Chapter 69 Tomorrow we'll set up the workshop and finally be able to sell it off...
A bowl of congee with egg and lean pork greatly boosted Boss Yue's confidence.
I only regret that I didn't bring enough money on this trip.
Fortunately, he is currently the only shop in the city that sells preserved eggs.
Once he gets back half of his initial investment, he'll have his brother-in-law come back for another round.
As long as he's fast enough, he'll make a lot of money.
However, to achieve the same level of popularity as a cold noodle shop, the price cannot be too high; otherwise, ordinary diners simply cannot afford to eat it.
So he chuckled and turned to Ye Li, who was serving porridge, saying, "Husband Ye, this porridge is just as good as any delicacy; it's so delicious that it leaves you wanting more."
"But this porridge has both meat and preserved eggs in it, I wonder how the cold jelly shop prices it?"
Aunt Lü, who was standing nearby, was also quite concerned about this matter. There were so many good things in this porridge, it must be more expensive than cold preserved eggs, right?
If it's too expensive, it won't sell well.
She ate her porridge while gazing longingly at Ye Li.
Ye Li had already thought this through.
He put down his spoon, turned around and explained, "In Beiyang County, the price of porridge is controlled at eight coins. In the prefectural city, Boss Yue, you can set your prices based on the prices of the various noodles in your noodle shop."
The price of stir-fried mung bean jelly is seven coins a bowl.
The congee with preserved egg and lean pork was priced at eight coins, one coin more than the stir-fried mung bean jelly, which was still within the bottom line for diners.
After all, there is meat in this porridge.
Every ingredient is a good thing.
"If a bowl costs eight coins, then we'll add a preserved egg and a few slices of meat to the porridge, keeping the cost down to six coins."
"But some wealthy diners will definitely feel unsatisfied. So, we cook an extra pot of porridge without rice, just with preserved eggs and lean meat, so that wealthy diners can add meat and preserved eggs separately."
Rice is quite expensive, costing seven coins per pound.
But when it comes to cooking porridge, fifty grams of raw rice, which is only about one or two ounces, is enough to make a very thick bowl of porridge.
Based on this calculation, one pound of rice can make ten bowls of porridge, and the cost of one bowl is 0.7 coins.
For preserved eggs, the small ones cost two coins each, and the large ones cost three coins each. If we consider the small ones, the cost is two coins.
Lean meat is cheap, costing only seventeen or eighteen coins per pound. A bowl of porridge only needs about an ounce of raw meat, costing about 1.7 coins.
In addition, the cost of a bowl of ginger, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and other seasonings, as well as firewood, is calculated as one wen.
In this way, the total cost of that bowl of porridge is 5.4 coins.
There might be slight fluctuations, but keeping it within six cents shouldn't be a problem.
Of course, even if it exceeds six coins, it doesn't matter, we're going for volume anyway.
If five hundred bowls are sold in a day, even if each bowl only earns one and a half coins, the net profit would be four hundred and fifty coins.
That's quite a number.
If this level is maintained every day, then it will amount to thirteen taels and five mace per month.
Is this a small number?
That's not a small amount anywhere!
To be honest, he even wanted Bao Beiyuan to switch careers and sell porridge, because it would not only be more profitable but also easier!
However, the eggs come in different sizes, and this cost is calculated based on the smaller ones.
As long as the total weight of preserved eggs and lean meat in a pot of porridge remains the same, and there is no shortage of ingredients, then it is considered honest business practice and no cheating.
As for a spoonful, the pieces of preserved egg in one bowl might not make up a whole piece, or there might be more preserved egg in another bowl, but as long as it's acceptable, diners generally won't complain.
After hearing this, Aunt Lü felt relieved.
A bowl costs eight coins, which is more expensive than cold preserved egg salad.
But it was only one penny more expensive.
Those who can afford cold preserved egg salad probably don't care much about the price difference of this article.
Besides, this porridge is delicious!
It tastes amazing!
In the dead of winter, wouldn't a bowl of hot congee with preserved egg and lean pork be absolutely wonderful?
So even in winter, preserved eggs are not hard to sell.
If there are no more merchants or travelers from other places, sales in Beiyang County will definitely decrease.
But now that we have the prefectural city as an additional channel, the decrease in one and the increase in the other will definitely complement each other.
Fucheng's market is so big!
So we still have to do our best to make preserved eggs from now on!
Aunt Lü's thoughts wandered, while Boss Yue, who was standing nearby, also started doing calculations in his mind after hearing Ye Li's words.
This price is indeed not expensive.
His family's noodle shop charges eight coins for a bowl of vegetarian noodles.
