Chapter 85 - Signing the Contract as a Two-in-One Agreement

The man thought about it and agreed, so he registered it, stamped it, and gave him the deed.

Chai Xingyu held the contract and looked at the words "Chai's Sauce Market" on it, smiling happily!

He personally led Sanbao and the others to make the plaque, and then went back to write a new contract. By the time he finished, it was already afternoon, and Lin Chuntao and the others had already packed up and gone home.

After lunch, Chai Xingyu took his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, along with his three treasures, and drove his little mule cart to find Lin Chuntao to sign the contract.

Once this contract is signed, half the battle is already won!

Lin Chuntao was somewhat surprised when Chai Xingyu came to her.

"Sister, I've come to sign the contract with you."

Lin Chuntao saw Chai Xingyu standing at the courtyard gate and quickly called him in.

"So fast?"

Chai Xingyu said, "I rented the shop yesterday, and I went to register and get the deed this morning." As he spoke, he took out the deed he had obtained from the government. Lin Chuntao looked at it and found that it looked quite similar to a modern business license.

After she finished reading it, she folded it up and returned it to Chai Xingyu.

You should keep this safe.

Chai Xingyu nodded. "Don't worry."

The efficiency was quite fast, but she wondered if she had been ripped off. Thinking about this, Lin Chuntao still asked about the rent. Chai Xingyu said, "I often wander around outside and hear those shopkeepers say that the rent is too expensive or too cheap. I bargained and it's the market price. I wasn't cheated."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "That's good then. Let's sign the contract."

Because Chai Xingyu decided to pay the advance payment at the beginning of the month, Lin Chuntao also accepted the consignment model. The two split the profits: Lin Chuntao gets 80%, Chai Xingyu gets 20%, and the rest is the price of the sauce.

The most expensive sauce from the Chai family is 22 yuan per jin (500g), but not many people buy it. Most ordinary people buy it for around ten wen. Lin Chuntao's sauce is well-known because of her soup noodles, and her main customers are also ordinary people. The price must be within their acceptable range, but she can't afford to lose money.

Lin Chuntao did the math and finally set the retail price at 18 wen per jin. Restaurants and eateries use it a lot, so they could also get it for 16 wen.

Chai Xingyu thought for a moment and then asked Lin Chuntao, "What if the peddler takes his load to the countryside to sell? Can we give them fifteen pieces?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "Okay."

They agreed on some details and wrote them down in the contract. Then the two of them signed and pressed their fingerprints on it, while Pei Ying and Lin Chunxing stood by and watched.

After the contract was signed, Chai Xingyu gave Lin Chuntao the first advance payment of fifty taels.

Lin Chuntao accepted the money, borrowed his paper and pen, and wrote him a receipt.

After the deal was done, Chai Xingyu couldn't wait to ask, "Sister, when do we open for business?"

"Go check the almanac; any day in eighteen days will do."

Chai Xingyu felt a little excited. Lin Chuntao looked at him and smiled, "The matter is settled. Aren't you going to tell your family?"

Chai Xingyu smiled and said, "Let's wait a few more days."

"Well, you handle it yourself. The sauce isn't ready yet. Have someone choose an opening date and make a sign. You're opening a shop, so you're definitely not just selling my sauce. You need to put up the sign first and let people who make delicious sauces come to you with their sauces to join your business. What kind of sauce? What kind of way to eat it? How to add it to dishes? How does it taste? You need to find some people to taste and evaluate it to decide which sauces to put in the shop. If it tastes good, set a price and sign a contract. Also, consider the hygiene of the people who make the sauces, etc."

"If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."

Lin Chuntao gave a long string of instructions, and Chai Xingyu nodded with a smile.

"good."

The shop is his, and it's his business whether he makes a profit or a loss. It's rare that Lin Chuntao is going to such lengths for him, and he is very grateful.

He needs to prepare for the opening, and Lin Chuntao also needs to prepare to make sauce, and Lin Chuntao will have more and more trivial things to do.

