Chapter Twenty-Nine [V] The Woman Who Came Up to Me Out of the Blue...
Li Yan knew about this situation a long time ago.
However, she hadn't planned to add milk tea to her menu before, so others took advantage of the situation and used her popularity to sell milk tea. If they were able to sell it, that was their skill, and she couldn't very well stop them from doing so.
Besides, if someone manages to snag a bargain, that's their skill. It doesn't affect her business anyway, so she doesn't care.
She had secretly asked Xu Ge'er to buy milk tea from that shop before. She spat it out as soon as she put it in her mouth.
To be honest, even if you paid her to drink that kind of milk tea, she wouldn't drink it.
Now, following her plan, Li Yan started making milk tea drinks in September, and the milk tea business at the other stall immediately plummeted. Seeing the bustling crowds on this side while the vendors selling sweet soup on the other side were naturally green with envy.
Today, she didn't sell a single serving of the milk tea in her earthenware pot.
Forget about making money, we've lost a lot of our initial investment.
The woman with the headscarf was furious, so she gritted her teeth and shouted even more energetically: "Selling milk tea! Selling milk tea! Freshly made milk tea drinks, only three coins a bowl, only three coins a bowl!"
The shouts were so loud that Li Yan could hear them.
However, Li Yan was busy serving milk tea bowl after bowl and had no time to pay attention to her. When she came to her senses, she heard that the price had changed again, and the milk tea was now two coins a bowl.
Although Li Yan prepared an extra earthenware pot of milk tea today, it sold out quickly. The newly launched taro ball milk tea and red bean milk tea also received positive feedback from customers.
She ordered taro ball milk tea and red bean milk tea, which cost six coins a bowl.
So, the profit is actually about the same as selling milk tea alone. You might earn a little more, but it's probably only around ten or eight coins, so the profit isn't outstanding.
Red beans and taro balls naturally have costs, and Li Yan gives a generous portion in each bowl.
Because the quantity was sufficient, the profit was significantly reduced.
However, the price of six coins per bowl is already the limit; the price cannot be higher.
Huating County is, after all, a small county town, not a place where the wealthy gather. If the price is set too high, many people will naturally buy less after weighing the options.
So, going back and forth, it's the same, the profit is about the same.
But Li Yan will still insist on launching new products, even if the number of new products each day is small. Because if she keeps doing the same thing, she will eventually be replaced by someone else.
Making milk tea isn't difficult, and the process isn't complicated. If you really want to learn how, as long as you're patient and study it seriously for a while, you'll eventually be able to make it yourself.
In this industry, she wants to always stay at the forefront of the market. Products can be copied, but a new one must be released periodically; she can't afford to be truly replaced.
Li Yan packed up her stall early, and only after she finished did people start buying milk tea at the other stall.
Upon seeing this, the vendor immediately set the price of a bowl of milk tea at three coins.
She had been hawking her milk tea for quite some time, charging two coins a bowl, but now she's raised the price to three coins a bowl, which naturally displeases the customers.
"Didn't they just say it was two coins a bowl? How come the price has gone up again?"
The woman, in her early twenties, shouted in a hoarse voice, "I've been selling milk tea here all along. My regular customers know the prices. I've always sold it for three coins a bowl. Two coins a bowl? That wouldn't even cover my costs. Why would I still be selling milk tea?"
The customer was a regular at Li Yan's stall, often coming to this street to buy food. Today, he was delayed by something and arrived late, missing out on the milk tea from Li Yan's stall. So, he decided to try the milk tea from here instead.
But to his surprise, what was advertised as two coins a bowl turned into three coins a bowl after he bought it.
He didn't care about the price; it was only a penny more, not a big deal. But she not only broke her promise, but her arrogant attitude was also unbearable.
The man was sharp-tongued and blunt: "If the milk tea at that shop over there hadn't sold out, who would buy your milk tea? They sell it, and you sell it too, but you don't even look at what their milk tea tastes like, and what yours tastes like. You charge three coins a bowl? I wouldn't even drink it if it were free." He then took a sip and spat it out, "Pah! It tastes awful."
