Chapter 160 Harmony Brings Wealth
After a short nap, I woke up to find the sky outside was already full of red clouds. It was almost dusk, the heat was gradually dissipating, and a cool breeze was blowing.
There was a knock on the door, and Zhao Xiping went to open it. Song Xian saw him from outside and asked, "Is Sui Yu awake too?"
"You're awake, Sister Song, come in." Sui Yu neatly tied up her hair, walked out and asked, "Did you get the noodle sauce?"
"I got it. I had it for lunch. It was pretty good." Song Xian walked in and said, "I didn't come here for anything. I just wanted to tell you about the soybean paste. Also, my eldest brother and his wife came over to tell us about Lian Zheng and Xiaomi's wedding date. I thought they were all back and Captain Zhao should be home by then, so I came to check on them."
"When you were not at home, Sister Song often came to accompany me and brought us a lot of clothes for the children." Sui Yu said to Zhao Xiping.
Zhao Xiping thanked Song Xian.
Song Xian waved her hand and said, "Come to my house for dinner tonight."
"What for?" Sui Yu was puzzled. "Why are you treating us when all is well?"
"It's lively and fun. We're officially relatives from now on." Song Xian didn't bother to talk too much. As she walked out, she said, "The family is already preparing the meal. You two should pack up and take Sui Liang with you."
Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu exchanged a glance and said, "Shall I go buy some things on the street and bring them over?"
"OK."
After Sui Liang came back, the three of them went out to visit the Song family for dinner.
When she came back in the evening, Grandma Yin heard the noise and came to open the door, saying, "Madam, the water is already boiling on the stove."
"Have you eaten dinner?" Sui Yu asked.
"Yes, I heated up some leftovers from lunch."
Sui Liang handed her the three boiled eggs in his hand and said, "Here, I brought you three eggs."
"Hey! Hey..." Grandma Yin was speechless. She took the egg and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Sui Yu had already walked around her and went straight into the house.
Zhao Xiping went to the kitchen to fetch some water and came out saying, "From now on, you can stay in the guest house. I'll be home, so you don't have to run back and forth."
"Thank you, sir." Grandma Yin felt that she didn't know what else to say except thank you.
…
With Zhao Xiping as his laborer, he would return from morning training to the guesthouse to mix noodle sauce. Taking advantage of the cooler weather, Sui Yu would go with him to various food stalls and restaurants in the city to sell the sauce. The couple wandered around the city for nearly half a month, finally arriving at Minxiang. Minxiang had changed drastically from their memory: half was ruins, half was newly built loess walls. Bare-chested laborers, carrying wooden hammers, diligently tamped the earth. Lao Tu and others from Minxiang were clearing away the waste soil and worm-eaten beams.
"Oh, Manager Yu is here." Aunt Erhua said in a neither-so-positive tone.
The others looked over when they heard the sound. Sui Yu greeted them with a smile and said, "I'll come over for a look."
"Thanks to you, I spent a lot of money in vain." said the bald old man.
"We'll have to spend this money sooner or later. If the house is old, we need to replace it with a new one. Only by spending money can we make money." Sui Yu walked over and asked, "Is this a guest room or a warehouse?"
"Just like yours, the warehouse and guest rooms are in the same courtyard." The old bald man pointed to his own house and said, "My land is wider, so I use it as a kitchen."
Sui Yu patted the jar Zhao Xiping was holding and said, "This is the soybean paste for cold noodles. The food stores in the city are selling like hotcakes with it. I'm thinking about our friendship and want to make sure you don't miss out, so I brought it to you. Will you buy some? With the caravan coming back soon, why don't you make some cold noodles for sale?"
The old bald man was angry and aggrieved. He decided to be tough and said, "You've got the wrong person. I'm not the one who cooks."
"You are not a chef, but your son and daughter-in-law are chefs." Sui Yu had heard the news a long time ago. The old bald man asked his daughter-in-law to become a merchant and open a restaurant in the future.
