With Yan Qingqing setting an example, Li Xiang'an felt much more confident.
So Yan Qingqing let him try, and she assisted him from the side. In the end, they successfully negotiated a deal with a company, although the amount was not as large as Yuelaiju, but Yan Qingqing was already very satisfied.
After Li Xiang'an and Yan Qingqing left the second restaurant, Li Xiang'an excitedly said, "Mother, shall we go and talk to the next one?"
Yan Qingqing shook her head and replied, "Let's go home!"
Li Xiang'an asked, puzzled, "It's still early. Didn't Mother say she wanted to negotiate with three restaurants in the county town?"
Yan Qingqing smiled faintly, "It's always good to leave one for others to compete with, otherwise how can we show how popular our company, Fanzhuanhong, is?"
Li Xiang'an looked at Yan Qingqing with sudden realization. As expected, the old fox was shrewder, and he was still far from being as good as his mother.
When Li Xiangping and the others got home that evening, Yan Qingqing told them about the good news. It meant that they wouldn't have to work so hard in the future, but they could earn more money, so everyone was very excited.
Li Xiangping asked, "Mother, are we really going to stop doing business at the docks?"
Having set up a stall at the dock for so long, Li Xiangping was genuinely reluctant to give it up.
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Yes, we'll set up our stall for one last day tomorrow, and give away the steamed buns for free as a way of thanking them for their support of our business over the years."
Li Xiangping nodded to indicate that he had made a note of it.
Three days later, the brothers Li Xiangping and Li Xiang'an delivered the first batch of goods. Since it was the first day, Yuelaiju ordered fifty jin and Tianxianglou ordered thirty jin, for a total of eighty jin.
The money was exchanged for the goods, and both men were extremely excited when they received the heavy silver.
They usually accepted copper coins in their business, but this time it was silver ingots. How could they not be excited?
After finishing their shopping, the two hurried home. They couldn't wait to share the good news with their mother.
Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
Both the offal business and the cooperation with Jinshengge are very stable.
Yan Qingqing calculated that the family now earns two to three taels of silver a day from pig offal, and in the past half month, they have made a net profit of fifty or sixty taels.
Including what they earned from setting up a stall, the family had a total of over one hundred taels of silver.
As Yan Qingqing counted the silver in her hand, she sighed with emotion at how difficult it had been; this was the result of two months of hard work in ancient times.
The wheat harvest season was approaching, and Yan Qingqing, thinking about the family business and how hard Li Xiangping and the others worked commuting every day, planned to buy a cow.
Perhaps it was in men's nature, but after Yan Qingqing told the children about buying the cow, Li Xiangping and the others became noticeably more talkative.
Li Xiangjian said, "Mother, I heard from Uncle He that there are some tricks to buying cattle. Why don't I go with you tomorrow?"
Li Xiangjian is an outgoing and easygoing person who rarely takes things to heart. It was unusual for him to offer to accompany Yan Qingqing to choose a cow, so Yan Qingqing immediately agreed.
The next day, Yan Qingqing set off with enough silver. When they arrived in the county town, Li Xiangping and the others went to deliver goods, while Yan Qingqing took Li Xiangjian to the livestock market.
Chengyang County has a special livestock trading market, which is government-run and has relatively fair prices. However, a fee of ten coins is required after a successful transaction.
The livestock trading market is quite large, and there are two people at the entrance specifically for registration.
After finding out why Yan Qingqing and her companion had come, they were allowed to enter.
As soon as Yan Qingqing entered, she was hit by the smell of animal feces. Fortunately, Yan Qingqing was past the period of morning sickness, so she did not have much of a reaction to the smell.
The area was very well-planned, with each animal having its own designated area. Yan Qingqing and her group headed straight for the cattle section.
There were quite a few cattle sellers, more than a dozen, and when they saw Yan Qingqing and her group looking at the cattle, they all tried their best to promote their own cattle.
Some said their cows were experienced workers, some said their cows were strong, and some said their cows were young and could be used for many years.
Yan Qingqing was a novice when it came to choosing cattle, so she had to signal Li Xiangjian, who was standing to the side, to step forward and make a selection.
While watching, Li Xiangjian whispered to Yan Qingqing, "Mom, I specifically asked Uncle He San, and he said that good cows generally have big heads, thick necks, and wide mouths."
The legs are also quite thick, and the distance between the legs is wide; the cow also has a large frame.
Yan Qingqing replied, "It's just that it's big and strong."
Li Xiangjian: ...
It seems that's indeed the case!
Before the two could choose a suitable cow, they saw someone arguing nearby.
One of the middle-aged men, who looked rather shrewd, said to a cow seller, "Old Wei, I've given you ten taels of silver, that's more than enough. You've been here for several days now. Do you think cows are so easy to sell? These days, who has spare money to come up with ten taels of silver all at once?"
Wei Laosan was rather honest. After a moment of silence, he said, "Liu Si, my ox is at its best. I won't sell it for less than twelve taels. Forget about it."
Liu Si lost face when he heard Wei Laosan's harsh words. He said angrily, "Wei Laosan, I only bought your cow because we're from the same village. Think about it, is your grandson's medical treatment more important or this cow?"
Although this is a government-run market, bargaining is allowed. Even if it's sold for just one or two taels of silver, no one will interfere as long as both parties are happy. The government is only responsible for filing the record at the end.
The people around seemed to know a bit about Wei Laosan's family situation, and they all advised him that if things really didn't work out, he should sell it to Liu Si, since selling large livestock required a lot of money. They could wait there for several days and still not find a buyer.
Hearing everyone's advice and thinking of his grandson, Wei Laosan fell silent. Just as he was gritting his teeth and trying to make a decision, Yan Qingqing spoke up: "Sanlang, I think this ox is pretty good. The wheat harvest is coming soon, why don't we buy it? It will save us a lot of effort."
Li Xiangjian knew that his mother wanted to help that guy named Wei Laosan, so he pretended to look at it and said, "It is indeed a good ox."
When Wei Laosan saw that Yan Qingqing was interested in buying his cow, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Sister, brother, our cow is definitely strong and powerful. You won't regret buying it."
Wei Laosan was so excited that he didn't care about what people called him anymore; he really didn't want to sell his cow to Liu Si.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing was about to snatch the bargain he had in his hands, Liu Si said unhappily, "I was the one who had my eye on this cow first. There should be a proper order of who got it first."
Yan Qingqing scoffed and said, "Then it depends on whether they are willing to sell this cow to you or to me. I'll offer twelve taels of silver for it. If you offer the same price, I'll let you have it."
Liu Si was so angry he almost vomited blood. He thought Yan Qingqing was just rich and stupid. He had clearly already negotiated with Wei Laosan for ten taels.
Yan Qingqing didn't care what he was thinking, nor was she a saint who insisted on paying those extra two taels of silver. Yan Qingqing simply couldn't stand such despicable behavior of taking advantage of others in distress.
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