Chapter 93 Developing Ways to Make Money
"Sister Yu, I brought you some vegetables." Sister Lamei came in carrying a basket of bitter herbs and said, "The bitter herbs have been drying in the sun all day. The sun is too strong today, so they will wilt in the afternoon."
"Sister-in-law, please come in and wait a moment." Sui Yu was kneading dough and had no time to weigh it and get the money.
Sister Lamei put down the basket and walked into the kitchen. Seeing Sui Yu kneading dough vigorously with a headscarf wrapped around her head, she sat in front of the stove and chatted with him: "You came back quite early today."
"Business is good today."
"I heard you're quite famous, the steamed bun beauty on Nanshui Street. Many people buy steamed buns just for that reputation." Sister Lamei tilted her head to look at her. People with long necks look good when they bend down to knead dough, and their chins are also beautiful. She tapped her short neck and said, "I heard that there are two families who also want to set up a stall to sell steamed buns. I thought that without your face, it would be a waste of time if they really set up a stall."
"Which two?" Sui Yu asked.
"There's one in the next alley, and there's another in Twelve Village." Sister Lamei was unequivocal. She pulled a piece of grass and wrapped it around her finger, saying, "Be careful."
Sui Yu smiled, rubbing the noodles on her hands. She turned around and said, "I'm not going to war, so why should I be so careful? Nanshui Street is not my territory. Whoever wants to set up a stall can go. I just focus on my own business. Come on, let's weigh how many pounds of vegetables you have. After they've been dried, I'll sell them for the price of dried vegetables."
Sister Lamei followed him out. She picked up the basket, shook the vegetables, and said, "It's not dry yet. How about I take it back and dry it for two more days?"
Sui Yu pinched a handful and said that the humidity was just right. She went into the house and took out a scale. Her scale was small and could only weigh 20 kilograms at a time. She weighed it twice, and a basket of dried bitter vegetables weighed more than 32 kilograms in total.
"Let's say 32 catties, three cents for two catties." Sui Yu entered the room and counted out 48 copper coins. He said, "We're close friends, so I'll give you this price. Don't tell anyone else."
"Then I've taken advantage of you. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Sister Lamei took the copper coin and said, "You still need vegetables, right? I'll go buy them for you. I'll pick and wash them, dry them in the sun, and bring them to you."
Sui Yu clapped her hands twice, patted Sister Lamei on the shoulder, and said, "Look, this is a smart person."
"I can't compare to you. I make a little money." Sister Lamei smiled until her gums showed. She twisted the vegetable leaves in her hand and said, "I'm serious. You knead the dough and fry the stuffing, which is so tiring. You're not at home during the day and don't have time to wash and pick the vegetables. Why not let me do it? I'll clean them up and bring them to you."
Sui Yu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, send me 50 kilograms of dried vegetables in two or three days."
Zhao Xiaomi was surprised when she heard this. The more than 30 kilograms of dried vegetables they bought today were enough for them to use for six or seven days, so why did they buy 50 kilograms?
Sui Yu gave her a look, but Zhao Xiaomi said nothing.
Sister Lamei left with the empty basket. Sui Yu went to close the door, and she sat down with a grass ball to peel radishes. Now that they had a pig, they could peel the radishes without worrying about them going to waste. Radishes were cheap, so peeling them wouldn't increase the cost much. Plus, the filling for the buns tasted better without the skins.
"I have plans, but I won't tell you yet. I'll try it tomorrow." Sui Yu smiled mysteriously.
Zhao Xiaomi looked at Sui Liang, and Sui Liang shook his head, saying he didn't know either.
Before the radish was peeled, it was already dark, so Sui Yu went into the kitchen to cook.
After a tiring day, the three of them went to bed after dinner.
In the middle of the night, the door was suddenly kicked. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi woke up. Just as they sat up, the door was kicked again.
"I'll go out and take a look." Sui Yu put on her clothes and got out of bed. When she opened the door, she heard footsteps running away. She stood under the eaves and looked at the dark night.