"Sister, you must need a lot of salt, right? The salt in the shop is expensive. I'll introduce you to someone tomorrow. You can buy salt from him for much cheaper."

Lin Chuntao knew this must be a salt merchant, and asked curiously, "How much per pound?"

Chai Xingyu held up two fingers, and Lin Chuntao was stunned. "Cut it in half."

"Um."

"Then I'll buy more tomorrow."

Chai Xingyu arrived in the afternoon and was busy with work. He left without even being invited to stay for dinner by Lin Chuntao.

After he left, Lin Chuntao also had to get busy. Each vat of soy sauce weighed about 400 jin, so she had to make at least three vats to store.

We need to buy a few more jars for soy sauce. We don't have enough soybeans and dried chilies, so we need to buy those too. The winnowing baskets and sieves we have at home aren't enough either. We also need to buy a few more wooden basins and buckets.

Yesterday, Lin Jiahui went to the county town to check the prices of beans and chili peppers. Today, he visited other villages for the first time. He doesn't know how much he will buy back.

Pei Ying, thinking about the large quantity she needed to make, asked, "Do you need some racks to hold the winnowing baskets?"

"Yes, we need at least two or three more."

Pei Ying said, "Then I'll go cut some bamboo later and make a few more."

After Pei Ying went out with the sickle, Sun Shi and Aunt Guizhi arrived, bringing earthenware pots.

"Chuntao, your great-grandmother and I have come to ask you to scoop some sauce."

Lin Chuntao greeted them with a smile and casually brought over two stools.

"I was just about to come find you too."

Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "Isn't that a coincidence?"

"It saves me a trip."

As they were talking, Lin Chuntao brought out two stools for them to sit on. After they sat down, Lin Chuntao said that she needed four people to help her make soy sauce, pick beans, remove the stems from chili peppers, crush the chili peppers, and pound the beans.

Upon hearing that four people were needed, Madam Sun immediately asked, "Are you making a lot of this?"

"Yes, we need to make several vats of them and sell them."

"For now, there will be four people. Each person will receive twenty coins a day, and the work will end at dinner time."

After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Sun and Aunt Guizhi were both shocked. They thought it was just a small favor, but they didn't expect Lin Chuntao to be paying for it. They had never done any work for others before, and it was very difficult for women to find work in the city. The only way they could earn money was by saving eggs. If they had some needlework skills, they could make some embroidery to sell, but most people in the village didn't have such skills.

Even those like Aunt Guizhi who grow vegetables and sell them are a minority.

Picking beans and removing chili stems can both be done while sitting, and you only get twenty coins a day? That's a lot of money, but since everyone in the village helps each other out, it seems a bit strange to charge money.

Sun said, "We'll help each other out, no money required. I'll ask your second aunt and the others to help you with it."

Hearing what Sun said, Lin Chuntao said, "Grandma, it's not like that. It's not like you help me with the crops for a few days and I'll help you with the crops for a few days. I will continue to do this in the future. I will need people for a long time and I need a fixed number of people. I can come when I need help with the work. You can treat it as earning some pocket money in the village."

Now Sun and Aunt Guizhi understood that Lin Chuntao was recruiting people for work, but it wasn't just about earning some pocket money; it was more like a windfall that happened to fall into their village and hit them.

Sun looked at Aunt Guizhi and said, "Then your Aunt Guizhi's family and I will each contribute two people."

Aunt Guizhi's family is small. Her husband has to weave utensils, Lin Shuilian is still recovering from childbirth, and the old lady has to take care of the two children. Only Aunt Guizhi can manage everything inside and outside the house.

Thinking that she couldn't delay Lin Chuntao's affairs, she quickly said, "Auntie, I'm the only one from my family who can come. Please ask my sister-in-law and the other women to come."

Sun said, "Aren't you going to let Grandma Shuilian come and cook too?"