Feeling better after cursing, he threw down three coins: "Take it."
The woman selling milk tea started cursing and swearing, crying as she did so. She didn't have the guts to throw the three coins she'd thrown on the counter back at the man; instead, she collected them and put them into a small jar specifically for holding money.
The vendors on either side of her stall couldn't help but offer her a few words of comfort.
But the woman spoke ill of Li Yan behind her back.
Li Yan had been observing the situation from the crowd, and before she had gone far, she heard the woman crying and cursing her: "It must have been that Li lady on purpose! That man just now, she must have paid him to come and ruin my business. That woman looks simple-minded, but she's actually very cunning. She sells milk tea, and so do I; she's just afraid I'll steal her business."
"But we all do business honestly and fairly, so why can she sell but I can't? If you want to make money, you have to do it with real skills. What kind of business is this, pulling this kind of trick behind the scenes?"
The woman spoke angrily, but most of the people at the stalls around her, who still had a conscience, did not think so.
If Madam Li were truly as despicable as she described, she would have already started making milk tea if there was money to be made. Why would she let Madam Li scramble for scraps and make money by following her around?
They let her take advantage of them for over a month without saying a word; they were already being quite generous.
“You’re selling your own things, why are you selling milk tea?” It was a woman in her thirties who ran a stall selling nighttime snacks. She was quite sincere. “Everyone has their own skills. You’re just doing what others do, and now you’re criticizing them. Besides, you can’t wrong people for no reason. I don’t think Madam Li is that kind of person.”
"They don't need to pull this stunt at all. Their business is good, so there's no need for them to treat you like this."
Hearing everyone around her siding with Li Yan, the woman became unhappy and immediately shouted, "I didn't steal or rob! I'm just selling my own milk tea. What does it have to do with her? If she can sell it, why can't I?"
The woman's surname was Wei, and she had been running a small dessert shop selling sweet dumplings and glutinous rice cakes for some time.
However, her business was so-so; after deducting costs and stall fees, she could earn about twenty coins a day.
She was quite satisfied at first, earning twenty coins a day. Although setting up a night stall was hard work, the thought of making six coins a month made it all worthwhile.
But one day, a new milk tea vendor came and his business was surprisingly good, much better than hers.
Why should I?
She's not as pretty or as well-built as me; her only advantage is that she's a few years younger.
Originally, she was already selling milk tea and making some extra money, so it didn't bother her. But now, she's cut off that path of her own; how can she accept that?
Li Yan was originally planning to leave, not wanting to cause any more trouble. But now, not only had this Wei woman taken advantage of her, but she was also slandering her, which she couldn't tolerate.
So Li Yan went back and walked to Wei Niangzi's stall.
Wei Niangzi kept chattering away, even though the people at the next stall didn't want to talk to her anymore, she still enjoyed talking badly about Li Yan.
Li Yan interrupted her with a cold face: "Do you know why your business is doing badly?"
"Why?" Madam Wei asked instinctively and looked in the direction of the voice, but when she saw the face so close to her, her expression immediately changed.
He was a little uncomfortable at first, but soon he straightened his back and glared at Li Yan with his head held high.
Although the vendors on both sides were busy with their own work, they actually had some spare time to come over here. Some even hoped that the two women would start fighting, so they could have a good show to watch.
Li Yan wouldn't actually hit anyone, but she had ways to annoy this Wei Niangzi.
"Sister Wei, there are actually ways and tricks to making money. Business is not easy, not everyone can make money in business, you have to use your brain more." Li Yan scolded without using any vulgar language, but Madam Wei did not understand.
Li Yan added, "My stall is doing well, so I have no reason to secretly send someone to sabotage your business. Wouldn't it be better to make more drinks to sell? If I really wanted to deal with you, I would have cut off your source of income long ago. Why would I let you sell milk tea here? Only those whose business is worse off resort to underhanded tactics."
