Time flies, and it's already the third day of September.
All the orders I received before were completed by yesterday. These six orders earned me a total of nine hundred coins.
Although some of these orders were for birthday banquets, the clients' families were not wealthy and simply did not have the means to make longevity peach buns. The dishes were also not as elaborate as those at the Wang family's banquet, so they only charged six coins per table.
Fortunately, Xia Chunmei has received ten more orders in the past few days, all of which are six coins per table, and she has already collected the deposits.
During the few days that Xia Hongfen accompanied Xia Chunmei in organizing the banquet, she was truly amazed by what she had learned.
It turns out her eldest niece is such a good cook!
Fish balls, fish cakes, braised crucian carp—every dish is so delicious! Once you learn this skill, will you ever have to worry about not having business?
During the few days she was learning the craft, she ate until her belly was round and felt like she had gained several pounds. No wonder her nieces looked better than the other children in the village; there was a reason for it.
"Chunmei, you're looking for us."
"Uncle, Aunt, you're all here. Qiumei, Dongmei, quickly pour some water."
Xia Xintian waved his hand and said, "Chunmei, stop with the pleasantries and get down to business. Did someone bully you?"
"No one is bullying me. I just have a way to make money and I want to discuss it with you all."
Xia Xintian immediately perked up at the question, "What are some ways to make money?"
The other families in the house all have people working for Chunmei to earn money, but his family doesn't. There are enough people running kitchens now, so they definitely don't need anyone anymore. He can only look on with envy.
“We have quite a few banquet bookings right now. I’m thinking if we develop our livestock farming business, we can sell them eggs, fish, chickens, and other things when they come to us for their banquets.”
"That's a great idea!" Xia Xintian slapped his thigh. "We'll be buying these things for the banquet anyway, so it doesn't matter whose they're from!"
"Based on the current market conditions, the demand for fish is high, but the return on investment is slow, and the investment requires at least one fishing net, which is relatively expensive."
The investment in chickens is relatively small; the only expense is in the initial purchase of chicks and the construction of chicken coops.
Three or four months later, the hens will start laying eggs, and we'll be able to recoup our investment. But it's hard work, requiring daily cleaning.
Xia Chunmei briefly analyzed the pros and cons of raising fish and chickens.
“Then let’s raise it,” Chen Jinlian said.
“Raising chickens is less risky. I heard that even the cheapest small fishing net costs more than two taels of silver,” Aunt Pear Blossom said.
Xia Chunmei said, "It's fine if you all choose to raise chickens, but if everyone raises chickens, you won't make much money."
“Chunmei is right. If everyone raises chickens, who will buy all the surplus?” Xia Xintian said. “Chunmei, I’ll listen to your opinion.”
"If you ask me, I suggest you contract two fish ponds first, but don't mix the businesses together. Each of you should be responsible for your own fish pond, but you can buy a fishing net together."
The other two households can each fence off their own land to raise chickens; if they're worried, they can start with a minimum of eighty chickens.
“Chunmei, from what you’re saying, you don’t plan to participate,” Chen Jinlian said.
"My family is too busy to participate for the time being. We'll see if we should raise some ducks after our new house is built."
The Xia sisters, Chunmei and Dongmei, were going to hold a banquet. Dongmei's main task was to take care of her younger sister, so she didn't plan to get involved in the breeding business.
As for Aunt Xia Hongfen, after she learns those dishes, she will have her own team in the future, and her two married cousins can raise fish and chickens, so everyone can have a better life.
As more and more people become wealthy, people will stop focusing their attention on her.
"Chunmei, you're really thinking of us." Xia Mingshi was deeply moved.
"I'm just making a suggestion. After all, whether you do it or not, how well you do it, and whether you make money in the future depends on yourselves."
"We need to think about this first."
This is equivalent to starting a business. These are honest farmers who are suddenly asked to spend a large sum of money to do business, and they really can't make up their minds for a while.
