After sending Chang Ze away, Yu Maocai soon received the servants he had sent out.
"How's the surveillance going?" He asked proudly, touching his belly which was no smaller than that of a pregnant woman. Successful restaurant owners always make preparations for both scenarios.
"My boss, after they finish their work every day, they push their stalls back home and leave nothing in the tent." The servant replied quickly.
"I secretly leaned over the wall of Zhang's house and watched. They seemed quite busy at night, probably making a lot of money. But they had a puppy, so I didn't dare to crawl in for fear of alerting them."
Although puppies cannot be used as dry food, the sensitive noses and ears of dogs are not limited to small or large dogs.
Boss Yu snorted coldly, "Then get two buckets of manure and pour it into their tent. I'll see how it stinks and how they can sell spicy skewers!"
"But boss, that tent is just a few pieces of tarpaulin. The worst that can happen is that we can tear it down and move to another place. At most, we can just put together a few new pieces of tarpaulin and then we can start doing business again."
The servant in charge of the operation felt that the boss was a bit foolish. "These days, the master is kind enough to show his favor. Even if they set up a stall outdoors, they might attract more customers."
Boss Yu was so angry that his eyes almost popped out of his head. "This won't work, that won't work. I'm raising you like a good-for-nothing!"
The servant quickly offered a suggestion, "Master, I've secretly taken a look at their tent. It's held there by four wooden planks with iron nails. What if we secretly saw off most of the wood, and then when they're serving food and drinks to their guests, we give it a gentle push... Hehe, if this tent suddenly collapses, who would dare to eat at their stall anymore?"
Yu Maocai smiled and said, "That's a good idea. Let's do it! You go tonight!"
Even if the spicy skewers are delicious, they can't withstand the weight of a head. Who would risk their life for a stutter?
The servant hurriedly said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to arrive tonight. Zhang Sanzhuang gave the guards a lot of money and asked them to look after the tent. Master, please..."
Yu Maocai took out a coin from his money box and waved his hand, "If it's not enough, you can come back for more. Just make sure that little bastard disappears from my sight!"
When it comes to spending money, can the Zhang family be as rich as him? What a joke!
The Zhang family didn't know that because Zhang Sanzhuang went to the restaurant on the street every day, some people couldn't stand the filial piety and were planning to turn the filial son into a crying son.
It was already completely dark, and the Zhang family had the rare luxury of lighting lanterns and oil lamps in the yard, illuminating the yard and kitchen clearly, and they were busy working.
Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Erzhuang were very strong, and they chopped the pork on the chopping board with a loud bang. As long as they thought that there were thousands of copper coins on the chopping board, they could not stop using all their strength.
Madam Zhang took Yu and Yang to wash vegetables at the kitchen door. They peeled off the rotten leaves on the relatively fresh cabbage in the cellar, and removed the cherries from the radish. They chopped them up and mixed them with the meat, and then made meat-stuffed meatballs.
Butcher Zhang took his younger grandchildren to the stove in the main room to peel garlic, wash ginger, and clean the sewers.
Sun, who had a big belly and couldn't bend down, was in charge of the stove in the kitchen, responsible for cooking meatballs and steaming vegetable cakes.
Zhang Sanzhuang took his older nephews Donkey and Goudan and sat in the middle of the main hall, stringing the prepared meatballs and vegetables onto skewers using wooden sticks sent by Yong's mother's family.
When there are 100 strings, Zhang Sanzhuang, who can read, will write the correct characters on the side.
Mrs. Zhang saw that everyone in the family was busy with work and smiling. Although the weather was very cold, she still felt warm in her heart. Who doesn't like to make money?
But now, for the sake of her grandchildren's future, she would no longer remain silent, and she did not forget to give her daughter-in-law the same old advice: "No matter whose mother's family asks what, you must know what you should and shouldn't say. If you are unsure, come and ask me. If anyone continues to be the same as before, don't be the daughter-in-law of the Zhang family."
Sun's mother can't go out at all now, and probably doesn't have the face to come home.
When Yu Ada came to deliver the stall cart and sticks, he didn't say anything. He just secretly told them that if they needed sticks or any other work, everyone in the family would be free.
