Chapter 76 Porridge Sells Well in the Prefectural City; Sending Meals to Jiang Ji
This time, Boss Yue hired one horse-drawn carriage and seven oxcarts.
His brother-in-law was still accompanying him.
Although he didn't need to learn how to make porridge from Ye Li this time, he still brought a pork leg and several bags of pastries.
This prompted Ye Li to offer a few polite words.
It's not like this is my first time here, why would I buy these things again?
Upon hearing this, Boss Yue simply smiled and said, "Of course, of course."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ye Li asked Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, who were reciting their lessons, to call Jiang Fuzheng.
He pulled an old tree root from the pile of firewood, lit it with wheat straw, and then Boss Yue and his group sat down around the fire.
Although there was no strong wind today, even a slight breeze in the dead of winter can make one's cheeks turn red.
They really needed to get warm by the fire.
Ye A-di was doing needlework in the west room when a group of guests suddenly arrived. He put down his needlework, brought out a small stove to boil water so he could make tea for Boss Yue and the others.
Ye Li also sat down by the fire. He pointed to the carriage road by the door and said, "Boss Yue's business is booming. This time, not only are there more carriages, but he has also changed to horse-drawn carriages."
Boss Yue hurriedly shook his head: "It's a small business, a small business, and it's all thanks to you, Mr. Ye."
"It's cold, and you can't stand it without a carriage. We even encountered snow on the road, but luckily it was just light snow, otherwise we would have been stuck on the road. It's just hard-earned money."
Upon hearing this, Ye Li followed up by asking, "Going out in this weather is truly unbearable. Boss Yue, how's the porridge selling in the prefectural city?"
Upon hearing this, Boss Yue first raised his hand to rub his nose to prevent himself from laughing too exaggeratedly: "Hey, it's mainly because your porridge is so good, Mr. Ye. Everyone wants more after drinking it, they're really supportive."
"Now my family's noodle shop is almost turning into a porridge shop, and we can sell a thousand bowls of porridge a day."
"...A thousand bowls?"
Ye Li was surprised.
Gong Lisheng and Chen Cuihua, a married couple, would cook three large pots of porridge for each meal, totaling one hundred and twenty bowls.
In addition, Chen Cuihua makes small pots of porridge specially for afternoon diners, so the total amount made each day is only about 270 bowls.
As a result, Boss Yue's noodle shop was able to sell a thousand bowls a day.
Has this guy really switched careers and is now only selling porridge?!
Seeing Ye Li's shock, Boss Yue explained with a smile, "There weren't this many at first. It was the first time I made it, so I only prepared a hundred bowls."
Although he was decisive, after his noodle shop sold out of preserved eggs, most of the customers who came specifically for the cold preserved egg salad quickly disappeared.
His noodle shop's business has returned to normal—he can't sell more than a hundred bowls of noodles a day.
Under normal circumstances, a noodle shop can sell fifty or sixty bowls of noodles at noon.
In the evening, there are about thirty bowls.
In other words, only fifty or sixty customers entered the store at noon.
He made a hundred bowls of porridge.
Even if every customer ordered porridge, there would still be dozens of bowls left over.
Moreover, this is still an ideal situation.
In fact, he should be secretly pleased if half of the diners are willing to order congee.
So, after the porridge was ready, he had two of the shop's employees each take a bowl and run to the main street with heavy foot traffic to hawk it.
He has to attract new customers!
The congee with preserved egg and lean pork looks very appealing, with amber-colored preserved eggs and slices of pork dotting the thick white congee, and it smells delicious too.
To attract customers, he sold each bowl for seven coins on the first day, one coin cheaper than the original price.
Moreover, their noodles are quite good.
To encourage customers to dine in, he also ingeniously launched set meals:
Noodles and porridge will each be discounted by one coin from the original price.
A bowl of noodles paired with a bowl of porridge is a perfect way to both fill you up and make you feel good!
The city is also known for its noodles, and some customers who didn't have a specific lunch plan stepped into his noodle shop after the two waiters enthusiastically called out to them.
Some of these new customers only ordered porridge, but brought their own flatbreads, buns, and steamed bread.
Some people order a bowl of noodles and a bowl of porridge.
Meanwhile, many of the regular customers who originally came for noodles also ordered a bowl of porridge out of curiosity when they saw the new way the preserved eggs were prepared.
The set meal is two dollars cheaper than the original price, so it's still a good deal.
As a result, many bowls of porridge were sold out in one go.
Of all the diners who ordered congee, nine out of ten praised it highly.
It has a higher approval rating than cold preserved egg salad!
Thus, this preserved egg and lean pork congee left a deep impression on diners with its outstanding taste.