"Shui Lian is still a bit weak. Her grandmother has to cook something at home. We'll talk about it again when Shui Lian is better."

Sun knew in her heart that it was only Lin Chuntao who had said it with the two of them, and it wouldn't be right for her family to account for three people.

Lin Chuntao looked at Aunt Guizhi and said with a smile, "Then Auntie, you should come tomorrow morning. Let Sixth Grandma take care of Sister Shuilian for a while. After Sister Shuilian recovers, let her come and help me. Eldest Grandma, you should also bring my aunt and the others tomorrow morning."

Both of them smiled and agreed. Aunt Guizhi felt a warm current welling up in her heart. Shuilian couldn't speak, and she had just returned from her divorce with two children. It was not easy for her to support herself. If she could work with Lin Chuntao, she wouldn't have to worry too much.

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Madam Sun looked at her with approval.

"Chuntao, you've made so much sauce, have you found a buyer yet?" Sun asked.

"I wouldn't call myself a buyer; it's more like a collaboration. I make the sauce and he sells it."

After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Aunt Guizhi asked, "Is it the one who came in the mule cart today?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "Yes, it's him."

Sun pursed her lips, still a little worried that Lin Chuntao might be deceived. Seeing Sun's hesitation, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "He gave me part of the money first."

Mrs. Sun said, "It's more reassuring to have money in hand. Will you be selling this sauce in the county town from now on?"

"Yes, it's sold at that Chai's Sauce Market, for eighteen coins a pound."

Both of them stared wide-eyed at the price.

Lin Chuntao said, "That person helps me sell them, and I have to share some of the money with him, so I don't earn much."

Sun said, "It's such a pity that this money was taken away for nothing."

Before Lin Chuntao could speak with a smile, Aunt Guizhi chimed in, "Actually, this is for the best. Otherwise, Chuntao would have to make sauce and sell it. How could she possibly manage all of these things?"

That's one point. Secondly, if Chai Xingyu can make this first shop a success, then in his mind, he will definitely open branches in other prefectures and counties. She only needs to supply the sauce and doesn't need to worry about too much else.

Mrs. Sun thought about how busy Lin Chuntao had been these past few months, and how hard she had indeed worked.

"That's true, it's not worth getting too tired and hurting your health."

The two sat and chatted for a while before getting ready to go back. Lin Chuntao scooped some sauce for them.

Sun and Aunt Guizhi both gave her money. Lin Chuntao didn't intend to accept it, but the two kept pushing it back and forth, and in the end, Lin Chuntao only accepted the cost of the beans and chili peppers.

On their way back, the two looked at the earthenware pot and, remembering the price of eighteen coins per pound, exchanged a smile.

“If it weren’t for Chuntao making it, we wouldn’t dare buy it even if we saw it in the county town.” As soon as Sun finished speaking, Aunt Guizhi laughed, “That’s right.”

After Aunt Guizhi finished speaking, she paused and said, "If Chuntao keeps making this sauce, we can grow more chili peppers and soybeans so we can make sauce for her later."

Sun said, "It doesn't feel like just the two of us are enough. Let's ask Chun Tao tomorrow if she has any ideas."

When the two returned home, they told their family about their idea of ​​having Lin Chuntao do chores.

Aunt Guizhi's family had no objections. Uncle Linshan even gestured to Aunt Guizhi, saying that Lin Chuntao had helped them a lot and that they shouldn't take her money. Aunt Guizhi ignored him. The favor Lin Chuntao had done for them couldn't be repaid without money. It wasn't the same thing. If she really didn't take money, Lin Chuntao would feel embarrassed to ask her for anything in the future.

She only asked Lin Shan to make some winnowing baskets that Lin Chuntao needed, and described the style.

When Mrs. Sun brought the news back to the village head's house, the whole family was shocked.

Lin Jiahui went to buy beans and chili peppers. Three more people from their family can work there, earning twenty coins a day, which would amount to sixty coins.