"Originally, I thought it wasn't easy for a woman like you to set up a stall at night, and since we're all women, why make things difficult for each other? I turned a blind eye. But now it seems you don't deserve any sympathy."
This Lady Wei is a paper tiger; she bullies the weak and fears the strong.
She had initially thought Li Yan was kind-hearted, so she bullied her. But now, seeing how formidable Li Yan was, she felt a little intimidated.
"What...what do you want to do?" Wei Niangzi's arrogance subsided, and she became incoherent.
Li Yan: "I didn't mean anything by it." She said, "I heard Sister Wei talking badly about me behind my back. I just came here to clarify because I was afraid that everyone would misunderstand me."
"Also..." Li Yan's bright black eyes were hidden in the night, very lively. She deliberately smiled and said, "There's another thing. Originally, I saw that Sister Wei worked hard in her stall business, and I wanted to pass on some of my exclusive recipe to her so we could all make money together. But now, I won't do that anymore. I'll make money on my own, and I won't pity someone who talks badly about me behind my back."
After saying that, he clapped his hands, leaving only a dashing back view for Lady Wei, who was stunned in place.
After realizing what had happened, Madam Wei was filled with regret, hatred, anxiety, and anger.
If she had known earlier that the woman had this plan, she would never have spoken ill of her. If she had known, she would have been eager to curry favor with her.
But now that things have escalated to this point, it's all too late.
Next door, at a vegetarian noodle stall, two young men dressed as scholars sat at a low table.
The older man looked at Han Yue sitting opposite him and said, "Brother Han, do you also like watching the excitement?" He noticed that Han Yue had been staring at the woman over there, so he couldn't help but tease him a bit, "Reading is really boring, watching some excitement is good, it adds a bit of life to the place."
Han Yue smiled and shook his head: "How interesting can the quarrels between ordinary women be? It's just boring, I only glanced at it."
The man opposite him was surnamed Gao, and he was also a scholar who studied at the county school with Han Yue.
Scholar Gao said, "That Li Niangzi who sells milk tea is clearly very clever. She can scold people without using any vulgar language, and in the end, she can make people so angry that they regret it. In my opinion, what she said about considering giving away her exclusive recipe to others was a complete lie. She just wanted to make people anxious and regret it. She seems to be a master of psychological manipulation."
This was the first time Han Yue had met his wife's younger sister. Although he had inquired about her before and knew that she had a shop here selling milk tea, he had never actually seen her.
When she got married, only his wife went back to see her off; her brother-in-law did not go.
I learned from his wife and the Li family that she was described as ugly and vulgar, and I had imagined she would be extremely unattractive. But upon seeing her, she was actually much better than I had imagined.
Naturally, she couldn't compare to his wife's beauty, but most ordinary women in the city looked pretty much the same.
However, considering that her birth mother was a famous beauty, her face naturally seemed less appealing.
Han Yue had seen this Yan Niang when he was very young. Everyone was young then, so he couldn't tell much from her appearance. He never expected that, as girls grow up and become more beautiful, she would become less attractive than she was when she was a child.
Back in the day, when Mrs. Li was still alive, she had a good relationship with my mother. When my mother saw Yan Niang as a child, she took a great liking to her and verbally arranged a marriage between her and Mrs. Li, née Lin.
After Madam Lin passed away, the Li family remarried Madam Yue. Originally, the marriage agreement made at the door should have been null and void, but that day when he went to Qingshan Town, he happened to see Jiaojiao and lost his soul.
After inquiring further, he learned whose daughter she was and felt it was fate. So he went back and asked his mother to ask someone to arrange a marriage for her.
Memories of the past flashed through Han Yue's mind, but by the time he came to his senses, the figure of Lady Li had already disappeared into the night.
.
As soon as Li Yan pushed the cart into the alley, she saw her mother-in-law, Aunt Xue.
After finishing with her two children at home, Aunt Xue noticed it was getting late and, feeling a bit uneasy, decided to head to the night market.
Little did he expect that as soon as he stepped outside, he would see his daughter-in-law pushing a cart home.
