A few days later, the Chen family used up all the dye that Chen Kai and Xiao Tian had made, and the family members also dyed their clothes the colors they wanted.
That evening after dinner, Zhou patted Chen Kai's head and asked, "My good son, the dye you make really works! And it doesn't fade after washing. Do you think we can make money by dyeing clothes in the future? Many people will definitely spend money to dye their clothes in pretty colors, and our dyes have virtually no cost."
Chen Kai said helplessly, "Mom! I make dyes to color dried flowers, not clothes. You see, Mom, we've been making dyes all along. Some dyes are very hard to get, and you don't make much money dyeing clothes!"
Madam Zhou said, "My good son, I already know how to make dyes. From now on, I'll make the dyes for my clothes myself."
Chen Kai reluctantly agreed.
In the days that followed, Zhou no longer used the dyes they had prepared, but instead used the grass they had traded for candy to make dyes.
However, this means the village children will have to cut more grass to make dye, and they can also cut more grass to exchange for candy.
That noon, Chen Kai woke up from his nap and saw many villagers holding patched clothes at the entrance of the courtyard, waiting for Zhou and the others to dye them.
Zhou was still shouting, "I'm dyeing clothes! Only ten coins a piece!"
However, the Zhou family only used a few relatively easy-to-make dyes, namely vermilion, pink, and blue.
Other colors of dye were either difficult to produce or had scarce raw materials, so Zhou didn't use them and left them for Chen Kai and Xiao Tian to dye dried flowers.
Zhou knew that the dye was Chen Kai and Xiao Tian's secret weapon for making money in the future, so he tricked the villagers into believing that they had bought the dye from elsewhere.
The rest of the village were unaware that the dye was made from the grass their children had cut. They assumed the dye had come from somewhere else and secretly cursed them for being wasteful, predicting that the reward money they had just received would soon be gone.
After Zhou and her team finished dyeing all the clothes in the village and nearby villages, they took the dye and the dyed cloth to the town to promote their products.
Early the next morning, Zhou took her two sisters-in-law and several girls, including Daya and Erya, and loaded several buckets of prepared dye and some dyed clothes onto an oxcart to go to town to have clothes dyed.
After they arrived in town, they found a spot and started shouting, "Everyone come and take a look! We're dyeing clothes! Fifteen coins a piece, first come, first served!"
Soon, a crowd gathered around their cart, and someone asked, "Is it really only fifteen coins a piece? Will the color fade after washing?"
Zhou said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about that. The clothes we're wearing have been washed and won't fade. We also brought several different colored clothes that have been dyed, so you can touch them."
"Fifteen coins for dyeing a garment, guaranteed fair to all, young and old. If you need to dye more garments, we can offer an even lower price."
"We can't dye many clothes right now. Today we need you to give us a five-cent deposit and bring the clothes you want dyed. Tell us what color you want them dyed, and I will give you a wooden board of the corresponding color. You can come back the day after tomorrow to pick up the dyed and dried clothes."
Then someone else asked, "My home is quite far away, are you still coming tomorrow?"
Zhou said, "Don't worry about not being able to dye the clothes. We'll be here for the next few days."
Hearing what Zhou said, many women were tempted, and those who lived nearby rushed home to get their clothes.
Before long, many people came to Zhou's stall with patched clothes, wanting to have them dyed.
Before long, Zhou and her group had distributed all the wooden plaques they had brought. Zhou then told the remaining people to come back the next day, and that they would be given priority to receive the plaques then.
After Zhou and her family returned home, they quickly put the clothes that needed to be dyed into the dye bucket and hung them up after they were dyed.
Inside the room, Zhou counted the 300 cash deposits she had received that day, thinking that she would distribute the money to her two sisters-in-law and Da Ya after the busy period of the next few days.
So, for the next few days, Zhou took Daya to town to collect clothes that needed dyeing. Her sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, and Er Ya and San Ya made dyes at home and dyed the clothes. When Zhou and Daya returned, they would also help dye the clothes.
The Zhou family had collected so many clothes that they strung clotheslines all over the house to dry them, leaving almost no room for anyone to move around.
A few days later, the dye business owners in town heard that someone was competing with them for business, so they sent their men to challenge Zhou and her family.
So when Zhou and her friends went there the next day, they had set up a stall across the street. Zhou and her friends dyed a garment for 15 coins, while they dyed a garment for 12 coins.
When Zhou saw someone trying to steal their business, she immediately shouted, "Everyone, don't miss out! Come and take a look! We only charge nine coins to dye a piece of clothing. First come, first served!"
When the people on the other side heard that Zhou had suddenly lowered the price to nine coins, they immediately became restless. If they lowered the price again, the cost of dyeing one garment would be too high, which would be a loss. So, they sent someone to ask the owner if they wanted to continue lowering the price.
Not long after, the messenger returned, and they slunk away, packing up their stall.
As Zhou watched them leave, she thought smugly, "Our dyes have virtually no cost. Even if it's only five coins a piece, we can still make a profit. Let's see how you compete with us."
Zhou happily continued, "Dyeing a garment only costs nine coins now! This is only for today, first come, first served. Tomorrow we'll go back to the original price of fifteen coins per garment."
Someone nearby asked, "Why is it only this cheap today? I didn't bring any clothes today. Will it still be this price tomorrow?"
Zhou said smugly, "That won't do. I only lowered the price today because I was happy. Tomorrow we'll go back to the original price. This is the only price we offer. Take it or leave it."
When people heard that dyeing clothes was so cheap only today, those who lived nearby rushed home to get the clothes they wanted dyed.
After returning home, Zhou counted the deposits she had received that day. Although the prices were cheaper, more people wanted to dye their clothes, and the money she earned was about the same as a few days ago.
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