Chapter Eight: Mulberries

Manager Xu said, "Madam Li is a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush." ​​He also valued his time, so he got straight to the point. "Our boss means that you can make this dish at home, but it must be made fresh on the same day. Dishes made the next day will not only affect the taste, but also spoil in this hot weather, which could upset the guests' stomachs."

“Of course,” Li Yan assured her. “Please rest assured, Manager Xu and the owner.” Even if they hadn’t asked her to, Li Yan would have done it anyway. In the food business, the taste can be average, but the food must be absolutely fresh.

Manager Xu nodded and continued, “Our Yuanbao Restaurant also serves roast pork, but the way we make it is different from yours. One serving of roast pork…we sell it for eighteen coins. Although your roast pork has a unique taste, we dare not set the price too high, so we also set it at eighteen coins per serving. Nowadays, a pound of pork costs twenty-eight coins, and a pound of raw pork can make three servings of roast pork, which means…we can sell it for fifty-four coins. So after deducting the cost, we get…twenty-six coins. Even if we deduct the cost of seasonings…let’s be a little more generous, say two coins, there’s still a profit of twenty-four coins. The owner’s idea is that our restaurant takes four parts, and you take six parts.”

"From now on, from purchasing to cooking and transportation, you'll have to do all the work for this dish. What do you think, my wife?"

While Manager Xu was speaking, Li Yan mentally did the calculations as well.

If she takes 60%, she'll make a net profit of 14.4 wen per jin of pork. Of that, she'll have to give another 20% to Manager Xu. In the end, she'll only get... about 11 wen.

If you can make such a high profit per pound of pork, then conservatively speaking, if you make enough pork to make five pounds a day, that would be... fifty coins.

If you earn fifty coins a day, that's fifteen hundred coins a month.

Once this deal goes through, I'll be able to earn 1,500 coins every month.

Moreover, if the purchasing power is also in their own hands, the cost can be reduced even further.

Li Yan was excited, but dared not show it easily. After frowning slightly and remaining silent for a while, she smiled and met Manager Xu's gaze, slowly saying, "I know you've gone to great lengths for this matter, Manager Xu." Li Yan could tell that he had indeed put in a lot of effort; otherwise, he wouldn't have secured 60% for her.

And the accounts were calculated in such detail in front of her.

"Please rest assured, Manager Xu, I will definitely keep my promise to give you 20% of the profits as a reward if things go well. However... I have one request."

Actually, Manager Xu was quite surprised by Li Yan's attitude. If it were any other peasant woman, she probably wouldn't even understand what she was talking about, let alone be able to sort out this account.

But not only did Li understand it quickly, she was also able to sort out the facts in her mind.

It is evident that she must have studied abacus and mental arithmetic.

This woman was not particularly attractive, and her family looked poor... yet she had been to school?

After a moment of distraction, Manager Xu finally asked, "What are Madam Li's requirements?"

Li Yan said, "As you can see, Manager Xu, my family is poor and can't come up with much money right now. So, I hope that my money can be settled daily from now on. Manager Xu can deduct the 20% that you promised and just pay me the money that belongs to me."

“No problem.” If a restaurant introduces a new dish, it has to report to the owner, but he can still make decisions about the kitchen and the accounting department. “Does Madam Li have any other requests? You can bring them up.”

After thinking about it carefully, Li Yan shook her head: "Not for now."

Manager Xu: "Starting tomorrow, my wife will deliver cooked meat to the restaurant every evening. In addition, we will sign a contract with my wife. After she has reviewed it, if she is satisfied, she can simply put her fingerprint on it."

Li Yan agreed.

The cooperation talks went smoothly, and Manager Xu was very happy.

Li Yan escorted Manager Xu all the way to the gate of the courtyard, and only turned back after watching him walk away.

While Li Yan was discussing the collaboration, Aunt Xue went to work in the courtyard. Now that she'd left, Aunt Xue asked, "Did it work out?"

Li Yan had been restraining herself for a long time, and now she finally smiled.

"It's done. From now on, we'll deliver braised pork to Yuanbaolou every day. Roughly estimated, we can earn fifty coins a day."

"You can earn fifty coins a day?" Aunt Xue was both surprised and delighted.

At the same time, her surprise was mixed with a trace of fear and bewilderment. She was a little worried and asked hesitantly, "Yan Niang, is this really going to work? Aren't we being scammed?" Can you really make so much money? Isn't this a scam?

Li Yan: "It's settled daily, so as long as we don't default on payments, we won't lose much."

Aunt Xue didn't understand these things, but she was increasingly trusting her daughter-in-law. Since her daughter-in-law confidently said there was no problem, she believed it was true.

"Mother, I'm going next door to see Sister-in-law Zhang."

"Alright, go ahead." Aunt Xue was initially a little worried, but the more she thought about it, the happier she became. Fifty coins a day! What could she possibly do to earn fifty coins a day?

Then, remembering that this matter was introduced by the Zhang family's daughter-in-law next door, Aunt Xue said, "I must thank you, Zhang family's daughter-in-law."

"I know."