"Are you kicking our door?" Zhao Xiaomi came out.
The door of the house next door was opened. Qin Dashun walked out with a machete and took a look around. There was no one in the alley, so he closed the door and went back into the house.
Sui Yu pulled Zhao Xiaomi to sleep and said, "It might be the wind that made the door ring. Let's go to sleep."
Zhao Xiaomi believed it, and after waking up from a sleep she forgot about it. She excitedly led her camel to set up the stall.
When Sui Yu went out, he glanced at the door. The wind and sand were strong this year, and the door was covered with a lot of dust. There were two overlapping footprints at knee height. The marks were not deep. It seemed that the person who kicked the door last night was mostly a woman.
"Sister, what are you looking at?" Sui Liang asked.
"It's nothing. When you go to herd pigs and sheep, stay with the shepherd and don't go too far alone." Sui Yu touched his head and instructed.
Sui Liang nodded.
Sui Yu went out with a bundle of dried vegetables and told him to remember to lock the door when he went out.
After breakfast, business at the stall became quiet. Sui Yu asked Zhao Xiaomi to look after the stall while she carried a bundle of dried vegetables and headed towards the west city gate. On the way, she met a camel caravan. The camels were carrying brightly colored silks, and the merchants were stringing camel bells on them.
"Hello, my Lord, would you like to buy some dried vegetables to take with you on the road?" Sui Yu asked. "They are all cleaned and picked. They are the first crop of this year."
The businessman waved his hand.
Sui Yu asked the next person, and then asked five people in a row. A large man with a beautiful beard offered to buy it. Sui Yu asked for two coins per catty. The bundle weighed 25 catties, and the other party threw over 50 coins without hesitation.
Sui Yu left happily. She went to the stall and told Zhao Xiaomi about the reselling business. She said with a smile, "I almost got stupid. I was giving people advice on how to make money and forgot about myself."
"So, we didn't spend any money on the 32 kilograms of dried vegetables we bought last night, and we even made a few kilograms." Zhao Xiaomi was stunned at first, then delighted. "Is making money that easy?"
"It's easy to make a small fortune, but it's hard to make a big fortune." Sui Yu threw the money into the cash box and said, "From now on, we'll take whatever dried vegetables Sister Lamei sends us. If we can sell them to the caravan, we'll sell them to the caravan. If we can't, we'll sell them on the stall. Anyway, we won't lose money."
A couple passed by, and the man kept looking at the stall. The woman angrily scolded him, "What are you looking at? If you like watching her, go and live with her."
"No, sister-in-law, my sister-in-law is taken. My brother is just escorting the delegation on a long journey, he is not dead." Zhao Xiaomi said sharply.
When he heard that the man in the family was on official business, the man who was staring at Sui Yu quickly looked away.
Sui Yu didn't take it seriously. She was thinking about selling some eggs while selling dried vegetables, or pickling two jars of salted eggs. No, no, no, she thought of tea eggs, which could be improved and not only sold on the stall, but also sold to caravans.
She did what she said. After closing her stall in the evening, Sui Yu went door to door with a scale to collect eggs. She planned to buy by weight and sell by piece, so she was quite picky when buying eggs and only wanted big ones.
"Mrs. Xiang, do you sell eggs?" asked Aunt Sun.
She rolled her eyes at the mother-in-law. She was not willing to let Sui Yu make money, so she said sarcastically, "My family doesn't need that little money. I'll keep the eggs for myself."
Aunt Sun was furious. Who relied on selling eggs to make a living? She directly exposed the truth, saying, "Weren't you the one who took the egg basket to the street to sell eggs the day before yesterday? You waited for half a day to sell dozens of eggs. Do you think anyone knows?"
Xiang Pozi's face flushed, and she couldn't hold back her pride. She stiffened her neck and yelled, "I just don't want to sell it to her."
