Song Anxin sensed the thoughts of the clan leaders, so she smiled and said, "Elders, please don't be so polite. We are all from the same village and members of the General Council. Please sit down as usual."
As expected of a wise woman, her words were so comforting to hear. The clan leaders felt they had received immense respect and treated Song Anxin even better.
After exchanging pleasantries, the group sat down and the meeting began. Lin Lizheng began to speak: "The main reason for convening the general meeting today is to report to everyone on the persimmon cake business. We started this persimmon cake business just before late autumn, and the persimmons will only be on the market for a little over a month from late autumn to early winter."
Despite our large-scale purchase of persimmons and the processing of all the fruit over the past few months, coupled with daily supply to merchants in the county town and the launch of gift boxes, our persimmon cake workshop now has very few persimmons left. We fear that after the New Year, our workshop will have to shut down completely.
Upon hearing the village head's words, all the clan leaders looked troubled. They were all in charge of some things in the workshops, so how could they not know? In fact, they had thought of some methods, but none of them worked. For a moment, everyone's brows were almost knotted together, so they all looked at Song Anxin.
The Liu family patriarch said, "Fengnian's mother, what do you think we should do about this? Are we just going to have to give up this livelihood? We really can't bear to give up this money-making business."
Song Anxin lowered her head and thought for a moment before speaking: "Actually, the persimmon cake business is a seasonal business. This year we did start a little late, which led to insufficient inventory. I also know that the village head and the clan leaders are reluctant to give up this profitable business, after all, it is a rare source of income for the village."
But no matter how reluctant we are, we still have to cut our losses eventually; we can't conjure up these persimmons. I think we don't need to wait until after the New Year; we can sell all the goods before then.”
The village head and several clan chiefs agreed with Song Anxin's words. Although they were reluctant to give up the persimmon business, they knew that the persimmon season wouldn't last much longer. They then asked:
“Fengnian’s mother, the county’s orders are very stable right now, just this much every day. I’m afraid we won’t be able to finish them before the New Year.”
Song Anxin smiled and continued, "Village head, elders, the New Year is just around the corner. New Year's greetings and gifts are a great business opportunity. We can take this opportunity to launch New Year gift boxes, instead of just high-end gift boxes. We can further divide the persimmon cakes into low-end red paper-wrapped gifts, mid-range small gift boxes, and high-end large gift boxes, so that people can buy according to different needs. This way, the workshop will definitely make a lot of money again."
Everyone present was astonished, but at the same time, they couldn't hide their joy. Fengnian's idea was really good; she could come up with all sorts of ways to make money.
So the persimmon cake workshop began to focus on packaging persimmon cakes again, and Song Anxin's workshop also launched the "Prosperous Eggs" and "Lu Jue Wei" New Year gift boxes, as well as the "Prosperous Double Combination" New Year pack.
After nearly ten more busy days, on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Song Anxin's family delivered the last batch of New Year's gift boxes, and her workshop had to stop production, marking the end of her business for the year.
The weather cleared up today, and the warm winter sun lifted everyone's spirits. Song Anxin stood on a wooden platform in her workshop, wearing a simple indigo-blue jacket. Her fair complexion made her radiant. She smiled and addressed the workers below:
"Dear workers, the new year is approaching. Thank you all for your hard work for the duck egg workshop this year. The workshop is getting better and better thanks to your hard work. After today, our duck egg workshop will officially begin its New Year holiday. The New Year's gifts are also ready. Here, I wish you all a happy new year, all the best, and a prosperous life!"
A round of applause erupted from below, "Bravo! Best wishes to Aunt Lin!"
"Sister-in-law Lin's family is doing better and better!"
"......"
The workers were so excited that they clapped their hands until they were red. Every face was beaming with joy. They were so happy to have so many days off for the New Year, and it was paid leave! They had learned this term from Aunt Lin. In addition, they received New Year's gifts and double wages.
They're unique in the village, and even in Ningdu County! I wonder how many people will envy them when they go out. They've truly fallen into a lucky nest.
On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was still sunny, and the whole village went to the big ginkgo tree in the middle of the village early in the morning. Because a notice was posted on the village bulletin board that today was the day for the persimmon cake workshop to distribute dividends, almost everyone in the village had invested money and contributed mud bricks and labor. No one expected that their investment would be rewarded so quickly, and everyone was excitedly waiting there early.
Song Anxin didn't join in the fun; she had Mei collect her family's dividends.
Ah, when winter comes, people just become lazy. Sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), drinking tea, eating snacks, and playing with the grass is such a pleasant thing to do.
"Second Grandma, my mother made me a really beautiful new outfit. I'll wear it to show you during the New Year and wish you a Happy New Year," Da Cao said in her soft, sweet voice.
Whether it was a conditioned reflex or something else, as soon as Xiaocao heard the words "New Year's greetings," she immediately knelt down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and kowtowed to her, excitedly shouting, "New Year's greetings, New Year's greetings..."
Then Da Cao, not to be outdone, joined in the bowing. The two sisters kowtowed and said "Happy New Year" to each other, creating a scene that was hard to control, almost like a competition.
"Hahaha...."
Sister-in-law Lin laughed heartily as she watched the two kowtowing in the competition. "What is your aunt teaching you every day? Oh my, you're doing it so well! You're really learning quite well. Sister-in-law, it's hilarious!"
Inside the house, Old Mrs. Song and Granny Wei covered their mouths and laughed. Song Anxin was also amused by them and quickly said:
"Alright, alright, stop banging your heads, little grass. It's not even Chinese New Year yet, and your second maternal grandmother hasn't prepared red envelopes for you."
At this moment, Lin Erxi walked in, smiling as she came in, "Then I'll have to kowtow to my second aunt during the New Year, and she must give me a big red envelope!"
When Sister-in-law Lin saw her, her face wrinkled up and she said, "Erxi, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to learn embroidery from Tao Xiuniang with your older sister?"
Tao Xiuniang was Granny Tao in Song Anxin's household. Since coming to Song Anxin's house, she felt very frustrated. The whole family liked to wear simple clothes, which made it impossible for her to use her skills. Seeing how depressed she was, Song Anxin asked several maids to go to her to learn embroidery when they had free time. Including Old Madam Song, there were only three women in her household, not to mention Granny Wei and Granny Sun. They didn't have much time to serve her, so the four maids spent most of their time learning embroidery from Tao Xiuniang.
Da Xi overheard this and suggested that she go to learn from Tao Xiuniang. Unexpectedly, Da Xi had some talent in this area and learned quite well. Tao Xiuniang praised her several times in front of her, and her sister-in-law was overjoyed, glad that Da Xi could finally have a skill to rely on.
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