If you add an egg, it will cost ten coins.
However, that's about the price.
Since it's porridge, it's mostly water. Although it tastes delicious, you get hungry again very quickly.
When it comes to filling your stomach, noodles are definitely the most affordable option.
Therefore, he did not intend to price the porridge the same as noodles.
But he came from the prefectural city, and the costs along the way...
He coughed and said, "Brother Ye, I'm carrying a lot of goods, and the round trip is hundreds of miles, you see..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Ye Li laugh and laughed along with him: "Brother Ye, the expenses along the way have indeed been quite high. Could you lower the price of the preserved eggs a bit?"
He wasn't lying.
Renting a cart, for example, costs 100 coins a day.
He was driving his own oxcart, while the other four were rented from a cart rental company for 100 coins a day, which would amount to 400 coins.
The round trip takes six days, which is two taels and four mace.
As for the two extra days spent in Beiyang County, well, he couldn't say that directly. He wouldn't calculate that in front of Ye Li; he only counted the expenses that were obvious.
In addition, if he stayed at an inn, a regular room would cost sixty coins a day. He stayed with his brother-in-law for six days and four nights, which would cost two hundred and forty coins.
The roommates stayed in a dormitory, which cost eight coins per night. Three people would cost twenty-four coins, and four nights would cost ninety-six coins.
That adds up to 336 coins.
As for meals, since they are all men, even if they are just eating flatbread, they will eat several in one meal.
This part of the expenses, along with the room fee, is considered one tael. Adding the car rental fee, it comes to a little over three taels.
It costs him three or four ounces to come here, which is much more expensive than a cold noodle shop.
So he wanted to try and negotiate the price.
Ye Li also had his own mental ledger; he could calculate the costs clearly, after all, Jiang Ji had just gone to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination.
Actually, Boss Yue earns quite a lot.
A bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee earns 1.5 taels of silver. So, 30,000 preserved eggs, which is 30,000 bowls, would earn 45 taels of silver from Boss Yue.
But since they've come all this way, and they've already asked for it, we should definitely lower the price a bit.
When doing business, you can't be rigid. Yezaopo currently needs the Fucheng channel.
So he looked at Aunt Lü and said, "Auntie, look at what Boss Yue said. It's not easy for him to come all this way. Shall we lower the price a bit?"
Of these 30,000 eggs, one belongs to Aunt Lü's family.
Aunt Lü nodded: "Then let's lower the price a bit. It's really troublesome for Boss Yue to come all this way."
"I'll go out and discuss it with the others."
These 30,000 eggs are for every household except Ye Li; she can't decide this matter alone.
Ye Li nodded: "Okay. Perfect timing, Boss Yue, why don't you invite your people over for some porridge?"
Boss Yue nodded with a smile: "Such delicious porridge was cooked by the scholar's husband. The three guys who came with me are really lucky to have such a good meal."
Ye Li smiled upon hearing this and followed Aunt Lü out of the kitchen.
In the courtyard, the new house on the west side is still under construction.
Several villagers were standing next to the shed, bringing over their preserved eggs on a cart.
Ye Li has not yet sold any preserved eggs to Boss Yue, as this batch of preserved eggs is not yet ready.
These 30,000 eggs, when divided among the remaining 21 households, amount to at least 1,000 eggs per household. It's impossible to carry them all by hand alone; a cart is needed.
In the summer, Ye Li, to please the villagers, publicly revealed that preserved eggs could be used to make porridge.
The porridge is now ready, and he made half a pot. After deducting the five people including Boss Yue, there's still quite a bit left.
Moreover, Boss Yue will have to do it again later to make sure he has really learned it.
Therefore, he invited villagers who wanted to drink to go home and get bowls.
Such delicious porridge is something everyone would want to drink.
Look at the porridge in Aunt Lü's bowl. It's not only sticky but also has slices of meat. Just looking at it makes your mouth water!
So that morning, Ye Li's house was bustling like a market, with people delivering preserved eggs and waiting to drink porridge. The handover was not completed until noon.
All 30,000 eggs were loaded onto the truck.
As for the price, after discussing it with everyone, Aunt Lü decided to offer a discount of one hundred coins for every thousand units.
Previously, he could earn 1,100 coins for every 1,000 sold.
Even if you give away 100 coins, you can still earn 1,000 coins.
That's actually not a small amount.
Thirty thousand eggs, totaling a discount of three thousand coins, saved Boss Yue's expenses for this trip by more than half.
Making his costs almost the same as Gong Lisheng's shows considerable sincerity.
