Chapter 60 Zhao Ergou Attempts Negotiation
Manager Zhou stood there, stunned.
He found Cheng Wanwan's words to be quite reasonable.
A bowl of ice jelly costs two coins, and he can sell it for about five coins at the restaurant. In other words, he doesn't need to spend a lot of money to buy the ice jelly recipe, nor does he need to find a special cook to make the ice jelly. He only needs to prepare brown sugar, peanuts, hawthorns, and other ingredients every day, and he can sell ice jelly directly at the restaurant.
The Jixiang Restaurant serves about 30 tables a day, totaling around 100 people. If it can sell 100 bowls of ice jelly a day, it can make a net profit of more than 200 coins, which is several taels of silver a month. It's a sure-fire way to make money.
Regardless of how much money we make, the most important thing is that Jixiang Restaurant also offers the latest and newest items available on the market, which is essential for retaining customers.
Cheng Wanwan knew that Manager Zhou was interested, so she continued, "However, I want to make one thing clear in advance: this ice jelly is not exclusively supplied to your Jixiang Restaurant. As long as you are willing to cooperate with me, I will supply it to you for two coins a bowl."
Manager Zhou was getting anxious: "Sister-in-law Zhao, just name your terms, I..."
“My family makes a lot of ice jelly, and Jixiang Restaurant can’t finish it all,” Cheng Wanwan said honestly. “I have already reached a cooperation agreement with Manager Chen of Nanfu Academy.”
Based on the amount of agarwood seeds collected so far, their family can make at least 900 bowls of ice jelly a day. However, the market in Hekou Town is limited, so she will have to try her luck in Ping'an Town and the neighboring Fenghuang Town as well.
Manager Zhou sighed. Jixiang Restaurant only had this many customers a day, so it was indeed a bit small. How could he be qualified to ask others to supply only him?
He didn't bring it up again and agreed on a delivery time with Cheng Wanwan.
As Cheng Wanwan emerged from Jixiang Restaurant, she immediately spotted Manager Yang standing at the entrance of Zuixianlou Restaurant.
When Manager Yang came to see her this morning, he was all high and mighty, but now he was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.
Cheng Wanwan stopped and looked at her four sons beside her: "Did you all remember what I just talked about with Manager Zhou?"
Zhao Dashan was completely bewildered. He hadn't remembered anything, except that he had to deliver goods tomorrow.
Zhao Ergou spoke up: "Mother, could I try to talk to the manager of Zuixianlou?"
Cheng Wanwan silently gave Er Gou a thumbs up in her heart. He truly deserves to be the smartest son in the Zhao family. Before she even opened her mouth, this kid already knew what she meant.
She smiled and said, "Ergou, if you close this deal, I'll give you two coins to spend as you please."
Two coins wasn't much, but Zhao Ergou had never handled so much money in his life. He took a deep breath, picked up the ice jelly bucket, and headed towards Zuixianlou.
Cheng Wanwan waited outside with her other three children. She observed the street, which had forty or fifty shops of all sizes. If she could open her own shop here, her family wouldn't have to work so hard every day, traveling from the village to the town and then rushing back from the town.
She saw some signs swaying in the wind and reached out to pull Zhao Sidan over: "Sidan, look, isn't that character Zhao?"
Zhao's Grocery Store.
The character "Zhao" was written in a vigorous, flowing style.
Zhao Sidan immediately said excitedly, "Yes, yes, that's how Brother Tiezhu wrote it. I wrote it wrong yesterday. By the way, Mom, how did you know?"
“Last time, when Tiezhu registered the names of the people digging the ditch, he wrote Dashan’s name like this,” Cheng Wanwan said. “Sidan, look at these signs, are there any words you recognize?”
Zhao Sidan now had something to do. Looking left and right, he hopped and skipped, saying, "This character is 'big,' like the 'big' of a mountain. There's a 'mountain' character over there. Third Brother, look over there is a 'cow' character, that's your name. It looks like a place that sells cows..."
Cheng Wanwan looked at the eldest and third brothers: "I've remembered the words Si Dan just said. Have you remembered them too?"
Zhao Dashan: "..."
Zhao Sanniu: "..."
