Chapter 12 Kimchi Business Two people, one in front and one behind, carried the kimchi jars,...
Arriving at the East Market, Shopkeeper Mo took the cloth and secretly admired the exquisite needlework, the lifelike pattern, and the superb craftsmanship. He put the cloth down, a satisfied smile on his face, and said to Liu Yeshu, "The embroidery on this cloth is indeed very good. I am very satisfied. So, every ten days, you can come and get five feet of cloth. This way, your mother will have enough time to embroider and won't be too tired."
Liu Yeshu felt relieved when she heard Shopkeeper Mo say this, and took the opportunity to say, "Shopkeeper Mo, since we are in a long-term partnership, I wonder if you could pay a deposit in advance so my mother can concentrate on her embroidery without having to worry about money."
Shopkeeper Mo had already inquired about this and knew that since this family was a slave, they were naturally short of money. He nodded in agreement and said, "You are quite clever, girl. There is nothing wrong with this. How about giving a 20-wen deposit each time?"
Liu Yeshu naturally had no objection: "Okay, thank you, Shopkeeper Mo. We will ensure the quality and quantity, and you will definitely get the finished product on time."
On the way home, she passed by the West Market and saw people gathered at the stalls in front. She leaned over to take a look and saw that they were a group of Hu merchants who were gathered in front of a pickled vegetable stall to buy pickled vegetables.
Hu Shang asked, "Your pickled vegetables only have radishes?" After taking a few bites, he seemed dissatisfied and turned away with a smack of his lips.
Liu Yeshu walked forward, took out six coins from his pocket, and handed them to the stall owner: "Please fill me up with a pound of pickled vegetables."
The stall owner looked at the backs of the Hu merchants and rolled his eyes: "The caravan will leave soon, and you will still have to come to me to buy." After that, he skillfully picked up the pickled vegetables and handed them to Liu Yeshu.
On the way home, Liu Yeshu started to think in her mind. Her kimchi was not bad either. Could she sell it to the caravan?
[System prompt: The host has accumulated enough points to redeem seasonings, including chili powder, Sichuan peppercorns, aged vinegar, etc. These seasonings can be used to enhance the flavor of food and enrich daily diets. 5 points can be redeemed for one kilogram. Do you want to redeem?]
Liu Yeshu was slightly taken aback when she saw the condiments displayed on the panel were all rare here. After selecting chili powder, Sichuan peppercorns, aged vinegar, and soy sauce, she was overjoyed: "These, combined, will be exchanged for five kilograms first."
After arriving home, Liu Yeshu gave his mother the deposit and the cloth, then told her about the pickled vegetables he'd met at the market that day from a Hu merchant. Eventually, her mother was tempted. While the profit from pickling vegetables might be small, it added up, and their own capital wasn't much. The Hu merchants weren't short of money, and the caravan was large, so they bought dozens or even hundreds of kilograms. Finally, her mother said, "It depends on your father." She also said, "Don't overwork yourself."
"How can making money be tiring?" Liu Yeshu said with a smile.
When Liu's father came back from the fields and just put down the plow in the yard, Liu Yeshu stood beside him and told him again. After listening, Liu's father simply went into the house to get copper coins from the box and said, "It doesn't matter if we can't sell it. I like this kimchi too. If we can't sell it, we can eat it ourselves."
The next morning, Liu Yeshu led his camel out to the West Market and bought twenty kilograms of radishes and twenty kilograms of cabbage, filling the baskets on both sides of the camel to the brim. Liu's father and brother went to the fields as usual, and at noon, Liu Yeshu brought them lunch and also completed the system's daily tasks to earn some points.
Passing by the village entrance, Aunt Sun was not there. Aunt Sun's daughter was standing there, smiling at everyone she saw. She limped along for a few steps after the camel, touched the hair on its neck, and saw the vegetables. She asked, "It's almost spring. Why are you buying so many vegetables?"
Liu Yeshu smiled and said she was making kimchi, and never mentioned selling it.
Aunt Sun's daughter thought about it and realized that she had eaten the kimchi before and it did taste unique. She wanted to ask how it was made, but Liu Yeshu had already walked away. Aunt Sun called her to add more firewood, and she responded and went into the house.
Back home, Liu Yeshu got busy. She washed the cabbage and radish, cut them into bite-sized pieces, sprinkled them with salt, and let them marinate for two hours. The wait was unbearable, so she asked the system, "They said chick hatching could be sped up. Can pickling kimchi also speed things up?"
[Host, yes, 20 points per session.]
Liu Yeshu thought about it and decided to give up. Twenty points at once was too much for her. This time, the purchase was small. If a Hu merchant was interested in a large order, she would redeem them if time was tight. Having made up her mind, she went to feed the camels grass, then to feed the chicks. She remembered that Old Man Wang's field was planted with soybeans, and she planned to wait until they were ripe to catch some bean worms to feed the chickens. The chicks grew fast and fat on the worms.
After the radish and cabbage have released water, Liu Yeshu mixes them with seasonings and seals them in a ceramic jar. It will take about a week to ferment. The longer the fermentation time, the sourer the kimchi will be.
As the sun moved to the horizon, she went to the fields to deliver food to her father and brother. When she got bored on the way, she asked the system, "Aside from daily tasks, are there any other ways to earn points?"
[If the host earns money by using agricultural knowledge, the system will distribute rewards, 1 copper coin is exchanged for 1 point.]
"Is that so..." Liu Yeshu pondered, "Then can the points be exchanged for copper coins?"
The system choked and said it couldn't.
Liu Yeshu acted pitifully and said, "I just want to earn a few more coins so that my family can live a better life."