Mr. Yue was very satisfied and immediately said that when he got back, he would mobilize his whole family to make porridge together, and sell cold preserved eggs with noodles from the noodle shop. He would do both to quickly get the money back and try to come back to Beiyang County as soon as possible.
During this period, we need to prepare another 30,000 worth of goods for him!
Boss Yue didn't linger; he loaded the preserved eggs into the car and left.
The five of them had filled their stomachs with porridge. If they set off early and walked quickly, they could try to get back to the prefectural city within three days, which would save them a lot of money on car rentals!
After Boss Yue left, the villagers who received the money immediately gave Ye Li his share of the profits.
The 30,000 eggs earned a total of 30 taels of silver. Ye Li took 10%, so he got 3 taels.
Soon, the crowd dispersed.
Ye Li should make lunch now.
Most of the lean meat from the pig's hind leg that Boss Yue brought over was used to make preserved egg and lean pork congee.
Now, the remaining portion is three-quarters fat.
This type of meat, with more fat than lean, is a favorite among many people these days.
The Jiang and Ye families had only been doing well for about half a year, and they also preferred this kind of meat.
Ye Li sliced the meat, first sautéed it in a pan to render the oil, then added the tofu and fried it. The rest of the process was the same as the previous days: stewing vegetables in a large pot.
Having made some money today, he added some sweet potato noodles to it.
He also put the pork leg bone in to stew together.
This stew, once cooked, is incredibly fragrant. Because it's been simmering for so long, the fatty parts of the meat slices are almost translucent, soaking in the brown broth. It's quite tempting for the Ye family father and son.
The three of them were extremely satisfied with today's meal, eating a bite of flatbread followed by a large slice of meat, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Boss Yue is so generous!
Of course, Li Ge'er's cooking skills are also excellent.
Ye Li scooped the bone into his own bowl. Well, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya also like big slices of meat, so he might as well give the bone to them.
After gnawing on a pork bone, slurping half a bowl of sweet potato noodles, and eating a few lotus-shaped pastries bought by Boss Yue, he was satisfied with his craving.
However, after the meal, the Ye family father and his two sons did not rest for a moment. They put down their bowls and chopsticks and immediately picked up trowels and shovels. They walked towards the new house, where some built walls and others mixed mud.
This made Jiang Ji feel embarrassed to take a break.
Jiang Ji then picked up his trowel and followed.
Ye Li stared at his retreating figure and sighed softly.
However, Ye Li himself couldn't rest either. He had lunch late today, so he had to hurry up and fry the tofu puffs, otherwise he wouldn't be able to finish frying them.
So, the two, who originally wanted to go to the county town to fish and go on a date, were entangled in tedious chores until it got dark.
The Ye family father and his two sons left early, but Jiang Dahe, Jiang Tong, and the others worked until it was dark and they could no longer see each other before they stopped.
And so the day passed.
After dinner, Jiang Ji finished washing up and then strolled around the new house with an oil lamp in hand.
After confirming that all the tools, such as the trowel, had been brought back to the house, and that the large dog that Zhang Shi had specially brought was properly tied up at the boundary between the new house and the backyard, he returned to the main room.
Now that the west wall of the courtyard has been torn down, his own yard has become a mere decoration. Seeing this, Zhang Shi brought his big dog over and tied it at the boundary between the new house and the backyard.
In this way, one can guard both the building materials in the front yard and the pigs and chickens in the back yard.
With this big dog around, he and Ye Li slept very peacefully at night.
He went into the main room, bolted the door, and then went to check out the east room.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were fast asleep, their chubby little faces peeking out from under the covers, looking very cute.
A smile flashed in his eyes, then he closed the door and went to the west room with the oil lamp in his hand.
In the west room, Ye Li sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), counting the days on her fingers.
As soon as he came in, Ye Li waved to him: "You're finally here, come on up quickly."
"What are you doing?" Jiang Ji locked the door and put down the oil lamp before walking toward him.
"I'm counting down the days. Today is the fourth day. On the eighth day, I'll go find Uncle Jiang and talk to him about the tofu puff workshop."
Ye Li explained.
Jiang Ji smiled upon hearing this, acknowledging that today had indeed been far too busy, contrary to their plans.
As he climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed), he said, "Why don't you go see him tomorrow? A few more days won't make a difference."
"If you push this job out earlier, you can rest for a few more days."
The sooner you push it, the sooner you can enjoy it.
"Tomorrow?" Ye Li hesitated. "I want to observe more..."
In my opinion, there's no need to observe anymore.
Jiang Ji lifted the covers and sat down in bed.