Aunt Xue hurried over, took the cart from her hands, and asked with concern, "How's business today?"
Li Yan said, "Business is good; all the milk tea from the three ceramic pots is sold out."
Hearing this, Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief.
"If it sells well, that's good, if it sells well... It's getting colder and colder, I'm worried that business will be bad and you'll be exposed to the wind all the time."
Li Yan said, "It's alright, it's not that cold right now. Even if it gets really cold, we can wear more clothes to keep warm." Not to mention that it's not winter yet, even if it were, Li Yan would have already prepared things to keep warm.
From the moment she transmigrated here, Li Yan insisted on collecting duck feathers every day. After buying the duck feathers, they would process them together, keeping only the softest down.
Now, the down has already filled several sacks.
Li Yan thought that these duck down pieces could be divided into three portions to make three quilts.
She covered herself with one bed, Aunt Xue and her granddaughter Yue shared one bed, and Xu Ge'er covered himself with one bed.
She and Xu Ge'er both sleep alone, so the down comforter can have less down and be made smaller. Aunt Xue sleeps with Yue Jie'er, so the bed needs to be bigger, otherwise it won't be enough to cover them.
After returning home, Li Yan told Aunt Xue what had happened and gave her one tael of silver to buy cloth.
Aunt Xue then realized: "So that's why you collect all these duck feathers every day, but only take the down, to make this?"
Li Yan had been collecting duck down from the very beginning. Aunt Xue had asked her about it once before, but Li Yan kept it a secret and didn't answer. After that, Aunt Xue just kept working and didn't ask any more questions.
So, I was quite surprised when I found out what it was for.
But when she reached into the dried and deodorized duck down and felt its softness and warmth, Aunt Xue's heart also became excited.
"This is softer than cotton. And it used to have a strong smell, but after airing it out several times, there's no smell at all. I just don't know if it's as warm as a cotton quilt."
In those days, cotton was a precious commodity, and only wealthy families could afford it. Ordinary people would use cotton-padded quilts.
Even the poorest people would cover themselves with dried grass in the winter to keep warm.
And a quilt made of duck down is much warmer than a cotton quilt.
"The down I used is the softest feathers from the ducks. It's not only warm, but it also feels wonderful. It won't prick you when you make a quilt. It's just... it'll be a bit of a hassle for Mom. Making three quilts will take a lot of effort. It's a pity I don't know how to sew, otherwise I could help. It would be much easier if the two of us did it together."
Aunt Xue didn't have many other skills, but she was best at needlework. She always felt that she wasn't very capable, and everything in the house was taken care of by Yan Niang, even the two children of the eldest son's family were raised by Yan Niang.
She wished she were more capable so she could help in some way and lighten Yan Niang's burden.
"Don't worry, I'm best at these kinds of chores." Seeing that her daughter-in-law trusted her and entrusted her with these tasks, Aunt Xue was quite happy.
At the same time, she also felt sorry for her daughter-in-law and couldn't help but say to her with concern, "You're busy with this and that every day, you're already tired enough. Even if you're good at needlework, I can't let you do this work anymore. If you really have some free time, go and rest."
Li Yan doesn't try to endure hardship without effort; now she lives a very fulfilling life. Besides cooking braised pork and selling milk tea, she spends her remaining time reading to enrich herself.
In addition, they will naturally think of other ways to make money.
Although earning more than ten taels of silver a month is already excellent, who would complain about having too much silver?
Moreover, an income of a little over one hundred taels a year only makes one a wealthy person among ordinary people. If she could, she would certainly want to be a true tycoon.
After talking to Aunt Xue about the down comforter, Li Yan went to the house to check on Xu Ge'er and asked him about his situation at the school.
As expected, Xu Ge'er was very diligent. Even though it was quite late, he was still sitting under the oil lamp reading.
Li Yan glanced out the window and realized it was getting late, so she said to Xu Ge'er, "Studying isn't something that can be done in a short time. Hurry up and get ready, wash up and go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow morning."