Yang knew that her mother-in-law was trying to warn her. Her mother-in-law had just come yesterday and talked to Yang for a long time, wanting her to help her brother.
So as soon as Madam Zhang finished speaking, Yang quickly swore an oath and promised, "Don't worry, mother. If my family comes again in the future, I will ask them to come find you."
As long as a daughter who marries out has not had a bad childhood, most of them are willing to take care of her parents' home.
But unless one is out of his mind, no one would value his mother's family more than his own son.
Mrs. Zhang felt that her daughter-in-law would not be that stupid, so she did not say much, but turned around and gave her grandchildren some more instructions.
"Grandma, I'll make a note of all you boys and girls. No matter who asks you how your family does business or how much money you make, you must always tell me you don't know. If anyone talks too much, the boys won't be able to go to school, and the girls won't be able to marry into a good family."
Mrs. Zhang was afraid that the younger ones wouldn't understand this, so she added, "If they listen to you and rob our business, you'll never be able to eat good food or wear new clothes again. Just dream on."
Children:!!!
Except for Donkey Egg who knows a little about human affairs, the other children are really not interested in school or getting married. But if there is no more delicious food in the future and the new clothes promised by grandma are gone, they feel that it will be dark before they close their eyes, and there is no hope for them to remain as children.
Except for Maodan, the second child who could only utter two words at a time, the other children nodded vigorously, looking more serious than their parents.
"I won't tell anyone who asks me!"
"I'm obedient, and my friends won't tell them!"
"I'll take the secret to my grave!" Goudan imitated his grandmother, Old Lady Yu.
The family was at a loss for words, but there was no need to be so cruel.
While the family was busy chatting and laughing, Miao Wan wanted to fully understand what Qiao Bailao was doing, so she pulled him to the kitchen.
Mrs. Geng and her uncle's family of three were also busy in the kitchen.
Although the house bought by the Qiao family is low and dilapidated, it occupies a large area.
Miao Wan asked Uncle Geng to bring her son Changshou to build a new large stove in the kitchen. It was different from the previous one. There were three small stoves on the left, right and back of the large stove, sharing one stove eye.
The pork brought from Zhang's house was boiled into oil and poured into two iron pots on the two large stoves.
One of them only adds the plant alkali obtained from filtering wood ash water to make soap, and the other iron pot also needs to be added with milk and essential oil to make a milky white essential oil soap.
The good thing about plant alkali is that it does not harm the skin and is milder than the alkali obtained by adding slaked lime water, but its cleaning ability is not as strong as that of alkali.
Miao Wan tried distilling it a few more times and added the distilled crystals to the lard, and the effect was much better.
No one wanted Miao Wan to do it when she was pregnant. Except for the few times she demonstrated in the past, Aunt Geng and Uncle Geng were now very skilled in making scented soaps, soaps and perfumed soaps.
As for Qiao Ruihe who insisted on helping, they also needed to look after Qiao Shengwen's longevity from time to time and were not allowed to get close to the lard iron pot. Miao Wan also assigned them tasks.
Miao Wan bought all the hyssop in the Zhang family's cellar, and the three small stoves were all boiling hyssop water.
Qiao Rui and Changshou were responsible for wringing the condensed water from the cotton towel into the coarse porcelain bowl, and they were very busy.
Especially when they saw that the wrung-out water quickly separated into two distinct layers, the two of them couldn't help but exclaim in surprise no matter how many times they saw it.
Lian Qiao Ruichen's eyes lit up as he looked at the transparent liquid in the bowl, which had an obviously different texture, and smelled the extremely refreshing aroma.
He couldn't help but look at Miao Wan, "Are these all the recipes passed down from your maternal family?"
Miao Wan immediately replied, "That's not the case. My mother has been very smart and has always loved beauty. She didn't like the smell of rose water, so she bought some peonies and tried to extract them to make aromatic oil and peony water. I discovered this by accident."
Although pregnancy makes people stupid for three years, Miao Wan still has basic logic.
The Ruan family mainly runs restaurants and businesses, so they can have recipes, but there were no women in the Ruan family who did business, so they shouldn't know about aromatic oils and rouge, so she blamed everything on her deceased mother.
After all, Ruan really loves beauty and is good-looking. Just look at Miao Wan and you will know.
