Chen Jing didn't expect his sister and brother-in-law to repay the money, but he was still relieved that his brother-in-law had this attitude.
He smiled faintly: "Whether you pay me back or not, I don't need these few hundred yuan. You should take care of your own lives first."
"Third brother, I understand your intentions. But don't worry, we will definitely take care of our own lives and then pay you back. I just wanted to know roughly how much money we spent so I would have a clear understanding."
Chen Jing thought for a moment, and since he had this idea, he generously gave a number: "The renovation of the tables, chairs, stoves, etc. inside and outside the shop cost about three hundred, and my second sister's tuition in the city was two hundred. I'll leave you two hundred as working capital to buy rice, flour, noodles and other ingredients."
Three hundred yuan is enough to build a house in the countryside. However, Chen Jing was worried about problems with the house, so he bought the best materials possible. He also paid extra to meet the deadline. The tables, chairs, stoves, and dining carts were all custom-made to expedite the process, which made them relatively more expensive.
"In addition, I bought this house. The transfer cost 750 yuan, and it's now in my name. If you make money and want to buy this house, I will transfer it to you at the original price within three years."
"Okay, third brother, thank you, brother-in-law."
Yang Lin thanked him gratefully, and Chen Yi looked at him with tears in her eyes.
In total, Chen Jing spent nearly 1,500 yuan on them, which was an astronomical sum for them.
If Chen Yi hadn't told him that his brother-in-law and his wife's fast food restaurant could earn over a thousand yuan a month, he would never have dared to agree to open a breakfast shop.
After handing the shop over to Chen Yi and Yang Lin, the two immediately had Yang Cuihua, the sister-in-law, quit her job at Sansheng Workshop. They bought the necessary materials over the weekend and opened for business on Monday.
In the past two weeks, all the farmland in the countryside has been distributed.
Worried that her daughter wouldn't be able to handle everything, Chen's mother specially brought her grandson, granddaughter, and grandson-in-law to help.
On a late autumn morning, the sky shone with a soft glow, clear yet ethereal. The air carried a refreshing coolness, and sparse leaves fell silently one by one with the autumn wind, fluttering down like beautiful butterflies dancing in the breeze.
Wearing a thin T-shirt and a white apron, Chen Yi had been busy all morning. While others felt the chill of late autumn, she was sweating profusely.
She got up at five in the morning to start working, and by six o'clock, char siu bao, xiaolongbao, brown sugar steamed buns, white flour steamed buns, and tea eggs were already laid out in front of the door.
A half-pot of thick rice porridge steamed, exuding the fragrance of rice and corn, while next to it was a pot of creamy yellow and fragrant soy milk.
Because it was the first day of business and they were worried that there wouldn't be many customers, Chen Yi and her husband discussed it and decided to only prepare pastries and rice porridge, without making noodles or steamed rice rolls.
After all the ingredients were laid out, students carrying schoolbags appeared on the quiet road.
Smelling the aroma in the air and seeing the clean and tidy breakfast shop by the roadside, the two middle school students whispered to each other for a few seconds, then turned and walked to the breakfast shop.
After glancing around a few times, the little boy asked in a low voice, "How much are these steamed buns?"
When the first customer arrived, Chen Yi, all smiles, lifted the transparent lid and showed them off one by one: "These are brown sugar steamed buns, one for ten cents each; white flour steamed buns, one for eight cents, two for fifteen cents; fresh meat xiaolongbao, two for fifteen cents; char siu bao, two for twenty cents; tea eggs, one for ten cents; white porridge, five cents a bowl. For the first three days of opening, buy two cents and get a bowl of soy milk free."
Buy steamed buns and get free soy milk – the young boys in this commune had probably never seen such a good deal before, and they were immediately tempted.
Students in the city usually have some pocket money, and the food at this breakfast shop is not expensive, even cheaper than the steamed bun shop near the supply and marketing cooperative.
The two boys took a deep breath; the aroma of fresh meat mingled with the rich fragrance of soy milk, creating a wonderful smell.
After looking around, the two of them each ordered two small steamed buns and one white steamed bun, which cost a total of 45 cents.
Chen Yi solicitously served them steamed buns and mantou on a plate, invited them to sit down in the shop, and then brought each of them a bowl of soy milk.
The first business deal went smoothly, and both Chen Yi at the door and Yang Lin inside were very excited.
Students passed by one after another. Seeing the students inside and the steaming white buns and steamed bread, they all gathered around. Before seven o'clock, the shop was bustling with activity.
The original plan was for my sister-in-law to carry a styrofoam box full of steamed buns and mantou to sell outside the elementary school, but there wasn't time for that anymore.
With her granddaughter on her back and her grandson and granddaughter in each hand, Chen's mother looked around the shop. It was too crowded, and she couldn't find anywhere to help.
However, seeing middle and primary school students buying steamed buns, mantou, and tea eggs as they passed by, he couldn't help but smile.
Breakfast time was short. After seven o'clock, all the students returned to school. Chen Yi instructed her sister-in-law to clear the dishes, while she and Yang Lin counted their earnings.
We made over 240 steamed buns and dumplings, but now we only have three char siu buns and four brown sugar steamed buns left, which sold for a little over 23 yuan. We sold all 30 tea eggs for 3 yuan each. We also sold 23 bowls of white porridge, but now we only have less than two bowls left, which cost us 1.15 yuan. We also gave away a pot of soy milk, about 40 cups of which were given away.
In total, it sold for a little over twenty-seven yuan. Then, counting the flour used last night, fifteen jin of flour were used for steamed buns, mantou, and xiaolongbao. Ten baskets of xiaolongbao were made, eighty in total, using only one jin of flour and a little over one jin of meat.
Char siu bao is more expensive; it takes two pounds of lean meat to make one pound of char siu. Yesterday, I used three pounds of flour and six pounds of meat, and only made forty-five char siu bao.
Seven catties of meat cost six yuan and thirty cents, fifteen catties of flour cost four yuan and eighty cents, four catties of rice and corn cost one yuan, two catties of soybeans cost forty cents, and three catties of eggs cost one yuan and twenty cents, totaling thirteen yuan and seventy cents. At least the cost of oil, salt, sugar, seasonings, and firewood has not been calculated.
Regardless, of the twenty-seven yuan earned, roughly half is profit.
The young couple did the math and couldn't help but smile with excitement; this was only the first day, only half a day.
If things go well, we can add more varieties, such as noodles, wontons, and rice noodle rolls for lunch, which could further increase our income.
The school has six days of classes a week, so students can work 26 days a month, with weekends off.
Although it can't compare to my sister-in-law's monthly income of a thousand, earning three or four hundred shouldn't be a problem.
Chen Yi excitedly whispered, "At this rate, we can pay off the debt in two months, and if we work for another two months, we can buy this house."
Yang Lin couldn't help but reach out and hold his wife's hand: "It's all because of you. Because I married you, my lucky wife, I have such a good life."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi's eyes immediately reddened. Ever since her husband was injured while hunting in the mountains with others, her in-laws and the villagers had been saying that she was a jinx who had caused Yang Lin's injury.
It's obvious that the in-laws are biased; they don't even let their son eat his fill when he goes up the mountain.
Instead, after the injury, the parents-in-law quickly separated the household for their two sons, and then, under the pretext of having the sister-in-law help them with chores, assigned her to them, and even demanded that they pay for her dowry when she got married.
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