Sui Yu pretended not to hear. She didn't even go towards Xiang Pozi's house. She bought two more houses and moved directly to the next alley.
The old woman's face turned blue and purple from holding back.
It was almost dark. Sui Yu was walking back, thinking about how to set the price. Suddenly, she heard someone loudly ask, "Sui Yu, convicts cannot engage in business. You can't set up a stall to sell buns. Be careful not to get into trouble."
Sui Yu looked up. The woman who was speaking was thin. Although the corners of her mouth were raised, the smile on her face was not sincere.
"Sister-in-law, you probably don't know that the person who sets up the stall to collect money is not me, but my sister-in-law. I am just helping out." Sui Yu also smiled. She raised her foot and continued walking, saying kindly, "Thank you for your concern for me. I won't commit any crime. Even if the officials know about it, they won't misunderstand it."
"It was you who set up the stall to sell buns two years ago. That business was yours. How did it become your sister-in-law's?" Another woman came out and asked with a serious face when she heard the voice.
"My sister-in-law is a good person. I am willing to teach her the skills. What's wrong with that?"
Dongzi's mother brought the bowl over. She sneered and said, "You are so jealous of others making money. You always go to the adults to complain and make it difficult for others to do business. Don't you know why Sui Yu handed the business to her sister-in-law? You know it better than anyone else."
"Sue?" Sui Yu was surprised. "Who will sue me?"
No one spoke.
The woman who spoke first kept looking out the alley. Finally, Captain Li arrived. She called out to the person who was about to enter, "Sui Yu, please stop. Captain Li is here. Please explain your business affairs."
"None of your business! Keep your voice down! It's not even daybreak, why are you crowing?" Sui Yu looked towards the alley entrance and said, "Since when has Captain Li been able to control whether I do business or not? Why should I explain to him? He's just yelling nonsense, stretching his claws outwardly, without even trying to find the right person. I'll say it again, it's my sister-in-law who's doing the business, and I'm just an assistant. If any of you have any objections, go get Supervisor Hu and I'll explain things to him."
If I had told Supervisor Hu that it would be useful, these people wouldn't have lost their temper and jumped out tonight.
Sui Yu entered the house and Captain Li also left. He didn't know that Zhao Xiping was targeting Sui Yu before he came. Now Zhao Xiping was highly valued by Captain Qu, and he had no time to hide, so why would he take the initiative to cause trouble?
The farce ended without a beginning or an end. The protagonists all went back, and those who came out to watch the fun also went home.
"It turns out that criminal slaves cannot do business. No wonder Sui Yu's business suddenly stopped last year. I guess someone went to complain." Sister Lamei talked to Dongzi's mother.
"It's those same few people who went to complain again this year, but I don't know why no one cared this year." Dongzi's mother sipped her porridge and muttered, "Maybe Captain Zhao gave them a heads-up."
Sister Lamei also thought so, "No one is taking good care of her. No one is taking care of her. I can also make a little money during the slack season and buy some meat for the children."
Dongzi's mother smiled, she thought so too.
Three days later, Sister Lamei brought Sui Yu fifty kilograms of dried vegetables.
Sui Yu immediately boiled the eggs in a mixture of soybean paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and salt water. He cracked the shells, placed the eggs and broth in a jar, and soaked them overnight. He then fished them out and placed them in a basket. When business slowed down at the stall, Sui Yu and Sui Liang went to the caravan to sell eggs and dried vegetables.
Both the brother and sister are good-looking, speak politely, and do business without any tricks. These business travelers will not scold them even if they do not buy their products.
"Go find Old Baldy. He is responsible for preparing the meals for the caravan." A young escort showed Sui Yu the way.
"Thank you, little brother." Sui Yu handed him an egg and said, "Take it with you on the road."
The escort kept waving his hands, and Sui Yu stuffed it directly into his hands.
"The old baldy doesn't like people staring at his head. When you two meet people, don't look at his bald head." The escort gave another instruction.
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