If Ruan Shi was not as delicate and graceful as a willow and as beautiful as a blooming lotus, Miao Wan's scumbag father would not have looked down on her.
Qiao Ruichen looked at his wife thoughtfully, and saw her blinking and stroking her belly. In the candlelight, she was full of soft maternal glow, which made her look gentle and simple.
But he remembered that when Ruan passed away, Miao Wan was only four years old. Such a young child could remember so much. His daughter-in-law was much smarter than he thought.
Now that she was busy taking care of both families, he always felt that his young wife's timid appearance in the capital was more like pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.
Qiao Ruichen thought to himself that Marquis Jingyang had been flattering the Duke of Chen's Mansion for a long time, and there would always be a time to deal with them, and his wife would no longer have to suffer injustice.
In the past, he just thought that since he married Miao Wan at his parents' behest, he should treat her as his responsibility and protect her like he did his parents and sister.
Now he discovered that his wife was just like a newborn crab, with a translucent shell and a cute appearance. She would cautiously and tentatively stretch out her feet, and as long as she was sure that there was no danger outside, she would dare to jump out and walk sideways.
He couldn't help but smile. He really liked his wife, who was as warm and lively as the sun. Perhaps he could communicate with her more in the future...
"Husband, come here quickly. I want to tell you the difference between soap and scented soap."
"Husband, try it, then you can say this..."
"My husband, you have to get up at 1:00 AM tomorrow morning. We have a lot of things to buy for our family. It's a good opportunity for you to go to the tile market so that Uncle Geng doesn't have to run back and forth."
Qiao Ruichen: “…” Forget it, there’s no need to communicate, he just needs to listen to his wife.
Miao Shiren had no idea how tortuous his mental journey was. He was only concerned with pulling Qiao Ruichen to the main hall to ask about his well-being and, at the same time, to consider how to exploit Qiao Bailao to the maximum extent.
"My husband, please sit next to me. It's warm on the kang. Let me tell you about soap. It's the most expensive of all. My father also said that rare goods should be sold at a high price. My husband, you must be smarter than me. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean by promotion."
"Husband, are you thirsty? Drink some sugar water. Do you know how milk tofu is made? Hahaha, let me tell you, you can whet the appetite of the Northern Mongolians. Just reading the recipe is useless. The milk must be cooked in advance before use. You can use it to exchange for more things."
Speaking of this, Miao Wan felt a little embarrassed.
In her later life, she bought fresh milk to ferment, but did not cook it in advance. She only cooked it after the fermentation was complete.
But she forgot that the fresh milk delivered to customers in later generations had been sterilized at high temperatures, which was completely different from what it is now.
She suspected that her first attempt failed because she used half a bucket of raw milk directly for fermentation.
The second time we used the milk that Yu had cooked and sent over, so the temperature was just right for it to ferment into yogurt.
Qiao Ruichen listened to Miao Wan gently, and when she waved, he helped her sit on the kang.
Uncle Geng bought some white fungus from the seasoning shop in Washi. He kept a red date and white fungus soup warm on the small stove in the main room, so Miao Wan could have a bowl of it whenever she was hungry, and the whole kang was warm.
By the time Miao Wan had finished speaking, the sugar water was already in her hands, and she drank most of it.
Qiao Shengwen, who was listening quietly at the side, saw this scene and the smile in his eyes almost overflowed.
Ruichen is a precocious child. He has been more taciturn than other children since he was young, and he is also good at learning kung fu.
He was placed in the imperial guard by the saint, responsible for secretly protecting the saint's safety, so he was used to having a blank expression, but he was actually a very good person in private and took care of his family.
In the past, the daughter-in-law was afraid of her son and her eyes would often turn red. Now, it seems that one is lively and the other is silent, which is just right.
If you replace your husband with a steady, virtuous and good housewife, he might have nothing to say to his taciturn husband.
Qiao Shengwen sighed again, he really married this daughter-in-law.
After listening to this, Qiao Ruichen roughly understood what Miao Wan meant, but there were still some details that needed to be discussed with his father about how to do it, so there was no need for Miao Wan to worry about them.
When Miao Wan started to yawn, he sent his wife back to the east room before going back to talk to his father.
