Growth is the most silent thing.
What may have been a seed yesterday has sprouted and grown today.
They might have been content with their small corner of the world yesterday, but today they want to expand their territory.
Ultimately, it stems from a lingering sense of discontent, a belief in becoming stronger that permeates the blood, a yearning for power, and an expectation of wealth.
The smooth supply of vegetables to Youranju only fueled Zheng Ruqian's ambition in transportation, but extinguished his possibility of independent development.
Faced with setbacks, the young man finally realized his mistake.
Relying on others can only earn you money temporarily. Ultimately, you must become strong enough to produce and consume your own goods.
Just like the preserved meat from the workshop, it is irreplaceable in the short term, but over time someone will figure out the right ratio. Given Fengjing You Ran Ju's arrogance, they would definitely not hesitate to terminate the cooperation.
For example, You Ran Ju wouldn't even glance at Zheng Xin's red dates, and other restaurants probably wouldn't care either.
However, as long as the finished jujube cake is promoted enough and has enough hype, it may very well become a hit in Fengjing.
Moreover, what Zheng Ruqian wanted to sell was never just jujube cake.
“Auntie, you can come find me when you’ve thought it through.” Zheng Ruqian stood up after saying that. “I need to go find a suitable shop.”
The younger siblings standing nearby widened their eyes again.
They all understood what their second brother meant: regardless of whether their aunt cooperated or not, he was determined to keep the shop open.
Jiang Sheng was most shocked; her crybaby second brother had unknowingly become so powerful.
As the younger sister, she may not be smart or capable enough, but there is one thing she can definitely do.
The little girl stood up, held up her purse, and said loudly, "Second Brother, Jiang Sheng will always support you."
Zheng Ruqian turned around, revealing a bright smile.
After he left, Jiang Sheng began to take stock of the accounts.
The family's original six hundred taels were used to open a workshop. The first batch of cured meats sold for three hundred taels. In September and October, they each brought in three hundred taels. They spent one hundred taels on paying the workers, purchasing materials, and meals.
Jiang Sheng only has eight hundred taels of silver in her hands now.
What could be considered a considerable fortune in Anshui County wouldn't even be enough for a wealthy family in Fengjing to host a meal.
When Xu Mo returned from the Imperial Academy that evening, his eyes lit up upon hearing his second brother's ambitious plans. "Second brother, just go ahead and do what you've got in mind. If you don't have enough money, I, as your older brother, can help you out."
Wen Zhiyun looked up in confusion.
Chang Yan's eyes widened.
Only Jiang Sheng spoke her mind, "My elder brother is penniless; he won't even help someone write a cheat sheet. Where would he get the money?"
To be honest, not all the students in the school were completely upright and honest. Some of them did not study hard during the semester and would rack their brains and try every means to cheat during the exam.
The most popular method was to use cheat sheets, which involved writing down key information from books on silk cloth using a mouse's whiskers dipped in ink, and then finding ways to hide them in the examination hall.
These cheat sheets used mouse whiskers instead of brushes, and the characters were extremely small. The neatness of the handwriting was also extremely important; otherwise, if you just scribbled something carelessly, you wouldn't be able to read it at the examination hall, so it would be better not to bring one at all.
Xu Mo's calligraphy was learned from childhood and was known for its neatness and clarity. When he was in Anshui County, some students had tried to hire him to write cheat sheets.
Despite the price rising from ten taels to fifty taels, Xu Mo remained unmoved and shook his head in refusal.
Finally, the student, enraged, cursed and left in a huff.
Xu Mo's noble character is certainly admirable, but his younger siblings don't believe him when he says he's rich.
“Who says you only get money by cheating?” The refined young man smiled, raised his sleeve to grind ink, and said, “I never do anything that violates morality or the law.”
Jiang Sheng remained astonished. Could it be that he copied a book?
But they only copied books at the very beginning, when things were most difficult. Those were thin, flimsy books, and they were only paid one penny for each copy, which wasn't even enough to fill the siblings' teeth.
"Could it be that my brother was hurt by someone, and that person gave him compensation money?" Wen Zhiyun asked in horror, his hands instinctively reaching for the small medicine box.
"It's also possible that some girl has taken a liking to you, brother, and is planning to take you in as a son-in-law, so she's giving you some money to spend," Changyan said seriously.
No sooner had he finished speaking than two wads of scrap paper, stained with ink, came flying at the two brothers, hitting them squarely on the head.
Xu Mo smiled helplessly, "What strange things are you thinking about all day? It's borrowed money, we'll pay it back when the second son earns it."
I used to be so focused on my studies that I didn't know how to socialize. It wasn't until I came to the Imperial College in Fengjing that I realized how important it was to make friends with people of high status and wealth.
Zhu Sihuan goes without saying, and either Qi Huai or Zhao Yuan could lend him several hundred taels of silver with just a flick of their wrist.
Xu Mo wanted to say something more.
Suddenly, Zheng Ruqian's sniffling sound came from outside, "Big brother, we don't need to borrow money."
Or rather, whether or not to lend money is not the most important thing.
Instead, everyone from his eldest brother to his youngest sister supported him unconditionally. Everyone believed that he could do it, make money, and establish himself in Fengjing.
That's enough.
“Eight hundred taels of silver will be enough.” Zheng Lao Er walked in step by step. “Auntie has already promised me that I will provide the raw materials and Auntie will take care of the production. We only need to rent a shop.”
But often, storefronts are the most expensive.
A small two-courtyard house in Fengjing costs over a hundred taels a year, while a shop would cost at least two or three hundred taels, and even in a prime location, it wouldn't be enough for three or five hundred taels.
If you plan to renovate the shop, the cost will be even higher.
Fortunately, the family had eight hundred taels of silver in savings, which was enough no matter how you looked at it.
Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to smile when she heard Zheng Ruqian say in a deep voice, "I rented a shop for eight hundred taels."
What kind of shop requires eight hundred taels?
Eight hundred taels a year, or two years, or three years?
The whole family turned to look.
Zheng Ruqian nodded as if they were telepathically connected, "One year."
Jiang Sheng almost fainted.
Fortunately, Changyan and Wen Zhiyun were behind them, and their four little hands worked together to lift up their chubby little sister.
The only one who could speak was Xu Mo, who asked, "Why did the second brother choose such an expensive shop?"
“Because it’s big,” Zheng Ruqian said in a deep voice. “There are four shops in total, which take up almost half a street from south to north. The previous owner used it to sell silk and satin. It’s in a relatively prosperous location, so the prices are a bit high.”
But that's not the point.
The key question is why Zheng Ruqian rented four shops. He could have easily rented one, or even two if he had been more determined.
Four rooms is a complete waste.
Before the family could ask any more questions, Zheng Lao Er turned his head and looked at his struggling fourth brother, and smiled gently, "I plan to give two of these four shops to Xiao Si. He originally ran a clinic in Anshui County, but he has been doing nothing for the past few months since he came to Fengjing with us. But doctors can only accumulate experience and grow stronger by treating patients and saving lives."
"Besides, since our shops are located together, we can look out for each other in the future."
That was a truly unexpected answer.
Wen Zhiyun was already struggling to support Jiang Sheng, and when he suddenly lost his focus and let go, the plump little sister fell backward.
“Jiang Sheng…”
"younger sister……"
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