Chapter 39: His smile was so sweet, she pounced on him.
Before dawn, Sister Liu arrived at the clothing store and, together with the four young girls she had just hired, cleaned the shop in preparation for Zhou Mujiao's arrival.
Before dawn, Ma Dalang arrived at the city gate with a few brothers. When he saw Zhao Yunjing's oxcart in the distance, Ma Dalang's heart finally settled down. He quickly led his men to greet them: "Miss Zhou! Brother Zhao! You've finally arrived! Oh, so many?! There must be three hundred sets, right?"
Upon seeing Xiao Wu and Chu Liu, Ma Dalang showered them with praise once again.
Zhou Mujiao didn't ask him why he came, and said directly, "Brother Ma, I need to trouble you and your brothers to help maintain order today. First, to make sure customers line up to enter, and second, to watch out for competitors trying to take advantage of the situation. If anyone is found carrying a weapon, arrest them and hand them over to the authorities immediately."
Ma Dalang hissed, "Miss Zhou, it's just selling a piece of clothing, why are you acting like you're taking our territory? Don't fight, kill us!"
Zhou Mujiao smiled. Zhao Yunjing had already tied up the ox. She held Xiao Wu's hand in one hand and Chu Liu's hand in the other: "Let's go into town!"
We arrived at the garment workshop just as dawn was breaking.
Sister Liu took over the shop next door and decorated it basically according to Zhou Mujiao's drawings. The style was quite good, it looked spacious, and it was well-ventilated inside. Some clothes were already hanging on the walls, but most of them were still empty, just waiting for Zhou Mujiao's goods.
After that day, dozens more people came to the shop to pre-order the new styles. Even people from other clothing stores secretly asked her to reserve a few pieces for them. Sister Liu was worried that Zhou Mujiao would only make two hundred pieces, which would not be enough to go around with the pre-orders, let alone attract new customers.
Seeing the cart full of clothes, Sister Liu felt relieved.
She knew that Zhou Mujiao was reliable, and Zhao's son was also dependable!
After going over today's event schedule and things to note with Sister Liu and the others, I also had a short meeting with Ma Dalang and the others, promising to pay them after the event. I also sorted out the goods, confirmed the quantities with Sister Liu, and put them into storage. It was only 9 AM, and there weren't many people on the street yet.
On the sixth day of the lunar month, Xiao Liu's stomach started growling, and then Xiao Wu's stomach started growling too. Soon, even Zhou Mujiao's stomach started growling loudly.
Zhao Yunjing looked over, and Zhou Mujiao and Xiao Wu immediately pointed at Chu Liu: "His stomach is growling!"
On the sixth day of the lunar month, he silently stretched out both hands, pointing at one person with each hand: "Big brother, my stomach didn't rumble, it was my sister's and Xiao Wu's stomachs that rumbled!"
As they were talking, Zhao Yunjing's stomach growled, Zhou Mujiao paused for a moment, and then the four of them burst into laughter.
With Sister Liu and four trained sales clerks in the shop, and Ma Dalang in charge of maintaining order, there shouldn't be any major problems. Zhou Mujiao waved her hand.
"It's the fifth and sixth day of the lunar new year, come on, I'll take you to eat wontons!"
The wontons were so fragrant and delicious that you almost wanted to bite your tongue off. On the sixth day of the lunar month, Xiao Wu and I each finished a big bowl and let out a satisfied burp.
They were full, but they still wanted to eat!
I want to eat those big, white meat buns, the mixed noodles from the stall next door, and the pancakes from the street corner. I also want candied hawthorns, maltose... There are so many delicious foods in the city! How did they eat so much just now? Now they can only look and not eat!
The aroma of roast chicken wafted from ahead, and Xiao Wu, inhaling the fragrance, couldn't move: "Sister..."
On the sixth day of the lunar month, he shook Zhao Yunjing's hand and asked, "Big brother, are you hungry?"