After a good night's sleep, when Miao Wan woke up it was already dawn.
The kang in the east room had been repaired by the capable Uncle Geng, who had replaced the brick path for the smoke with a new one. Even though there was a fire burning in the kitchen, Aunt Geng had put the thick mattress on it, so she just felt warm and slept more and more soundly.
If it weren't for the baby's kicking in her belly reminding her to get up, she probably wouldn't have woken up until mid-morning.
Qiao Ruichen and Uncle Geng are no longer at home.
"Mom, how long have my husband and Uncle Geng been gone?" After washing up, Miao Wan asked Geng while drinking a bowl of Tremella soup soaked in milk tofu that had been simmered overnight.
Geng glanced at the sky. "I left during the Chen hour. Ruichen said he should go over early to check the tents. Sanzhuang and the others just left. I estimate they'll be back by the end of the Wei hour (3 p.m.)."
The spicy skewers business has gradually stabilized. Although we haven’t yet started selling mutton, we also have vegetarian skewers, so the business is much easier to do than the braised meat business.
Every day, the meat and offal of a pig, along with about 50 kilograms of vegetarian skewers, can be sold out before noon, and most of the time we can get back by noon.
The amount of ingredients was doubled, and the daily cost, including milk and roasted barley, was controlled within two strings of cash. When the profit was low, about fifteen strings of cash could be earned, and when the profit was high, eighteen strings of cash could be earned including tips.
In less than half a month, the Zhang family alone received more than 70 strings of cash, and they all received a large silver ingot worth 50 taels each, which made Mrs. Zhang very happy.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be scolding her daughter-in-law every day.
The Zhang family members were not the kind of people who liked to cause trouble. For the sake of money, the whole family worked together and focused on working. No one complained about being tired.
Qiao Ruichen made the tent in the same way as he did for the forced march. He went to the blacksmith shop and had an iron nail with a cylindrical indentation made, and the bottom was made into a round top and pointed bottom.
Just hammer iron nails into the soil, insert some sturdy wood, and cover it with oilcloth, and you will have a sturdy tent.
He checked the iron nails and found that they were not shaking. The wood used was the most common cypress in the northwest, and there was no sign of deformation even in the cold winter.
As soon as he entered the tent, Zhang Sanzhuang greeted him warmly.
"Brother Qiao, do you think our business is okay? You've seen a lot in Beijing, so you might be able to spot something wrong. Just tell me, and my second brother, Uncle Geng, and I promise to fix it."
Qiao Ruichen hesitated, "I've only been to the restaurant, and more often when I was on duty in the palace."
Zhang Sanzhuang: "..." Doesn't that mean I'm eating from the same pot as the old saint? Excuse me.
He was greatly shocked, not knowing that the saint himself used more than one pot to eat. It took him a while to come back to his senses with a sigh.
"Then Goudan will be responsible for helping the guests wash their hands today. If any guests ask, Brother Qiao will take care of it. What do you think..."
Qiao Ruichen nodded amiably, "Okay, Awan has explained everything to me. Her method is very good. I'm afraid you, Third Brother, will have to work a lot harder in the future."
Qiao Ruichen had never heard of the word "promotion".
But Qiao Ruichen knew exactly what he needed to do for the promotion. If he followed his wife's method, not only would customers want more soap and scented soap, but the spicy skewers would also probably sell better than they did now.
Zhang Sanzhuang was only surprised, not frightened. He rubbed his hands and chuckled, "Really? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I'll ask Am to prepare twice as much ingredients as we do now. Even if we're busy until dinner time, we won't be afraid."
It is not easy for ordinary people to make money, and it is even more difficult to earn enough money to send their children to private schools or even to take imperial examinations.
Little do people know that many smart kids in ordinary families have no chance to make a future because they have no money.
The Zhang family is not afraid of hard work and fatigue. If they can make more money, they will wake up smiling even in their dreams.
After the tent was cleaned, the spicy soup and oden bone soup that had been prepared in advance began to bubbling. Many guests smelled the familiar spicy aroma and came to the tent as if they knew the way.
"Do you have any braised food skewers today? If so, give me ten skewers first, plus five meatball skewers and five vegetarian skewers."