The bald old man was speechless.
"Is this the sauce used in the cold noodles sold at the street stalls?" someone asked. "I remember the flavor you made before wasn't this."
"The garlic oil used to fry meat is not as good as this. When it gets cold, the meat oil solidifies and turns white, and the cold noodles can't be sold. This can be used year-round. In winter, you can't sell cold noodles, and the sauce can be used to mix with hot noodles." Sui Yu explained. She looked at the bald old man and asked, "Want to buy it?"
The old bald man thought about it for a moment and said, "Are you planning to keep selling this sauce?"
Sui Yu nodded, this is a business that can be done all year round.
"Okay, I'll buy it." The bald old man suddenly came to his senses. If he could avoid making enemies in business, he would do so. He not only wanted to learn Sui Yu's skills, but also her shamelessness. After all, it was all for the sake of making money, so it wasn't shameful.
"For the sake of our past friendship, please sell it to me at a lower price," said the baldy old man.
Sui Yu looked at him in surprise. Had he figured it out? She jokingly said, "I can sell it cheaply to others, but not to you. You've been cursing me behind my back for over a year now."
The bald old man felt guilty, so he didn't say anything and went straight back to ask his youngest son to get the money.
"How much?" he asked, turning around.
"Thirty coins, this jar can hold four jars of sauce."
“How much do you sell it to others?”
"Seven cents for a jar." Sui Yu said with a smile.
The old bald man was out of breath and shouted into the house: "Give me thirty coins."
Sui Yu took the money with a smile, handed it to Zhao Xiping, and said, "You guys are busy, we'll go back first. Uncle, if I have anything good in the future, I will think of you first."
"Aren't you really afraid that we will take away your business?" Aunt Erhua's husband was puzzled. They built the house based on the layout of Sui Yu's guesthouse, almost copying her business methods, but she was not angry or making trouble.
"There are so many caravans passing through, I can't possibly take over all of them." Sui Yu shook his head and said, "Everyone makes money based on their own abilities. If you can steal my business, it means I still have some shortcomings that need improvement."
In her time, hotels and hostels were plentiful, and any business, if run diligently, could profit. Even in later times, a city wouldn't have just one inn. Sui Yu didn't dare let her guesthouse dominate the Minxiang market, squeezing out the business. If that happened, the real trouble would be with her and Zhao Xiping. Their lucrative business would be the envy of everyone.
"When the noodle sauce is used up, go buy some more. I won't deliver it here." Sui Yu said to Lao Tu.
Aunt Erhua's husband suddenly understood that those who relied on renting out their properties to support their families would be anxious about losing their guests. Sui Yu, for example, had many avenues for making money, and even if her guesthouse business was affected, it wouldn't affect her food and drink. A little more or a little less was still profit, so she naturally took it easy.
"What are you looking at?" Aunt Erhua punched him and pointed at Sui Yu's back and asked, "Who are you looking at?"
"Look at Sui Yu. We can't compare to her." He sighed and said, "When the house is built, you stay at home and look after it. I have to find another way to make a living."
At that moment, a group of distressed merchants, leading camels laden with goods, entered Dunhuang. Huang Ancheng was about to approach them to speak when a sour, foul smell, accompanied by the hot wind, filled his throat. He vomited, covered his mouth and nose, and cursed, "How long has it been since you last showered?"
"There's no water for bathing in the desert. We just want to go into the city to have some rest." The leading merchant smiled bitterly.
"Go to the guesthouse in the north of the city. It's right by the river. You can wash however you want." Huang Ancheng pointed north. "Have you been there before?"
The merchants shook their heads. They wanted to go to Minxiang. They had been staying in Minxiang when traveling back and forth over the years. They felt more at ease living in a familiar place.
