Thinking of this, he asked the village head how many days ahead of schedule the market could be completed if the construction progress was accelerated.

After considering for a moment, the village head said, "Even with overtime work, we can only finish it three or four days ahead of schedule."

"Can it be completed fifteen days ahead of schedule? That is, can the construction of the market be completed before the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month?" Zhao Xian asked eagerly.

"It's impossible. Even if all the craftsmen stayed up all night, it would be difficult to complete the workload within fifteen days."

Zhao Xian stared at the village head without saying a word.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Even if I told the foreman about this, he couldn't do it unless we paid him extra to hire a lot of craftsmen to help. Maybe then we could finish it within fifteen days."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian burst into laughter and said:

“Uncle Village Head, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Problems that can be solved with money aren’t really problems. As long as the project can be completed within fifteen days, it’s worth any amount of money.”

"Okay, let's go talk to those foremen and see what they have to say."

After the village head finished speaking, he took Zhao Xian to the construction site to find the foreman.

After Zhengli explained his purpose, the foremen immediately shook their heads like rattles, refusing outright.

"You should think of a solution. This matter is very important to our village. If you need to increase the cost, please feel free to ask," the village head said.

Seeing the village head's words, the foremen's attitudes softened, and they began to discuss the matter.

After a while, several foremen spoke up:

"If we complete the project 15 days ahead of schedule, we will need to hire a large number of craftsmen to help us while ensuring the quality of construction, which will cost us an extra two hundred taels of silver."

In order to complete the project 15 days ahead of schedule, the project cost was increased by nearly 10%. You should carefully consider whether this is worthwhile.

“Okay, no problem, we’ll do it your way. I’ll cover any extra costs; they won’t be included in the total project cost,” Zhao Xian said.

Seeing that Zhao Xian was going to cover the extra expenses himself, the village head quickly spoke up:

"That's not a good idea. How can you pay for the extra costs? You should include them in the total project cost."

"The total cost was calculated in advance, and this money could have been avoided entirely. This request was made by me. Suddenly increasing the total cost of the project by so much will be difficult for you to explain later. Just do as I say. Don't worry, the extra money spent will definitely be earned back."

Seeing Zhao Xian say this, the village head stopped talking. He vaguely sensed that the market opened fifteen days early, just in time for the peak season for buying and selling New Year's goods. This was the best time of year for business.

In previous years, the weather was usually not good once December arrived. It would either rain or snow, and sometimes the snow would block the door, making it impossible to go out. But this year the weather has been exceptionally good, with sunny and breezy weather every day.

Finally, on the day before the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, the market project was completed, one day ahead of the deadline set by Zhao Xian.

The village head was very pleased. He invited a very famous architect from the town to inspect the project, and the inspection result showed that the project was of completely qualified quality.

The village head quickly handed over these shops and stalls, and the villagers who received the shops immediately decorated them. They did not need anyone's guidance and began to open for business.

The village head was not idle either. He started to decorate the streets, and colorful flags and lanterns were soon hung on the streets, and the market immediately changed its appearance.

Over the next few days, some shops gradually opened for business.

The first shop to open was Zhao Youzhu's preserved egg shop. The preserved eggs were delivered to restaurants at a wholesale price of three copper coins each, but they could be sold in the shop for five copper coins each, and the sales were quite good.

As the Spring Festival approaches, fewer and fewer people are going to restaurants, and the demand for preserved eggs has also decreased significantly. The opening of the village's market has provided a good sales venue for preserved eggs.

Grandma Zhao's family owns three storefronts. She only needs one storefront to sell her pickled vegetables, while the other two storefronts are rented by a butcher who sells pork.

Because the market had already gained popularity, there was a shortage of shops, so Ruan Fang bought ten storefronts and rented them all out at once.

Many merchants come to the village to buy goods. Some of them have also bought shops in the market. They naturally know what sells best during the Spring Festival, so some merchants bring goods from outside to the village to sell.

As a result, the shops here sell all kinds of goods, such as fireworks, firecrackers, offerings, snacks, Spring Festival couplets, Chinese calendars, New Year pictures, fabrics, needles and thread, toys, and so on.

Of course, Narcissus Village also has many good things. In order to enrich the festival market, Zhao Xian not only produces a large amount of white wine, but also produces some sweet rice wine. Unlike white wine, this rice wine is suitable for all ages.

Washing products are a specialty of farmers' markets, where many shops sell washing supplies.

Products like shampoo and detergent haven't been officially launched on the market yet, and they're hard to find in other markets. If you want to buy these things, you have to come to Narcissus Village.

In order to manage the village market effectively, the village head established a market management organization to conduct daily management of the market and maintain its order.

At the same time, the free markets that had appeared in the village were banned, and commodity transactions had to be conducted in the market.

As a result, business at the stalls became more active, and some villagers brought out their own goods to sell.

Pickled cabbage, rotten radishes, dried ferns, dried bamboo shoots, buckwheat noodles, glutinous rice flour, and other local specialties were surprisingly popular in the market, especially among visitors from the town.

In this way, villagers from several surrounding villages also brought their belongings to sell, and finding that the business was doing well, it attracted even more people to the market to buy and sell.

It was winter, and there was little farm work to do in the fields. The villagers were all idle at home. Seeing that the newly opened market could make money, they all came to take a look, hoping to find a way to earn money.

In a few days, it will be the Lunar New Year's Eve. That morning, Zhao Xian went to the market to check on things. To his surprise, the market was packed with people and business was booming.

It seems that spending an extra two hundred taels of silver to get the market completed ahead of schedule was definitely a wise move. Taking advantage of the New Year when many people are buying New Year's goods, the market has become very popular.

Some villagers bought stalls in the market, but seeing how booming the market was, they didn't know what they could do.

Seeing Zhao Xian approaching, he went up to ask him something.

“Sir, you’ve come at the right time. I have a stall in the market and I see that everyone else is making money, but I don’t know what to do. I would appreciate your guidance.”