Because the ingredients were not expensive and they made a lot of money, the Zhang family was happy but also retained their kind nature. The spicy skewers were still generous with ingredients, with three big meatballs on a skewer. The braised meats were also cut thickly, and the vegetarian skewers had four meatballs on a skewer.
I guess a kid can be full with just one skewer.
A customer at the back echoed, "Exactly. We didn't eat enough yesterday and it was gone. Doesn't your family make braised food? Why don't you prepare more?"
Zhang Sanzhuang immediately began his own performance, "This isn't a restaurant on the street that has learned our family's braising recipe. My father-in-law is the chef in the restaurant. How can I, as a son-in-law, compete with my elders for business? I can only braise more when we eat at home."
Many people who can eat a dozen or twenty skewers of spicy skewers have also eaten the braised food in the restaurants on the street. Upon hearing this, they immediately curled their lips and said, "Then your father-in-law's cooking skills are not good. It's okay to eat it occasionally, but he stir-fries it with a lot of oil. If you eat too much, you will feel greasy. It's not as delicious as the ones you used to sell." [Read novels on the official account: Jiuju Push]
Zhang Sanzhuang was delighted to hear this. How could this stolen knowledge be the same as the authentic one? He didn't even consider whether Chang Ze had the ability.
He smiled with a particularly innocent smile, "That's definitely not my father-in-law's craft. It was learned from the chef named Chang in the restaurant."
The guest understood clearly, no need to say more.
Most of the people who came here the fastest were the traveling merchants who lived near Wa City. They were all businessmen, so they knew the tricks going on inside.
They felt that the butcher's family was too soft-hearted. Even when being bullied, they still acted foolishly and filially. This was really too much and was just stupid.
But they soon stopped feeling that way.
A customer was about to pay the bill after eating. His hands were covered in oil. He was just about to wipe his hands with a handkerchief before taking out the money from his purse. Goudan was quick-eyed and immediately came over to ask the customer to wash his hands with scented soap.
"My aunt made this because she saw that we kids always got chapped skin from washing our hands and faces in winter, so she came up with this idea. Not only do your hands smell good after washing, but they are also very smooth. Look at my hands." Goudan invited the guests to wash their hands while stretching out his little paws that had eaten some meat.
The guest was stunned for a moment, then became interested.
Although Goudan's paws are a little dark, they are plump and tender, and don't look like those of ordinary people's children at all.
Children are tender-skinned and cannot stay indoors, so they always like to run outside.
The northwest wind is strong, so after entering deep winter, most children's skin is like peeling, feeling hard and rough, and if it gets colder, they will get frostbite and cracks.
He took the black ball handed to him by Goudan, dipped some water in his hands and washed them. After washing, he immediately felt a clear contrast.
The greasy hands before were no longer sticky, but still slippery, a bit like his wife's skin, which was all caused by applying skin care cream!
"Can you sell this fragrant soap? How much is it?" the customer asked immediately.
Goudan smiled and replied, "We won't make money from this. The cost is too high and we can't sell it. This small one costs five cents. My aunt said to keep it for our family."
This guest was a merchant from the inland of Dayue, and usually went to the south of the Yangtze River.
Jiangnan is a wealthy place. Although he works hard, he earns a lot of money and is willing to spend money on ordinary food. He laughed when he heard this.
He thought it was very expensive, but it turned out to be only five cents. He could sell it for more than ten cents in Jiangnan.
When they heard him ask, those who were also interested came over to take a look. After hearing what Goudan said, many people wanted to laugh.
If it is really as good as skin care cream, you can save a lot of money even if you use it at home. You know, skin care creams are mostly sold by the penny.
Which family doesn’t have female relatives? Female relatives spend money... Forget it, it hurts my heart to mention it.
Goudan couldn't understand what the adults were thinking. He just followed his aunt's instructions and glanced at the customers who had just washed their hands. "There's also soap for washing handkerchiefs. It makes them smell nice and clean after washing, but it's not as slippery as soap. My aunt makes it for washing clothes."
Before the customer could say anything, another Western merchant came over and said, "Wash mine. My handkerchief just fell on the ground and it's very dirty."