That noon, all one hundred bowls of porridge were successfully sold out.
And that very night, they had many repeat customers.
These repeat customers also invite friends and relatives to come and enjoy the delicious porridge.
There were too many people, so he restored the original price the next day.
But this did not dampen the diners' enthusiasm.
The original price of eight coins a bowl was at the bottom line for many people. Given the cost of living in the prefecture, there were quite a few people willing to spend that money.
The cold-dressed preserved eggs sold very well before.
If you're really short on cash and want to drink porridge but are afraid of not having enough to eat, you can bring your own flatbread or steamed buns.
In short, the porridge became a huge success as soon as it went on sale, and its popularity only grew stronger.
The number of bowls served each day increased by one hundred each time.
The porridge sold so well, but the noodles couldn't be neglected. He initially started selling porridge and noodle combos to promote the porridge.
As it turns out, quite a few people have actually fallen in love with this combination.
If there are many customers, then we still need to continue making all kinds of noodles.
As a result, there are not enough people.
So he hired two more assistants to do odd jobs.
Meanwhile, his husband, parents, and children also started making porridge at home, including his married brother, who was also his brother-in-law's husband, who came back to help.
More than ten family members pitched in, and the porridge was easy to make. Unlike making noodles, it didn't require kneading or frying. You just needed to rinse the rice and marinate the meat before cooking.
Therefore, their family can make a thousand bowls of porridge every day.
Looking back on the busy days, he couldn't help but sigh, "Really, it's just hard-earned money."
I'm so busy every day that my feet barely touch the ground.
After listening to his long explanation and his insincere remark at the end, Ye Li couldn't help but chuckle.
"Making money is never easy. At the rate you make money, Mr. Yue, there are countless people who want to work hard but have nowhere to do so."
These words made Boss Yue unable to maintain his composure.
He grinned, his mouth agape.
It was indeed hard work.
But all the hard work is absolutely worth it!
Although his noodle shop is a long-established brand, under normal circumstances, it can't sell more than a hundred bowls of noodles a day, and the monthly profit is only seven or eight taels.
When Ye Li came last time, he gave him an example, saying that if he sold 500 bowls a day, he could earn thirteen taels a month.
This number greatly appealed to him at the time.
My income has almost doubled compared to before.
But who knew that once they returned to the prefectural city, the business really took off, and the sales surged from 500 bowls a day to 1,000 bowls a day!
Thirty thousand preserved eggs can be used to make thirty thousand bowls of porridge, and they will be used up in a month.
He earns less than two coins for a bowl of porridge. At one coin and five cents, he can earn a total of forty-five taels of silver.
Of course, this number is an ideal scenario and is unlikely to be achieved in reality.
He'll have to pay more wages if he hires a new worker.
My family also loves this porridge.
In addition, some should be given to relatives and friends.
Each of these items represents an expense and a cost.
Even if he spends five taels on these, he can still earn forty taels.
Earning forty taels of silver a month? I never even dreamed of such a good thing before!
Therefore, when Ye Li pointed this out, he couldn't help but smile.
Anyone would break down like that!
Of course, one should not flaunt one's wealth.
This is a question that cannot be discussed further.
So he chuckled and changed the subject.
He said, "In the end, this money isn't easy to earn. Look at this, in the dead of winter, we still have to come all the way from the prefectural city."
"Ye Fulang, I live far away, and there might be heavy snow along the way. It's not easy for me to come all this way. Could you give me more goods this time?"
"Hmm... I'll ask the villagers and try to allocate as much as possible for you."
Ye Li nodded.
When Boss Yue left last time, he specifically instructed that we should prepare another 30,000 yuan worth of goods for him.
The villagers have indeed been trying their best to make preserved eggs for the past twenty days or so.
In the county town, the rate at which small business owners consume "transformed eggs" has decreased by about one-third.
If there's no rush to supply goods to the small business owners, then the villagers can indeed supply the goods they have to Boss Yue first.
As they were talking, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya returned.
As soon as the two entered the courtyard, Jiang Mai explained, "Brother Li, there are officials at Uncle Jiang's house talking about corvée labor. Uncle Jiang can't attend to it, so he sent Brother Mantang to inform the others."
"Oh, that works too."
Ye Li smiled and said, "Come and warm yourself by the fire, it's quite cold after coming all this way."
Mr. Yue then pointed to the snacks he had just bought and said, "Have some snacks, come and have some snacks, I bought several kinds."
Upon hearing this, Ye Li didn't stand on ceremony. He told the two little ones to thank him, and then opened one of the packets for them to eat.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya happily thanked Boss Yue again, but they didn't want to warm themselves by the fire.
They both preferred to go back inside.
