Chapter 153 Zhao Ergou's Business Acumen
The small dining table was laden with food.
Originally, the twice-cooked pork should have been the protagonist of the evening, but the aroma of the twice-cooked pork was not strong enough and was overshadowed by the braised food.
"Wait a minute."
Cheng Wanwan stood up, took a little from each bowl, and handed it to Zhao Sidan.
Without needing any explanation, Zhao Sidan knew what this meant. He grabbed the bowl and rushed out of the yard, returning shortly after, covered in sweat.
After he sat down, the meal was officially served.
The first thing everyone did was to grab the braised food. There was a big plate with pig's head, pig's ears, pig's large and small intestines, pig's heart and liver... There was a rich variety of food, and you couldn't stop eating after taking a bite.
"Auntie, this is so delicious!" Shen Zheng said after eating about half full. "Is it because they added dogwood? It has a little bit of spiciness. It retains the original flavor of the ingredients while adding spiciness and aroma. It's simply irresistible."
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "This is called braised food."
Cheng Zhao put down his chopsticks and said, "The cafeteria at Nanfu Academy also has braised pork, but it's nothing compared to this deliciousness."
Zhao Sidan wanted to swallow his tongue: "Mom, this is better than braised pork, but it's a little spicy. After a few bites, I want to drink water."
Zhao Dashan took a sip of water and said, "It's okay if it's spicy, as long as it tastes good. This is the first time in my life I've ever eaten something so delicious!"
He cleaned all the pig intestines and stomach; it was very difficult to wash them, and he used a lot of wood ash to clean them. Unexpectedly, they tasted so delicious when he ate them. He wished he had another mouth so he could eat more.
Cheng Wanwan felt relieved.
It seems her braised food business has a future.
Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Ergou put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "Mom, I want to discuss something with you."
Cheng Wanwan nodded.
He continued, "Didn't Mom give me my wages? I want to use those wages to buy the remaining braised food in the kitchen, as much as I can."
Zhao Sidan asked curiously, "Brother, if you want to eat it, just eat it. I won't fight with you for it. What are you going to do with it?"
"All you ever think about is eating!" Zhao Ergou slapped the back of his head and continued, "Didn't my cousin say that the Nanfu Academy has braised meat? Then the restaurants in town should also have braised meat. I'm sure that the braised dishes made by my mother and sister-in-law are even better than what they make, otherwise Young Master Shen and Afu wouldn't have eaten two big bowls of rice."
Shen Zheng coughed, trying to maintain his composure: "Don't talk nonsense, I only ate one and a half bowls."
Cheng Wanwan understood what her second son meant. She said, "So, you want to buy goods from me and sell them in town?"
Zhao Ergou grinned: "Mom, do you think this business can work?"
Cheng Wanwan laughed.
This was a business idea she came up with, but before she could tell the children, this kid blurted it out first.
With her own son leading the charge, she naturally felt relieved.
She smiled and said, "Of course it's possible. The price of pork in town has been reduced a bit, it's 25 coins a pound. These offal pieces are cheaper, 15 coins no matter what they are. I used up a lot of seasonings making these, so I'll give you 35 coins a pound. Can you accept this price?"
Zhao Ergou immediately took out the abacus from his waist, did some quick calculations, and grinned, "Then all the money I have can buy sixteen catties. Is there that much left in the kitchen?"
Wu Huiniang shook her head: "There were only seven or eight catties in total. We ate four or five catties, and there are still more than three catties left."
Zhao Ergou thought for a moment and said, "I'll take all three jin and a half. I'll take them to town tomorrow and see how they go."
The last time my mother sold ice jelly, she initially offered free samples. Could he use the same method and give it to others for free? Those who like it would naturally be willing to pay for it.
Let's use these three pounds of braised meat to pave the way.
Shen Zheng touched his chin and said, "Pork offal is cheap, but it's a bit difficult to buy so much at once. How about this, Auntie? I'll supply you with the goods. You just said that pork offal on the market is fifteen cents per pound, so I'll give you fourteen cents, and you can save a little money."
Cheng Wanwan looked at him curiously: "You are a rich boy, and you still know how to do business?"
"What are you saying? I can do anything, it's just a matter of whether I want to do it or not." Shen Zheng snorted. "Cheng Zhao, do you remember Zhu Yang from Nanfu Academy? His father is a pig butcher. Afu, go to Hekou Town tomorrow and settle this matter with Zhu Yang. Tell him that I want to buy all the pig offal from his family every day for ten coins a pound."
In those days, pig offal was not a popular item. Although it was cheaper than pork, it was difficult to prepare and had a strange smell no matter how it was cooked. Except for the poorest and most miserable people, the people in the town would definitely not buy this stuff. And those poor people could hardly afford to buy it all at once, so many people in the pork shops would just smash the offal and keep it for themselves.
Most of the pigs in town are taken to the butcher for processing before being sold at the pork shops.
The butcher is the first person to come into contact with pig offal. If he asks to buy all the offal, the butchers at the pork shops will almost never refuse.
With the biggest problem of supply solved, the braised meat business is pretty much settled.
Cheng Wanwan looked at Zhao Ergou and asked, "How much do you plan to sell it for per pound?"
Zhao Ergou fiddled with the abacus and said, "Young Master Shen can earn four coins per pound, and Mother can earn twenty-one coins per pound. I feel that I can't earn less than Mother, so let's sell it for sixty coins per pound."
"Ergou, you're asking a ridiculous price," Zhao Dashan disagreed. "There are only a few people in our village who can afford meat at over twenty coins a pound. If you're selling it for sixty coins, those people would be crazy to buy it."
“Brother, you don’t understand,” Zhao Ergou said seriously. “The braised meat isn’t sold to the villagers. Who cares if they can afford it or not? Take, for example, a bowl of ice jelly a little over a month ago. It cost two coins, and the villagers couldn’t afford it either. Our Dahe Village isn’t a place to make money. To make money, you have to go to places that rich people like to go, like restaurants and taverns. Can’t traveling merchants afford that kind of money?”
Shen Zheng strongly agreed: "There is another good place, Yihonglou. Only rich people go there."
Zhao Ergou turned his head curiously: "What is Yihonglou?"
Cheng Zhao couldn't help but ask, "The word 'Yihong' has a very poetic quality. Where is this?"
Shen Zheng's face was full of ridicule: "Hahahaha, come on, Cheng Zhao, you don't even know Yihonglou. It's normal for a country bumpkin like Zhao Ergou not to know. Haven't you always lived in the town? Haven't you ever been to Yihonglou to take a look..."
Cheng Wanwan's eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
The name Yihonglou, coupled with Shen Zheng's unbridled smile, made her seem to understand something vaguely.
She suddenly stood up, coughed, and said, "Young Master Shen, please come with me for a moment."
Shen Zheng thought they were discussing business, so he stood up and followed them out.
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