Sun looked around at her family and, judging from Lin Chuntao's words, realized that this job required a woman.

She's going, and she wants her two daughters-in-law to go with her.

At this moment, all three of them were looking at her. Sun glanced at their faces. Chen Dongniang also wanted to go, but Lin Jiahui had already gone, so Sun thought of having the second and third sons' families go instead.

She was quite disappointed when she said that Chen Dongniang was a little disappointed. Sun said, "It's the same as before: half of the money we earn will be handed over to the government, and the other half will be kept for ourselves."

Even if they kept half for themselves, they would still have ten coins left, which made the second and third sons very happy.

Seeing Chen Dongniang's mood, Sun said with a smile, "Eldest son, don't think I'm being biased."

Chen Dongniang said, "I don't know what you're saying, Mother."

Sun said, "Your Hui has already gone. Let the two of them go first this time. You can work hard to take care of the household. I think we might need a lot of people to do the work for Chun Tao in the future."

Chen Dongniang nodded. Lin Jiahui earned even more in a day, so she couldn't be too greedy.

All the money I earn goes to the government.

She comforted herself and thought that the matter would pass. Besides, Lin Jiahui had come home tired after a long day and needed her, as his mother, to cook something for him. With that thought, the disappointment in her heart quickly dissipated.

"Don't worry, Mom, leave everything at home to me."

Hearing Chen Dongniang say this, the second son's family and the third son's family also breathed a sigh of relief.

They had a good relationship as sisters-in-law and didn't want this matter to cause any discord.

At this moment, Lin Chunxing and the others felt inexplicably uneasy, thinking that the five of them would have to pay more than a hundred coins for a day's work.

Lin Chuntao smiled at them and said, "What's wrong? Are you reluctant to spend the money?"

The group nodded in unison.

"More than a hundred coins a day, that's a lot to spend in a month!"

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Only by making more and selling more can we earn more. The few of us can't make that many."

Lin Duo'er was too young to manage much, but Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe were going to have to take charge of some things, so Lin Chuntao took this opportunity to clearly define the division of labor.

"Chunxing, from now on you will be mainly in charge of the noodle stall, including purchasing; Chunhe will be in charge of the household affairs; when Jiahui goes to the village to buy things, you will give him money, and when he comes back, you will also check the goods, weigh them and reconcile the accounts. In addition, you will have to supervise the people who come to help with chores at home in the future, and give everyone their money in the evening."

Lin Chunxing knew this was a difficult matter to handle, so she looked at Lin Chunhe, who calmly nodded.

"Sister, I understand."

Lin Chunxing pursed her lips. Actually, she really wanted to ask Lin Chunhe if she could fix it.

But then she thought about how she, as the older sister, was less composed than her younger sister, and felt a little embarrassed to ask.

"I'll finish making this batch of sauce first, then I'll get busy with building the house, so you two need to work hard and let me know if anything comes up."

Upon hearing that a house was going to be built, the three sisters' eyes were filled with anticipation.

Lin Duo'er, who was standing next to her, wasn't assigned any tasks. She looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Sister, then I'll take care of the pigs and chickens at home?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Sure, you can go check on our cornfield when you have time."

"good!"

When Pei Ying returned from cutting bamboo, the sisters had just finished talking.

He still remembered the day he arrived, when Lin Chuntao said she was going to bring her younger sisters with her.

He had seen older sisters and brothers take on all the responsibilities of raising their younger siblings, but this was the first time he had seen someone divide the work among them.

Lin Jiahui went out twice today. He went out early and came back at noon. He went out again in the afternoon and came back in the evening. Today he took the family's mule cart and bought more than two shi of soybeans and sixty or seventy jin of chili peppers, spending more than eight hundred wen.

Including what I bought yesterday, I already have three or four hundred pounds of soybeans, but there are still not enough chili peppers.

