hui was still fast asleep at home. She vaguely heard a knock on the door, but he ignored it, turned over, and went back to sleep.

Xia Qingqing waited a while longer, feeling a bit annoyed, but when no one opened the door, she guessed that Xiao Hui might not be home at the moment. So she simply turned around and went to the state-run restaurant. She had promised Gou Dan to bring him meat buns when she left home in the morning.

After eating a serving of dumplings and packing up a few steamed buns and mantou, Xia Qingqing rode her bicycle around the county.

I noticed that people carrying baskets or carrying baskets on their backs would occasionally hawk their goods to passersby on the street.

Previously, no one dared to operate so blatantly. It seems that everyone has heard the news, but due to the unclear policy, no one dares to set up a stall on the street in a proper manner.

About an hour later, Xia Qingqing went to Xiao Hui's courtyard again. She planned to go back first if Xiao Hui was still not home. Otherwise, she would have to ride her bicycle under the scorching sun.

Fortunately, there was a response soon after the knocking. Xiao Hui, still grumpy from being woken up, came out to open the door in his slippers, muttering to himself, "Why are you knocking so much so early in the morning? Couldn't you have come later?"

He thought it was Fatty and his group, so his tone was very unpleasant.

Xia Qingqing smiled and waved her little hand at the sleepy Xiao Hui: "Good morning, Brother Hui. Did I disturb your sleep?"

Xiao Hui's expression immediately changed when he saw Xia Qingqing, and he said warmly, "Oh, it's Boss Xia! Come in and have a seat."

Xiao Hui invited Xia Qingqing into the main room, then ran out to wash up. A few minutes later, he appeared before Xia Qingqing, all tidied up.

"Has Mr. Xia had breakfast yet? How about I treat you to something at the state-run restaurant first?"

Xia Qingqing waved her hand: "I've eaten. I just came from the state-run restaurant. I came here to talk to you about some business."

"What good stuff has Boss Xia gotten his hands on this time?" Xiao Hui asked with a grin.

Xia Qingqing took out a bottle of chili sauce and two steamed buns from her basket. She had just bought the buns at the state-run restaurant.

Since we want to cooperate with Xiao Hui, the first thing we need to do is let Xiao Hui try the taste of the chili sauce.

Xiao Hui misunderstood, thinking that Xia Qingqing had specially brought him breakfast. He rubbed his hands together, feeling quite embarrassed.

However, he happened to be hungry at the moment, so he deftly opened the tempting bottle of small fish chili sauce, then put some into the steamed bun and ate it with relish.

In no time at all, Xiao Hui finished both steamed buns.

Xiao Hui said with some lingering satisfaction, "Boss Xia, where did you buy this chili sauce? It tastes absolutely amazing. I'll buy a few more bottles next time."

"This chili sauce is homemade. I came here today to talk to you about the chili sauce business."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hui savored the spicy sauce he had just eaten. It was both fragrant and spicy, and he thought it would be very popular if sold elsewhere.

"Boss Xia, let's not mince words. Your chili sauce does taste really good, but the price..."

Xia Qingqing smiled and continued, "I sold this chili sauce in Beijing for a while before. It was 2.5 yuan a bottle when sold loose, but that price included postage. It shouldn't be a problem to sell it for 2 yuan in our county, right?"

Xiao Hui disagreed, saying, "It's different. People in Beijing are much richer than people here. A bottle of chili sauce like this can only sell for 1.5 yuan at most."

Xia Qingqing also knew this was true; prices in big cities were different from those in small towns like theirs.

"I don't care whether you sell it for 1.5 yuan or 2 yuan, the lowest price I can give you is 1.2 yuan."

"The cost of this bottle of chili sauce may not seem high, but the cost includes chili peppers, small fish and shrimp, oil, salt and seasonings, glass jars, labor, and so on. Of course, the most important thing is the taste. Not everyone can make such delicious chili sauce."

Xiao Hui knew this was the reason, but he still thought the purchase price of 1.2 yuan was a bit high.

He wanted to try again: "Boss Xia, if I buy a lot at once, can you lower the price a bit?"

"Tell us how much you want first, we can't do too much," Xia Qingqing said, not directly refusing Xiao Hui.

Xiao Hui held up his hand to indicate a number: "I want 500 bottles. If it sells well, I can increase the quantity."

Xia Qingqing was both amused and exasperated. This was quite a lot; she didn't even know if her parents could make that much.

"500 bottles might be a bit too much, and besides, this chili sauce doesn't keep for very long. Why don't you order a smaller amount at once?"

Xiao Hui refused, of course. He wanted to use his numerical advantage to get Xia Qingqing to give him a discount.

Xia Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "I can only give you 100 bottles at most at once, and I'll deliver them to you in 5 installments. I'll also reduce the price by 10 cents. I really can't go any lower than 1.1 yuan."

Xiao Hui agreed with a grin. He would earn an extra 10 cents per bottle, so 100 bottles would earn him an extra 10 yuan.

Moreover, he could find someone to take it to the city to sell, and he could even find a way to raise the price.

Having dealt with each other so many times, Xia Qingqing didn't have Xiao Hui sign a contract, only saying that payment would be settled when the goods were delivered.

This is also more advantageous for them; if they can't make that many bottles of chili sauce, wouldn't that be a breach of contract?

Xiao Hui happily saw Xia Qingqing off. He swallowed hard as he looked at the remaining chili sauce on the table, then pocketed his money and went to the state-run restaurant to buy steamed buns. He wasn't full yet and felt he could eat two more big steamed buns.

......

On her way back, Xia Qingqing pedaled her bicycle furiously under the blazing sun. Even though she was wearing a straw hat, she still felt like she was going to melt from the heat.

This isn't even the hottest time yet; if it were noon, she would definitely suffer from heatstroke.

When Xia Qingqing arrived home, Gou Dan immediately came up to her enthusiastically: "Sister, are you hot? Let me fan you."

"Let me park my bicycle first, and then get me a basin of cold water to wash my face."

"Yes, I'll be right there," Gou Dan replied and immediately ran to the kitchen to fetch water for his sister.

When Gou Dan came out with the water, he saw a bag of meat buns and two mung bean popsicles on the table in the main room.

"Sis, the water's here, hurry up and wash your face. What's this on the table?" Gou Dan said, picking up a mung bean popsicle, his hand immediately feeling a chill.