It's warm on the kang (heated brick bed), and there are no strangers around.
So they went back inside.
At this moment, Zhang Shi and his husband pushed a cart into the yard.
Zhang Shi happened to be at Jiang Fuzheng's house just now. After hearing what Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya said, he immediately went home to count the eggs.
Therefore, he was the first to arrive.
He was always enthusiastic about making preserved eggs, and even in this kind of weather, he would go to the city to buy eggs almost every day.
After Boss Yue left last time, knowing that the winter preserved eggs would sell well, he went on a crazy spree, investing not only all his savings but also the money he had earned in the past few months.
Therefore, he has quite a lot of goods on hand.
Now, Boss Yue has returned to Yezaopo after only twenty days, which makes him truly happy.
The money you put in will come back right away!
He and his man picked up the preserved egg and called to Boss Yue to start the count.
This time, he plans to deliver 6,000 worth of goods to Boss Yue!
That will take a very long time to count.
So, Boss Yue got up from the fire and started counting with his brother-in-law.
The weather could change at any moment, and they wanted to set off for the prefectural city today.
Before Zhang Shi's family had finished counting their preserved eggs, other families also came over with their preserved eggs on carts.
Soon the courtyard was filled with people.
During the off-season for farming, everyone has free time.
Upon learning that Mr. Yue planned to buy more, those who had stock on hand tried their best to allocate some to Mr. Yue.
It's really not easy for Boss Yue to come all this way, considering how far away the prefectural city is.
As for the number of eggs, only Boss Yue and his brother-in-law were counting them, so it was a bit slow.
Villagers who weren't getting a turn for the time being stood in front of the fire, warming themselves and chatting.
They already knew that a constable had come to inform them of the corvée labor, so that was the topic of conversation for everyone.
In previous years, each household would send one person to perform corvée labor.
Beiyang County is adjacent to the Nantong Canal, and there are many merchants and travelers from other places. The corvée labor here is either canal repair or road repair.
Road repairs are fine, but canal repairs require clearing silt in the dead of winter, which is not only painful but also dangerous.
However, the exemption fee was a full five hundred coins, and apart from Jiang Ji, no one was willing to pay that amount.
They had no choice but to obediently go and do their work.
But this year is different!
They're rich this year!
They can earn back the 500 coins for exemption from corvée labor by selling 500 eggs!
Therefore, the villagers' faces were not somber at this moment; their expressions and tones were relaxed.
only……
After Zhang Shi finished counting his six thousand eggs, he exchanged money and goods with Boss Yue. Then, carrying the heavy copper coins, he went to Ye Li to split the profits.
The price is the same as last time: for every thousand units, we will give Mr. Yue a discount of one hundred coins.
So, if you calculate it this way, you can earn 1,000 coins for every 1,000.
Six thousand is six thousand coins.
If Ye Li takes one-tenth, that's six hundred coins.
Of course, this is just profit.
If Boss Yue wants to take these six thousand eggs, he has to pay him fifteen taels and three mace.
He asked for two five-string silver notes, and for the remaining five taels and three mace, he wanted copper coins.
He told his man to take the two silver notes and most of the copper coins home, while he carried the string of copper coins into Ye Li's small living room.
He broke the string of cash into pieces, counted out six hundred coins, and gave them to Ye Li.
Then he re-tied the hemp rope that held the copper coins together.
After he finished tying the knot, he didn't leave.
He stood by the table looking at Ye Li, his face full of hesitation.
Ye Li swept the six hundred coins into a winnowing basket, then carried the basket to pour the copper coins into the bottom drawer of the dresser.
Turning around, he saw Zhang Shi's expression and said with a smile, "Uncle Shi, is something the matter?"
"Um... it's your workshop, are you hiring?"
Zhang Shi was a little embarrassed.
Thanks to Ye Li, the whole village made a lot of money.
His family was no exception.
But today he's set his sights on the tofu puff workshop!
It makes him seem greedy and insatiable.
But during the off-season, there's really nothing to do at home!
Moreover, it's hard to find work in the city, and tofu puff workshops pay high wages.
So, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask Ye Li for help.
What if we really need to hire more people?
Ye Li didn't expect him to be talking about this. Although the order volume for tofu puffs was steadily increasing, so far, her own family was able to manage.
Furthermore, we should not blindly expand production.
This matter needs to be carefully considered.
So he said, "Uncle Shi, we have enough manpower at the workshop right now. We'll see how it goes later. If we really need to hire more people, we'll definitely recruit from our village."
Hearing this, Zhang Shi felt somewhat disappointed.
But he didn't show it on his face, and just smiled and said, "Brother Li, you have to consider me when the time comes. I'm very efficient and I never slack off."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely consider you first, Uncle Shi."