Goudan took it, took out a piece of translucent dark yellow soap, dipped it in water, rubbed it on the wet towel, and rubbed it hard a few times.
When he saw that the white foam had turned dirty, he quickly rinsed it with clean water, wrung out the water, and heated it over the small stove where he was boiling barley tea before handing it to the customer.
Now those who had a little bit of common sense looked up.
The handkerchief was washed clean, but men are not as particular as women. The handkerchief probably has some history, and there are still some old stains on it, which are very light.
The overall look is much cleaner than before, and I can smell the faint fragrance without having to hold it to my nose.
Who are the most popular people in Tile Market? Not the ordinary people who come to buy something when they need it, but the vendors and peddlers!
Those who set up stalls also hope that the traveling merchants will buy all the goods.
The northwest is poor because of its advantageous geographical location, but no matter whether it is goods from the Western Regions, cattle and sheep from Northern Mongolia, or various dyes and minerals from the Hehuang Valley, to enter or exit Dayue, one must pass through Xining Town.
Otherwise, in this remote and poor area, it would be impossible to develop a large-scale tile market just by relying on the common people buying things.
Some of the people present were traveling merchants, as well as their families, all of whom had good vision.
Many people didn't even bother to eat the skewers and just came over. Such good stuff would definitely be popular no matter whether it was shipped to the inland of Dayue or to other countries.
An anxious person immediately asked, "How much does the soap cost?"
As soon as he finished asking the question, someone booed him. How shameless! Isn't this just bullying a child who is ignorant?
Do you want others to sell it to you at cost?
But after the boos, no one came out to say anything fair, ahem... Businessmen are profit-driven, and no one would feel any psychological burden about deceiving children if they can make more money.
Goudan was also honest. He waved his hand and just followed his aunt's instructions, saying, "The materials used to make soap are hard to come by. You can only buy them when the weather gets hot. My grandparents dote on my aunt, and it took a lot of effort to make it. It seems like it cost more than ten copper coins."
Adults don’t think it’s expensive. They spend more than this on spicy skewers, okay?
A man in a Mongolian robe immediately chimed in, "Did the dozen or so copper coins cost you this much for the fragrant soap and this... soap nuts? Or was it just the soap nuts?"
"It's soap. Little kid, tell me what you need to make soap. I've traveled a lot and know a lot, so maybe I can get it for you."
"Yes, yes, yes. How are you making that fragrant soap? How about you tell me and I'll make some for your family?"
Zhang Sanzhuang, who had been pretending to be busy in front of the stall, spat several times in his heart, "You shameless bastard, do you think the adults in our Goudan's family don't exist?"
We were still in the tent, but he was so mean to our child.
Before Zhang Sanzhuang could walk over there out of frustration, Qiao Ruichen walked around Wa City and came back.
After standing there and listening for a while, he saw Goudan's eyes turned red with fear because of the adults. He immediately stepped forward to protect Goudan behind him, smiled faintly and bowed to the guests who had unknowingly gathered around him.
"Kid, you don't know much. My wife stumbled upon this when she was bored. If customers want it, we can make it, but we can't sell it in large quantities. We'll sell as many as we can and charge the cost price as a token of our appreciation."
Facing a man like Qiao Ruichen who looked so elegant, the guests calmed down a little.
They didn't believe the cost, but the children just revealed something similar. If they bought the goods at a similar price and sold them to the inland, the Western Regions, or even Northern Mongolia and Xifan, they would make a profit.
There was a moment of silence before someone said, "Okay, since this guy has said so, I'll order 500 yuan for the scented soap and 300 yuan for the soap."
"I want two hundred yuan of incense..."
Qiao Ruichen looked at everyone apologetically and interrupted them, "I'm really sorry, my wife is pregnant and will give birth soon, so she can't be overworked. The main business of our family is the spicy skewers business, so the guests want so much, we really can't make it."
Without giving the customers a chance to rush, he continued, "Since you're all regular customers of the Pig Killer Spicy Skewers, it's not impossible. How about this: the first three customers who spend a hundred coins at the Pig Killer Spicy Skewers every day can order fifty yuan of fragrant soap and fifty yuan of soap."
