That day, Yan Qingqing was teasing Li Xiangyang. The weather was warmer, and the little guy was dressed less and was more agile. The little girl could already sit up. Madam Ren smiled and said, "The little girl is very smart. She is only five months old and can already sit so steadily."
Yan Qingqing scoffed and said, "I didn't see any cleverness in him, but he'll probably be a mischievous monkey in the future."
Yan Qingqing's words were not without basis. This girl was well-behaved for the first two months after she was born, but now she is very noisy and energetic all day long. It is fortunate that Madam Ren is there to help her, otherwise Yan Qingqing would really not be able to handle it.
Madam Ren smiled and said, "Lively and active children are smart. Our young masters and young ladies are all exceptionally intelligent, so our young lady is certainly no exception."
Just as Yan Qingqing was about to speak, she saw Yuan Huiniang walk in with Jinxiu. Yan Qingqing waved to Jinxiu and said, "You're right, our little miss is very clever, isn't she, Grandma's good granddaughter?"
According to seniority, Jinxiu is the youngest daughter in the family, but because Li Xiangyang is younger, the servants usually call Li Xiangyang "youngest daughter" and Jinxiu "youngest daughter." Xinniang and Yueniang call her "eldest daughter" and "second daughter," respectively. Yan Qingqing doesn't know how they all call each other that, but no one corrects them.
When Li Xiangyang saw that his mother wasn't holding him but instead was holding Li Jinxiu, he pouted, opened his arms, and started wailing. Yan Qingqing, who was the mother of his, understood what Li Xiangyang meant, so she gave Ren Niangzi a look, and Ren Niangzi quickly took Li Xiangyang into Yan Qingqing's arms.
The little girl, who was crying her heart out, stopped abruptly when she saw her mother holding her. Yan Qingqing found it somewhat amusing; this girl could control her crying and laughing so well—she was definitely a master actress.
Yan Qingqing noticed that Yuan Huiniang hesitated several times before asking, "What's wrong? Is there something you can't handle?"
Yuan Huiniang then spoke up, "It's nothing serious, it's just that all our hens and ducks have started laying eggs, and we can't possibly eat them all. There are already several thousand chicken and duck eggs piled up in the kitchen."
Aunt He just came to ask me what to do with all these chicken and duck eggs. Our family definitely can't finish them all. And now that they're piling up, they're going to spoil if they sit for too long.
I'm thinking of taking it to the market to sell.
Upon hearing that this was the matter, Yan Qingqing said, "Alright, you don't need to worry about it. I'll handle it."
Yan Qingqing originally planned to pickle some of these duck eggs to make salted duck eggs, and use the rest to make preserved eggs or century eggs. As for the chicken eggs, she planned to use some in the shop and process the rest into dried chicken eggs after the food workshop was built.
However, a batch of jars needed to be ordered to pickle salted duck eggs. Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing asked Ruyi to call Ada over.
Although Ah Da was initially assigned to Li Xiangping, Li Xiangping knew that Yan Qingqing couldn't do without someone, and Ah Da was the most reliable of the servants. Ah Er went to do business with Li Xiang'an, so Li Xiangping usually took Ah San and Ah Si to the fields. Anyway, Li Xiangjian and Li Xiangkang didn't need any servants now.
Ah Da bowed to Yan Qingqing and asked, "What instructions did Madam give you for summoning me here?"
Yan Qingqing replied, "Go to the city and order a batch of jars, three thousand of them, each with a capacity of about fifty duck eggs. Have them deliver the first batch within three days. Each jar should have the Canghe Liji logo on it. If their price is right, we can have a long-term partnership."
Ah Da quickly agreed. He knew that the lady wanted him to do this because she was trying to cultivate and test him. Ah Da was extremely excited. As servants, they relied on their masters to give them important positions. Now that the master was just starting out, if he performed well, he would eventually have a place in the family.
Ah Da took the silver given to him by Yuan Huiniang and went to do his job conscientiously.
After giving A-Da the money, Yuan Huiniang asked, "Mother, are you trying to mentor A-Da?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Ah Da is steady and decisive. We also need someone to manage things outside. We can't let the boss and the others handle everything."
"We also need to train a few capable helpers for the courtyard; keep an eye on them yourself."
Yuan Huiniang nodded in agreement; she herself had the same idea.
In the afternoon, Ah Da returned from the city, carrying two jars in his arms. As soon as he got back, he went to tell Yan Qingqing.
Ah Da handed the two jars to Yan Qingqing and said, "Madam, I found three shops that sell jars. One of them makes them themselves, and the price is cheaper than the other shops."
The good quality ones sell for 15 coins each in their shop, while the lower quality ones sell for 12 coins each. We need a large quantity, with an initial order of 3,000, so the boss said he'd give us the cost price: the good quality ones for only 12 coins, and the lower quality ones for 8 coins.
I know that Madam always pursues quality in business, so I ordered this one from the boss, which is of better quality. But I also brought back this one, which is of lower quality. If Madam thinks the cost is too high, we can exchange it for the next batch of goods at any time.
Also, the jars we need need to have the words "Canghe Liji" on them. They need to make new molds and fire them. They can deliver 1,000 jars in three days. I gave them a deposit of two taels of silver.
Please take a look at these receipts they issued, Madam.
Yan Qingqing didn't receive the receipt, but just looked at the quality of the two jars. The better one was obviously very thick and sturdy, and the customer could use it as a storage container later.
Yan Qingqing was very satisfied with what A-Da had done and praised him generously: "You did a good job. From now on, you will be in full charge of ordering jars. Keep up the good work and don't let me down."
Upon hearing this, Ah Da's eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Don't worry, Madam, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
Yan Qingqing waved for A-Da to go and rest, while she took out her pen and ink and began to write down the methods and processes for making salted duck eggs and preserved eggs.
Yan Qingqing understood very well that this business would eventually be put into production in a food processing workshop, but the core formula could not be leaked.
After Yan Qingqing finished writing down everything that was needed, she called Yuan Huiniang over and said to her, "Our family's food processing workshop is not yet completed. We need to process these eggs and duck eggs ourselves first."
Go and tell the old women in each courtyard to gather in the empty courtyard at a fixed time every day. I will personally teach them how to do it.
These are the materials needed to make duck eggs. Have someone buy them all in the next couple of days, and we'll start as soon as the jars arrive.
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