Zhao Yunjing turned his head to look at Zhou Mujiao and saw that she was also staring longingly in the direction of the roast chicken, looking annoyed. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Yes, I'm hungry and want to eat roast chicken. You guys go sit at the tea stall in front and I'll be right back."
The two children cheered and pulled Zhou Mujiao along, running towards the tea stall ahead.
It was still early, and everyone had just come out. There weren't many people stopping at the tea stall to rest. The stall owners were a middle-aged couple with smiles on their faces. A boy of about thirteen or fourteen was sitting quietly at the innermost table reading a book.
Zhou Mujiao smiled at the stall owners and said, "Shopkeeper, please bring us a pot of tea."
A short while later, the stall owner brought over a pot of tea and several cups, priced at five coins per pot.
The tea was ordinary, just enough to quench thirst. Zhou Mujiao took a sip and noticed that Xiao Wu and Chu Liu were staring longingly at the boy reading the book. She went over to the shopkeeper and asked, "Hello, my two children are just starting their education. I wonder if they could read with your children for a while?"
The shopkeeper nodded good-naturedly and called out, "Xiao Ran, read to your two younger brothers for a while! Let your father check if your knowledge has improved!"
"Thank you, shopkeeper!"
After thanking him, the two children happily went to read with the young boy named Xiao Ran.
A soft reading voice soon rose from the small tea stall. The shopkeepers exchanged a glance, their eyes full of smiles.
Zhou Mujiao felt a pang of tenderness. She took another sip of tea and, seeing that the couple wasn't busy, she went to chat with them: "Sister-in-law, how many pots of tea does your stall usually sell on market days?"
"When the weather is hot, it's one or two hundred pots, but in winter, on the same market day, it might be forty or fifty pots."
"If I finish this pot and want another, will it still cost the same five coins?"
The shopkeeper's surname was Hu. Mrs. Hu smiled and said, "It's rare for several children to be able to study together. If you still want to drink, I'll give you a pot for free."
Zhou Mujiao knew she had misunderstood, but didn't explain: "Then thank you in advance. But what if another customer orders another pot? Still five coins?"
"It's also five coins, but usually no one drinks two pots of tea unless there are many people."
Sister-in-law Hu was very kind. “Young lady, are you thinking of opening a tea stall but are afraid of the risks? It’s alright. Opening a tea stall is not difficult. It’s not for rich gentlemen. You don’t need to be picky about the quality of the tea. You just need to make sure the tea, teacups, and tea table are clean. However, you don’t earn much. You only make two or three hundred pots on market days and about ten pots on weekdays.”
She then called over her husband: "Old Hu, this young lady also wants to open a tea stall. Talk to her about it, so she doesn't have to go through all the detours we did."
Old Hu was only around thirty years old. He was a cheerful person and recounted everything in detail, from choosing the location to the first day of business when he encountered some thugs causing trouble, to how he eventually established himself. Finally, he asked Zhou Mujiao if she remembered everything.
This couple is kind and generous, and their son is ambitious and polite. If she met such people in modern times, she would want to be an angel investor.
She asked Sister-in-law Hu for paper and pen, recalled for a moment, wrote down two recipes, blew the ink dry, and took them to Sister-in-law Hu: "Sister-in-law Hu, I have two recipes here. Try making them at home first. If you think they're good, you might as well try selling them next time."
In addition, if you want your guests to have another pot, you can first make them thirsty by offering them a dish of salty and spicy side dishes, such as pickled bamboo shoots, vegetable stalks, or pickled edamame. You can also offer a half-price discount on the second pot. If they can't finish it, they can pack it up and take it away with their own water bottles.
You can also prepare some bamboo tubes, etc. Some people don't like sitting at the tea table, or they're in a hurry; with bamboo tubes, they can simply take them with them.
Sister-in-law Hu was stunned for a moment before she reacted: "Girl, didn't you want to open a tea stall? You should keep these recipes and methods for yourself. What will you do after you open the stall if you tell me everything?"
A man's voice came: "She doesn't run a tea stall."
Zhou Mujiao turned around, her brows furrowing instantly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