Once again, the system was bewildered by Liu Yeshu's outward appearance, and unconsciously revealed: [Completing staged farm work will receive additional rewards, such as spring plowing and autumn harvest, each worth 500 points. Solving major problems will also result in additional rewards.]
Liu Yeshu was satisfied.
She met her father and brother in the field. When she brought them food, she put on the straw hat she had woven and said to Liu Di with a smile, "Don't get tanned anymore. If it gets any darker at night, I won't be able to see you. All I can see is a mouthful of white teeth floating in the air."
Father Liu also took the straw hat, tried it on and found it fit perfectly. He smiled and said, "Manager Li came to inform me today that there will be oxen available to borrow for plowing in a week. If your brother won't be needed on the farm then, let him sell kimchi with you."
"Okay." Liu Yeshu thought it was just right. By then, the first batch of pickles would be ready. She didn't plan to set up a fixed stall in the West Market, but to go directly to the entrance of the alley where Hu Shang was staying in the inn and shout. Hu Shang were basically big and strong men, so she felt at ease with Liu Di by her side.
A week later, the kimchi was ready. Liu Yeshu and his younger brother, Liu Di, carried the kimchi jars one after the other and walked to the alley where the foreign merchants gathered to sell them.
When they got there, Liu Di took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and fired a dud. Helplessly, he looked at Liu Yeshu for help, unable to save face and shout.
Liu Yeshu suppressed a laugh and said, "Don't be afraid, speak louder. Just say, fresh pickles, very spicy! We have radishes and cabbages, five cents a pound, and if they don't taste good, we won't charge you."
Liu Di repeated this silently several times, then put his hands to his mouth and shouted again, "Fresh pickles, very spicy! We have radishes and cabbages, five cents a pound. If they don't taste good, I won't pay!"
Before noon, the merchants were about to go out for lunch when they heard a hawker shouting that the pickled vegetables were cheaper than those sold in the West Market. Although no one cared about the price, their curiosity was piqued. A burly man came out and asked, "Can I try some?"
Liu Yeshu went up to him and said, "Yes, you can try it first. Both radish and cabbage are five cents a pound. You can choose whichever flavor you like. They are delicious with millet rice or noodles. It is also convenient to carry them on the road."
The burly man took a quick look at Liu Yeshu. Although she was wearing men's clothes, her delicate skin and tender flesh made her look like a girl at first glance. However, her demeanor was calm and generous, making her look like a businessman.
He took the small bowl, picked up a piece of kimchi and put it in his mouth. As soon as the kimchi entered his mouth, the sour and spicy taste instantly exploded in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he said, "It tastes good. I haven't tried it before. Give me two pounds each."
Little Brother Liu let out an excited "Hey!" and handed over the kimchi. His hands were shaking with excitement when he took the money.
A few more Hu merchants came forward, looked at the pottery jars on their shoulders, and said, "They are different from the ones in the West Market. They are made differently, right?"
"This is our secret recipe, and only our family has it. The kimchi has only been pickled for a week now, and it will be more flavorful if it is pickled longer." Considering Hu Shang's strong taste, she added.
"Can I get a discount if I buy more?" After tasting the food, Hu Shang wanted to buy more.
"It's a small business, so it's not profitable anyway." Liu Yeshu took the opportunity to add, "If you buy a lot, I'll give you a clay pot, but you have to order it in advance. After you pay the deposit, I'll go buy the ingredients. I can deliver it to you in as little as a week, enough for at least two months."
"I want 20 kilograms of cabbage and 10 kilograms of radish. Give me two kilograms of each for the next few days."
Another Hu merchant followed suit and said, "Give me twenty pounds each of radish and cabbage."
“…”
Liu Yeshu took notes while collecting the deposit, smiled and nodded in response, "It will still be here in a week. We will transport it by camel and you can come and pick it up."
There were also some passing foreign merchants who tasted the food but did not buy it, and some who tasted it and asked with a smile, "If it doesn't taste good, do you want to pay? I want a pound of the bad food." Liu Yeshu remained calm and did not respond.
Soon, the pickles in the basket were all gone. Liu Yeling looked at the empty pottery jar, a little dazed: "Sister, if we can do this every day, we can make a lot of money and have no worries about food and drink."
"That's not the case." Liu Yeshu was also a little excited, but she forced herself to remain calm. "The Hu merchants' travel is seasonal. They only stay in Ning'an County in spring and autumn. In addition to seizing these two seasons to sell to the Hu merchants traveling on the caravans, we also have to find a way to get local people to buy."
In the afternoon, Liu Yeshu and her brother went back again, picked up the remaining pickles from home, and continued to hawk their wares in the alley where other Hu merchants gathered before dinner.
"Do you only sell kimchi? Do you sell other food?"
Just as Liu Di was about to say no, Liu Yeshu pulled his sleeve, stepped forward and asked, "What do you want to buy?"
"Soybean paste and dry biscuits are convenient to carry with you on the road!"
Liu Yeshu thought for a moment and said, "Not yet, but I've made a note of it. It will be available when you come back in the fall."
At the end of the day, Liu Yeshu counted the orders he had received. A total of 500 kilograms of cabbage kimchi and 400 kilograms of radish kimchi were received. The radishes were one cent per kilogram, and the cabbages were two cents per kilogram. The seasonings could be exchanged for free with points, so he could make a profit of 300 coins.
The deposit filled a jar of pickled vegetables, and the siblings carried the load, the copper coins clattering inside. They were just waiting to get home, tie up their camels, and go buy a large quantity of radishes and cabbages. They'd stay up all night to pickle them, but they figured the "general" would have to make several trips back and forth.
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