Xu Ge'er is now the most obedient to his aunt. His aunt told him to wash up and go to bed, so he quickly tidied up and went to the kitchen to wash up.
In this era, there is no toothpaste, but there is tooth powder and toothbrushes for brushing teeth.
Now that she has the means, Li Yan keeps all these things at home. She even has scented soap for bathing.
Now that the weather is cold, it's okay not to shower for a few days. However, for hygiene reasons, she still requires Xu Ge'er and Yue Jie'er to shower at least once every seven days.
Normally, she should brush her teeth and wash her face twice a day, morning and evening. Li Yan even instructed Aunt Xue to wash Yue'er with boiled water every day.
Before, I lived in the countryside and didn't have the money, so I naturally wouldn't consider it. But now that I have the means, I naturally have to pay more attention to personal hygiene.
As for Li Yan, she pays even more attention to her hygiene. She can't manage to shower only once every seven days; she usually bathes every three days. When she showers, she also washes her hair.
Li Yan used to shower at night, but now that it's getting colder, she chooses to shower at noon.
After washing my hair, I sat in the yard, sunbathing and applying a face mask. It was a perfect way to take a nap and dry my long hair.
.
The next day, when Li Yan pushed her cart to set up her stall again, she was surprised to see Wei Niangzi, who had spoken ill of her the day before, looking at her with a fawning smile.
Upon seeing her arrive, Madam Wei even brought her a bowl of glutinous rice balls, asking with concern, "Madam Li, have you eaten? These glutinous rice balls are freshly cooked and taste delicious. Please try them."
Li Yan didn't want to have anything to do with her, but there were so many people watching, and she didn't want others to think she had a bad temper and was difficult to get along with.
So she reached out and took the bowl of glutinous rice balls from her, and also ladled out a bowl of milk tea, and handed it to her.
"Sister Wei, it's only fair to return the favor. I can't just eat your glutinous rice balls for nothing. This bowl of milk tea is for you."
Wei Niangzi had tried Li Yan's milk tea once. After just one sip, she couldn't resist tilting her head back and gulping down the whole bowl. Actually, she was reluctant to spend the money, but seeing how good the business was, she wanted to know why, so she reluctantly spent five coins to buy a bowl.
It was indeed very delicious, but after that, she never spent money to buy it again.
Now that someone had brought her a bowl, Lady Wei was afraid that if she hesitated even slightly, she would miss out on drinking it, so she immediately tilted her head back and drank it all.
After finishing his drink, he wiped his mouth and continued to say with a smile, "Li Meizi, your milk tea is really delicious."
Li Yan had no idea what she was up to, so she deliberately went along with her and said, "Sister Wei, would you like another bowl?"
“Okay,” Madam Wei readily agreed.
Knowing that Madam Wei was stingy and would certainly not be willing to spend money to buy it, and afraid that she would think that she would give her another bowl, Li Yan deliberately asked, "Then, Sister Wei, do you want it for five coins a bowl, or six coins a bowl?"
Madam Wei pursed her lips tightly, not saying which one she wanted, but only saying, "Let me take a look first."
Seeing her like this, Li Yan felt that she was even stranger.
"I...I'll still take the five-copper bowl," said Madam Wei.
"good."
"I want to serve myself," Madam Wei said with a dry laugh. "How much I serve is up to me, isn't it?"
Li Yan smiled and said, "Of course." But then she added, "However, you'll have to use my bowl to hold it."
Madam Wei agreed and took the bowl from Li Yan. After scooping the bowl full with a spoon, she hesitated for a moment and then poured it all back.
"Never mind, I won't drink it." Madam Wei smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said timidly, "What happened last night was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken ill of you for no reason. I came here today to apologize to you. Sister Li, I'm so sorry." She handed the bowl of milk tea back and reminded Li Yan, "Sister Li, my glutinous rice balls are also quite good, remember to eat them." After saying that, Madam Wei clapped her hands and left.
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Author's Note: Update is here!
Mwah~
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