Si Dan only said it once, how could they possibly remember it? At most, they could only remember one character from his own name.
Cheng Wanwan felt that the eldest and third children truly lacked the talent for learning.
The second child likes arithmetic and seems to enjoy doing business as well; he could pursue this path in the future.
The fourth child is interested in learning to read, so she can definitely enroll in a private school. The Zhao family is bound to produce a scholar, so it won't be surprising if she can read in the future.
As Cheng Wanwan was pondering, Zhao Ergou walked out of Zuixianlou with a beaming smile on his face.
Zhao Sidan rushed over: "Second brother, second brother, did the deal go well?"
Cheng Wanwan felt that the result was already obvious.
Zuixianlou would never refuse any of the dim sum offered by Jixiang Restaurant; no matter how they negotiated, the deal would be finalized.
Zhao Ergou nodded: "It's all settled. Manager Yang of Zuixianlou wants us to supply two hundred bowls a day. He also has a restaurant in the neighboring Phoenix Town. We'll deliver it here, and he'll arrange for someone to deliver it to Zuixianlou in Phoenix Town."
Cheng Wanwan took out two coins from her sleeve and handed them over: "Mother keeps her word, this is a reward for you."
Zhao Ergou solemnly put two coins into his pocket: "Our family can produce nine hundred bowls a day. We just negotiated five hundred. I'll handle the remaining four hundred bowls."
Cheng Wanwan looked pleased.
She said gently, "The market in Hekou Town is about this big. Next, we'll go to Ping'an Town to take a look, and while we're at it..."
She also wanted to inquire about the private school in Ping'an Town, as she wanted to finalize the matter today.
Zhao Da's oxcart was waiting in the shadows at the city gate. Zhao Da was sleeping on the cart, his straw hat covering his head, and he was snoring loudly.
"Uncle Da!"
Zhao Sidan shouted mischievously.
Zhao Da jumped up from the car in surprise, angrily cursing, "You little brat, Si Dan, try scaring me again!"
Zhao Sidan grinned and brought out a bowl of crushed ice jelly from the wooden bucket: "Uncle Da, eat quickly, and then we'll go to Ping'an Town."
These past two days, Zhao Da has been able to eat ice jelly every day. Although it doesn't look very appealing, there's plenty for him. He can drink two bowls in one go, and feel refreshed afterward.
The mother and her five children boarded the oxcart. Cheng Wanwan spoke to Zhao Da, saying, "Uncle Da, I want to talk to you about something."
Zhao Da, driving the oxcart, asked, "What's up?"
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll have Er Gou and San Niu deliver goods to town,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “They have to leave at dawn every day, first to Hekou Town, and then probably to Ping’an Town as well. They should be back by noon. How many copper coins do you think they’ll earn for one trip like this?”
Zhao Da said, "Two people, round trip, it will only cost four coins."
Cheng Wanwan covered her face; Zhao Da really didn't know how to do business.
These past two days, his family of five, along with four wooden buckets and other miscellaneous items, have filled the oxcart to the brim, and he has never asked for more money.
Originally, it cost one coin to go to Ping'an Town, but later it was changed to Hekou Town, which also cost one coin.
How can you do business like this for long?
Cheng Wanwan paused for a moment before speaking: "Uncle Ta Da, you may not have understood. What I mean is that between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m., this oxcart can only carry members of our family. If other people want to go to town, they can only take another oxcart in the village."
Zhao Da is an honest man and a member of the same clan as Zhao Da, so she can trust him, but she can't trust anyone else.
She didn't want too many people to know about their family business.
Zhao Da wasn't stupid; he understood what he meant.
His oxcart wasn't always full of passengers. He would take one person to town, or five people, and at most, he could carry ten people. A round trip would cost him twenty coins, which was his peak income.
We'll take Er Gou and San Niu to Hekou Town, then to Ping'an Town. With just two people in the car and a whole truckload of ice jelly, we can head back by noon and still have time to do some farm work in the fields for a few hours.
Zhao Da said, "Ten coins it is."
That's how it's settled.
We arrived at Ping'an Town after a leisurely journey. It was already past 1 PM, the sun was blazing, and there were few pedestrians on the streets.
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