Li Yunxiang usually only chops meat and washes vegetables. Seeing that Meng Zhao and the others were already arranging skewers in the basin, she said goodbye to Meng Zhao and prepared to leave.

But Meng Zhao called out to her, "Wait, Yunxiang, take these braised dishes back with you."

When braising skewers, some ingredients inevitably get damaged due to bumps or stirring. She doesn't want to put these unappealing items on her stall.

So sometimes Li Yunxiang and Aunt Feng'e would each take some food back with them. Of course, it wasn't every day. If it were every day, they would get used to it, and if it suddenly stopped one day, they would complain.

It's better to give them one or two times occasionally, which can avoid waste and serve as a benefit, thus gaining their favor.

Li Yunxiang happily carried a full bowl of braised dishes home. Although some of them were broken, they were still a precious food for her family.

A few days ago, Meng Zhao had asked her to take a bowl back with her. Her daughter Er Ya tried one of the chicken meatballs and loved it. She thought about trying it again every day.

When they arrived home, everyone initially just glanced at her casually, but their eyes lit up when they saw what she was carrying, especially Li Tianbao, the youngest son of the second wife, who immediately clamored to eat it.

"Grandma, meat, I want to eat meat."

Granny Fang glanced at Li Yunxiang and said, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and come to the table to eat."

The bowl of braised food was not placed directly on the table. Instead, Granny Fang took it, divided it into two portions, and took half of it to the house for Old Man Li, who had broken his leg.

The remaining portion was placed in front of her by Granny Fang. The most impolite one was Li Tianbao. As soon as the braised dishes were served, he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed the only piece of beef in the bowl.

Li Daya swallowed hard as she looked at the braised dishes, but dared not pick them up. Li Erya stretched out her arm to pick up the braised dishes, but because they were far away, she only managed to pick up two green vegetables.

Li Yunxiang boldly picked up a chicken meatball, put it in Li Erya's bowl, and gave her a look that said, "Eat it quickly."

Before the meatballs were even eaten, Li Tianbao next to him started crying, "I want to eat meatballs! I want to eat meatballs!"

Li Erya naturally wouldn't indulge him. She quickly picked up a meatball, swallowed it in one gulp, and stuck out her tongue at Li Tianbao.

This infuriated Li Tianbao. He felt that all the good things in the house should rightfully belong to him, and he immediately started crying and making a scene.

Granny Fang placed the entire bowl directly in front of Li Tianbao, saying, "My precious grandson, come on, this is all for you. Eat it all, don't leave them a single bite."

But Li Tianbao still couldn't stop crying. The rest was his, and the bite that Li Erya ate should also be his.

Granny Fang was so annoyed by the noise that she got up, grabbed Li Erya, and started spanking her. "You're a reincarnation of a starving ghost! How can you be so greedy? You've never seen the world before. You even have to fight with your brother for a piece of meat."

Li Yunxiang rushed over to stop him. There was a commotion in the yard. Li Dayong happened to come back from outside. He saw half a bowl of braised meat on the table, and without caring about his beaten daughter, he picked it up and started eating.

Li Tianbao, who had been crying and making a fuss just moments before, started crying even harder, but he didn't dare to go up and snatch it, because his uncle really could hit people.

This made Granny Fang feel terrible. She quickly picked up her beloved grandson, but dared not scold her eldest son. Taking advantage of this moment, Li Yunxiang quickly took Li Erya back to the house.

She had brought the braised dishes back herself, but her daughter had only eaten two pieces of greens and one meatball. Seeing that her daughter was still hungry, she made up her mind and whispered something in her daughter's ear.

***

Time flies, and in just half a month, it will be the third time to supply goods to Chunfenglou. Meng Zhao and the village head sat together to discuss the next steps.

There are fewer than 20 people in the workshop at this time, and they can produce about 4,000 catties of starch per month. According to the contract with Chunfenglou, the supply will be 3,000 catties per month for the first three months, and 2,000 catties per month thereafter.

If we calculate it that way, starting next month, their starch reserves will exceed one month's worth of stock, which would constitute overcapacity.

The simplest approach would be to go directly to Chunfeng Tower and sign another contract. According to Meng Zhao's inquiries, Chunfeng Tower is currently booming, and demand is bound to increase. As long as she takes the initiative to bring it up, Meng Zhao is not afraid that Xiao Youzhi will refuse to sign.

However, actively selling goods is ultimately a disadvantage; it would be better to let Chunfenglou actively purchase goods, and layoffs are out of the question. The only solution now is to expand our partnerships.

Moreover, Meng Zhao only guaranteed Chunfenglou an exclusive contract for three months, and now that the three months are almost up, even if she finds other partners, Chunfenglou can't say anything.

To sell goods, one must first understand the product. Among them, the village head knew that they were cooperating with Chunfenglou, but Meng Zhao had never said what the starch was specifically used for or how to use it.

Gu Yun and Xu Ping didn't even know Chunfeng Tower. Every time Chen Xiaowu came to collect goods, he never chatted with anyone, let alone revealed his identity.

Meng Zhaoxian explained several uses of starch to them, letting them know where it was used.

Then he said, "Village head, starting next month, we need to think of more ways, otherwise we won't need so many people in this workshop."

The village head was getting annoyed lately by the villagers begging him to work in his workshop, many of whom were related to him. It was really hard to refuse them. If he not only didn't hire anyone, but also had to lay off staff, how could he do that? Their village was just starting to do well.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the workshop only hired less than twenty people. Behind those dozen or so people are a dozen or so households. Ensuring that at least a dozen or so households don't have to worry about not having enough to eat is a great merit he, as the village head, has accumulated from who knows where. He finds it even more unacceptable than Meng Zhao to lay off staff.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!