"Well, I've had enough. I'll be the first to pay!" The customer who washed his hands first said immediately, but he was very dissatisfied, "This is not even enough for the women in my family."
Who doesn’t have many aunts and uncles?
Qiao Ruichen smiled, "Customers can come early to line up. We can only make this much every day. However, if you spend a thousand wen at the Pig Killer Spicy Skewers over ten days, not only can you double the quantity of these two items, but you can also order a soap that's even better than these two. That one is more difficult to make, even though the price is about the same as the soap. We can't order too much."
"Hmm?" The guests didn't bother to complain, their eyes brightened.
Someone subconsciously asked, "How can it be more difficult?"
Qiao Ruichen hesitated for a moment, then took out a soap that Miao Wan had stuffed into his pocket last night, and coughed lightly as if feeling uneasy.
"This is a gift from my wife for fumigating purses. The soap moisturizes the skin and cleans clothes. It's better than soap and soap combined."
He didn't need to say more, everyone could see the difference, and based on appearance alone, the soap won.
The soap is a black ball, the soap is a dark yellow transparent ball, and the soap is a beautiful milky white.
The piece that Miao Wan brought to Qiao Ruichen as a sample was not only milky white, but she also used the plum blossom mold carved by Uncle Geng to shape it.
It smells of a cool and light mint scent, and its shape is a beautiful plum blossom. Qiao Shengwen also specially carved the word "Chen" on it with a bamboo stick, which is beautiful and elegant.
If it is placed on a ceramic plate, even the rich and powerful would find it pleasing to the eye.
Good-looking and easy to use, this is the most profitable thing!
Merchants know better than anyone else that although goods sold in large quantities and at low prices may sell quickly and well, the money earned is hard-earned.
If they can have something good that is sought after by the rich, they don’t need to buy much. Just by adding the unit price, they can make a fortune.
How could they not be tempted? The rich aroma of spicy skewers in the tent was the voice of their hearts, hot and spicy, with the sweet aroma of making money!
"How much can the soap be sold for? I want them all! No need to wait ten days, I'll just spend one or two taels of silver to buy this qualification!"
"Who doesn't have money? I'll give you three taels! I'll buy a month's supply! I want a share of the soap too!"
"I'll give you six taels!"
"Well, let's just bid the highest and win. Not many of us here are short of money."
The customers who sat quietly in front of the stall and ate, and then decided it was too expensive after learning the cost, felt like they had been shot in the back.
Zhang Sanzhuang thought about how much they earned in a day from working hard from morning to night, and felt a little jealous. It seemed that there was a big gap between those who were not short of money and those who were not short of money.
Qiao Ruichen could handle himself better than anyone else. He had been with the Saint since he was still a prince. He had seen all kinds of big scenes, so this little excitement was nothing.
He just shook his head calmly, and the guilt on his face made people feel that he was particularly sincere. It was at this moment that he looked a bit like Qiao Shengwen.
"My dear guests, you are wealthy and naturally don't need this little money. Our Zhang family is a small business. We mainly slaughter pigs and sell food. These are fine as a supplement to the spicy skewers. If we sell them separately, I'm afraid they will get in the way. We can't afford to offend you, so I hope you can forgive me."
As soon as he said this, some smart people immediately took a deep breath.
A noble person? Who else could there be?
Isn’t the greatest benefactor in the northwest General Dingbei?
Those who have bigger businesses or are well-informed know that although General Dingbei looks like a rough and tumble man who only cares about the military camp, in fact, the tile market and the streets are all under his control.
When they do business in Xining, they have to pay money to the local tyrants in Washi and other streets to buy peace. Is there any need to guess who these local tyrants belong to?
However, everyone knows that General Dingbei was born in the Mansion of Duke Chen in the capital. His eldest sister is the current Empress Dowager, and his niece is the Saint's concubine. Although the Saint is not the Empress Dowager's biological son, he is still the Saint's uncle.
Among the four classes of people, merchants are of lower status and no one can afford to offend this big Buddha.
As for the merchants from the Western Regions and Northern Mongolia, they were doing business in Xining and certainly did not want to offend General Dingbei.
Hearing that the nobles of the Western Regions and the Northern Mongolian nobles were on good terms with General Dingbei, they were indignant. What good could come of hitting a stone with an egg?