He put his arm around Ye Li and said, "The core secret of making tofu should first be kept in the hands of our own family, such as Xiao Liu and Brother Da Tong. The rest, such as grinding soybeans and frying, can be left to others."
"It's okay if these two steps are missed."
Ye Li: "..."
He turned to look at Jiang Ji, his eyes widening slightly.
The core secrets of making tofu should first be mastered by our own people.
Jiang Tong and Jiang Liu are trustworthy.
Including Liang Erxiang and Gao Jun, these people can be trusted.
If all four of them work together, one person can easily make 120 jin of tofu.
After all, there are only two steps: boiling soy milk and making tofu. He can easily make sixty catties of tofu by himself.
The four people together make 480 jin of tofu.
This tofu can yield 240 jin of tofu puffs.
He quoted Ye Liang a price of eleven coins per pound of tofu puffs.
But the cost was 5.3 wen, so he could earn 5.7 wen by selling one jin.
If he had 240 catties of tofu puffs, he could earn 1,368 coins a day!
Of course, the other workers also need to be paid.
Well, the pay isn't too high, thirty coins a day per person. In winter, that's a job that's hard to find even with a lantern.
Moreover, by separating the three steps of grinding tofu, curdling tofu, and frying tofu puffs, each step only requires half a day of work.
He could earn thirty coins for half a day's work, and if he publicly advertised for the job, everyone in the village would be willing to take it.
In this way, even if he spends a thousand coins on wages, he can still keep three hundred and sixty-eight coins.
That's eleven taels a month!
But clearly, he didn't need to pay out a thousand coins for his work.
Thirty coins per person, one thousand coins would make thirty-three people.
There's no need for thirty-three people to work on such a small amount of tofu puffs.
If there were truly thirty-three people working, the production of tofu puffs would definitely double.
Thinking of this, Ye Li no longer cared about continuing the calculation; his heart and mind were burning with excitement!
I dare not think about it!
He stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Jiang Ji's neck, first leaning in to kiss Jiang Ji's lips, before smiling and saying, "Good husband, as expected of a scholar, your mind is much better than mine."
"...You're too close to the situation to see clearly."
Jiang Ji found the praise strange.
He didn't believe Ye Li hadn't been to school.
But instead of elaborating on the issue, he immediately asked, "So, do you think this is feasible?"
"Great! Absolutely great. This core technology should indeed be in our own hands; I was confused."
What was he observing?
He doesn't need to observe!
Besides the three households themselves, each of the remaining households only needs to send one person to do odd jobs.
In this way, the whole village can become rich, without any bias.
The thought of being able to get this job out soon made him so happy that he cupped Jiang Ji's cheeks and rubbed and squeezed them.
Jiang Ji let him "cause trouble," feeling both happy and tender inside.
However, this contact did not quell the passion in Ye Li's heart. He put his arm around Jiang Ji's neck and with a little force, the two fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
The lights flickered, and they embraced and laughed. When their lips touched, they both closed their eyes at the same time.
The tooth powder Ye Li bought last time was mint flavored. The refreshing taste made them both hook their tongues together and reluctant to let go.
As they kissed, their temperature rose, and they spontaneously began to undress each other.
A moment later, the two lay back down in bed.
Actually, they had been doing it every night for the past few days, but Ye Li was noticeably more excited today.
The dog leash that had bound him for most of the year could finally be thrown off, how could he not be happy?
He held Jiang Ji tightly, biting Jiang Ji's lips as he urged Jiang Ji to hurry up, even faster.
As Jiang Ji wished, he was only eighteen years old and had been well cared for for more than half a year. During the day, everyone gave way to him and did not let him do any real heavy work. So, Jiang Ji had plenty of strength at this moment.
Jiang Ji slammed the object so hard that the whole room was filled with noise.
The embarrassing sound made Ye Li's body even hotter.
But he didn't dare to shout, as the old house's soundproofing was still somewhat poor.
He could only kiss Jiang Ji's lips, silencing all screams in Jiang Ji's mouth.
After the weather turned cool, the two of them would make love in bed every time.
This reduces the visual stimulation.
But this also has its advantages. The quilt doesn't dissipate heat, and the cotton quilt has a very good heat retention effect. Jiang Ji's body was getting hotter and hotter from his teasing, so he almost ejaculated inside him.
This startled the two of them.
They don't want children now, and they've been using contraception all along.
The two, relieved to have just recovered, looked at each other's flushed and sweaty faces and burst into laughter.
The two remained embracing, and then, laughing, they kissed again.
Once isn't enough.
The night is still long.
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