Chapter 53 How to play to their strengths?
"Second wife Yurong is not in charge, so only Aunt Lan is left. Third wife..." Old Madam Xiao paused, twirling her Buddhist beads, and continued, "Jiahong is still young, Tingwu is weak, and your Third Aunt is too busy to take care of everything."
"Grandma." Xiao Jiuyue handed a piece of chestnut cake to Old Madam Xiao and said, "Since arriving in Hongdu, whether it's Aunt Lan, Yurong, or even Tingwu and Jiahong, they've simply moved from Shengjing to the old house in Hongdu. Today, we may not make much money from canned oranges, but what about in the future?"
"As time goes by, when they run out of things and have no source of income, what will they do?" Xiao Jiuyue was not sure how long they would stay in Hongdu. At least they could not leave here until the Xiao family was rehabilitated.
Maybe, it will be half a year, maybe one or two years, maybe five years, or even ten years or longer. If the Xiao family wants to last long, they must get involved and work together!
Otherwise, she could only support the second and third wives for a while, but not for a lifetime.
Old Madam Xiao sat up straight and said, "Yue'er is still thinking long-term." She looked at Xiao Jiuyue with admiration. It's impossible for the second and third wives to rely on Yue'er for support in the future, right?
Besides, as time goes by, the second and third houses will be poor, while the first house will prosper. If the Xiao family then has a rift over some money, wouldn't that be a laughing stock?
"Grandma, you worship Buddha every day and pray for Grandpa and Daddy. How can you waste your time on such mundane matters?"
Xiao Jiuyue coaxed Old Madam Xiao into a happy mood and said, "It's just a small matter, Yue'er can think about it. As long as you nod, I can talk to the second and third wives later. If they don't want to, then it's their own choice."
For dinner, all the masters of the Xiao family's old house gathered together. Even Xiao Jiayuan, who had injured his leg, was carried over by Ji Fu.
Canned oranges and orange marshmallows became the children's favorites. At dinner, everyone liked the new dishes very much, especially the nine-turn pork intestines. Aunt Lan liked it even more and took three chopsticks for the first time.
"Miss, this dish has a bit of the flavor of Yizhou, it's sweet and the skin is crispy." Aunt Lan usually speaks very little, but after finishing her meal, she specifically asked about it.
"Nine-turn fat intestines." Xiao Jiuyue replied.
Aunt Lan paused for a moment, then said, "So that's how it is. I was wondering why this taste was so familiar. My father used to love eating pig intestines the most." There was longing in Aunt Lan's eyes.
Something happened to the Xiao family, my parents must have received the news...
"I invited everyone here today to talk about canned oranges. Everyone has tasted the last can of oranges just now." Xiao Jiuyue briefly talked about canned oranges and her plan to purchase 20,000 kilograms of oranges from the village.
At the same time, Xiao Jiuyue did not hide it and also told about the sales of canned oranges.
"Isn't it a sure win?" Aunt Xiao immediately realized that now that they had the oranges, they wouldn't have any trouble selling them.
"There are risks, for example, the canned oranges might go bad. Or, some people might be careless and reluctant to throw away the spoiled oranges, passing them off as good ones. Or, the candy store might go back on its word and the canned oranges won't sell."
Xiao Jiuyue explained the risks involved and said, "If you all agree, then we can make the canned oranges together."
"Mother?" Xiao Jiuyue looked at the beautiful mother Su.
The beautiful mother smiled and said, "Whatever Yue'er wants to do, mother agrees."
Aunt Xiao said hesitantly, "Tingwu is weak, Jiahong is young, I, I'm afraid I can't handle it in two places."
Xiao Jiuyue smiled and said, "It's okay if Third Aunt doesn't want to do it, but let me be frank. If Third Aunt doesn't participate this time, you won't get a share when the money is divided later."
"Yuer, it's not that Third Aunt doesn't want to do it, but..." Third Aunt Xiao felt a little embarrassed. Even though Xiao Jiuyue was carrying the burden in front all the way, after Ting Wu and Jia Hong entered winter, they needed money to see a doctor and ask for medicine. Third Aunt Xiao was very short of money at the moment.
Aunt Xiao hesitated and said, "Can I only pay fifty taels?" The Third Master said that she was not cut out for business and even her dowry shop would lose money, but she was well-behaved and obedient.
"Of course." Xiao Jiuyue now understood what she meant. She said, "I don't mean to force you. The more you contribute, the more you get. When we make money, we can still divide the money according to the proportion."
Xiao Jiuyue changed the subject and said, "Of course, there is also the possibility of losing money."
"It's okay. If you really lose money, you can only say that you are unlucky." Aunt Xiao knew very well that if you really lost money, Xiao Jiuyue could not be blamed.
"We strive to do everything well, doing our best and leaving the rest to fate." Xiao Jiuyue's gaze fell on Aunt Lan and Xiao Yurong and asked, "Where are Aunt Lan and Yurong?"
Xiao Yurong and Aunt Lan looked at each other and said, "We are willing to contribute."
Xiao Yurong held four hundred taels of silver in her hand. Although Aunt Lan was only a concubine back then, she had a generous dowry. After all the expenses she had taken over the years, even after her house was ransacked, she still had quite a bit left.
Xiao Jiuyue raised her eyebrows slightly and looked back and forth between Xiao Yurong and Aunt Lan. In the past, because of the relationship with the Fan family, Xiao Yurong treated Aunt Lan with indifference.
"Okay." Xiao Jiuyue nodded and asked, "They'll build a workshop for canned oranges, and Shi Lizheng will be in charge of it. We'll be responsible for accounting, doing the math, and managing the finances. We can discuss it later."
When the discussion was almost over, Aunt Xiao suddenly asked, "Yuer, can I exchange the embroidery I made for money?"
She had wanted to ask for a long time, but she had never had the nerve to do so. Making money by selling embroidery was something she had never dared to dream of before.
Xiao Jiuyue thought of her Third Aunt's embroidery, which was no worse than the embroiderers in the palace. Her eyes twinkled slightly as she said, "Of course. If Third Aunt is willing, you can go to the county embroidery workshop and ask someday."
She had neglected the fact that no matter whether it was Third Aunt, Aunt Lan, or even Meiren's mother, they all had their own strengths. She had to think carefully about how to bring out all of their strengths.
When they returned to the house, Xiao Jiuyue's eyes were filled with doubt: "Yurong and Aunt Lan, why are they suddenly so close now?"
"How about I go and ask around?" Lian Xin had just opened her mouth when the beautiful Su walked in: "No need to ask around."
"Yurong fell into the water a few days ago, and Aunt Lan risked her life to save her. I went to see her, and she's fine, so I didn't tell you." The beautiful lady walked slowly to sit in front of Xiao Jiuyue, pushing a makeup box in front of her. "Here are some jewelry. If you pawn them, you can get a hundred or eighty taels of silver."
Xiao Jiuyue looked at her beautiful mother with a mixture of laughter and tears and said, "Mom, our family is not so poor that we have to pawn our jewelry."
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