Chapter 46 Pig Farming

Once the idea of ​​raising pigs took hold, he couldn't put it off. Since Wei's father and his family couldn't sell pork right now, he simply asked them to inquire where he could buy some piglets to raise.

Song Yushu wants to expand the scale of her pig farm this time, so that not only will her restaurant need a lot of pork, but the Wei family's pork shop will also consume a significant amount.

More importantly, the pigs raised by others have too strong a gamey smell, while the ones raised by myself taste better.

After Wei's father and the others went out to inquire about pig farmers, Song Yushu took advantage of the time they still had and directly hired someone to double the size of Wei's pig pen.

The Wei family is very interested in raising pigs. Now that there is no pork supply and the pork shop is empty, they can't stay idle.

However, before the pigs were even bought, the batch of grain transported to the county arrived first, and the grain shops in the county all opened.

Every day, long queues of people line up to buy grain, but unlike during the drought, there are no disturbances or looting now.

Although grain prices are a bit high, with the county magistrate keeping them in check, these grain merchants haven't dared to raise them too outrageously. If this continues, it won't be long before rice prices return to their previous levels.

Therefore, the families who bought grain this time did not dare to buy too much, only some to solve their immediate needs, thinking that they would buy more when the price dropped.

Song Yushu wanted to get the restaurant up and running as soon as possible, and didn't want to wait any longer, since the hunters she had contacted had already started delivering game.

Moreover, it wasn't just wild animals; Song Yushu also asked them to collect some mountain produce, which she would then collect as well. Currently, she has accumulated quite a few dried mushrooms, as well as preserved mustard greens, dried bamboo shoots, and the like.

After the grain arrived, Song Yushu packed up the goods and began serving meals at the restaurant the next day.

"Stewed pheasant with mushrooms, stir-fried dried bamboo shoots with cured pork, braised pork belly with dried plum, scrambled eggs with toon leaves..."

Song Yushu wrote down the names of each dish and hung them in a prominent position. Considering that many people were illiterate, she also put out a small sample dish for the guests to try.

"Delicious Food Restaurant is now open!"

"Today's meat dish is: pheasant stewed with mushrooms..."

In exchange for a meal, Song Yushu asked the children selling flowers at the orphanage to help spread the word, and now all the old customers had received the news.

"Boss Wei, where's the Dongpo pork? And the braised dishes too? It's been so long since I've had any, I really miss it!"

"Yeah! We were barely getting enough to eat during that period, and now that we've finally made it through, we really need to treat ourselves!"

"I'm so sorry, we can't buy pork right now, but we have other meat dishes. This pheasant stew with mushrooms was delivered fresh by a hunter this morning. Would you gentlemen like to try some?"

Song Yushu opened the stewed meat dish, and a delicious aroma wafted out. The guests couldn't resist and ordered several more meat dishes before finding seats.

Song Yushu did not send any documents to the academy today; he only packed one for Zhou Chengyu.

Her supply of goods is still unstable. The hunters only catch a limited amount of prey, so they can't cook too many meat dishes at once. However, she has plenty of vegetables. Wild vegetables are sold everywhere now, and the prices are low.

Therefore, after Zhou Chengyu opened his food box, he was met with envious comments from the students in the school.

"Zhou Chengyu, do you even consider me your brother? Why didn't you tell me your mother opened her restaurant?" Over the past few months, Xia Yun has lost weight and looks much thinner. His family certainly doesn't lack food, but unfortunately, they've run out of ingredients and are eating the same few dishes over and over again, so he's naturally lost weight.

"With ingredients scarce these days, my mother can't cook many meat dishes, and you don't like vegetarian dishes, do you?"

"Vegetarian dishes are fine too! Your mother is such a good cook, ask her to send me some tomorrow!" Xia Yun was very confident in Song Yushu's cooking skills, but of course, she really couldn't stand the food at the academy anymore.

"We want some too!"

Song Yushu was unaware that the students at the academy were clamoring for Zhou Chengyu to bring them food, and she was currently busy serving customers at the restaurant.

Besides her restaurant, only another restaurant had opened in town. However, compared to the restaurant, her restaurant was not only cheaper but also tasted better, so more people preferred to eat at her restaurant.

On the first day of business in the new year, so many customers came to the store. Song Yushu was in a good mood. After seeing off the customers, she cleaned up and brought out the food that had been left for the children.

The children from the orphanage hesitated before approaching, but ran over when Song Yushu beckoned.

"There's meat!" Xiao Jiu exclaimed in surprise. He could almost drool from the smell.

"Eat quickly, then go back to rest," Song Yushu said, seeing that they had been selling flowers all morning and knew they were tired. Fortunately, a few other children took over selling flowers in the afternoon.

Xiao Jiu and the other children ate the best meal they had in years. For a while, they were so focused on eating that no one had time to talk.

Afraid they might choke, Song Yushu brought them several bowls of plum juice. Seeing them wolfing it down, he didn't say anything. It was a rare treat to have such a good meal, so why say anything that would spoil their enjoyment?

After sending the children, whose bellies were round and full, back home, Song Yushu instructed the manager of the orphanage that if any of the flower-selling children came to help, her restaurant could provide them with meals, but they would only need to do some small favors.

The managers of the orphanage had no reason to disagree. Seeing that the children still had grease on their lips, they knew that Song Yushu hadn't mistreated them, and that their orphanage had actually taken advantage of Madam Wei.

Now they go out to sell flowers every day, and after a few days they are able to buy some necessities for the children.

After returning home, Song Yushu and Zhou Chengzhu settled accounts in the backyard. Song Yushu first had Zhou Chengzhu calculate it once, and then she checked to make sure there were no mistakes.

Zhou Chengzhu skillfully used the abacus to calculate today's profits, then subtracted the cost price, finally arriving at an income of eight taels of silver.

Song Yushu calculated it and found it to be correct. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "You're ready to graduate! From now on, you'll be in charge of the shop's accounts. Bring them to me for verification every seven days."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengzhu blushed with excitement and hurriedly took the account book back to the house to put it away.

Song Yushu was still taking stock of the ingredients needed for tomorrow. The pheasants and other meats that the hunters had brought today were almost used up, and he hoped that they could bring some more tomorrow morning. There were still quite a few vegetables left, half a bag of dried mushrooms, and a small half bag of dried plum vegetables, which would last for two days, but he still needed to have someone continue to buy them.

Fortunately, a few days later, Wei's father brought good news. Although they hadn't found a family selling pigs, they had found a family selling sheep.

After receiving the news, Song Yushu asked Wei's father to help him buy a few sheep and bring back a few lambs to raise. He also reminded Wei's father that he could sell mutton in the butcher shop first, since the shop couldn't stay closed forever.