Li Yan's purpose in going there was to deliver the promised silver to Madam He. One qian of silver plus two wen, totaling one hundred and two wen, Li Yan counted the copper coins and strung them together with a grass root.

It was still early, and Madam He hadn't left yet.

Having just returned from hoeing in the fields, Mrs. He was now resting in her own main room.

"Sister-in-law," Li Yan called out from outside the fence.

When she was busy, Madam He forgot about the matter, but now that she had some free time, she naturally started thinking about the things Li Yan had promised her yesterday.

She would receive one qian of silver simply for helping to bring the meat to the customer's table. Furthermore, after the deal with Yuanbaolou was finalized, she would receive one wen of silver every day thereafter.

Ms. He was initially hesitant about whether to go and ask about the situation.

I'm also afraid that if I rush things, it won't be a good idea to go looking for someone.

Just as they were hesitating, they heard Li's voice coming from outside the door.

Mrs. He immediately came out to greet her: "I'm at home."

He's husband was also conscripted to join the army on the front lines, but fortunately, he was not on the list of soldiers who died in this battle.

He rushed over to Li Yan, opened the small gate of the fence, and warmly invited her in: "It's sunny outside, sister, come in and talk." In just two or three days, He's attitude towards Li Yan had completely changed.

Yesterday, upon learning that she had actually persuaded Manager Xu, Madam He was filled with admiration.

She was terrified of Manager Xu, but this Li not only had influence with him, she could also get things done. She was really something.

Once inside, Li Yan immediately handed over the money she had brought: "I promised my sister-in-law, here is a total of one hundred and two coins."

"This...this..." Mrs. He rubbed her hands, not knowing what to say.

She really wanted the money, but she felt it wasn't right to just take it like that, so she hesitated.

Li Yan forcefully stuffed it into her hand: "This is what you deserve, sister-in-law. Take it quickly. If you don't, I'll get angry."

"What are you angry about? Don't be angry." Mrs. He pushed it away again, then took it. "So I'll just take it? I feel a little embarrassed." She quickly invited her to sit down.

The layout of the Zhang family's house is similar to that of the Xue family's house, with a main hall in the middle and two rooms on either side.

After Li Yan picked up a stool and sat down, she said, "Manager Xu just came to see me; the cooperation has been finalized."

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. He was happy for her and for herself.

Because the cooperation was finalized, she would receive one penny a day from then on.

"I promised my sister-in-law that I would pay her one coin every day from now on."

Mrs. He just smiled happily, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Li Yan actually had another favor to ask of her, so she took the opportunity to say it: "Manager Xu said that from now on, the meat will be cooked at home and then transported to town. My family only has two pots, and I'm afraid that sometimes we won't be able to manage due to time constraints. So, I came to let you know in advance, so if we're ever really too busy, we can borrow your pots. But it won't be free; I'll pay you two coins each time I borrow one."

Li Yan had already planned in her mind that she would cook five jin of meat every day from now on.

Let's try it for a few days and see what the customers in the restaurant think.

If everyone agrees and rushes to buy, she can add an extra portion every few days.

When we make more portions, we'll need to use Zhang's pot.

Having tasted the sweetness of money from Li Yan, Madam He trusted her. Hearing her say this, Madam He immediately assured her there would be no problem.

"Our pots are just sitting there; you can use them anytime you want."

"Then thank you in advance, sister-in-law." Li Yan didn't want to keep her any longer. Having said everything she wanted to say, Li Yan got up to leave. "Sister-in-law is busy, I'll be going now."

"I send you."

.

It's just a short walk from the Zhang family's house to the Xue family's house.

The sun was now setting in the west, not as scorching as it was at noon, and the wind had become gentler.

Having just accomplished something, Li Yan was in a great mood, so she slowed down and strolled leisurely along the country lane.

There are many trees in the countryside, and when a gust of wind blows, the leaves rustle.

Li Yan looked up at the trees, and suddenly her gaze fell on a few trees by the roadside.

Upon closer inspection, Li Yan was delighted to see that they were indeed mulberries.

After walking quickly home, Li Yan told Aunt Xue about seeing mulberries on the way, and then asked her, "Who planted those trees?"

Aunt Xue thought for a moment before realizing what she was talking about: "Oh, those mulberries? Nobody grows them, they just grow on their own. The ones at the foot of the mountain aren't very good, they're sour. The mulberries in the mountains are better, sweeter and juicier. But these mulberries easily stain clothes, so the neighbors don't want their children to steal them. Why are you asking?"

In the sweltering heat of summer, at the hottest time of the year, nothing is more perfect than something cold and icy.

Since these mulberries are everywhere in the mountains and free, Li Yan wondered if she could make some refreshing and thirst-quenching iced drinks.

If the food is delicious, you can take it with you to town to sell at a stall, taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver meat to town every night.

If the ingredients are free, there's practically no cost, so no matter what price you sell them at, you'll still make a profit.

"These fruits are delicious," Li Yan replied with a smile to Aunt Xue. "I'll go pick some later."

A note from the author:

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Make money, make money~

Keep dropping red envelopes!