However, after arriving at Minxiang, the caravan was introduced by Aunt Erhua's husband to the Chengbei Guesthouse. "We're building a house here. The mud is piled up on the road and it's hard to walk. The ramming and pounding of the earth will make it hard for you to rest. The owner of the Chengbei Guesthouse is the woman who opened the restaurant here two years ago. You know her. Just go there."
"You're pushing away business that comes to you?" the merchants exclaimed. They asked in confusion, "Weren't you still trying to snatch customers at the city gate last spring?"
"You can come back next year." Aunt Erhua's husband smiled. "When you come again next year, our house will be ready. The guest rooms and warehouse are in the same courtyard. There is also a yard specifically for keeping camels. It can not only keep camels but also store food and fodder. I guarantee you will live comfortably here."
The caravan had no choice but to leave. They went to the guesthouse in the north of the city and found that the guesthouse here was the same as what the people in Minxiang had described. The guest rooms and warehouses were in the same yard, there was a livestock pen, and a restaurant selling meals.
"Did you know they're building a house over in Minxiang?" the merchant asked Sui Yu, inquiring, "Are the guesthouses on both sides run by the same owner?"
"That's not the case. We are competing for each other's business." Sui Yu took the rent.
"That's strange." The merchant shook his head.
"After you wash up, go directly to the west kitchen. I'll have the cook prepare your meal." Sui Yu walked out. She waved to Ah Shui, and the two of them went into the kitchen yard together. She said, "If there are merchants bathing in the river in the future, you should hide in the house and don't look at them."
Ah Shui nodded, "My father told me."
Sichuan peppercorns and fermented black beans were being fried in the kitchen. Sui Yu didn't go in. She went to the warehouse to stir the soybean paste. The soybean paste fermented quickly in hot weather. The Sichuan peppercorns and fermented black beans were poured in and simmered for four or five days before the flavor came out.
When the merchant walked in with wet hair, Sui Yu lifted the wooden board to cover the sauce jar and went out to inquire, "Are there many returning caravans?"
"Quite a few. Most of the small caravans return this month." The merchant walked into the dining hall, saw the plates of noodles on the table, and asked, "Is this our meal?"
"Yes, cold noodles with sauce, you guys should try it." Sui Yu said, "If you are used to it, you can take a can with you when you go east. This noodle is delicious, especially when it has pickled shredded radish."
The merchant nodded, and Sui Yu walked away so as not to disturb them while they were eating.
That night, Sui Yu and Sui Liang had just been picked up by Zhao Xiping, and the caravan returning late turned at the city gate and headed straight for the guesthouse in the north of the city.
The servants and helpers lying on the couch got up again when they heard the camel bells. Uncle Lao Niu led them into the house and collected the room fee. Gan Da, Gan Er and Li Mutou helped the caravan unload the goods, and Yin Po and the other three servants started cooking again.
Everything was ready and the merchants had their meal.
After they had their fill of food and drink, when it was time to pay, the merchant simply tossed a bag of copper coins to Yin Po and said, "Except for the meal, the rest you can divide among yourself. Thank you for keeping me busy all night."
Everyone present was delighted. After the merchants returned to the guesthouse to sleep, Yin Po and the others cleaned up the pots and bowls and counted copper coins together by candlelight.
Uncle Niu took a look and left.
Gan Da glanced at him, then turned and asked, "How much money can we get?"
"The meal costs four coins, and we six can split three coins equally." Aunt Yin deftly divided the coins, giving each person fifty coins. There were still thirty-eight coins in the cloth bag, and each person got six. The extra two coins went to Gan Da and Gan Er. Since the three of them, mother and son, had arrived at the host's house first, it was only natural that they could eat more and take more.
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping always pretended not to see the tips given by merchants to their servants and helpers, neither questioning nor intervening. The five official slaves, led by Yin Po, were initially apprehensive about receiving the tips. Slaves belonged to their masters, and so did their property. But when they discovered their masters wouldn't hold them accountable for hoarding the tips, they became even more devoted to the inn's business, serving the merchants wholeheartedly and striving to earn as much as possible.
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