Lin Chuntao asked, "Jiahui, is it because everyone has fewer dried chilies?"

Lin Jiahui nodded. He said it wasn't a small amount, but dried chilies don't add up to the weight. A string of dried chilies from each family would only weigh two or three pounds. "Chilies don't add up to the weight. They're mostly dried for our own consumption. We only take some out to sell, so it's not much."

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and instructed Lin Jiahui to talk to the people in each village and tell them to plant more chili peppers and soybeans, so that they could go and harvest them again next year.

After Lin Jiahui left, she weighed everything to confirm the weight. When Aunt Guizhi and the others come tomorrow, she will prepare these first. She still needs to go to the county town to buy two stone mills, several vats, two large wooden buckets to soak the beans, and gauze. Since she is making a lot of sauce, she will need two large steamers and two large pots.

Lin Chuntao made a shopping list for tomorrow. She also needed to buy some paper and pens. Things like iron pots were expensive, so she planned to exchange them from the system. She still had more than 20,000 points left after exchanging for seedlings yesterday.

She looked at the large iron pot in the living area; it only cost eighty points. She would redeem two for use tomorrow.

After returning from Lin Chuntao's place, Chai Xingyu did not go directly back to the Chai family.

They had no idea that the county magistrate and the county assistant magistrate had already gone to their home.

Upon entering the mansion, the officials immediately began congratulating Chai Songchuan on opening his new shop, leaving Chai Songchuan completely bewildered. The county magistrate then said, "Young Master Chai personally handled the deed. The name is quite good; it's called Chai's Sauce Market. It's clear that Manager Chai is aiming to make a fortune."

Chai Xingyu handled it personally. Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang were both stunned for a moment, while Chai Jiao, who was standing next to him, frowned slightly.

When the county magistrate saw Chai Jiao, he greeted her with a smile.

Everyone knows that Chai Jiao married a sub-prefect, and now that sub-prefect is with the prefect here, so they came to try their luck.

Chai Xingyu was not home, so Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang entertained the two.

As dusk approached, they finally saw the people off. Guo Jixiang and his group, as usual, how could an official who came to their door not take something with him?

This time, they refused to accept the money for a long time, but Chai Jiao finally spoke up and said some polite words before the two of them were sent away.

Just after the two left, Chai Xingyu returned through the back door.

Guo Jixiang immediately sent someone to summon the person.

Chai Xingyu was in a great mood today. Looking at his parents and sister, who all looked serious, he asked casually, "What's wrong with you? Why do you all look so worried?"

"What kind of sauce market did you organize?"

Chai Xingyu's expression hardened, and he asked, "How did you know?"

Chai Jiao chuckled, and Chai Xingyu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Did the officials say that?"

Guo Jixiang said, "The county magistrate and the county clerk came just now, but they just left." No sooner had Guo Jixiang finished speaking than Chai Songchuan, who was standing nearby, asked, "What are you getting the deed for? To open a shop?"

Chai Xingyu replied, "Yes, I've already rented the shop and the deed is almost done. Mother, would you like to ask someone to help me choose a date for the opening?"

Guo Jixiang took a deep breath: "What will you sell in your shop?"

"Of course, we'll still be selling sauces. I don't know what else we'll add to the shop in the future."

After hearing this, what was there that no one present could not understand?

Chai Songchuan took a deep breath and asked, "You're going to open a shop and sell sauce to that guy surnamed Lin?"

Hearing the old man say this, Chai Xingyu also said frankly: "I opened the shop to make money, of course, not for anyone else. Our family's sauce can also be sold in my shop, but I will take a portion of the profits."

Chai Songchuan pinched the bridge of his nose, looked at Chai Xingyu, and thought to himself that Lin Chuntao must have used a curse on him.

Someone who has had no interest in business for so many years is suddenly going to run his own shop.

Guo Jixiang patted Chai Songchuan on the shoulder, then said softly to Chai Xingyu, "Sure, once your shop opens..."