Meng Er brought over a bowl of pork kidney soup with scallions, and a steamed bun cut in half with some pickled vegetables inside.
He returned to the group of men, drank a few sips of soup, and for some reason, everyone stared at him. Meng Er let out a long sigh of relief, "Good!" This wasn't a shill; he genuinely felt his insides burning.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, he quickly devoured two more steamed buns. Not content with that, he then took out a rolled pancake and began to munch on it!
"These pork kidneys look pretty good, this stuff is really good..." Several people around him started exchanging knowing glances: "Meng Er, how much is this?"
"Ten coins a bowl! One coin a steamed bun. I see that not many steamed buns are being made. They'll be gone once they're sold out."
Upon hearing the price, many people could no longer sit still, thinking it would cost at least twenty coins!
Some of the wealthier farmers immediately felt it was necessary to buy them because the prices were really good.
Firewood is free? Kidney slices are free? Even pickled vegetables have precious salt on them. Besides, it's cold and tiring; even the strongest body couldn't take it.
Soon, quite a few people began to crowd around the stall.
"What are you doing! Line up!" It was that same short-tempered clerk again. "What a fuss! Line up, one by one!"
Only then did they manage to line up in front of Ah Mian's stall.
Amian asked Xiaojing to collect the money, and she quickly prepared the soup and added seasonings.
Occasionally, someone would complain, "Why is there only a few slices of pork kidney in a bowl of soup?"
Ah Mian said bitterly, "It's a small business, I don't make much money at all!"
This wasn't some kind of shrewd business tactic. After calculating the costs today, she realized that the profit margin was indeed too thin, but if she raised the price, she probably wouldn't be able to sell it.
After much deliberation, I could only test the waters first.
"Young lady, what kind of material is this, and how much does it cost?"
Ah Mian started explaining, and the man actually ordered a bowl, which made the people queuing behind him cheer.
Although three oysters were prepared, only half an oyster was actually put in each bowl, otherwise the cost would not be covered at all.
However, things went better than Ah Mian had imagined. One after another, some men came to buy the "deluxe version of the tonic soup," and after half an hour, all the prepared ingredients were sold out!
Amian then asked Xiaojing to watch the stall, fetched half a bucket of water from the river, collected tree branches from all over the place, and boiled half a pot of water.
This is free; anyone who wants water can bring their own water bag to collect it.
When it was time to pack up, Meng Er helped move the equipment. The two young women were very tired, so they didn't say much and rushed home.
As soon as they arrived at their doorstep, Meng San was about to go out to meet them when he discovered that it was happening faster than he had expected.
Not only that, Ah Mian's eyes were practically overflowing with laughter.
He ignored Meng Chijian completely, washed his hands, and hid in the woodshed to count his money.
Besides the two bowls of soup that were given away, we sold 46 servings of pork kidney soup, 100 steamed buns, and 5 bowls of nourishing soup (the last bowl had a whole, relatively small oyster added). This trip brought in 710 coins!
However, the chives that A-Mian brought were not used because she was too busy to cook any more dishes.
Calculated this way, he earned 300 coins a day, which is almost the same as Meng Chijian's daily wage!
Moreover, there are one or two hundred farmers, and after today's sales, many people still want to buy but there are none left.
Ah Mian carefully put the money away, her eyes practically disappearing with a smile. However, someone in the kitchen shouted irritably, "Where are my pickled vegetables?!"
Then she remembered something, covered her head, and crawled into the room, pretending not to hear.
The next day, they prepared more ingredients and earned 400 coins that day. However, after a few days, the profit stabilized at between 260 and 300 coins.
Not only farmers come to buy, but also many men from the city come here, mysteriously wanting to buy "nutritious soup".
To A-Mian's surprise, Boss Song, having somehow heard the news, also came to try it and praised, "It's very good. If you add that Sichuan peppercorn powder on top, I'm afraid your business will be so good that you won't be able to keep up! A-Mian, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
"That's too expensive, my little stall can't afford it."
She also ordered a "highly nourishing soup," and while drinking it, she chatted idly: "Setting up a small stall is the best way to hone your skills. If you slowly save up like this, one day you'll be able to open a shop. But have you heard? A big spender came to the city, supposedly from your academy. He spent a fortune, and now he's incredibly impressive. His name is Wang Zixuan... and he's surrounded by a bunch of people right now!"
"Where did he get so much money?"
"Who knows? But it's going to be quite a show tomorrow with Young Master Ji fighting him. Do you want to go watch?"
Amian shook her head: "I want to set up a stall."
Song Dongjia didn't force her. He chatted with her for a while, and before leaving, he grabbed A Mian and pinched her cheeks a few times.
After setting up her stall for a few days, Meng Jing lost interest and stopped coming. She wanted to play more; earning ten coins a day was enough for her.
You can't spend it all, you simply can't spend it all.
However, A-Mian went every day, even when it snowed.
When she returned, her cotton shoes and socks were wet. When Meng Chijian reached out and touched her ear, it felt like touching a block of ice; she probably had no feeling at all! A sudden surge of anger welled up inside him. "I told you this morning that it would snow heavily, and I told you to stay home before I left, but you wouldn't listen!"
Ah Mian stubbornly insisted, "It's only when it snows that we sell well, and I've earned so many copper coins!"
Meng Chijian felt he didn't even need to drink that nourishing soup; she could drive him crazy with anger. He immediately threw the bundle she was carrying into the woodshed, took off her shoes, socks, and wet clothes, and shoved her into the bed where a hot water bottle had been placed. Seeing that he was in a fit of rage, A-Mian wisely kept quiet.
“From now on, you’ll manage the money at home, and you can keep the money in the blacksmith’s shop. Anyway, you can do the accounting now. Let’s see if you’ll value money more than your life.” He brought over some ginger soup, tasted it to make sure it wasn’t too hot, and then poured it down A-Mian’s throat without saying a word.
Ah Mian drank one bowl, and when she saw that he wanted a second bowl, she quickly begged for mercy: "I can't drink anymore."
"Not a drop of sweat on your face, as white as paper! Enough talk, drink it now."
"..." A-Mian drank another bowl. Meng Chijian also lay down in the quilt, placed her two ice-cold feet on her lower abdomen, and told her to hold the hot water bottle wrapped in a thin cloth.
Ah Mian thought he was making a fuss over nothing, but gradually her feet started to ache as if they were being pricked by needles.
"You are not allowed to go tomorrow. If you develop a fever tonight, you are not allowed to go anywhere this winter."
"No, the doctor said I'm in excellent health."
"You're so healthy, why are you going through all this trouble?" Meng Chijian said, "Come with me to the shop these next few days. It's very warm in the blacksmith's shop. You can sell whatever kind of food you want."
“I’m not stupid. The docks are frozen, the ships can’t get through, and all the laborers have gone home. Who’s going to buy?” Ah Mian retorted softly. “Besides, I don’t want to manage your money… unless… unless you hire me as your accountant.”
Otherwise, how could she work for free? Her time is very valuable; she has already earned nearly three taels of silver.
Meng Chijian originally wanted to say that his role in managing the money did not mean he was an accountant.
However, upon further reflection, he became even angrier, so he simply bit her earlobe and rubbed it against it in a fit of anger.
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