Ye Li nodded with a smile.
Anyway, all other families were the same to him, except for Aunt Qiumei's family. They weren't particularly close or particularly far away.
If he really needs to hire more people, since Zhang Shi was the first to approach him, he should consider Zhang Shi first.
Zhang Shi was unaware of Ye Li's true thoughts, but after hearing Ye Li's words, he felt relieved.
He didn't waste Ye Li's time any longer, picked up the remaining four hundred coins, and happily went home.
The morning was spent selling preserved eggs.
It was noon soon.
The handover of the eggs is not yet complete.
But Zhang Shi and Zhao Feng brought over steaming hot cornbread, inviting Boss Yue and his group to have a bite to eat first.
Ye's father cut off a third of the pig's hind leg that Boss Yue had brought and stewed it with tofu and cabbage in a big pot.
The stew served with flatbread warmed Boss Yue from the inside out.
The people of Yezaopo are all honest and straightforward!
After lunch, the tofu puff workshop started operations.
Those villagers who hadn't finished handing over their work, just like Zhang Shi, asked if the workshop was still hiring.
Mr. Yue also became interested in tofu puffs.
He tried a few more, and they were indeed quite good.
Unfortunately, he lived far away, so he couldn't buy it even if he wanted to.
However, thinking about how busy his whole family had been lately, his regret quickly dissipated.
Currently, his family doesn't have enough manpower to do anything else, so they'll just focus on selling preserved eggs for now!
It took another hour to finally complete the handover.
This time, Boss Yue bought more than 40,000 preserved eggs.
There were many more than last time, and the carriage was packed full.
Before leaving, he still told Ye Li to make more preserved eggs.
These eggs are only enough to last for a little over a month.
He will definitely come again before the twelfth lunar month.
Ye Li should follow.
Since the villagers have no other work to do, they will definitely continue to focus on making preserved eggs.
After seeing off Boss Yue and his party, the courtyard became quiet.
The tofu puffs are almost done frying.
Ye Li lost interest in making cookies.
It's already this late, I'll do it tomorrow.
He will go to the county town with Jiang Tong to deliver goods later, and visit Jiang Ji along the way.
He was quite calm when we parted yesterday evening.
He was truly left alone in his empty room, and the emptiness in his heart could not be filled by this travelogue alone.
He opened each of the pastries that Boss Yue had brought.
These pastries were all bought from a pastry shop in the county town. He chose a donkey roll (驴打滚) to bring to Jiang Ji.
Soon, the tofu puffs were loaded onto the truck.
He changed into the rabbit-skin coat that Liu Yi had made for him, put on a scarf and a rabbit-skin hat, and got fully armed before boarding the oxcart.
Seeing this, the two little ones, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, clamored to go too.
They both miss their older brother very much.
But he refused.
With Jiang Tong around, he and Jiang Ji could hardly have any private conversations. If the two little ones were also there, they would have even less to say.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya should stay home and help Uncle Ye cook.
However, he promised the two little ones a happy ending: once he made the cookies, they would go see their older brother together.
With this promise, the two little ones smiled again.
The oxcart entered the city, first going to the cold noodle shop, then to the east of the city.
When it was delivered to the last restaurant, it happened to be selling tofu puffs sandwiched in a pancake.
He bought two pancakes with vegetables, wrapped them in oil paper, put them in his pocket, and then went to the county school.
Night slowly fell.
When he and Jiang Tong arrived at the entrance of the county school, the lanterns on both sides of the school gate were already lit.
Just as the oxcart was parked, a bell rang.
Soon, someone came out of the county school carrying books.
Classes at the county school have ended.
The county school only provided accommodation for students receiving government stipends; other students who had passed the county-level examinations had to go home after class.
Most of the students who received stipends also went home.
Jiang Ji was already married at his age, while the older students not only got married but also had children.
Having food and drink at home is much better than living in the county school.
Therefore, most students who received stipends also lived at home.
Even if they didn't go home, many people found the meager meals in the canteen unbearable and would go out for extra meals after class.
There are only poor scholars, not poor students receiving stipends.
They can afford this extra meal.
As a result, the entrance to the county school became quite lively.
Ye Li approached the gatekeeper and asked him to go to the county school to find Jiang Ji.
A moment later, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the county school.
Upon seeing Jiang Ji, Ye Li couldn't help but smile: "Jiang Ji!"
Jiang Tong, who was standing to the side, silently moved the oxcart to the side.
As a bachelor, he didn't quite understand why Jiang Ji went to school yesterday and Ye Li came to deliver food today.
It's only been one night, hasn't it?
But he was perceptive.
He knew to stay away so that the couple could have a private conversation.
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