Early this morning, Meng Zhao got up early to prepare for many things. The first thing was to move. The fifteen-day curfew had ended, their night market business had stopped, and the courtyard and shops in the county had been prepared and were ready to be moved in and opened for business at any time.
"Mother, these two quilts have been sitting for who knows how long, they're almost ruined, so don't bring them."
Madam Gu looked disapproving. "Although this quilt is a bit worn and unusable for people, it can keep the donkeys warm in winter by covering them with it in their kennel."
Meng Zhao only took things that could still be used, while Gu Shi didn't want to leave anything behind. She even wanted to take the basin that had been broken by the chicken to the county to continue using it. Meng Zhao had no choice but to hand over the responsibility of moving to Gu Shi.
Looking up, Meng Zhao saw Li Yunxiang standing at the gate of the courtyard. He picked up the string of coins he had prepared in advance and went out.
"Yunxiang, the night market business is closed, and I don't need any extra people for the time being. Here is your wages for the past two weeks. Please keep it safe."
Li Yunxiang accepted the money from Meng Zhao. It was a whole string of cash, worth about one tael of silver. She should have been happy, as she had never handled so much money at once in her life, whether at her parents' home or after marrying into the Li family. However, the thought of not having any work to do in the future made her unable to feel happy.
Seeing Li Yunxiang's dejected appearance, Meng Zhao had no choice. She had worked here for almost half a month and only received this one string of cash. It was only because Meng Zhao saw that she had worked hard that she was given extra money.
As for continuing to hire Li Yunxiang to work or enter the starch workshop, she was not prepared. After all, she had two major risks behind her: Granny Fang and her incompetent husband.
Li Yunxiang took the money from Meng Zhao and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Meng Zhao. You are truly the best person I have ever met."
Unfortunately, even the best person she spoke of couldn't help her. Meng Zhao returned to the courtyard and handed her a bowl of braised skewers left over from yesterday's stall. "These are some leftover braised skewers from yesterday. They're all clean. Take them back and let Er Ya try them."
This was the only thing Meng Zhao could do to help her.
After Li Yunxiang left with the bowl, Meng Zhao also turned and went to the starch workshop. In addition to moving today, he also had to deliver the third batch of goods to Chunfenglou.
Seeing the donkey cart convoy approaching from afar, led by Chen Xiaowu, Meng Zhao was somewhat disappointed. She thought that even if Xiao Youzhi thought the business was too small and didn't come in person, he would at least have Chen Xiaowu deliver a message to order more. But to her surprise, he didn't say anything at all.
Chen Xiaowu came over and chatted with her for a few minutes, without mentioning the additional order. He left after the goods were loaded.
Then we can't blame her. Meng Zhao called the village head, Xu Ping, Li Xing'er and Shen Dazhuang over and said seriously, "As you all know, there's a lot of starch piled up in the warehouse that hasn't been sold yet. In order for our workshop to continue operating, we must find more buyers as soon as possible."
Everyone nodded. These days they had received their wages, their winter clothes were ready, and the meals on the table had meat on them. Li Xing'er even started to consider whether to send her son to school. If the workshop closed down, they would have nothing left. They also hoped that the workshop would get better and better.
"Xu Ping, go and contact those waiters you know, tell them about the starch, and have them pass on a message to their boss that there's business to discuss."
Then he looked at Li Xing'er and Shen Dazhuang, "You two go to the major grain shops and seasoning stores in the county one by one, and use every means to promote the advantages of starch and get them to buy it."
Meng Zhao emphasized, "No matter how large the amount, remember to sign a contract. The longer the contract period, the better. You are not very literate. As long as you reach an agreement, immediately contact the village head to prepare the contract for signing. When the accounts are settled at the end of the month, you will receive a 5% commission on any contract signed through your hands."
The three men stared wide-eyed. A cut? That meant that as long as they could sell the goods, they could make money; the more they sold, the more they earned.
Xu Ping reacted the fastest, mentally calculating that if a restaurant needed three catties of starch every day, that would be ninety catties a month, and about a thousand catties a year. The order amount would be about 25 taels. If he signed the contract for the restaurant, he could get 1250 wen.
If he signs ten restaurants, that's twelve taels of silver. Although Qing Shi County may not have that many restaurants for him to sign, if he can maintain a good relationship with one restaurant and sign it for five or ten years, will he still have to worry about making money in the future?
Li Xing'er and Shen Dazhuang were also silently calculating in their hearts, becoming more and more excited as they thought about it, wishing they could carry the starch to the county to sell the goods right now.
Seeing that they had boosted morale, Meng Zhao gave them a reminder: "Nowadays, Chunfenglou is a living advertisement. When you talk to others, you can say that it is a restaurant in the county that has launched many new products thanks to our starch and is now thriving. But be careful not to mention the name Chunfenglou directly."
The village head was a little puzzled. "Why can't we mention it? If we did, it might sell even better."
The other three also looked at Meng Zhao, who said softly, "Sometimes, a mix of truth and falsehood in speculation is more conducive to the spread of information."
There was another reason she didn't mention: according to Meng Zhao's investigation, the Xiao family behind Chunfeng Tower had more than just this one business. The Xiao family was large, powerful, and influential, so it was best not to offend them too much.
After hearing Meng Zhao's arrangements, they couldn't wait any longer and hurriedly carried their belongings to the county.
After all, they are now competitors. There are only so many shops in the county. What will they do if others sign up for them all?
Seeing their high spirits and fighting spirit, Meng Zhao was very satisfied. She then went to the pigsty to check on her piglets.
"Dad, how are the piglets doing today?"
When Meng Dashan saw his daughter coming over, he led her to the pigpen. "Look, the last piglet that was lying there grunting yesterday is all better now. It's eating faster than anyone else."
Meng Zhao had originally prepared for one or two piglets to not survive, but whether it was Meng Dashan's talent for castrating pigs or the superior constitution of these ancient pigs, after a period of rest, all the piglets recovered their original spirit.
As soon as the mixed pig feed was poured into the trough, the chubby little piglets rushed over and eagerly devoured it.
She felt reassured with her father looking after the pigsty, and after checking on the piglets, she prepared to head straight home.
Just as they reached the corner, a figure suddenly darted out and bumped straight into Meng Zhao. Seeing that the person was about to fall, Meng Zhao quickly reached out to steady them. Relieved to see that the person was unharmed, Meng Zhao asked:
"Shen Yun? Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"
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