They also roughly understood the meaning behind Qiao Ruichen's words -
We in the Zhang family don't plan to make money from this, and we're selling it because you want it.
We just want the spicy skewers stall to do better business. If it gets too noisy and gets discovered by the dignitaries, we'll have no choice but to give away the recipe and never touch it again.
It was the Northern Mongolian merchant who spoke first. The tall and strong man glanced at the people gathered in a circle and whispered, "Then we'll buy as many as you can make. We're not here for this; we really like the spicy skewers!"
Someone immediately responded, "That's right, since it's something your women made, we can take some back home to give to the women at home as a treat after we've had enough. It's not much, so just give it as a token of our appreciation."
"That's right. I'm the first one to pay today, so I'll take fifty dollars each. If anyone has children at home, we can split the soap. It would be fun."
In fact, they are all smart people. After listening to Qiao Ruichen’s clear explanation, who could not understand?
Are the women in the family doing it for fun? Not much? Can't do too much? It's all a trick.
Just now they thought the Zhang family was stupid, but it was clearly them who were the stupid ones who were so eager to pay the money.
Zhang Sanzhuang, who was secretly watching from the side and wanted to see whether Awan's husband was capable or not, was stunned.
My goodness, how many sentences did Brother Qiao say in total?
No one was fighting over the things, and no one was cursing and fighting over something. They all obviously wanted something, but they were arm in arm, saying hello to each other, and then turned around to rush to pay the bill?
He couldn't help but sigh secretly to Uncle Geng, "I thought Uncle Qiao was the best in the Qiao family, but I didn't expect Brother Qiao's eloquence to be just as good as Uncle Qiao's."
Uncle Geng smiled without saying anything. As the saying goes, "A dragon gives birth to a dragon, and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix." Would the son of the Minister of Revenue be a liar? It all depended on whether he was willing to speak.
The merchants didn't make too much noise in the tent for fear of attracting other people's attention.
They knew very well that the three things they brought out today could make a lot of money, and no one was willing to let the local tyrants take advantage of them.
A few traveling merchants who usually fought for supplies like crazy, secretly sat together in the evening.
"Since only the first three orders can be made each day, we can just send our servants to queue up when people show up at the spicy skewers stall."
"Everyone depends on their ability. No fighting is allowed. And it's best not to ask for anything in front of others. Those lackeys have sharp noses."
"Yes, it would be best if they just set up their stall and only sell spicy skewers. Then they can have someone deliver it to your door and then order other items. This way it will be less noticeable."
After discussing it, everyone left the party with a smile, and then turned around and started cursing each other in private, saying that they were all old foxes.
"Wait for someone to come to the stall? Haha, if I believe them, my shit won't even get warm. Go, call someone who is resistant to the cold, bring a blanket and wait next to the tent, as close to the door as possible."
They are all used to scrambling for supplies, and because they are all gourmets, they are familiar with each other. Who doesn’t know who?
So when the moon was at its zenith and the night was quiet, amid the howling of the northwest wind, several figures wrapped in quilts walked around the guards who were keeping watch in front of the fire, and climbed over the low wall with their backs bent.
Just as they were secretly hiding next to the tent, they ran into each other without any preparation.
Several people: "..."
"Haha, what a coincidence, I was drinking nearby and came out to pee."
"Haha, what a coincidence! The kang is too hot, so I came out to cool down."
…
After exchanging pleasantries without any awkwardness, they were all waiting in line. Everyone wrapped themselves tightly in their quilts and tacitly chose the place closest to the stall to sit down.
They all secretly encouraged each other, determined to be the first to stand in front of the door when the Zhang family pushed the stall cart into the tent.
The winter in the northwest is extremely cold. It is the coldest time of the year in November. It is only slightly better if there is no snow. At least you can wrap yourself tightly with a quilt to keep away from the damp.
But northwest wind, northwest wind, I’m not kidding.
The dry and biting cold wind could almost penetrate the quilt and get into the gaps between people's bones.
The servants who came to queue were relatively strong, and they had hot water bottles or copper stoves in their arms. They could hold on at first, but they all became drowsy.
But the hot water bag will eventually cool down, and the charcoal in the copper stove will also
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