"Aunt, I suggest you and your two older sisters raise more chickens. With just a few dishes, you'll be able to operate independently by next month at the latest. There are many auspicious events in the first month of the lunar year, so if you raise chickens now, they'll basically start laying eggs by then, providing double income."
Xia Chunmei was afraid that Xia Hongfen wouldn't listen, so she tried to persuade her again after everyone else had left.
"My concern is that once I learn the cooking skills, no one will hire me to host banquets, and then I won't be able to sell my eggs."
“Someone will definitely ask you for help. At worst, you can throw a free party for someone who has a wedding, and give them a hundred or two hundred coins. I don’t believe they will refuse.”
"According to you, I haven't even started earning money yet, and I'm already going to lose a hundred or two hundred coins."
“Aunt, you can’t say that. You spent a hundred or two hundred coins to make a name for yourself. People know your skills now. You can earn that money back by hosting just one banquet.”
Xia Hongfen thought about it carefully and it seemed to make some sense.
Xia Chunmei continued, "So don't worry about those things. Raising chickens is really a good business. If it doesn't work out, you can just eat them yourself. You won't lose anything."
As long as the hygiene is kept clean, chicken plague generally won't occur. If you don't have enough money, I can lend you two hundred coins to buy chicks.
"Just tell me this, don't go around telling anyone else, or people will think you've made a fortune."
"If I had a fortune, Auntie, you wouldn't need to raise chickens. You could just live a life of luxury with me every day."
"I don't know who you took after, your mouth is as sweet as honey." But Xia Hongfen was genuinely pleased; this niece was quite something!
Xia Hongfen couldn't make up her mind on her own; she needed to go back and discuss it with her uncle. Fortunately, there were no banquets planned for the next few days, so she went back.
Xia Chunmei gave her another fish to take home and eat, and also packed some red dates and longans for her, but she refused to take them no matter what, and Xia Chunmei had no choice.
Xia Xintian and Chen Jinlian were the most decisive, and they made their decision early the next morning.
Both families decided to lease the fishpond, but neither of them had much money, and now was not a good time to stock fish fry. So they thought they would raise chickens first and then raise fish next February. By then, the hens would have already started laying eggs, and if all went well, they would have already started making money.
Xia Xintian plans to raise 200 chickens first, Chen Jinlian will raise 80, and her family will raise 60.
Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua were the type who sought stability, each raising thirty.
When the villagers saw that they were all raising chickens, they were all curious. Of course, they couldn't be too explicit with outsiders, so they just said they were raising more for their own consumption during the New Year, and also to exchange for some grain to get through the winter. The villagers were a little skeptical; what a coincidence!
But if it's not for eating, it could also be for selling.
Who can I sell it to?
In the surrounding villages, everyone raises chickens. People are so frugal with their own chickens that they'd rather buy them from others than eat them themselves.
"What do you mean, 'for their own consumption'? Bullshit! They're probably just trying to take advantage of Xia Chunmei's hosting of banquets to help them sell their chickens and eggs!" Xia Changjiang, having served as clan leader for several years, guessed it immediately upon hearing the news.
"These heartless bastards are all in cahoots with that bitch! That son of a bitch Xia Xintian, if he hadn't asked us to write that bullshit guarantee and confession, how could Xia Chunmei have possibly asked us for two mu of land? Two mu of land..."
The thought of losing her two acres of land and being forced to write a confession and a guarantee, which essentially gave them a fatal handle, made Chen Sanhua burst into tears.
During this period, they didn't know how many times they had secretly cursed Xia Xintian and Xia Chunmei.
"Zeng, go to the county town again tomorrow and look for Donglai. Make sure you tell him about the situation at home!" Xia Changjiang gritted his teeth in anger. "If you can't find Donglai, don't bother coming back. You're useless; you can't even find a single person!"
Seeing Xia Changjiang's murderous look, Zeng Shi trembled with fear: "I know, I know..."
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