Wu Chunhua has a remarkable business sense these days. She thought to herself, "Since apricots can be made so delicious, can't they be sold for money?"

"Third Sister, could we make these dried apricots and sell them?"

"Of course, I plan to make them to sell. What do you think?"

"This is amazing! Apricots that are so sour they make your teeth ache can be made into dried apricots that taste so good. They're sure to sell well!" Wu Chunhua gave it her all!

She doesn't expect to make a lot of money; she'd be happy with just some hard-earned money. The busy farming season is over, and there's not much work to do at home.

“These dried apricots are delicious, so we shouldn’t have trouble selling them. But where are we going to get so many apricots? Are there enough apricots in the mountains?” Liao Hongying also thought it was a good idea, but she didn’t know if there were enough raw materials.

Actually, Qin San Niang wasn't worried about that. She had already asked Gu Qingshan yesterday, and he said there was a wild apricot grove in the back mountains, with plenty of apricots, making it a viable business opportunity. As for later, when the cultivated apricots ripen, she could go to the mountains to buy them.

"Don't worry about that. There's an apricot grove on the back hill, enough to keep us busy for the season. Besides, I've opened a pastry shop now, so we can sell dried apricots there. We don't need to worry about sales."

The fact that Qin San Niang opened a shop was not kept secret, and everyone was happy for her.

Hearing this, Wu Chunhua immediately couldn't sit still and prepared to go to the back mountain to pick apricots! That's all money! Liu also planned to go with her, since she was just staying at home anyway.

Qin San Niang quickly stopped them and persuaded them, "Mother, don't be anxious. Listen to me, don't we still have the work of brewing wine? That's the main job! If you all go to pick apricots, who will brew the wine?"

"Oh dear, that's right, there's such a big task! How could I forget?" Wu Chunhua and Liu Shi exchanged a glance and exclaimed in frustration. What should they do? Suddenly, an idea came to them. "How about we work a little harder, pick apricots in the morning, and then make wine in the afternoon and evening?"

Oh my god, this is such a headache! When are we going to make dried apricots? We're just too busy! They all come from poor backgrounds, so they're not afraid of being tired. A little tired is fine, as long as there's something to do, they're not afraid!

Qin San Niang knew exactly what they were thinking, and shook her head inwardly, saying, "Sister Chunhua, if that's what you say, who will make dried apricots? Who will haul the goods to sell? Who will make the wine? Besides, these are not processes that one or two people can complete. Even an ox can't withstand such hard work!"

Wu Chunhua was speechless upon hearing this; it was indeed true!

"Why don't we hire someone to do it?" Liao Hongying suggested. "It's the off-season for farming now, and the farmers in Shiligou aren't too busy. We can hire people to pick apricots and make dried apricots. The rest of the family can then focus on making wine. Wouldn't that make things much easier?"

Qin San Niang gave her a satisfied look. Now that someone had taken the lead, things would be easier to discuss! Besides, the family had already had experience hiring people before, so when Liu Shi and the others heard that they needed to hire people to do the work again, they were not as resistant as before.

“We don’t have many capable people. Mr. He and his children need to go to school, which is a serious matter. We certainly can’t manage it all by ourselves.”

So, what about the apricots? We don't need to hire anyone; we can buy them from within the village, which will increase the villagers' income. However, processing the apricots requires hiring people; we couldn't manage it even if we worked ourselves to death with just a few of us.”

Qin San Niang was not exaggerating; she intended to expand her business. She planned to sell the dried apricots not only in her own shop but also through the county magistrate's wife to transport them to other places for sale.

Last time, after the county magistrate's daughter's birthday banquet, Si Li Ren and Qin San Niang got involved with the county magistrate's wife. After that, Si Ji started doing business with her, always offering very favorable discounts.

Madam Yang made a lot of money from this business, and as a result, she became much more amiable towards Qin San Niang. She already knew that the previous Qin Yan was Qin San Niang's younger brother, and that Qin San Niang was the new owner of Ruyi Cake Shop! Moreover, because of the previous glass cup, the person on it was extremely satisfied with her master and promised to provide certain conveniences within the scope of their authority!

Now, looking at Qin San Niang, Madam Yang felt more and more satisfied.

Qin San Niang also gave Yang a lot of face. Whenever Yang ordered a cake, Qin San Niang would make it herself and send it to her. Because Qin San Niang made it herself, it was better than Mu Chun's cake in terms of both appearance and taste.

When everyone heard her say this, they were all speechless with surprise. Could it be that their dried apricots could be sold back to the north? That would be wonderful!

Although they have settled down here, they still miss their hometown when they dream at midnight, but they can't say it out loud! They're so far away, they might never be able to go back in this lifetime! Besides, where is their home? However, if what they make can take them back to their hometown, it can at least ease their homesickness a little.

Liu and Wu Chunhua nodded, both agreeing with Qin Sanniang's arrangement.

So, after dinner, everyone gathered for a meeting. As the founder, Qin San Niang naturally had to explain her business philosophy. Seeing that no one had any objections, she proceeded with the arrangements in an orderly manner.

"Qingshan will be in charge of purchasing the apricots; three catties of apricots will fetch one copper coin. In addition, you will have to go through the trouble of contacting the kiln that makes wine jars and have a few fifty-catty jars made in advance."

The apricot preserves will be made by Sister Chunhua and Fatty. Tomorrow I will show you how to make them, and you two will be in charge! Mother will be in charge of preparing the ingredients; I will help with that.

It's time to start brewing. Hongying came over to help me, taking charge of preparing the materials and initial processing.

As for Brother He and the kids, you can help out after school if you want, but your main task right now is to study. We're counting on you to succeed!

Knowing that things would get busy at home, after everyone left, Da Wa and Lu Song approached her and said that they also planned to help with the chores.

Qin San Niang felt that the two children had made great progress in expressing their thoughts so frankly.

After asking the two boys what they thought, it turned out that the eldest boy really had no interest in studying; he only wanted to go hunting in the mountains or help his mother with her business. Lu Song was in a similar situation. Moreover, the two girls, Anan and Azhi, only went to school for half a day, spending the other half at home learning to sew and embroider.

After communicating with He Yingyuan, they agreed to let the two children study for half a day, usually in the morning for literacy and in the afternoon for learning extension activities.

Da Wa and Lu Song jumped for joy when they learned they could come back to work in the afternoon.

Well, they say the dragon has nine sons, and each one is different! She can't dwell on it too much!